Mr. Athos.
　You're so kind.
　He's so kind. I love him so much.


　And now he's right in front of me, a dead body, and he's not saying a word. ...... Oh, I thought.



　Rags and tatters. Mr. Athos, you're covered in scars. They did that to him. I'm sad, Athos. I can't hear his voice anymore, I can't see him anymore. I'm sad. It's painful. Why does Athos have to go through this? Why?


　With a heart full of sorrow, I'm watching Athos' corpse being burned in the fire. It's a ceremony to send Athos to the sky.


　It's sad.
　I don't know why Athos...


　I don't know, but while me, Gaius, and the other kids are frozen, the adults are moving. They said we should move from our favorite village immediately.


　They had gone to look for Athos, and everyone was safe. The gryphons brought him back. When Gaius and I got back, Ran gave me a hug. They told me they were glad I was safe. They said I was lucky to be alive. Athos is dead. I'll never see him again. But... they said it was fortunate that Athos was the only one who survived while the human nation was in motion. They say it's painful. The truth is that the sacrifice could have been much worse. But I understand that everyone is sad that Athos is gone. Even if we can agree in our heads that we are lucky that only one person was killed, we are all sad that Athos is gone because he was an important person to all of us.



　Everyone is sad. Painful. That's what they look like.
　But unlike us kids who are just sad, everyone is moving even though they are sad. Mr. Ran took me by the hand and we left the beastman village where we had spent some time. Even though I had only been there for a short while, it was a lonely time for me. Later, when the village was attacked, I tore down the houses and burned down all the fields that I had worked so hard to take care of so that the attackers would not be able to have their way with the village. The things I loved so much are disappearing. It's sad. I'm sad. But I'm sure the Gaius people in the village are suffering more than I am.



"...... Ran, sir.


　I squeezed Mr. Lan's hand.
　Gaius, who is not here at all, is being held by Dong.


　The gryphons and sifo are keeping a close watch on the area. We're heading south through the forest. I hear the south of the forest is untouched. They say there's a lot of demons. So it could be a scary place. But ...... says we can't go on like this. If we stay the same, we might all die.



　Oh, I think.
　It's painful, it's sad.




"Athos, ......, why do you have to die?
"...... I think the reason why the humans killed Athos is because he was a beast. There are those who believe that it is okay to kill ...... because he was a beast. He probably wanted to hurt Athos, find out where the beastman village was, and attack it. Mr. Athos didn't tell them. I think he was killed because he didn't tell me. ......
"Because he didn't say.
"...... He was protecting us. He risked his life to protect us. I'm sure. And, Lerunda, perhaps the reason why the village was so easily found and never found before is because you are a ...... godson.



　The last words were so quiet that only I could hear them.



　Kamiko.
　Because you were a godson. That's why you couldn't find the village, Lan said.
　I wonder if I really am such a being. If I am, why did Athos have to die? Because I was a godson, the village was never found. And no one else died. That's a good thing. But without Athos... You can't protect everything. ....... It's sad. I can't stop thinking about it.


　Why would a beastman be capable of such horrible things?
　No, I can't believe they can do such horrible things to people without thinking about beast or human. I don't know how you can do such a sad thing.





"I hate ....... I'm sad.
Yeah, I hate ......, too.
I don't want to be sad.



　Sad. It's painful. I miss you, Athos. I find myself crying. I always feel like crying.
　I ...... don't want to be sad. I don't want to never see the people I love again. I don't want to.



　If I was alone, I might not have been able to stand it. I'd be sad and in pain. But ......, when I see everyone trying so hard to lead us, even though they are sad and in pain, I know I can't just be sad.



For that reason, I ...... will do what I can.



　If I'm really a godson, I can protect it if I try hard enough. If I do what I can to the best of my ability, I won't have to lose it again.
　That's what I thought as I walked holding Ran's hand.



　The ---- girl and her whereabouts 5
　(Probably, a girl who is a goddess thinks about many things when she witnesses the death of a close beastman)