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Chapter 512.2: I Killed Him (2)

…

In a quiet room, Roel sat on a chair with his eyes closed as he immersed himself in the mana flowing inside his body.

Several days had passed since the Diamond Rivière left Golash’s Basin.

The convoy had traveled at the fastest possible speed while maintaining the highest level of vigilance, thus allowing them to re-enter Rosa’s borders in just a few days’ time. They quickly got onto one of the main roads and were currently on their way back to Rosa City.

This was good news to both Roel and Charlotte.

Even with an army of guards accompanying them, it was still risky for them to stay in a lawless land. Those were places where evil cultists and assassins could freely operate in since there was no one to keep them in check here, making it much easier for them to lay traps or organize ambushes. In fact, many powerhouses throughout history had died on this chaotic land.

However, the situation was different now that they had entered Rosa.

The presence of patrolling border guards made it much harder for their enemies to organize a large-scale attack, allowing the convoy to travel on the roads with ease of mind. Even if it did come under attack, they could quickly call for reinforcements from nearby military bases.

What further ensured their safety was the recovery of Roel’s mana pathways, which allowed him to re-establish his window of connection with his ancient gods.

This was something both Roel and Charlotte had waited a long time for. The former wanted an answer to the doubt in his mind, whereas the latter wished to obtain Peytra’s blessing.

Roel gave the matter some thought and eventually decided to meet Grandar privately.

To be frank, he didn’t think that Grandar would mind even if he brought Charlotte with him, but this was a matter that concerned the Giant Sovereign’s privacy, after all. It was better for him not to arbitrarily let others in on their conversation, including the other ancient gods like Peytra.

He thought that this was the minimum level of respect Grandar deserved.

The only issue was that he had no idea how he should talk to Charlotte about this matter, but to his surprise, the latter raised the matter of her own accord.

“Darling, I gave the matter some thought, and I think it’s best for you to have a personal talk with Lord Grandar instead.”

“Hm?”

“I’ll have walk in the gardens and leave the afternoon to the two of you. You can look for me once you’re done. I’ll prepare some desserts.”

Charlotte leaned in and kissed Roel on the forehead before leaving the room, leaving the latter impressed by her meticulousness. Her sensitive nature and her high emotional intelligence allowed her to grasp the feelings of others, making her a comfortable person to be around.

Touching the ring on his finger, Roel felt blessed to have won Charlotte’s fancy.

A moment later, he quickly adjusted his state of mind before channeling his mana to do some final reparations on his window of connection with the ancient gods. While it was possible for him to summon Grandar over, he thought that it was only right for him to pay the latter a visit when he was the one who had a question to ask.

Once everything was ready, he slowly closed his eyes.

By the time he opened his eyes once more, the elegant study room he was in had already been replaced with a vast crimson plains. He found it this scenery deeply nostalgic as he hadn’t been here for at least a year now. Unlike Peytra and Artasia, Grandar rarely called him over.

Roel spent a moment reminisicing the familiar surroundings before he began heading down the path he remembered from his memories.

Unlike the majesty of Artasia’s city and the tranquility of Peytra’s valley, Grandar’s plain carried the desolate air of a battlefield. The crimson afterglow from the setting sun seemed to embody the lingering regrets and sorrows from the tragedies that had transpired.

With such thoughts in mind, Roel continued marching on. Some time later, a colossal figure came into his line of sight.

A crimson glow reflected off the gargantuan body of the resting Grandar, inducing a peaceful yet mysterious atmosphere.

At Roel’s approach, the Giant Sovereign’s empty eye sockets began gleaming as if awakening from his sleep. His massive head slowly tilted downward, and upon seeing Roel, the gleams in his eyes swiftly intensified. He began stretching his colossal body outward.

Roel smiled at that sight.

“It has been more than a week since our last meeting. How’s your rest?”

“Not too bad.”

“It has been hard on you.”

“No, it was due to your sacrifice that we were able to defeat that calamity.” Grandar didn’t accept the credit Roel was giving him in the battle. “I wouldn’t have been able to fight with that monster without your frost aura.”

“That might be the case, but I couldn’t have possibly won the battle with my frost aura alone. Without your powerful attacks, the battle would have ended as an unwinnable war of attrition.”

“I guess that makes it our victory then,” Grandar conceded.

“Hahaha! Indeed, we couldn’t have defeated the Six Calamities without each other. It’s our shared victory,” Roel replied with a smile.

Grandar nodded at those words, expressing his agreement with them.

Roel sensed that the Giant Sovereign was in a good mood, and he could understand why too. Defeating Flooding Death was not just a highlight of Roel’s life; it was one of Grandar’s most noteworthy battle accomplishments too.

It had always been Grandar’s wish as a warrior to fight with powerful enemies, and defeating an enemy as powerful as Flooding Death even after his death was a glorious accomplishment. It was a feat he could be proud of.

Looking at the Giant Sovereign, who had become chattier because of his good mood, Roel was reminded of the shared feeling of accomplishment whenever he successfully raided a game boss with his party members back in his previous life. The two of them spent a while chatting about the battle before Roel finally dove into the main topic at hand.

“Grandar, I came here today because there are some questions I’d like to ask you. I was able to peer into Flooding Death’s memories while I was absorbing its Crown’s Stone, and in one of them, I overheard my ancestors from over a thousand years ago mentioning your name…”

Roel shared everything he had seen and heard in the memory fragment, and Grandar fell silent after hearing his story. A long while later, the Giant Sovereign nodded in acknowledgment.

“Yes, I believe that I have met that woman before. However, I haven’t been able to sense the flow of time outside after my death, so I can’t say for sure when the meeting occurred.

“Do you remember what the woman told you?”

“… I can’t remember the details, but she was requesting for my help,” replied Grandar.

The Giant Sovereign had been reluctant to interfere in the real world as a deceased individual, so he hadn’t paid much heed to most matters prior to his contract with Roel.

Roel expressed his understanding regarding that, having known that Grandar would do that given his personality. After setting the tone here, he finally got to the main matter at hand.

“Grandar, can you tell me about your life?”

“My life?”

“Yes, your life. I’m just making a blind guess here, but you had some kind of relationship with the Savior prior to your death, right?”

“…”

Grandar fell silent at the question.

It was such a straightforward question that anyone else might have been offended by it, but having known each other for many years, Roel knew that Grandar wouldn’t take it that way. They had braved through so many dangers together that it had forged unwavering trust between the two of them. Rather, it would have been disingenuous of Roel to beat around the bush here.

Not to mention, the forthright giants valued honesty much more than tactfulness.

Grandar lowered his head and quietly stared at Roel for a long time. The light in his eyes flickered in uncertainty as he recalled the secrets that had been long buried in the sands of time. A long time later, he finally began speaking.

“Frankly speaking, there isn’t much that I remember about my life. However, if you’re asking about my relationship with the Savior, I do have the answer to that.”

Roel looked almost nervous as Grandar took a momentary pause before revealing the answer.

“I once helped Him. You could say that I used to be a part of His faction.”

“!”

Overwhelmed by the truth, Roel widened his eyes in shock. However, he quickly took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Grandar’s revelation spelled the worst-case scenario for him, but he had considered this possibility beforehand and was mentally prepared for it.

With the strength Grandar had displayed thus far in their battles, the Giant Sovereign was bound to be a powerful existence back in the ancient era as well. With the Savior and the Mother Goddess fighting each other for supremacy back then, there was no way the powerful giant race could possibly steer clear of the battle. He was bound to have to choose a faction.

This was similar to how Charlotte’s high elf ancestors had been the Mother Goddess’ followers and had served as the administrators of the Six Calamities.

Roel didn’t think that it was worth pursuing what had happened in the past, but the same couldn’t be said about the present. Thus, he raised his head and solemnly looked at the towering skeleton giant.

“Grandar, I believe that you’re also aware that my clan has an irresolvable thousand-year-old grudge with the Savior and His worshipers. I don’t think that there’s any room for reconciliation, and a battle is likely to be inevitable. I understand that this puts you in a difficult position, and if you wish to, I’ll promise not to involve you in any battle against the Savior and his worshipers.”

Roel calmly chose to entrust the decision into Grandar’s hand, but much to his surprise, the Giant Sovereign shook his head and refuted his words.

“No, you don’t have to worry about that. I can fight with the Savior and His worshipers. I’m not on good terms with Him. It’s the opposite, in fact.”

Grandar’s eyes flickered sharply.

“After all, I was the one who killed Him.”