Chapter 217

Normalization (2)

Up until now, I had welcomed all sorts of animals into my home.

A baby owlbear, an extremely powerful sloth, a martial-arts-wielding gorilla, a giraffe that served as a horse, a hatchling, a thug of a deer, and so on.

At least they were living creatures that ate, slept, and relieved themselves, so I could accept them without much trouble.

But a statue was different.

Something that didn’t even look alive was behaving like a living creature.

Would anyone believe me if I told them it could even talk?

They would probably treat me like a lunatic.

"Sit."

Shk!

"Stand."

Shak!

"Turn around. Face forward. Attention."

Shk! Shak! Shk!

And yet the statue before me was behaving like a living creature—like a person, no less.

It even understood and obeyed my commands.

Was this thing truly made of stone?

"Just what are you?"

[Cain.]

"I’m not asking for your name. What are you?"

[Ares#%#%^]

It seemed to be saying that it was a knight of Ares.

That wasn’t exactly the answer I wanted.

I rubbed my face in frustration.

Things were complicated enough already, and now even the statue was alive.

Would it be easier to think of it as a robot with someone’s consciousness transferred into it?

This was a fantasy world.

Maybe it would make sense if I thought of the statue as this world’s equivalent of a robot.

I decided to leave that question aside and eat first.

Complicated problems were better dealt with later.

"For now, go back over there. You don’t need food or anything, do you?"

The statue nodded.

Fortunately, it seemed I hadn’t gained another mouth to feed.

I sighed and went outside.

Ludwig was hard at work chopping firewood.

I wondered how he would react when he realized the statue behaved like a living creature.

I found out immediately after dinner.

[# Cain! Ares###$$%##!##$?]

"..."

Ludwig rubbed his eyes again and again, trying to determine whether he was dreaming.

He even cleaned out his ears for good measure.

He apparently found reality rather difficult to believe.

Then again, I had reacted the same way. It must have been even more shocking for Ludwig.

Even by the standards of the Forest of Four Seasons, this completely shattered common sense.

"#%... #%%$%?"

[#%$!#%%#!%$#%%^]

They were speaking in the language of El Dorado, so I had no idea what they were discussing.

Judging from the general tone, however, Ludwig seemed to be confirming whether the statue really was Cain.

Cain thumped his chest as if to say that he was.

That was only my guess, though.

"Oh, Ares...!"

[Ares!]

Their conversation ended with both of them worshipping Ares.

They were both paladins, so naturally their faith in Ares ran deep.

From Ludwig’s perspective in particular, he was meeting a distant predecessor—and a legendary hero at that.

Would this be like talking to Admiral Yi Sun-sin?

I didn’t know exactly what great achievements Cain had accomplished, but it was probably something along those lines.

He bore the title of the first paladin, so his accomplishments must have been extraordinary.

Anyway, it was time to set that aside and ask the statue my questions.

Why had it been trapped inside a mimic?

Why had it been in the Forest of Four Seasons?

I had a mountain of things to ask.

The problem is that I don’t speak the language of El Dorado.

I wanted to ask Ludwig to interpret, but his Korean still wasn’t nearly good enough.

For now, asking through the gallery would probably be better.

I planned to contact the manager privately instead of posting about it publicly.

[Greetings!]

"...?"

At least, that was what I had planned until the statue greeted me with great dignity.

I blinked at the crystal-clear Korean reaching my ears.

Its manner of speaking was completely different from Kkobong’s.

I had no idea what was going on.

"Huh...? You can... talk?"

[Indeed! At last, we can understand each other!]

Cain spoke in a powerful voice while I stood there bewildered.

His voice did not come from vocal cords. It had a slightly mechanical quality to it.

[I possess a translation function! I had only just awakened earlier, so it temporarily failed to operate!]

[Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Cain, the first paladin of Lady Ares! May I ask your name, good sir?]

"Park Jonghyuk."

[Then I shall call you Bark!]

"...Just call me Grylls."

What was with this guy and his complete disregard for other people?

"But even if you have a translation function, how are you able to speak?"

[I do not know! I simply know that I can!]

[Do not look at me like that. I carefully listened to the way all of you spoke and am speaking based on what I heard.]

I nodded.

I didn’t really understand, but simply being able to converse with him freely was enough.

He might even be able to interpret between Ludwig and me from now on.

That certainly wasn’t a bad thing.

"I have a lot of questions, but are you really Cain? The first paladin of Ares?"

[You need not harbor even the slightest doubt. I am indeed Cain.]

"And not merely a lump of stone pretending to be him?"

It might have been a rather disrespectful question.

However, it was something that needed to be clarified.

It might not have mattered if I were alone, but Ludwig regarded him as a legendary hero.

If this thing wasn’t truly Cain, it could cause Ludwig needless confusion. I needed to distinguish between the two with absolute certainty.

[I understand why you might see me that way. But Grylls, have you ever heard of the Ship of Theseus?]

"...How do you know about that? Who told you?"

[It is a concept the goddess Ares taught me. Of course, I have no idea who Theseus is.]

The Da Vinci bridge, cement, and now this.

Things like these appeared from time to time.

Theseus was even a hero from Greek and Roman mythology.

Was this world truly completely unrelated to Earth?

Just as my suspicions began to deepen, Cain spoke in his powerful voice.

[Even if the components of a ship are replaced one by one, the ship’s identity does not change. But once most of its components have been replaced, what then is the ship’s true identity? That is the essence of the concept.]

"You’re pretty smart."

[Thank you for the compliment. In any case, I exist according to a similar principle. So give up on examining the matter too deeply.]

"...Isn’t that exactly the sort of thing you should examine deeply?"

[It makes my head hurt. It is troublesome as well.]

What was with this ridiculously simple-minded man?

He was nothing like the dignified figure I had imagined.

[However, the fact that I am Lady Ares’s paladin remains unchanged. Is that not enough?]

Or perhaps he was truly noble in the purest sense—so noble that such doubts did not even trouble him.

I found his attitude strange.

In such a situation, most people would question their identity. I certainly would.

Yet Cain did not seem to harbor even a trace of doubt.

Of course, the way he planted his hands on his hips and declared it so proudly made him seem far less solemn, which somewhat ruined the effect.

The solemn dignity I had seen in the gallery video had completely vanished.

"You’re completely different from how you were in El Dorado. Not only your size, but even the way you talk."

So I asked him directly.

Where had all that dignity gone?

Cain’s answer was remarkable in more ways than one.

[Is it not obvious? I had to present an impressive figure to my descendants! You would understand if you were in my position.]

"..."

It was an answer that left me completely speechless.

And strangely enough, I could understand where he was coming from.

In any case, there was no denying that the statue identified itself as Cain—or more precisely, as the first paladin.

The next question was why his body had shrunk.

I still had plenty to ask.

"Why do you grow larger outside but shrink in here?"

[It is because of the mana pressing in from every direction. I find it exceedingly difficult to exert my power here.]

"How long have you been in the Forest of Four Seasons?"

[I do not know.]

"What exactly do you know?"

[That the inside of a mimic is surprisingly warm and cozy?]

He was genuinely useless.

I stared at Cain with cold, unimpressed eyes.

How could a lump of stone even experience sensations in the first place?

[Do not look at me like that. My memories are in disarray, so I am confused as well.]

"Your memories are in disarray? Is that because the mimic ate you?"

[That is highly likely. I was trapped inside it for so long that I eventually gave up on thinking.]

"..."

[My memories should gradually return, so please be patient. Of course, I cannot guarantee that those memories will be of any use to you.]

"Forgive me for asking, but you don’t need to eat, right?"

Everything else was fine as long as he didn’t consume our food.

Thankfully, he said he didn’t need any.

Apparently, the mana in the atmosphere was enough to sustain him.

Although the intense pressure prevented him from using his power, he could still absorb mana.

[Though my current body is insignificant, I shall gladly help whenever you ask. The fact that I owe you a debt of gratitude remains unchanged.]

"Well... It does feel good to hear you say that. You’ll probably fly away again someday, right?"

[If the owner of the Holy Sword calls me, then yes. From what I have heard, its current owner is that fellow’s disciple.]

Cain pointed at Ludwig.

Ludwig was quietly listening to our conversation.

I had no idea whether he understood any of it.

[It was not a pleasant sight. To think the once-glorious El Dorado has fallen so far... Sigh.]

Cain shook his head and sighed.

I could understand how he felt.

Apparently, Cain had appeared just before the Hero was struck by the arrows.

Still, everything had ended well.

All that remained was for El Dorado to reclaim its former glory.

"At least everything was resolved successfully. There probably won’t be much reason to summon you again."

[Hmm. That is somewhat disappointing.]

"Why?"

Wasn’t it better if no one needed to summon him?

Someone once said that a society without heroes was not unfortunate—a society that needed heroes was.

El Dorado had already proven that misfortune.

Wouldn’t it be better if they never needed to summon him again?

[Because the Hero was remarkably beautiful.]

"..."

[Though not quite as beautiful as Lady Ares, she was still a rare beauty.]

I couldn’t tell whether he was merely honest or just frivolous.

I let out a deep sigh.

In any case, the statue had joined our group.

I would have to wait and see what kind of help he could offer.

Will spring arrive in another two or three days?

Spring had come to El Dorado, so I hoped it would arrive here soon as well.

Perhaps because we had prepared in advance, this winter seemed to be passing relatively quickly.

Though the statue had unintentionally created more work for us.

I was just about to prepare for bed when—

[You wicked dragon! Come and face me!]

"Piiiiiik!"

Cain and Tyrano, who had somehow already become friends, started tussling with each other.

Of course, there was such a massive difference in size that it was basically just Tyrano playing with him.

Cain didn’t seem bothered by it either. He appeared to be having fun.

[Hryaaaaaaaah!]

Cain charged toward Tyrano with stiff yet surprisingly agile movements.

Proportionally speaking, he looked like a knight charging at a colossal dragon.

Should I give him a sword later?

Apparently, Cain had used only a shield throughout his entire life.

He was still equipped with one now.

He raised it high and charged forward, seemingly intent on smashing Tyrano with it.

I should start calling him Captain El Dorado.

"Piik!"

Tap!

Cain might have possessed the physical abilities of a super-soldier, but that only applied by human standards.

Against monsters, he was powerless.

[Aaaaaaaaah!]

Tyrano lightly tapped him with a forepaw, sending Cain flying into the distance.

Even his collision with the wall was remarkably unimpressive.

He was utterly pathetic.

Was this really El Dorado’s legendary hero?

"Sir."

"What do you think when you see that?"

I casually asked Ludwig, who was watching beside me.

Ludwig gave no answer.

Perhaps he was in shock.

Or perhaps he had already realized that this was simply the kind of person Cain was.

[As expected of a dragon! You are comparable to the ones I fought in the past!]

"Piik!"

[But I, Cain, the first paladin, shall never yield!]

They certainly knew how to entertain themselves.

Tyrano was enjoying himself, so I saw no reason to stop them.

But why does Cain keep speaking Korean?

Since he possessed a translation function, perhaps each person heard him in their own language.

I told Tyrano and Cain to stop because it was almost time for bed.

Both of them looked disappointed.

Cain’s ability to make friends was remarkable.

[A pity. We shall settle our battle next time.]

"Piik."

All I could do was laugh in disbelief.

And then the next morning arrived.

[What is this?]

"What do you think it is?"

I handed him a small gardening trowel I had purchased through the gallery.

"Go shovel the snow."

[.....]

It was time to clear away all the snow that had accumulated overnight.

Cain stared at me in disbelief for a moment before obediently doing as he was told.

He might be "Lord Cain" outside the forest, but in here, he was nothing more than a talking toy.

[These accursed heaps are as tiresome as ever!]

[If only I were at my full size, this would be no trouble at all!]

"Hey, Mr. Cain. Stop making noise and get back to work."