Chapter 38: Some Stand Aloft, While Others Are Surrounded by Girls

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“The Forest of Decay. It is said to be the origin of the giant race. The deceased parents of that king are buried there, and it is also the most heavily guarded forbidden ground in the Giant Royal Court.”

“Forbidden ground… Are other giants strictly forbidden from entering?”

“So it seems.” Severus sounded somewhat uncertain. “I’ve heard that even when a giant wishes to pay respects to those two ancestors, they can only do so from afar, outside the Forest of Decay.”

Hermaeoni nodded and asked no further questions.

Then her figure vanished directly from before Severus.

Aucuses spoke at that moment. “Grandfather, are you no longer worried that Councilor Hermaeoni might offend the deities of the giant race?”

“After gaining divinity, she seems to have changed.” Severus leaned back in his chair, holding his wineglass. He took a small sip, narrowing his gloomy eyes in pleasure.

“I’m not determined to oppose her at every turn. As long as First Councilor Hermaeoni hasn’t become so swollen with pride that she seeks to rebel against the giant race, and as long as she retains her awe toward the gods…”

Severus sighed softly. “…That will be enough.”

Upon hearing this, the smile on Aucuses’s face grew even more radiant. “What about me, Grandfather? Should I continue along the path you have laid out for me?”

Severus’s slightly clouded gaze shifted from the equally murky wineglass to Aucuses’s handsome, sunny face.

“I really am old, Aucuses. Follow your own thoughts from now on.”

“Yes, Grandfather.” Aucuses bent forward in a bow.

…

“Finished consulting that giant expert from the tribe?” Amanises, dressed in a simple black dress, flipped through the completed tablet written in the human language and gave a soft laugh as she watched Hermaeoni return from traversing another person’s dream.

“Mhm.” Hermaeoni surveyed the bedroom, where the original tablets written in the human language had been placed. When her gaze passed over the corner where the sculpting molds were piled, she noticed that one was missing, but paid it little heed.

“If you set aside Severus’s excessively conservative views, quite a few things can indeed be verified through him.”

“Verified?” Amanises raised her eyes.

“I heard some rumors about the giant race from another source.” Hermaeoni nodded with a smile. “Have you heard the rumor that humans are the origin of the pan-human races?”

Amanises shook her head. “Never.”

Hermaeoni lowered her voice. “According to the rumor, the remains of the Giant King’s parents are hidden within the Forest of Decay—and those remains have the appearance of humans.”

Amanises’s eyes flickered faintly at this. After a moment, she smiled. “You verified this rumor through Severus?”

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Hermaeoni laughed. “Of course he doesn’t know. I never mentioned the rumor to him. Severus has only heard that the Forest of Decay is forbidden ground belonging to the giant race.”

She paused, then continued, “If one of the giant deities demanded that I hand someone over for them to eat, what do you think would happen if I revealed that the ancestor buried in the Forest of Decay was human?”

Amanises could not help laughing. “Nothing good… They wouldn’t believe you. In their ears, those words would be the ultimate provocation. And if they did believe you, their king would come looking for you.”

“Exactly. So unless I’m driven to the last resort, I can’t say something like that.” Hermaeoni looked disappointed.

Amanises was both amused and exasperated. “You really intended to rely on that rumor to negotiate with them?”

“Have you ever been in contact with that giant queen?” Hermaeoni asked.

“‘Harvest Goddess’ Omebella? You needn’t be so cautious. Beneath the Eight Kings, apart from the Mind Dragon and certain individuals who have devoured dragons, calling out a name will not attract the attention of its owner.”

Amanises offered this explanation first, then continued, “I have never truly been in contact with her. Unless I am certain of success, I will not take the initiative to meet a demigod from another race. Besides, other demigods would find it difficult to detect my presence.”

Being stealthy is nothing to boast about. Hermaeoni sighed inwardly.

Amanises continued, “Are you prepared to negotiate with the two demigods of the giant race?”

Hermaeoni nodded and smiled serenely. “At least they’re capable of communication, aren’t they?”

…

On the seventh day after the New Year celebration ended, small statues carved in Hermaeoni’s sacred likeness and parchment scrolls recording the human language were being produced and distributed in an orderly fashion.

Hermaeoni stood waiting in the square, dressed in a pure-white robe that was not particularly thick.

A little farther away, Aucuses chanted a hymn of praise. Severus had composed one corresponding hymn for each deity of the giant race.

At that moment, within the hymn dedicated to the “Harvest Goddess” Omebella, the frozen ground softened into rich soil, while the withered trees of winter sprouted lush green leaves.

Tiny dolls emerged from the bricks and tiles, the plants, and the soil, crying out at the tops of their voices, “Harvest Goddess!”

Amid Aucuses’s impassioned chanting and the dolls’ cheers, a female giant clad in leather armor over her upper body and a long skirt below gradually manifested amid the scene of abundance.

Her features were soft, and her single vertical eye gazed at the crowd in the square. Her long, dark-brown hair fell all the way down her back.

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As the hymn dedicated to the “God of Dawn” Badheil rang out, the entire square changed from bright daylight to a dusky yellow.

A tall corrupted giant slowly rose from the twisted shadows. Each time more of his body emerged from the darkness, his appearance became a little younger.

When his towering form stood fully upon the earth, his armor radiated a brilliant light, and a faint gleam of dawn flickered where his central eye should have been.

Hermaeoni knew that these two giant demigods were putting on a show, but their abilities were simply too well suited for creating an atmosphere. She glanced at Amanises, who stood among the crowd with several tribal girls gathered around her.

Hmm… Amanises never acted so ostentatiously, so why did she have such a natural affinity with young girls?

Were these girls blind? They were always trying to crowd around her.

Especially that little girl named Selena.

Tsk.

She was also following the Sleepless Pathway.

Hermaeoni thought of the Fifth Epoch. At the beginning of her younger brother Zhou Mingrui’s story, the crucial sacred artifact had been Saint Selena’s ashes. She wondered whether this child had any connection to it.

After making a circuit around the manifested deities, Hermaeoni did not turn her attention back to the giant demigods until Aucuses’s chanting came to an end.

The forms they had revealed were clearly not their true mythical creature forms. Those mysterious symbols beyond the capacity of the human mind to bear had all been concealed and restrained.

Even their bodies had shrunk to a height of four meters—just enough to pass through the tribe’s council hall.

At this time, the other councilors dispersed the crowd and restored the usual order. Only Hermaeoni remained in the council hall, receiving Omebella and Badheil, the giant mother and son, by herself.

This had been Hermaeoni’s request, and no one in the tribe would disobey her now.

The “God of Dawn” sat coldly in the massive stone chair specially carved by the tribal humans. In his heart, this human woman was unworthy of sitting opposite him.

The “Harvest Goddess” Omebella, however, was much gentler in her manner. Her curious gaze continued to roam over Hermaeoni as she spoke in a soft, melodious voice:

“First Councilor Hermaeoni, congratulations on becoming the first demigod among humanity.”

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