Chapter 576 Return to the Gargantua Class
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Gargantua’s POV)
After parting ways with the Famière: Liz squad, I followed the procedure that Rena taught me and teleported back to the Safety Zone on the Third Floor.
As the glow of the teleportation faded, what jumped into my line of sight was…
”Gargantua… you’d better explain what’s going on.”
Seated at a makeshift table set up in the Third Floor’s Safety Zone, with her arms crossed and a glare fixed on me, was Milia.
”Lady Gargantua… you’re safe!”
”We were so worried about you!”
Seeing me, Hernando and Esperanza let out relieved voices, but Milia silenced them with a hand gesture and shot me a piercing glare.
Beside her, Maya and Mira wore expressions filled with unease.
”Firstly… I’m sorry for worrying everyone.”
”Yeah. I’ll give you credit for starting with an apology. ──So, where have you been? What were you doing?”
Milia’s stern gaze moved up from my face slightly… and I could see the color of shock in her eyes.
”Gargantua… what’s with that horn…”
”Huh!?”
At Milia’s words, Hernando and Esperanza, who understood the meaning of the broken horn of the Oni-kin woman, shouted out at the same time and collapsed on the spot.
* * *
”I see… So, the super-weapon, an artifact of an ancient civilization, has targeted the Balthoga tribe, and you had no choice but to side with the Azradelius camp.”
After helping the two back up, I explained the sequence of events to everyone.
Milia massaged her head and muttered to herself.
”We’ve had hints from the Great Labyrinth’s excavations that a ‘lost civilization’ existed before our current one… So that’s it. You Oni-kin and those from Himuka knew about it, didn’t you?”
It seems that Milia, as a Sage, had independently uncovered the existence of an ‘ancient civilization.’
”Ah, and at the deepest floor of the Great Labyrinth, the two gods who created this world are sealed away.”
”Azradelius’s goal is to free those 2 gods, right? But you don’t know what kind of consequences that will bring…”
I nodded in response to Milia’s question.
”As for the ancient civilization and the two gods… let’s put that aside for now. We can discuss it more slowly later…”
I replied quietly, and Milia leaned forward from the table.
”You went all the way to the 20th floor and fought Hiroya? Really!?”
”That’s right. And I… happily accepted defeat.”
”Hmm… as expected of Hiroya. So, does that mean… the horn too?”
Milia reached out to me and stroked the broken horn.
”It was a situation where I could have lost my life. But… Hiroya took care of it with just one of my horns.”
””L-Lord Hiroya!?””
Hernando and Esperanza tumbled out of their chairs, losing consciousness again.
…It seemed like waking them would cause a lot of trouble, so I decided to leave them as they were.
”It’s not just any horn, is it? Have you explained what it means for an Oni-kin woman?”
With a tone of disbelief from Milia… Mira, who had been quietly listening beside me, timidly raised her hand.
”Um… I don’t know anything about this, but what does losing a horn mean for an Oni-kin?”
”Maya doesn’t know either. I want to know──meow.”
At the questions from the two, Milia cast a glance my way.
I took it to mean, “Is it okay to say?” and nodded in response to Milia.
”For an Oni-kin woman, cutting off one horn signifies ‘being married.’”
”S-So, does that mean it gets severed during marriage?”
After hearing Milia’s explanation, I nodded back at Mira, who was asking again.
”But… in cases like this, where it was unintentionally broken by a man…”
Milia, who had spoken up to that point, urged me to continue.
”You have a duty to give your all to your partner. Especially since… this time, as a result of the battle, the horns were severed. It’s only natural to offer yourself to a man stronger than you…”
(And…)
After conveying this more to myself than to Mira and Maya, I began to reflect.
(If it’s against Hiroya, this outcome can’t be helped… and… I can even think that it was good it was him.)
In my lifetime, those who have defeated me are… the hero Elberhardt, Shinji, and their party.
And Hiroya, who is the child of Shinji and Megumi.
(The path I have explored and discovered… is to nurture the strength of Hiroya, the precious successor of my dear friends.)
Being by his side means I can move forward without straying from that path.
Moreover…
(Hiroya has said that he sees me, an Oni-kin woman… as a potential partner.)
I had given up on the idea of being with a man and leaving behind children.
As an Oni-kin, I take pride in having trained harder than others to succeed as a chieftain.
As a result, I have honed my body to the point where it could be mistaken for a man’s, despite not being femi9 at all.
If he can see me as a woman…
(Eventually, receiving that strong seed… wouldn’t be so bad.)
”Gargantua? Are you listening?”
I snapped back to reality at Milia’s strong tone.
”…I’m sorry. What was that?”
”So, I was asking if you’re okay with that?”
It seems she had been questioning me while I was lost in thought.
”Ah… yeah. It’s probably true that there won’t be anyone else who would accept a woman like me… a woman who resembles a man.”
”That’s not true! Ms. Gargantua is… um… really wonderful and attractive!”
Hearing Mira’s loud denial, which sounded a bit self-deprecating, made me feel a little happy.
”Thank you, Mira. I’m glad to hear that, even if it’s just flattery.”
”N-no, it’s not flattery! Ms. Gargantua is… beautiful, and while your physique is large… that sculpted beauty of yours…”
After saying that, Mira seemed to be deep in thought.
Seeing her like that, I couldn’t help but smile wryly.
(With all my might, it seems they’re searching for my charm…)
”Yes! That Ms. Simona! I feel the same charm as Ms. Simona!”
”I see. Indeed, you two have a similar vibe. Girls like you and her are typically favored by strong men, like Shinji and Van.♡”
Mira’s analogy made Milia nod in agreement, though she seemed slightly taken aback at the mention of Shinji and Elberhardt.
”R-really…?”
”Absolutely. How can I put this… a strong woman like you tends to dominate… I think it really gets to the control-hungry men.♡”
”H-Huh…?”
Mira turned red, covering her mouth, while Maya gave Milia a serious look and uttered a single phrase.
”Milia… you’re so naughty… meow…”
* * *
”It’s up to Hiroya now. While Megumi is away, I plan to act as Hiroya’s mother…”
Saying that, Milia glanced at me sideways.
Should I really greet her after all?
”I don’t want to be the kind of mother who meddles in Hiroya’s love life… well, please take care of him.”
”No… it’s my pleasure. ── I’m completely clueless about this stuff, so it’s all left to Hiroya.”
I bowed my head to Milia, who was grinning at me.
”More importantly… the issue is that ‘Star of Thunder’ superweapon. I wonder if my Protectionmagic can hold it back…”
Milia crossed her arms, lost in thought.
If anyone could stop it with ultimate magic, it should be her with her skills as a magician.
”The demon assigned to monitor and relay information was dealt with before they could report. ── There shouldn’t be an immediate launch toward Balthoga.”
”Got it… Then let’s head to the Fourth Floor first and consult with Van.”
On the Fourth Floor, the hero Elberhardt resides in the ‘Closed World’ with the ‘Hidden Ones’.
Gaining his insights wouldn’t be a bad move.
”Well, if I heard that Gargantua is going to be Hiroya’s girl… he would be so disappointed, you know♡”
Milia chuckled mischievously.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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