"I see. So, Fate, you want to know the purpose of our group—the Dawn Alliance?"
"Yeah. If I can understand that, it would clear up a lot of questions."
The reason they're making the cursed sword.
The reason they caused that incident on Blue Island.
The reason they're targeting Aisha and Snow.
If I can understand the purpose of the Dawn Alliance, I think all those questions will be answered at once.
After all, it all starts with Lena and her group.
"Hmm."
Lena made a conflicted face.
"You won’t tell me?"
"No, no, it’s fine. I promised, so I’ll tell you. They didn’t say I couldn’t talk about our purpose, after all. I’m just thinking where to start. It’s a really long story."
"Take your time. I’ve got plenty right now."
"Alright then..."
Lena sat down on a fallen tree nearby.
Then she patted the spot beside her.
"Come sit here, and let’s talk slowly, okay?"
"Um… excuse me, then."
Refusing might be rude, so I sat down next to Lena.
"Hehehe~"
"Hey—"
Suddenly, Lena leaned on my shoulder.
"W-What are you doing!?"
"It’s fine, right? Just this much."
"N-No! No way, that’s not okay!"
"Tch, such a prude. Oh well. Eventually, I’ll charm you so much that you’ll be the one begging for it."
She said that with a bright smile.
Honestly, that smile was incredibly attractive...
If I hadn’t met Sofia, I probably would’ve been charmed in an instant.
She’s that charming of a girl, and yet...
Why is Lena part of something like the Dawn Alliance?
If possible, I’d like to know the reason for that too.
"It all starts with a little story from the past... Fate, you know about the Goddess, right?"
"Yeah. She’s our mother—the one who gave birth to humans. The mother of all."
But...
Lately, it seems like there’s been a bit of distance between her and humanity.
"Exactly, that’s the general understanding, right? But it’s actually a little different."
"Different?"
"She’s not the mother of all. Beastkin are an exception."
"Huh?"
"There’s a different god who created the beastkin."
A different god?
That’s a shocking thing to say.
If someone announced that at a scientific conference, it would cause a huge stir—
…or maybe not.
More likely, it’d just be laughed off as nonsense.
"It’s hard to believe right away... but is that really true?"
"Totally and absolutely true."
"Hmm..."
"Ah, you’re doubting me, aren’t you?"
"Well, it’s kind of sudden..."
"I get it, I get it. I wish I had some proof to show, but unfortunately, I don’t. So from here on, I need you to listen with the assumption that what I’m telling you is true, okay? Even if you have doubts, just hold them in and hear me out till the end."
"Yeah, got it."
I was the one who said I wanted to hear the story.
No matter what kind of story it is, I have to listen to it until the end.
"Like I just said, there’s another god. That god is... the Divine Beast."
"..."
I almost choked from shock.
The Divine Beast...
Could that be referring to Snow?
"A god of beasts, so it's called the Divine Beast. Makes sense, right?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"The Divine Beast and the Goddess worked together to create their children. New lifeforms with traits from both humans and beasts... and that’s how beastkin were born."
"I see."
It was a convincing story.
Since the two gods cooperated, it makes sense that a new race inheriting the traits of both was born.
"Long ago... the Goddess and the Divine Beast lived together in harmony. Humans and beastkin also lived peacefully. They made up for each other’s shortcomings, supported one another, and led calm, happy lives."
Lena spoke as if gazing off into the distance.
Her profile looked a little lonely...
Like a child who had lost their way.
"Humans were more intelligent. Beastkin were more physically capable. So by supporting one another, they were able to evolve in a better direction."
"Sounds like an ideal relationship."
"Yeah, it really was. But even then, humans were weaker... When they went out hunting, it was usually the humans who got hurt. The beastkin tried to protect them, but there were limits."
"That’s just how it was, I guess..."
"But the beastkin wanted to do something about it. They used their own power and began researching ways to give humans new strength... They kept at it, and eventually, they completed the Holy Sword."
"What?"
A completely unexpected word came up out of nowhere.
"The Holy Sword was created by the beastkin."
Comments
Post a Comment