Chapter 264
Chapter 264
"A, a mage gave birth to princes. So. The emperor's children."
"That's right. Since it's a famous anecdote, I thought Yesung would know about it too."
"Then wouldn't it be correct to see the mage as a woman?!"
"There are such opinions in unofficial histories, but the records passed down until now say it was a man."
"But Eibon isn't a man!"
"There seems to be some misunderstanding, but it's a man, Yesung. Probably anyone who has visited the Mage Tower would know, but Eibon's portrait is also quite a dignified male. He even has a beard."
What was all this about! Eibon had never grown a beard!
Eibon had never revealed himself to be a man with his own mouth!
He had seen it clearly with his own eyes! He was so dumbfounded that he couldn't say anything with his mouth agape, when Dardin kindly informed him.
"It's a widely known story, so there's no way I could be wrong about it. Of course, there were many excellent female mages among mages, but until now there has been only one person with the title of Grand Mage."
"But! No, that's!"
"If you really can't believe it, should I show you the history book I have?"
Who would believe such history books filled with lies?
But in this era, he was the only one who had seen Eibon alive.
No matter how much he advocated for Eibon's truth, no one would believe him.
While he was floundering in shock, Yurik suddenly came to mind.
He had met Eibon!
Of course, they hadn't parted on good terms,
But at least he could prove that he wasn't mistaken.
"It's fine. More than that, I suddenly remembered somewhere I need to go. Take care!"
"Suddenly where? Yesung? Yesung?"
He could hear Dardin calling out in confusion from behind, but he ran straight to the inn.
Arriving at the inn in one breath and flinging open the door without even knocking,
Yurik was sitting in exactly the same position as when he had left the room.
The only change was that he had changed into comfortable clothes in the meantime.
"Yurik!"
"Shouldn't you call me Young Master?"
"Why is Eibon a man?"
"What?"
Only then did Yurik take his eyes off the map and look at him.
"You met her too, so you should know. But why are the records saying Eibon is a person with a bushy beard now? Do you know something?"
"It's also ridiculous that you come running to ask me about that out of the blue. Do you think I'm your emergency library?"
"It's important! I need to find Eibon!"
"Since it's come to this, let me ask. Is there a reason you keep looking for that woman when you had no intention of looking for me?"
Yurik asked with a slightly annoyed expression.
When he came out like that, he was somewhat at a loss for words.
Since he couldn't say anything, Yurik completely laid down the law.
"Don't think about making excuses and explain it in one sentence."
"Really all in one sentence?"
"No exceptions."
"If I can't find Eibon, I'll die."
"...Explain slowly from the beginning."
In the end, he spent considerable time explaining what had happened.
Of course, he excluded Aphoom-Zhah and Leandros.
Starting with the lie that he had left the desert because he thought things like Yog-Sothla shouldn't exist in the world,
That he had begun research to eliminate gods in earnest because he was worried Tika might become a follower of a strange god,
That after various things happened, he had met Eibon,
That Eibon had begun taking disciples and raising beings called mages,
That one of those disciples had worshipped something that couldn't become a god and elevated it to godhood,
And that he had inevitably been sealed together with that god for a long time.
It seemed like about 20 percent lies were mixed in, but anyway, as long as the meaning got across, it was fine.
"...So before the sealing, I entrusted my diary to Eibon. I asked her to find a way to seal that god based on it."
"Your diary?"
Yurik asked as if he couldn't believe it, then threw down the map and lifted him up to examine him front and back.
"You readily gave that to a mage? I carefully kept it and returned it to you, but how did you know the mage would know how to handle it?"
"But that was the only way. There was no guarantee that the newly created god could be put to sleep forever. And actually, that's what happened."
"So if you can't find Eibon, you're useless?"
"It's not that I'm useless. You can use me as a human shield. I'm still multi-purpose."
Yurik shouted angrily upon hearing his answer.
But he had only said what was right.
If a body that wouldn't die even when killed and would regenerate no matter what was done to it wasn't multi-purpose, then what was?
After glaring at the ceiling for a while to calm his anger, Yurik threw him onto the bed and spread out the map he had been looking at.
After rolling around on the soft bed and getting up abruptly, the world was spread out on the floor.
At the center of the map were two huge landmasses.
The divided lands were separated by the sea.
Yurik said.
"I'll only say this once, so listen carefully. In this era, these two lands are collectively called Thurian, with the left called Western Thurian and the right called Eastern Thurian."
"Thurian?"
"Long ago, these two lands were one. Acheron was established by uniting and unifying the primitive tribes that existed on the Thurian continent at that time. The current name is called Ancient Acheron, or the Acheron Empire."
So that was the story about Ancient Acheron that Dardin had been talking about earlier.
Yurik knelt on one knee in front of the map and pointed to Western Thurian with his finger.
"But after the Thurian continent split, Ancient Acheron was also divided in two. However, since the capital of the Acheron Empire at that time was located here - in present-day Western Thurian, it essentially concentrated most of the nobles on one land."
"What was Eastern Thurian used for then?"
"A resort for nobles and the royal family. Or farmland."
"I see."
"The Acheron Empire that was in Eastern Thurian became a separate kingdom currently called Hyperborea, or Hyperborea in some circles. There's also a new religious force called the Holy Empire, but you don't need to worry about that for now."
Hyperborea. It sounded like he had heard it somewhere, but where had he heard it?
Yurik snapped his fingers to redirect his attention and returned to Western Thurian.
"With this drastically changed environment, the Acheron Empire, which had legitimacy in the west, began to crumble. The Acheron Empire has currently split into eight kingdoms, each claiming to have inherited the bloodline of Ancient Acheron."
"What's it actually like?"
"It could be true or not, right? Even then, the imperial family and nobles solidified their power through marriage relationships. So some of them might have the blood of the Ancient Acheron imperial family flowing through them."
"Hmm."
"Eight kingdoms. They're called Aquilonia, Asgard, Vanaheim, Barakan archipelago, Cimmeria, Brythunia, Gunderland, and Nemedia respectively, so remember them."
"Aquilonia is the country we're in. Where exactly is it located?"
"Here."
Yurik pointed to the westernmost end of Western Thurian.
There was a thick outline to distinguish it from other kingdoms,
And at a glance, he could see it was much smaller than other countries.
"It's a weak nation."
"As you said, Aquilonia is a weak nation with nothing special. The eight kingdoms are currently divided into two factions. The leading forces are Asgard and Brythunia respectively. Vanaheim and Cimmeria are attached to Asgard, while Brythunia has formed an alliance with Gunderland and Nemedia."
"Oh, then what about the Barakan archipelago?"
"Neutral. An archipelago made up of small islands is less valuable from any perspective. The leader governing the Barakan archipelago hasn't been actively involved since three generations ago."
"Which side is Aquilonia on?"
"It's still declaring neutrality, but a decision will be made soon."
It seemed Aquilonia couldn't withdraw as freely as the Barakan archipelago.
Well, on the map it bordered Vanaheim and Asgard.
So external pressure being severe was natural.
"But why did you suddenly show me this?"
"Think from the perspective of Eibon who lived through that time. If you were Eibon, where would you leave clues?"
If he were Eibon.
He was dumbfounded by the sudden suggestion, but Yurik's words weren't entirely wrong either.
To figure out the reason for that person's actions, he had to think from the party's perspective.
If he were Eibon.
If he had tried to leave a message for someone who might appear at some unknown time in the distant future,
The most likely place would be.
"...First, it doesn't seem like Aquilonia where I woke up. When a sleeping god awakens, things around it probably wouldn't remain intact."
"Then?"
"I think somewhere a bit far would be good. But it doesn't seem like he'd go to the opposite side of the continent. Eibon already knew my basic physical strength."
Moreover, he had even left Aphoom-Zhah's maintenance to her.
Either a place a weakened person who had become completely naked could reach.
Or a place he would think he absolutely had to go...
"...Where is the coldest place, the coldest kingdom here?"
"How much?"
"Cold enough for snow to fall. Cold enough for snow to accumulate on the ground or ice to freeze."
Yurik looked at the map for a moment, then pointed to two places.
The letters written on the map were 'Asgard' and 'Cimmeria.'
"Kingdoms where it snows for more than half the year."
"Asgard. I'm certain."
When not assuming the situation of the continent splitting in two,
Eibon would definitely have left everything there.
Asgard was located at the top of the Western Thurian continent,
And at a glance, it seemed to be positioned somewhat like Canada on Earth.
When he spoke with conviction, Yurik paused for a moment, then rolled up the map and replied.
"Asgard especially has the capital of Ancient Acheron. From that mage's perspective, there would be no place like this. She actually came to the capital frequently too."
"That's also in the history books? I heard detailed activities would need to be investigated."
"How could I not know."
He spoke indifferently as he stood up.
"I was the first emperor of Acheron."
"Wh-who?"
"Me."
The first emperor of Acheron, me, me, me...
He even heard auditory hallucinations of Yurik's words repeating.
No, of course he had thought Yurik wouldn't just wander around killing time like him.
But in the meantime, he had unified the continent and even established an empire?
Was that why he had been going around beating people with sand when he saw him before?
Wait, if Yurik was the first emperor, that meant.
He suddenly stood up in shock.
"You! With Eibon, with Eibon like that... that kind of...!"
"It's obvious what you're imagining. It wasn't the relationship you're thinking of, so be quiet."
"Then what about the princes? There were three of them, right? What exactly is that about?"
"It seems like you talk a lot whenever Eibon comes up. Am I mistaken?"
"It's not a mistake! What exactly have you been doing all this time?"
When he pressed for answers, Yurik hesitated.
He stared at him quietly, then spoke as if spitting out the words.
"Are you finally curious about what I've been doing now?"
Leaving those words behind, Yurik immediately left the room.
Looking at the door that closed with a fierce sound, he gaped and finally sat on the bed.
The kid who had been giggling and laughing in the Elder Things' garden had grown up like this?
What exactly had been lacking that made him do that?