V. Maou and Patron, at the Barren Canyons

The convoy split into two groups going separate ways.

The first party was the party that will continue to head towards the Demon Capital Most of the civilians on the convoy, the Thelesmata Sisters and Morgianna. The reason as to why I chose Morgianna to accompany the convoy was simple, she was to explain to Father everything that happened at the Gargantua Forest, also to explain the current situation of the second party.

The second party will continue to head towards the Barren Canyons. Of course I was a member. It was my idea at first. I borrowed two companions from the demi-human convoy: Ricardo, and Elrufus Dax. Well, Dax himself presented, so I had no choice but to agree. Besides, I was unsure of his goals. Did it aligned with the original aim of the demi-human convoy? Did he had his own way of accomplishing his goals? Or did he had another reason, a personal one, that’s why he himself presented to accompany me? Did he just wanted to get along well with me?

The Thelesmata sisters were shock at first, well it was a given, considering the complicated relationship between those three. But they reconsidered when I gave my opinion.

“Okay, I guess we’re off to our set destinations now.” –Irish wished good luck for both of the parties.

“Morgianna, come here for a second” –I ordered her. She was still sulking about not being able to accompany me anymore but the situation can’t help it. I tasked her the role of reporting the incident about a roaming high-tier creature at the forest. At that time I only thought of it as a natural creature behavior and forces must be deployed to exterminate the remaining threats at the forest. Who knows what those creatures might try to do next?

Morgianna approached me by my orders.

“This won’t take long. I’ll be back before you know it” –I said as I patted her head. She must have took a liking on this.

After that we went separate ways.

---

There weren’t any mid to high-tier encounters until we’ve reached the other end of the forest. It was a thing which I’ve found odd. It seemed like the creatures concentrated on the side of the forest facing the demon capital. Were they supposed to be guarding the outskirts and the villages at the border of the forest? I think now, why would they attack demons from within the country? Still, the villages did a pretty good job fending them off.

It took another five days and four nights to finally get out of the forest. It really was a vast one. At out fifth day we finally set foot on a clear span of land. You could tell that the soil is getting drier if you would notice the change of the trees growing at that land. What was supposedly damp turned dry in a span of a whole morning of walk. We’ve put on our masks and covered our faces with cloth.

We entered the Barren Canyons. The Barren lands which was visible from the high place we were standing the border of the forest was a very vast place. It was vast, but at the same time, lifeless. This huge landmass was the once known human kingdom. The once flourished lands were terraformed into something that could not even support life. One could travel via carriages but will be needing supplies for a long run until they reach the next place to restock.

The very cause of this terraform was the war between the second generation Maou and Yuusha, which I had read on the demon library before I had set out for this journey. The global scale sealing spell the Yuusha used towards the Maou took a huge toll on the fertile lands. Trees withered, land terraformed, lots of creatures and animals died, bodies of water ceased to function. The vast lands became so infertile that even using high-scale restoration magic didn’t had any effect. The intensity of the mana granules that was left after the sealing were still lingering that it prevented the natural restoration of the lands for hundreds of years.

“Well, we’re here. Lord Maou, will you allow me to voice out.” –asked Ricardo.

“No need to be so formal, just speak out your thoughts.”

I answered. Ricardo might have experience with this place already, his wisdom would really be helpful to me as I try to carry out my goals here: ‘To find hidden traces of the old civilization’, the very first generation of Maou and Yuusha. I wanted to know for myself and see records from the human’s perspective. Events that might have not been written of books available at the library.

“The ruins of the old human civilization are thousands of pans away from our current location. I’ve brought a map with me, if it will ever be of use for you, I’d really be honoured.”

Well I guess he came prepared.

“The route towards the City of Diaz covered a bit of passable road here at the Barren Canyons, so the legends of the ruins is available. There might not be legends of roads available to pass towards it but if we try to trace back the original route to our city, then we might find crossroads or passes. Take note this might also be a dangerous mission as I have a very limited knowledge of what lies within the ruins. It might be swarmed with creatures already.”

What Ricardo was saying had a point. At that moment he was the most making sense among us three. At the same time he was the most dangerous of us. Why did he knew I was going to see the ruins of the old civilization? Ricardo was the one who helped us a lot on our previous encounter and with the search party for Dax. I didn’t want to waste the trust I’ve put onto him.

“How would you come up with the conclusion that Fred is venturing towards the ruins? I believe the only thing he mentioned when we part ways with the original group was only about going to the barren canyons.”

“Lord Dax I believe that the only place left erect at this land is the old ruins. Every other landmarks on the map are roads heading towards other cities.”

He had the most logical answer too. I guess that cleared him of suspicion at the moment, but I didn’t let my guard down.

Dust filled the air so one really needed to put cover on their faces when travelling. The roads were not paved. Pebbles are scattered everywhere. There were posts erected beside the road every hundreds of pans. This should be markers to guide travellers. Sometimes the road gets narrow, sometimes it gets as wide as a valley. At times we had to pass the narrowest passages, usually trenches between a whole landmass that had cracked due to natural tectonic activity. Everybody would or would not enjoy a rough ride at the carriage. In our case, our way of travelling is quite different. We’re travelling in foot.

The scorching heat of the sunlight, combined with the dryness of the area was really dehydrating. One should always keep in check of his/her body fluids. We hadn’t encountered any rain nor any bodies of water where we could fetch our water source. Knowing the vast lands we will be travelling, we initially fetched amount of water enough for days’ worth of travel. But who knows how long we will be searching for these ruins. There hadn’t been any direct route drawn on the map that Ricardo brought. We will be needing to find a water source sooner or later.

We continued to travel until we reached the first crossroad. It was around our third day. It was quite less time we spent travelling compared to when I was travelling with Morgianna at the Gargantua Forest. Well It really was convenient following a main road with signage compared to just wandering around a forest, following a trail.

“Well, this is a trisection. The one at the left leads back to our city. The path at the right should lead us towards an even larger part of the canyons. I think following this path will lead us towards the Elven capital. I really haven’t gotten that far from this point.” –Ricardo claimed.

“Really, now. And here Fredericus brought you with him in this party to utilize your vast experience.”

“I apologize I’m not much of use. My experiences were only skirmishes within our nation. I haven’t experienced travelling far from home.” –Explained Ricardo as he tried to clear his disgrace shown towards me.

“It’s fine, it’s fine Dax.” –I’ve let him off the hook. Nothing much of gain will come from pointing fingers at that moment.

Dax had been really talkative these past days we’ve been travelling together. He had been actively participating with the discussions, what to and what to not. It felt like he had been trying to catch up for the mistakes he had done the past events with the convoy. I wondered if he talked with Mae or Irish about it. Did the incident with the spirit cluster took a hit on his mind set? Had it been an incident even long before that. Or was he always like that, I just had a wrong impression with the incidents that have happened.

With the only option we had, we took the other route towards the Elven Capital. It was the only choice available that was better off than carelessly wandering around in the middle of these rock formations searching for an ancient civilization. There must have been an original route which led to these ruins which humans had used for trading and travelling.

Though the temperature during the days at the canyons could rise up to boiling point, the contrary could also be told during the night. Whenever you get out of the zone that the heat of the campfire could reach, it was freezing. We always find cover for the freezing gust that’s whirling around the open areas by finding huge rock formations and camping in there for the night.

The journey could’ve been much easier if we could travel at night too, but as much as we wanted, we can’t. We don’t want the risk of our body temperature dropping.

“Ricardo is taking too long to scout. Are you sure he will be fine?”

I’ve asked Dax as I threw a twig towards the campfire, trying to hide my freezing state.

“He could manage. As I remember, training on low temperatures are part of being an elite demi-human fighter.”

Well that’s barbaric.

I didn’t want to say that to Dax. I didn’t want to go kidding around their preferences when we’re not that close yet.

“Tell me, why have you presented yourself to join me in exploring here at the barrens?” –I started the serious topic.

“Is there a point asking that now? We’re already halfway our journey.”

He had a solemn expression when he answered. That was not the same serious expression that he had on our previous talks while travelling.

“I wanted to redeem myself with the trouble I have caused you, Morgianna, and the Thelesmatas. The whole convoy too.”

I figured as much, he must have been wanting to talk about the previous incident with the forest. He was just finding the right moment. He also didn’t want Ricardo to hear. He didn’t want to leave a bad expression. So, why did he chose to talk with me? Curious as I am, I asked.

“Why decide to talk to me?”

“You are the only one I could talk to at this point. There never was with the other people with the convoy, but with what I have done with the Thelesmatas, I couldn’t come up with someone I could talk to anymore.”

“Well, I am a better choice than to keep it yourself.”

“The truth is, I’m still being troubled about accepting the calling of The Patron.”

Well everybody knows though.

Truth is, I’m getting tired of their being airheaded and dense, these three demi-humans. I just didn’t told him.

“That’s why I went to the river that night to sort my thoughts out. Though I really never intended to cause that much trouble. I’m terribly sorry. That was really irresponsible of me.” –he almost kneeled while bowing down.

“Well you should be, we almost died, the three of us. But it doesn’t bother me anymore. The good thing we got from it was knowledge and experience. That’s what’s important.”

“I’m amazed at how optimistic you could be. I’m quite envious.”

“You see, instead of thinking so hard about it, why don’t you fully accept the responsibilities? It’s not that hard when you look at it from a different perspective. It’s not like I wanted being the Maou too when I was younger.”

I tried to answer maturely, but the truth was, there were a lot of mistakes I’ve done too, lot of insecurities, things that I’m still unsure about myself. That was why I was searching for answers on my own. We’re quite similar in a way, but what I saw in him was an older version of myself.

“That’s easy for you to say, you never had a life like I did. You were from a royal family.”

He had a point. Mae had told me a bit of his background when I was alone with her being chased by the Spirit Cluster. I didn’t wanted to argue anymore, I needed to look at his perspective. Of course everybody would feel that same way as his. But keeping yourself on your safe zone will limit one’s growth. I didn’t want to be someone who will force that idea towards him. I wanted him to be the one who discovers it himself. Dax continued talking.

“I was born from a normal family that runs a farm. Our source of income comes from the crops that we are selling and the cloth that my mother weaves. You could not say that we are poor. It was just enough to cover for our expenses. You could say it was just average. I’ve spent most of my childhood days with the Thelesmatas’ and I didn’t even know why the twins are so fond of playing with me. I never had lots of friends to begin with, so being one with kids from a royal bloodline is considered a blessing.

It was then when the three of us received our respective callings, changes started to happen. The Thelesmata sisters drifted apart from each other due to the difference in nature of their calling. Irish became fiercer, more dominant and war-oriented, while Mae became down-to-earth, level-headed and more of someone who advocates peace.”

So Thelesmata sisters were not that kind right from the start.

“While the other two fully accepted the responsibilities assigned to them and started to change for their own good, here I am, drifting onto the uncertainty that: There’s the best option to pick already, I just don’t want to.”

“Why?” –I can’t help but to ask.

“This is something that we’re supposed to talk with once we’re with the demon capital already, but I’m going to open this up now.”

There it came. What did the demi-humans wanted to negotiate with the demon race?

“There should be a proposal for peace talks and being allies with the demon race. It was Mae’s proposal. Her very first job ever since she have received the title of the Diplomat.”

I was confused. I let him explained it further.

“As you know that demi-humans does not really consist of the same race. We we’re a nation originally established by demi-humans wanting to live together. Due to the never-ending isolation that we, cross-breeds, have been experiencing since the ancient times, the pioneer leaders of the demi-human nation, before the country was established, pushed our independence. It was not like we’ve secluded our nation alone and cut ties with the outside world. We’ve kept friendly relations with allied countries and retaliated against the oppressive ones. Our world is not that peaceful after all.”

What Dax said was true. I’ve studied some histories of other races and I remember having read about the demi-humans, the tales about how they’ve established their independence and freedom. I think those stories are around the same timeline as the third or fourth generation Maou. Those were even more peaceful times than those way back from the first and second generation which was written on the history books. No wonder their quest for independence succeeded.

“The rumours about the resume of the great human-demon war have reached our nation. Of course there was an atmosphere of uneasiness brought to the civilians by the news. The country was in a state of panic first, before Mae decided to voice out for the leaders.

She had proposed peace talks with both the opposing countries. Mae believed that talking with both countries will save us from being involved with it: a total isolation with an agreement that the war won’t touch any part of the country’s lands, nor civilians being forcibly recruited to fight for a certain side. It was the most ideal path. But Irish’s perspective was different. She believed that being involved is inevitable. This is more realistic that the prior.

Being two faces of the same coin, Irish and Mae had conflicting point of views about it.”

“Wait-wait-wait!! Where did you even learned about that rumour?” –I was shocked. I never had any information about the progress of the great human-demon war from anywhere at the palace. Had I being kept information with?

“It seems that even you have limited information yet. In any case, one of our original goals was to confirm that too. At first Mae and Irish have quarrelled for days. Pride was something each of them can’t let go themselves. But Irish, being the one more mature and loved her twin sister even more. She tried to listen. And gave her ideal path a chance. That have led us to our current convoy towards the demon capital.”

“The long story still didn’t defeat the purpose right?”

“Yes, you are really sharp. Of course I needed to provide you enough information to understand my situation a little.”

“Trust me I understand.”

“…”

Dax stared at the campfire. The reflecton of the blazing coal being burned, the snapping of the small twigs as he threw them in, the flame swayed as passing air through the gaps of the stone formations we are currently sheltering blew through it, but not enough to put out the fire.

“Oh please, don’t tell me you’re—”

“Yes, it’s as you think. If I’m going to be the Patron of the demi-humans, the decision I’ll be having will be the decision of all the demi-humans within our country. The weight of responsibility have been bothering me for a while. I’m having a hard time choosing which between Mae and Irish’s path should I decide to follow. They’re both my precious friends. I don’t want to destroy the current relationship I had with the other.”

My eyes turned blank. That was not the scenario I was looking for. I’ve lost hope for Dax that night.

“Eh?”

“Eh what?”

“No don’t ‘eh what?’ me. How dense could you be?”

I never knew someone as dense as mana required for a global-sealing spell is could exist.

“You mean you hadn’t even noticed the feelings Mae and Irish have for you?”

“Feelings of what?”

???

That night I nearly died.

That night I nearly killed Dax, then died.