“I followed the god like a father without knowing anything about it.”

One moment of sadness was short-lived, and soon, only hatred and resentment towards the god grew. Not because the god treated me nicely and considered me the most excellent and perfect creation among all others!

‘Well, I guess they planned it that way since they created me to be used as nourishment for the World Tree.’

Swoosh, dozens of needles pierced into me. Shortly after, moisture gathered around my eyes, and I bit my lips tightly.

From the moment I opened my eyes in the palm of the giant god, marveled at the world while exploring various places in the god’s land, to the moment we made crowns together in front of the temple field at sunset, looking up at the sky, these moments overlapped.

Soon, memories of resenting the god but still holding a somewhat affectionate feeling faded and blurred. I felt the time when I knew nothing, innocently enjoyed my time with the god, was tainted like a stain on dirty clothes.

“Originally, my goal was just to die.”

Frustrating and unfair.

I briefly glanced at Pobi, who came crying with a tearful face, hanging onto my ankle.

“Quit it…”

If it were the usual me, I would have thought it wasn’t that important, ignored it, and moved on. But this time was different.

It was too different, causing me to harm people for a while, leaving a mark on my heart like a torn rag.

“Even if I end this tiresome life now, I’ll be resentful if I don’t know why the god did that back then.”

Then it became a driving force to stand up again. It injected determination.

“Since the god only watches from afar, I have to go and ask in person. Do you know how?”

Definitely go and give a good kick even if it’s just once. I stared at Lillis with burning determination.

“I know. Frey and I have been making the key to open the ancient gate to face the god.”

However, the response came from an unexpected source. Sasha, who had been silent, listening to what others were saying, showed a fleeting expression of sympathy when he realized that I, too, was a victim of the god for a short moment.

‘What? I thought he was selectively indifferent and cold to people. Well, I was wrong.’

It was unexpected because I thought he was blindly devoted to Freyr and would only grumble to me.

“Hey, you two?”

As Sasha was staring at me for a moment, Lillis cleared her throat and drew attention from behind.

“You can’t open the ancient gate whenever you want.”

“Frey said if you have the key, you can see the gate. We can’t confirm if that’s true because we lack the last ingredient.”

Then, Lillis briefly explained about the ancient gate, and Sasha informed us about the progress of making the key for the ancient gate.

“By the way, it was incomplete.”
Hm, making a sound, Lillis, who was thinking deeply with one hand on her chin, slightly turned her gaze to the side and smiled, as if she had come up with a good idea.

“I can provide the final ingredient for the Ancient Key. And I’ll help you open the gate.”

Seems too generous. If that’s the case, it’s a complete advantage for Sasha, but isn’t it a loss for us since we help so much, and he gains nothing?

“In return, after opening the gate, you two must cooperate. Understand?”

I made a clicking sound at the word ‘cooperate.’ Sasha also hesitated, and he glanced at me for a moment, then turned his gaze back to Lillis.

It would be strange if he suddenly offered help without any reason. Since we’re not that close to work together just because we have a common goal.

“Since it seems you two still don’t trust each other, think of it as a temporary alliance.”

As Sasha and I were hesitating, Lillis shrugged her shoulders.

“And I’ll send you the socks of a messenger as the final ingredient. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a human.”

Thankfully. It’s better to avoid casualties if possible.

But why socks of all things? It seems like I’ll end up making excuses like playing with them and accidentally losing them. Another annoying task added.

“If you mess up, be prepared.”

Meanwhile, Sasha alternated between looking at me and Lillis, reluctantly accepting the alliance. He had nowhere to retreat as a person and had a chance to save the precious Freyr he cherished, so there was no reason to refuse.

As a result, his fierce momentum softened, showing a pleasant smile as he lovingly held the ‘Tears of the Star’ in his hand and turned away.

‘Is he not going to steal it after all?’

I silently chuckled at the fact that dealing with the glass bottle shards had become our responsibility.

“Keep the alliance a secret from Freyr for now.”

Sasha, who stated that there’s nothing good in getting caught, stopped walking, turned his head slightly, and looked at me.

“So, to avoid unnecessary mistakes, it’s better to monitor each other.”

No one does such silly things.

‘This plan should only be known by a few. Once others find out, it could jeopardize our identity.’

Thud, thud, .