Ch.167Chapter 167

“I’m gathering information about the Giant of the Snow Mountains….”

The Sage turned his head this way and that with a serious expression, as if trying to recall something after hearing my words.

By now, I should have obtained most of the information about the gods, but seeing the numerous books still piled on his desk filled me with a sense of admiration.

The branch had already formulated most of the strategy to reach The Princess.

Halfway there with Asti, The Huntsman, and Aghartha.

After that, The Huntsman and Aghartha would continue together.

But these were just general outlines.

To report to the Knight Commander, it would be better to organize all the details, including potential variables.

Since this was essentially the final battle, extreme caution was necessary.

“Most information about the Giant of the Snow Mountains has been either blocked or recorded in distorted books. In truth, I don’t know much about it either.”

“Ah… that’s unfortunate.”

Well, it would have been strange if he knew everything about The Princess while still researching the gods.

If the Sage had known everything about the Giant of the Snow Mountains, the Knights wouldn’t have needed to struggle so much.

I nodded with slight disappointment.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of help.”

“No, I should be the one apologizing for shamelessly trying to extract information.”

“Haha, I’m in a position to research information for a hero like Lord Tanthyn. There’s no greater honor for me.”

The Sage just smiled kindly and spoke humbly.

Hmm.

In that case, I might have to look through those books the librarian classified as harmful and forbidden to read.

I thought I should investigate that a bit later.

“Ah, right.”

“Hmm?”

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

The Sage closed the book he was reading at my words.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Why are you researching Outer Gods so intensely? I’ve wanted to ask for a while, but never had the chance.”

After hearing my question, the Sage said, “That’s true,” then crossed his arms and tucked his chin, as if reminiscing about something.

After maintaining the same posture in silence for quite some time, the Sage finally relaxed and spoke.

“Indeed. It’s been a long time since then. It’s nothing special. I just felt a personal regret.”

“Regret?”

“If Lord Tanthyn has recovered his memories, you must know that Outer Gods were originally beings called gods.”

I nodded at the Sage’s words, and he smiled as if recalling a happy memory.

“That’s right. To avoid confusing Lord Tanthyn, I haven’t mentioned it, but I actually used to be on friendly terms with the Outer Gods. They were cheerful and clumsy, but equally pure beings. Many of them genuinely wanted to be friends with humans.”

The Sage was on friendly terms with the gods.

It was an interesting story that also raised questions.

“If you were friendly with the Outer Gods, why are you studying them so deeply? Surely what you saw, heard, and felt while with them would be enough.”

“I can answer that like this.”

The Sage suddenly raised one finger and said with a somewhat greasy look in his eyes:

“Love.”

….

….

….

“What?”

“Haha, you seem quite surprised to hear such a word from my mouth.”

The Sage forcibly reinserted into my ears what my brain was trying to dismiss as a misunderstanding.

“It’s love, Lord Tanthyn.”

“No, I mean, what kind of love.”

“What else could it be? Love for an Outer God.”

“No, no.”

I immediately denied the Sage’s words.

It wasn’t that I was shocked by the Sage saying he loved an Outer God.

After all, the gods originally had forms similar to humans.

Given my current situation, I was in no position to criticize him on this point.

But what shocked me was something else.

What kind of person is the Sage?

He’s someone who strives to reach the pinnacle of mysticism to learn about Outer Gods, someone obsessed with researching The Chronicler and Aghartha to discover the heights of mysticism.

If this were described as academic curiosity, it would give the impression of a noble scholar while simultaneously making his madness seem impressive.

But the moment he calls it love, the impression changes in a strange direction.

“When you say love for an Outer God, you mean love for researching them, right?”

“No. Embarrassingly, I too once experienced painful unrequited love.”

The Sage clutched his chest as if regretting that time, furrowing his brow as if about to burst into tears.

If not for his long, trembling beard, he would have been the perfect tragic protagonist.

“As you’ve probably deduced, it was unrequited because it wasn’t fulfilled. At that time, I didn’t understand Outer Gods at all. And because of those differences in values, that Outer God eventually couldn’t stand me and left.”

The Sage said this and then picked up a book for no particular reason.

“So I decided. If I could completely understand them, if I could accept all their behaviors and everything about them, perhaps I would earn the right to stand by her side again.”

After saying this, the Sage began to enthusiastically describe the god he had unrequitedly loved.

I tried my best to go along with his story, but it was difficult to maintain my expression while suppressing the thoughts that kept rising inside me.

I mean.

This.

No matter how you look at it, this is no different from a stalker who’s digging up information on someone who rejected him.

…I wondered why he got so excited whenever Outer Gods were mentioned.

I realized I had completely misunderstood this person.

#

After the Sage’s tearful—and for the listener, terrifying—story ended, I was about to get up to look for some books.

“Ah, Lord Tanthyn.”

“Yes?”

After calling my name, the Sage began to draw something diligently on a piece of paper.

Looking at the drawing, I could see it resembled the territory where The Princess was located.

“Currently, the Giant of the Snow Mountains is nominally treated as a regular Outer God, but in reality, her authority is no less than that of a Great Outer God.”

“Yes.”

“That means she commands as many Exiled Gods as a Great Outer God would.”

The Sage said this while pointing to where The Princess was located.

Unlike other places, that area had an unusually heavy snowfall.

“It would be good to think about why knights froze immediately upon entering that place.”

“…”

Right.

Why didn’t I think of this?

Even for The Princess, it seemed strange that she could so easily subdue the Knights, including the Knight Commander.

The Knight Commander must have gone to fight after getting some estimate of her power.

What if those unusually dense snow streams were Exiled Gods that The Princess had scattered around?

What if they entered without recognizing what had been laid out in advance, and all froze as a result?

If so, the method to subdue The Princess becomes clearer.

I thought that perhaps a war where truly no one dies could be achieved.

As expected, experienced people are different.

“Sage, thank you. This is the most valuable information I’ve received so far.”

“Hmm, you flatter me. It’s merely a prediction; you should always question all premises.”

The Sage said this and then lowered his head as if to focus on his book again.

Hmm.

It feels a bit unfair to just leave like this.

Since the Sage shared something he had been hiding, I should probably tell him some interesting information too.

“By the way, Sage.”

“Yes?”

“Have you noticed that Aghartha hasn’t been around lately?”

“Ah, yes. Usually by now, she would be asking me to bring Lord Tanthyn’s underwear, or the spoon you used, or ordering me to do strange things.”

….

«No, I wouldn’t.»

I felt like I might collapse at Aghartha’s quiet denial, but I decided to move on.

“…Ahem, anyway, Sage.”

“Yes.”

“What gave Aghartha the confidence to try reading the writing in my pocket when we were in the underground prison?”

“Well, since Lady Aghartha is also somewhat proficient in mysticism…”

“No, at least when she was with me, she hadn’t studied mysticism at all.”

The Sage tilted his head in genuine confusion at my words.

Good, time to deliver the finishing blow.

“The Chronicler showed obsession toward me by writing my name, right?”

“Umm, yes.”

“And Aghartha strangely obsessed over my possessions?”

“That’s right?”

“That’s all.”

I said this and quickly walked out of the library.

Running would get me warned for making noise, so this was the best speed possible.

From behind, I could hear the Sage contemplating something, then taking a deep breath as if he had realized something.

“W-wait.”

The Sage stood up.

“L-Lord Tanthyn! Wait! What do you mean by that?! Lord Tanthyn!!!”

The sight of the Sage in denial was truly hilarious.

I chuckled as I swiftly left the place.