Raising the Daughters to Overcome My Failure

Chapter 10. Anticus (2)

Despite her threat.

Anticus observed the former hero's gaze, who was looking at the child of the gods with a lovely face, for a while.

But her heart was far from empathy.

‘To ask for mining rights. What on earth is he after?’

She had stayed here for a long time, but she actually didn't know what was in this land.

No, she had no interest in it in the first place.

What was important to her was tranquility, not material things.

But the visit of three humans was a very rare experience for her.

An uncontrollable curiosity arose from deep within her heart.

“O thou who call thyself a former hero, speak. What is it that you truly wish to obtain here?”

The man answered without hesitation.

“There is a large-scale gold mine here.”

“A gold mine? I've never heard of it.”

“That would be so. Thanks to you staying here, no one would have dared to approach this place.”

A question arose in Anticus' eyes.

“Then how do you know that fact?”

The man smiled and paused for a moment.

It had been a long time since she had seen a human who showed such composure without fear towards her.

‘It's as if I'm seeing him again.’

It was a moment that reminded her of Arus, the first hero, who was once her lover and who had bound her to this land.

‘His face is different, but the aura he gives off is similar. What am I mistaken about right now?’

The man opened his mouth again.

“There were records left deep inside the Elburz Ruins.”

At those words, the Saintess was surprised and cut in.

“The Elburz Ruins? Isn't that a place where entry is forbidden because it's too dangerous?”

The man slowly shook his head.

“This is my hometown. I broke through it alone before becoming a hero.”

“Broke through it alone? Th-there’s no way that's possible, is there?”

“But it is the truth. The ruins not only had stories about the gold mine but also detailed drawings of why the lofty ancient dragon could not leave this place.”

Anticus was also startled and continued.

“Is that true?”

“Yes. If you wish, I can tell you the contents right now.”

At that moment.

Anticus and Frank's figures disappeared in an instant.

As if there had been no one there from the beginning.

***

The two people who suddenly disappeared.

No, one person and one dragon.

Isabel shot up from her seat and looked around, but they were nowhere to be seen.

“What on earth happened?”

Unlike her, Noemi sat in her seat with a calm face, acting leisurely as if she had anticipated this.

“It seems the two of them have something to talk about separately.”

“What?”

“They just moved to a sub-dimension using teleportation magic, so all we have to do is wait here.”

Teleportation magic to a sub-dimension?

It was surprising that they could disappear so quickly without even an incantation.

Moreover, it wasn't another existing place but a sub-dimension.

It was the first time Isabel had heard of such a thing.

“How do you know something like that?”

“I saw it in the future.”

“The future? Don't tell me you……”

Isabel couldn't say any more.

The child of the gods was a gift from the goddess.

They often possessed abilities that ordinary humans couldn't even imagine.

She touched her forehead with one hand, plopped down next to Noemi, and sighed.

“Anticus is one thing, but you are also quite an unconventional being.”

“Because I am a child of the gods.”

“Phew. I really don't know what's what. Frank's claim of conquering the Elburz Ruins alone is hard to believe, but how can so many things happen in a row in one day. I feel dizzy.”

Noemi smiled brightly and calmed Isabel down.

“All we have to do is trust and follow Father. Because he is the savior of this world.”

“There are stories that you are being overworked by Frank, but it seems that's not the case for you?”

“It depends on how you look at it. To some, it may be overworking, but to me, it was just training.”

“How admirable. Frank would be very happy to hear this.”

“It's nothing. We don't have much time left, Saintess.”

Isabel slowly nodded her head.

It was a story she had already heard from Frank.

“Noemi. You have the ability to foresee the future, don't you?”

“That's right.”

“In that case, is it certain that the demon tribe will establish a new Demon King and invade this land?”

But Noemi just smiled and said nothing.

Isabel admired her bright expression.

“I really don't know what he taught you.”

“He?”

At the sudden question, Isabel's face turned red and she turned her head away.

‘Fortunately, it seems she doesn't know everything. Seeing the future and knowing the past are two different things.’

Isabel stroked her chest and earnestly prayed for Frank's safe return.

That was all she could do in the current situation.

***

A space where nothing could be seen.

It was dark, and even the sense of direction wasn't working properly.

But I was not flustered.

Because I had somewhat predicted that things would turn out this way.

‘This must be Anticus' sub-dimension. To think she would show this ability so quickly.’

This was an ability that was rarely seen even in the game.

When was it?

The hidden ending of the original version before the DLC was released.

In other words, I had cleared it because they said there was a 101st ending.

Anticus, who had always maintained neutrality and was like an ally of humanity, turned evil.

There was an ending where she herself became the Demon King, led both the demon and dragon tribes, and appeared as the final boss.

‘The secret technique she used to imprison the child of the gods at that time was this very thing.’

This was not an existing place, but within Anticus' thoughts.

A prison-like space that one could never escape unless their mental strength was stronger than hers.

However, as powerful techniques often do, there were limitations; the number of people she could imprison at once was just one.

‘Also, when using this technique, she herself disappears from reality, so it's like a kind of self-destruct move. Because she can't act in the outside world if she uses this. As expected, her Achilles' heel is clearly Arus.’

The moment I was organizing my thoughts.

Anticus' voice echoed from all directions.

It was difficult to come to my senses due to the echoes that repeated like a karaoke effect.

“What the hell are you? How can you be so calm?”

I narrowed my brows and slowly opened my mouth.

“I didn't feel any killing intent. If you intended to kill me, you wouldn't have needed to bring me to a place like this.”

“…Tell me everything you saw in the Elburz Ruins without leaving anything out.”

So it was about that story.

In fact, Anticus was one of the heroines in PP.

There was an ending where Frank married her.

Although she had the highest difficulty among all the heroines, I was the one who had cleared this ending multiple times.

“The reason you cannot leave this land is because of the contract with the first hero, Arus.”

“Hmph. It seems you're not lying. Continue.”

“You, who were Arus' lover, stayed here to keep his last words. You nested in the Elburz Mountains to prevent the demon tribe from advancing south, and you have protected this place for a thousand years.”

Did these words stir her nostalgia?

Even though I didn't say it, she started spilling the beans on her own.

“You're right. I haven't moved a single step from here for a thousand years to keep his last words. During the days of eradicating the demon tribe, humans ignored my efforts and only fought among themselves. It was truly a futile time.”

“So you are now maintaining neutrality and staying put?”

“Yes. Whether demon tribe or human race, they are all creations of the goddess. They are the same in their love for fighting.”

It was a line I had heard countless times in the game, but hearing it with my own two ears felt different.

‘I get it. Even if I were her, I would have reached the same conclusion.’

She had strived to keep her promise for a whopping thousand years, but his descendants only fought and bickered with each other.

I nodded my head and played along with her mood.

“I think I can understand your feelings. I would have done the same.”

Soon, a voice mixed with a sneer was heard.

“Hah. A human who can't even live for a hundred years understands the heart of a dragon? How arrogant.”

“But you shared love with a human. I'm sure that in a corner of your heart, you hold humans dear. Otherwise, there would be no reason for you to remain here for a thousand years to keep a promise with one person.”

Anticus closed her mouth and showed no reaction.

But I knew that this was the correct answer.

‘Because I've experienced it many times in the game.’

The secret to being the only one to break through her sub-dimension when clearing the 101st ending was,

‘To actively bring up her relationship with Arus. Arus is her only weakness.’

In fact, to clear this, one needed to first break through the Elburz Ruins.

Only then could one know the fact that she was Arus' former lover and the reason she had protected this place for a thousand years.

But the entrance to the Elburz Ruins was blocked, so it was impossible to enter through normal means.

‘You have to click it a whopping ten thousand times while rubbing your body against the entrance to open it. It was a method I discovered for the first time.’

It wasn't something I did with any intention.

It was a result I obtained by repeatedly clicking out of curiosity as to why there was a ruin in the field that couldn't be entered.Was it a kind of Easter egg?

Of course, I at the present moment had never entered the ruins, but anyway, that's not what's important.

‘What’s important is that I know this fact, and that I must use it to obtain the mining rights for the gold mine.’

I emphasized that the gold mine was not just a source of wealth.

I focused on highlighting that it was directly linked to the survival of humanity because weapons could be made with the resources mined from there to prepare for the invasion of the demon tribe.

How much time had passed?

As my sense of time became hazy, just as I couldn't perceive space, her voice finally stimulated my ears.

“I see Arus' image overlapping with you. His way of speaking, his attitude, and even that strong gaze. It's as if that moment from a thousand years ago has been revived.”

She paused for a moment, then,

“Perhaps you, too, are a member of the heroes, so his blood might be flowing in you. I understand. I will grant you what you want.”

With those words, I opened my eyes, and Isabel and Noemi's faces were in front of me.

Their faces were full of elation and joy.

***

After the three of them left, in the empty cave.

Anticus sat alone on the chair, lost in thought.

‘He'll come to pay his respects from time to time? What does he think I am? What a cheeky fellow.’

But her expression was smiling.

Come to think of it, she wasn't the type to enjoy being alone.

Her pleasure was soaring freely in the sky with her comrades and visiting various places, but somehow she ended up trapped here for a thousand years, bound by a single word from her long-dead former lover.

‘It was a fleeting time.’

A former hero who was not at all intimidated by her.

A Saintess who, on the contrary, launched a preemptive attack.

A child of the gods who used 7th-tier magic despite being a little kid.

If there were many like them among the human race, it wouldn't be a problem no matter what Demon King came.

‘It's enough now. There's no need to be tied to the past anymore.’

Anticus finally felt as if she had been freed from a bondage that seemed eternal.

She released her human form and returned to the form of a giant dragon.

Then, for the first time in a thousand years, she left her nest and soared high into the sky,

flapping her wings towards the place where her comrades, whom she had left long ago, were.

Would this be the return of the king, or would it be the seed of another conflict?

For now, no one could know.