Chapter 127

After that short but very important meeting with Laki,

I wandered here and there again, enjoying the welcome party.

At least on the surface, I was definitely enjoying myself.

Though inwardly, my mind was filled with other thoughts.

‘Ancient beings. If it’s about the settings related to ancient beings from the game…’

I chatted with many different races while enjoying the delicious food, yet my thoughts were elsewhere.

‘Literally, beings who lived in ancient times. But not just ordinary creatures of that era—some of them possessed transcendent power… like gods.’

Of course, they weren’t actual gods, but among the ancient beings, there were some who had become deities.

As time passed, some declined and disappeared, while others gained greater faith and truly became gods.

‘The fallen gods. Among them were those called evil gods, there were evil dragons, and even strange monsters… there were all sorts of beings.’

Before the vacation began, when I spoke with Roy,

I had heard roughly about the ancient beings from him.

But it was only a rough explanation, so I didn’t know much in detail.

‘Since Nia invited me during the break, I should meet Roy again then.’

As far as I could tell, Roy was something of an expert in that field.

It would be best to meet him and ask about various things…

‘…But what exactly should I ask?’

That fundamental question suddenly crossed my mind.

I had just learned from my conversation with Laki that the ancient beings were somehow connected to all this.

But from here—where to go and how to proceed—I had no clue.

‘There isn’t just one or two ancient beings. There were supposedly countless of them. So which direction am I even supposed to look?’

No clear answer came to mind.

At least I had found the direction called “ancient beings.”

But the moment I found that direction, countless new paths appeared before me.

I had to choose one among those many paths, yet I had no idea which one to take.

“Ugh, seriously… what should I even do…”

“Woof! Woof woof woof!”

“Hm? Oh, Siri. What is it?”

“Woof!”

Siri tapped my leg with her front paw, looking up at me.

It was as if she were asking, ‘Why the long face?’

“It’s fine, buddy. Nothing to worry about.”

“Woof? Woof!”

“Hm, come to think of it, you’re also related to ancient beings, aren’t you?”

“…Woof?”

“Hellhounds are descendants of Cerberus. And Cerberus was one of the ancient beings.”

“Woof? Wooroof?”

Siri looked up at me with eyes that clearly said, ‘What are you talking about?’

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that blank stare.

“Yeah, it’s normal that you don’t know. Anyway, here—have this.”

I tossed a big piece of meat to Siri.

She caught it in her mouth and began gnawing on it happily.

Watching her, I couldn’t help but smile.

“…I’m really glad you’re here.”

I stroked Siri’s head as she tore into the meat.

Thanks to this cheerful companion, my head, which had been tangled with complex thoughts, felt refreshed.

‘Yeah. There’s no point in just sitting around thinking. I need to move and find more clues myself.’

If there had once been conflicts between ancient beings and other races long ago… there had to be traces of it somewhere in this Protected Zone for Other Races.

Part of me wanted to go look right away, but the sky was already darkening.

It was far too dangerous to wander through this dense forest alone at night.

‘Besides, it’d be rude to leave in the middle of a welcome party held for me.’

I glanced around the communal living area once more.

The other races were still in a festive mood, and everyone seemed friendly toward me.

‘For now, I’ll enjoy it. Enjoy it, and get as close to them as possible. I’ll need their help if I want to find even a small clue in this Protected Zone.’

After organizing my thoughts like that, I returned to enjoy the welcome party prepared for me.

“Aha! So, you’ve promised your future with a woman from House Balmuth?”

“Well… sort of?”

“Wow, Balmuth, huh? Haven’t heard that name in a long time.”

“You know House Balmuth?”

“Of course. That vampire family. I’ve crossed paths with them a few times ages ago. Their strength was… truly something.”

Night deepened in the Protected Zone for Other Races, and the welcome party gradually came to an end.

‘At least it feels like I’ve gotten closer to the other races. That’ll help when I start exploring the zone later.’

Originally, I had planned to investigate the zone and return home soon, but there was no longer any need for that.

So, I decided to stay here for about half a month.

During that time, I’d gather as much information as possible.

Well, that aside…

‘Siri’s having fun over there with the beastmen, and Kara should be…’

I turned my head to look for Kara.

And I found her faster than I expected.

“So this dish is a traditional food of the Birdmen and Harpies?”

“That’s right. Since the times when we fought against humans, even within this Protected Zone—we’ve preserved the recipe for ages.”

“Ohh, it’s made using centipedes, right?”

“We season dried centipedes. Ah, their venom is neutralized with Harpy blood, but during that process, the venom changes and…”

Kara was mingling with the Birdmen and Harpies.

Even though quite some time had passed since we arrived here, her eyes still sparkled with enthusiasm.

“May I try some of this?”

“…Huh? You’re going to eat that?”

“Oh, is it not fully prepared yet?”

“N-no, that’s not it. It’s just… we’ve never seen anyone other than us eat it. The other races all dislike it, and humans have found it disgusting for centuries.”

“Well, you never know until you taste it yourself.”

Without hesitation, Kara put the centipede dish into her mouth.

She frowned slightly at first but soon chewed and swallowed it.

“Hmm… oh! The taste is quite unique, but it’s not bad at all! So this is the cuisine of the Birdmen and Harpies!”

“…Oooooh!”

“A human ate our food!”

“Ooooh!”

“Wh-what’s going on? Did I do something wrong?”

Startled by the Birdmen and Harpies’ overly dramatic reaction, Kara looked confused.

But regardless, they all crowded around her in excitement.

“Anyone who eats our food is one of our kin!”

“Kara, Kara, Kara. Don’t you want to visit our land sometime?”

“Come, and we’ll serve you even more dishes!”

Kara replied with a slightly surprised expression.

“Y-you’re inviting me? Then… if I go there, may I study your lifestyle and culture as well…?”

“Of course! Spread our culture and cuisine to the humans as much as you can!”

“Oh, absolutely!”

Kara seemed to be having an incredibly good time.

Seeing her so happy, I felt glad I had brought her here after all.

‘…Still, I guess I’ll have to follow Kara’s lead and explore this entire Protected Zone.’

As mentioned before—about half a month.

During that time, I needed to find as many clues as I could within this zone.

While I was lost in such thoughts—

“Were you enjoying yourself?”

“Hm? Oh, Sakiel. Are you feeling better now?”

“After resting, I’m much better.”

The frail, sickly-looking Elf approached me.

“It’s been a long time since I last saw a welcome party. Seeing my friends, happy and out in the open again… it brings me joy.”

“Now that you mention it, I heard you’ve spent a long time inside the World Tree.”

“That’s right. I sealed myself within it for many years.”

Sakiel sighed, his expression complicated.

“Regret for failing to protect a friend, self-loathing, guilt… I needed some time to reflect on myself.”

Then, after a brief pause, Sakiel continued.

“I also needed time to recover my eyes.”

“Your eyes?”

“At that time, I overused the power of my eyes. To see the faintly visible future clearly… to make a prophecy, I pushed myself too far.”

The prophecy the other races had spoken about—the one concerning me.

I had heard it was Sakiel who had given that prophecy.

“After making that prophecy, an enormous curse fell upon me. It was so strong it nearly destroyed my body, and even within the World Tree, recovery took a long time. Even now, after all these years, I’m still not completely healed.”

Sakiel showed me his trembling, withered arm.

“I forced this body out here just to meet you.”

“…You were cursed twice in that state?”

“Indeed. I allowed myself to be cursed twice for giving out rather useless information. I couldn’t even provide you with anything truly important.”

“…Speaking of that.”

I hesitated for a moment before opening my mouth.

Sakiel didn’t look well, but I had to confirm it.

“I spoke with Laki earlier.”

“Laki? Ah, the new leader of the beastmen. The previous one must have stepped down due to age. Why do you ask?”

“Laki mentioned… the Ancient Beings.”

“He told you that? And Laki’s fine?”

“Yes, nothing happened to him.”

At my words, Sakiel fell silent for a moment, then nodded slowly.

“If he only mentioned them vaguely, as in something that once existed, and not directly… then perhaps he avoided the curse. Still, that was quite a dangerous gamble. Even that level of information could bring an unbearably painful curse.”

“What do you mean?”

“The pain the curse inflicts depends on how important the information is.”

After saying that, Sakiel sank into deep thought again.

For several minutes, he remained silent, seemingly lost in contemplation.

‘Wait, he’s not thinking… could he be seeing the future right now?’

Now that I looked closely, Sakiel’s eyes were glowing.

I had already heard about his special eyes—and earlier, I had seen them glow as well.

He said he could now only see the future faintly, but if he was using them now…

“Laki, that young one, risked his life to pass you an important piece of information. Since a youngster showed that much resolve, an adult like me can’t just stand by.”

“…You’re going to risk your life?”

“The prophecy I spoke of. Everyone in this land has held on, believing in that one prophecy. So I must do whatever it takes to make it come true.”

A sense of dread crept over me.

“Sakiel. I don’t know what you’re planning, but if it’s something dangerous—”

“Don’t worry, Gideon. I won’t die. I just glimpsed a faint future where I’m still alive, so I’m certain. However… it’ll probably be a long time before we meet again. I’ll likely need to recuperate inside the World Tree for quite some time.”

Finding clues was important—

But not like this.

I didn’t want to see anyone suffer because of me.

So I was about to cover Sakiel’s mouth—

“Listen carefully, Gideon. There are many types of Ancient Beings. But among them, the Evil Gods and Evil Dragons are all—kuaaagh!”

Sakiel screamed in agony and collapsed.

He vomited a large amount of blood, and suddenly his joints twisted in unnatural directions.

“Sakiel! Someone, over here! Sakiel is—”

“Ugh! Ah… kh… Gideon. The Evil Dragon comes first. We made a contract with the Evil Dragon… Kuaaagh!!”

Sakiel tried desperately to continue, but another scream tore through the air.

His skin split open, and blood began pouring from every wound.

“Sakiel!”

Akkion and the other races rushed toward us.

But Sakiel’s body was already in ruins.

“Sakiel…”

I caught the frail Elf as he collapsed.

His body was drenched in blood and trembling with pain—

Yet somehow, there was a faint smile on his face.

A smile that seemed deeply… satisfied.

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