Chapter 35

"Are you the commander of these Zoan...?"

A few days after the fort was taken, Makronis, the deputy squadron leader who had been captured, was brought to his former room with his hands tied behind his back. He had expected to be greeted by the black-haired Zoan who had defeated him, but instead, he was met by a human child and a female Zoan.

Given the situation, one of these two must have summoned him. Thinking this, Makronis observed them and was surprised. The female Zoan was clearly on guard, her nerves on edge with every move Makronis made. This was not the attitude of someone who had called someone in to have a conversation. Therefore, the one who had summoned him must be the human child.

Makronis had already heard from Setius that a human child was commanding the Zoan, but even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't help but be amazed.

"I'm sorry to have summoned you. My name is Sōma. The one next to me is Shemul of the <Tooth Clan>."

The gentle demeanor of the occupier's commander was far from what Makronis had expected. After staring at Sōma's face for a while, Makronis spoke.

"I am Makronis. My rank is deputy squadron leader."

Because of the bandage on his forehead, the mysterious mark was not visible, but Makronis recognized his face.

"So, it was you..."

Undoubtedly, this was the mysterious child that Setius had brought to the fort.

"Do you know me?"

"You probably don't remember, but I was there when you were brought to this fort."

"Where were you brought from?"

Makronis thought this was a rather odd question. Was he saying he didn't know where he had been?

"Ask the subordinate who brought you here. Of course, if he's still alive."

Saying this with a hint of sarcasm, Sōma showed a slightly hesitant expression.

"...No, it's fine for now."

Sōma, who had brought Makronis to the room and was still holding the end of the rope that bound him, turned to the Zoan and said:

"I want to talk, so could you untie him?"

"Is that okay?"

The Zoan, who was holding the rope, looked at Sōma, and Shemul asked on his behalf.

"Yes. He doesn't seem like the type who would cause trouble and put his subordinates in a bad position, and besides, Shemul is here."

"I'm not particularly impressed."

While saying this, Shemul's mouth was moving in a squishy way as he tried to suppress a smile at Sōma's words of trust.

"Thank you. I feel better."

When Shemul untied the rope, Makronis, who had been unable to move his arms freely, rotated them to loosen his stiff shoulders. He noticed Sōma looking at him curiously.

"Is something wrong?"

"I didn't expect you to thank her."

Makronis turned his gaze to Shemul and then said, "Ah, I see."

"You're surprised that I treat Zoan normally?"

"Yes. Every human I've seen so far treats Zoan like animals."

"That's understandable. In the military, Zoan are taught to be inferior animals. Individually, soldiers might not be cruel, but for some reason, when they gather, they compete in their cruelty towards Zoan. I imagine you've seen such soldiers."

"If that's the case, why do you treat them differently?"

"I was originally a mercenary. In the mercenary group where I grew up, there were subhumans like dwarves and dinosauroids—sorry, that's a discriminatory term."

Makronis corrected himself, "There were mercenaries of other races. When I was young, I would steal bread and get punched by the dwarf baker, or ride on the shoulders of a quiet but kind dinosauroid warrior. Back then, we all treated each other normally."

"Then why do you teach that Zoan are inferior animals?"

Makronis thought this was a rather odd question. Most humans don't question the policies of the country or the training in the military. After all, the king, who is the representative of the gods, governs the people, and the military is entrusted with the soldiers by the king. This is considered the natural order of things by the common people. However, Makronis, who had traveled through various countries as a mercenary and served many masters, knew that this was just the logic imposed by the ruling class.

"Because it's convenient."

Teaching a promising young person is one of the joys of older people. Makronis was no exception, and he wanted to share his thoughts with this unusual boy.

"Humans are increasing. They will continue to increase. The more they increase, the more mouths there are to feed. To ensure everyone has enough to eat, we need to increase the fields for growing wheat and potatoes. And for that, we need land."

"I understand. You drove the Zoan from the plains to get that land."

"Exactly."

He said it in a tone that a teacher might use to praise a good student.

"Humans are a strange lot. They do barbaric things but love words like justice and righteousness. To make the soldiers work happily, it's better to teach them that the Zoan are an inferior race that should be destroyed and that driving them from the plains is just. That's the military's policy."

"Even if you don't believe it?"

"Yes. What can I do if I go against the military's policy? I'll be dismissed, and someone else will do the same thing in my place."

He smiled bitterly, as if to say that this was reality.

"Many new soldiers, even of other races, hesitate to kill. But in war, a moment's hesitation can get them killed. So, we teach them that it's okay to kill other races, and that they should kill. To prevent hesitation in a crisis."

Makronis turned his gaze to Shemul.

"It might be unpleasant for you, but my subordinates are more important to me than Zoan I don't know."

"It's a very unpleasant story."

Shemul said this with clear disgust. Makronis slightly bowed his head and looked up.

"I have no words to say. Compared to us, the Zoan treated their prisoners well, even providing medical care."

"Of course! We Zoan are proud warriors!"

Shemul puffed out his chest with pride, and Sōma smiled slightly. Makronis had taken a statement to ensure the safety of the captured soldiers by putting down the Zoan and praising them. Sōma felt a mix of admiration and wariness at this shrewdness, but perhaps it was endearing because it was used to ensure the safety of his subordinates.

"Don't worry. We never intended to harm the prisoners. We will continue to provide medical care to the injured as before."

Understanding his intention, Sōma assured the safety of his subordinates, and Makronis straightened and bowed deeply.

"I appreciate your consideration."

"However, to prevent rebellion, we will limit your movement and the number of people you can move with, and we will assign a guard."

"Of course. So, I should tell everyone this, right?"

Sōma thought, indeed, he is a shrewd person. He had already told the Zoan not to harm the prisoners, but it would be more convincing if it came from their superior. If the prisoners rebelled in the current situation, it would be disastrous, so he had to be cautious.

"Yes. That would be very helpful."

"It's the least I can do. It's for both our sakes."

Sōma smiled.

"By the way, for both our sakes, could you tell me more?"

"More about what?"

"For example, about the city to the south of the plains."

Makronis's smile stiffened. He had expected questions about when and how large the extermination force would come to the plains. Instead, he was asked about the city. This clearly meant they were targeting the city.

"I should mention that I plan to talk to your subordinates later."

This was a warning that lying or hiding information would be futile. Since there was no prior collusion, any lies or hidden information would be revealed when comparing Makronis's and his subordinates' information.

Makronis sighed and dropped his shoulders.

"...I forgot. I completely forgot."

"What did you forget?"

"When the fort was taken by your strategy, I thought this: The one who came up with this strategy didn't attack the fort but the soldiers. Soldiers are human. If they are tired from treating the wounded every day, they become careless. If they think a wounded comrade is coming, they open the gate without suspicion. And if they are told they won't be killed if they don't resist, they might put down their weapons. Everyone is vulnerable to human weaknesses."

"Is that what you mean by being cowardly?"

Makronis shook his head vigorously at Sōma's question.

"That's not it. For example, if I were to take a fort, I would prepare siege weapons first. I would think about what is needed to overcome those walls and how long it would take to break them.

"But you attacked the hearts of the people in the fort, not the fort itself. Indeed, a fort is only an enemy fort because there are enemy soldiers in it. Whether you destroy the fort or defeat the soldiers, the result is the same.

"And now, it's the same. If you only wanted to protect the Zoan, you would think about how to repel the humans attacking the plains. But you don't stop there."

Makronis stared intently at Sōma.

"You see something different from us ordinary people. Do you know what we ordinary people call such a person?"

Sōma shook his head, and Makronis smiled wickedly.

"A hero, or a destroyer. So, which one are you?"

◆◇◆◇◆

"Hey, Shemul. What do you think our enemy is?"

After Makronis was led out of the room, Sōma asked Shemul, who was standing by his side.

"You're asking a strange question. Of course, it's the human soldiers."

Shemul's answer was straightforward. However, it didn't sit well with Sōma.

In Sōma's mind, the humans in this world were always depicted as soldiers who massacred Zoan and played with their corpses. However, Makronis, who should have been partly responsible for the Zoan massacres, was a rational person who did it out of duty, not out of religious fanaticism or sadistic pleasure.

Of course, this doesn't justify the Zoan massacres. The human soldiers are indeed the enemy trying to destroy the Zoan. He knew this intellectually, but his heart couldn't accept it.

It felt like the frustration of defeating a final boss in a beloved RPG only to find that none of the plot threads had been resolved. In that game, a greater final boss appeared to resolve all the mysteries. Could it be the same here?

If the human soldiers weren't the true enemy, then perhaps the army they belonged to was. But that didn't feel right either.

If not the army, then the country they belonged to? That didn't feel right either.

If not the country, then the religion itself? That didn't feel right either.

If not the religion, then humanity itself? That didn't feel right either.

Then, what is it?

It was a vague, formless idea, but it was beginning to take root in Sōma's mind.

◆◇◆◇◆

In a small cave at the edge of the Hognarea Hills, something strange was happening.

This cave was once the lair of cultists who kidnapped children and daughters from nearby pioneer villages and offered them to an evil deity. However, the cultists were all killed by the soldiers of Holmea, and their bodies were left behind. Now, these bodies had been devoured by animals, leaving only a few scraps of rotting flesh, bones, and hair.

The statue of the evil goddess, which the cultists had worshiped, was shattered and left as a pile of rubble.

From this pile of rubble, a small mouse emerged, chirping. The mouse sniffed around nervously, and once it was sure there were no enemies, it leaped out of the rubble and scurried to the remains of the cultists, gnawing on the rotting flesh with its front teeth.

Suddenly, the mouse stopped, its whiskers trembling. It let out a small squeak and ran out of the cave.

The cave, now devoid of its small inhabitant, was filled with a suffocating silence. Then, a small laugh echoed from somewhere.

It sounded like the innocent laugh of a young girl, but also like the growl of an old beast. Suddenly, the remains of the cultists scattered around the cave began to move as if pulled by an invisible hand, gathering towards a single point.

From above, it looked like iron filings being drawn to a magnet, all converging on the shattered statue of the goddess.

The gathered remains formed a small hill, and from within, a wet, white arm emerged. The perfectly white, unblemished arm grabbed at the air and pulled the body out of the hill of remains.

The figure that emerged was a girl in a spotless white robe.

"Oh, my beloved Sōma! My wise Sōma! You have finally realized!"

The girl stared at one side of the cave wall and burst into laughter.

"My foolish Sōma! You are unknowingly heading towards this!"

If one could see the world from above, they would realize that the girl was staring at the fort on the Solbiant Plains far away.

"This is the spark of death you will bring! Not just to the Zoan, but to the dinosauroids, mermen, dwarves, elves, harpies, and even humans! A small spark that will grow into a flame that will burn everyone's bodies and souls! This flame will not just burn the people of the entire continent; it will become a conflagration that will burn for ages to come!

"This is the seed of destruction you will sow! A seed that will turn villages, cities, and countries into rubble, and grow using that rubble as nourishment! A seed that will sprout and grow into a great tree that will cover the entire continent!"

The girl's laughter echoed through the cave.

"Oh, Sōma! My only child! My beloved, beloved Sōma!"