In an instant, Rune's eyes widened.
Out of embarrassment, she weakly dropped the paper she was holding. She looked like she didn't understand what she heard.
"... Now, now what?"
Surprised, Rune stuttered and asked, but Drial did not answer and put the chair back in its place.
Rune stood up at the same time and stared at Drial with a dumbfounded look on her face. She must have been quite shocked, with various motions showing on her always expressionless face.
Drial looked at Rune, who was finally showing his human side, with a rather sullen look on his face.
"If you say divorce one more time, I will cry in front of everyone and accuse you of abandoning me."
"Are you serious...?"
"Just wait and see. Because it will definitely happen."
Drial blew up as if he didn't want to talk anymore. As he was about to disappear. Rune urgently grabbed Drial.
"Wait a minute!"
Rune ran over and grabbed Drial's arm.
The wind spirit that tried to unite with Drial dispersed in an instant. Some forces Interfered and prevented integration.
Drial, who failed to leave, looked back at Rune, hiding his embarrassment.
It was like that during Lares, and this time too, integration failed. Was his body weak, or was his tension relieved because the war was over?
But he couldn't think about the strange phenomenon that befell him for long. This is because Rune blocked the way with a shocked look on her Face.
"Infertility? What are you talking about? Don't think about running away, explain right away!"
Rune's face, holding Drial, turned white. Shock, astonishment, absurdity....
Complex emotions passed the rough blue eyes.
"Literally, sterility. Do you need an explanation?"
"Of course, you have to explain!"
A shout rang out. The voice was so loud that a servant walking down the hallway was startled and looked back at the office.
"How, why, no, on the battlefield...!"
Confused gaze naturally turned downward.
Drial carefully lifted the chin of Rune, who looked surprised.
"There is no problem with shape or function, so would you please refrain from looking at it that way?"
"Then what is the problem? Explain quickly!"
"After being exposed to the blood of frost giants for a long time, my body developed problems."
Drial spoke as if he was talking about someone else's business and looked secretly into the distance.
The light chatter was suspicious. She didn't know whether he acknowledged and accepted the fact that she couldn't have children or whether he had no regrets.
Rune tried to gauge how much of what Drial said was true.
She's heard rumors that frost giant blood can cause hallucinations, but she never heard of it making healthy people infertile.
While trying to reveal the truth and lies hidden in the words, she couldn't look at Drial for long and lowered her gaze. Drial couldn't lie, and it was obvious that he could. So the statement about infertility was true.
Feeling at a loss, Rune let go of the sleeve she was holding. Her plans to divorce Drial fell apart.
Rune staggered back and touched her forehead. She couldn't shake the feeling that Drial returned from the battlefield having lost so much.
The moment her face contorted as if she was going to vomit, Drial straightened her shoulders.
The hand that grabbed her shoulder was very gentle, but Rune was so confused that she didn't notice it.
Drial comforted Rune with a calm smile.
"If you gain something, you also lose something."
At those words, Rune laughed helplessly.
"What did we get from that war?"
"Well. To sum up what I gained, what is your understanding?"
Rune shook off Drial's hand and frowned. When she remembered that Drial had said that he understood her in our last conversation, she got very annoyed.
Rune chose Drial out of many men from the Stein family. Many people asked why she chose Drial, but she kept quiet.
The reason for the choice had to remain a secret.
"You probably don't want to die like the other sisters born in the Helid family. Because the sisters born with you met a terrible end because they were women of the Helid family. You also don't want to be offered up as a human sacrifice and have your head cut off. Rune Helid. Do you want to live even if great despair lurks in your future? If you want to live no matter what sadness you experience... Choosing Drial Stein to be your husband. Then you will be able to live."
The moment she remembered the oracle she heard at the Temple of Fate, her face contorted in pain. Her head grew hot as she thought it was all wrong.
Rune couldn't bear the feeling of indebtedness and self-loathing towards Drial and ended up ridiculing him.
"It has no value to me. It can't compare to your life being ruined."
"Generally speaking, that's what they would say. But that's okay because that realization meant something to me."
Drial approached as much as Rune retreated.
"And we have Dione. All you have to do is make that kid Arhon's successor. You know best how smart my nephew is."
Dione is the child born to Drial's half-sister Theona.
Drial shrugged his shoulders and smiled brightly.
"Then the issue of successor is resolved. We stood at the starting line again, yes?"
A soft wind blew. It seemed like there would be no problem in becoming one with the spirit this time. Drial, standing in the wind, opened the window and looked back at Rune.
"Again, if we talk about divorce again, Lord Arhon will be abandoned by his wife and we will see him crying bitterly in the square. The rumor about the crybaby lord will quickly spread with the wind. I'm serious, Rune. I will definitely do that."
Rune was disgusted by Drial's words.
"Are you crazy?"
"I may be out of my mind."
Drial's eyes gently curved as he obediently acknowledged this. Drial literally turned into the wind and disappeared from his office.
Rune urgently ran to the window and followed with her eyes the direction where Drial had disappeared. She couldn't control her bewildered expression.
Rune stumbled and fell to the ground, clutching her face.
Strangely, things related to Drial don't work out as planned. As much as she wanted to give Drial a healthy and complete family, Rune was filled with sadness.
She had no idea what to do.
***
Drial, who became one with the wind spirit, left Arhon and rushed towards the east.
Drial, who was flying over the forest, felt a headwind. It was not a natural wind.
“Luh.”
Drial called out to the wind spirit he had contracted with. The spirit that reacted lifted Drial to a high place.
As he climbed into the distance, he saw the wind blowing towards Arhon.
Drial recognized Cookie and sent a signal through the wind. Cookie emerged from the wind, raised his arms high towards Drial, and waved his hands.
"It's been a while. Mr. Drial! How have you been?"
"I had a better time than on the battlefield."
Drial responded lightly and looked at the direction the cookie had come from.
"Did you find something?"
"Unfortunately."
Drial's complexion darkened.
"It's faster than expected..."
"It's not that fast. We also discovered a lot of old black land. Places that feel like they've been around for at least three years."
Cookie said seriously. Drial's brow furrowed slightly.
"That doesn't make sense. The war ended recently. The wizards put up a wall on the battlefield to prevent him from escaping, but how...."
"The main body may have escaped the battlefield before hitting the barrier."
"Good. As you said, let's say he left the battlefield three years ago. Why Arhon? Why? Is he really trying to get revenge on me?"
"Well."
Cookie avoided answering and looked away. A shadow fell on Drial's face.
On the surface, the slaughter that took place in the north was known as a war between humans and frost giants, but the reality was different.
He fought with corpses coming back to life every day.
Drial was the only one blessed by the God of War, so he always fought on the front lines, in the front lines of hell, where the dead were endlessly resurrected.
Without Drial, the human coalition forces would have been defeated. That's how powerful and important Drial's existence was.
Drial was a huge obstacle to the culprit who caused the war by escaping the frost giants from hell.
Because the Magic Tower belatedly joined the war, the frost giants were once again sealed in hell. However, the person who started the war could not be defeated.
Because of this, Drial had to return to Arhon faster than anyone else. There was a high probability that the criminal who started the war would attack Arhon in revenge. Fortunately, there seemed to be no problem with Arhon. At least he was sure of that until a little while ago.
Drial's expression sank and he looked back to where Arhon was.
"Cookie, can he control monsters?"
"That will remain. He is the one who beguiled the frost giants and even manipulated the dead."
"Three years ago, while I was on the battlefield, a group of black dragons attacked Arhon."
Drial looked down and bit his molars hard. As the smile disappeared from his face, a chill came over him.
"That's the sound of the dog."
"Maybe..."
Cookie responded timidly and trembled. Suddenly, a wind blew that seemed to have pierced through the middle of winter.
Cookie carefully examined Drial's complexion as the cool wind penetrated deep into his chest. There was no expression on his face. Drial was very angry.
Drial clenched his teeth so that the shape of his jawbone stood out and ran his fingers through his hair as if to calm himself down. But it was impossible to calm down all his emotions.
Because of those damn black dragons, Rune had a miscarriage.
Drial irritably muttered an insult as he considered the wound that would never go away in Rune's heart.
A surprised Cookie glanced at Luh, the wind spirit hovering by Drial's side. Drial was a man who maintained his senses even when he lost his brother on the battlefield.
Unable to find a place to focus on the unfamiliar appearance of Drial, he rolled his eyes, and Luh slowly flowed to Cookie's side.
For some reason, Luh seemed to be happy that Drial was angry for Rune.
[What is good?]
As Cookie nagged Ruch telepathically.
Luh giggled.
[He seems a bit like a wind spiritist now.]
[Drial has been a wind spiritist since birth. What are you talking about?]
[A guy who doesn't know responsibility doesn't deserve to enjoy freedom or become the wind. Have you just forgotten? That's your famous saying.]
The spinning Luh turned into a sky-blue shimmering dot and returned to Drial.
Luh controlled the wind as if to appease Drial, who could not control his anger. The heavy wind that dominated the surroundings was forcibly dispersed.
As the wind that had been weighing down his lungs disappeared, Cookie let out a long breath. Only then did Drial regain his senses.
Drial, who returned to his usual expression, glanced at Cookie.
"Are you going to Arhon together?"
"That's right. Is there a room for me to stay?"
"The room is what remains of nature. If we don't have any spare rooms, don't worry, we will build you a house."
Cookie smiled cheerfully at the kind words.
"It's okay if my room is stable. Warm milk and a cookie are enough for a meal."
Cookie offered to shake Drial's hand.
"Please take care of me until I send Shutime back to hell, Mr. Drial. I promise to cooperate with you absolutely until that day, at least to that extent."
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