At Ethan’s repeated commands, If touched the modelled sword several times. Its long and broad shape was much better than the weapon Ethan had used in the past.

The blacksmith in Rigo was better at repairing than making, thanks to the mercenaries who returned from battle almost every day. Since being without a weapon meant death, the blacksmith had no choice but to repair it as quickly as possible.

There were many forges that wouldn’t even deal with outside mercenaries, and in the end, the only way to get what you needed was to threaten. No matter how much the guild banned it, they couldn’t stop every mercenary.

Eventually, the conflicts between the mercenaries and the blacksmiths got so bad that the mercenaries couldn’t even get near them.

So the mercenary guild would buy low-quality weapons at high prices on behalf of the mercenaries and then sell them to them for a small commission. Even though they were expensive, the mercenaries were grateful to get them.

As a result, finding a weapon that worked took priority over finding one that suited them. In such circumstances, even a weapon was considered part of a mercenary’s property.

So it was no wonder that they even robbed corpses of their weapons. If, by chance, a knight who had joined a monster-conquering party died, the mercenaries would break off the family crest from the hilt of the sword before using it – as mercenaries, they couldn’t wear a noble’s insignia.

Knights were no different when it came to looking down on mercenaries – if they caught a mercenary before the crest was broken, they would drag him before a noble. Of course, if caught, it was an immediate death sentence without the need for a trial.

Even with such risks, mercenaries still took swords from corpses. After all, whether they died one way or another, it was the same in the end.

“Like this?”

“Yes.”

Having created a prosthetic hand that was almost indistinguishable from a real one, and now being able to wield weapons freely, Ethan once again realised the true power of ancient relics.

To think that something like this could be done without magic.

“The place where you were.”

“Yes.”

“Is it possible for others to get in there?”

“Are you thinking of getting in, Ethan?”

“Yes, but I mean if another person tried to get in.”

“That would be impossible.”

“What if they tried to force their way in, break it open?”

If rolled his eyes thoughtfully at Ethan’s question. If someone tried that…

“They would die.”

If replied firmly, with a certainty that required no guesswork.

“But you said those things were made for humans. They’d attack them?”

During his time with If, Ethan had heard things – including stories of android robots. Metallic beings made to serve and act for humans.

“It’s not an attack.”

“Then what is it?”

“A defence.”

“But you just said they’d die?”

Tilting his head, If gave a small shrug.

“I’m not the one who dies, am I?”

“…”

Now he finally understood.

Ancient relics. Ancient ruins.

The ones to be protected inside were the ” ancient humans “, not the humans living outside.

That meant there was no danger of being exposed. The city was underground, and all the passages could only be opened from that side. Besides, no one had ever approached Belphirn, so there was little chance of anyone finding it.

“Ethan, is this what you want me to do?”

“Yes. That’s perfect.”

If nodded at Ethan’s answer.

“Then… shall I go back there? To where this was made?”

Even in that ancient city, hadn’t she gathered all sorts of materials to make his arm in the place they called ‘the laboratory’?

Ethan remembered the bodies in the glass domes, but If shook his head.

“No. There’s no need to go back – it’s right below us.”

“What’s down there…?”

Rustle, rustle.

Ethan’s face stiffened as he saw the silver nanomachines now surrounding him.

The nanomachines, swarming like insects, began to cluster into smooth shapes.

“But they weren’t here a moment ago?”

“They were down there all the time.”

A light tap on the dirt floor. Ethan pressed his temples together, trying to ease the throbbing headache.

Something under the ground… No, wait.

A flash of the ancient city buried underground crossed Ethan’s mind. Even at a quick glance it had been huge.

“…Don’t tell me, the whole of Belphirn is an ancient ruin?”

Horrified, Ethan voiced a theory that was probably close to the truth.

If grunted as he gripped the hilt of the finished sword. But the weapon, far too heavy, didn’t move from where it lay on the ground.

“Ugh. Where’s Belphirn supposed to be?”

He finally gave up trying to lift the sword when asked with a sullen look.

“This place we’re in. Where we saw those monsters roaming around earlier.”

Belphirn had an unusual shape, obvious to anyone who saw it.

Magical beasts did not naturally form packs. Each had its own territory and would become ferocious if that territory was invaded.

When such beasts left their territory, it was usually because they had been driven out by stronger beasts or because food had become scarce.

But Belphirn was clearly overpopulated. Of course, there wasn’t enough food to go around.

Nevertheless, the beasts clung to the area, fighting and devouring each other to survive.

No one could understand the reason for this strange ecosystem, but whatever the cause, it was a stroke of luck for the people living nearby – at least the beasts never ventured near the villages.

The area known as Belphirn had clearly defined boundaries.

The poorest of the poor, too destitute to settle on decent land, were pushed to the very edge of this place.

There they discovered something – the magical beasts never went beyond a certain point.

The first of the poor to realise this built their villages just outside that boundary.

With the beasts never leaving Belphirn, the humans stayed away from the area altogether.

It was the perfect place to move around unnoticed – especially for someone on the run.

Ethan grabbed the hilt of the sword in If’s place and lifted it.

It was longer and wider than an ordinary sword, suited to his massive frame.

Most swords had hilts that were too short for his hands, making them slip easily from blood or sweat, but this one gave him room to spare.

As promised, a cord was tied to the hilt, knotted in such a way that it could be quickly undone in an emergency. It was to be thrown like a spear and then pulled back if necessary.

Ethan swung the sword around to test it.

It was as heavy as a two-handed greatsword, but the hilt was shorter.

The weight and design made it impossible for an average person to swing carelessly.

“Then it’s right.”

If said calmly, nodding in agreement.

Watching him, Ethan stroked his chin before finally speaking.

“Belphirn’s beasts are unusually large and strong. There are too many of them, and they all gather here as if this were their territory.”

From their conversations so far, Ethan had come to understand her to a certain extent.

She didn’t answer anything that wasn’t asked directly.

“Hm?”

“These beasts – are they connected to the city below us?”

“Well, about half?”

“Half?”

That’s less connected than he thought.

For something he assumed was definitely connected, half was surprisingly little.

At Ethan’s reaction, If simply nodded without much concern.

“Yeah. You know how when the glaciers melted, ancient microorganisms and viruses that had been trapped for hundreds of thousands of years spread?”

“When was that even…?”

If it was old enough to be called “ancient”, Ethan couldn’t even imagine how much time had passed.

Sure, there were still glaciers today, but they were nothing more than small patches tucked away in a few corners of the map.

There was no need to talk about ancient times – even those glaciers had been created by high-ranking mages from foreign lands during wars.

“People live all over the world, don’t they? Every place has cities. It’s the same with us. We had many cities. And someone tampered with them. The virus spread. It’s useless against me, but for life forms that first encountered it, it was enough to change their bodies.”

Animals, insects, plants – for example.

Over time, it must have mutated with each new generation.

If they traced it back to the source, the virus had been sealed inside the ancient ruins.

“That sounds like more than just ‘half connected’. It’s fully connected, from cause to effect.”

Ethan was stunned – everything from cause to effect was there.

“So it was people from this side who opened it? Even if the city had stopped working, it wouldn’t have collapsed all by itself”.

The ancient city was underground, and over time, dirt and stone had piled up, creating the world as it is now.

Layer upon layer, built on top of a round world – as the diameter grew, so did the volume, naturally expanding the land itself.

The place where If had lived was covered by a dome that arched towards the sky. The basic material was a three-dimensional screen, with reinforced glass on the outside. The whole city had been like a giant snow globe.

Inside, they controlled the temperature and the weather. Every city had its own climate. It wasn’t unusual to find countries where flowers bloomed all year round. There were even maglev trains that connected these domes.

Now, of course, all that was buried.

“Come to think of it,” Ethan said, “you mentioned earlier that if there were intruders, these robots would kill them. If that’s the case, wouldn’t the same be true of other ancient cities? Then why have other humans been allowed in?”

Though rare, ancient relics still existed – Ethan had never seen an ancient ruin himself, but finding a relic was proof enough that ruins had been discovered. And it was by tampering with those ruins that the virus had spread.

“I told you, didn’t I? Their functions have been disabled.”

“Is it even possible for them to shut down? The place you were in must have been just as old, but everything worked fine.”

“Because I was there. There were no humans in that place.”

“…”

Metallic beings that lived and moved for humans – this sentence had a much deeper meaning than Ethan had thought.

If there were no humans, they wouldn’t protect.

They wouldn’t move.

Even if everything was destroyed.

Even if everything was stolen.

Ethan ran a hand through his hair. His already dishevelled locks became even more tangled.

Not even slaves or knights had that kind of loyalty.

The idea that mere machines – hunks of metal – could have such unwavering devotion and act on it was something he simply couldn’t understand.

Because there was still a human here, all the robots lived, moved and protected – even if it was only one person.

Only now did Ethan finally understand their behaviour and their way of thinking.

Having lived surrounded by these machines, it was no wonder that she had no sense of danger or patience.

They must have done everything she wanted and protected her from every threat – how could she have developed a sense of self-preservation in such circumstances?

And yet, despite understanding so much, there were still many things he couldn’t make sense of.

“There may not be many, but ancient relics have been discovered. No matter who found them, the ruins have been uncovered, and if what you’re saying is true, then the virus must have spread from there. But as far as I know, there’s no other place teeming with such magical beasts. If the beasts were created because of some other ancient ruin, then they should be there, not here in Belphirn, where no ruins have been found. The whole situation doesn’t make sense.”

If tilted her head at Ethan’s words.

“Why do you think they were here in the first place?”

“What?”

Wait, wait.

Ethan’s face went rigid.

Did that mean…

“They’re old. These things came from somewhere else.”

“That makes no sense! Then why are they all gathered here? There’s not even enough food!”

“The vaccine.”

“What?”

“If there’s a virus, there must be a vaccine, right? And now this is the only city still functioning. Of course, after all this time, their bodies have already undergone genetic mutations, and there’s no way to get them back to the way they were. But… maybe it’s instinct. Just by living here, they can survive a little longer.”

Because If is alive, the City is still active here.

The vaccine that comes out of this system is like medicine for the beasts.

“…Whatever.”

Having suddenly uncovered the history of the beasts and the secret of Belphirn, Ethan clicked his tongue in annoyance.

The beasts that didn’t make it to Belphirn were probably the ones that were driven out by the survival of the fittest, and the ones that stayed here were probably the strongest of the monsters back then.

With only such creatures gathered here, it was naturally a headache to deal with them – and as they managed to live longer, they had naturally become even stronger. No wonder they were such a challenge.

But in the end, no one would know if he didn’t say anything. And no one cared what happened here anyway.

Even though he had uncovered a truth that scholars had been researching for centuries – all in the space of a few minutes – Ethan chose to casually ignore it.

For now, it didn’t matter.

Ancient cities, ancient relics, ancient people – anything to do with the ancient world was dangerous, no matter what.

If this ever got out, it wouldn’t end in a normal war.

Well, whatever.

As long as no one found out about the Ancient Relics or the Ancient Humans, that was enough.

Even if he were hunted, would he really be caught now that he had such a great weapon?

Such a burden could easily be balanced by the power of the weapon.

In fact, it made things easier.

While he was thinking this, Ethan suddenly reached out and scooped up If, who was hovering idly in the air, and pulled her into his arms.

“You must never fly unless I tell you to. If you do that outside, you’ll be in real trouble.”

“Why can’t I fly? It’s uncomfortable not to.”

Another question mark flew his way.

The veins on Ethan’s forehead twitched, but he held back the wave of frustration that was rising inside him.

If he couldn’t make her understand, who knew what kind of disaster could happen out there?

“If you don’t want to end up being dissected, do as I say.”

“Why should I be dissected? Dissection is for learning new things, right?”

“Exactly – because of you.”

If’s eyes widened in surprise.

“But I’m human.”

“Humans can’t fly.”

“But I can.”

“No, I mean… Never mind… You won.”

‘Damn it.’

Ethan muttered a curse that sounded like a sigh.

“But we didn’t even fight. How did you lose, Ethan?”

“Just – never mind… It’s easier if I just carry you.”

Trying to convince her was more trouble than it was worth – he’d rather give up an arm. His sigh was long and heavy.

“I don’t like it. I just want to fly, Ethan. It’s uncomfortable.”

“Ugh, come on! I want to carry you, so just let me!”

“Okay.”

‘Ethan must really like holding me.’

 If nodded to herself, satisfied with her own conclusion.

Sensing with sharp instinct that If was having some strange thought again, Ethan kept his mouth shut.

He had no intention of throwing himself back into that endless pit of questions.