"I'm gathering information about the Giant of the Snowy Mountain..."

The Saint tilted his head back and forth with a serious expression, seemingly trying to recall something.

By now, he must have gathered extensive information on most of the divine beings, yet looking at the piles of books still covering his desk, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of respect.

We’d already drawn up most of the strategy for approaching the Second Princess from the branch.

Asti, the Hunter, and Aphta would accompany us partway.

After that, only the Hunter and Aphta would proceed further.

But this was just the rough outline.

To report it to the Knight Commander, I’d need to compile all the details and prepare for any potential variables.

This was essentially the final showdown, so every precaution had to be taken.

"Most of the records about the Giant of the Snowy Mountain have been sealed off or distorted. Honestly, even I don’t know much about it."

"Ah… That’s unfortunate."

It made sense.

The Saint was still studying divine beings. Expecting him to know everything about the Second Princess would be unreasonable.

If he had that kind of information, the Knight Order wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble in the first place.

I nodded, suppressing my disappointment.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful."

"No, if anything, I should be the one apologizing for trying to leech information off you so shamelessly."

"Haha, providing information to a hero like Sir Tanthan is my greatest honor."

The Saint smiled warmly, his words full of humility.

Hmm.

I guess I’ll have to take a look at the restricted books later—the ones the librarian marked as too dangerous to read.

It might be my only option.

I made a mental note to check those out later.

"Ah, right."

"Hmm?"

"There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, Saint."

The Saint closed the book he had been reading.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Why are you so fixated on researching foreign entities? I’ve been curious about this for a while, but there was never a good time to ask."

The Saint rested his chin on his folded arms and gave a thoughtful nod at my question.

He looked as if he were recalling something distant.

After holding that pose for a while, he finally relaxed and spoke.

"I suppose it has been quite a long time now. It’s nothing serious—just something I regret."

"Regret?"

"If you’ve regained your memories, then you must know that foreign entities were once called divine beings."

I nodded in acknowledgment, and the Saint smiled as if reminiscing about fond memories.

"That’s right. I didn’t mention this before to avoid confusing you, but I actually used to be close to the foreign entities. They were cheerful, clumsy, and incredibly pure. Many of them genuinely wanted to form bonds with humans."

The idea of the Saint being close with divine beings was fascinating, but it also left me with questions.

"If you were so close to them, why are you studying them so obsessively? Wouldn’t your time with them have already taught you enough?"

The Saint raised a single finger and, with an overly sentimental look in his eyes, replied:

"Love."

…

…

…

"Sorry, what?"

"Haha, it seems Sir Tanthan is quite flustered by a word so uncharacteristic of me."

Even as my brain tried to dismiss what I had just heard as a misunderstanding, the Saint doubled down and forced the words back into my ears.

"Love, Sir Tanthan."

"No, wait—what do you mean, love?"

"What else could I mean? Love for the foreign entities."

"No, no, hold on."

I immediately denied his words.

It wasn’t that I was shocked by the idea of the Saint loving a foreign entity.

After all, divine beings resembled humans closely enough.

Given my current circumstances, I wasn’t exactly in a position to criticize anyone for harboring feelings toward divine beings.

But that wasn’t the part that left me stunned.

Who was the Saint?

He was someone obsessed with uncovering the mysteries of foreign entities—driven to the brink of madness in his quest to unravel divine knowledge.

He was the kind of scholar who explored the deepest corners of mysticism, even fixating on Aphta, the Recorder, in his pursuit of understanding.

If all of that was fueled by scholarly curiosity, then it could be seen as the awe-inspiring zeal of an intellectual.

But the moment he said it was because of love, the narrative took a bizarre and unsettling turn.

"When you say love for the foreign entities… you mean a love for studying them, right?"

"No. As embarrassing as it is, I once experienced the heartache of unrequited love."

The Saint clutched his chest as if the memory still pained him, his furrowed brow and trembling expression making him look like the tragic hero of a melodrama.

If not for his long, swaying beard, he might have actually pulled it off.

"You’ve probably already guessed, but it was unrequited. I didn’t understand foreign entities at all back then. Our differences in values eventually drove her away."

He sighed and picked up a random book, flipping through it absentmindedly.

"And so, I resolved to understand them completely. If I could fully grasp their behavior and values, perhaps I could one day stand by her side again, worthy of her presence."

With that, the Saint launched into an enthusiastic description of the divine being he had once loved.

I did my best to humor him, nodding along, but deep down, it was becoming increasingly difficult to suppress the thoughts swirling in my head.

Because, no matter how I looked at this...

It sounded like a stalker obsessively digging into the personal life of someone who dumped him.

...So this is why he always got so worked up whenever the topic of foreign entities came up.

I couldn’t help but feel like I had seriously misjudged this man.

*****

The Saint’s tearful—no, downright unsettling—story finally came to an end, and I prepared to get up and start searching through the books myself.

"Ah, Sir Tanthan."

"Yes?"

The Saint called my name and immediately began sketching something furiously on a piece of paper.

A quick glance told me it resembled the territory where the Second Princess resided.

"The Giant of the Snowy Mountain is officially considered a Lesser Divine, but in truth, its authority rivals that of a Greater Divine."

"I see."

"Which means it likely commands as many subordinates as a Greater Divine."

He pointed to the spot on the map where the Second Princess was located.

Unlike other areas, it was marked with unusually heavy snowfall.

"You should seriously think about why the knights froze the moment they entered that area."

"…"

Right.

Why hadn’t I thought of that sooner?

No matter how powerful the Second Princess was, it didn’t make sense for her to easily subdue an entire Knight Order, especially one led by the Commander.

He wouldn’t have charged in without at least some idea of their chances.

What if those thick streams of snow weren’t just weather but a mass of subordinates scattered around by the Second Princess?

What if the knights had unknowingly stepped into a trap filled with these Lesser Divines, only to be frozen on contact?

If that were the case, it gave us a clearer path forward.

Maybe—just maybe—it was actually possible to win this war without losing anyone.

Damn, veterans really were on another level.

"Thank you, Saint. This might be the most valuable information I’ve received so far."

"Haha, you flatter me. It’s only a hypothesis, so remember to question every assumption."

With that, the Saint lowered his head and focused back on his books.

Hmm.

I felt a bit guilty just walking away after everything he shared.

Maybe I should repay him with a little revelation of my own.

"By the way, Saint."

"Yes?"

"Have you noticed that Agarta hasn’t been around lately?"

"Ah, that’s true. By now, she’d usually be demanding Sir Tanthan’s underwear or asking for the spoon you used to eat with…"

…

「No, she wouldn’t.」

Aphta’s quiet denial echoed in my head, and I barely managed to keep myself from collapsing on the spot.

But I decided to let it slide.

"Ahem. Anyway, speaking of Agarta."

"Yes?"

"Back in the underground prison, what do you think gave her the nerve to start reading those inscriptions I had in my pocket?"

"Well, Agarta has some talent in mysticism, so…"

"No, she hadn’t studied mysticism at all back then. Not even once."

Hearing that, the Saint tilted his head, visibly confused.

Alright. Time to drop the bombshell.

"The Recorder wrote my name down and acted pretty obsessed with me, didn’t she?"

"Hmm, that’s true."

"And Agarta also seemed weirdly fixated on my personal belongings, right?"

"That’s… also true?"

"That’s all I’ll say."

With that, I quickly walked out of the library.

I couldn’t run because the staff had already warned me about causing a disturbance, so I kept my pace just fast enough to escape.

Behind me, I could hear the Saint muttering, clearly lost in thought.

Then—

A sharp gasp, followed by the sound of him standing up in a panic.

"W-Wait a moment!"

The Saint’s voice echoed through the hall.

"Sir Tanthan! Hold on! What do you mean by that?! Sir Tanthan!!!"

His desperate cries rang out, but I just grinned and slipped away, chuckling to myself.

Seriously, the Saint’s denial was always hilarious.