“What is my identity?”

The great earth spirit governing the land. The protector of the earth, who has lived for a thousand years. He pondered.

Who exactly am I? It wasn’t about asking for the adjectives that define my existence. It was a question of my own identity.

For the first time, I found myself asking this question. The answer, for now, is...

“I want to ride on the big earth spirit! It’ll be super high up, right?”

“That’s dangerous...”

“Uncle, uncle! Can I ride on the big earth spirit?”

“It’s dangerous. Stop it.”

“Please! I’ll play safely! Okay? Okay?”

“...Silvia. Keep a close eye so you don’t fall.”

“Yes!”

It was just a playground for the kids. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Big Earth Spirit! Become even cuter!] [Hyaaa! What the hell is that command... Ugh!]

I’m not cute to begin with, so what does it even mean to become cuter? But to prove that not only rational commands work, the big earth spirit’s body suddenly swelled, reaching a height comparable to the mansion.

“Phew!”

Yulia wiped the cold sweat from her forehead with a proud smile. At first, she had no idea how much mana to use when casting a command. But now, she had become proficient enough to cast efficient commands without waste.

That was a technique known as the flower of the spirit mage!

The task performed through the command was to enlarge the big earth spirit’s body!

“Hmm? Huh? Why am I doing this with a command...?”

Something feels off. This is completely ridiculous!?

As Yulia faced reality, the illusion shattered, and she felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her. Was this what a spirit mage was supposed to do?

Meanwhile...

“Whoa! It’s high! So high! It’s super high!”

[Get down! You little brat...!]

Charlotte, who had already climbed to the top of the big earth spirit's head, exclaimed in delight. So this is how the big earth spirit sees the world! Everything is small! Tiny! Everyone in the world is beneath my feet!

So this is why the big earth spirit has become arrogant? Charlotte began to understand the origin of the big earth spirit’s peculiar way of speaking.

“Yulia, come up too! Look, you can see all the way to the market!”

“How did you climb up...?”

“Just step on and climb! The big earth spirit is soft, so you can go up like stairs!”

[Don’t step on me! I warned you not to step on me!]

“Oops!”

[Hyaaa! You little brats are no longer even pretending to listen to me!]

After hesitating, Yulia stepped on the big earth spirit’s body. Indeed, her feet sunk in, allowing her to climb like a ladder. Finally reaching the top, Charlotte pulled Yulia up by the hand.

The two girls, sitting side by side atop the big earth spirit’s head, gazed at the sprawling cityscape and gasped in awe.

“It’s so pretty...!”

“It’s totally different from looking out from a building!”

The sun began to reveal itself over the mountains. The view of the sunrise from such a height was truly spectacular. The big earth spirit, who seemed unlikely to calm down, chose not to ruin the atmosphere above its head but instead ceased its growling.

“The big earth spirit sees this world like this. It’s kind of amazing.”

[If you understand, come down already! It’s heavy!]

“But it feels lonely and scary to be all alone up here.”

[...What?]

Lonely and scary? What does that even mean? The big earth spirit was taken aback by Yulia's utterly ridiculous remark.

I have spent a thousand years absorbing spiritual energy in the mountains without moving. I have transformed into the greatest and most powerful great spirit among spirits. There’s no way I could feel lonely. You fools.

“What do you want to do when you go back to the mountains?”

[Why do you all want to leave this place?]

“I have a dear friend I left behind. Did you leave friends in the mountains too?”

[In the mountains... there’s no one but me...!]

What do you want to do when you return to the mountains...? The big earth spirit pondered for a long time. A quiet place without these noisy little brats. It would burrow into the earth in the mountains and absorb spiritual energy again.

To become stronger. To become greater. To become an existence that cannot be ignored, even by humans who find me cute.

[I will grow into an existence that is not bound by a spirit mage’s commands.]

“And then?”

[What do you mean, ‘and then’?]

“There must be a reason you want to become that. We are becoming stronger to earn lots of money and go get our friends. What about you?”

[I...]

Once again, the big earth spirit was at a loss for words. What’s the point of wanting to become stronger? Isn’t it instinct for all beings to desire strength?

Feeling confused by this profound question that had never occurred to it before, the big earth spirit sensed chaos in its mind.

[I don’t know...]

“Then shall we decide among ourselves what we will do once we become stronger?”

“If the big earth spirit gets even bigger, it could also help with tunnel construction. Every time I see the mountain being carved with the super-duper sword, I feel it’s too ugly, so it would be great if we could just drill a hole through the mountain.”

“It’s not ugly at all! It’s super cool...!”

[...]

If you don’t know what to do after getting stronger, is there really a reason to become strong? Right. Sometimes it might not be bad to just relax like this. How much time would pass by just spending a little while hanging out with a short-lived human?

Let’s take a break to find our goals and identities.

Thinking this way, the big earth spirit smiled at the incessant chatter of the children above its head. It didn’t feel so noisy anymore...

“Hey, big earth spirit! Let’s go toward the front yard now! Giddy up!”

[Don’t treat me like a horse!!!]

This little brat!

Vermont Security officially launched.

The CEO, instructor, and overall manager is Silvia. In essence, she runs the company all by herself.

As I watched all the employees lined up in the training ground on the momentous opening day of Vermont Security, my heart began to race.

“You understand that if one of your employees causes an incident, Vermont’s reputation will be tarnished, right? Manage them well.”

“...Yes. Understood.”

It was another burden placed on Silvia, but I was relieved to see her showing enthusiasm. I promised that if this business did well, I would cancel all her pay cuts and raise her salary.

‘This venture also serves as Jacob’s promotional role.’

It’s not just an ordinary security company. It’s a security company that uses Jacob’s weapons. Every time the employees perform, there will be questions about what weapons they’re using.

Then naturally, they’ll spread Jacob’s name as a blacksmith who uses mana power.

“Hmph, hmph.”

Soon Silvia stepped onto the platform in front of the employees. Instantly, all eyes were focused on her.

“Hello. I am Silvia, the CEO of Vermont Security. From now on, all responses will be unified with ‘Evil.’ Do you understand?”

“...Evil?”

“Is that the best you can do? Again!”

“Evil!!!”

Huh. This seems strange.

“I can see it in your faces. You got a fancy business card, and it seems you’ve been thinking of coming in every morning just to pretend to work and munch on the company’s funds. Just because you got hired doesn’t mean it’s over! There’s still a process left to confirm whether each of you possesses the strong body and mind suitable for Vermont Security or if you’re merely shiny slugs!”

What the heck is that? I haven’t heard of this before.

“The training you will undergo will be tougher than any hardship or adversity you’ve faced before. You might even end up begging for death. However, I won’t allow anyone to drop out, except for those who are carried out on stretchers. If you want to quit, you can do so right here. Quitting will be executed!”

“...”

Crap. I smacked my forehead, realizing that Vermont Security was doomed. It was true that I had said Silvia could train the staff like she learned in the army, but that was a judgment that hadn’t properly considered Silvia’s background.

Silvia had once been a candidate for a hero. The unit she belonged to was not an ordinary one; it was a special forces unit.

But applying special forces training to people who had been ordinary until just yesterday would understandably terrify them.

Ah! It looks like I’ll have to hire all new employees!

“Is nobody leaving? This isn’t a joke. Everyone who remains will be regarded as participants in the hellish training. If you endure, you will be the first to leap into danger and the last to escape. You will be remodeled to throw your life away without hesitation to protect the lives of customers and colleagues. The price of sacrifice and dedication is a little money, and only honor and glory! Even now, is nobody leaving?”

“Evil!!!”

“Good! That response is spirited! Then we will begin the training precisely 10 minutes from now! Immediately go to the dorms, change into your work uniforms, and come out!”

“Evil!!!!!!”

With that, I felt my mind go blank as I watched the employees rush toward the dorms.

Wait. Really, is nobody leaving? They’re actually saying they want to work in this kind of company?

Even after I warned them that it would be tough, dangerous, and hard, they still...

‘Did I only hire crazy people?’

Silvia gave me a thumbs up, grinning at me.

No matter how I think about it, the state of the company feels unusual. The employees all began to look like hundreds of Silvias.

A horde of enthusiastic muscle-bound idiots. This is hell. A nightmare.

‘Let’s go back to the mansion.’

I quietly slipped out of the training ground. I needed some healing.

It was the moment I began to miss the smell of Yulia's hair.

“...”

“...”

The moment I stepped out of the training ground, I came face to face with a familiar face.

Among all the employees rushing to the dorms, one stood still, glaring at me. It was Yuri.