CH 11

There is a good reason why I didn’t expect it from the time I heard that princesses were being pursued by Orcs in the first place.

I’ve followed the route of the extinction of the Beastmen only twice.

Once as a Dwarf, and once as an Orc.

When I was a Dwarf, the ending condition didn’t affect the extinction of the Beastmen much, so I didn’t pay much attention to it. As an Orc, I tried to play without the Beastmen somehow, but I couldn’t withstand the extreme difficulty and ended up dying.

In the end, during both times I took the route of the extinction of the Beastmen, I didn’t attempt to prevent their extinction, nor did I seek out any information related to it.

After all, the ‘Omega World’ didn’t present an easy-to-find storyline for the Beastmen’s extinction, and I wasn’t even playing as a Beastmen, so what did it matter?

Later on, even if I found out, I didn’t care about it at the time.

… But who could have known it would turn out like this?

Damn it, how frustrating.

As I was lost in thought, Atir suddenly spoke.

-But didn’t they call them princesses? Is the Kella family royalty?

“They’re Beastmen. It’s their tradition for the strongest to become the ruler.”

Atir doesn’t seem to know much about the topic of spirits.

Maybe living only in the forest with the Elves has left him in the dark about the ways of the world.

While Atir and I were engaged in this small talk, behind us, my mother was listening to the story of why the four cat siblings were fleeing.

“So you all ended up running away from the orcs.”

“Yes. The only survivors are us. The rest are all dead…”

“I see.”

My mother’s expression turned sorrowful as she embraced the girls.

In the midst of the tearful atmosphere, I let out a sigh and quietly intervened.

“Little one, let me ask you something.”

“What is it?”

The one who answered was the young girl who had tried to rush to my mother earlier, but I had stopped her. She was about ten years old.

Perhaps she didn’t like being called “little one”, Her lips pouted.

Regardless, she was still a little one.

Ignoring her reaction, I continued.

“Then what happened to the other royal families? Are you the last remaining royal bloodline among the survivors?”

“…Unfortunately, all of our brothers are dead. We’re the only ones left.”

I suppose that’s how it is.

Summing up the children’s story, the content is as follows.

One day, the absolute authority of the royal family, centered around the “War Beasts”, collapsed.

The Beastmen, known as the “War Beasts”, were beings who valued strength and adhered to the tradition and belief that the strong would naturally become leaders. If a being inheriting the power of the gods became the leader, it was a natural progression. Conversely, if they lost their power, it was also natural for them to be brought down.

While their story didn’t explicitly mention that the “War Beasts” lost their power, as someone who understood the subtext, it was easy to infer.

Anyway, due to a sudden rebellion, as the girls expressed it, the royal families were caught off guard. Most of them were subjugated, and internal power struggles began among the noble families to establish a new monarchy.

As internal divisions grew, and the Beastmen turned against each other, they fell apart over the course of a few months. Somehow, nearby Orcs, another warrior race, sensed their weakness and began attacking them.

In this state of internal division, the weakened Beastmen fell victim to the Orcs’ surprise attacks. Only the royal family members managed to barely survive and are now fleeing, as the story goes.

For a nation with a history spanning 300 years and serving as the capital of a single species, Kell Van’s fate was quite a pitiful tale.

It was truly a chaotic and nonsensical story that could be summarized in five minutes.

I nodded in agreement with the notion that all those stories were not much different from the game’s content.

Without further ado, I asked directly, “Did the ‘War Beasts’ lose their power, leading to their current situation?”

“!! How did you…?”

“No, you had a power struggle with me earlier. If you were truly a ‘War Beast,’ you wouldn’t have been so easily blocked by me.”

That’s right. The girl I was talking to now was the one who was rushing at my mother, and I had intervened because she mistook Artir’s healing flame for an attack.

Even if she were young, a true ‘War Beast’ wouldn’t have had only that much power. At least someone like me could easily overpower them.

…Or not?

“Ugh…”

Was she caught feeling foolish?

The girl’s expression turned somewhat restless, and she began to stamp her feet.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“Little one, I understand what you’re worried about.”

Suddenly, my own behavior from just moments ago, where I had been anxious and uneasy, flashed through my mind.

I found myself relating to the girls’ uneasiness and anxiety over trivial matters.

An unintended chuckle escaped me.

“Don’t worry. I told you before. We’re not your enemies. Do you think I’d be acting like a villain, having strange thoughts about guests who follow the etiquette of the forest?”

I wasn’t exactly mimicking her mother, but I tried to use the warmest tone I could, picturing her in my mind as I spoke.

It was challenging, but it seemed to work. The girl’s anxious expression visibly eased.

Every word I spoke seemed to resonate deeply, proving just how focused she was. Indeed, dealing with children was complicated.

They react strongly to every word, making it difficult to choose what to say, and their sensitivity causes dramatic emotional shifts, making it quite a challenge.

Once again, I carefully chose my words, speaking slowly.

“Don’t worry. While I may not have undergone my coming-of-age ceremony, I’m also one of the Elves. I’m not lacking in pride to the extent of violating the forest’s oath.”

“….You haven’t undergone the coming-of-age ceremony yet?”

Was that the point of concern?

There’s no reason to be embarrassed about it, but for some reason, blinking my eyes makes me feel like I’m revealing something unnecessary.

“Oh, right. It’s only about two more weeks.”

Ah, now that I think about it, if I mess up, I might not even be able to participate in the coming-of-age ceremony.

It’s just two weeks away from the coming-of-age ceremony, and it doesn’t seem like my journey with these little ones will end before that.

In the game world, there were often instances where the tutorial ended without the character having undergone their coming-of-age ceremony.

At such times, naturally, a notification window would pop up indicating the end of the tutorial, followed by a job selection window. The progression would proceed just like when the character completes their coming-of-age ceremony, as usual.

The only difference was that the character hadn’t officially undergone the ceremony in the village, but there were no system penalties.

“Then you’re very young for an elf, right?”

“Well, is that so?”

From the perspective of Elves, who are known for their longevity, an Elf who hasn’t even reached the age of 20 would still be considered a young child.

In reality, for me and my peers—Eder and the other two—our treatment from the village folk had always been that of children who needed to be looked after, not more or less.

“Yet you’re still quite strong… to the point of taking on three adult Elves.”

“Well, I didn’t take them down.”

Looking at the small one, whose ears and tail were drooping, it seemed like she was wallowing in her own powerlessness.

It’s understandable.

The Elves from the neighboring village(?) are said to have fought and defeated three adults since they were young, yet they themselves, having lost the power of the gods, were weaklings who were underestimated by their own kind and allowed rebellion.

Should we call it an inferiority complex or wounded pride?

Whatever it was, the emotions she was feeling were probably not of the positive kind.

Almost absentmindedly, I ruffled her hair with my hand.

“….Huh?”

“Such worries from a young one already?”

I might not fully understand, but the concerns of this little one, hidden under the façade of being royal, are surely not of a simple nature.

For the Beastmen, the term “royalty” is another name for the strongest.

Having been the most powerful, they have the authority to rule, and their kin naturally submit to them.

However, they are a race that can’t simply stand by and let those who aren’t the strongest rule. They possess extreme belligerence, and despite being dominant by nature, they feel a sense of responsibility for their kind being thrown into internal strife after losing their divine power.

Quite foolish.

Why should these little ones bear such responsibility?

Who can force these young ones, who are barely out of their infancy, to reign over the rough and uncivilized Beastmen?

It’s not anyone’s fault.

The Beastmen merely followed their innate instincts to secure their position of power, disposing of the weak, while the existing royalty had their turn to yield the position of the strongest to a new powerful individual.

Unfortunately, the transition of power, which should have been swift, was unexpectedly prolonged, and the action of the Orcs, who had discerned this, happened quickly.

Well, that’s one way to see it, but comparing myself to them wasn’t a very wise thing to do in the first place.

After all, wasn’t I a character with maximized latent abilities?

And in terms of age, I haven’t heard any remarks about being young from adult Elves. From my perspective, these kids are just little ones.

“….Esrin.”

“Yeah?”

Whether it was due to the comforting touch feeling good or not, the young beastman closed her eyes for a moment, wearing an expression that seemed to savor the sensation.

“I’m Esrin. That’s my name.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, I haven’t exchanged common names with these guys.

I glanced at Mother, who was already smiling warmly, probably because she had finished exchanging names with everyone.

“Eldmir Arhitea.”

“I’m Esrin, Esrin Kella. Nice to meet you, Eldmir.”

“I-I’m Ketrit Kella. C-Call me Ket… please.”

“…Ersi Kella.”

As I responded with my name, the other youngsters began revealing their names one by one.

Let’s summarize.

The eldest one is Kelis, the second is Ersi, the third is Esrin, and the fourth is Ketrit…

Right.

I’ve got them all memorized.

I grinned.

“I’ll do my best to remember.”

Though I didn’t know how long it would last, I hadn’t intended to leave the village in this manner.

Nevertheless, I had departed from the village for the time being.

・・・❈・・・

Night has fallen.

It’s my first time experiencing homelessness.

Being a forest-dwelling species, a race that loves the forest and lives within it, but this is my first time experiencing homelessness in the woods.

I wondered if it was because I had been too preoccupied with practical combat experience.

“I’ve gathered some dry branches.”

“Thank you, Eld.”

I brought along some firewood and a few fruits for our evening meal.

With six mouths to feed, it feels like there might be a shortage, so I might have to go out once more to procure supplies.

“Eld, could you come sit here for a moment?”

“Yes.”

Just as I was about to head out again to gather provisions, Mother called my name.

Curious about what it might be, I approached her. Glancing at the other little ones, I saw that they were all huddled together inside a tent made of earth created by Mother’s elemental magic.

They seemed to be resting quite comfortably within its cozy confines.

Perhaps noticing that I had food with me, they started to get up from their spots as if they were going to leave. I responded by gesturing with my mouth that we should eat together later, and they settled back down.

Those adorable little ones.

“What’s the matter?”

“Eld, there’s something I want to say about how you behaved today.”

“Ah…”

You probably want to talk about the way I demonstrated my skills against the three sentinels.

I had a feeling something was up.

Well, the fact that I have combat experience and had been secretly undertaking missions on my own was something I kept hidden from Mother.

For good reason, as she would surely worry and strongly object if she found out, preventing me from undertaking such actions again.

Given Mother’s personality, if she were to discover the nature of my escapades, she would grab hold of me, crying and stopping me from doing such things with a pale expression.

So, I had tried not to display any reckless behavior until after the rite of passage, but even that plan went awry after my encounter with the sentinels of El Rien.

What kind of scolding am I in for?

I’m sure I’ll get an earful.

There’s no doubt about it.

Even though my mother has a warm and affectionate nature, if it were an incident of this scale, she would definitely be angry.

Indeed, just the thought of seeing my mother angry after a long time filled me with a subtle sense of fear.

Damn it, here I am at 50 years old, feeling scared of getting scolded by my mother.

“…When did my son become so reliable?”

Mother, who had been staring at my face for a while, gently smiled and patted my head as if comforting me.

Surprised by her unexpected behavior, my eyes widen.

I cautiously asked.

“Aren’t you angry?”

Mother’s smile deepened.

“Did you think I’d get angry?”

“Well, considering that I deceived you and… um…”

“I know deceiving your own mother is wrong.”

“….”

As expected, she was angry.

I was speechless and simply lowered my head.

Seeing my reaction, Mother smiled and let out a small sigh.

“Eld, my son. The day you were born, it felt like a blessing from the forest. It was as if the entire forest—no, the entire world—was singing to celebrate your birth. I can’t forget the sight of sunlight on your forehead and the wind caressing your cheeks.”

“…”

“Your birth was undoubtedly a great blessing and happiness to me. Whatever tasks you undertake, whatever strength you gain, I’ve never once thought of them as wrong.”

Her words made me widen my eyes once again.

“You… knew?”

Elysia smiled wryly.

“Do you think we’re unaware of the events unfolding in the forest?”

“…”

Curse those spirits.

Should I just let them catch me and teach me a lesson once and for all?

“Oh, don’t have such wicked thoughts.”

“Can you tell?”

“Could your mother not read a single expression on her son’s face?”

In response, I couldn’t help but force a wry smile.

Indeed, I couldn’t let my mother get the better of me.

“Each time you engage in those tasks, the forest seems to beseech me with its cries. It’s asking me to rein you in a bit. You keep getting into situations that shouldn’t happen within the forest.”

“…No, those guys just speak in such an annoying way. It makes people uneasy.”

Left speechless, I scratched the back of my head and had no choice but to express my inner complaint towards the spirits.

“Do you know how surprised your mother was when she first heard those cries? Oh, my stubborn child. I would have visited the elder and pleaded for my son’s safety.”

“You went to see the elder?!”

That’s why the elder suddenly visited during my training.

Fortunately, I sensed it in advance, ran for my life, and managed to hide, so I didn’t get caught. But since the next day, he has always had a stern expression whenever he looks at me.

I thought I hadn’t been caught, but did he actually know all along?

“But why didn’t he say anything?”

That’s the biggest question.

If the elder knew the nature of my training and even visited me for that reason, then why did he leave me alone after that?

“It seems your teacher stopped him. The elder wanted to know what mindset you had during your training, what determination you had for such practice… and what kind of child you are. Even I, your mother, had to explain your unknown side in a calm tone. It’s quite embarrassing for a mother… If only I had known about those aspects of you earlier, the regrets would have been even greater.”

“Uh…”

Caught off guard by the sudden shift in atmosphere, I couldn’t help feeling perplexed.

“Eld, my son, I’m worried. While there’s no doubt that there’s immense pride and satisfaction in seeing you become so strong, there’s also the fear that you might get consumed by the idea that you can’t afford to lack such strength. It’s as if you’re being given such significant power to prepare for an impending, unknown catastrophe. Even if I pray to the forest deities every day, this underlying sense of unease doesn’t dissipate.”

“…”

I couldn’t hide my inner guilt from my mother’s words.

She had accurately seen through the purpose of my training, which was to prepare for the significant events that could unfold within the game.

Is it a woman’s intuition, or is it the power of motherly love?

My mother, Elysia, a woman, had an uncanny ability to foresee the future.

In the end, I could only speak in such a way.

“Don’t worry, Mother. I just want to become strong for the sake of becoming strong.”

The race war, the sinister demons, and evil fiends lurking beyond dimensions, constantly seeking opportunities to descend upon the mortal realm.

Evil sorcerers shed their human façades.

Priests performing forbidden rituals, seeking to harness the power of transcendent beings…

Stories teeming with all sorts of malevolence overflowed within the ‘Omega World’.

Players were confronted with an overwhelming variety of content.

Thus, countless world-ending endings existed within this ‘Omega World’, most of them culminating in the player’s death before reaching that point.

While it may have appeared to be a fantasy game, ‘Omega World’ was essentially a preordained apocalypse.

While enjoying an immensely colossal game in the realm of fiction, facing the reality would be even more dreadful, with a world more terrifying than this.

“I’ll go fetch more supplies. …And really, worrying about that is pointless. Do you think such horrific events could truly happen in this land that El Lyradelle watches over? So don’t worry. Instead of that, maybe we should think about how I might not make it to the coming-of-age ceremony two weeks from now if things continue like this.”

“Hehe, that sounds like a good idea.”

Finally regaining her laughter, my mother’s cheerful demeanor brought a warm smile to my face as well.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Take care.”

As usual, we exchanged mundane farewells, and I rose from my seat.

What should I prepare for dinner tonight?

If it were just my mother and me, a simple fruit platter would suffice, but today we had some feline guests as well.

“Shall we go hunting for a while?”

Let me think of a prayer for the prey.

I hummed a little tune under my breath.

My footsteps felt lighter than ever before.