Ch.396Who Are You (1)

Several days had passed since Kate headed to the underground temple. While my daily life remained largely unchanged until her return, there was one significant development.

Rina had been urgently recalled to the imperial palace. According to Marie, who attended the same classes, some unexpected incident had occurred at the underground temple.

Coincidentally, this news reached my ears shortly after Kate’s departure, which naturally caused me some concern.

Her combat prowess is undoubtedly formidable. As a Grand Inquisitor, she has dispatched countless heretics and demon worshippers.

With the title “Blue Flame” attached to her name, I needn’t worry about her fighting ability.

“Dad, what animal is this?”

“That’s a penguin. They usually live in cold regions, but some rare specimens inhabit volcanic areas. Most are docile, but those from volcanic regions tend to be aggressive.”

“And this one?”

“That’s a hammer-horned rhinoceros. See how its face looks like a hammer? It can easily destroy trees with it. They inhabit forests and jungles.”

So now I’m simply focused on educating Ariel. I have no reason to go outside, and I certainly can’t leave Ariel unattended.

Besides, midterms have just ended, so Marie has plenty of free time. Since she lives next door, she visits my dormitory every day.

“Ariel, look at this. Doesn’t it resemble your dad?”

Marie, lying next to Ariel on the bed while teaching her, pointed to an animal and asked. It wasn’t a drawing but a photograph, clearly showing the animal’s appearance.

The animal in question was none other than a penguin—the largest but cutest species in this world.

It’s similar to the emperor penguin from my previous life. I wonder if I still resemble a penguin.

“This? The round-eyed penguin?”

“Yes. Trying to look dignified but can’t hide his cuteness—just like your dad, right?”

“What are you teaching Ariel? And I’m not trying to look dignified!”

Honestly, it’s ridiculous. Maybe in the past, but now I don’t possess any of the cuteness Marie mentioned.

Thanks to the physical growth that began this year and training with holy power, my body has become much stronger than before.

My shoulders have broadened, and I’ve grown rapidly, now standing at 185cm.

Since my father is over 190cm tall and my brother Dave is 187cm, I’ll probably stop growing around this height or perhaps grow a bit more.

With genes like these, it’s easy to imagine how massive Clark must be. According to my father, his physique transcended human limits.

Anyway, moving past genetics, I watched Marie giggling about the penguin comparison and turned the page.

Among animals living in cold regions like penguins, there’s one that closely resembles Marie.

“Look here. This is Marie’s mother. White fur and a cute face. What do you think?”

“A bear? A white bear!”

It’s what was called a polar bear or “cola bear” in my previous life. Its appearance is identical to a polar bear.

And it’s just as ferocious. Occasionally there are white bears the size of houses, but those are classified as monsters.

“What? Are you saying I’m this big? I may have white hair, but I’m not a bear!”

When I pointed to the white bear as a comparison, Marie let out a hollow laugh and protested, seemingly dumbfounded.

I shrugged my shoulders and replied in a nonchalant voice to her objection.

“Bears appear innocent and slow-witted on the outside. But they’re actually the opposite—fierce, agile, and relentless. Just like you.”

“So what about the fat? You’re not suggesting I have the same fat as bears, are you?”

“That fat went to very good places. And white bears primarily feed on penguins like this one.”

“… …”

Marie’s face subtly reddened as she understood the implication of my words. Ariel, caught between us, just went “Huh?” in confusion.

I patted Marie’s head affectionately before turning to the next page. Meanwhile, Marie nudged my calf with her foot.

It seemed to convey something like “What are you saying with a child present?” which made me chuckle.

Usually she’s easygoing and lovable, but at night she transforms completely—just like a bear.

“Well, next is… a unicorn?”

The next animal was the legendary horned horse, the unicorn. However, that’s only by the standards of my previous life—here, they’re surprisingly common.

After going through various processes to eliminate both presence and smell, one can often see them deep in forests.

But they have terrible tempers and can shoot lasers from their horns, causing many deaths.

On the other hand, as legend has it, they’re somewhat submissive before virgins and mind their own business unless provoked first.

“Unicorns also serve as forest guardians. When a forest shows signs of pollution, they go there to purify it.”

“Forests get polluted? How?”

“The forests where unicorns live contain many rare herbs and animals. That’s why poachers—bad people—often go there.”

In reality, places where unicorns appear are largely untouched, uncharted territories.

Unless you’re an explorer who enjoys travel for its own sake, there are still many places in this world untouched by human hands.

Even the Empire of Minerva, with its vast territory, has quite a few unmanaged regions.

‘This might lead to conflict with the beastmen.’

The human population has already reached its limit. Without a proper industrial revolution, it won’t grow much further.

Meanwhile, the beastmen population is about to explode, and they require more food than humans.

This will likely lead to conflict. I was contemplating the future when I turned to the next page.

Right now, Ariel’s education is more important than these concerns.

“What are you looking at?”

As the three of us were studying peacefully with the animal encyclopedia, my father called to us softly from behind.

We all turned around simultaneously. Standing there proudly was my father, who seemed to have just finished special training.

Judging by Adelia entering the shower room behind him, drenched in sweat, the training must have concluded.

“We’re showing Ariel what kinds of animals exist.”

“Animals?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. Animals…”

Father scratched his chin, seemingly reminded of something from the past. Suddenly, an interesting thought occurred to me.

Although my father served at the border, that region teems with all sorts of animals and monsters, including savage beastmen.

It’s comparable to the frontline in South Korea from my previous life—a place where fantasy-like wild creatures pour in.

So wouldn’t there be comparable animals at the border? Curious, I asked my father.

“Father, do you remember any notable animals or monsters you’ve encountered?”

“Me? You’re asking me?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve caught a large lizard before.”

“… …”

Ah, right. This man has experience slaying dragons.

Father rarely mentions his achievements, as they remind him of old wounds. The “large lizard” he just mentioned is probably a dragon, but he expressed it that way.

I was momentarily stunned before shaking my head vigorously. Dragons were too overwhelming to discuss, but there must be other creatures.

“What about something else?”

“Something else… I’ve caught so many strange things, it’s hard to remember. If I had to pick one, there was a 2m…”

At first, I thought, only 2m? But when I heard the name of the creature—or rather, life form—that followed, I couldn’t help but gasp.

“Moth?”

“…Excuse me?”

“I once saw a moth with a wingspan of about 2m. At first, I thought it was a bird, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a moth.”

“… …”

“It didn’t cause harm, but it was terribly creepy.”

Just hearing about it gives me chills—what would it be like to face it directly? At that size, wouldn’t it be classified as a monster?

Indeed, this is a fantasy world with appropriate scale. I shuddered at the mere thought of such a terrifying creature.

“Dad, what’s a moth?”

“I’ll show you in an insect encyclopedia later.”

Fortunately, there’s a book similar to Fabre’s Book of Insects that I can use.

I sighed and glanced at Marie. Her complexion had turned pale, probably imagining the 2m moth.

Last time, she fainted when a bug flew in front of her. I heard she once fainted at the sight of a cockroach.

‘Cecilly wasn’t bothered by them, right?’

Not just Cecilly, but demons in general don’t fear insects or bugs.

Perhaps because Helium is filled with all sorts of strange foods, they even consider insects as food. They even use cockroaches for culinary purposes, which says it all.

Of course, there are individual differences. And except for commoner food, everything else is pretty similar.

I quickly shook the image of the 2m moth from my mind and returned to teaching. This fantasy world is full of all sorts of animals.

Except for one.

‘Why are there no giraffes?’

Not just in this animal encyclopedia, but in others I’ve checked, giraffes are nowhere to be found.

There are dragons, hammer-horned rhinoceroses, even unicorns, but no long-necked giraffes to be seen.

I hadn’t thought much about it initially, but while teaching Ariel, it naturally came to mind. Puzzled, I quietly asked Marie.

“Marie, are there any animals with extremely long necks?”

“Animals with extremely long necks? What’s that?”

“It looks something like this…”

I drew a giraffe in my notebook. Marie and Ariel closely examined my drawing.

After seeing my completed drawing, Marie responded with an expression suggesting she’d seen something bizarre.

“What is this? Some legendary animal or what?”

“You’ve never seen one?”

“Not at all. How can such a bizarrely shaped animal exist? Isn’t it a monster?”

Good heavens. Treating a giraffe as a monster. Although giraffes are more dangerous than they appear, they shouldn’t be classified as monsters.

Even more shocking is that an animal with a slightly long neck is considered legendary. In a world where dragons and unicorns are common knowledge, this is particularly jarring to me.

Moreover, there are fire-breathing birds, one-eyed cyclopes, and even flying sky whales.

All sorts of strange creatures exist in this world, but no giraffes. It doesn’t make sense.

Just to be sure, I asked my father who had just finished washing…

“What is this? A monster?”

“…No.”

“Then why is it shaped so strangely? It’s not like it uses its neck as a whip. With such a vulnerable neck, it would have gone extinct long ago.”

They do use their necks like whips! Even lions get sent flying when hit. Their kicks are also superior to horses’.

Though I’ve been reincarnated in this world for 18 years, there are moments like this that remind me I’m a reincarnator.

‘Or maybe they went extinct…’

Knock knock knock-

Just as Ariel’s education concluded and I was about to start writing, someone knocked on the door.

I turned my head toward the door, and a familiar voice came from beyond it.

[Ah, Lord Issac? It’s Kate. I’ve returned with the distinguished guest I mentioned before.]

Kate, who had left for the underground temple a few days ago, had returned. It seems the “distinguished guest” Luminus had mentioned came along.

Given that this was a guest mentioned by Luminus himself, I hurried toward the door.

Click-

“Thank you for your hard—”

I stopped mid-sentence after opening the door. Kate looked somewhat gaunt, but what caught my attention was what stood beside her.

She said she’d bring a distinguished guest, but there was a large wooden box right there. Did she carry this by herself?

Where is the distinguished guest? As various thoughts swirled in my mind, a deep voice emerged from the wooden box.

[Have we arrived? I hear a voice.]

The voice of a robust middle-aged man reached my ears. Peculiarly, it didn’t sound like it came from a mouth, but rather like a recording.

I blinked, wondering what was happening, and shifted my gaze to Kate. She flinched when our eyes met and subtly turned her head away.

Why? What’s going on? Why is she avoiding my gaze? As I was puzzled by her behavior, so different from usual, the man’s voice from the wooden box was heard again.

[Can I come out now? I’d appreciate an answer before I break this thing.]

“…Is there someone in there?”

“… …”

When I asked with various implications, Kate silently nodded in response. Even then, she avoided my gaze.

It seems the “distinguished guest” is inside, but something feels off. They could have just brought the person directly—why keep them in a wooden box?

The situation was incomprehensible, but it seemed best to invite them in. There was definitely someone in the wooden box.

“W-well, please come in. I’ll carry this.”

“N-no! I’ll—”

Kate was startled when I offered to carry it. Her expression and behavior were completely different from before, as if she had committed some crime.

I don’t know what happened at the underground temple, but clearly, many things occurred during that time.

Still, after all her hard work, it would be inconsiderate to make her carry this too, so it’s better if I do it.

“No, it’s fine. Or perhaps you could just come out now. We’ve arrived, so there’s no need to hide anymore.”

[Oh! Yes! From what I hear, we’ve arrived!]

Crack!

As soon as I finished speaking, a hole appeared in the center of the box, and something emerged. I was speechless at the sight of the object.

A pure white bone. Although there was armor on the arm portion, the hand was nothing but bone without a trace of flesh.

What the hell is this?

Creeeeak-

While I stood dumbfounded, unable to utter a word, the tightly closed wooden box opened.

Like a coffin lid opening, the wooden box opened in a hinged fashion.

And what emerged from it was…

[Phew. I thought I was going to suffocate. No, I’m already dead.]

“… …”

A skeleton. A talking skeleton, at that.

Despite being nothing but bones, it was taller than me, and it wore armor—though the armor was old and worn, having lost its functionality long ago.

What on earth?

[Hmm? Ah! Are you perhaps Issac?]

“Uh… yes?”

[Judging by your reaction, it seems I’m right. I’m your grandfather.]

“… …”

Who are you? Who are you to pat my shoulder so familiarly?

“What’s all this commotion—”

Just then, my father, hearing the disturbance, came toward the door but stopped abruptly upon seeing the situation. Simultaneously, the skeleton’s gaze turned toward my father.

Upon seeing my father, the skeleton made what seemed like a genuinely delighted expression (as far as a skeleton can express) and exclaimed in the happiest voice:

[My goodness! Look at you! You’ve grown so much! You look just like me!]

You’re a skeleton. What resemblance are you talking about?

Normally, this situation might be considered an attack by demon worshippers, but perhaps it was too absurd.

I apologize for saying this, but my father, with the most foolish expression, quietly asked:

“Who are you?”