“Half Orcs? What do you mean by that?”

“Hm?” Fiara looked at me like she didn't understand, then her expression loosened, and she nodded. “Oh, so you didn't know this yet, chief. I’ll need to go back a bit in order to properly explain it. This might take a minute, is that fine?”

“Of course, since I want to know more about this world.”

“Yes, chief. You already know that the gods created the descendants, correct?”

“Yes, I heard about that.”

“Well, the devils and the demons were created by the lords of darkness, God-like beings which stand directly opposed to the gods. The descendants call them the Evil Gods, but since they aren't true Gods in the first place, we don't call them that way.”

“I see…”

“The Gods and the lords of darkness each want to destroy the other, but fighting themselves would obliterate this world. Instead, they have their descendants fight. For that purpose, the Gods created the Holy attribute, and the lords of darkness created the Demonic attribute.”

“They didn't exist originally?”

“No. Do you remember when we tested our elemental affinities?”

Ah, I remember. The testing method was ridiculously simple. Just hold your hands up over your ears and listen. If a person’s body is supportive to a certain element, spirits will settle there. Places sound like they do because of what’s there, but spirits also create a good deal of a location’s atmosphere. Listening closely to Fiara’s hands, it suddenly felt like I was in the depths of the ocean, then in the sky, surrounded by crashing electricity. Listening to my hands, I felt like I was half buried in the earth, basking under the sun.

Of course, listening to any body part is fine, but the hands are easiest to reach.

“At that time, do you remember noticing that there wasn't any particular feeling for your Holy attribute?”

Ah? Now that she mentions it…

“The spirits encompass all the natural elements, and spirits are completely impartial beings. All of the elements get along in this world to sustain life. On the other hand, the Holy and Demonic attributes are forever trying to destroy each other. That’s because the gods and the lords of darkness created them artificially.”

“That’s why descendants can sometimes be born with the Holy attribute, but never the Demonic attribute, and the opposite for demons and devils. Monsters and Magic Beasts, which are not under the domain of the Gods or lords of darkness, will never be born with either attribute.”

“Okay…”

This is all interesting, but I don't see how it ties in to breeding between Monsters and descendants.

“Anyway, this kind of war is always happening in this world. However, the spirits are impartial, and they don't care about that. It's also the spirits which govern the S and W systems, which include the law of reincarnation.”

“The gods don't control reincarnation?”

“No. The gods and lords of darkness only came to this world once there were sapient beings present to worship them. Without worship, their power dries up and they eventually die. Even before sapient beings appeared, the spirits were here, breathing life into the world. Unlike the gods and demon lords, the spirits don't care what kind of life is born or whose side it's on.”

“Because the spirits will allow any kind of life to exist, there are no restrictions on what creatures can and cannot produce an offspring.”

“When you say no restrictions…”

“I completely mean no restrictions. If there’s some conceivable way to mate, a child can be born. And because the spirits are impartial, we have the law of halfs.”

“The law of halfs?”

“The race of the child will be half of each parent. An Elf and a Demon would make a half-Elf half-Demon child. A tree and a bull would make a half-tree half-bull child.”

“That’s… crazy.”

“Yes. However, just because the spirits made it to be possible, doesn't mean it happens often. For a new child to be born, the soul must match the body it will go into. The soul of a half-tree half-bull is exceedingly rare, such that the child would almost always miscarry.”

“Oh, I see. So it usually doesn't happen in reality.”

“Correct. However, unions with Humans are remarkably easy to succeed in. Humans are often called the race with the most flexible souls. They are also weak. Many Monster races started using them as breeders to replenish their populations.”

“But the children were all halfs, right?”

“Yes. Instead of replenishing the monster populations, they grew close to extinction.”

“So the spirits exempted male monsters from the law of halfs?”

“Well, the people I asked didn't know for sure, but that’s probably what happened.”

Eh? That’s unexpectedly vague.

Ah, that story did last a while. We’ve finished eating already. For now, I'd better set up our tents. Of course, there aren't any actual tents. I'm just using earth magic to make a small hut. I also made a big bowl, and Fiara conjured some water to fill it. The boys laid down the pelts and our camp site was complete.

Usually it would be good to set up a fire, but I have . The hut is small enough that I can regulate its temperature all night and my magic power will still regenerate faster than I use it.

As soon as morning came, we packed up the pelts and I destroyed the rest of the camp with earth magic. Once that was done, we immediately continued toward our destination. If all goes smoothly, we should arrive around noon.

As we continue walking, the environment slowly begins to change. The trees, which were thickly crowded together, began to spread out. The ground which had been covered by leaves, grass, and moss, so that it was always somewhat damp, gradually became exposed. The orangish-brown soil which was exposed to the sun became dried out. Flora and fauna that enjoyed this environment, kinds that I had never seen before, turned up more and more often. Finally, even the trees changed species. The oak-like trees gave way to tall pines, the bristles of which didn't even start to grow until the trunk had grown twenty feet in the air.

Something about it makes me feel very nervous.