Chapter 6: The Five Ancestral Statues

Responding to her was the king 'If the first hero wishes, he will let you know, second hero, but not now.' So saying, he closed the speech, to open another one addressed to Sat 'So, third hero... First of all, as I did with the first and second hero, I also apologise to you for bringing you here without permission. Secondly, tomorrow, you and Dricea will leave. The sooner you arrive, the sooner you can come back to support us. However, I warn you, it will not be easy to get there, but I am sure that with your powers and Dricea by your side, you will have no trouble."

"Powers? What powers are you talking about? I don't know if you've figured it out or not, but I, as well as Gio and Ve, are nothing more than human beings, human beings like you, so... How do you think we would have powers, or help you in a war?"

"If you had stayed until the end, a few hours ago, you would have come to know that too. Having been summoned to this world, where there is magic, your bodies have been imbued with it, due to the summoning ritual. You, in particular, according to Dricea's words, should have acquired the ability to summon and control the five ancestral statues, conceived and built by her creator... The first third hero in history."

"Wow... Now that's more like it... Now things are starting to get interesting." for the first time since he had arrived, Sat was happy, excited about what he was hearing.

"Unfortunately, in order to use them first, you'll have to be able to find them. With the death of every third hero, the five statues scatter around the continent of Gritavio, thus restoring their magic power, without which they could not function."

"Basically, they need to recharge their batteries."

The king made a face like "What?"

"No, nothing, never mind. Rather, how am I going to find them? Is there by any chance some kind of map? Or, I don't know. Do they always end up in the same place?"

"No, no, each time the place they choose to re-establish themselves is different, that's because they always settle in places with a strong magical density, which change over time, depending on the aether currents. For your information, the aether is what underlies magic. The soul of all of us is also made of aether, and it is through this that we sentient beings are able to use magic. Through the aether of our soul, we come into contact with the aether around us. In places where the density of magic is higher, using magic is rather difficult, even for the most experienced, and it is also possible to suffer mentally and physically."

"Excellent... That means that finding and retrieving these five ancestral statues will be a feat."

"Retrieving them yes, finding them not so much. Dricea is able to tell where the magic density is greatest, and where it is least, so, she will be your guide. In fact, if she hasn't helped you find at least three of the five statues first, she won't be able to reunite with her creator, so it was decided by the first third hero himself."

"Good to know, even if it means having to spend more time in his company."

"You don't like her very much, from what I understand."

"Isn't that obvious? How could I like such a person, so arrogant and annoying?"

"Person, eh?" thought the king "Dricea, apparently, has seen right through it."

At that point, the queen intervened, but not before wiping her lips "I heard from my husband, you tried to hit him, third hero. Don't you think, at the very least, you should apologise to him? He did, to you."

Although he had heard her speak even now for the first time, he already disliked her. Who did she think she was, to speak to him in that tone? I mean, yes, she was the queen, but to him that meant nothing, not a damn thing.

In any case, he too agreed that apologising to the king was the right thing to do, so he reluctantly apologised to the king, who accepted it unceremoniously.

Late in the afternoon, the three friends were discussing more and less in Gio's room, until Ve remembered the proposal his brother had mentioned.

"Well, Gio? What proposal were you referring to earlier, with the king?"

"Nah, nothing much, it would also be useless to talk about it." he answered her, blushing a little.

She, in spite of herself, gave him a smirk "It wouldn't have anything to do with the demoness, would it? I saw you looking at her, you seemed almost spellbound."

"Yeah, right... How does that jump out at you?" although he tried, it didn't sound convincing at all. Perhaps it seemed so to Sat, who wasn't even paying that much attention to the conversation. He was deep in thought, concerning the journey he was about to embark on.

"You like her, don't you? Admit it, and nothing will happen to you."

"What should happen to me, though?"

"This!" Ve threw himself smilingly at his brother, beginning to tickle him.

"Enough, enough! Please!" he couldn't take it anymore already, he was very sensitive to tickling, ever since he was a child it had always been one of his weak points, and his sister knew this well.

"Confess! And I will put you out of your misery!"

"No... Never! I will never confess... What is not true! Not even under torture!"

"Oh, yeah? We'll see about that!" she increased the pace, to the point where he cried with laughter.

"Sat, please... Help me! I can't take it anymore!"