Everyone was surprised by the words spoken by Gilgamesh, even Eris, who was about to strike the ungrateful man but stopped when she saw Gilgamesh's expressionless gaze.
"Everyone has the right to cry because they are human, that is the most special way to project our pain and suffering. You should not feel sad for feeling pain; it's okay to miss those you have lost. But I won't allow you to take your own life when there are still thousands of people waiting to be rescued!"
"My name is Gilgamesh. I personally requested cooperation from neighboring kingdoms, but they all refused, claiming that our citizens in the Asura Kingdom were impossible to save. I am furious; the inept King Asura is a decrepit old man who knows nothing but sitting on a throne with no power. So when he dies, I will ascend to the throne and be crowned as the King of all of you!"
"I will crush with my own hands those families that have refused to take a firm step forward in this situation and cut off the heads of all those kingdoms that refused to save their families. If it serves any purpose, there are still thousands of people searching for their families, and we are doing everything we can to ensure none of them fall into the hands of slavers. At least, if they don't return to you, it means they have left that world without pain."
Gilgamesh's words stirred the hearts of all present, whether they had just arrived or had been waiting for their relatives in this place for a long time. All of them fell silent, dropping to their knees and unable to hold back their tears at the sight of this man upon whom they had pinned their hopes.
"Prince Gilgamesh..."
"Thank you for your help. We heard that all the children in Fittoa have been saved, so we are grateful for your efforts."
Gilgamesh sighed and said, "Do not be overwhelmed. After taking your records, you will know if there are loved ones who have been taken to Fittoa without going through the regulations of this place. Stay strong and do not cry anymore; I will always be here to help you."
After saying what he wanted to say, he walked toward a tent, followed by Eris and Roxy, who were in silence as they thought about what they had just witnessed. They knew perfectly well that Gilgamesh had a certain desire to change the course of the Asura Kingdom, and that could only be directed towards a pure love for humanity.
It is more than obvious that he has lost more than loved ones; he has died for humanity. His journey in this world can be both a curse and a new beginning for him. For this reason, maybe he thought it would be something pleasant.
"I suppose this is my fault. If I had tried a little harder, I'm sure this wouldn't have happened..." Gilgamesh didn't know the outcome if he tried to destroy that concentration of mana with all his power. That's why his best option was to use this disaster to his advantage to drive the entire kingdom toward change.
Eris hugged Gilgamesh from behind and said, "You've done more than enough for all of them. Everyone knows that, so you don't need to worry if your help isn't sufficient. Just think about what would have happened if they weren't in this world, place, and moment."
Roxy, who was saddened by the loss of Rudeus, hugged Gilgamesh from the front and said, "I'm sorry; I can't help but worry about that student and where he is right now."
"It's okay to worry about the people you care about. You've always been like that, my dear Roxy..." Gilgamesh embraced these two women, whom he had recently come to consider a precious treasure in this life, something he initially viewed as a mere objective that every simple human achieved in life.
Cough Cough Cough
A strong cough was heard at the entrance of the tent, and a hoarse voice said, "My lord, I've come to report on the situation in the camp."
"Very well, come in."
...
In approximately an hour, Roxy had managed to understand more or less what had happened. Shortly after the strange phenomenon in which the sky changed color, a vast region of Fittoa was affected by a massive magical catastrophe.
The calamity translated into something similar to a large-scale area-of-effect spell, in which instead of causing a tremendous explosion, it randomly teleported all the people of Fittoa around the world. Unlike the people who were teleported all over the place, the buildings and forests simply vanished.
Those who managed to return home after many hardships found that the catastrophe had taken everything from them and were completely devastated.
If it weren't for Gilgamesh stopping half of the magical aura and protecting half of Fittoa, many more would have perished. According to her understanding, there was supposed to be a mana outbreak, but there wasn't enough manpower, and Roxy knew what would happen if all of them were forcibly moved.
That's why she understood that the sacrifice Gilgamesh made is acceptable. He can't save everyone, and in this life, that job is not his responsibility.
"We did not expect your visit, my lord. How has the situation been lately in the Hidden Paradise?" asked a man named Joe, who was a Sword God.
Gilgamesh tilted his head, resting his hand on Eris's shoulders, then sighed and said, "The Moon Elves have moved to the Hidden Paradise. Their presence was more than enough for all the forest elves we protect to decide to move to a safer place."
"That's amazing, although rumors have started to spread," Joe pondered for a moment and said, "If all the elves on the continents decide to enter the Hidden Paradise, there will be a certain chaos in the uncertainty."
"They'll only be concerned about where their slaves went. Do you know how many slavers the guardians of that forest have killed? Hundreds, if not thousands... But, thank you for your service in this place, and I look forward to your return to Ars," Gilgamesh said as he stood up and extended his hand to this talented swordsman.
Proud to be able to shake the hand of his leader, Joe nodded and said, "I will work hard to avoid any mistakes. I will return as soon as possible, my lord."
"Shouldn't there be something we're looking for here?" Eris asked, somewhat puzzled. She hadn't picked up a book in a long time and preferred practicing with her sword to studying.
Roxy surveyed the bulletin board. It was being used to list the deceased individuals along with another list of missing persons. Beside her, another bulletin board contained messages left by relatives with numerous similar requests like, "If you see this person during your journey, please send them to this address."
An enormous number of requests... In all her years as an adventurer, she had never seen the board so full. This detail helped her understand the magnitude of what was happening, and as she understood, all these adventurers were being paid by Gilgamesh.
The dead and the missing... Surely the travelers who ended up in this place would have seen or known about the missing people. Although she doubted that people paid much attention to rumors of people falling from the sky; those were hard to believe if you were unaware of the event.
Roxy began searching for names on the list of deceased people, taking advantage of its shorter length. Fortunately, she didn't recognize any of the deceased from the catastrophe.
However, in comparison, the number of missing people was overwhelming. Furthermore, having been teleported all over the world, it was highly likely that a large number of them had been devoured by magical creatures, leaving no bones behind. Others likely died instantly upon being teleported to mountains, at too high an altitude, or in the middle of the sea, just as Gilgamesh and Eris had been teleported.
Gilgamesh, who had removed the golden armor to avoid attracting too much attention, was now wearing his regular clothing. He asked Eris, "My dear Eris, aren't you sad about the disappearance of your master, Rudeus?"
Eris, who knew the purpose of this question, replied, "It's true that it's regrettable, but all we can do is wish him luck and hope he survives whatever situation he's in. Though, I don't feel like worrying about it right now."
"I found them..." Roxy frowned as she pointed to the list of missing persons. Rudeus' family was listed on that paper, something even Gilgamesh hadn't expected, knowing that he had given some power to the man named Paul. Roxy, on the other hand, learned from this that Lilia had become Paul's wife.
And this person named Aisha was likely one of Rudeus' sisters, so there should be another one... Upon realizing that Paul and Norn were not on the list, Roxy felt a sense of relief and checked the list of the deceased once again.
They were not on this list either...
This implied that they were likely alive. While there could be errors in the lists, it was too soon to be hopeful. "Nonetheless, I should be relieved not to have found them on the list of the deceased..."
Gilgamesh said with certainty, "Paul is now a knight of the Tower of Uruk, so he has the resources to initiate a search across all continents."
Eris spoke in an indifferent tone, "If you're not strong, you can't protect your family."
"It's a tragedy..." At this moment, Roxy thought about her parents. It had been many years since they had argued, which had prompted her to leave her village. Although for the Migurd family, that time was not excessive.
"Shall we then go to your family? My dear in-laws should move to a golden castle. I'll have five hundred Sword Gods protect them twenty-four hours a day," Gilgamesh said in a cold and calculating tone.
"I think that won't be necessary..." Roxy became nervous at the thought of what her parents would say when they met Gilgamesh.
"This..." Eris pointed to a familiar last name and it turned out to be a message from Paul Greyrat.
"[For Ludeus, Zenith, Lilia, and Aisha are missing, but Norn is with me. Although I don't know where you are, I'm sure you can find your way back here. So, I've ruled out the idea of us meeting on the way.
I'm heading to the Millis continent, to Zenith's home. I also left messages in Lilia's hometown, indicating where I'm headed. If you find them, use them to indicate your direction and try to contact me by sending a messenger to Millis.
This method is valid for anyone, so whether you're Zenith or Lilia, follow the same method to get in touch with me.
On the other hand, if you know me or have any relationship with my family, or if you are one of the former members of the Black Wolf Fang, I ask for your help in finding them.
To my former companions from the Black Wolf Fang, I hope you still remember my name; I won't tell you to forgive and forget what I did. It's okay if you're still angry.
But I beg you, please help me find my family. I'll lick your shoes if you want because I have nothing to pay you after seeing my properties disappear.
Help me.
Contact Details: Milis-sion, Capital and Holy See on the Millis continent, Milis-Sion Adventurer's Guild.
Clan Name: The Search for Missing Fedora.
Group Name: Bonna Search Team.
Signed: Paul Greyrat...]"
"It's a surprise that he's still alive," said Gilgamesh, then added, "but it's unfortunate if he hasn't found his family with all the available resources."
"They'll be fine. If we come across any news about them on the way, we'll do something about it. But getting too involved isn't in our interest," Eris said as she walked back to the tent.
"Then let's go see my family." Roxy thought that would be the best course of action, and they'd check the less-visited places by humans.
With that decision made, they all headed to a new continent.