Chapter 50. Aftermath

Ancient times.

Even before the Ancient Empire was established.

It's said to be a mythical monster from the distant past, a time before humanity ruled the continent.

After hearing Aslan’s brief explanation, I looked up at the statue.

…If that’s a statue, there must be an original, right?

A monster like *that* actually existed.

“That kind of monster…”

“Huh, they worship some strange things.”

The search party members and knights around us were astonished after hearing Aslan’s explanation.

“More than that, it's intricate, surprisingly so.”

Edgar, the Squad Leader of the 3rd Knights, was already examining the statue up close, as if he already knew about it.

“The statue is in good condition even though it was made in ancient times.”

He said, carefully examining the delicately sculpted feet.

…Even to me, the quality is chillingly high.

Who made this?

Especially this deep inside a cave.

“We’ll need a specialized investigation team for this.”

“Yes, I’ll call them as soon as we return.”

“Strictly guard this cave from now on. Make sure those Devil Worshippers never crawl back in here.”

“Yes!”

So.

The Kingdom decided to strictly manage the statue.

And naturally, the Investigation Team began disbanding procedures.

The objective was accomplished, so we had to return to our positions.

“Going down first?”

“Yes, I’ll sleep at the mansion.”

“Alright, come visit sometime.”

“I will.”

I left the mountain first, leaving behind my search party colleagues who said they would stay overnight in the tent.

I think the tent on the plateau will likely remain.

Now that the investigation is complete, it seems they plan to continue managing the statue.

They’ll probably increase the search party personnel or station soldiers to keep watch and prevent the Devil Worshippers from returning.

Anyway.

I quickly descended the now-familiar mountain and returned to the mansion.

“Good job, Whitey!”

Keng! Keng!

Sienna was in the Courtyard, training Whitey until late in the evening.

…Is that really training? No matter how I look at it, she’s just playing with him.

“Oh, you came back today?”

“Ah, yes….”

“W-Was the work difficult?”

“A little.”

Sienna was flustered when she saw me in the Garden.

Well, I climbed the mountain this morning and experienced a lot afterward.

I entered the cave twice and was even knocked to the ground by Alden during the fight in the forest, so I must look a mess.

Still, it’s good that I returned the same day.

Afterward, I went to the Servants’ bathhouse for a quick wash and then returned to the Doghouse.

“Whitey! Leave him alone!”

I heard Sienna scolding Whitey, who tried to cuddle up to me as I lay down.

I closed my eyes to relieve the fatigue of the day.

***

After completely wiping out the Devil Worshippers in the Kain Mountains.

I returned to my daily routine.

I’d been fighting fiercely in the mountains for the past few weeks.

Now I plan to rest comfortably.

I probably won't leave the mansion until the Kain Mountains blockade is lifted.

When the blockade is lifted and some time passes, the Mercenaries who left for other regions will return, right?

I wonder how Jebeon is doing.

He has that Newbie with him, and he’s good at looking out for himself, so he’ll probably be fine.

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

“Ah, it’s been a while, Tutor.”

As I sat lost in thought in the reception room, Eric entered.

Now that the investigation was over.

Eric’s Lessons had resumed.

There was something I wanted to ask Eric.

“Tutor, do you know about Gigants?”

I asked, full of anticipation, since Eric seemed to know everything.

The statue I saw wouldn't leave my Mind.

“You seem to want a mythology lesson today.”

“Yes, I recently became interested.”

“Then I shall explain.”

And as expected, Eric brought out a chalkboard once again.

“Gigants… hmm, I believe they were active even before the first Demon-Angel War, which is the earliest recorded event in historical texts.”

“Ah, yes.”

The first Demon-Angel War.

I already knew about it since Eric had explained it to me before.

The very first page of human history books. That is, the content restored from history books that existed since the Ancient Empire.

The first record depicts angels descending from the heavens warring against demons that sprung forth from the gates of Hell.

It's recorded as a tremendous war, enough to change mountains and rivers and overturn the sea.

In the end, the angels won and shoved the demons back into Hell, which is why humanity can stand on this earth today.

“This is close to a hypothetical guess… but there’s a thesis suggesting that the Gigants sided with the demons back then.”

“The Gigants sided with the demons?”

“Yes, and as punishment, they vanished into the annals of history along with the demons’ defeat.”

Hmm.

Literally a case of backing the wrong horse and getting wiped out.

Of course, since it's close to a hypothesis, it’s unlikely to be certain.

The current continent’s people don’t even properly know the glory of the Ancient Empire era.

Anything they call history from a time considered ancient even by the Ancient Empire is bound to be all hypothesis anyway.

“Still, the Gigants themselves *did* exist. They appear in the world occasionally. There’s even a record of one appearing on the continent and destroying a city a long time ago.”

“Weren't they extinct? Where the hell do they even come from?”

Weren’t they completely wrecked by angels and went extinct?

It's not like any descendants survived, so what’s the deal with Gigants occasionally popping up?

“Haha, there was some controversy about that, but I heard there are Gigants sealed away somehow throughout the underground.”

“Huh?”

“It’s just a story scholars speculate based on myths. Their last appearance was 300 years ago, and all that’s left is a short record of a Hero subjugating it. We’re unlikely to see one in our lifetime.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know the *form* of their sealing, would you?”

“Well, there’s too much speculation on that.”

“What about being sealed in stone?”

“That's a decent hypothesis. Turning the body to stone could allow them to withstand the flow of time.”

“…Hold on a second.”

I got up after hearing Eric’s casual words.

The statue I saw keeps lingering in my mind.

An incredibly detailed statue in excellent condition, likely tens of meters tall.

Why did the Demon Worshippers build an altar near it and offer corpses?

“Yes?”

“Sorry. Please wait a moment.”

An unsettling hypothesis kept swirling in my head, so I excused myself and left the reception room where the lesson was being held, heading to the office where Lowell usually was.

*Knock, knock.*

-Yes, come in.

As always, Lowell was looking at documents inside.

“What brings you here? It's lesson time.”

“I just heard something strange from Eric about a statue.”

Hearing my words, Lowell calmly put down the documents.

Naturally, Lowell already knows everything about the investigation.

All the information was shared with Lorenz’s side from the moment I joined the search team.

“…Actually, things are in an uproar because of that right now.”

“Is that thing really a Gigant?”

“It's not certain, but we can’t rule it out.”

…Looks like the Kingdom caught on as well.

Well, Eric is an elite, but he’s still just a young man.

There are bound to be scholars in the Kingdom with more knowledge.

“For now, the investigation shows it *is* a statue with some magical measures. But the method is so ancient that it’s impossible to decipher.”

“If it really *is* a sealed Gigant, and it gets released by accident, can the Kingdom handle it?”

It’s a monster tens of meters tall.

And as we can see from the Ogre case, size is king.

Plus, its location is a cave deep in the mountains, so it’ll be difficult for a mediocre army or weapons to even reach it, and the damage will increase exponentially.

“If it’s a real Gigant, our Kingdom can’t handle it.”

“Then….”

“So we’ve already requested support from the Empire.”

“Ah, the Empire.”

Right, the Empire should be able to, right?

It’s the undisputed strongest power on the continent.

As a superpower at the forefront of technology and civilization, it's incomparably superior to the Adel Kingdom.

“That’s reassuring, then.”

“Well, I don't know if they'll cooperate readily.”

However.

Lowell seemed skeptical on that front.

“Why?”

“The Adel Kingdom and the Empire aren’t on good terms. We received a lot of condemnation during the last war.”

“Ah, the war.”

Now that I think about it.

The Adel Kingdom is a militaristic nation with an aggressive tendency, having declared war almost by surprise and then invaded the Lugard Kingdom.

Of course, the Empire wouldn’t look favorably on that.

Plus, according to Eric, the Empire was engaged in a large-scale subjugation of foreign races at the time, so they had no time to spare.

From the Empire’s perspective, the Adel Kingdom probably seems like they saw an opening and snatched up the Lugard Kingdom.

Which, to be fair, seems about right.

“Still, we’ve been offering enormous tributes ever since, so they'll probably come, condescendingly.”

“That’s good then.”

Whatever, as long as they come.

More than anything, if they can just determine whether or not that thing is a Gigant, the Adel Kingdom can decide how to handle the aftermath.

“There will be a way, so you don't have to worry too much.”

“I suppose so. I should have just continued with the lesson.”

Anyway.

Despite making a fuss after hearing Eric’s words, it's a relief that the Kingdom already knew about it.

“By the way, the Young Lady will be arriving soon.”

“Yes, it's about time she came.”

Was the last time she visited the weekend before last?

The Young Lady is also busy with her schedule at Magic School, so she can’t come every weekend.

“And before that, there will be a reward ceremony, so be aware.”

“Oh, right.”

There *was* a reward I was supposed to receive.

There's been no news since the investigation ended, but it seems like it's time to receive it.

“Can I get my hopes up?”

“By all means.”

In terms of merit in this investigation, I'd be among the top five, wouldn't I?

As such, I'm looking forward to what kind of reward will be given.