045
“Well, who knows? That’s something for you to figure out. After all, we are sworn rival families.”
“Ugh, this is why I don’t like you.”
“Talking so rudely to me, calling me ‘you.’ If this were my family, you’d already be sent to the basement.”
At her retort, brother Elzen frowned deeply, rubbing his lips in frustration. But strangely… it didn’t seem like he truly hated her.
How do these two even know each other?
“Anyway, hand over my sister. I can’t fully trust that you won’t harm her.”
“You say that, but you do trust me, don’t you? Otherwise, why would you still let this adorable little bunny stay in my arms?”
“It’s not you I trust—it’s your ambition. You need to ally with us.”
Brother Elzen firmly extended his hand.
Pushed by his commanding presence, I left the pleasantly scented girl’s embrace and returned to brother’s arms.
“This is why I dislike sharp-witted people. They’re no fun to tease.”
Despite grumbling, sister Diorose obediently handed me over. Then she straightened her back and looked up at some unseen point above.
“Hmm, it’s about to begin. Your family’s adults must have known and sent you here anyway, so try to survive.”
Boom!
“Don’t worry about your little bunny; if things get dangerous, I’ll whisk her away.”
Boom!
“Don’t go bragging about the Velarion family’s shadow movement abilities. Have you forgotten this is near water?”
Bang!!
With that exchange, leaves fell from the trees in a flurry.
Snuggled tightly in brother Elzen’s arms, I gaped at the shadow that suddenly loomed over us.
[The Earth Spirit King ‘■’ exclaims.]
[Golem!]
A massive ‘something’ made of earth let out a monstrous roar.
It looked like a towering wave made of sand, but it had arms and eerie, hollow black eyes, making it incredibly strange.
“Oh, brother Leviwood is stepping in right away.”
Boom!
Before I could even properly see what was happening, a bright light flashed.
As dust rained down, I quickly shielded my eyes with my hands, squinting as I tried to see what was going on.
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ explains.]
[Leviwood Pashayen attacked the golem. It seems he plans to destroy the core by going inside.]
Core?
[The Earth Spirit King ‘■’ elaborates.]
[A golem is an artificial creature created by imbuing a magic stone with life force, then covering it with layers of earth, dust, and rock. Destroy the core, and it will collapse.]
Boom! Crash!!
As the glowing letters disappeared quickly, I saw the collapsing golem snap dozens of trees in an instant.
When the thick dust settled, I spotted class leader Leviwood standing on the golem’s head.
Behind him, another golem was rising.
“How?!”
Startled, I blinked, but before I knew it, class leader Leviwood had disappeared from sight.
More booming sounds followed, and amidst them, I heard Teacher Cedric’s urgent voice.
“Young Miss! Young Master Elzen!”
“We’re over here.”
“Hah, I was worried! Young Master, please help with the evacuation.”
Sliding down from brother Elzen’s arms, I quickly ran toward Teacher Cedric and Lina, who had arrived with him.
“Lina!”
“Young Miss!”
Lina, who had been anxiously pacing back and forth, burst into tears the moment she saw me.
“I couldn’t find you anywhere! I asked lord Leviwood, and he said you were with the young master, but then suddenly, everything became dangerous!”
Lina looked as though she might truly cry, so I hurriedly waved my hands to reassure her.
“I’m fine. We’ll all defeat them together.”
Even though I wasn’t particularly strong right now, there were plenty of others here with awakened abilities. It wasn’t just class leader Leviwood and brother Elzen.
“All the children without awakened abilities and the staff—get into the river.”
While class leader Leviwood handled the massive golems, brother Elzen issued instructions.
But just as he prepared to use his abilities—
“……….?!”
Whoosh!
The ground trembled beneath us, and something burst through the water.
Roar!
It had rough hands, a jagged mouth, and hollow black eyes.
Though smaller in size, it was still a golem.
“Get out of the way!”
“Ahhh!”
Brother Elzen and Joy jumped in to block it, but the golem’s punch was too strong.
Water splashed violently, and the impact caused dead fish to float to the surface with their bellies upturned.
Worse yet, golems like it were popping up all over the place.
“Everyone, evacuate down here first!”
Naiad, who had created a large vine shield, shouted while a dirt fist fell toward him. Fortunately, Ilyad intercepted it with his own punch, breaking it apart.
‘I want to help too! I want to do something!’
Boom, boom, boom.
The ground shook with every step the golems took, and my heart raced to match the tremors. My feet twitched restlessly.
I didn’t just want to be protected. I wanted to go out and protect everyone too!
My whole body felt like a drum, and even my breathing became erratic.
“Golems are huge.”
Am I scared? Hmm.
Not really.
Why not?
“Aren’t you afraid, child?”
“Nope.”
“That’s surprising. Most people would freeze in fear seeing something like that.”
At some point, the crescent moon—or rather, sister Diorose—had approached me and was stroking my head.
“I can’t officially intervene here, so this is the best I can do.”
One of the advancing golems suddenly cracked on its surface.
Pierced by what looked like spiked shadows, the golem crumbled into sand and scattered.
Watching that scene left me breathless.
A sense of exhilaration made my chest swell with excitement.
Now I understood.
Not only was I unafraid, but I also wanted to join the fight.
“This is a problem. We need young master Elzen here to organize the evacuation, but there are too many golems. There’s no opening.”
Teacher Cedric, guiding people to take shelter under the vine shield, muttered as much.
‘Exactly, there are way too many of them!’
Brother Elzen and Joy were working together to battle the massive golems, while class leader Leviwood fought off multiple golems on his own. Ilyad was smashing golems heading toward the evacuation area.
Even so, the golems kept reappearing endlessly.
“If only one more person could help… But the power of water doesn’t pair well against golems. Ugh, it’s clear they sent me here just to torment me! I should’ve known something was off when young master Mikard, who can attack a wide area, wasn’t included in the picnic roster!”
Teacher Cedric shouted, pulling at his hair in frustration.
‘Hmm, even I can see that everyone has their roles.’
Just as Teacher Cedric said, if even one more person helped, brother Elzen could come to evacuate the others.
‘Spirit Kings, please grant me righteous power to defeat the golems and protect the people.’
I clasped my hands tightly and prayed, but the Spirit Kings remained silent.
It must be impossible without a contract, right?
Disappointed, I slumped my shoulders.
At that moment—
[The Spirit King of ‘○○’ bursts into hearty laughter.]
[A rare human that I like.]
Huh?
[The Spirit King of ‘○○’ shows great favor.]
[Very well. If you can guess my domain and name correctly right here, I will make a contract with you.]
What?!
‘Will you at least give me a hint?’
Surprised, I calmly asked the question.
I thought I could guess the domain, but the name? Without a hint, I wouldn’t know it at all.
[The Spirit King of ‘○○’ nods.]
[Riddle me this. I reside where the highest mountains coil and where the freest dances take place. I run faster than any horse on the songs of gypsies. I existed long before your history. Who am I, and what is my name?]
I wanted to answer confidently, but it felt impossible.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I raised my hand.
“Sister chance!”
The Spirit King didn’t say I couldn’t ask others, right?
Even if all I could manage was chirping, I had to try.
“Is there something you’re curious about?”
“Yes. Can you and Teacher Cedric help me figure this out?”
Teacher Cedric is smart. And since this sister (Diorose) seems clever too, surely they’d know!
I gave a detailed explanation, carefully pronouncing each word, while leaving out why I was suddenly asking such a question.
As I explained, it seemed Teacher Cedric realized I was trying to guess the Spirit King’s name, as his expression grew somewhat serious.
“In ancient language, freedom is called ‘Sha.’ And…”
At that moment, instead of Teacher Cedric, a refined voice elegantly answered.
“The highest mountain represents the sky, and the dance is performed with feet, which touch the earth. In the ancient language, a word that encompasses both above and below is ‘Parque.’”
