Then again, maybe what I saw wasn’t a forest at all and was actually something else entirely. Once things settled down in Merinard, it might be worth launching an Omicle exploration project. Of course, it’d be a while before I ever got to that.
“What are you thinking about?” Aqual asked without looking away from the eyepiece.
“All kinds of things. Oceans, land, what looks like a forest… There might be life of some kind up there. Maybe even intelligent life… I was just imagining a world like ours, with its own people and culture like us down here.”
“I see. There are many old legends about Omicle,” she said softly. “Some claim the gods live there. Others say it is the afterlife. And some call it an evil land overrun by heinous monsters.”
“Yeah, Shemel and the others told me a few of those stories. That’s what made me want to see it for myself.”
I kept quiet about my desire to explore Omicle one day. For now, it was just an idle wish. An idea somewhere in the realm of dreams, so to speak.
“…I imagine one day you might try to reach Omicle yourself.”
That caught me off guard. I must’ve looked surprised, because when I turned to her, she was staring directly at me.
“I know Sylphy and the others must’ve fought hard, but practically speaking, you’re the one who freed Merinard from the evil clutches of the Holy Kingdom,” she continued. “Obviously, I understand there are limits to what you can do on your own, but things would not have turned out the same without you.”
“I don’t disagree,” I said honestly. “And I don’t say that to be cocky either. Without me, crossing the Omitt Badlands would have been nearly impossible for the Liberation Army.”
I doubted that most of the Liberation Army would have survived that massive gizma attack back then. Without the walls and equipment I provided, they wouldn’t have stood a chance against such a swarm of monsters. Even if they managed to flee into the Black Forest, they wouldn’t have survived in the long run. And even in the unlikely event they fought off the gizma, the casualties would’ve been catastrophic—crippling their ability to keep fighting.
“Couldn’t you just flatten the neighboring countries if you so chose?” Aqual asked suddenly.
“Hmm? I’m not sure. Conquering and ruling them would be tough, but if we’re just talking about annihilation…maybe.”
It wasn’t impossible. If I abandoned all self-restraint and used enough gleaming magic jewel bombs and golems, I could destroy just about anything. But what would that leave behind? A wasteland so contaminated nothing could live or grow.
“Annihilating them, huh…? Either way, you possess tremendous power,” Aqual said with a sigh. She sank into the chair beside me and shot her gaze up at Omicle floating in the night sky.
“I must look tiny to someone with as much power as you have. No matter how much I lash out at you, I must seem like a kitten making a fuss at your feet.”
“Tiny…? I’ve never once thought of you that way. I’ve always tried to be earnest and genuine with you.”
I couldn’t help but give a small, rueful smile at her words. This princess was more self-abasing than she let on.
“Earnest and genuine, you say…? If you feel that way, then I’m sure that’s true.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
It sounded like she was holding her tongue. Maybe keeping my distance from her because I knew she disliked me had only made things worse.
“Well… I’d like to be on better terms with you. Or at least try to talk more openly from now on.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
That was the last thing either of us said. But even in that silence, I sensed her hostility had softened, if only a little. Maybe she wouldn’t open her heart up to me anytime soon, but I decided to be satisfied with this for now.
Our problems weren’t the sort that could be solved in a single night.