༺ Estelle Hadassa El Rath (4) ༻
The Steel Archipelago and the Dingle Peninsula, located at the very south of the Northern Kingdom, were not that far apart.
Three days on foot was enough to cover the distance, and my original plan was to look for a way to go back to our Kingdom after reaching the Dingle Peninsula.
It all went according to plan. We crossed the ocean as previously planned. In fact, it only took us half a day.
“Guhahaha…!”
The sled led by a large Dire Wolf was relentlessly speeding across the frozen ocean. Riding on the sled were us and the half-giants that were more than 3 meters tall, but the biggest eye-opener wasn’t the sled or the half-giants but the beast at the head of the group.
“GUWOOOO…!”
An enormous mammoth was marching north while trampling on the frozen ocean beneath. No matter how frozen it may be, it didn’t make sense that the frozen ocean could hold on against this Blizzard Mammoth that weighed about 20 tonnes, but this Grade 1 demonic beast was like none other.
Its gigantic feet were known to freeze everything including souls – at least that was what it was known to do among the half-giants.
Anything that touched the feet of a Blizzard Mammoth would freeze at a rapid speed.
Seeing this reminded me of the huge monster wave that would happen in the Northern Kingdom in the future, where tens of Blizzard Mammoths would tread across the ocean to create an enormous bridge…
What was strange, however, were the things that the half-giants had put on the mammoth.
They attacked the excavators of the Tower of Mages and stole the items they had been excavating… in other words, the remains of the Titans, and quickly crossed the ocean.
‘These half-giants were the ones that attacked the excavators. Why did they attack the Tower of Mages all of a sudden?’
In the original game, stories about the half-giants were revealed when following through the character scenario of Beazeker, who was a grade above the player in the Academy.
They were the descendants of the giants, the once-called Titans, that resided all across the Northern Kingdom. These half-human half-giants later appeared as vassals of Tates Valtazar.
Not every half-giant was an enemy, but most of them would later turn out to be an enemy, but that didn’t seem right, seeing as how they had attacked the excavators of the Tower of Mages…
“Nnn…”
That was when Estelle, who had been captured by the half-giants along with me, slowly opened her eyes.
“Junior?”
“Did you have a good sleep?”
“Where is this…?”
I explained what happened, and the few things that I knew about the situation.
“It’s… somehow going according to plan though…”
“As long as we don’t get killed by them, that is.”
Each and every half-giant was a monster that was at least at the level of a Grade 2 knight after turning into an adult. I would have fought them with my life on the line if they hadn’t tried to capture us with normal ropes.
But of course, if I wasted my energy by doing that, we would have been captured by the pursuers of the Tower of Mages anyway so that would have been pointless.
“Hmm… This doesn’t seem that bad actually,” said Estelle.
“What do you mean?”
“These people. I know what clan they’re from.”
It didn’t take long for me to understand what she meant by that.
***
The biggest difference that separated the Xeruem, the Old Faith, from Zeon, the New Faith, was definitely in their treatment of demi-humans.
Whether they be witches, vampires, or beastmen who were born a human, or those who had inherited it from their ancestors, humanity had been putting them in the same category as demonic beasts and demonic spirits for a very long time, and the religious order had been the one leading the discrimination.
But after the Witch’s Revolution and the reformation… the birth of the New Faith gave birth to a different perspective on demi-humans.
Although the Old Faith was still discriminatory against demi-humans, the New Faith had attempted to protect demi-humans and bring them back into society several times.
The biggest evidence of that was Merkarva Academy’s admission of demi-humans. Hua Ran was the exception in my grade, and there were two representative examples from the grade above us.
Vampire Marie Dunareff, and Beazeker the half-giant.
Marie was from the Dunareff family, who weren’t afraid of anyone, so she was a different story, but what about Beazeker and Hua Ran?
The reason they were admitted into the Academy despite having no connections and being faced with constant opposition was all thanks to Zeon, the New Faith… especially the wholehearted support of Saintess Estelle.
“Look who it is! The Saintess of the Continentals!”
At the tip of Dingle Peninsula, inside the large tent, we came across the chieftain of the half-giants.
“Hello, Chief Kareem. It’s been 3 years, has it?”
“I believe that was when Beazeker was going to the Academy.”
The world perceived half-giants as a violent species that were closer to demonic beasts rather than demi-humans. However, Chief Kareem welcomed us like a gentleman and was much more respectful than I imagined.
“The warriors almost made a grave mistake! They must have mistook you as those bastards from that big tower.”
Chief Kareem was quite hospitable. Well, maybe that was natural considering how Estelle was like the chairman of a scholarship foundation, while he was the parent of a student who was in the Academy thanks to that very scholarship.
“I was in fact, kidnapped by the Tower, so it was thanks to them that we were able to cross the ocean with ease.”
“Right, and is Beazeker doing okay at the Academy without making trouble?”
“Of course. He is the highest-achieving student of the 3rd grade Knight Department, after all.”
“Highest-achieving… Does that mean he’s the top?”
“Pretty much.”
“Guhahaha! Now that’s my son! The Continentals aren’t bad but they can’t be compared to us giants!”
I suddenly recalled a memory from the past.
Beazeker, the top student of the Knight Department at the same grade as Marie. After getting closer to him, it was possible to visit Beazeker’s tribe with him.
But there, the player found out, alongside Beazeker, that the village of the half-giants had been massacred and had to venture off to discover the culprit behind it.
‘Titans revived by the Tower of Mages…’
It wasn’t just a random titan either – it was Mata, the hundred-legged and four-headed giant.
But this time, I attacked and destroyed the laboratories of the black mages, taking all four heads away from them, so Mata shouldn’t be able to be resurrected this time around.
“Sir, since you are the father of Senior Beazeker, may I please talk about something?”
“Hmm? Are you one of his juniors?”
“Yes. He even said he would introduce Ms. Karin to me.”
“Hoh… You’re that close, huh?”
I wasn’t lying because, in the last iteration, Beazeker did say he would introduce me to his younger sister, Karin. And saying that was one of the customs of the half-giant tribes, that he acknowledged me as a strong warrior.
However, I turned down the offer because a half-giant reaching 2.5 meters in height didn’t sound too appealing. Besides, I was almost with someone else back then.
“There is a question I would like to ask.”
“A warrior acknowledged by my son certainly has the right to ask.”
“May I please ask why the half-giants went across the ocean to attack the mages?”
Chief Kareem hesitantly held himself back from replying before throwing a glance at the Saintess. He seemed to greatly trust her for introducing his son to the Academy.
“You did come with the Saintess so… Fine. They were disgracing our ancestors. Our ancestors fell asleep at the end of that glorious war and yet those bastards are digging their remains up to interrupt their eternal rest.”
“…I see.”
The Tower of Mages wasn’t trying to fully revive the Titans. Their goal was to reinvent them through Alchemy and use them in wars like golems.
Whatever their goal was, the half-giants must have considered them to be grave diggers stealing the remains of their ancestors.
“Ah…”
I finally understood the full circumstances of Beazeker’s character scenario.
These half-giants had probably been attacking the Tower of Mages on repeat, just like what happened last evening. After the Tower of Mages incident, the mages of the Tower must have crossed to the Dingle Peninsula and massacred them for revenge.
In other words, this tribe would have been destroyed by the Titans under the control of the mages if the storyline had progressed without a change.
Half-giants, a connection with Estelle, and them worshiping the Titans as their ancestors…
“Chief Kareem. For a long time, I had been thinking that Titans and giants were the true deities of this world that forged it into being.”
“…Junior Korin?”
“Whenever I saw hints of their marvelous and supreme myths, my heart raced and I had been longing to go after their footsteps.”
“Hoho. This young man sure knows his stuff!”
Kareem clapped in admiration.
“And what about the great King of Titans, Balor? He was a true leader and a great warrior that would forever remain in the annals of history!”
“Right! All the Continentals consider the history of us giants as a myth, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for you.”
“Of course not! He did exist. In fact, I saw the remains of Balor, the Great King of Titans with my very own eyes.”
“What?!”
Kareem shot out of his seat after hearing what I said. He was among the taller ones of half-giants. He stood up with his height reaching 4 meters which instantly cast a shadow on the surroundings.
“I am not kidding. Those evil mages from the Tower! Those bastards! They were using the Eye of the Great King! Conducting evil experiments with it!”
It wasn’t a lie, because there really was Balor’s eye in the Tower of Mages.
“These fucking mages! They disgrace not only the graves of our forefathers but even that of the King!”
“This is unforgivable. The graves of the Titans must solely be under the protection and maintenance of their descendants, the giants.”
“Of course!”
“We must put a stop to their wicked plans! However, their numbers are many. And although they are naturally not as strong as you, giants, it is undeniable that they have a menacing force.”
“What do you say we do?”
“Let’s join forces. Let’s fight them together!”
Kareem immediately called for a tribal conference, with the topic being a full-fledged attack on the Tower of Mages and cooperation with the Southern Kingdom.
Even though I used my tongue to give them a reason to fight, they weren’t instantly drawn into the idea of a full-fledged battle.
I needed another promise to make the half-giants our ally.
“If you cooperate with the annihilation of those filthy bastards from the Tower, we will build a warehouse of potatoes for everyone who participates in the war!”
Considering the harsh environment of the Dingle Peninsula, a large-scale supply of food was always welcome.
Like that, after becoming allies with the half-giants, we were able to return safely thanks to their help.
“Korin…! You’re back!”
“I knew you would come back safely, my dear disciple!”
We were greatly received by our comrades. They appeared to have been very worried during the past few days.
“Huhu. You’d be surprised to hear about the awesome thing I accomplished on the way back.”
“Your safety is the most important, Mr. Korin. Same with the Saintess and Ms. Hua Ran.”
“Huh? Why are you looking for Hua Ran?”
“Heh?”
“Huh?”
Wait, so where is Hua Ran?
***
“Saintess, this way please.”
Estelle moved to her tent following the guidance of a priest.
“Ohh, Saintess…!”
“Saintess, thank the Lord you were safe!”
She could feel the relief and joy in the voices of the soldiers and priests who welcomed her as she walked next to them.
They were here to save her, so Estelle gave them a smile and a wave despite being exhausted.
“Where is His Holiness the Pope?”
“He said he would see you after you have taken your well-deserved rest.”
“I see.”
It probably didn’t mean that the pope was here in person though; there was probably a communication device prepared for it.
Estelle waved at the priest who guided her to her room and immediately headed to the bathtub.
Although it was a preemptive one set inside a tent, it was made for nobles and members of the royal family and decorative rose petals were floating on top of the warm tub of water.
“Finally…!”
Estelle hurriedly took off her clothes that had been drenched with the blood of sheep and water so that she could quickly clean herself after spending several days without a bath.
In her hurry to take off her clothes, her rosary ended up crashing into the bathtub.
“Oops…”
Despite being a Delinquent Saintess with questionable actions, she nonetheless quickly covered the rosary with her hands that represented the Lord. Even though it was just an accessory, she was still a believer at the end of the day.
“It’s made of gold so there shouldn’t be any…”
It was when she was observing the rosary that had just crashed into the bathtub that she discovered something strange – a part of the rosary was dented, and revealed within that dent was a cold plate of steel.
There was no way that her rosary which should have been made of pure gold would change colors just from a bump.
“Paint?”
This couldn’t be.
All the ornaments and accessories on her body were the best of the best that she had acquired with her own hands. What kind of crazy artisan would give the Saintess an accessory of fake gold?
Besides, the rosaries should have been made by craftsmen inside the order who poured molten gold into a mold but…
‘Was it switched by someone?’
But when? As a believer, she had never let go of her rosary so there was only one answer. It must have been when she was brought into the Tower of Mages, back when she was unconscious.
But then why? Why would they switch the rosary to a fake one? In fact, what even was this rosary and what was it made for?
Estelle arrived at the answer before long.
“Inquisition…”
The Zeon Order had several conflicts with evil mages and the Xeruem Order. In order to seal the power of the heretic prisoners, the order developed a way to seal their power, but that was a secret only shared within the New Faith.
In other words…
There was a traitor within the order.
