“Ah, it’s coming over there.”
As I pointed at the carriage approaching from afar, everyone followed my hand with their eyes, but they frowned and asked,
“Where?”
“Right, exactly.”
Sen and Eve mumbled about what I was saying, and May, who was next to me, crossed her arms with a subtle expression.
The only one nodding in response was Eris.
“It’s coming. It’s still a bit far though.”
“See, I told you it’s coming.”
“But can you see that, Daniel?”
“Hmm?”
At Eris’s question, I wondered what was strange, but then I saw the imprint of Artemis in her eyes.
Actually, there wasn’t really an Artemis; I had realized that the power was given by one of the three gods. But anyway.
“You managed to see it from a distance where I would need to use my authority to see it.”
“……”
I suddenly found myself at a loss for words. The enhancement of my physical abilities that came from gaining authority had just naturally seeped into me.
Sen, Eve, and May also turned to look at me, seeming perplexed.
I smiled and tried to brush it off, thinking it would be weird if I delayed things any longer.
“Don’t I get to grow too?”
“Does that mean you’re getting stronger from there?”
“That’s pretty harsh.”
“……”
Sen and Eve looked like they were fed up, but May was watching me with a strange gaze. Since May was quick-witted, she deliberately avoided eye contact and went to greet the carriage.
Tana, who popped her head out of the window, seemed to have noticed us.
“Waaah! We’re here!”
After the carriage arrived, I greeted Hayun, Tana, and the dwarf Volpete, whom I was seeing for the first time.
Due to the excitement of sending Shakallim to rescue the three of them, I had to endure listening to their chatter as they flailed about.
“Well, we ended up being the last ones.”
I took the dagger Hayun handed me.
The moment I accepted the dagger of the second seal, a heavy thought struck me that everything was really coming to an end.
*
“Why haven’t we started yet?”
I gave a wry smile at Ares’s question.
It had already been two weeks since Tana and Hayun returned. Although I felt that the preparations were almost finished, for some strange reason, time was dragging on.
And the reason was me, who had been moving the most energetically until now.
I was essentially the one coordinating all the races and leading the preparations for the end, and I was more informed about the progress than anyone else.
With the help of Lord Raizer, I received reports that the construction of the magic tower to stop the falling meteors with the help of the beastmen was already complete.
This was thanks to the dwarves, who had promised their cooperation under pressure from Elise and the Dragonkin. With their great skills, both the performance and construction time of the magic tower had greatly improved.
The Dragonkin were also helping us according to Shakallim’s intentions, and the elves were making their own preparations for Yggdrasil.
All races on the continent were working together to prevent a singular end, and only the finishing touches remained.
Yet, I still dismissed it, saying I needed more time.
“More than that, how’s your body? The sun god isn’t about to take over, is he?”
“Um… I’m fine.”
Was the fact that I wasn’t moving at all in such a situation a sign of confidence?
While I was pondering, Arni, who was sitting next to Ares, carefully raised her hand to ask.
“Do you have any idea when we might start?”
“Hmm, I don’t know for sure.”
Many people believed that once the tower to block the falling meteors was completed, everything would be fine.
“Just because the tower is completed doesn’t mean we’ll start right away. There’s more preparation needed.”
“Preparation? What else?”
The two were curious, but I couldn’t reveal any more, so I just smiled and brushed it off.
“Anyway, you all should make good use of the remaining time. Your noise made Rin move her room.”
The two blushed immediately.
Maybe they were scared of a possible separation, but the two were spending every day very precious.
As I left the room, I saw Kurika and Eris talking.
Kurika was always curled up in the same position, guarding the corridor, while Eris seemed to be explaining something while pointing at the staff she was holding.
“So, that Sharcarl was like this originally?”
“He was similar. But Sharcarl had strength. Unlike that staff, he wasn’t just all talk.”
–All talk? Me? Don’t you know what Yggdrasil is?
Recently, Eris had been quite troubled because of that staff. Whenever she had a moment, she’d chatter away, shouting until late at night to become the strongest.
Before I knew it, I hurried toward Eris with an impatient step.
“Let’s go.”
“Oh, is it already over?”
Eris, who had been waiting, quickly packed her staff and got ready to leave with me. As we passed by, Kurika looked like she had something to say, but she didn’t detain us.
We arrived at the knight training ground specially lent by the royal palace. For the past two weeks, Eris and I had been undergoing intense training here.
“Hmph, today I’ll definitely land a hit on Daniel!”
“Yeah, I’ll cheer for you.”
Eris warmed up by swinging her fists, one hand holding the staff and the other pulling out a sword.
During the week of training, she hadn’t even brushed against my clothes once, so she was in a pretty intense state right now.
“Hey.”
Just as we were about to duel, a girl with short chestnut hair, May Plov, called for me from outside the training ground.
With a serious expression, she gestured for me to come here, and Eris smiled and waved me off.
“What’s up? Did something happen?”
I nonchalantly asked, but as soon as May saw I was outside, she closed the door so Eris inside wouldn’t hear.
“Are you hiding something from me?”
“Hiding? What am I hiding?”
I shrugged and gave a slightly playful smile, but her expression showed no sign of softening. If anything, it got even more serious.
“Seeing you act like this means it’s really serious, huh? What is it? Just tell me already.”
May crossed her arms.
Today, unlike usual, she wasn’t even sucking on candy.
“I’m really not hiding anything.”
I felt a twinge in my chest around the area marked with a symbol. Is that why I ended up speaking more sharply than usual to her?
“Are you some kind of detective? You’re not a mind reader or anything, so what’s up? Just chill.”
“……”
As if shocked, May’s expression turned to one of fear as she grabbed my shoulder and pushed.
“You, you… what’s wrong?”
“What’s the deal?”
“You really think you’re good at lying, huh? Damn it! What are you hiding?”
“……”
I was left flustered by May’s sudden reaction. I didn’t expect to be caught this easily.
“I’m not hiding anything.”
“I…!”
May seemed about to spill out her frustration but couldn’t manage to hold up the fist she had raised in her anger. Instead, she swept her hand over her forehead, wiping away tears naturally.
“Look, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but let me make this clear.”
Feeling the emotions in May’s glaring eyes, I found myself unable to respond.
“Damn it, don’t think weird thoughts. Don’t you dare mention sacrifice or anything about handling this alone.”
“……”
“No matter what you’re thinking, I’ll stop you.”
With that, May turned sharply and left. Seeing her little fist clenched tightly revealed her belief in me, which warmed my heart a little, while I felt the weight of my burdens lighten.
“……”
Looking at her back, I felt sorry.
“You won’t be able to stop me.”
I returned to the training ground.
Did Eris hear May’s voice? She had a worried expression too.
“Daniel, what on earth is going on?”
“Hm? It’s nothing much.”
“It doesn’t look like it at all. Actually, you haven’t looked good since last time.”
At those words, I touched my cheek. Am I really that transparent in my expression and demeanor?
“Isn’t it just the same as usual?”
“It seems that way to you.”
Eris smiled as if consoling me.
“Everyone is watching Daniel closely.”
“……That’s a bit burdensome. Let’s just start training.”
“Okay, got it.”
Eris resumed her stance.
I slowly drew my sword, just before the duel was about to start. Eris spoke again.
“If I get a hit on Daniel today, can you tell me what you’re hiding?”
“……If it’s you.”
I nodded slightly, and Eris beamed a bright smile as she snorted.
“Ha! Today, I’m really going to make it happen!”
With Eris’s strong determination, the duel began.
Suddenly, Eris’s body stood still, as time had stopped.
-“Hey, are we starting today too?”
Eris’s staff began to chatter again as if it had been waiting for this moment.
After two weeks of continuous training, Eris was unaware of the time stopped, but we had shared a significant amount of time together.
“……”
-“Really, this is almost bullying, isn’t it?”
“Just shut up and work hard.”
-“What difference does it make if I work hard?”
“It makes a difference, so do it.”
-“Tch.”
The staff pouted, trying to resonate with Eris, but she remained unmoving.
To her statue-like form, I whispered my selfish wish.
‘You have to save everyone from me.’
In a situation where the sound of gods mocking me echoed in my ears with any answer concerning the future of the continent seeming incorrect, the answer I chose was Eris.
