239

Chapter 239: Even in a Life Like This (2)

[Good grief. Sky looked nasty, and now it really is rainin’.]

Perhaps the Mountain Lord had decided to leave once the fourth relief force arrived.

Before that force could reach them, however, rain once again began falling upon the crude settlement of tents.

“So it finally started raining.”

The problem was that this was not some gentle drizzle.

It was heavy rain that seemed determined to punch straight through the cloth.

“The mages?”

As if to prove they were by the sea, the wind was fierce as well.

“Who knows. Great Sage Blue Coral has been detained, and now the entire Magic Tower is under suspicion of heresy. Their cooperation will probably….”

The gathered humans once again grew noisy.

[Why’s the wind so strong? Ain’t like there’s a typhoon.]

[It probably is a typhoon.]

[Huh? Seriously?]

[Yes.]

To think it really was the beginning of a typhoon.

The Mountain Lord accepted Yukgwi’s words at face value.

Even if Yukgwi had lost most of their strength, the rank of an Ancient Beast did not simply vanish.

That was enough reason to trust the judgment.

[Wonder if all those folks’re gonna get blown away.]

[Whether they get blown away or not, they can handle it themselves.]

[True, but….]

Still, the source of the information was hardly the most important thing right now.

The Mountain Lord hurriedly coiled around Yukgwi with great care.

Being able to read the flow of air and waves did not mean Yukgwi currently possessed the strength to withstand either.

It was only natural.

The Mountain Lord’s manifested body wrapped tightly around the little turtle like a bird’s nest.

“Even after our greatest concern disappeared, somehow the situation refuses to improve.”

The center of the coils was filled with soft bedding made of leaves and fruit for food.

[People’re gonna start dying again.]

Not a single human had died of physical wounds over the past several days.

With someone capable of wielding God’s power beside them, that was only natural.

But that did not mean no one died at all.

Those who died from cold and hunger could not be saved even by God’s power.

Those were not problems that improved simply by basking in a little Divine Power.

So tonight would probably become another crisis.

Things had improved considerably, but the humans’ living conditions remained terrible.

[Ah. Light.]

[Trying to prevent the damage before it hits? That’s going to be exhausting.]

Yet overturning those expectations, a golden barrier spread over the tent settlement the humans had made.

The red-haired human they called the Hero had clearly stepped forward.

The golden barrier blocked the incoming wind and protected the people.

“…The Temple will become even more arrogant now.”

The dissatisfaction of certain humans rode upon the wind.

[Poor lass is really workin’ herself hard.]

But their relief came far too early.

How long could that thing possibly last?

Especially when the typhoon had not even properly arrived yet.

[She doesn’t know it’s a typhoon.]

[Goodness….]

At this rate, she would be unable to use her strength when it was truly needed.

Knowing that, the Mountain Lord felt sorry for her.

They would have liked to offer advice, but the fact that neither side could understand the other only doubled the frustration.

The Mountain Lord’s tail twitched, reflecting their restlessness.

“Persuade the mages somehow. Putting everything on one person has never ended well.”

Look.

Wasn’t there at least one human who thought the same?

“And what if the Temple brands us heretics too?”

There was, admittedly, a small….

A small problem.

“We’re already finished. Just prepare to protect the people.”

Still.

[You’re making me dizzy.]

[The lass is kinda pitiful, ain’t she?]

[She brought it upon herself. Why are you suddenly worrying now…?]

[Still.]

[Didn’t you say you were starting to dislike humans?]

[Well….]

Yukgwi was not wrong.

The Mountain Lord’s long patience had been worn down considerably by the humans’ disgraceful behavior.

Put another way, the Mountain Lord currently found most humans disappointing.

But even so, they still liked those who knew how to use great power for the sake of others.

That was where this sympathy came from.

[Can’t help it if I’m nice. And didn’t you say that girl was pretty decent too, Ancestor?]

Besides, the Hero was the only human who came every single day to express gratitude.

There was no way the Mountain Lord could simply ignore someone so diligent and kind.

[And the humans who looked after you’re gonna suffer alongside the Hero too.]

Surely Yukgwi felt similarly.

Yukgwi was not shameless enough to forget a kindness received, and the people who had cared for Yukgwi right after they emerged from the egg were still over there.

[…Then lend me some power or something. I’ll divert the typhoon.]

Sure enough, Yukgwi eventually gave in with a grumble.

Apparently Yukgwi had been concerned in their own way all along and had merely stayed quiet because of the lack of strength.

The corners of the Mountain Lord’s mouth curled upward in a broad grin.

[Sounds good.]

[Honestly. I already purified you when you were about to be swallowed by Demonic Energy, and now I have to stop a typhoon too…? I ought to be focusing entirely on recovering. Why am I working this hard?]

[Hehe.]

[What are you laughing at? This is being done with your power.]

As if Yukgwi had not wanted to help too.

The Mountain Lord grinned down regardless of the scolding.

The strength drained from them in the very next moment.

[Uwaaah.]

The typhoon that had been on course to strike the human-occupied coast directly changed direction without anyone noticing and descended southward instead.

And as the price, the Mountain Lord lost even the strength to raise their head.

Their enormous head settled atop the body coiled into a circle.

The sounds leaking from their mouth were nothing but meaningless whining.

[Can’t provide today’s food….]

[Forget today. You need to conserve your strength for at least three days.]

Apparently not feeling the least bit sorry for the Mountain Lord, Yukgwi continued nagging.

Did the Mountain Lord have any idea how dangerous it was to wield power that exceeded their rank?

Had their rank been even slightly lower, the act would have caused tremendous agony, just as it did when beasts attempted to wield the power of a god.

Stop laughing foolishly all the time and start making decisions with your own body in mind.

Yukgwi took the long way around, but the true intent was concern.

The Mountain Lord felt as though they had returned to the Great Forest and smiled foolishly again.

[How did I end up giving birth to a descendant like this….]

[Hey, what did I even do?]

[Enough, you frivolous thing.]

[Hmph.]

[More importantly, I knew you could handle it, but you’re much less affected than I expected. That is surprising.]

Even for a direct descendant, there were fewer side effects than expected.

Yukgwi began pondering that point.

[Since the blood cannot thin even across generations, it makes sense that your rank would be maintained… but this is still strange.]

[Huh?]

[You didn’t grow up eating anything weird, did you?]

[Hmm… I was born from altered Mana, so I have lived by gobbling Mana, Demonic Energy, and all sorts of stuff…?]

[That only gave you a particular trait. What I mean is… have you eaten beings of a higher rank than yourself or anything like that?]

[Uh… ah!]

And that line of inquiry finally succeeded in uncovering the real reason.

[There used to be a Tiger Lord living here, right?]

[There was.]

[But that one got a little corrupted… and the humans went and chopped ’em up, y’see.]

[…That one became corrupted too?]

[From what I heard, went crazy over some human or somethin’… Anyway, there was only a little of the corpse left, and somehow some of it ended up with me.]

[Good grief. The whole world has gone insane.]

[Uh… as far as I know, the west ended up the same way.]

[…….]

The atmosphere between the Mountain Lord and Yukgwi sank into a peculiar silence after the truth was uncovered.

On one side, there was awkwardness.

On the other, unease at learning that beings who at least shared the commonality of being Ancient Beasts had all succumbed to corruption.

That was the reason for the silence.

[…Well. Stagnant water naturally rots. Perhaps this outcome was inevitable.]

But the awkward silence did not last long.

More precisely, Yukgwi forcibly brought up another subject.

The little turtle tucked their head between their limbs and curled up.

[In that sense, you eating them was… probably the better outcome. You did well.]

[Yessir.]

The Mountain Lord had been praised, but somehow could not bring themself to feel particularly delighted.

They tried to scratch their forehead with their tail, only to remember they did not even have the strength for that and let it droop.

Did the knight know this would happen when he gave me that heart?

That line of thought was, at least, something capable of giving the Mountain Lord room to breathe.

They began turning over the question of whether the knight giving them the heart had truly been mere coincidence.

Soon enough, the surrounding situation vanished from their awareness.

“Do not send any more hunters out today. If some have already left, have them return as quickly as possible.”

“Yes.”

“Hah… Thank goodness the Mountain Lord has at least been bestowing food upon us.”

There was, however, one thing the Mountain Lord had overlooked.

Something they had dismissed lightly was not at all light to certain others.

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* * *

“The Mountain Lord has stopped granting us their grace. We already cannot go out to gather food because of the wind and rain…. At this rate, the mood in the temporary settlement will sink to rock bottom again.”

Perhaps the Mountain Lord, having overused their power, had gone to sleep in order to recover more quickly.

The humans had felt a slight sense of foreboding when the usual charity failed to arrive at the appointed time.

When it continued for more than a day and into the next, they urgently gathered for a strategy meeting.

The subject was the rapidly dwindling food supply.

“We’re also short on firewood. At this rate, people will start freezing to death as the temperature falls.”

“The river is rising by the hour as well. The low-lying areas may flood.”

But when they looked more closely, food was far from the only shortage.

Several groups of reinforcements had already arrived, yet that remained the case.

The situation was still poor.

“So what is the solution?”

“We must conserve as much as possible.”

“Is that all?”

“…My apologies.”

Conserve as much as possible.

Reuse everything as much as possible.

As much as possible.

As much as possible….

Did they think anyone here was unaware of such obvious measures?

That was not why they had gathered.

Yet no one could produce a useful plan.

Realistically, those were the only things they could do, so there was no helping it.

“Food and firewood are not problems we can solve immediately, so conserve them as much as possible. Deal with the possible flooding of the lower areas by moving the tents. Continue work on the drainage channels as well.”

“Yes.”

“Then we will end the meeting here. Ah. You stay behind.”

“Yes.”

Rather than waste more time trying to solve problems with no answer, the Lord simply dismissed everyone.

The Lord’s face looked as though it had aged ten years from a meeting that had lasted barely twenty minutes.

A heavy sigh escaped.

“What happened with the mages?”

“Given the circumstances, they have promised their cooperation, but morale is extremely poor. We cannot expect the same enthusiasm they showed in the beginning.”

“I see….”

Even that much was something to be grateful for.

The Magic Tower might be intensely individualistic, but its members still respected pioneers.

And their foremost visionary had been taken away under suspicion of heresy.

Worse, the repercussions had caused suspicion of heresy to spread toward the entire Magic Tower.

Even mages whose individualism had once outweighed their respect for the Great Sage would harbor resentment by now.

“We’re fortunate Blue Coral instilled such a strong sense of responsibility in all of them.”

What would have happened if Bemurchen’s Magic Tower had belonged not to Blue Coral, but to one administered by the White Crow?

Would even more people have died?

“And the Temple?”

“They are quiet for now.”

“Hah. If they possess even the slightest sense of shame, they should be.”

The Demon Knight, whose presence had caused the conflict between the Temple and the others, was no longer here.

Blue Coral, suspected of aiding the Demon Knight, had obediently accepted confinement and was lending their strength while under watch.

The other Great Sage who had defended the Demon Knight, his companions, and even the awakened Hero were the same.

Setting aside the Hero, who had been unconscious at the time, it had been obvious that the others had wanted to defend and care for the Demon Knight however they could.

Yet now, none of them said anything.

It was clearly consideration for the present circumstances.

And if, in a situation like this, the Temple still dared to cause internal conflict?

Then they would no longer deserve to be called followers of God.

“And the Hero? Is she physically all right?”

“She said she still has some strength to spare, so we need not worry.”

Even so, the Temple apparently still failed to satisfy the Lord.

They asked about the Temple and Hero separately.

Unlike the Temple, which seemed only capable of tormenting people, the Hero had become the Lord’s sole consolation.

“No matter what else happens, make certain her well-being is protected. If she falters now, everyone will suffer.”

If not for her, the number of people complaining of hypothermia would have been many times higher.

The same went for citizens voicing complaints about the reduced food ration.

Had the Hero not personally demonstrated how an enormous miracle could itself become a source of hope, they would already have suffered another ordeal.

“We’re doing everything we can, but she keeps refusing, saying she cannot possibly accept comforts denied to everyone else….”

“Then find a way to persuade her. Right now, the effect of the power she provides is far greater than whatever comfort people gain from seeing her eat the same food as them.”

It was far more beneficial to concentrate good food on her and maintain her strength than to watch her collapse after eating thin gruel merely to create some sense of solidarity.

For the official responsible not even to have considered that….

The person making excuses fell silent beneath the Lord’s sharp gaze.

“Lastly… ask Archmage. See whether she is willing to go investigate whether something has happened to the Mountain Lord. Select an escort in advance in case she agrees.”

“Understood.”

“Good. Then go.”

“Yes.”

The Lord did not believe the Mountain Lord would have stopped helping without a reason, but at present they desperately needed even that single source of charity.

Deciding to send someone despite the shamelessness of the request, the Lord clutched their throbbing head.

The headaches had been worsening by the day and were reaching the point of interfering with daily life.

“I only hope I don’t suddenly die before this is all over.”

“M-my Lord! How can you say such a thing?!”

The adjutant, who had silently assisted all this time, could not hide their shock.

But the remark had not been a joke in the slightest.

The Lord lowered themself onto a crude chair.

A body that had survived on fragments of sleep for nearly two weeks felt as heavy as stone.

“My Lord! The banners of another relief force have been spotted in the distance…!”

“…So I don’t even have time to rest.”

Yet even the seat they had barely managed to take had to be abandoned at once.

As the Lord put strength into their knees to rise, their vision went white for a moment.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

The adjutant supported the body that nearly staggered, and the Lord blinked several times.

Their vision returned.

“Adjutant, if I die, place every crime that might be laid upon us onto me.”

But regaining their vision did not erase the possibility that their body had reached its limit.

So the Lord decided to issue orders in preparation for the worst.

“The same applies to Blue Coral’s crimes. If those charges are confirmed… testify that I was the one who ordered everything. No matter what Blue Coral says. Understood?”

“Have you lost your mind?! If you do that, then even after death you’ll—!”

“I won’t even be granted a grave, I suppose. But what does it matter? Once I’m dead, I won’t be around to see whether I get a grave or not. I have no parents, no partner, not even a child, so there’s no one who’ll suffer because of me either.”

“Blue Coral will hate it.”

“Then tell Blue Coral it’s karma for treating me kindly at my family’s funeral.”

Still, this was literally nothing more than preparation.

The Lord straightened even the shabby cloak around their shoulders and prepared to leave.

They were still alive.

And there was still work left to do.