GRP Chapter 13

Mariaeks recalled Samthyeon's question. How are you feeling? She unconsciously rubbed the back of her neck. Why does this hurt? Like I got hit. She'd definitely been watching the morning sun when her memory cut off—what happened?

"I'm glad you're alright."

Samthyeon skillfully heard and answered words Mariaeks never said on his own. While Mariaeks wondered about this, Samthyeon continued speaking.

"First, before explaining the fortress's position, there's something I'd like to ask Lady Mariaeks. Did you ever express intent to visit our fortress or make an appointment in advance?"

Express intent to visit? Make an appointment? Was that how it worked? Mariaeks was engulfed in confusion as all her effort and mental anguish—trembling from cold, climbing the outer wall through the pain of limbs falling off—was completely negated.

"Did you?"

Samthyeon asked again. Mariaeks barely opened her throat, cracking with tension, to speak.

"No."

"I see. Then may we regard Lady Mariaeks's actions—trespassing into the castle without permission, threatening Lord Garthe, commander of this fortress and Anir of Olgidphaenn, with a terrible dagger, and not only threatening to kill him but actually attempting to murder him by stabbing his heart—not as conflict arising from simple miscommunication and delivery blunders, but as threats and hostile acts?"

Mariaeks froze with that blank expression. Threats, murder attempt, miscommunication, delivery blunders conflict, threats, and hostile acts? A parade of words she knew but encountered for the first time made her head dizzy.

'Wait, stabbing the heart was...'

Wasn't it that man who claimed to be threatened? The hand holding the dagger was certainly Mariaeks's, but that action was essentially Garthe's self-harm if you thought about it.

"No, that..."

She tried to protest to lessen even slightly the weight of guilt she felt so heavily, but Samthyeon gave no opening.

"You might think, 'it's just one human life,' but it's not 'just one human.' The Anir's health affects hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of humans living under his protection. For us, this is a very serious incident. So I'd like a clear answer. What brings you to visit our fortress?"

From earlier, Samthyeon kept saying hostile acts and serious incident, yet showed no signs of agitation whatsoever. He simply spoke calmly with a face that looked somewhat irritable and very tired. A businesslike attitude of just confirming facts. Mariaeks felt intimidated. A different kind of discomfort from facing an angry opponent.

"I know you've captured spirits."

"We haven't touched a hair on the spirits' heads, so please be at ease."

Even while answering, Samthyeon stimulated Mariaeks's guilt.

"They're children I cherish. Give them back."

"That's impossible."

Samthyeon answered quickly as if he'd been waiting.

"The two spirits periodically stole property from humans here. You may not know this, Lady Mariaeks, but food to eat through winter holds value that can't be simply converted to money. It's the weight of lives."

Mariaeks sighed inwardly. To her question about where they obtained ingredients, they'd answered, "Insignificant human wretches voluntarily offer tribute at altars, worshipping Master's beauty and greatness." But though Mariaeks had wandered around the base of the mountain, near the boundary, searching for Ulli and Baen, she'd never found the altar they described. They'd said it was made of gold and marble, the size of a frost giant's fist—if it existed, it would be hard to miss. So the altar didn't actually exist, and naturally there were no offerings either.

Recalling the warm meals that came up faithfully every morning, Mariaeks realized Samthyeon's words were true. But she couldn't blame the spirits for why they did such things. She knew all too well it was for her sake.

"Do you know why the spirits stole human food? Perhaps Lady Mariaeks ordered it?"

Mariaeks hesitated. Needing to eat food regularly meant she couldn't fully maintain her body with divine power alone. Not even the weakest gods of Heimdrykze, not even newborn spirits fell into that category. Even among demigods with human blood, some lived on breath alone. A flawed body that absolutely required food consumption was Mariaeks's long-standing shame.

But Mariaeks couldn't speak the truth just because she didn't want her secret weakness exposed. Seeing beings weaker than oneself made you want to crush them—that was living creatures' instinct. Mariaeks thought Samthyeon was treating her with some respect despite being an intruder because he regarded her as a "god of Heimdrykze."

If it was revealed that Ulli and Baen stole ingredients out of necessity, exposing her incompleteness, they would certainly change their attitude, Mariaeks was convinced. She could roughly guess what that changed attitude would be like. Usually such changes followed similar patterns.

Mariaeks kept her mouth firmly shut without answering. Watching her, Samthyeon continued the conversation as if that earlier question didn't exist.

"This is human land, not god's land, Lady Mariaeks. Olgidphaenn has Olgidphaenn's own laws. By the judgment of Hero Lord Garthe, Anir of Olgidphaenn..."

Samthyeon's gaze left Mariaeks toward the side. Mariaeks also followed that gaze to look at Garthe beside her. Hero Garthe smiled like a villain.

"Summary execution."

Before she could even grasp the words' meaning, Mariaeks's chest filled with unfamiliar emotions. Angry. Sad. Shocked. Frustrated. Such simple words couldn't define it—only confusion remained.

Mariaeks set that confusion aside to consider what she could do now. The conclusion came quickly. There was nothing she could do. So she just sat there. Why had she crossed the river? That courage seemed to have been shredded to powder under the man's gaze.

Mariaeks looked at the human hero. Though toying with another's life like a plaything, his face showed not a hint of awkwardness, guilt, or even base joy. The man acted utterly unconcerned. No, he regarded it as unconcerned. Deciding another's life and death was his natural position, and he possessed power befitting that.

Mariaeks felt that no sharp blade, no agonizing pain could leave even the slightest scratch on Garthe. Like other gods of Heimdrykze, he seemed a complete and flawless being. Even his chilling gaze that seemed to crush others beneath him.

"Lady Mariaeks. The Anir was just joking."

"Joking?"

Garthe muttered as if puzzled. Samthyeon covered his mouth slightly and whispered "shut up" so only Garthe could see. Samthyeon looked at Mariaeks again and continued.

"He's quite a prankster."

"You're the first person to say such a thing about me."

Samthyeon was simply matter-of-fact, as if just doing what must be done. Only Mariaeks was swept up in the hopeless situation.

"Whatever the reason, since our side suffered losses, we can't simply hand over the spirits."

Mariaeks felt that if only she could, she'd vomit up everything she'd eaten and return it. However, those ingredients had already become blood and flesh.

"Then I'll return the equivalent of the losses."

"That's also an ambiguous situation. It was repeated many times, and there seem to be instances we didn't catch. It's hard to estimate the scale, and considering compensation for mental damage to the Anir, who needs to rest for a while after Lady Mariaeks's intrusion, it's difficult to gauge what equivalent wealth would be. Also, even if we calculate compensation, there's the possibility that amicable agreement won't be reached due to differing claims from each side."

The more Samthyeon twisted his words, the more serious the situation felt. Mariaeks just wrung the innocent blanket. Samthyeon, who'd been secretly stealing glances at those hands, made his tired face look slightly less exhausted. His voice also brightened very slightly.

"So we've prepared one alternative. Our Olgidphaenn researches the divine territory Heimdrykze and the many gods living there. But as Lady Mariaeks knows, Heimdrykze is such a dangerous place that ordinary humans can't even set foot there, isn't it?"

Mariaeks nodded slightly as if responding to Samthyeon's words.

"But with Lady Mariaeks finding Olgidphaenn like fate, another way has opened. If you help with research, we'll return the spirits."

"Help?"

"Just allow us to keep Lady Mariaeks nearby for observation. Answer questions from time to time too. If you cooperate actively, the research will end that much faster. I estimate it'll take six months at the earliest, a year at the latest."

Mariaeks blinked. Six months at the earliest, a year at the latest. Perhaps short to other gods, but it felt far too long to Mariaeks. Not just because she disliked humans and the place was unfamiliar.

'Sweet Mariaeks. You won't leave me, will you?'

Since hearing those words, Mariaeks had never crossed the river that was Heimdrykze's boundary, never even left the small temple.