Ancient.
That is, even before the ancient empire was established.
A monster from mythology, something that existed in the distant past before humanity came to dominate the continent.
Hearing Asran’s brief explanation, I lifted my head and looked at the statue.
…If that’s a statue, then there must have been an original.
To think that such a monster actually existed.
“That kind of monster….”
“Hah, they worship all sorts of things.”
The knights and search team members around us, after listening to Asran’s explanation, expressed their shock.
“More than that, it’s incredibly detailed—almost astonishing.”
Edgar, Commander of the Royal 3rd Knight Order, was already near the statue, inspecting it closely, as if he had some prior knowledge.
“Even though it must have been made in ancient times, its condition is remarkably well-preserved.”
As he spoke, he examined the finely crafted details of the statue’s feet.
…Even to my eyes, the quality was eerily realistic.
Who could have made something like this?
And in such a deep cave, no less.
“We’ll need a specialized investigation team for this.”
“Yes, I’ll call them as soon as we return.”
“From now on, keep this cave under strict surveillance. We can’t let those devil worshippers crawl back in.”
“Yes!”
And so, the kingdom decided to strictly manage the statue.
With that settled, the investigation team naturally began the process of disbanding.
The mission was complete, so it was time to return.
“Are you heading down first?”
“Yes, I’ll be staying at the estate.”
“Alright, come visit sometimes.”
“I will.”
Leaving behind my search team comrades, who were staying in the mountain camp for one more night, I descended ahead of them.
I figured the tents up on the plateau would remain for now.
After all, while the investigation was finished, the kingdom seemed intent on keeping the statue under supervision.
They’d probably increase the search team’s numbers or station soldiers here to ensure the devil worshippers didn’t return.
Anyway.
Now back in familiar territory, I descended the mountain at a swift pace and returned to the estate.
“Whitey, good boy!”
Keng! Keng!
Late into the evening, I spotted Sienna in the courtyard, training Whitey.
…At least, I assumed it was training. No matter how I looked at it, it just seemed like she was playing with him.
“Oh, you came back today?”
“Ah, yes….”
“You—you look exhausted.”
“A little.”
Sienna had been in the garden when she saw me and looked flustered.
Well, I did climb the mountain in the morning and then go through quite a bit after that.
I entered the cave twice, fought in the forest, and even got thrown to the ground by Alden.
No wonder I looked like a mess.
Still, at least I made it back the same day.
After that, I went to the servants’ bathhouse for a quick wash before returning to the doghouse.
“Whitey! Let him rest!”
As I lay down, I heard Sienna trying to stop Whitey from snuggling up to me.
I closed my eyes, ready to let today’s exhaustion melt away.
***
After completely wiping out the cultists in the Kaine Mountains.
I returned to my usual routine.
The past few weeks had been nothing but fierce battles in the mountain range.
Now, I just wanted to rest in peace.
I figured I’d be staying at the estate until the blockade on the Kaine Mountain Range was lifted.
Once it was, mercenaries who had left for other regions would probably return.
I wondered how Jevan was doing.
Then again, that guy had a new recruit with him, and he was good at looking after himself.
He’d return in one piece.
“What’s on your mind?”
“Oh, it’s been a while, Instructor.”
As I sat lost in thought, Eric entered the reception room.
Now that the investigation was over, Eric’s lessons were resuming.
And there was something I had been meaning to ask him.
“Instructor, do you know about the Gigants?”
Since Eric knew pretty much everything, I asked with anticipation.
That statue still lingered in my mind.
“Looks like you’re interested in mythology today.”
“Yes, I recently became curious.”
“Then I’ll explain.”
And as expected, Eric brought the blackboard with him again, not disappointing his expectations.
“The Gigants… hmm. They are known to have existed even before the First Heavenly-Demonic War.”
“Oh, I see.”
The First Heavenly-Demonic War.
I had already learned about it from Eric before.
It was the very first recorded event in human history—
A tale reconstructed from ancient empire-era history books.
It depicted the battle between demons who emerged from the Gates of Hell and angels who descended from the heavens.
It was recorded as a war so massive that it reshaped mountains and overturned seas.
In the end, the angels won and shoved the demons back into hell, allowing humanity to live as it does today.
“There’s a theory—more of a hypothesis, really—that the Gigants sided with the demons in that war.”
“The Gigants sided with the demons?”
“Yes. As punishment, they disappeared into the shadows of history along with the demons’ defeat.”
Hmm.
So, they backed the wrong side and were wiped out.
Of course, it was just a hypothesis, so it wasn’t certain.
After all, the people of the current continent barely understood the splendor of the ancient empire.
Anything predating that era was bound to be full of conjecture.
“Still, the existence of the Gigants is real. They occasionally appear even today. There’s even a record of one wiping out an entire city in the past.”
“Aren’t they extinct? Where are they even coming from?”
I thought they were completely wiped out after getting crushed by the angels.
There weren’t even any descendants left, so how could Gigants occasionally just show up like that?
“Haha, that topic has been debated a bit. But from what I’ve heard, there are supposedly Gigants sealed in various locations underground.”
“…Excuse me?”
“It’s just a theory scholars came up with based on mythology. The last recorded sighting was 300 years ago, and all that remains is a brief mention of a hero having exterminated it. It’s unlikely we’ll see one in our lifetime.”
“You wouldn’t happen to know what form those seals take, would you?”
“Hmm, there are too many theories.”
“What about being sealed in stone?”
“That’s actually a pretty good hypothesis. If their bodies turned to stone, they could theoretically withstand the passage of time.”
“…Hold on a second.”
Hearing Eric’s casual explanation, I suddenly stood up.
That statue—I couldn’t get it out of my head.
A towering, exquisitely crafted structure, at least several dozen meters tall, in nearly pristine condition.
Why had the devil worshippers built an altar near it and offered corpses there?
“…Huh?”
“Sorry, I need to step out for a moment.”
That unsettling hypothesis kept circling in my mind.
Unable to shake the feeling, I excused myself from the lesson and left the reception room, heading toward the office where Lowell was usually stationed.
Knock Knock.
—Yes, come in.
As always, Lowell was inside, reviewing documents.
“What brings you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”
“I just heard something strange from Eric about that statue.”
Hearing my words, Lowell calmly set his papers down.
Naturally, he was already aware of everything related to the investigation.
From the beginning, all intel had been shared with Lorenz’s side once I joined the search team.
“…It’s causing quite a stir right now.”
“So it really is a Gigants?”
“We can’t be certain, but it’s best to be cautious.”
…So even the kingdom had started catching on.
Makes sense.
Eric was an exceptional scholar, but he was still just a young man.
There were bound to be more knowledgeable scholars within the kingdom.
“Our investigation confirmed that the statue has some kind of magical preservation. However, it’s too ancient to decipher.”
“If that’s really a sealed Gigants and it accidentally breaks free, can the kingdom handle it?”
We were talking about a creature several dozen meters tall.
And if ogres were any indication, sheer size alone made them overwhelmingly powerful.
On top of that, its location—deep within the mountain range inside a cave—meant that any military intervention would be logistically difficult, and the damage would escalate exponentially.
“If it’s truly a Gigants, our kingdom alone cannot handle it.”
“Then…?”
“That’s why we’ve already requested assistance from the Empire.”
“Oh, the Empire.”
That… might actually work.
The Empire was the continent’s undisputed superpower.
The pinnacle of technology and civilization, far beyond anything the Adel Kingdom could compare to.
“Then that’s reassuring.”
“Well, that depends on whether they’re willing to cooperate.”
However,
Lowell looked rather skeptical.
“Why’s that?”
“The Adel Kingdom and the Empire don’t have the best relationship. We received heavy criticism after the last war.”
“Oh… the war.”
Now that he mentioned it.
The Adel Kingdom was a militaristic nation with an aggressive stance, having launched an almost preemptive invasion of the Lugar Kingdom.
Naturally, the Empire wouldn’t have taken that kindly.
On top of that, according to Eric, the Empire had been preoccupied with a large-scale extermination of nomadic tribes at the time.
They had no resources to spare.
From their perspective, the Adel Kingdom had taken advantage of their distraction to snatch up the Lugar Kingdom.
And honestly, that was probably exactly what happened.
“But we’ve been paying enormous tributes since then. They’ll likely accept, as if doing us a favor.”
“That’s a relief.”
As long as they came, that was all that mattered.
If they could confirm whether or not the statue was a sealed Gigants, the Adel Kingdom would at least know how to proceed with its containment.
“There’s always a way to deal with things, so don’t worry too much.”
“Yeah… Maybe I should’ve just stayed in class.”
At any rate.
Despite my moment of panic after hearing Eric’s explanation, it turned out the kingdom was already on top of the situation.
“Oh, by the way. The young lady will be arriving soon.”
“Yeah, it’s about time.”
The last time she visited was two weeks ago, right?
Aria had a packed schedule at the academy, so she couldn’t visit every weekend.
“And before that, you have a reward to claim, so be aware.”
“Oh, right.”
I had a reward coming.
There hadn’t been any word after the investigation ended, but it looked like it was finally time to collect it.
“Can I look forward to it?”
“Do as you please.”
Considering my contributions to the investigation, I had to be within the top five performers.
That meant the reward would be something substantial.
I couldn’t wait to see what it was.
