In The Name Of Ingrad! (28)

Gamung looked over numerous stone tablets, wooden tablets, and various kinds of records, then asked Babamung a question.

“This cannot be all of the records, can it?”

“The history of the beastkin is long. So long that it cannot all be kept in one place… Moreover, because we do not wish to miss even a single hero of the same era as you, Gamung, we are creating many records.”

“…Did you say you watch over us through the Demon Dragon’s power?”

“That is right. We never miss anything, at any time.”

It was a fairly chilling story, so Gamung was left speechless. However, his curiosity made him bring out a question.

“Heroes of the same era as me. How many do you think there are?”

“Mm, originally, it is a secret, but I will tell you. Thirty-two.”

It was unexpected that there were quite a lot. However, while thinking of several faces that had potential, he quietly asked a question.

“Is my son Gard included as well?”

“Ah, I know who he is, but he still lacks the qualifications.”

Since he was certainly not yet a master who had risen to that rank, Gamung had expected that would be the case, but he felt relieved because it seemed they had a rough grasp of things.

That was because his son still had plenty of time. Since he also possessed sufficient talent, Gamung thought that someday he would be able to leave his name in beastkin history.

However, one more thing he was curious about came to mind, so he asked.

“Is His Majesty also included in beastkin history?”

“Mm, they say he is the divine messenger, do they not?”

“That is right. Our god personally blessed him. He even possesses absolute authority to command us. However, he does not use it recklessly.”

“It was an unexpected case. So our tribe, too, had to debate it for quite a long time, and as a result, we decided to record him in ‘history.’”

“…As expected, it turned out that way. I thought you might refuse to recognize him as a beastkin and ignore him.”

“We could not do that.”

Babamung pointed far off to one side and spoke to Gamung.

“That place will be newly opened as a record hall for him. We plan to leave every movement of his life there and have the beastkin of later generations manage it.”

“…Since you must have observed His Majesty, I will ask. Do you intend to accept his wishes?”

Gamung thought of the king, who had wanted to receive a portion of history from the Mole Beastkin so that the transfer of records could take place and beastkin history could be properly taught to beastkin.

And Gamung, too, was in favor of teaching beastkin history to the people living in Ingrad. That was why he had begun actively searching for the Mole Beastkin.

“The records we preserve are extremely private records. Records about the main currents… will need to be organized. It will take time.”

It was a passage that showed they were thinking about it positively. So Gamung said to Babamung,

“That is enough. His Majesty said this: a people who forget their history have no future. I, too, agree with those words so deeply that they pierce my bones.”

“He is a monarch capable of saying good words. How enviable.”

“Are you not doing the same thing as well?”

Babamung nodded at Gamung’s words and said,

“We beastkin were a race full of nothing but the foolishness of not knowing how to record history. Because of that, we were swayed by the likes of the Demonic Tribe and had to drive many clans to death. However, we who have recorded beastkin history until now know.”

“What do you mean?”

“How fiercely our people have lived. Because we know how hard they tried and how much they suffered so that they would never forget themselves, we had no choice but to hide even deeper underground. And from time to time, we passed history on to clans we had formed connections with and honored the will of our ancestors.”

Gamung thought it was a good thing. Moreover, he thought that if they had not existed, beastkin would have been branded as a barbaric race with no such thing as history.

Besides, even now, humans had a tendency to view beastkin with distant wariness.

For the single reason that they had sided with the Demon God, beastkin had been in a situation where they had to live lives rejected by most races.

‘If that person had not existed…’

This year, too, countless members of his race would have died, and he would have had to bury the corpses of many children with tears.

That was because the Demon God’s Month, the curse of magic power, was a heavenly punishment upon the beastkin.

“By the way, how did you endure the Demon God’s Month?”

Gamung knew the circumstances roughly, but he asked just in case. And Babamung showed a thick smile and said,

“I know that you have already learned all the circumstances while watching you for a long time. Still, you must want an answer. We… endure the curse through exchange with the merfolk.”

“I only asked to confirm. Even so, it is surprising that you exchange with those merfolk.”

As far as he knew, the Mole Beastkin had almost no combat ability. Moreover, this was the same for the merfolk, so was that why exchange between the two tribes had been possible?

As that thought suddenly crossed his mind, Babamung said,

“We are not the Mole Tribe of the past. Now, we have been able to obtain strength like that of you people on the surface.”

“…You devoted effort to military force as well?”

“We made the effort. So that we would not be a burden… That is why we exist as we are now.”

After receiving a suitable explanation of the circumstances and stepping into the place he was guided to, Gamung naturally let out a pleasant voice at the scent of wooden tablets filling the surroundings.

“This is quite a refreshing fragrance. It seems it has not been long since the wooden tablets were prepared. Is that right?”

“That is right. This is the second place where records concerning the divine messenger are left. It is also my office.”

Babamung then sat down in the large chair positioned in the center.

“You did not think very favorably of records about His Majesty, so why are you using this place as your office?”

“The part I do not like is that he attempted coexistence between humans and beastkin. Aside from that, I believe the achievements the divine messenger has accomplished are great.”

“…He chose exchange because he wished for the beastkin to prosper. In any case, are our numbers not very small?”

“That is right. Even if all the beastkin spread throughout the world are combined, they do not number two million.”

Gamung thought that was quite a lot, but in reality, after thinking of the beastkin in Ingrad, he asked,

“I understand that there are roughly five hundred thousand beastkin in Ingrad. It seems various beastkin tribes are spread across other continents. Are they… living well?”

“They still live the same lives beastkin lived before the divine messenger appeared. Lives where they must bury parents, acquaintances, or, if not them, wives and children every year… They are still suffering that cursed heavenly punishment.”

“I want to help them… Is there a way?”

“More than your strength, the strength of Ingrad will be desperately needed.”

Because those were correct words, Gamung first conveyed that he understood. Then, as he proceeded to say that he hoped they would continue exchanges in the future and asked whether there was anything Ingrad could help with, Babamung made one request.

“We wish to obtain good-quality paper. Stone tablets are frightening and difficult to manage. They are also easily damaged. Wooden tablets are the same. There are many cases where we suffer difficulties because of warping and various changes in quality. However, with Ingrad’s financial power, I believe you should be able to obtain paper that has been preservation-treated by magic.”

“I cannot give you an answer as if making a hasty judgment, but if there is steady exchange, and if your side organizes and distributes beastkin history, His Majesty will surely think positively of it.”

“If we can receive help for such a simple thing… we will make the effort.”

“That effort will bear fruit. I guarantee it.”

“What kind of person is the King of Ingrad?”

At Jeong Jina’s question, Kim Sangjin shrugged and said,

“It is certain that he is an incredible person. A human who can create a country of this scale in such a short time cannot possibly be ordinary. Besides, he did not focus only on military power, yet he achieved independence against the Empire, did he not?”

Viewed objectively, he thought he himself could never accomplish such a thing. Moreover, when he recalled the strength of the beastkin he had encountered several times on the battlefield, he thought it was surprising that the king had gained their goodwill or was able to place them under his command.

“I heard he was a brave warrior with an extremely large build?”

“No, according to the information I gathered, he is a slender handsome man and a mage. This must be right.”

At Park Jimin and Han Jiyeong’s words, U Hyeonwoo let out a sigh and said,

“That person is a ‘pharmacist.’ You all used the medicine that person supported us with, yet you keep saying stupid things?”

“But there is no way an ordinary pharmacist could make such amazing medicine, is there?”

“Then could a brave warrior make it?”

“Hehe… Who knows? Are you perhaps jealous, Hyeonwoo?”

At Jeong Jina’s words, as she teased U Hyeonwoo with an alluring expression, he leapt back to put distance between them and was about to say something.

“I can only envy how close all of you seem to be.”

At the Saintess’s words as she suddenly interjected, they awkwardly bowed their heads as if apologizing, but the Saintess was instead flustered by the Heroes’ behavior and waved her hands as she said,

“I… only said that because I was envious, since I never had friends. I hope you do not take it too much to heart.”

The Saintess looked lonely. She was an incredibly beautiful woman, intelligent as well, and she was a remarkable woman who had led the collapsed Apoca Kingdom with great difficulty and normalized at least about half of it, so the five found it difficult to deal with her.

In a way, they wondered if she might be a woman building achievements comparable to the King of Ingrad.

However, that had only been until now, and recently, the atrocities of the Corrupted Heroes had gone too far and reached a serious situation, so they remembered that they had come to ask for help. As the representative of the five, Kim Sangjin opened his mouth.

“We feel nothing but guilt that we cannot be a great strength to you. However, we think it is very fortunate that we can escort you like this, Saintess.”

“I, too, think it is fortunate that all of you are here. But… I believe what lies ahead will certainly not be favorable to us.”

“…It certainly must be a faraway country’s faraway story… Ah, I am sorry!”

Jeong Jina apologized after seeing the Saintess’s expression turn gloomy at the words she had accidentally spoken, but honestly, it was not wrong.

That was because it was an extremely sudden request for a visit. Moreover, she had been informed that the Dradnos Empire was uncomfortable with the fact that they had ignored the Dradnos Empire, which was providing major aid among neighboring nations, and had come all the way to Ingrad, so the Saintess felt even more troubled.

‘If it is Ingrad, which brought the Empire to its knees with the strength of a small number of people… perhaps they can help us overcome our difficulties…?’

Moreover, she had even received an oracle.

It was not an oracle from the “Central God” she believed in. It was certainly an oracle, but it could literally be called an oracle from a foreign god. When she looked through the documents, she discovered that it was an oracle from a god named “Artemisia,” and once the Saintess realized that this was the god of the beastkin and the state religion of Ingrad, she became certain that they would be able to receive help and had forced herself to come.

“By the way… they are quite late, are they not?”

She was probably talking about the request for an audience. After hearing that they could quickly move to Ingrad’s capital through Gate magic, she had thought she would be able to meet the king soon, but since that was not happening, she was only growing anxious.

Several days had already passed. So just as she made up her mind to request it once more, one of the holy knights guarding the door hurriedly came in and knelt before the Saintess.

“Saintess, a message has arrived from a highest-ranking official of Ingrad!”

Thinking that perhaps it had worked, the Saintess told them to let the person in. Soon, the highest-ranking official she had met before personally entered the room, and when she saw that his expression was not bright, the Saintess felt anxiety.

“It is an honor to meet you again, Saintess…”

“Was it Jeliko?”

“That is correct.”

“What happened…?”

Perhaps because she asked with an anxious look, Jeliko opened his mouth with an even more apologetic and guilty expression.

“His Majesty… is away on an expedition. So he says that he cannot move privately, and that if you state your business and he judges that he can spare enough time… he will permit a meeting…”

Jeliko lowered his head even as he spoke. And for a moment, at the force of the holy knights, Jeliko seemed as if the strength had left his legs and he would collapse, but it was then.

A beastkin behind Jeliko lightly placed a hand on Jeliko’s shoulder, and Jeliko quickly began to stabilize. Then, after checking Jeliko’s condition, the beastkin began to release his force outward this time.

At that tremendous pressure, everyone in the room could not help but break into a cold sweat and tense up, and the beastkin opened his mouth in a leisurely voice.

“I do not know much about politics. But I heard this friend plays quite an important role in our country. So… the advisor asked me to protect him a bit. I wonder if she foresaw a situation like this…?”

As even the Heroes grew tense under the pressure of the bear beastkin, Debik, and all eyes gathered on him, the Saintess carefully opened her mouth.

“Our actions went too far. I apologize. So please withdraw your pressure… and let us talk.”

At those words, Debik grinned and released his pressure, and the holy knights sank down as strength left their legs. The Heroes, too, were sweating profusely all the same. Seeing that, the Saintess’s eyes shone, and it was the moment she became certain once again.

‘Ingrad… is the answer to every problem.’