“Thank you for saying all that.”
“Anything else you are curious about?”
“A lot.”
“Ask me while I am sane.”
“How did you end up like this?”
Jamie asked, pointing to the chains which bound the god.
Osiris was assumed to have been chained long before Diablo Volfir was alive. So how did he end up like this?
And Osiris said.
“Because we lost.”
“Are you talking about the 12 Gods?”
“Heheh. They are called 12 Gods now, but it wasn’t them. Those….”
At that moment, Osiris’ eyes widened as he raised his head and began to convulse.
And slumped down. Jamie put his hand on Osrisis’ head, but the god didn’t wake up.
“Was he banned from speaking?”
It felt like measures were taken so that the sealing on certain things would be active no matter what.
This, too, had to be something related to the 12 Gods.
Why are they going this far to keep things secret?
Between the multiple resets, what happened?
He would find out someday, he just doesn’t have the means right now. And like this, Jamie left Osiris.
“Elder said that?”
Isis asked, eating a piece of bread. Jamie frowned, looking at the crumbs falling around.
Was she really speaking while eating?
At least drink water and then speak.
With that thought in mind, Jamie wiped the bread falling on his face.
“I have a question about Garmon.”
“Ah. Come to think of it, you did say you were looking for it. What about it?”
“I asked if the people who knew me a long time back had come.”
“You did?”
“Yes. They followed me. Most of them died from the plague, but a few survived.”
“Hmm. But the days when this place was called Garmon were before it was Abraxas. And if humans were living in that time, they would have already turned to dust.”
Hearing that, Isis spoke indifferently.
It was fair to think that they didn’t exist in the world, and yet Jamie felt as if one of them must be alive, although he couldn’t say it.
Nothing could be certain, and if he was to be rational, no one could live this long.
And if they were alive, they were bound to cross paths.
Some way or another.
“What are you going to do today?”
“Well. I think I should meditate on my own.”
He had gotten a realization, so he wanted to hold onto it and make sure he understood it fully.
That way, he can handle it completely. Isis nodded.
“Tell me if you need anything.”
“.. and eat without spilling it around.”
“Uh.”
At Jamie’s nagging, Isis stuck out her tongue.
Clearly, she had wasted thousands of years of her life not learning manners.
Jamie left isis’ house, and his stomach rumbled.
Come to think of it, he didn’t eat anything the whole day.
Well, he had a bite but spat it out.
Venna’s dishes aren’t edible yet. Even wild animals wouldn’t pick them up.
“… Does this make Behemoth less than wild animals?”
Looking at how he was eating Venna’s food, something had to be wrong with his taste buds.
Next time he makes a familiar, he has to pay attention to the palate.
Thinking so, Jamie headed to his place. While his place wasn’t too far from Isis, oddly enough, he felt a presence inside.
“You again?”
Jamie sighed as he went inside.
Fiyon was lowering her tea cup with a bright face.
“You are here?”
Should this be called shamelessness or something more?
He had seen her 3 times so far.
The first day in the hall, the second one when she broke into his home and the third now, trespassing.
And never had they had a proper conversation. They hadn’t even been together for 5 minutes.
So why is she sitting in someone else’s home and sipping their tea?
“Why are you here?”
“Ahh. If I stay here, the princess might come.”
And Fiyon drank her tea.
Jamie said nothing and reached out.
Forget just kicking her out, he was considering enacting a barrier to make sure she isn’t allowed in his home ever again.
Fiyon, who noticed it, urgently waved her hand.
“Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!”
“Any last words?”
“Last words??”
“Stop.”
“Venna! I came here because I have something to tell you about Princess Venna!”
When Jamie was about to kick her out, she spoke right away.
“What about Venna? I have nothing to hear about her.”
“Because you are Princess Venna’s master. I am her educator, so isn’t it normal to talk?”
It wasn’t wrong, so Jamie put down his hand. And Fiyon sighed.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
Jamie sat across from her.
“It isn’t nothing.”
Fiyon, too, sat down and placed her hand on the hot teacup.
And she slowly said,
“Princess constantly speaks about wanting to follow you. Please reject her.”
“What?”
“Princess Venna is the next queen. My role is to help her grow into a Valkyrie worthy enough to take the throne. But since the two of you reunited, she has been skipping her classes. And while skipping classes isn’t a huge thing…”
Fiyon swirled her finger on the rim of the teacup.
“She insists on following you. That cannot happen. For the sake of the Valkyries.”
“…”
“You are someone who knows about our race. You know how important a queen is to us, right? Please stop our princess. Please.”
Fiyon’s words were fair.
As much as he was once entangled with Valkyries, he too knew about their lives.
This is why he let Venna go back to her mother. He knew he had to stop her from coming with him this time too.
For the survival of Valkyries.
But he couldn’t do it. Because he remembered the promise he had made to her 5 years back.
‘Your place will always be by my side, so go there and stay comfortably and come back when it is time. This is my command.’
And Venna said she would with tears in her eyes. And for Venna, the last 5 years must have been a huge deal.
He could feel it when he met her.
Which was why he couldn’t answer.
“Jamie Welton.”
When he didn’t answer, Fiyon went stiff.
“Think about the Valkyries. You are the only one who can stop the princess.”
“I need some time to think.”
“Look here!”
Fiyon got up as Jamie didn’t answer what she wanted, and she sighed as she walked to the door.
“Our Queen will not live long.”
“What?”
“10 years since the princess disappeared. The queen who lost her successor and daughter was turning worse and worse. To us Valkyries, the queen is special. Everything from the process of birth to growth, their skills and even their existence. But the strong turn weak. Because we are like flowers. We wither and die. The princess is back, so she is feeling a little better, but a withering flower cannot come back to life. Our queen will live for another year at most. And the princess doesn’t know it.”
“…”
“You cannot let the princess go with you on this rough road you are taking. Please, Jamie Welton.”
With that, she left, and Jamie closed his eyes.
“Master!”
“Lord!”
Around evening, Venna and Behemoth returned. And Jamie was still in deep thought.
The two stood in front of him and talked.
“Do you know why Master is doing this?”
“How would I? Lord, wake up, Lord!”
“He cannot hear you. Can someone even pass out with their eyes open?”
“Lord, I am hungry. I want to eat, and Venna said she will cook.”
“That isn’t allowed.”
Hearing that Venna would cook, Jamie immediately raised his head and said no.
Venna’s cheeks pouted.
“What’s wrong with my cooking?!”
“You cannot. Rosemary said she would bring me some food later. You can just eat that.”
“Rosemary makes delicious food!”
Rosemary is the head of the flower race in charge of housekeeping and the miscellaneous staff of Avalon, and she was providing food for Jamie.
And since he couldn’t eat in the morning because of Venna, he craved a regular meal.
“Tch. Whether I do it or Miss Rosemary does, it is the same.”
“It is different. Very different.”
“Rosemary cooks better. Venna’s food is just food. It’s eating without thinking.”
Well, Behemoth, too, seems to have a sense of taste.
Although it is still a problem that he can eat Venna’s food.
“Behe! Whose side are you on?!”
When Jamie and Behemoth craved something different, Venna shouted.
“Venna. Stop screaming and sit.”
Jamie made the mood serious, and Venna sat down, tilting her head. And Behemoth took a seat in the corner.
Venna asked.
“Is there something…?”
“Venna,”
“Yes.”
“You said you would follow me.”
“Fiyon. Fiyon came here.”
“Right. You said that to Fiyon.”
“Because it is true. You said that 5 years back.”
Jamie lowered his gaze and said.
“You need to become the queen and lead the Valkyries.”
“Master!”
“I heard the queen is sick. Is that true?”
Jamie didn’t speak about her time.
If Venna found out that the queen had just 1 year left, he wasn’t sure how she would react.
And Venna said.
“… I got permission from my mother.”
“Right. A mother would say that to her daughter. But, Venna, you aren’t a single being.”
“I-It is fine! I can stop by later! It will work out!”
Venna tried to explain using her hands.
“The queen said that going out is fine. Uh, mother said she too wandered the world when she was young…”
“The place I’m going next is the battlefield. And not just any battlefield, but a war with life and death at stake. I cannot look after you there.”
“I trained hard for 5 years! I tried so hard to not be a burden to master!”
“If a war breaks out, the Valkyries will have to join, and many will die. It will definitely happen. Sacrifices will happen. But with you, the Valkyries will have life.”
“I just need to survive.”
“Venna. You cannot be sure of that.”
“No!!”
Venna screamed, grabbing her head. She was sobbing, which made it hard for Jamie to speak.
Behemoth called for Jamie.
“Lord…”
Silence fell.
Venna was shaking her head, and Jamie seemed sad.
He knew.
How bad it was to say these words.
But as Fiyon said, taking her with him was akin to asking the Valkyries to go on a suicide mission.
He can be without Venna, but for the Valkyries, she is the next queen.
“Venna. Think rationally.”
“How can I be rational? What did I wait all these 5 years for? It would be better if I didn’t even go there…”
“I am sorry.”
“I will cool my head off and come back.”
With that, Venna left the place, and Jamie sighed.
Behemoth came over and said.
“Lord… Venna will understand your words.”
“Behemoth. Go and comfort Venna instead of me.”
“I was about to go.”
Behemoth followed Venna.
Being alone, Jamie looked at the half-opened door.
“This is it.”
Today, he lost his appetite.
