Chapter 610 – Consequences and Causes

000

I didn’t hate being given the name Nachal.

When she came to her senses, she was thrown into the battlefield with a sword shining black.

There, he would do anything to survive, hiding among dead bodies.

Or give comfort to the dying, crying out in pain from the loss of a leg, and get something in return.

There were soldiers who crawled away in fear, so they told the enemy who was looking for them their location and received dirt-stained food.

Yes, I have heard the soldiers who saw me at that time, with only my stomach sticking out due to malnutrition, with a stench rising from my whole body, so thin, I heard them call me ‘a devil’s bastard.’

I couldn’t learn how to write or speak from anyone, but I was able to understand the meaning of the word with certainty.

Whatever it was called, I didn’t care.

At least, anything was good as long as I could somehow survive that day. About one’s own identity.

001

When Artis started operating the machine with busy hands, the images on the screen began to change rapidly to match.

To be precise, it would have been to turn back time or skip, but watching the scene change so frantically made me dizzy.

“If you look at the feeling of looking through it, it seems that Gaios was a collaborator of the shrine maidens. That part also matches the information Cleon talked about.”

The story is that Gaios, together with the shrine maidens, regularly purifies the organs accumulated in this land, driving out unclean things and bringing peace and prosperity to this land.

It was a story that started with a hint from Pamela, but now that it has been revealed that it is true, there is still a problem.

“But why did she give this information… Pamela didn’t lose her memory?”

When Cleon spoke like that, Artis said ‘yes’ and shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t know.

All memories related to Gaios have disappeared, not only from the others, but even from records.

Then, of course, it was normal that Pamela’s memories of her should also be gone, but her memories related to Gaios did not disappear and remained distinct from her.

“Tell me, Dr. Layla.”

Lyla, who was looking at her group with her arms folded, she had an expression like ‘I know the answer’ and she had a look in her eyes expecting her story to come back to her.

With Artis on his chin, he passes the baton to Lila as if to satisfy that expectation.

“Huh, what. Then I will answer you. It’s simpler than you think. Wasn’t she sealed away for hundreds of years? That too, in a place that can be called her own estate.”

“Come to think of it, it was. I’ve heard that her body grew because there was a gap in the seal. Her mind is the same as when she was a child…”

When Cleon says that, Layla says her pod, raising her finger and pointing at Cleon.

“Thanks to that seal, when Gaios performed record-changing magic, he was not affected. It is thanks to the operation of the double barrier, the powerful sealing technique of the vampire, in a place where it can block the invasion of the external magical power called ‘territory’.”

“Then, if there are more such beings in the Eastern countries, maybe others will also remember Gaios?”

“In theory? Even dragon magic is not omnipotent. Although, of course, it boasts an absurd scale. You would have remembered Gaios if you were inside the powerful anti-magic barrier, composed of two or three layers.”

There, Cleon recalls the story Luti told him earlier.

The dragons of the five elements, including the earth dragon Gaios, led Lesia’s party by secretly hiding their identities when Lutios was captured by the imperial army.

That means, Shun, at least 30 years ago, Gaios had not yet disappeared from this land.

It was said that Gaios disappeared after the Great War with the Empire was over.

“If it wasn’t that long ago, perhaps, there might be someone who satisfies those conditions. If you look for one person—”

“In theory, that is. But it won’t be that easy. Compared to the kingdom of magic research, the phylogeny and system of Eastern countries are much different. If the kingdom’s magic is an ‘orthodox school’ that has been handed down for a long time, then the magic of the East is an ‘independent school’ that branched out into a new branch long before magic. It’s the magic of dragons, needless to say, it’s the orthodox of the orthodox.”

“In other words, it would have been difficult to block Gaius’ magic with the barrier created by the magic of the East. Unlike Pamela, who was a vampire.”

When Cleon, who listened to Laila’s words and came up with an answer, nodded her head while saying that, Laila shrugged her shoulders.

“That’s right. The fact that Pamela remembered things about Gaios was, in fact, created by the coincidence of several factors. Should it be called causation or inevitability? It’s a thankful thing for us, but it’s creepy to think that if there was a slight deviation, we wouldn’t be able to recall the facts about Gaios, and it might have become the five elements overflowing with organs under the land of the Orient.”

“…”

Cleon pauses at Lila’s words, then he looks at the fast-paced screen.

“That, though. Three, everything in the world worked somehow.”

At that time, when Kanon speaks as if she was answering her words, her party’s eyes turn to her.

Then, Kanon, who couldn’t stand the eyes of many people pouring on him, shrank and apologized a little, saying, ‘Sorry, I’m sorry for talking too presumptuously…’.

“No, no, there is no need to apologize. It’s just that it’s amazing that such positive words came out of Kanon’s mouth.”

When Lyla tells Kanon not to be intimidated and gives her words of encouragement, Kanon raises her head to see her.

“Huh, you may not know… In fact, this continent and the world, there are moments when it almost perishes many times… Ah, I, about Rakshasa, is one of those stories…”

“Apocalypse or something like that?”

When Artis looks at her intrigued by Kanon’s sudden story, Kanon shakes her head.

“Should I really say that I almost ruined it? For example, when the king of the East was an unprecedented tyrant, he suddenly ordered the slaughter of the shrine maidens and priests, saying that he would use the divine tree as a weapon… At that time, the person who cut off the king’s order in the middle If it hadn’t been for that, the divine tree might have transformed into a tree with willpower like the World Tree – oh, and even that would have covered the entire continent…”

Cleon and Layla couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat when they heard the story of the past, which was so large-scale yet dangerous.

“You mean something like that happened?”

“Yeah… About 700 years ago… Oh, and. One day, there was a person who tried to unseal the 108 Demon King-class monsters that were prophesied to bring about the darkness of the continent… Before chasing the traces of the last seal, there was a person who died of acute alcohol poisoning while drinking alcohol… “

“What is that story interesting! 108 demon lord level monsters!? Was there a legend like that in the Touhou country!?”

“Ah, yes… It’s a minor story, so now it’s hardly a legend…”

“Hey, don’t get excited in strange places.”

Minor myths and legends seemed to tickle the archaeologist’s mind, and when Artis raised her voice with a hint of excitement, Lyla restrained her.

“Well, so what kind of story were you trying to talk about… Three, the world is surprisingly maintained in a very precarious balance… Four, actually, it wouldn’t have been strange if it perished at any time, but the solution to that was… Should I say come out…”

“Ah~ Is that how it should be in the end?”

“It’s to the extent that there is a system called the adversary. Well, even if that’s the result, I should be thankful that I’m still alive like this. If you think about it that way, the fact that Pamela remembered things about Gaios is one of those solutions.”

After the two scholars who had listened to the canon had come to their own conclusions, Fleur was silent while listening to the stories of the three.

If so – when his grandfather cooperated with his regressors, committing evil using ancient artifacts.

It might be something similar that Kshat, who gave her the courage to stop his grandfather, came to her side.

“… Well, whatever. We must find more traces of where Gaios might be now. If possible, also about the reason why Rakshasa tried to burn the divine tree.”

When Artis nodded at Cleon’s words, she said that there was a video she had just found and operated the button on the machine placed in front of her.

002

“Eek!? Gaios-sama isn’t human!?”

“Are you surprised by that now…? We’ve known each other for over two years…”

At a banquet someday, Nayuta, Gaios, and three well-dressed Rakshaks were drinking with a table in the middle.

At the point where Nayuta told Gaios that the true identity of Gaius was a dragon, Rakshasa was so surprised that she almost dropped the cup she was holding in her hand.

“Look. Really didn’t know Because he is insensitive in strange places. There’s no way an ordinary person could have such ‘horns’.”

When Nayuta pointed her finger at Gaios’s horn, Rakshasa closed her mouth for a moment before scratching her head.

“Is that so? I am also a special ‘ghost’ who does not lose his ego…”

“The only thing we have in common is horns, but the dragon came to that conclusion…”

Gaius sighed and shook her head as if she was dumbfounded. In response, Raksha shrugged her shoulders.

“Gaios is an elemental dragon that is in charge of the elements of the earth, but now he is purifying the spirit veins by making a contract with us, the temple of the Eastern country. Every year, there are some organs that flow out little by little, and thanks to the power of the Elemental Cross, which flows through the earth, it is good to be healthy, but an imbalance of elements also occurs. If you have the power of Gaios, the dragon of the earth, you can solve them all at once.”

“At first… I started to monitor and help because I was concerned that the power of the divine tree might one day have an adverse effect on the world, and that the balance would collapse. At some point, I was even invited to her drinking party.”

At Gaios’ words, Rakshaal said, “Hey,” And did not expect Gaios to have had such a situation.

“Then, Gaios-sama’s appearance is also not his real appearance?”

“Okay-“

“That’s right! The original form of Gaios was a gigantic lizard the size of a mansion! It has horns and wings on it, so if you look at it from below, it looks like some kind of mountain is flying!”

When Nayuta raised her voice and flirted with her about the question Gaius asked, the culprit shook her head as she let out a sigh.

“I see… That’s amazing~ to be able to change into something like that.”

“To be precise, it’s changed to this side. The human body is uncomfortable. For you guys, it’s the feeling of walking around in a handstand with a tight belt and high-heeled shoes in your hands.”

Gaius, who naturally comes to mind and always has a slightly cool impression, tightens his belt and turns it into an ant’s waist, and then walks around while standing on his hands.

Glancing at such rachis, Gaios quietly continued his story.

“Originally, we dragons have an oath not to interfere with you mortals any more than necessary. What I can do with you like this is, to some extent, a loophole in the oath – that I can use my power as long as it works for the balance of the world. And thanks to the self-swearing that I won’t use more power than necessary.”

“I say so, but it tells me quite a lot, right? For example, about a mine with ore needed to make a sacrificial ball.”

“Mine?”

When the rare words came out of Nayuta, her chief priestess, Rakshasa looked at her with her eyebrows slightly twitching.

“…Nayuta. Don’t say things like that.”

Gaios talks to Nayuta as if she’s wary of her, but Nayuta answers her while laughing at her.

“It’s okay. Rachael is now a member of our family, and he is also my escort warrior! Right?”

“…”

Nayuta’s attitude made Gaios slightly dislike her, but Raksha thought that in such a situation, if she spoke her words, she would only irritate Gaios more. Was just keeping his mouth shut.

“The sword that Raksha is using right now, not a demonic sword – a sword used to slash demons. The bells I use, and the weapons used by the royal families of the Eastern countries, are items made with special ores from the mines that Gaios told me about long ago.”

“Uh… It wasn’t just black iron.”

Raksha shook her head as if she didn’t know, and Nayuta took out something like a coin from her own pocket as she nodded her head loudly.

“Adamantite. There is a workshop called Amryongdang, which is a group of miners and artisans selected by Gaios himself. Only those who belong there can mine and process it.”

“Amryongdang knows it. I often leave my weapons there for maintenance.”

When Rakshasa responds to Nayuta’s words, Gaius talks to Rakshala.

“The thing about adamantite is that very, very few humans really know. Adamantite is… Not just a metal. It is a metal that contains the power to contain people’s hearts. If it falls into the hands of the wicked and is processed into a weapon, a great disaster will happen. Therefore-“

“…Don’t tell anyone. You mean? I know.”

As for Gaios’s request, Raksha nodded as if he would understand the meaning of the words even if he only listened to the middle.

Sensing something, a strange tension flowing between the two, Nayuta suddenly came to her senses and raised her glass.

“Ah… Ahaha~ Then, shall we drink again? We talked too much about work, didn’t we?”

“You drink in moderation…Although the alcohol isn’t that strong.”

Just like that, in the disorganized conversations of the people, the time for the fun banquet just flowed by.

003

After the banquet was over, Raksha, who had been completely stretched out as he had thought, but helped Nayuta back to the room, went outside to get some fresh air in order to sober up.

The moon that rose high in the sky hadn’t changed at all from when he saw it as a child, but the feelings he felt when he saw it were quite different.

The moon of the past – a hateful existence that brings coldness and pours out dazzling light as if trying to find oneself hiding in the dark.

However, now she was the guardian of the night, illuminating the land from the sky of Asteris, becoming a light that people could rely on even in the dark night, and erasing the shadows.

On the other hand, however, the raksal always questioned whether he could live peacefully while relating to people in this way.

After all, until he met Nayuta, he was like a crow that ate her corpse.

“…Whoa.”

Feeling a bit chilly, I have to start early tomorrow too, so I’m going to go back to my room soon.

With that thought in mind, the moment she tried to turn her body-

“You look pretty bloody. ‘Rachal’.”

If you think of a voice calling out to you from a dark alley where the moonlight can’t shine.

Rakzal felt the illusion that his body stiffened as the blood in his whole body froze.

I can feel the presence of people with the sound of footsteps.

Turning her head toward it, there stood a man clad in bloody rags, crawling out of the darkness.

With the mask covering his nose and bottom, he gazed at Raksha with his dark black eyes-

Her black hair, darker than her eyes, swayed in the night wind.

At the back of his waist, an old, messed up sword that looked like it hadn’t been maintained at all.

The terrible stench felt was a mixture of filth and blood.

“Are you used to life in the city?”

If that man says so, and pulls down the mask-

The skin and flesh of one cheek were ripped off in chunks, revealing the inner teeth and gums grinning.

And- if that pale skin hadn’t been ripped off.

It must have been the same face as the Raksha who was talking to him.

That would be too.

“… Brother.”

In other words, he, too, is the ‘dark horse clan’.

Those two were twin brothers.

“Oops, don’t call me that here.”

The man who was called older brother answered the call of the Rakshasa with a grin, then put the mask back on.

“I don’t want it to be known that the head of the band of bandits from the East, who is being pursued in the palace, is the escort of the priestess and her brother. Yes? Rakshasa.”

“…”

Rakshasa clenched his fists.

It was because the light of the moon shining on them began to feel cold and scary again.