Chapter 39: Are You Ordering Dishes Here?
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“Our supreme king admires you greatly. He even intends to guide you into the Giant King’s Court,” Eumibela said slowly.
Even… which meant he had no intention of taking me there, then?
Helmione felt a quiet sense of relief. Remaining among human tribes would allow her to rise more quickly, and she had no desire to escape the Werewolf Kingdom only to fall into the Giant King’s Court.
She had anticipated the possibility of being forced to join the Giant King’s Court and had already considered how she might respond. Still, being able to slip past it unnoticed, as she had now, was the best possible outcome.
“But the king is very fond of you. He said, ‘After resolving the dispute with those reptiles, I shall grant you a child, and that child will lead humanity to rise.’”
Eumibela’s ethereal, beautiful voice made Helmione break out in a cold sweat.
Helmione truly had not expected the Giant King, Ormir, to come up with such an idea!
And Eumibela, you are the Giant Queen, after all. How can you say something that sounds straight out of a brothel madam’s mouth with such composure?
Helmione nearly lost control of her expression. Suppressing her emotions, she replied, “I am unworthy of the king’s favor.”
Even she found herself disgusted by those words. Before the Goddess of Harvest could utter anything else so outrageous that it exceeded her expectations, Helmione took the initiative and said, “Your Highnesses, I have encountered a few doubts while becoming a demigod. Might I ask for your guidance?”
“Oh?”
The enormous vertical eye between Eumibela’s brows scrutinized Helmione.
Before coming here, Eumibela’s tyrannical and peerlessly powerful husband had praised this human woman without the slightest reservation. Thus, she was curious to know what kind of charm and extraordinary qualities the woman possessed.
“Tell me,” she said with interest.
Helmione asked in bewilderment, “After becoming a demigod, I have instead felt more keenly that something within me is incomplete. Emptiness, yearning, desire… It is as though I am always compelled to eat something to make myself whole.”
Eumibela smiled. She had thought there would be something unusual about this woman, but it turned out to be such a shallow question. In the end, she was merely a human woman…
Her manner grew languid as she replied, “That is a perfectly normal devouring impulse. Follow that desire within you. Defeat and consume the enemies who awaken it, and you will grow stronger.”
“I see!” Helmione exclaimed, her face filled with sudden understanding and gratitude. Then she sighed and said, “I am always unable to resist the urge to devour the corpses of dragons. It was only by scavenging dragon corpses that I gained the power I possess today…”
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Hearing this, Eumibela suddenly fell into thought.
Beside her, the cold and aloof God of Dawn, Badehair, also looked at his mother in confusion.
After pondering for a moment, Eumibela turned her head toward Badehair and said abruptly, “Humans have always been better able than every other race to retain their sanity.”
Badehair revealed a cruel smile and answered in a hard, frigid voice, “But such sanity is proof of weakness.”
Eumibela shook her head. “The Incarnation of Beauty possesses an abundance of reason as well. Badehair, do you truly believe yourself stronger than that deity?”
Badehair’s expression grew solemn. He had accompanied his father when they met Lilith, the progenitor of the Bloodborn—a being who embodied beauty, and one whom even his mother admired and adored.
Badehair had likewise been captivated by her. Yet the terrifying aura the Bloodborn progenitor revealed unconsciously had also left him trembling with fear.
His proud expression faltered, and he said in a low voice, “Perhaps she is exceptional.”
“I have never believed that reason signifies weakness or that madness signifies strength.” Eumibela’s vertical gaze fell upon the human Helmione. “Helmione, apart from dragons, have you ever felt the urge to devour any other creatures? Speak freely. The Elven King recently joined forces with us to launch another attack against the dragons. I can bring you some fresh dragon corpses—or the traits left behind by their remains.”
A flicker of delight and greed passed across Helmione’s face, but after hesitating for a moment, she gritted her teeth and said, “Your Highness, while wandering through the wilderness, I once encountered a treant. At the time, I felt the urge to devour it as well. But I was too weak. Forget hunting and consuming it—escaping with my life was already a matter of luck.”
“Treants, psychic dragons… So that is how it is?” Eumibela murmured.
“Mother, what have you discovered?” Badehair asked.
Eumibela did not avoid Helmione’s presence. On the contrary, she deliberately revealed her thoughts before this first human demigod.
“Ever since human Beyonders entered my field of vision, I have been observing them. Protecting humanity was the king’s idea, but it was also my proposal.”
“When human infants are born, they possess no traits within their bodies, and therefore have no extraordinary abilities. This is what sets human infants apart from all other intelligent races. Yet, like our own supernatural kind, humans can obtain the abilities of their prey by consuming its traits.”
“However, there is something different about the process… It is as though the fragile human body cannot contain those traits. After consuming them, humans are more prone to mutation and losing control.”
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“Nevertheless, there are some individuals who, despite devouring numerous traits and gaining even greater power, still retain a relatively sound mind.”
“For example…”
“You yourself, Helmione.”
Hearing this, Helmione understood what Amanises had meant earlier when she said that the Goddess of Harvest had retained her reason quite well. To think she was capable of analyzing the matter so methodically… It seemed that the so-called letter of introduction had indeed been written by the Goddess of Harvest herself.
Eumibela continued, “I suspect that the purity of an ability may be the key to preserving one’s sanity. In Helmione’s case, the only creatures she feels an urge to devour are races such as dragons and treants, which possess abilities related to the mind and spirit.”
With that, Eumibela said gently, “Helmione, would you be willing to cooperate with me in an experiment? I will provide you with the traits of dragons to satisfy your devouring impulse. All you need to do is show me what you look like after consuming them.”
Helmione deliberately revealed a tempted expression, then hesitated. “But… I cannot abandon my people.”
Eumibela smiled faintly. “You need not go to the Giant King’s Court. I can reshape the environment and merge with it to travel swiftly. It will not take long to reach your tribe from the Giant King’s Court. The only issue is that it will consume rather a lot of energy, so I will need to replenish myself.”
Replenish herself…
At those words, Helmione sighed softly inwardly. She had already guessed what the other woman would say next.
The gentle Eumibela smiled as though it were only natural. “It will not be troublesome. You need not hunt powerful creatures as sacrifices. The humans outside are very nourishing.”
“Ordinary humans without any abilities. Not many—three of them. Hmm… five will do.”
Beside her, a ravenous expression appeared in Badehair’s vertical eyes. He too pulled out a smile and said, “I need five as well.”
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