Hella no longer met Frondier’s eyes.
Thud.
Hella sank down as if her strength had left her. She drooped as though her strings had been cut.
“.......”
Frondier looked at her for a moment, then waved his hand and released the Workshop.
Even after they came back outside, the soldiers Hella had created still remained motionless.
Hella had lost the will to fight.
“......Tell me, Hella.”
“.......”
“Why did you fight me?”
Frondier lowered one ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) knee and met her eyes.
“What, is the match decided?”
Belphegor approached together with Selena.
Belphegor narrowed his eyes at Hella and let out a sigh.
“So that’s how it was. Frondier, you never intended to kill her.”
“I told you from the start.”
Frondier had wanted Hella to stand on his side.
Belphegor had brusquely dismissed it as impossible, but in any case, Frondier had stopped the fight without killing her.
“......You never intended to kill me?”
At that, Hella lifted her head.
Resentment flickered in her eyes.
Frondier asked.
“Hella. Don’t you resent Odin? If everything about Loki, and about being cast down from the seat of the gods, is all because of him, then why are you on his side?”
At Frondier’s words, Hella bit her lower lip.
She spoke.
“Frondier. How long ago do you think Ragnarok was.”
“.......”
“I lost too much back then. I am the goddess of death, Frondier. Do you think the goddess of death can decide life and death as she pleases? I merely manage them. The ones who’ve died. I saw too many deaths.”
Hella closed her eyes.
When she did, it was as if the memories of that time came back to life.
“You’re asking why I side with Odin?”
Hella’s sigh trembled.
“Humanity back then was stronger than now. It’s not a matter of strength. Their will was different. The strength of humanity was united as one, and countless giants were born and challenged the gods. But how is it now? The Empire still doesn’t know the truth, and it’s too preoccupied with the immediate crisis right in front of it. They’re all just busy protecting themselves. You know that better than anyone, Frondier.”
She looked at Frondier.
And that gaze, beyond doubt—
Among everything Frondier had suffered from Hella until now, it was what hurt the most.
“Frondier, you’re strong. All the more so now that you’ve become a demon. Even more so now that you’ve absorbed the mana of the Nine Worlds. You’ll be able to face gods in the divine realm without much difficulty. You might even topple a chief god.”
Hella tilted her head, as if to read Frondier’s expression. No—her gaze was as if she truly knew what he was feeling.
“Even so, you still can’t reach it.”
“.......”
“You must know, since you’ve met Heracles. He boasts one of the greatest strengths even among the gods. What about you now? If things go well, you might be able to defeat Heracles. But there are other gods with that level of strength.”
Heracles was the strongest among those Frondier had seen so far. Partly because he lacked the penalties that gods bore in the human world, and partly because his strength truly ranked among the top handful of gods.
However, the fact that he was in that handful meant there were others of that level as well.
And if gods of that level cooperated, even Frondier would be unable to do anything.
“Now you understand the reason.”
“.......”
Frondier could not answer. As if that reaction bored her, Hella lowered her eyes again.
“It’s a war we already lost. And humanity now is weaker than it was then. Why should I side with the ones who can’t win?”
“......If you already lost, then you know, don’t you. What went wrong, and what went right. If there’s someone who already knows, then the result of the war—”
“Frondier.”
Hella cut off Frondier’s words.
She raised her own hand and looked at it. A pale hand. A hand that felt no blood, always cold.
“I’m tired.”
“.......”
“Why are you trying to save me? Did you forget what happened in Yeranhess? I tried to kill you. Do you think the me back then and the me now are any different? No, even if I went back now, I’d still try to kill you. More surely and more precisely. Then, unlike now, you wouldn’t carelessly show me mercy. You wouldn’t harbor any pointless expectations toward me. You wouldn’t hope that I might become your ally. You’d simply see me as a massive threat, and do everything in your power to kill me.”
Even if the existence called Hella had value to be used.
If the threat surpassed that value, Frondier would surely not hesitate.
If only he could do that.
If only it could be that way.
“......I want to see Loki.”
“.......”
Frondier watched Hella for a moment, then rose to his feet.
“Hella. Let me say just one thing.”
“.......”
“Whether you built Naglfar out of human fingernails and toenails, or ripped out tongues and used them as carpet, I couldn’t care less.”
“What did you say?”
“I’m not here to save every human.”
Frondier had already said this to someone else.
He was not some savior. Even when he saved people, it was only that the result turned out that way.
He was simply—
“I just hate people who treat everything like a joke.”
“.......”
“I’ve understood very well that you’re of no use to me.”
With that, Frondier spoke and walked away. Toward Yggdrasil, which Hella had been guarding in front of.
To his back, Hella spoke.
“You’re going to leave me like this?”
“Then what am I supposed to do? Do I have to grant every single one of your wishes?”
Frondier’s words were as sharp and cold as frost. No—so cold that they almost felt hot.
“Live or die, do as you like.”
Saying that, Frondier walked again.
Then, as if suddenly remembering,
“Selena, let’s go. You’re not hurt anywhere?”
he spoke to Selena in a quite different voice.
Belphegor, who had been quietly watching from behind, threw in a jab.
“Nothing to say to me? I protected the princess, you know.”
“Shall I personally kill you?”
“Touchy, aren’t we.”
Belphegor shrugged his shoulders, and Frondier clicked his tongue, tsk, at him. Frondier then strode toward Yggdrasil together with Selena.
Belphegor watched them quietly, then smiled faintly and looked at Hella.
“You lived after all, Hella.”
“Insolent demon. Don’t talk like you knew it would happen.”
“As if I could know.”
Belphegor took a step toward Hella.
“I was hoping, though.”
“......What?”
For a moment, Hella couldn’t understand what Belphegor meant.
He brought his mouth close to her ear.
“Listen carefully.”
“Don’t you dare come near—”
“Shh.”
Belphegor lowered his voice, shot a quick glance at the departing Frondier, then spoke again to Hella.
“──A message from Loki.”
***
If it becomes certain that a god is going to attack humans.
From the human side, there is something that must take priority above all else.
“Malia, how is it? Any harvest?”
“I’m sorry, not yet.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s not like it’s your fault anyway.”
At Malia’s apology, Philly shook her head.
Malia was sitting still inside the imperial palace.
She might look like she wasn’t doing anything, but in truth she was working harder than anyone.
“The Empire is vast. It won’t be easy to find.”
“But for a descent, you need not only people, but a suitable place as well. I didn’t think we’d be this long without finding a single clue.......”
Malia furrowed the corners of her eyes.
They were currently searching for the place where a god would descend.
For a god to attack humans meant they would descend, and that meant human worship was taking place somewhere.
Ironically, even in this situation, someone among humans was praying for a god’s descent.
That was why Malia was now searching for that place.
By using the maximum range of shared senses she could manage.
Of course, she was not the only one searching. Malia shifted her gaze slightly and spoke.
“How are things on your side, Mr. Spy.”
[......It’s Gregory.]
At the same time. Frondier’s house in Atlas.
Gregory answered with a subtle expression.
He too was searching for worship sites through his crows, just like Malia.
“Could you please start remembering at some point. Are you going to keep calling me ‘Spy’ forever?”
[What does it matter? Between us.]
What kind of answer is that?
While Gregory was briefly dumbfounded, Malia spoke.
[And Her Highness has a message she told me to pass on exactly as is.]
“......Her Highness Philly, you mean?”
[Yes. She says, ‘If you’re thinking of slacking off just because I’m not watching, then every promise will be treated as if it never existed.’]
“......Yes, ma’am. I’ll keep that in mind.”
What he was doing was almost the same as Malia, but his treatment was very different.
Gregory had only just recently been released.
From Philly’s point of view, who knew nothing about what kind of person Gregory was, he was just a suspicious man with a criminal record. She was willing to trust him because Malia was there, but that trust only went about halfway. Given Philly’s personality, the fact she trusted him even halfway was impressive in itself.
Gregory replied and narrowed his eyes.
'It’s strange for it to be this invisible.'
His expression showed a hint of impatience. Malia was not much different.
'Is it not on this continent? If there isn’t a single worship site anywhere on Agoris, then there’s no way for me to find it.'
Gregory bit his lip.
If it were the Falind continent, his eyes wouldn’t reach that far. His animal control couldn’t cross continents.
In that sense, whatever Malia’s power was, it somehow reached even beyond a continent’s distance. A power specialized in a single field was truly terrifying.
'......No. Even if the main site is in Falind, there should be something similar somewhere in Agoris.'
For a god to attack humans was both a punishment directed at the human Frondier and a means to stop him.
If they wanted to inflict great damage on humans, the wise move would be to attack Agoris and Falind at the same time. Even if Frondier was incomparably strong, he was still only one person. It was impossible for him to cover two continents.
That was why they were searching this meticulously, like combing through hair—but they had still found nothing.
“Then the only worship site really is on the Falind continent?”
Riri said. Arald nodded.
“That seems to be the case. For Mr. Gregory’s ability to fail to find it.”
“......It’s a bit burdensome to have you put that much faith in me, though.”
Gregory answered, but in truth, he thought the same.
A worship site couldn’t be concealed with magic like a Gate. It was too big for that, and it had to be a place where people regularly came to pray. Even if they couldn’t locate the place itself, they could find it by tracking the movements of a certain number of people.
Gregory had never before scoured an entire region with as many eyes of birds and rats as he was doing now.
And yet he still couldn’t see anything here in Agoris.
“......If there’s any remaining possibility, it would have to be the Palma royal palace.”
“The royal palace?”
“Yes. That’s the one place birds or rats can’t enter.”
“Can’t you just sneak in?”
“I tried that, but they all died. There was a barrier that refused anything non-human.”
Where birds or rats could not go, Gregory’s eyes could not reach.
Of course, it was hardly likely that the barrier had been made specifically to guard against Gregory’s ability. It was probably just that he got caught in a defensive barrier, or, more simply, that they’d put it there for hygiene.
So the thought that there might be a worship site somewhere inside the palace was merely the result of eliminating other possibilities.
Riri looked at Arald.
“How’s the situation at sea? You said Aster has to go to Falind, right? Doesn’t he have to cross the sea?”
At that, Arald shook their head.
“It seems it won’t be easy to avoid Poseidon’s eyes. Well, if you’re crossing the sea, it’s probably best to give up on any expectation that you can avoid the sea god.”
“In the end, the only way is to convince Poseidon?”
“Trying to negotiate with a god while at war with gods is hardly realistic. It’ll take all sorts of lies and bluffs, and the timing will have to line up. And you’d need the guts to brazenly pull all of that off.”
“......Yeah, that’s impossible right now.”
“Right. For now, it is.”
Riri nodded as if convinced.
Watching that, Aias quietly asked Pielot next to them,
“Why is Instructor Aster trying to cross continents?”
“There’s an important weapon there. A spear called Mistilteinn,”
“A spear?!”
At the word spear, Aias’ eyes sparkled.
Since when did you like spears that much. Pielot swallowed down the retort that rose to his lips.
“Anyway, if Instructor Aster—no, Teacher—gets that spear, our fighting strength will be reinforced.”
“If it’s such a good spear, wouldn’t it be fine whoever has it? There must be lots of people on that continent who are good with spears.”
Mistilteinn was a powerful weapon.
In this world where legends had actual effect, Mistilteinn would, by the records, surely be fatal against gods.
There was no strict need for Aster to be the one to take it. On that point, Aias was right.
However,
“But it has to be Instructor Aster.”
“Why?”
“......Just because.”
“Hm?”
Pielot drew a deep breath through his nose, then exhaled as his shoulders sank.
“Because that’s what Teacher Frondier wants.”
