Last night, Rem had told her that Encrid's attitude toward life, the way he had shown him how to walk forward, had revealed the path he should take.

Ayul was grateful for that. She resented Rem's intention to follow this man again, but gratitude was gratitude.

That was why she wanted to show him the things she, her family, her friends, and the West loved.

"There's something I want to show you."

Ayul led Encrid away. They walked into the wind, stepping around ants and watching insects. Soon they were outside the settlement, their strides unhesitating.

Monsters were less common in the West than on the continent, but that did not mean one could wander about carelessly. Neither Encrid nor Ayul, however, would fall to a few monsters. Several packs had been cleared out while the tribe settled in, leaving hardly any nearby.

At most, they might encounter a copycat, an alley cat that lured humans. Those creatures were more nuisance than danger, using sounds to cunningly exploit people's weaknesses and draw them in. That was why "alley cat" was a common insult in the West.

Only then did Encrid understand why Jaxon was the Sneaky alley cat. It was an insult. Well, it had sounded like one even before he knew.

Both walked quickly, and Ayul headed straight up a small rise. Following her, Encrid looked up at the sky.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Ayul asked.

Encrid nodded. It was as though a white ceiling had been spread across the sky. Clouds lay low and broad overhead, yet it was not dark. They were thin clouds, letting sunlight through to illuminate the earth. It was a wondrous sight.

"Those are sunshade clouds," Ayul said.

It was a sight found only in the West. It was beautiful—the clouds, the sunlight, even the horizon beyond.

'Oara, who was like sunlight.'

The knight Oara came naturally to mind. This sunlight resembled her smile: neither hot nor harsh, but gently embracing.

It was utterly different from the sunlight in the city of Oara. That light came pouring in to drive away the darkness of the Demonic Realm, breaking through the fog and lending strength.

The sunlight of the West broke nothing. It enfolded one in peaceful warmth. That was why it resembled not the city of Oara, but the knight. She fought at the forefront, but in everyday life, she had embraced the city like this.

["Do you think it is worth protecting?"]

During one of his todays, the ferryman had asked him that out of nowhere. He had not specified what, but his meaning was obvious. Were the things Encrid wanted to protect worth it? Was there a reason to endure the pain and press on?

Encrid had not bothered to answer. The answer already lay within his heart.

Worth was something he decided for himself. Did he have to follow someone's words simply because that person was called a sage? Another person's judgment could not become his standard. This was his life.

And so, worth took shape through one's own eyes. The people of the West were like that.

Ayul began to speak. In one sense, it was an unremarkable tale; in another, it seemed to carry on the spirit of the western people.

"On sunny days, heat shimmers rise over there. Funny enough, a few days after that hot sun beats down, the rain pours. We call it the bear's blessing."

Explaining why it was called the bear's blessing would probably require a long detour into mythology.

"We don't have an abundance of things. But there isn't much to make us miserable, either."

What was worth protecting? Ayul told him she loved the West as it was. That protecting this land brought her true joy.

"I've never seen snow, but it must be like white pebble-rain, right?"

By pebble-rain, she meant hail. Hard little stones were hardly comparable to snow.

"I imagine snow is beautiful, too."

Her love for the West did not make her look down on other things.

Of course, if she told the army that snow was beautiful, the line of people ready to grab their weapons and charge her would circle the training ground once and halfway around again. If anything, there would be more, not fewer.

Still, he could not deny its beauty. There had been days when he gazed at snow-covered mountains, and days when he looked upon forests ablaze with autumn colors.

Two trees had stood guard at the entrance to Encrid's home village. They were so large that even with his arms spread wide, he could not reach around them. Their leaves turned bright red in autumn and green in summer. In winter, snow would pile upon their bare branches. Encrid had liked the sight of those trees.

What was worth protecting was something one decided for oneself. Ayul was like that. So were the people of the West.

"We love this land," Ayul said.

And so they did not covet the continent. If they lacked things, they could live with less. What was handed down through the ages was called tradition. The traditions of the West lived in its people's spirit.

That day, Encrid saw sunshade clouds and a cloud tower. From a high hill, he could see the horizon, and beyond it, a white cloud descended like a tower.

It was afternoon after he returned from admiring the horizon, sunlight, wind, and clouds. Around sunset, Ayul came again.

"Hira, is it all right?"

"Yes, it's fine."

Encrid had become a charm against misfortune, or a human totem, but he did not need to remain inside the tent all day. The same curse could not strike again unless the fortune-teller tribe performed a collective ritual.

Hira knew such group rituals were not easy. They must have made sacrifices to accomplish it. Spreading the purple demonic human's curse—a ridiculous-sounding name—this far would have been impossible even to attempt without sacrifices.

The eldest shaman had been forced to fight fire with fire. He had offered his consciousness and lifespan as sacrifices to hold it back. In short, this was a kind of curse that could neither be cast nor blocked without a sacrifice.

That was also why the eldest shaman had yet to awaken. What had been sacrificed did not return easily. Rem sometimes stopped by to ask whether he would wake, but even Hira could not tell when that would be.

'Without him, the whole tribe would have fallen to the curse.'

The eldest shaman had limited its spread and bought them time. It sounded simple in words, but from a shaman's perspective, he had won several gambles. They had been fortunate—as though someone, somewhere, had suffered misfortune in the tribe's stead.

Hira left the thought there rather than examine it further. She could not keep track of everything happening everywhere. She merely did her work, sleeping in snatches. Her task was to erase the traces of the curse as soon as possible.

She nodded as she heated the short needles in both hands over the fire. It was her answer to "Hira, is it all right?"

"Let's go."

Ayul led Encrid away again. This time, they were bound for a very large lake.

"You've never ridden one, have you?"

She held reins in her hand, with a Velopter at the other end. The creature studied Encrid with vertically slit pupils. Beside her came Juol and the man who had stood guard outside the tent. He had short hair and a blade-like marking painted on his forehead, and looked exceptionally fierce. Ayul had brought four Velopters.

"Do you know where Rem's been sleeping?"

Encrid asked because he had hardly seen him.

"With me. Where else would he sleep?"

The answer came at once. Had they already made up?

"It's only natural for a married couple to share a home," Ayul continued matter-of-factly.

What charm had Rem used to win her over? His only talent was swinging an axe, so perhaps he had subdued her by force. Encrid resolved to tell him that was no way to treat his wife.

Juol merely smiled beside them. The man next to him was showing Encrid a subtle hostility, and now Encrid thought he understood why. The man's gaze kept shifting between him and the woman who had followed him out.

"My benefactor."

Jiba's mother had insisted on coming despite his assurances that he was fine. Even now, she had both hands braced on her knee, urging him to step on them to mount the Velopter.

"Please mount."

"I can get up on my own."

Encrid went around to the other side, pushed lightly off the ground, and vaulted onto the Velopter. It must have been a docile creature; it did not flinch at his weight, merely bending its knees to take the load before straightening again.

In a human, would one call that good coordination? It knew how to disperse the force landing on its back. Rem had said these creatures were smarter than horses and better runners.

Still, it would not be smarter than Odd-Eyes. Besides intelligence, Odd-Eyes had a steadfast heart. Despite having demonic beast blood, he even had the audacity to mount ordinary mares.

Encrid had heard that he had spread his seed around Green Pearl. Noir, Krais's lover, who had once served under the Green Pearl Battalion Commander, had told him that.

Why was he remembering that now? The sight of a mount must have brought it to mind.

Encrid shook off the idle thoughts and took the Velopter's reins. He had been told that it would follow whichever way he pulled on the reins attached to its bit.

Luagarne had stayed at the tent. She had a reason.

["There's a curious smell."]

She had said it after getting ready to leave.

["But I washed two days ago?"]

Dunbachel, beside her, had betrayed a guilty conscience.

["Not that sort of smell."]

Luagarne had gently reassured her and said she would look around. Encrid had thought little of it. Frogs were said to be obtuse, but when it came to their chosen goals and desires, they were keener than a Beastman's nose. Something must have caught her attention.

"Let's go."

Ayul took the lead. Her Velopter kicked off the ground and began to run. Encrid tightened both legs, holding on through sheer muscle. Adjusting to the Velopter was not easy. It was different from a horse.

"Having trouble riding?"

Seeing his difficulty, Juol helped from beside him.

"Don't tense up. Let your legs hang loose. Velopters are very clever. Just leave yourself in its care, and it'll take you there. This one's well trained."

Listening to the western dialect, Encrid did as instructed. Ayul slowed a little.

"Some gifted little children ride well the moment they climb on. You're a bit slow, aren't you?"

She meant that those born with a knack for physical skills learned quickly. Still, after riding a little longer, he grew accustomed to it. His control over his body had improved twofold, after all.

Their ride brought them to an immense lake, too large to take in from end to end at a glance.

"This is Great Lake," Ayul said with a smile.

He was told that a thin mist sometimes lay over it, a rare sight in the West, but not today. Beneath clear skies, the lake reflected the heavens. Fish leaped among its rippling waters. The white pebbles along its shores made it look all the more pristine.

As they admired the lake, the hostile Westerner spoke.

"I'd like to know what you intend to do with that woman."

Dispensing with all preamble and getting straight to the point was very western of him. There was no need to ask whom he meant. He made no attempt to hide his hostility. He meant Jiba's mother.

"I'm not interested, and I have no intentions."

"Don't forget that Jiba is still young."

The man spoke, and Encrid calmly cleared up the misunderstanding.

"Can you fight?"

"... I'm a warrior."

"Then let's spar."

Words would take too long. They crossed swords and exchanged a few blows. The man wielded a broad falchion with decent skill. If he continued training like this, he looked capable of eating most squires alive. He had talent.

"I'm not interested, so stop worrying. And I know Jiba is young."

Encrid said it after tripping him and striking his solar plexus. The man had turned blue, unable to breathe, but coughed and managed a reply.

"Ghk, I know. It's just jealousy."

These westerners really did hide nothing. Encrid considered that a virtue.

"How well does Geomnarae fight?"

"You mean Geomnarae of the Wing tribe? He's their foremost warrior."

Ayul added to the man's answer.

"The foremost warrior is the best fighter in the tribe."

He had already gathered that from context.

He returned to the tent, trained, and traded jokes with Geomnarae.

"I saw a wide river. Across it, I saw my dead father."

Another patient had awakened and begun to speak.

"And?"

As Geomnarae prompted him from beside him, the man lowered his voice.

"I crossed the river. My father was calling me, after all."

Before long, even Jiba had come over to listen. The man had a gift for storytelling. For a moment, he gazed far away, as though looking into the distant sky. Then he continued.

"The water came up to my waist as I crossed. But the current wasn't strong. I dragged my sodden trousers across with some effort, came face-to-face with my father, and..."

"And?"

Geomnarae prompted him again. Encrid, too, had settled in to listen attentively.

"Punched him in the jaw and came back! Told him it wasn't my time yet!"

Though he could hardly have had any strength, he slapped his left forearm with his right hand and thrust his left fist upward as he spoke. He was saying he had punched his own father in the jaw, but everyone laughed.

Geomnarae roared with laughter. Jiba gave a child's delighted giggle, and her mother burst out laughing too.

"Well, is this where the sky god dwells? Or did the earth mother hold on to me? Seeing your face, Geomnarae, I must still be in our stinking homeland."

Being able to joke like that less than half an hour after waking was a talent in itself.

"Outsider, I was told to thank you when I woke up, no questions asked. Have you got something on Hira?"

This man really was entertaining.

"Does it look that way?"

"Or did you charm her with that face? Hira, of all people. I never thought she had it in her."

The man laughed heartily as he joked. Later, when he learned that Encrid was a human totem, he forced himself upright and bowed his head.

"Thank you. I'd have bitterly regretted dying like that. Outsider, I will repay your devotion."

Several more people awakened, and through Ayul and those around her, Encrid glimpsed life in the West.

He had seen Great Lake, sunshade clouds, Mother's Sunset, and a long chain of hills called Dragon Rise. He was doing some simple physical training inside the tent when he heard it.

"Huuuman!"

Thunder boomed outside the tent. That thunder spoke human words and threatened to split his eardrums.

Encrid rose and looked outside. The tent entrance was open. Beyond it, he saw an enormous head and glaring eyes. Its size defied perspective.

A Giant.

By now, Encrid had heard enough to know about the two Giants threatening the entire tribe. Two monsters surpassing the level of proto knights.

As he stood and turned his gaze forward, his eyes met Rem's. Rem was just coming into the tent.

"Couldn't find them no matter where I looked," Rem said.

Rem turned, and Encrid followed him out. They came to a flimsy fence made of cloth and upright wooden poles.

"Bring out five humans! I'm huuungryyy!"

A Giant was picking a fight without knowing what it was getting into. It wore thick furs and carried a mottled black club large enough to crush an ordinary adult's body in a single blow. The club was black and blotched because the blood of their victims had dried and hardened on it.

A rank odor rose whenever the Giant moved: the stench of blood and the sharp reek of base desires.

"That one is no pushover."

Luagarne had followed them out. The Frog's eyes could gauge even a Giant's skill. Of course, Encrid could do the same. He, too, could see what the Giant was.

An exceptional specimen, even among Giants whose innate strength was on another level. Just as not all humans were alike, not all Giants would be alike.

Two Giants skilled in battle blocked the view before him. They stood directly across the horizon Ayul had shown him.

Rem gripped his axe and was about to step forward when Encrid came up beside him and caught his wrist.

"Want to do this together?"

"No."

Then what? Rem asked with his eyes. Encrid stepped forward.

"I'll do it alone."

Rem had eyes, too. These were formidable opponents. And he wanted to face them alone?

Encrid did not repeat himself. He simply advanced.