Chapter 66
The world of Silia, filled with adventure and romance.
People venture out with swords at their waists, confronting powerful monsters with dazzling magic cast from their staves.
There are Elves living in harmony with nature, and Dwarves hammering away at metal amidst the heat of a furnace.
A world truly like a picture-perfect fantasy.
However—
The world of Silia was not just filled with romance, as players might imagine.
Races that couldn’t help but fight each other whenever their eyes met.
The constant threat of monsters lurking around every corner.
The tyranny of wandering rogues who roamed with swords at their sides.
The history of the Ardina Continent was always steeped in blood and screams.
But, if you asked what caused the most loss of life, people of Silia would unanimously say:
The Race Wars that erupted twice.
The 1st Race War was shorter compared to the 2nd, but since every race was hostile to each other and fought, the damage was catastrophic.
On the other hand, the 2nd Race War was the opposite.
The only ones fighting were the Demonic Race and Humans.
The other races did support the humans, but the number of those who actively participated in the war was very few.
However, because it dragged on for more than fifty years, it claimed far more lives than the 1st Race War, where every race was involved.
No one has ever been able to directly tally the number of victims, so there’s no way of knowing the exact figure, but one thing is certain—it wasn’t a small number.
And, the causes of the two Race Wars were the same.
The Demonic Race.
The two tragedies began when they crossed over from Laxia to the Ardina Continent.
The war that raged for decades only ended when the Sedeth Kingdom intervened as a mediator and painstakingly found common ground.
At the conference arranged to bring an end to the war, someone from the Human side asked the Demonic Race:
“Why did you come to Ardina and cause such chaos?”
Their answer was simple.
“To survive.”
The Demonic Race crossed over from Laxia to Ardina to survive.
And the people of the Ardina Continent desperately fought back to survive.
The start of this terrible war that claimed countless lives and devastated countless people’s lives…
…was just that.
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After the Holy Kingdom, the next destination was Laxia, the homeland of the Demonic Race.
Thinking about it like that, it felt a bit strange.
“…Are you going there to lop off the Demon King’s head or something? Kana, are you actually a Hero?”
Perhaps Da-eun felt the same way as she murmured such nonsense.
“Of course not.”
There were people in Silia who were called Heroes.
Although it was just a suggestion to go to Laxia, the mention of chopping off the Demon King’s head seemed to imply that Da-eun had a very different image of what a Hero was supposed to be.
In any case, it was a title that definitely didn’t suit me.
“Why would I go kill someone who’s living quietly?”
“…Huh? But aren’t the Demonic Race supposed to be bad?”
“…Why?”
“Why, you ask…? Didn’t they start a war, kill people…? I heard they even control terrifying monsters?”
Da-eun folded her fingers one by one as she replied.
Putting aside everything else—
“I killed people too.”
“Ah… Well, that’s… because you had no choice during the war, right?”
“I killed even after that.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Da-eun surrendered in defeat against my continuous retorts.
Since it was all in jest, and I wasn’t offended, I accepted her surrender without further complaint.
…Well, it’s not like Da-eun’s image of the Demonic Race was particularly unusual or anything.
If you were to ask the people of Silia about the Demonic Race, nine out of ten would probably say something similar to what she just said.
Even though fifty years have passed since the end of the 2nd Race War, saying it’s been “just fifty years” is another way of saying it’s “only been fifty years.”
There were still people alive who had directly experienced the war, so there was no way that fear and hatred could disappear.
So, it’s like this:
Those who experienced the war harbor their own resentment toward the Demonic Race, and those who have never even seen them judge based solely on the stories they’ve heard.
Even the most accurate information gets exaggerated and distorted as it passes from one mouth to another, turning into baseless rumors.
Claims like, “They enjoy eating people,” or, “They’re aiming to conquer the world.”
And then, there are those who believe such rumors…
This kind of cycle repeats itself over and over again.
“…Was it all false?”
“…Hah.”
Like the person next to me right now.
Garid… my father was also one of those people who disliked the Demonic Race.
But he wasn’t someone who simply believed in rumors or held biases like most others did.
In fact, it was quite the opposite.
The reason he disliked the Demonic Race was simply because he lived through a time when it was impossible to like them.
Thanks to my father, I was able to gain proper knowledge of the Demonic Race.
And, I also learned why such rumors came to be.
“It’s complicated….”
Da-eun, who now felt as if everything she thought she knew had been shattered, wore a confused expression.
“So, were the Demonic Race actually good?”
“No. From the perspective of the people of the Ardina Continent, they are still the bad ones. Even if they had a reason, the fact remains that they invaded the continent.”
“A reason?”
She tilted her head.
“What was the reason?”
“To survive.”
I didn’t know the exact reason why the Demonic Race had to cross the ocean and invade the continent.
At least, not until I met and talked with Edel.
After hearing their side of the story from Edel, I could understand why they made that choice.
The beings of the Ardina Continent harness a mysterious power known as Mana.
In contrast, the Demonic Race wields a different power called Magi.
Because of that, their homeland was always filled with Magi, and without resistance to it, just being near them could pose a threat to one’s life.
To any being other than the Demonic Race, Magi was nothing less than poison.
This was the reason the people of Ardina desperately resisted their settlement.
If it was that bad just for them to stay there, imagine how saturated with Magi their homeland of Laxia must have been.
Ironically, it was the abundance of Magi that forced the Demonic Race to leave Laxia and cross over to the Ardina Continent.
“Huh? Isn’t having a lot of Magi a good thing? The Demonic Race use Magi, don’t they?”
“Mana….”
I almost said, “Even if it’s Mana, too much of it is lethal,” but I held my tongue.
There’s no way Da-eun, who’s from Earth, would understand if I explained it like that.
“…Humans need water to live.”
“Yeah.”
“But if there’s too much water, you can’t live.”
“…Ah, I get it now?”
Unable to survive in a place filled with excessive Magi, the Demonic Race left Laxia and settled on the Ardina Continent.
Although it’s not a perfect explanation, this much should be enough for her to grasp the gist of it.
After listening, Da-eun looked like she’d understood something and then seemed to delve into thought as if she were chewing on the idea.
“But… if the Demonic Race couldn’t endure it and had to flee, wouldn’t that mean that I definitely wouldn’t be able to endure it either, unlike you, Kana?”
“…Probably?”
“Then, I’ll just have to wait until you come back! Be careful, Kana. …N-no, I was just joking!”
“…Joking?”
“Y-yeah! It was a joke, so don’t make that face. You’re making me feel like trash…!”
“…That kind of joke isn’t funny at all.”
“I’m sorry….”
When I released my grip on Da-eun’s clothes, she muttered in an extremely gloomy tone.
“I’m trash… Non-recyclable trash….”
“Are you going to make jokes like that again?”
“I won’t! Never again…!”
“Alright, then that’s good.”
“Kanaaa…! What have I done to such a nice person like you…!”
Wham!
“…Sigh.”
Da-eun suddenly hugged me tightly.
I tried to shake my head, but her body blocked me, so I let out a sigh instead.
“I’ve already made preparations, so don’t worry.”
Even though the bodies of the Apostles are tougher compared to their abilities, Da-eun still won’t be able to withstand the Magi of the Demonic Continent.
According to Edel, the Magi at the heart of the Demonic Continent would be difficult for even me to endure.
It was at that moment, as Da-eun tilted her head at my words—
“Preparations?”
Knock, knock.
“May I come in?”
“Huh, Celine?”
A knock on the door, followed by Celine’s voice. Despite her confusion, Da-eun opened the door for her.
“Ah, good morning. Did both of you sleep well?”
“Thanks to you, yes. Did you sleep well too, Celine?”
“Hehe, yes.”
“But what brings you here? It’s not time for breakfast yet, is it?”
“Oh, you haven’t heard yet?”
“…No? Heard what….”
Da-eun tilted her head again.
“Lady Edel said that I should accompany both of you. Of course, if you don’t want me to, Joanie, there’s nothing I can do about it….”
Are you against it?
Celine’s voice became slightly gloomy as she spoke, and Da-eun hastily waved her hands.
“Ah, no! Not at all! It’s just a little sudden, that’s all….”
“Hehe, that’s a relief. I was worried you didn’t like me, Joanie.”
“There’s no way I’d dislike you, Celine.”
While conversing with Celine, Da-eun bent forward and whispered to me.
“Kana. Could it be… that ‘preparation’ you mentioned is….”
“Yeah, it’s Celine.”
“I see… Wait, hold on a second!”
Da-eun grabbed my shoulder with a light force, ensuring she didn’t hurt me, and asked.
“Celine said that Edel told her to accompany us, so… Kana, did you….”
She gulped.
“…Did you talk to Lady Edel?”
“Yes.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
“In the prayer room? Just the two of you?”
“Yes.”
Since it wasn’t something to hide, I answered honestly.
What matters is what we talked about.
Just in case, I had asked Edel, and she said there was no need to hide it.
On top of that, she even informed the higher-ups of the Church that she’d spoken with me and instructed them to accommodate me, unintentionally making me a prominent figure overnight.
A divine message that had come down after decades, instructing them to provide convenience—of course, it caused an uproar.
If she was going to say something like that, she should have done it from the moment we arrived at the Holy Kingdom.
If she had, I wouldn’t have had to pretend to be a nun.
‘Surely, she didn’t do it on purpose, right?’
Even though I thought it was unlikely, recalling Edel’s behavior made me doubt.
“Am I the weird one? Is it something you can just talk about so casually, like having a private conversation with a god?”
Da-eun murmured, seemingly half-dazed.
I waved my hand slightly, but her eyes remained half-unfocused.
It’s a surprising thing to say, but is it really something to be this shocked about?
If it were the people of Silia, I could understand why they’d be so taken aback.
To them, Edel is not just some vague figure they’re unsure of, but a living god and the mother of all creation.
But Da-eun, who’s from another world, wouldn’t feel Edel’s presence to the same extent as they do.
Despite thinking that way, I stayed silent and continued to observe Da-eun.
Honestly, watching her panic was pretty entertaining.
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