GRP Chapter 19

But every single one without exception failed. They usually crawled out on all fours, sobbing from being overwhelmed by Garthe's murderous aura. They were lucky to get off that lightly because they were women. When someone who doubted Garthe's preferences put the continent's greatest handsome man in his bedroom, the continent's greatest handsome man simply fainted and was carried out by servants. While rolling his eyes back and drooling disgracefully.

Having lived longer than most, Garthe had met thousands of gods and thousands of monsters. Beings called "gods" because they possessed superior power and strength compared to humans or other species were mysterious and beautiful regardless of their form. Beauty itself had the power to captivate others. Even if you protected your body with armor called the world's most precious treasure, you would still kneel.

Armor cannot be wrapped around the soul. It was a powerful force that penetrated the most vulnerable part. Garthe knew well what humans would do when entranced by that power. Thus to Garthe, beauty was merely a weapon.

Though it didn't work on him, the mere fact that the other party held a weapon was reason enough to be irritated. That he continued to find the existence called Mariaeks distasteful and wanted to eliminate her stemmed from such feelings. Along with the reason that she was a god of Heimdrykze, her exterior was excessively beautiful.

Garthe brushed away the hair stuck to the woman's cheek with the back of his hand. The painful curse subsided each time he made contact with her. The same was true for the condensed emotions seething deep inside his soul. It was a peaceful sensation he'd never felt once in his entire life. How remarkable this was...

Garthe, frowning, twisted his lips into a smile. His hand slowly fell away from the woman's cheek. His gaze, which had been fixed as if nailed down, also left Mariaeks. The bathtub had already cooled to the point of being cold. An appropriate temperature for washing away heat that had risen.

Knock knock. At the sound of someone knocking on the door, Mariaeks groggily opened her eyes. Her body ached and fatigue hadn't faded, making it difficult to get up easily. The aftereffects of tensing her body for several days were only now showing. How could her body hold up with a man who spread killing intent all day long beside her?

"......"

Round eyes rolled here and there. From the presence, no one seemed to be in the room, but just in case, she had to be careful. Mariaeks, who had stealthily gotten up, slowly looked around. Fortunately, Garthe was not visible. She let out a sigh of relief and stroked her chest. At that moment, an unfamiliar texture caught her fingertips. What's this? She was wearing strange clothes she'd never seen before.

The tunic was so loose that one shoulder was completely exposed. The arms had also been rolled up several times, making the sleeves thick. Clothes made for someone much larger than herself. The moment she realized that fact, Garthe's scent wafted strongly from the clothes. A slightly burnt smell and a bitter grass smell.

Mariaeks, who had been touching the hem of the clothes in a daze, had her gaze stolen by her own thigh revealed below the tunic's hem. A bandage was wrapped around where she'd been wounded yesterday. Mariaeks froze with her eyes open. A deep sigh circled inside her chest like an echo, unable to escape.

Mariaeks desperately wished she had wrapped the bandage herself and borrowed the clothes by requesting them from Garthe. But her memory cut off at sitting in the bathtub. She touched her neck as if possessed. Amazingly, it was properly attached. The violent human hero Garthe had let her live. Though it was very fortunate, understanding the human called Garthe became even more difficult.

What on earth was that creature thinking as it lived?

Knock knock.

The sound of knocking again broke her thoughts. Mariaeks opened the door with a careful touch. She saw a man completely black from head to toe standing quietly. The man's introduction came fragmentarily to mind.

'I'm Oze from Jimunaan, the cave of the black underground god.'

"Good morning."

A morning greeting heard from someone other than Ullri and Baen. The strange feeling made Mariaeks unable to answer right away. When she belatedly tried to nod, she thought it might not be an appropriate response for someone with closed eyes. Her deliberation on how to greet lengthened. Meanwhile, Oze handed over what he held. New clothes and shoes. Mariaeks stroked the soft clothes and stole a glance at the closed-eyed man's face.

"Good morning."

Though a bit late, it seemed she should return the greeting. Fortunately, whether the effort had meaning, Oze smiled brightly. Mariaeks came out after changing clothes with a lighter feeling.

Throughout following Oze who guided the way, Mariaeks's nerves and touch couldn't leave the white fur attached to the cloak. It was a slightly different texture from what she'd touched yesterday. It bothered her too much.

"Oze."

"Yes?"

"Do you know what animal's fur this is?"

After touching the fur for a moment, he soon provided an answer.

"It seems to be rabbit fur."

Good. It was softer than yesterday, so she'd been thinking a bit more about Ullri and Baen.

"Actually, fox fur is better, but in our Olgidphaenn, hunting foxes is prohibited. The Anir commanded not to catch foxes. If you're caught, it's summary execution."

He really liked summary execution, that human.

"Rabbits, wolves, sables, bears, even humans are okay depending on circumstances, but foxes are absolutely forbidden, not a single hair to be touched."

He really seemed like a crazy human. Mariaeks's wariness rose another level. If humans could be killed, why on earth not foxes?

'Come to think of it...'

A fox was also drawn in the emblem symbolizing the castle. Could it be related?

"Why?"

"I'm not sure either. Perhaps he likes foxes?"

Mariaeks tried to imagine Garthe liking and cherishing foxes, but ultimately failed. It was too seriously unfitting. While having pointless thoughts, the place they arrived at was Samthyeon's room. Oze, having only been in charge of guiding the way, waved his hands vigorously and left.

"Welcome, Lady Mariaeks. Was your night peaceful?"

"Peaceful..."

Mariaeks reconsidered the meaning of the word "peaceful" first. Threatened by Garthe into a forced contract, becoming a spectacle before humans, nearly eaten by a mutant mermaid queen that burst in, treated and even dressed by the human weapon Garthe...

Her complexion darkened.

"You were peaceful then. That's fortunate."

To anyone's eyes, that wouldn't be such an expression. Samthyeon didn't seem to be a human with much interest in others. Though he might be aware but passing over it out of annoyance.

One side of Samthyeon's room was packed with drawers large and small, and the opposite wall had rows of bookcases piled high with books and bundles of paper. Unlike the dark interior of Garthe's room, Samthyeon's space was exceptionally bright. Mariaeks's gaze went to the large window.

Sunlight pouring from it gently settled on Samthyeon's shoulders. Come to think of it, hadn't he said he inherited forest spirit blood? He seemed to like sunlight. Just as Ullri and Baen liked snow.

Samthyeon, who had been busily rummaging through books and papers, finally sat across from her after a while.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Then, shall we begin?"

The moment brown eyes reached her, tension spread ticklishly from around her heart. The research was about to begin. Though she didn't know exactly what method it would proceed by, as a process of digging into the god of Heimdrykze, it felt uncommonly weighty. The question of whether she could satisfy his desire to know the god of Heimdrykze couldn't be overlooked either.

"How old are you?"

"..."

Mariaeks's mouth opened slightly then closed. This was a question she could answer.

"Over a hundred."

"A hundred years..."

Samthyeon rolled his eyes and twisted his lips. He seemed to be pondering something deeply. Soon he looked at Mariaeks again with dubious eyes.

"To a great god, how meaningless time must be. Might it be that more years have passed than you think, and you're unaware?"

His tone held conviction that her age was far more than a hundred.

"Precisely, 159 years."

"...I see."

Looking dissatisfied, the man who pressed his lips tight and wrinkled his chin wrote something on paper.

『Name: Mariaeks Age: 159 years old?』

Two items that felt oddly useless were written. What was research? Mariaeks reconsidered the definition of the word again.

"Might you be able to tell me which god you were born from?"

Except for naturally occurring spirits, all living beings had ancient gods created by the Creator God's omnipotent ability as ancestors. Currently, as their numbers had multiplied, their power had also split into millions, no longer making them beings called "gods," but Heimdrykze's situation was different. Even under the same sky, time in Heimdrykze and the continent couldn't be considered to flow identically.

In other words, even a young god of 159 years could possibly be an existence directly derived from an ancient god's branch. That was precisely what Samthyeon wanted to ask Mariaeks. It might not be that she was special, but that her parent god was special.

Mariaeks, who had been meeting Samthyeon's gaze, unnaturally lowered her eyes. It was a difficult question.

"I don't remember my early memories, so I don't know."

Hmm. A lie. Samthyeon nodded, quickly reaching an answer with sharp perception. There was a method of pressing her to forcibly hear an answer, but what mattered was the fact that she had lied itself. The identity of the parent god, or the reason it must be hidden. The specialness of the god called "Mariaeks" must lie in one of the two.

Scratch scratch, Samthyeon's hand moved again.

『Parental Relationship: Unknown』