The time it took them to go back was short.
When Mayatrey activated the magic circle, the space changed into a vast forest.
Since it was Sarah’s first time using Warp, she immediately felt dizzy because it was very different from teleportation. It felt more like motion sickness.
“Huh!”
However, she felt that the time they moved was long, and the moment her feet touched the ground, she stood in an awkward position. Her big eyes shone as she couldn’t find her balance.
“Sigh.”
When her senses were back to normal, Sarah sighed, placing her hands on her knees. Space movement was truly unpleasant.
And a sensitive person like Sarah felt it even more strongly.
“The first time is known to be pretty hard.”
Mayatrey came up to her and smiled, patting Sarah on the back.
“Let’s go.”
“… Yes.”
Sarah moved somewhere with the warriors, still not feeling well.
It was her first time in this place so she knew nothing, but it seemed like it was where the Ran’s lived.
A place that was wrapped in a veil, making her wonder if humans had ever come here. As far as she knew, the Rans were one of the three major races in the world, but the exact place where they lived was never revealed.
There were attempts to interact with the Rans, but none of them worked.
‘Is this a historic event then?’
She had that thought, and she also thought about how amazing it was to enter the world of the Rans.
In the past, maybe it would have been headlined all around the world as ‘Explorer Sarah Welton enters the World of the Rans!’
‘Maybe not.’
If the world hadn’t been like it is now, she would probably be in the garden with her mother. And she would occasionally swing her sword just to move her body.
Just for defense.
As she continued to think about this and that, they arrived at their destination before she knew it.
“Wow!”
Sarah’s eyes widened.
Until now, she couldn’t see anything other than grass, but then a field opened up, with the entire space changing.
And what opened up was this huge wall that Sarah hadn’t notice until then.
The black-gray walls seemed to be about five hundred meters high, but they were so huge that she wondered if giants made them.
The walls were so huge, and considering how the Rans were like humans, the thought of them making those walls sounded so insane.
They looked solid and heavy, and they gave her the chills.
Indeed it was.
“W-What. This is the castle of the Rans?”
Sarah couldn’t believe it and asked the warrior next to her.
“What are you that surprised about? This much is expected.”
The warrior answered. At first, she thought he was making fun of her, but his expression was really indifferent—he was sincere.
Sarah just looked at the warriors who were casually walking ahead.
“This is something that cannot be seen in the human world. Do not worry about that guy. He has never gone out in the human world.”
At that time, the warrior behind her spoke.
“Mr. Hek.”
It was the warrior called Hek, a warrior she hadn’t spoken much with.
“I don’t know why the walls were built this big, but they were already built like this ages ago.”
“They do look old and strong.”
Ages.
No, it had to be thousands of years ago. It was because Sarah couldn’t comprehend how long the walls had stood.
“But can the gate be opened? It looks huge?”
When Sarah asked with a curious face, he pointed to the huge gate that even giants could enter. Ordinary, huge gates were already difficult to open. But this one was a thousand times bigger.
Even if the Rans were the most powerful, would they be able to open it?
“Have you heard that the Rans are stubborn warriors?”
“Yes, I heard that the title of a warrior isn’t carelessly given.”
By the standards of the human world, the Ran warriors were like knights. Of course, the tasks they had to cross were huge.
“To become a warrior, one has to go through several trails.”
“Trials?”
“Everyone is strong. They don’t become warriors just by reaching the Master class.”
Others couldn’t be as strong as the Ran warriors, but among the none warriors, there were strong ones too. But in order to hold a title, they had to do many things.
“And one of them is basic muscle strength.”
“No….”
At those words, Sarah turned to the gate. Hek smiled and nodded.
“We have to push the gate open without using mana.”
“How can that…”
“If one wants to, it can be done.”
Even as he said that, Hek had an awkward smile. He seemed to have some trauma over it.
“But it is easy to open the gate. It can be done.”
Was it really possible?
Sarah forgot for a moment that the man she was talking to was a warrior of the Rans. He, too, was a monster by human standards.
Hek continued.
“It is real.”
He pointed to a wide place.
“I told you, right? It is not just about being strong.”
“Then?”
“Patience is important.”
“Patience?”
“We have to endure three months with just the minimum food that comes down from the wall while clinging to it. We call it the worst of all. And it was truly the worst.”
Sarah’s mouth opened wide.
Live with the minimum amount of food?
Even if they were sent food, could they still eat it?
‘Like surviving off a cliff.’
Since the Rans were superhumans with strong abilities, they might survive it, but from the third month on, it would get hard.
It was a fight between the mind and the body.
“Then mana…”
“No.”
“No way.”
Becoming a warrior of the Rans was difficult.
“It isn’t easy. How do you do…”
“Well.”
Sarah was startled by the voice of a woman from behind. Hek just walked away, as if he didn’t see Sarah anymore.
And Sarah felt fear.
In the meantime, she felt someone’s breath on her side and light blue hair falling down on her shoulders.
She turned to the side, and someone smiled.
Then came a whisper,
“If you want to be strong, you should do it too.”
Being strong was hard.
The bodies of the warriors were handed to their families.
Sea of tears fell, and Sarah couldn’t hold back her tears either.
There were many sacrifices.
Sarah thought that she was able to stand because of them. She felt grateful to them and promised to never forget about them.
“Where should Shiva be cremated?”
“Hmm. Isn’t there just one place?”
Isis and Hasyath were looking for a place to cremate Shiva.
“The Warrior’s Shelter. I wonder if enshrining him there would be better.”
“It will be good. Shiva was a great warrior, so putting him to rest there would be the best.”
“Then let’s do the ritual tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
It was said that since ancient times, the Warrior’s Shelter was where the warriors of the Rans performed their rituals in hopes for their safety.
Normally, they wouldn’t cremate a body there, but it was Shiva, their creator.
And it felt right to place him in the most prestigious place for the Rans.
“And tomorrow, after that, let’s proceed with the inauguration ceremony.”
“Uh? Inauguration?”
“I already said it. From now on, you are the King.”
“Uh? Father is right here so why do I have to? I don’t want to be the King. Father can continue.”
“Isis. You are already a symbolic being, and you also have the qualifications, so lead us from now on.”
Hasyath said with a stubborn face like he wasn’t going to back down. Even after that, Isis said she wouldn’t, but Hasyath wasn’t backing down.
As Sarah watched the father and daughter argue, Mayatrey tapped her.
And mouthed.
‘Let’s head out.’
‘Okay.’
Sarah felt a little uncomfortable there, so she followed Mayatrey out.
“Hah! This feels nice.”
When she came out, Sarah took a deep breath.
“It was so frustrating.”
“Same here.”
Mayatrey, who was with them, also felt troubled because of the father-daughter quarrel, which wasn’t ending.
“Shall we take a short walk?”
“Yes.”
The two walked. It was such a beautiful place. And unlike the image of the Rans as fighters, they had a good understanding of art, farming, and preserving the beauty of buildings.
In fact, in addition to the gates, the city of the Rans was also amazing, with large buildings and neat roads. Particularly, the buildings were made sturdy, yet delicate at the same time.
Growing up with art around her, Sarah could appreciate it to some extent.
“There must be a lot of prejudice. To be honest, I never thought the city of the Rans would be this beautiful.”
“Because they are extremely rare in the human world. Aren’t they known as a race that fights?”
“Right. It is well-known that out of the three major races, they have the strongest power, but it is only an illusion.”
“It’s only natural because that’s what I’ve been through as well. Just like the fantasy humans once had for dragons.”
Sarah had an awkward smile as she looked at Mayatrey.
The two strode along the path, and the silence wasn’t awkward either, so Sarah began to feel strange.
She felt so at ease.
It was because of the unique warm nature of the Blue Clan, but Sarah didn’t know it.
After walking for a while, Sarah carefully used her luck.
“Excuse me…”
“Um?”
Mayatrey looked at Sarah, and Sarah asked,
“Before. When we were fighting the God of Gluttony.”
When she said that, Mayatrey’s face went stiff, as if she could guess what it would be about.
Sarah said,
“What were you trying to say about my brother?”
At that question, she sighed.
She didn’t think Sarah would remember it.
No, it was her fault for even mumbling that. Mayatrey looked at her, who was confused.
The child would want to hear it.
So should she say it?
“Sarah.”
“Please! Please!”
At her earnest request, Mayatrey touched her forehead.
