I took Iris and the others down to the garden of the guest house.
Now, where should I start?
As I was pondering, Leticia raised her hand.
"Kou-sama. If you are having trouble with the order of explanation, may I ask you a question first?"
"Yes, that's right. I think it will be easier for me to talk to you that way. You can ask me anything."
"Thank you very much. Then I would like to ask you a question."
Leticia continued to speak.
"I saw a dragon heading toward Zogral in the battle that just ended. That dragon may have been my──"
"Yeah."
I nodded to Leticia's words.
"It was Leticia's brother──the Greedy Dragon."
"Wait a minute."
Iris raised her voice with a questioning look on her face.
"Are you saying that Kou and the Greedy Dragon are two separate entities?"
"That's correct."
I nodded and explained to the three of them what had happened last time during the battle with the Demon God Dragon.
I have touched the consciousness of the Greedy Dragon that was sleeping inside me, and when I was in a desperate crisis, I was able to survive by becoming one with the Greedy Dragon through [Creation]──.
"I myself am not Leticia's brother. …I'm sorry for having misled you until now."
"No, I am the one who should be apologizing. I may have made you feel uncomfortable by assuming that you are my brother."
"That is not true. To be honest, it would be fun to have a sister as cheerful as Leticia."
"Thank you. I am honored to hear you say so."
Leticia gave out a soft smile. However, her expression was somewhat stiff.
I am sure she is anxious about what happened to her brother, the Greedy Dragon.
"Kou-sama. Please tell me one more thing."
"Yeah."
"Why did the Greedy Dragon separate from Kou-sama? …And what happened to him? I will accept whatever answer you give me. Please tell me the truth."
Leticia's face was serious as she told me this, and she looked straight at me. It would be insulting to her to tell her anything comforting under the circumstances.
"The reason the Greedy Dragon separated from me was to stall Zogral."
I said and pointed to the night sky. Higher than the clouds, the golden barrier that surrounds Zogral shines faintly.
"According to [Full Assist], the Greedy Dragon is inside Zogral but has not yet been absorbed."
"In other words, that boy is sacrificing himself to buy time, right?"
Leticia said as she looked at the barrier in the sky above.
"We can't do anything about Zogral now, and we should use the time he has bought us to find a way to defeat him."
Leticia muttered to herself.
No, in fact, I think she is telling herself that.
Inside Zogral, she has a brother who is still alive and separated from her, and there is no telling when he will be absorbed.
As a sister, she would want to go to his rescue immediately. But she is trying desperately to hold on and keep her composure.
"Leticia is strong."
I couldn't help muttering to myself.
"But don't be too hard on yourself. We are friends. I know you're worried about your brother, and if you're having a hard time, don't hesitate to let it out."
"Yes, I'll be relying on you then."
Leticia replied and turned her gaze toward me.
"So, do you have any ideas on how to defeat Zogral?"
"There is. According to the Greedy Dragon, the key lies in [Creation] and my memories."
Just as I answered that──
Lily raised her hand.
"I'm sorry for interrupting your story. …The God of War has something he wants to talk to you about. Is it possible to have you come down to the underground right away?"
"I'm fine. What about Iris and Leticia?"
"No problem for me."
"I don't have a problem either."
Apparently, neither of them had any objections.
"Thank you."
Lily bowed her head after hearing our answer.
"I'd like to save time and use the power I inherited from the God of War to transfer underground. May I ask you to come with me?"
We nodded and approached Lily.
Immediately after, Lily's entire body was enveloped in a silvery light, and pure white wings appeared from her back.
It was a sign that she had inherited power from the God of War. Lily spread her wings wide and wrapped me, Iris, and Leticia inside.
"Preparations are complete. Yes!"
With a cute call, my vision turned completely white. After a few seconds of floating, we were warped into a dimly lit underground passageway.
"The transfer was successful."
Lily muttered with a sigh.
Soon after, the pure white wings that had enveloped us disappeared as if melting into the air.
King Octo had guided us to the underground of the Royal Capital once before, a few days ago.
Since it was a straight, single-track road to begin with, we did not get lost along the way.
After walking for a while in the underground passage, we eventually arrived at a vast cavern.
"Welcome back, [Transmigrator]!"
A solemn, low voice rang out.
The words emanated from the giant… God of War Warden, who sat on a huge throne set up at the back of the cavern.
"I have watched your battles from here. …Like this."
Immediately after, an aurora appeared over our heads, and an image was projected onto it.
The image showed the battle that had just taken place.
"It is truly a miracle that you survived against Zogral. …[Transmigrator], no, Kou Kousaka. You are truly extraordinary."
"But I could not win. I am alive thanks to the Greedy Dragon."
As I answered, I unknowingly clenched my right fist tightly.
My heart was aching as if it was constricted.
What is this feeling?
"O Kou."
The God of War announced in a slightly gentler tone than before.
"You are not letting your frustration overwhelm you, are you?"
I see.
Am I feeling frustrated right now?
Yes, indeed, I do.
I felt incredibly frustrated that I couldn't reach Zogral despite my best efforts and that I forced the Greedy Dragon to make such a sacrifice.
There must have been a better way.
There must have been something I could have done.
These feelings flooded my chest.
I clenched my right fist even tighter and tighter than before.
My fingernails dug into my palms.
It hurt, but it felt too light a punishment for my powerlessness.
"Kou, don't blame yourself too much."
Iris said and gently wrapped her hands around my right hand.
"You gave it your all. I was watching from the side, and I can assure you of that. …I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."
"I, too, have not yet mastered the power of the God of War."
Lily mutters apologetically.
"So, it's not just Kou-san's fault."
"We are friends, so let us bear the responsibility together."
Leticia smiled softly at me.
"I can understand why Kou-sama is frustrated. …If only I had more power, there might have been a different ending. I can't help but think so."
"Really, you're right."
I nodded to Leticia's words.
"But time cannot be rewound. We can't change what has happened. …We have to accept the past as the past and use it to improve ourselves in the next step. That's all we can do."
As I have said before, when I was in Japan, I was mainly engaged in "putting out fires" of flaming incidents.
The key to putting out fires is to calmly analyze the mistakes that have occurred up to that point and take steps to counter them.
If you offended a customer, you apologize; if the schedule was out of order, you rebuild it.
Even if the situation seemed hopeless, if you solve each small problem one by one, you would eventually find hope.
Even the battles up to today had not all been easy.
The Black Spider, the Black Dragon, the Gluttonous Dragon, the Demon God Dragon──.
I felt my life was in danger not once or twice.
I've been at the short end of many battles, but I've never given up, and in the end, I've managed to turn things around.
I take a deep breath in and out.
It's not an easy way to change your mind, but it did clear up some of the fog in my chest.
"Iris, Lily, Leticia. Thank you. I feel a little better now."
"I'm glad to hear that."
Iris giggled and slowly removed her hands from my right hand.
I relaxed from my right hand and opened my fingers.
The palm of my hand was smeared with blood.
Apparently, I had clenched my fist so tightly that I had injured myself with my fingernail.
I must have put a tremendous amount of force into my fist.
"Kou. Is your hand alright?"
"It's no big deal."
I took out a heal potion from the [Item Box] and quickly sprinkled it on my right hand.
The wounds were healing quickly.
"It works great."
The one who shouted that was the God of War.
"The items you produce are all out of the ordinary and beyond the bounds of this world. If anyone can defeat Zogral, it is you who possesses the power of [Creation]. Well, it's about time."
What exactly does time mean?
While I was wondering, something unexpected happened.
The body of the God of War had begun to disintegrate, breaking off from the tips of its hands and feet and turning into silver particles.
I gasped in surprise, and beside me, Lily shouted.
"God of War-sama!"
"O Shrine Maiden, calm yourself."
Despite the fact that his body was disintegrating, the God of War remained calm.
"My life has been running out. The reason I have remained alive so long is so that I can pass on my power to those who will visit me in the future. I have fulfilled that role for you. Then I shall simply fade away."
"No way…"
Lily let out a voice of sorrow.
"There is no need to be sad. It is the natural order of things."
Then the God of War turned his gaze toward me.
"O Kou. My life ends here, but I will not let you fight alone. At the end of my life, I will leave you a jewel that contains my blessing. Use it as material for your [Creation]."
"I understand."
When I nodded, the God of War's mouth relaxed as if he was relieved.
"If so, then good. And also tell my descendant Octo, "Thank you for protecting the underground where I sleep until today." Then, farewell."
And then──
The body of the God of War disappeared completely.
No. There is only one thing where the God of War used to be.
Only one silver jewel remained where the God of War had been.
I activate [Appraisal].
The God of War's Treasure: A treasure that contains the blessing of the God of War. It contains a strong divine energy.
I picked it up and stored it in my [Item Box].
I looked back at Lily.
Her face clearly showed her shock at what had happened in front of her, but then she shook her head, and her expression tightened.
"Kou-san, let's get back to the surface."
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. When I inherited the power, the God of War told me that this day would come."
"I understand. But don't push yourself too hard."
"Thank you. When things get tough, let me rely on you."
"Of course. I am much older than you. Don't be shy about it."
"Yes. If you say so, I feel much more at ease."
Lily nodded and smiled as if she was relieved.