Kim Woojin of House U [宇] and True Jin [眞].
I told the Giant my true name. It was a cadence I had not uttered in a very long time.
—······.
The Giant smiled. He looked down at me in silence. His stillness was not threatening.
Rather, it was warm.
—O, human. This place is neither prison nor cradle, but a graveyard.
The Giant answered first the question I had not asked, yet which had been swirling in my mind.
—A graveyard prepared for me.
Sometime in the past, I had read the Giant’s profile.
A race that had traversed the continent and crossed the oceans, beholding the ends of this vast world with their own eyes. A non-human Sage (賢者) who knows all and discerns all.
Therefore, to the Giant, a human is little different from an ant to a human.
And yet, the reason he does not trample me to death is thanks to the Giant’s wise and benevolent heart.
—O, human...... Seeing you, I know there is still a world I do not know.
“······Is that so?”
—It is.
The Giant spoke. His voice shook my soul fiercely.
—This is my fault for failing to hide the graveyard properly.
“······.”
—The passage leading outside is here. I can open it at any time, but even if I do, you will not try to leave alone.
There was no need to force words in the question and answer with the Giant. The Giant read my heart entirely and gave me the answer befitting it.
However, I plucked a rather awkward word from the Giant’s speech.
“If it is a fault, do you mean it is not a mistake?”
—······.
The Giant smiled once more.
—That is correct. I anticipated that such a meeting would come to pass someday. When one lives for thousands, tens of thousands of years, it is only a matter of time.
“······Fascinating.”
The Giant’s wisdom transcends humanity.
Then, did he foresee the existence of ‘me’? Did he also understand me?
Me, who was incorporated into the game’s worldview from a world called Earth.
—It is too early to seek the answer. A human’s challenge crumbles the moment it reaches its end. Just as we Giants crumbled before time greater than us......
It was a message to find the answer myself.
I nodded. It was nothing new.
For I had always done so since becoming Deculein.
—The height of this cliff is tens of thousands. The convection shifts constantly. As it is the end of the world I created, it will be difficult for a human to endure.
I did not care in the slightest for the Giant’s warning. I simply drove my neck steel into the ice wall.
Kwajik—!
I made a handhold that I could grip and climb.
I turned to look back at the Giant.
“I shall return with my companions.”
—······.
The Giant smiled faintly and closed his eyes.
* * *
Meanwhile, Gindalpeu guided Ipeurin to some winged object. It was a small airship.
“Get on.”
“······Here?”
“Indeed. The back seat.”
At Gindalpeu’s words, Ipeurin hesitantly sat in the back seat.
“For some reason, I’m anxious......”
The moment she placed the helmet on her head, it started with a vroom~.
“Wait, ugh!”
The airship flew, piercing through the floating island’s orbit.
Her mouth trembled from the tremendous air pressure.
“Buaaaa— Baaaa—”
“Keh, keh, keh. How is it?”
“Brurarara—”
“Is it not exhilarating?”
“Buaaaa—”
The place they arrived at after flying in that manner was one of the islands surrounding the floating island.
It was 「The Tavern」.
“There! We have arrived. Was it not fun? Keh, keh, keh, keh.”
“······It was totally no fun, okay?”
“Hm, ‘no fun’? What does that mean? Anyway, the younger generation uses such strange words these days.”
“It means it wasn’t fun...... Ah, my mouth hurts.”
Ipeurin rubbed her swollen lips and shook her head. Gindalpeu opened the tavern door.
Ding-a-ling—
With the sound of the bell, Gindalpeu went inside. Ipeurin looked around the surroundings outside for a moment.
“······Wow.”
A parking lot where several dozens of small airships could take off. Beyond that was not a cliff, but empty air. A perfect abyss with no end in sight.
“Hurry inside. It is dangerous if the wind blows.”
“Okay, yes!”
At Gindalpeu’s call, Ipeurin entered the tavern.
Compared to the extraordinary exterior, the interior was surprisingly quiet and ordinary. First, there were many tables, and the menu was full of appetizing-sounding dishes.
“Ipeurin. Over here.”
Gindalpeu, already seated at a table, raised his hand. Beside him, a pink-haired woman winked with a grin.
“You’re here.”
“······Magician Rojerio?”
Ipeurin opened her eyes wide. Etere Rojerio picked her teeth with a toothpick and rustled a magic thesis.
“Indeed. It has been a while. Sit.”
“Y-yes.”
Ipeurin sat beside Gindalpeu. And she looked at the thesis Rojerio was gripping.
“Ah, this?”
Rojerio noticed that gaze and shrugged her shoulders.
“It’s all the rage on the floating islands these days. Nowadays, how many pages one has progressed is something you’d think they’d pin a badge to your chest for, right? If you don’t know, you can’t join the conversation.”
“······I see.”
“So I’m giving it a shot too~ but like, what’s the word, it’s rather useless to me, shall we say?”
“Haha······.”
Ipeurin smiled bitterly and nodded. Indeed, it would be a thesis entirely unsuited for Rojerio, who specialized in 「Alchemy」.
“Keh, keh. But they say this friend here has already understood up to page 130?”
Gindalpeu said loudly, as if intending to be heard.
For a moment, the air in the tavern froze. Everyone glanced this way.
Ipeurin flustered, but the atmosphere soon loosened as if nothing had happened.
Presumably, they had dismissed it as nothing more than absurd nonsense.
Rojerio narrowed her eyes and asked.
“······Is that true?”
“Y-yes······ I received it a while ago, so—”
“Even if you received it beforehand, it is not something one can understand up to page 130. From page 30 onward, understanding each individual page is being treated as a small achievement.”
In the underground of the floating islands, among the addicts, a thesis-climbing relay was in full swing, and it was even seen as an opportunity for a ‘reversal of rank.’
If it were true that a mere Solda had understood 130 pages—
“Keh, keh. Let’s set that story aside for now. Now then, Ipeurin. This tavern is a bit special. Look around you.”
Gindalpeu, cutting off the conversation, pointed somewhere. Ipeurin’s eyes followed his finger.
“Tho~se are Kalla and Jakal.”
“!”
Ipeurin’s mouth fell slack.
Kalla and Jakal, whom she had seen on the Isle of Spirits. Jakal was yawning with some twig in his mouth, and Kalla was stirring sugar into a latte.
“Over there is Jukaken of the Yuksadu.”
Jukaken, one of the leaders of the Yuksadu.
That long-haired handsome man was chatting with male mages.
For some reason, every single one of his group was a handsome man with delicate features.
“And there······ keh, keh. Even in a tavern, that fellow has been allowed entry.”
“Who is it?”
Ipeurin looked that way. Rojerio snickered and sipped her coffee.
“They call him Gerek. A person of interest.”
Gerek. A very handsome man was displaying bizarre behavior, muttering ‘My brother is— My father is—’, and beside him was an unknown old woman.
“And behind them is Ihelm too.”
Rojerio pointed to a corner of the tavern with her thumb. Ipeurin quickly looked that way.
—······So I am saying, analysis of this part is necessary. The floating island bastards may not know, but we must not lose to the Magic Tower bastards of the secular world.
Ihelm, who had slicked-back hair, was studying the thesis with his disciples in the shadiest seat.
He probably didn’t want to be caught researching Deculein’s thesis himself.
—Gather all of you under you and leave the grunt-work calculations to them.
—Yes. I will contact them at once.
Gindalpeu said, stroking his beard.
“Keh, keh. How is it, is it not fascinating? In this tavern of the floating islands, anyone who is a ‘mage’ may enter. Even the mages of ‘Hwasan,’ who have not received official approval from the Magic Tower.”
Hwasan. The official name for the Ashen Remnants. Ipeurin’s face tensed up for a moment.
“Especially Geullipeo and Helgeon. Memorize the faces of those two. They are lunatics through and through.”
Where Gindalpeu pointed were two men who looked vicious at a glance, covered in tattoos and scars.
“Yes. I will. But Elder, why did you bring me here······”
“Hm. Can you not feel the tremendous pressure of this tavern? Does the aura those individuals emit each not touch your skin?”
“······Excuse me? Ah, yes. That’s right. It is a bit hard to breathe.”
Ipeurin nodded. So that was why her chest had felt tight since earlier.
Gindalpeu continued.
“To stand against that man, that is, Dikailren, you will need training to strengthen your mental fortitude. For that, you must face strong individuals directly—”
Jingle—
Just then, the bell rang.
The iron rule of the tavern was that guests do not look at entering guests, but Ipeurin, not knowing this fact, inadvertently glanced that way.
“Ah!”
And then, without realizing it, she sprang to her feet. All eyes inside the tavern focused on her.
Ipeurin smiled brightly at the one she met after so long.
“Silbia!”
Silbia.
She was dressed in a robe embroidered with pure gold thread on a black background. It was the attire signifying the ‘Monarch’ rank.
“······.”
Silbia, who had been thinking of grabbing a meal with Ideunik, now found herself face to face with Ipeurin out of nowhere, and glared at her with slightly dumbfounded eyes.
“······Stupid Ipeurin. You shouldn’t act like you know someone here—”
“Here. Sit here!”
Ipeurin smiled brightly and pointed at her table.
Naturally, Silbia tried to ignore her.
“Hmph.”
“Oh, great!”
Ideunik grabbed her arm and pulled.
“What’s great about it.”
“Let’s go. While we’re at it, I’ll meet your friend too.”
“She’s not my friend.”
Silbia was practically forced to sit at Ipeurin’s table.
Ipeurin smiled broadly and pointed at the bundle of papers in her hand.
“Is that Professor Deculein’s thesis too?”
Silbia’s teeth clicked—she bit down hard. She shook her head coldly.
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s none of your business.”
Then Ideunik answered in her stead.
“It’s a novel.”
“Ah.”
Ziiing— Ideunik lightly ignored Silbia’s resentful gaze and added.
“This girl is writing a novel ‘herself’.”
“······Why did you say that.”
“We’ll all see it when it’s published anyway, so why not?”
“Ugh. Ideunik, why are you like this.”
Ideunik simply let Silbia’s irritation go in one ear and out the other, and Ipeurin was not someone who would let such fascinating news pass by.
“You’re writing a novel?! I want to read it too! Let me see!”
The corners of her mouth reached her ears as she held out both hands.
* * *
······Another week passed.
Sopien concluded that there was no meaning in waiting any longer.
“I cannot tolerate this.”
But Keiron could not. He could not accept Sopien’s decision.
“Hmph. How dare a mere knight like you say such a thing to me, your Emperor.”
The corners of Sopien’s mouth, who was staring at him, twisted. Even so, Keiron did not waver.
“I am deeply sorry, but this is precisely my duty. No matter what happens, protecting Your Majesty—”
Sopien uttered an incantation. In that instant, Keiron’s body slipped. However, he immediately got back up and gripped his sword.
At the very least, he was determined not to have this taken away.
“Keiron. It is a mistake to think you can stop me by merely taking away that bit of metal. I am one who has seen death by smashing a head against a rock.”
“······.”
“Why lose your temper? We shall meet again anyway.”
Keiron refused his liege’s order and stood as still as a statue. No, he transformed into a statue itself.
A statue made of a powerful protective aura, nearly impossible to destroy.
“······You frustrating fool. I too have racked my brain. Even if I do not commit suicide, there is no way out of here. Starving to death and killing oneself are one and the same.”
Keiron did not react. Ugh— Sopien sighed in exasperation, when suddenly, a rather ingenious thought came to her.
Would this even work, despite being an incantation?
She grew somewhat curious.
“······תעשה חרב”
The phenomenon caused by a mere single syllable.
Mana welled up from her voice, the mana seeped into snow powder, the snow powder condensed sharply, and it was forged into a blade edge purer than steel.
It was a sword of snow.
“No!”
Greatly startled, Kairon quickly came to his senses and lunged to snatch Sophien’s sword away. Sophien made him slip with another single word of command.
“Cease your stubbornness. It is over now. Let us meet again, Kairon.”
Just as she was about to draw the blade across her wrist.
“……You have learned very well.”
A voice rose from somewhere. Sophien and Kairon, both startled, looked around the area.
There was no one.
Nowhere to the east, west, north, or south—in any direction.
“As expected of Your Majesty.”
At the continued praise, they looked up at the sky.
There was nothing there either. Only a maddeningly clear and dazzling blue expanse.
“……”
Then.
If it was not left or right, and not above, there was only one place left.
Sophien, without thinking, looked down into the crevasse.
“Ha.”
A hollow laugh escaped her, one that came from the heart.
It was Deculein.
From the seemingly bottomless depths of the crevasse, he had somehow climbed back up to the surface, using Wood Steel like supports.
“……”
Kairon quietly let out a sigh of relief. Sophien asked with a faint snicker.
“……You truly make people wait. Even so, if there is no way to escape, then suicide remains the only option. What did you discover down there?”
Deculein first straightened his clothes. He thawed his entire frozen body. No—rather, it thawed naturally.
It was thanks to his Iron Man physique.
“I have discovered a way to leave this snow globe. However……”
Deculein examined Sophien’s physical condition with 「Naked Eye」. The key was how much cold Sophien would be able to withstand.
“It will be very cold.”
“Could it be worse than death? If it is too cold, I need only die.”
“No. I will not allow Your Majesty to die.”
Deculein took a Snowflake Stone from his breast. Though it was only a very small fragment, after granting it the authority of 「Iron Man」, he spread it thinly and attached it to Sophien.
With this, Sophien would be safe to some extent.
However……
“Kairon.”
Deculein looked back at Kairon.
Would he be able to endure it? A merciless cold lurked beneath this ground.
Even if he was counted among the greatest knights on the continent, without the aid of a trait—
“I have no fear.”
Kairon spoke resolutely.
“……Yes.”
Deculein looked at him and nodded. Kairon did the same. Sophien looked at the two men facing one another as if she found them absurd.
Before long, Deculein spoke first.
“……Let us go at once.”
“Are you certain you need not rest a little?”
“Even if we rest, without food, it will make no difference.”
The moment Sophien agreed, her body moved on its own.
The Snowflake Stone had stuck Sophien to Deculein’s back.
“……Explain.”
It was a truly strange and unexpected situation. Now attached to Deculein’s back, Sophien asked calmly.
She simply wanted an explanation. She was not flustered in the slightest.
Deculein answered thus.
“You must be as close to my body as possible, or you will be cold.”
“I am not cold even now. That is not a reason.”
“……You will understand once we go.”
“What does that—”
“Please trust Professor Deculein.”
Kairon chimed in. Yet, strangely, the man looked as though he were holding back laughter.
“These are the words of a professor who climbed up from that bottom.”
“……Very well.”
Sophien frowned rather discontentedly, but soon accepted it.
“Yes. We are going.”
And so, Deculein descended underground with the sovereign on his back.