After revealing the upper body of the “Colossus,” the green-haired, robust man reacted.
I didn’t want to continue the conversation about canceling the transformation, so I pressed the issue.
“You do know what the ‘Colossus’ is, don’t you? Would you mind telling me?”
“…Let’s move to a different location. Command, march.”
He gave instructions to the Golems and began moving somewhere. He turned his back, either because he trusted me to some extent or because he didn’t have the leeway to worry about it.
Well, he still has his sword in hand, and he’s got some of the Golems guarding Fiss, so I can’t trust him completely.
I moved along the castle walls with a slight sense of tension.
We passed through stone buildings and fields, and arrived in front of a facility that was about the size of three normal houses.
“What is this place?”
“This is the barracks of us Wardens. Our destination is next door.”
Xanthos—that was his name, he had mentioned it along the way—pointed with his gaze to a vast open space like a schoolyard.
It was surrounded by fences on all sides, with pillars standing at equal intervals.
The ground was leveled sand, and armed humans were lined up in rows.
“Well then, Warden Commander, this is the one you reported…”
“Yes, it’s Fiss-dono and Kouya-dono. Though he looks like this, Kouya-dono doesn’t seem to be a Demon Beast.”
“That’s right. I can’t return to my original form for a while because of the magic’s conditions, but I won’t attack you, so please rest assured.”
I tried to convey it in as calm a tone as possible to reassure them.
However, their tension didn’t seem to ease at all.
Then, I asked something that had suddenly occurred to me.
“…Huh? Come to think of it, when did you make the report? You didn’t have time for that, did you?”
“Indeed.”
“…Hmm, so it’s true that Mana Crystal technology is underdeveloped on the surface (among other races).”
Xanthos nodded as if he understood, and tapped his gauntlet.
A deep crimson crystal was embedded in the back of his hand, with patterns like electronic circuits engraved around it.
“The Wardens’ gauntlets are Artifacts. They can send thoughts to a receiver through Mana manipulation.”
“Artifacts?”
“Tools made from Mana Crystals.”
“Hmph.”
Fiss seemed to nod, not really understanding.
In this country, Mana Crystals are called Mana Stones, so she didn’t understand the meaning.
I secretly conveyed the subtle differences in language using Telepathy.
This Skill can also limit the target of communication.
(Even so, that Artifact seems convenient. It can do the same thing as Telepathy, right?)
I don’t know the effective range, but it seems like a pretty amazing item.
Although he didn’t explicitly say so, Xanthos must have been sending my information to his comrades during the battle.
He challenged an unknown Demon Beast, conveyed the information he gained, and had his comrades devise countermeasures.
That’s why he challenged me alone.
If I had been just a Feral Beast, my hand would have been revealed if we had continued to fight, and I would have struggled against the subsequent units that had prepared.
“Is my explanation sufficient? Next is—”
“Ooooh! Are you the visitors from the surface?! I see, I see, I see! Indeed, I have never seen such magic before!”
A scream echoed, interrupting Xanthos’s voice, followed by the sound of running.
A man with mixed white hair appeared. Although he looked to be in his early old age, he approached with an energetic stride that didn’t betray his age, and touched me.
“Ho ho! Ho ho ho! I heard you can freely change your shape, but you are strong against external pressure. The color is a transparent blue like lapis lazuli… Is it a type of Mana Mineral or a virtual substance created by magic? I’m curious about the components—”
“Um… who are you?”
“Oh, my apologies! I am Thanasis. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“That doesn’t explain anything. Kouya-dono, he is a scholar. He passed a difficult exam and serves in the Sage Tower. I thought he would be the most suitable person to reconcile our information, so I called him.”
I didn’t quite understand what the Sage Tower was, but I could grasp the nuance. In short, he wanted to say that Thanasis was smart.
It would be rude to interrupt the conversation, so I decided to ignore it for now. Or rather, there are other things I can’t ignore.
“I understand about Thanasis-san… I understand, so can you please step away?”
“Oh, my apologies again. If you could wait about ten more seconds, I will step away.”
While Xanthos was talking about him, Thanasis took out a magnifying glass-like tool from somewhere and continued to observe.
Thirty seconds after I asked him to step away, he was reluctantly pulled away by Xanthos.
“You’re old enough to know better.”
“No, no, that’s not it, ‘Soaring Sword’-dono. I haven’t changed until this age, so there’s no way I’ll change now.”
Thanasis, without any sign of remorse, answered and then sat down on a round stool in the corner of the plaza. Fiss had already been sitting there for about a minute.
Since there were no seats for me, I remained sitting on the ground.
By the way, I had canceled the Forest Shackles before coming here.
Walking with those would make holes in the ground, and I thought that swinging my weapons might make them wary.
Now that we were all seated and ready for dialogue, I decided to ask something that had been bothering me.
I let him touch me that much, so he should allow me at least one question.
“Hey, Thanasis-san, aren’t you afraid of me? The other soldiers… Wardens? They still seem tense.”
“Ho ho ho ho, even if the form is not human, dialogue is possible. Why should I be afraid? Besides, the kingdom’s strongest Warden, ‘Soaring Sword’ Xanthos-dono, is here. There is absolutely no need to worry.”
“…I believe you are aware, but I cannot protect you at such close range in case of an emergency.”
“…………”
Xanthos said in an even colder tone, and Thanasis quietly averted his eyes.
Then, Thanasis changed his tone and got to the main point.
“Ahem, let’s put aside such trivial matters. Could you show me the parts of the Pseudo-Golem Machine (Golem-like) that Kouya-dono possesses?”
“Yeah, sure.”
I took out the desired materials from Weapon Storage.
The sudden appearance of the giant upper body caused a stir among those in the plaza.
Among them, the one who showed the biggest reaction was, as expected, Thanasis.
“Ooooooh! Golden armor! A head modeled after a Dragon! Everything is as described in the literature! There’s no mistake! This is the Calamity-Class Pseudo-Golem Machine, our guardian that was lost a thousand years ago!!”
He shrieked and jumped onto the “Colossus.”
I thought that maybe I didn’t need to sit down after all.