GRP Chapter 20

After that, Samthyeon continued asking questions that Mariaeks considered entirely useless by her standards. The earlier ones about name, age, what her parents did for a living, her home address, how much wealth she possessed.... Of course, he didn't use the exact words "home address" or "wealth," but the meaning was identical.

'Something feels... a bit strange.'

This seemed less like research and more like, something, something...

"What do you think of our Anir, Lady Mariaeks?"

Just when she'd been thinking it was strange, things began getting genuinely strange. On Mariaeks's bookshelf sat several human romance novels. In those, when a man came to marry a woman, the woman's parents would ask this: So, what do you think of our daughter? The answer the woman's father wanted was clear. She is the other half of my soul. I love her enough to give my life. She is my life, my everything, my meaning. Express love desperately as they commonly did in romance novels, and that would suffice.

But the answer Samthyeon wanted to hear probably wasn't anything like "the other half of my soul." Mariaeks pondered what response would smooth the wrinkles from Samthyeon's chin.

"Uncomfortable."

The wrinkles in Samthyeon's chin deepened further. It didn't seem to be the answer he'd hoped for. Still unable to grasp the question's intent, Mariaeks remained confused.

"When you saw the Anir... did you feel something like a stirring of the soul?"

A shock like being struck hard rang through her head. Was the desired answer truly "the other half of my soul"?

"Or did your heart pound violently?"

Her heart had pounded. How could anyone remain calm when a predator sat in a room they'd thought empty? Moreover, she'd plunged a dagger into someone's body. It would have been stranger if her heart hadn't pounded violently. Seeing the hollow eyes recalling the past, Samthyeon roughly grasped the situation.

"I understand. Then let's move on to the next question. Do you know of the ancient gods of the continent, excluding Heimdrykze?"

"Ancient gods?"

Finally, a question that felt somewhat like research. Mariaeks carefully searched through her mind. The result came quickly. Having lived her entire life only in Heimdrykze, she couldn't possibly know the continent's ancient gods. Before she could answer, Samthyeon added further explanation.

"Currently, there are nine ancient gods on the continent. I'm quite curious whether you're connected to the Mother Tree, the sea god of Lanna Island, or the ancient god of Chura Plains. Very much so."

"No. I've never met gods from outside."

"Have you never even heard their names?"

Mariaeks nodded. Samthyeon asked again.

"Hmm, perhaps the names differ. Let me describe them more intuitively. A magnificent tree, a shimmering jellyfish god, a giant land turtle god?"

A large tree? A jellyfish god? A land turtle god? She felt like she'd heard them somewhere... no, seen them before. Mariaeks wrung her memory at the sudden sense of déjà vu. But nothing concrete surfaced. Instead, she could recall information that such beings existed on the continent.

"I think I've heard there are such gods."

"From whom did you hear this?"

Mariaeks's mouth opened and closed meaninglessly again. Samthyeon observed her behavior closely. He'd thought it an ordinary question, but she showed the same flustered look as when she'd lied earlier.

"...From a friend."

A friend, a friend... It felt awkward hearing that word from a god's mouth. Samthyeon's eyes gleamed.

"How did this friend know information about ancient gods?"

"My friend loved traveling very much and wandered all over the continent. Whenever she returned to Heimdrykze, she'd tell me stories from outside, and I think I heard about them a few times then."

"I see."

Samthyeon feigned composure while filing away each of Mariaeks's words in his mind.

'The strange thing is...'

The stronger the god, the more they tended not to stray far from their birthplace. In Heimdrykze's case, this tendency was even more pronounced. It wasn't that Mariaeks living only in her divine domain was special—ordinary gods all lived only in their own territories.

Yet a god who loved wandering the continent and only "occasionally" returned to Heimdrykze? Such gods weren't entirely absent, but he couldn't shake a peculiar feeling. Moreover, considering that a Heimdrykze god openly wandered about yet left no trace anywhere in the continent's history, she was likely either too weak to make an impact or an exceptionally gentle god. Given Heimdrykze's overall tendencies, that characteristic also felt misaligned somehow.

"Do you remember what was said about the ancient gods?"

"That they sparkled prettily when seen at night...? Oh, and that they grew bigger each time she saw them, and their shells became increasingly magnificent, making them worth appreciating."

It seemed somewhat beneath the dignity of divine conversation. Exchanges like "Destroy those insignificant humans" or "Whence comes the world's salvation?" appeared to exist only in human imagination.

"What is this friend's name?"

Samthyeon's question made Mariaeks recall her for the first time in a while—someone who'd been gradually forgotten. A body unusually small for a Heimdrykze god, divine power as weak as her own, and even an ugly appearance...

Unlike Heimdrykze's gods who grew stronger with each passing year, she weakened each time she returned from wandering the continent, like snow melting in one's palm. In the land of gods where only the strong survived, her existence felt as alien as Mariaeks's own.

Perhaps that was why, aside from Mariaeks, only one god called her by name. The ruler of Heimdrykze, master of winter, Mariaeks's god. He would stroke her cracked skin and whisper.

'My great god. My sun, my soul. My eternity.'

Whenever she recalled that sweet voice, her thoughts flowed sluggishly, as if brain and heart had frozen solid. Her body trembled at the cold spreading from deep within her chest.

Mariaeks ultimately didn't answer.

"I understand. That's not what's important anyway."

Samthyeon decided to change the question to refresh the atmosphere.

"I'm extremely curious about what Lady Mariaeks's divine power entails."

After rubbing the back of her hand briefly, she answered in a small voice.

"I'm not particularly strong."

He already knew this. Her divine power fell short not only of Garthe's but even of several heroes in the fortress. If Heimdrykze's gods were likened to mountain ranges, she was but a single snow crystal.

"To witness a great god's power—wouldn't that alone be a tremendous honor?"

Even at the coaxing words, Mariaeks couldn't entirely erase her uncomfortable reaction.

After a long while, she clasped both hands that had been resting on her knees. In that instant, fragrant and pure divine power rose gently. It was a clean energy he'd never felt from anyone or anything. Under astonished gazes, Mariaeks slowly spread her clasped hands. A single white flower was just blooming in her palm. The fully opening petals breathed outward. Eyes narrowed delicately, Mariaeks gracefully set the bloomed flower on the table.

"Insane.... That's quite a magnificent ability."

Mariaeks wasn't sure if Samthyeon had said "insane" or "magnificent."

"You must be tired."

Suddenly?

"I'm not tired."

She'd barely been awake long—why would she be tired? If the research ended quickly, it would be good for both of them, so she'd been planning to help with all her strength. But her counterpart was a human who didn't listen.

"Thank you for your cooperation. I'll ask again tomorrow."

Her answer about not being tired seemed to have flowed right out the other ear. As she sat unable to follow the sudden shift, Samthyeon let out an impatient sigh.

"The great god of Heimdrykze wouldn't know, of course. Even insignificant humans sometimes need time alone."

Is that so.... Mariaeks rose hesitantly and glanced down at him.

"Then, doesn't that human also need time alone?"

Her wish to have a separate room from Garthe popped out blatantly. She'd only said "that human," but Samthyeon apparently recognized who immediately. Judging by his renewed sigh.

"The complex, mysterious heart that wants to distance itself from others yet also wants to draw close. That's precisely the dilemma from which insignificant humans can never escape. The great god of Heimdrykze wouldn't know, of course."

By this point, Mariaeks realized Samthyeon was spouting nonsense. That he was trying to gloss over all explanations with "great gods don't understand insignificant humans"...

Asking again didn't seem likely to produce a proper answer. Mariaeks gave up and left the room.

Thunk. The moment the door closed, Samthyeon hurried back to the table. A single flower giving off a refreshing fragrance lay there. He carefully lifted the flower with both hands. The instant the petals' soft texture touched him, Samthyeon shuddered. It wasn't an illusion. His mouth, which had been opening repeatedly as if breathing, released a single phrase.

"God above."

In the beginning, the ancient gods born through the Mother Goddess's creative power inherited the Creator's ability incompletely. The power to tear off part of one's body to create child gods, or to let new beings derive from one's flesh that would become meaningless in death—these powers originated from the Mother's creative ability.

But no ancient god could create life forms from empty space without any cost. Even the birth of any great god absolutely required a womb for that body to exist. A single flower might seem insignificant, but this was creation in its complete sense. The true domain of divinity.