zChapter 39 - Arc 2, Crescent Moon (2/2)

“The river is a little bigger in the summer…”

It did seem so. From the way the rocks and soil were dug out, Ernst could see the size the river would be in the summer.

“In this forest, are there other rivers like this?”

“Yes. There are a few of them, and they’re all around this size. This river is the closest one to the village, but since there are wolves as well as some deer that are so big that they’re dangerous, we don’t go to draw water from anywhere further than here.”

“How far does this river travel?”

“It’s somewhat of a mystery… the place where it’s supposed to flow out of the forest is cut off.”

“The river is cut off?”

“That’s right… there’s a rocky area, and when the water reaches it, that’s where it disappears. The entire village has tried to move the rocks out of the way, but since they’re so big, it’s impossible.”

If there is water flowing, then there must certainly be a place where the water will stream out. The water will always flow toward that location. Ernst had never heard of water just abruptly disappearing like that.

“What about the other rivers?”

“The others are all the same way. Of course, we weren’t able to check all of the rivers in the forest, but the rivers we know about are all like this.”

The greenery around the river was particularly dense and vibrant. It felt warmer in the forest than it did in Eitt Village. Though one could say that this was because the wind was blocked here, even if it weren’t, the air would still be quite warm.

It was said that the climate in Grude Continent was an eternal summer. It was a land of parched, dry air and scorching heat.

Ernst quietly surveyed the forest.

Yellow flowers bloomed on the riverbank. There were also some purple flowers blooming there.

These were the first flowers Ernst had seen since he had come to Meissen.

“Lord Ernst.”

Ganche gently pulled him closer.

Ernst looked up at Ganche’s large body. When he saw Ganche’s masculine face gazing over to somewhere else, Ernst followed his gaze.

A giant deer was watching them, standing in place. It was a stag that had grown magnificent horns.

The villagers also noticed, sucking in their breaths. Though usually one could just say offhandedly ‘Oh, it’s a deer’, that was only when that deer was normal-sized. The enormous size of this deer struck terror which couldn’t be captured with those words. It was much, much bigger than the deer Ernst had once seen in the Arruca forest. For this deer, it could easily raise its head and peek through the second story window of the mansion Ernst lived in.

Ernst made himself smaller, watching the deer’s movements.

Eventually, the deer seemed to lose interest, and it began to eat the grass at its feet. The distance between them, as well as the small size of the people, might have made the deer lose its caution.

Ernst’s shoulders relaxed with relief.

“Let’s go slow and stick close to the ground from here on.”

A villager said this to Ernst in a low voice.

Ernst gave a shallow nod. He was about to retreat when his back collided with Ganche’s hard stomach.

“Ganche?”

Ernst looked up at him. Ganche’s copper eyes, which had been staring at the deer, looked down toward Ernst with a slight chuckle. Ganche gently pushed Ernst’s slender shoulders, bringing him toward Targes.

“Would you kindly be able to watch over Lord Ernst for a short while?”

After he saw Targes nod, Ganche swiftly moved.

Not knowing what Ganche was planning to do, Ernst knit his brows, a worried expression on his face. Seeing that, Targes grinned at him. Though Targes’ smile eased some of his worry, a slight bit of uneasiness still roamed in Ernst’s chest.

Even though Ernst didn’t understand Ganche’s intentions, was there something between those two that let them understand each other even without sharing words?

For the first time, Ernst felt like he had swallowed a heavy stone, a discomfort he couldn’t express with words sitting in his stomach.

Weaving between the giant trees, Ganche quickly and silently approached the deer, his footsteps not making a single sound. When he was just a short distance away, he lowered his body and watched the deer.

He was hunting the deer. Even Ernst understood what Ganche was trying to do. But to be honest, he didn’t think there was any way for Ganche to actually bring down that deer. The only weapon Ganche possessed was the greatsword that he always used. He didn’t have a bow and he didn’t have a spear – would he be able to bring down that deer with just his sword?

No matter how big the Dunbertian was, he was tiny compared to that deer. In front of that deer, which had stooped its head to eat grass, Ganche was only as big as a pebble.

Every time the deer waved its enormous horns, fear gripped Ernst’s chest.

Ganche could get hurt. He wanted Ganche to stop, but he couldn’t make himself shout. When he thought of how the deer could turn on Ganche as he followed Ernst’s order and ran, Ernst’s throat felt like it was stuck closed, and he couldn’t let out a single sound.

As the deer searched for grass, it turned its head.

The exact moment it turned its back to Ganche, Ganche’s body moved. His actions were so fast that Ernst’s eyes weren’t able to comprehend what had happened at all.

By the time Ernst caught up, Ganche had caught the giant deer’s neck with both arms, tightly wringing its neck.

Distressed, the deer stomped on the ground with its enormous feet. It dug trenches in the ground, kicking up soil. Ernst saw a single kick of the deer’s foot make a hole in one of the gigantic trees. Yet it wasn’t able to touch Ganche, who was right behind it.

The struggle for its life continued for a long time. Gradually, however, the deer’s movements grew weaker. Finally, its time slowly came to an end.

Shouts of joy erupted from the villagers. Laughing, Targes softly patted Ernst’s shoulder.

It was only then that Ernst realized how ragged his breathing had become. He cycled through some shallow breathing. His heart was pounding fast.

The fingertips of his thin, clasped hands were cold.

“Lord Ernst.”

Slinging the enormous deer over his shoulders, Ganche returned with a spring in his step. He lifted this deer, which could fit who-knows-how-many of Ernst inside of it, under one of his arms, a triumphant and smug air around him as if saying, ‘What do you think?’

There were so many things that Ernst wanted to say. He wanted to be angry and scold, Why did you do something so dangerous! But in front of that childlike smile Ganche showed him, Ernst couldn’t find anything to say.

Ernst stood as tall as he could on his tiptoes, stretching out his hand. Ganche bent down, wanting to receive his prize.

Ernst’s small, still-cold hand went patpat as it pet Ganche’s brown, curly hair.

“You did very well. The villagers are happy.”

Ernst said, smiling with a cool face that wouldn’t break a sweat. Then, he added:

“Of course, I’m happy, too.”

Ganche’s masculine face beamed with a bright smile.

Even if Ernst considered what he did to be dangerous based on Ernst’s own ability, it was a simple and easy matter for someone with Ganche’s ability.

Ernst couldn’t help but worry. After all, he loved Ganche. It was natural for him to wish for the safety and happiness of the one and only person he loved. Yet, no matter how uneasy Ernst felt, he should never say something that would clip Ganche’s wings.

As he stood in front of Ganche, who openly radiated joy after receiving Ernst’s praise, Ernst warned himself of this.

The deer Ganche brought back to Eitt village was an unexpected good fortune. The militia soldiers were so shocked by its colossal size that their legs turned to jelly; the villagers, on the other hand, paid no mind as they gleefully began to dismantle it.

“There’s so much, we’ll be able to eat this until summer.”

Even the villagers whose legs were so weak that they wobbled when they walked were laughing as they took out their dull knives. The children excitedly ran around, and there were also people who lit up a fire, ready to hurry up and roast the meat so that they could eat it.

“I really didn’t think that you’d bring it down with just your bare hands.”

Targes clapped Ganche on the back. Ernst, too, had thought that Ganche would use his sword.

“When the deer is only that big, I can strangle it.”

Ganche proudly stuck out his chest.

Even after the villagers and soldiers had eaten their fill of the enormous deer, most of it was still left over. What remained would be made into dried meat, improving Eitt Village’s situation. The villagers made use of everything, even the viscera, fur, bones, horns, and hooves.

They were all blessings from nature, so none of them could be wasted.

On the occasion of Ernst’s departure from Eitt Village, Ernst handed over a small pouch to the village head. After relaying some instructions to the village head, Ernst left the village.

For a long time, the children of the village followed after them. Ganche was popular with the children in this village, as well.

Ernst stealthily peeked at him from the window of the carriage.

In the Schell Continent, there were three countries which belonged to the people of the Schell race. They were Lux Kingdom, Silus Kingdom, and Rintz Kingdom. Of those three, Rintz Kingdom was quite exclusionary, so of the Schell people which resided within it, the Kleber made up the majority of the population.

The Kleber had white skin, golden hair, and blue eyes.

Although they belonged to the same race, the people of Fell and the people of Lux could have white or yellow skin, and their hair could be blond or white. The color of their eyes could also be blue, green, or purple, and wasn’t fixed to any one color.

Only the Kleber could be clearly distinguished by their outer appearance. Regardless of whether they were born in the upper class or the lower class, as long as they were Kleber, they would have white skin, blond hair, and blue eyes.

And also, for some reason, there were many Kleber who believed that their appearances were the most sublime and beautiful of them all, and that their bodies had the highest natural talent.

As a result, the people of Rintz Kingdom, which had a population that was 90% Kleber, held a deep-rooted discrimination toward not only people of other races, but even the Fell and Lux people of their same race.

And within Rintz Kingdom, remote regions such as Meissen were even more insular and exclusionary. Even when meeting fellow Kleber, they found it difficult to be familiar with people who didn’t come from the same lands they did.

Even though Ernst had become the Lord of the lands, there were still many people who weren’t able to accept him in their hearts. People like Ganche, who was Dunbertian, would especially feel the wall between themselves and the people of Meissen.

As if trying to tell the soldiers to come back to the village, the children clung to Ganche’s hands, dangling from his arms like they were reluctant to part with him.

Seeing him like that, Ernst chuckled.

Though part of the reason why Ernst wanted to bring Ganche on all of his marches was because he wanted his partner to be by his side, Ernst’s primary purpose was to introduce Ganche to the people of Meissen, setting the stage for them to accept his appearance, body build, and temperament.

Once Ernst exchanged the contract, he had no intention of parting with Ganche. Even if Ernst, as Lord of Meissen, buried this land under the bones of his people, he thought that Ganche would still wish to always live with him – even in that land.

Dunbertians were the kind of people who would never choose to chain themselves to a single place, yet Ganche had told him: for the rest of his life, he wished to live by Ernst’s side in Meissen.

In order to make Ganche feel as much at home as possible, Ernst wished for the people of Meissen to quickly accept him.

The children had finally given up, saying their goodbyes to the soldiers at the end of the road. When Ganche turned around to wave at them, the children waved back so wildly that their arms might fly off.

One of Ernst’s goals had been accomplished.