Chapter 237

Kyle. Do you know how big a star is?

It’s a very small, shiny thing. But it’s not as small as it looks.

Actually, it’s very, very big. Even the smallest star shining now is bigger than the entire world we’re standing on. It’s that big, but it’s so far away that it looks so small from here.

The Lord’s kingdom is like that too. It’s too big, but even farther away.

It’s not just small-looking, it’s completely invisible. So ordinary people can’t see, hear, or feel the Lord. He is everywhere, but few know that.

I don’t know what kind of gaze He has towards you humans.

You are beings that possess both reason and madness, chaos and order, wanting to move forward to the future but sometimes regressing to the past, seemingly contradictory and antagonistic.

But all life is like that.

From the moment He affirmed your free will, He might have been watching all of that.

From the moment He affirmed your greed, He might have known that it’s not your greed that will bring your end.

Humans sometimes overestimate themselves.

They think they can completely destroy themselves.

Is that really so? Do you even have the choice to decide your own end?

That you are here, right now, in this moment…

That is…

“Master, Master?”

A nostalgic voice.

A lot of time has passed, but it’s a voice I can never forget.

That voice brushed past me with a dizzying sensation. A familiar face seemed to vaguely appear and then disappear.

When I came to my senses, Roka was holding me tightly, not letting go. A relieved expression finally appeared on her face.

“I was really worried. Are you okay? Are you still dizzy?”

“I’m fine… I was just dizzy for a moment.”

It seems I got dizzy from staring at that big thing for too long. Or maybe it was because old memories suddenly came to mind?

“Sorry for worrying you. This doesn’t usually happen…”

“Do you know how shocked I was when you suddenly staggered in front of me? Take a rest. You almost fell from up there!”

Come to think of it, the last thing I remember was riding on the dragon’s back, looking down at the ground, but now I’m back on the ground. The dragon, having shrunk its body, was looking at me with concern, stretching its neck.

[Are you okay?]

“I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong with my body.”

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. Then I remembered what I was doing.

I was trying to see that big thing with new eyes beyond human sight. I wanted to know more about it, so I used those eyes to a level my human body couldn’t handle.

It was my first time, so I had no idea what I was doing.

Like most first attempts, it didn’t go well.

I almost lost consciousness and fell, but Roka caught me. The child’s voice was still trembling. Yeah, if I saw Roka like that in front of me, I’d do the same.

But I saw everything I needed to see.

“Let’s hurry back. We really don’t have time now.”

It’s not just alive,

It’s full of vitality.

If it’s really alive, why hasn’t it moved until now?

I just realized the reason. It’s similar to how bears hibernate in winter.

It’s just that its winter was incomparably longer than other creatures.

Now it’s waking up from its long sleep,

And I finally understood what my friend Bluebird whispered long ago.

*****

When you go through tough times together, you either become enemies or comrades.

Since it’s hard enough already, if people make it harder, it’s really unbearable. So, sensible people usually choose the latter, not the former.

“Life in the Eastern Plains is never smooth. Nature is always harsh to humans, but in some places, it’s even harsher.”

Chancellor Rambus is someone who preserved his own color even under Epirna, keeping what was above his neck. He’s not the type to make enemies with his own hands.

“Then why not come to the Empire? Her Majesty would surely welcome someone like you with open arms.”

The Princess, much more mature now, quickly built a good relationship with him. It’s now common for her to chat with the Chancellor.

“No matter what, home is home. And I’m not as great a talent as you think. Having lived in the Beastman Kingdom all my life, how could I abandon this country?”

Before he could finish, the teacup on the table vibrated. The Chancellor’s eyes narrowed. Ardein, who was looking around in confusion, soon realized it wasn’t an attack and sat back down, relieved.

If it was an attack, it was an attack no one could question. That is, an attack by nature. This was a naturally triggered earthquake, something humans can only endure.

And the magnitude wasn’t that big, just a minor tremor that made the lights flicker and chairs shake.

“Whew, I thought something had happened. The Eastern Plains seem to have earthquakes often, huh?”

The tremor soon stopped. Ardein wasn’t too surprised. All information in the Empire is concentrated in the royal palace, and if an earthquake happens anywhere in the Empire, it’s immediately reported to the palace.

She’s not the type to panic over earthquakes, trembling in fear of nature’s power. But the Chancellor’s reaction was odd.

He wasn’t scared or panicked, but his face was full of doubt and suspicion. He composed himself and replied.

“So this is an earthquake. Of course, I’ve heard of it. I know it in my head, but experiencing it firsthand is a first, so I was a bit surprised just now.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I’ve lived in these plains all my life, but this is the first time I’ve experienced an earthquake. I’ve never even heard of one happening in the Eastern Plains. Sometimes people would panic over earthquakes, but nine times out of ten, it was just the Hydra rolling around. Or Epirna, the former Queen, shaking the earth during her training.”

Of course, no matter how strong a single monster or person is, they can only shake a tiny part of the surface. They can’t make such a wide area tremble.

“But this feels different. It’s much wider, calm yet… natural. If the intensity had been just a bit stronger, it would have been disastrous.”

So, when a large-scale earthquake happens, it brings terrible devastation. It’s the wrath of nature that no human power can mimic.

The Empire’s territory is so vast that some regions have been swept by major earthquakes. Ardein knew the power of such earthquakes well. So she nodded silently in agreement.

“So…”

Rumble!

The ground swayed like waves. There was no warning. The ground’s scream only came after it happened. Though the sway wasn’t big, it was enough to drop and break glass cups and cause various screams.

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

This time, the Chancellor seemed truly shocked, sitting dazed without even thinking to pick up the fallen teacup. He didn’t even seem to hear Ardein’s words.

“What on earth is this…”

The second tremor soon stopped. But if the same thing happened twice, it’s common sense that it could happen a third time.

“I… really don’t know what’s going on. The Eastern Plains are usually far from earthquakes.”

“Could it be… Roka doing something…”

“Her Majesty the Beast King is indeed remarkable, but she has no reason to cause this, and I’m not even sure if she has the ability. Even if she blasted the ground with Power Techniques, it would just dent the ground.”

Like most who have lived long, the old sheep intuitively realized something. This isn’t something that comes once and leaves, never to be seen again.

He had a bad feeling, but he shook his head and muttered.

“An old man like me, just getting older, gets anxious even at the sound of the wind. This must be the same. I’m not what I used to be.”

And a bit later, when the third tremor hit in the evening,

He realized the unease he felt wasn’t just a baseless fear.