"Als, can I have a moment?
"Hmm? What's wrong, Tanatos?
"I have been taken care of until now. I appreciate it."
"... what's wrong? Something wrong?
"I'm thinking of going home. I want a Valkyrie, if possible. Please."
"Is home the Atmos village beyond the Great Snow Mountain? There are giants like Tanatos."
"That's right. I'm here because my home was raided and I fled west. Thanks to Ars, I was able to live like this. But I still want to go home. I also want to see what's going on in Atmos now."
While I was investigating the Marshall Mercenaries, I was working on paperwork on the river works in Fontana.
Tanatos came to me suddenly.
This is quite unusual.
Tanatos, who has the magic of becoming a giant, basically moves his body and drinks in Vulcania when he doesn't have a job on the battlefield.
I don't care, but I'm getting used to this language because I've spent a lot of time here.
Such a fluent request came from Tanatos' mouth.
He wants to go home.
"Wait a minute, Tanatos. Is Atmos' village safe? Um, maybe that was it. He said he would hire a warrior from Atmos who would wave power on the battlefield, and he was attacked by deception. Is there still any survivor in there?
"I don't know. But each Atmos warrior goes out to battle and returns home to rest. Not all of us lived in the country. Even though they were attacked, there were some Atmos warriors who weren't there. Maybe they're in town."
"... I see. Well, maybe so. Fine. Tanatos has taken care of me. We'll get everything we need to get back there."
Thank you, my friend.
"... are you coming back here, Tanatos?
"I don't know. I don't even know what's going on over there."
Seriously.
Tanatos is gone...
Whether or not Tanatos is a tight giant makes a big difference in combat power.
But it doesn't make much sense to force Tanatos, who originally lived like a free man, to stay here.
Then perhaps it would be better to send him out pleasantly.
"But can you cross the snowy mountains? Valkyrie is resistant to the cold, but Tanatos isn't, is he? I mean, before I got home, I was afraid of dying in distress."
"... mmm. I'm sure you are. But there's nothing I can do about it. Rather, I am grateful for my own destiny that I have often crossed that spiritual peak. What, it's okay. It'll work again."
Ah, this guy seems unplanned.
Maybe he told me to go because he suddenly wanted to go home.
Well, if you think about it, you won't even have a map of the Great Snow Mountain.
Definitely in distress.
That's what I thought.
Is it sudden homesickness?
Well, if you think about it, it's been years since I met Tanatos, and Tanatos came here a few years ago.
If I were Tanatos, I wouldn't be surprised if I wanted to go home the same way.
But I'm in trouble.
This is very troublesome.
The existence of Tanatos, who can become a giant, is a huge thing for me.
It would be no exaggeration to say that one Tanatos is more reliable than a thousand troops when attacking a normal castle.
Thanathos is unlikely to leave at this time.
A strange guy named Naja showed up south.
We must not just go home, but avoid the future that will cost us our lives in distress.
"All right, all right. I'm coming with you, Tanatos."
"What, you think Ars is with you?
"Oh, I'll go east across the snowy mountains with you. If I were you, I would at least be able to stand the cold of the snowy mountains. There's still a way to go. There will be some experience crossing the snowy mountains. Then let's call Gran."
"... are you sure? You could lose as many lives as you want, Ars."
"That's fine. I'm grateful to Tanatos. And for a while, I wanted to see what it was like to cross that mountain."
"I'm sorry, thank you."
"That's fine. You're my friends. We're friends."
"Oh, I see. Then I promise. If I can make it home safely, I will give my life to you."
"What do you mean?
"It means as it is. I swear to keep fighting for my friends for the rest of my life. Will you take this oath?
"Oops, then I swear to God. I'll make Tanatos cross the snowy mountain."
I don't know, but I've lost a lot of money with Nori.
The snowy mountain is at a very high altitude.
Beyond the clouds, it is obvious, and because it is higher than that, it is said in one theory that if you look down from the top, you can only see the clouds far below.
I don't know if I can get over such a place safely.
But there are people like Tanatos and Gran who actually cross the snowy mountains.
I'm not saying it's absolutely impossible.
I have to do something about Naja, who suddenly appeared south, but at present it is too far away from the kingdom of Fontana, and there is also a war agreement with the House of Rhinesatz, and we cannot send troops.
The Church has more to deal with than we can handle here.
Then it might be good to try one thing here for Tanatos.
And it's true that I'm interested in what's beyond the mountain.
So I quickly decided to start preparing for the mountain crossing.