Chapter 282
“If the Giant King Giath really appeared, wouldn’t it be dangerous to conduct the training of the hero academies’ second-year students right now?”
Mel spoke with concern.
The commanders of Tartaros were terrifying monsters in and of themselves, but what was even more threatening was the legions of demons led by the commanders.
If the commanders moved, their accompanying legions would likely have moved as well.
“Don’t worry about that. Even if he really did make a move, the probability that he brought his own legions with him is extremely low.”
“Why?”
“The only time Giath moves his legions is when he’s at war.”
During the Age of Disaster.
Leo fought in numerous wars against Tartaros.
War with the demons was a daily occurrence.
But in all those wars, the number of times they encountered the Giant King’s legions was so small that it could be counted on one hand.
“If someone as big as him moves, he’ll inevitably be discovered by people. That’s why he needs to move cautiously. Naturally, moving his legions is also something he has to be careful about.”
Leo narrowed his eyes.
“Of course, his disposition may have changed over the past 5,000 years… but judging by the fact that he’s never left a trace in history, his disposition has not changed.”
Mel nodded at Leo’s words.
“Even so, it would be better to be on guard. Mel, can you keep watch over Erdian Mountain?”
Mel bent her knees and bowed her head slightly.
“I will do as you command, Leo.”
In the tavern, the dwarves of Tarkam were drinking and chatting happily.
There were many types of people living in Tarkam.
From weapons craftsmen and merchants, to miners and monster-defeating warriors.
However, since it was on the edge of dwarven territory, it was very rare to see other races there.
That was why all the dwarves looked at those who entered the tavern with curiosity.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
Carr, who was leading the way into the tavern, hit his head on the low door.
“Are you okay?”
“How pathetic!”
Eiran approached Carr in a panic, and Driana burst out laughing at the sight of Carr.
Eiran used her sorcery to place her hand on Carr’s forehead.
Driana also took out some ointment.
“Apply this. The swelling will go down quickly.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Carr applied the ointment Driana gave him to his forehead.
Lunia and Ar muttered as they looked at the low ceiling and small furniture.
“It definitely feels like a dwarven city.”
“But it’s different from Dweronia?”
The buildings of Dweronia were not much different from those of other races.
Driana laughed heartily as she watched the two girls express their doubts.
“Dweronia is a city that many other races visit, so there are many buildings that meet the standards of other races. It’s the kind of city designed to allow various cultures to come together, a collection of art.”
“That has nothing to do with art,” Lunia said, but Driana didn’t listen.
“But Tarkam is a completely dwarven city. Since other races rarely come, everything is tailored to the dwarves.”
As she said that, Driana went to an empty seat and sat down.
The table and chair were slightly too small for the rest of them, but they felt just the right size for Driana.
Of course, when the other party members sat down, it looked quite comical.
“The spoon and fork are small too.”
Eiran was surprised.
“Only the glasses are big,” Carr muttered while looking at the glasses the dwarves were drinking from.
In the meantime, a waiter came and took their order.
They ordered something suitable for a meal and waited.
Meanwhile, the dwarves in the tavern were fixated on the party.
Other races were rare in Tarkam.
But if those other races were students from the famous hero academy, they would be even more interested.
As the dwarves looked at the party with curiosity and made a fuss…
“Is it my turn to speak?”
Carr got up from his seat, feeling proud.
“I’ll go and ask around about the rumors.”
The confident Carr approached a lone dwarf who was enjoying his drink.
“Hello?”
“Hey, human! Judging by your attire, you must be a Lumene student, right? What’s a human hero candidate doing here?”
When a dwarf who looked like a miner spoke to him, Carr replied in a friendly manner, “I’m here for mission training. I heard that a giant monster appeared in Tarkam!”
“There was! But that’s just a rumor! Where could such a huge monster have come from?”
Carr chuckled as he watched the dwarf laugh.
“But there must be a lot of rumors, right? Tell me some stories, and I’ll buy you a beer.”
“Oh! You’re a well-mannered lad! Great!”
The dwarf seemed to appreciate Carr’s friendliness and readily shared the rumors.
Eiran was impressed as she watched.
“As expected, Carr is amazing!”
“I can do that much,” Lunia answered bluntly.
Seeing that, Driana said, “A lady from a prestigious elven family like you wouldn’t be good at something like this, would you?”
“Huh. Watch carefully. I’ll do it right.”
Lunia got up from her seat and approached another dwarf.
“Hey. I’m a student from Seiren, here because of the rumor about the giant monster. Can you tell me about it? If you do, I’ll buy you all drinks today.”
“Go away. I’m not so poor that I need free drinks.”
Lunia returned with a shocked expression.
“W-why did I fail?”
“In my opinion, your attitude was too authoritarian. The other person seemed upset.”
Lunia was taken aback by Driana’s comment.
“How was my attitude authoritarian? Any elf would have been glad to tell me if I asked like that!”
“That’s because you’re a student from Seiren. Besides, dwarves and elves basically don’t get along. Seiren’s business card doesn’t work here.”
“Ugh!”
As Lunia shrugged, Ar laughed and folded her arms.
“As expected, a talented elven lady can’t do this! Watch how I do it!”
Lunia made an angry expression while looking at Ar, who was being arrogant.
Ar confidently walked towards three dwarf mercenaries.
“Hey there, guys! I have a question!”
“What! Guys?!”
“We’re women!”
“Damn cat!”
“Ack?!”
The drunken dwarf mercenaries got excited by Ar’s words and pounced on her.
Startled, Ar apologized like crazy and returned with a sad face.
“Anyone can tell they’re women, but you still call them “guys”? Idiot.”
“Seriously, you’re a piece of work!”
“Don’t call me a piece of work!” Ar shouted with a red face at Lunia and Driana’s words.
“I-I’ll do it this time.”
“Eiran. What’s going on? You don’t typically do this kind of thing.”
When Lunia asked with surprise, Eiran said in a nervous voice, “I… I’ve actually always wanted to try doing something like this!”
Eiran approached an old dwarf with sparkling eyes.
“I’m worried,” Lunia muttered.
However, Eiran returned after having a pleasant conversation with the old dwarf.
“Eiran! Are you good? So? Did you hear anything?”
“Yes! I heard a lot of new stories about Dweno!”
Lunia let out a deep sigh as she watched Eiran, who had lost her purpose and was enjoying herself like a child listening to a story from her grandfather.
“You, you said your name was Driana, right? You should try it too.”
“Why should I waste my energy when Despair Man is doing well?”
Driana shrugged.
It was a perfectly reasonable statement.
At that moment, Leo, who had returned to the tavern, sat down and said, “You were having fun, weren’t you?”
“I’m not having fun! I’m just gathering information!”
Lunia glared at Leo.
In the meantime, Carr approached with a bright smile.
“I’m back! Leo, you’re here now, too?”
“Judging by your face, it seems you got satisfactory results.”
“Heh, of course.”
“Wow! That’s great, Carr. We all failed!”
Eiran was impressed.
Carr looked at her with a trembling expression.
“H-how could you fail when all you have to do is ask…?”
“Okay! Okay! So what did you hear?”
“Okay! Tell me!”
Lunia and Ar quickly changed the subject.
Looking at the two, Carr cleared his throat and said, “First of all, it seems that it wasn’t just the guards on duty at the time who saw the monster.”
“What?”
“There were many people in the city who saw the monster. But it was late at night, so most of them seemed to be drunk.”
Hearing Carr’s words, Eiran shrugged as if she was a little scared.
“If there are that many witnesses, isn’t it really a monster? Like the Giant King, the commander of the Tartaros Legion?”
“No. It wasn’t the Giant King.”
Lunia shook her head.
“I don’t know how big the Giant King is, but if he’s called the Giant King, he must be incredibly massive. If a monster that big had teleported, it would surely leave behind waves of magical power. But they said the monster disappeared in the blink of an eye.”
Lunia crossed her arms.
“Maybe it was some sort of mass illusion?”
Driana nodded at Lunia’s suggestion.
“That makes sense.”
“What about the drunkards who saw the monster?”
“They sobered up, but since it vanished from sight so quickly, they probably thought they saw it wrong.”
“And the guards who saw it on the wall?”
At Leo’s question, Carr crossed his arms.
“They’re all in the hospital with cases of mental confusion.”
“Mental confusion? Isn’t that a symptom of seeing a high-ranking demon?”
“Can you find that hospital?”
“It would be difficult right now, but I’ll find out by tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you.”
Leo nodded.
‘First of all, it’s crucial to determine whether or not the Giant King really came to Erdian Mountain. If he left the witnesses terrified and mentally confused, his dark sorcery should still be faintly present in the air. If he did come, there must be a reason for it. If there’s a reason why he himself is moving…’
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
‘It could surely upset the current balance.’
Crash-! Crash-!
In the depths of the night, the axis of the earth shook.
A huge monster that seemed close enough to touch the sky was moving.
Crash-!
The Giant King, Giath, stopped walking and looked up at the sky.
It wasn’t a pure white moon floating in the sky.
It was a sinister red moon.
The monster opened its mouth as it gazed at the moon.
Groooooooaaan!
A terrifying roar echoed in all directions.
Giath’s eyes lit up with joy.
Seeing the red moon for the first time in 5,000 years was enough to exhilarate Giath.
How long had it been since he’d indulged so freely?
The time when that red moon rose in the night sky was their time.
A time when they didn’t have to hide their bodies!
A time when the world was truly theirs!
Even though they had returned to that time, Giath was not satisfied.
Freedom in this fake world was not true freedom.
“I miss it! Our time!” Giath cried out, recalling those who had usurped their time.
“This time, I will take my revenge.”
The corners of his mouth twisted grotesquely.
“Just you wait, Divine Blacksmith.”
