Chapter 11: The beast of the apocalypse?

  "Onee-san!!"

  ?

  We returned after safely completing our climb over the mountains, gaining some distance, creating the Creator Statue and the Return Stone for it.

  Thanks to Jizu... Regardless of how It did it, I guess it's fair to say it was thanks to him... We were able to shorten the trip by a day, but it still took us four and a half days to get back. Perhaps because she was worried about our long absence, as soon as Fin sensed our return, she literally flew over on Zephyr's back, got off almost tumbling, and jumped on Fricka. Physically, she seems to be doing well.

  ?

  "Welcome home. Did you make it over the mountains?"

  ?

  "I'm back. Well, we did it somehow..."

  ?

  In contrast, the Earth God took her time, having walked at a leisurely pace.

  I asked her if anything had changed at the base, but she said nothing in particur. If she had to point anything, is that she was sad that the food had become so pin... There's nothing I can do about it.

  It was already evening, so I decided to postpone my report until tomorrow and get a good night's rest. Regulus and Liese returned home to Grosso Vilge as usual.

  Fin was clinging to Fricka for the first time in a while, Earth God and Zephyr happily ate my cooking for the first time in a while, and I took a long soak in my first bath in a while.

  Perhaps I was more tired than I thought, because as soon as I y down in bed, I lost consciousness.

  ?

  ?

  "So, what you want to know?"

  ?

  I told everyone to either rest or go about their usual routines, and I faced the Earth God alone. I prepared tea and sweets.

  Even so, Earth God isn't just a heavy drinker, she's also quite the foodie... isn't she...?

  Although not as much as Uru, she eats a lot. I'm gd that she likes the food I make, though.

  ?

  "Didn't I tell you? I have authority over pnts, so pnt-based foods are easy to convert into power."

  ?

  "I see?"

  ?

  The sweets I make are mostly made from wheat and fruits, and tea is made from tea leaves, so they're pnts.

  Come to think of it, the first things she asked for were bread and wine... Wheat and grapes. Alcohol is also derived from pnts, right...? So there was a good reason for that.

  ?

  "So it would be good to have more alcohol as offerings."

  ?

  "If we follow that logic, juice wouldn't be any different, right?... Isn't the majority of the reason is that you just want to drink?"

  ?

  When I pointed this out to the Earth God who was arrogantly standing with her arms crossed (Well, she's really a god, though), She just ughed off and didn't deny it. Really, this god is...!

  Well, if I said that out loud, she'd probably just ask for more, so I'll just quietly increase her amount by a small amount. Drinking too much could set a bad example for Fin. Make sure you get your nutrients from food!

  After the pointless chat, I gave a quick report on the current state of the Earth God's domain that I saw from above before getting to the point.

  ?

  "I encountered the King of the Sky, Jizu, in a dungeon in that mountain range."

  ?

  "... Huh?"

  ?

  Perhaps my words were too unexpected, the Earth God dropped the cookie she was picking up. "Huh? Really?" She asked with her eyes, but I nodded, confirming it.

  She furrowed her brows and put her hand to over her mouth, and began to mutter something to herself, as if she was gathering her thoughts, but I couldn't understand what she was saying, so I quietly sipped my tea and waited, careful not to disturb her.

  After scratching her head and letting out a deep sigh, the Earth God started over and met my eyes again.

  ?

  "... So, what happened when you encountered it?"

  ?

  "Well, I managed to avoid combat, so I asked it why it was there, and it gave me a bunch of feathers."

  ?

  As proof, I took out Jizu's feather and showed it to the Earth God, who made a face as if she had swallowed something strange. Did a cookie get stuck? No? Ah, yes.

  ?

  "... I can't give you a detailed expnation yet, Rion... but Jizu is one of the beasts of the apocalypse."

  ?

  "So, does that mean Leviathan and Behemoth really exist as well?"

  ?

  "So you know about them... Ah, no, you must already have 'experienced' it right. That's confusing."

  ?

  "I've only heard about those three, though."

  ?

  When I expined what I had learned in the game, I got a reply that my knowledge was not wrong.

  ?

  However, as mentioned before, she did not seem to give me a detailed expnation, only briefly adding that "They are monsters that fulfills a certain role in the end of the world." She did not tell me to defeat them as quickly as possible, so it was a special monster, just as I had imagined.

  Hmm, I wonder if there is a level limit for disclosing information?

  It can't be helped that she won't tell me. But I decided to ask about something that was bothering me more than that.

  ?

  "If Jizu was there... Does that the apocalypse... The end of the world is near?"

  ?

  "Ah, it already existed. It was just sleeping."

  ?

  Jizu himself had said something simir... But, if it was awake and active then...

  I swallowed hard and stared at the Earth God, who then let out a sigh as if she had given up.

  ?

  "... Well, it might be close."

  ?

  ... The Creator God had given me a simir expnation at the very beginning, so I already knew that but... Hearing it from a God's own mouth again made me feel heavy-hearted.

  Dropping my gaze into my teacup, I asked with a weak voice.

  ?

  "I thought that things have gotten a little better since I freed you."

  ?

  "Yes, a little. But... It's still far from a fundamental solution."

  ?

  To put it in an analogy, let's say there's a poisonous swamp and I've managed to purify the surrounding area, but unless I do something about the poison itself, it won't be a complete solution.

  Thanks to the Earth God renewed activity, the purification has been sped up and the Creator God's burden has been lightened slightly, but we are still barely making progress and only able to treat the symptoms, and haven't been able to start treating the cause.

  And speaking of the source of the poison...

  ?

  "The god of destruction, huh..."

  ?

  "..."

  ?

  --At this point, I was looking down, so I didn't notice that the Earth God's eyes were wandering slightly.

  ?

  After a moment of silence, Earth God cleared her throat and changed the subject slightly.

  ?

  "Ah, Rion. So you only got feathers from Jizu?"

  ?

  "That's right. Oh, when we were saying goodbye, I was sent flying into the sky, it was a terrifying experience."

  ?

  "No, that's not important."

  ?

  She ignored that part. Damn, even through I thought that I was going to die...!

  I was a little indignant, but the Earth God looked surprisingly serious, so I straightened up as well.

  ?

  "You didn't eat its meat, did you?"

  ?

  "...? I didn't eat it, and neither I have received any."

  ?

  What is the reason behind the Jizu and the Earth God being so obsessed with meat...?

  ?

  "Huh? Maybe I should have eaten it?"

  ?

  "No, you don't have enough rank right now, you'd get swallowed up by it... Absolutely don't do it."

  ?

  Wow... This is definitely a level restriction.

  Being swallowed... So it doesn't mean I'll get an extremely upset stomach... Right? Maybe I will be contaminated...?

  Eating monster meat that's been contaminated with miasma will make you contaminated too. I don't really want to eat meat in that state though.

  Jizu wasn't covered in miasma, but I'm sure it's the kind of thing that would definitely give you a bad status effect if you eat it without taking precautions. I wonder if you'll die at worst. That sounds scary.

  That being said, even if the meat was edible, I've never had any desire to eat it, and I don't think I ever will.

  ?

  "As expected, even if it's a monster, I don't want to eat the meat of someone I can communicate with."

  ?

  Well, I was just a little, just a little bit interested, you know?

  I shrugged, tucking away my true feelings, which might be right for a miko, but probably not right for a person, deep in my heart.

  The Earth God blinked a few times at my words, then let out a smile.

  ?

  "In your case, from the point that you took Zephyr it was too te, huh..."

  ?

  However, I really feel that way.

  It must be extremely rare for a miko not to defeat monsters.

  But she doesn't punish me for it.

  Even if I asked her the reason now, I don't think she would tell me.

  I decided to keep the question just in my mind.