Why can't humans do it too?

Sull's voice had become hoarse, and to be honest, just hearing that voice made Riku imagine an extremely haggard appearance.

“At the time, he held me still and asked me questions. If his ability was really mind reading, then he should have been able to see all the images that flashed through my mind, and there would have been no need for him to keep questioning me.”

Suer tried hard to recall every word and expression of Asano Shirasu at that time.

"Suddenly, I remembered that although I didn't realize it at the time, now when I think back on it, there is one sentence that the orc said that still bothers me. I remember his original words were: 'Every change in your muscles, the contraction and contraction of your pupils, your heartbeat, and even the flow of your blood, I can see it all clearly.'"

"You mean..." The quick-witted Riku instantly understood what Sul was trying to say.

“Yes, rather than believing that they have the ability to read minds, the fact that orcs have extraordinary senses is a confirmed piece of information. Therefore, I think that orc judged the truthfulness of my words by my muscles and heartbeat... and that explains it, doesn’t it?” Sul analyzed calmly.

“That’s right, but from this point of view, the difficulty of deceiving the orcs has not decreased at all, but is not much different from the situation where they really have mind-reading ability…” Riku’s tired voice could be heard in the darkness, perhaps with a lot of troublesome headaches.

"There's nothing we can do about it, isn't there? After all, it's far too difficult for humans to completely control their heartbeat and blood flow. We're not some monstrous race like them... Anyway, let's record this information first, and then we'll consider countermeasures later," Suer frankly stated one of the biggest gains of this operation.

“Well, I’ll figure out a way to solve it later. So, besides this information, is there anything else?” Riku’s calm voice echoed in the cave. This man was like a robot that could always be trusted and would never make a mistake. “I’ve heard everything from Lennie about their evacuation. Won’t you tell me about your next move alone?”

Su Er instinctively held his breath.

The air grew quiet, and after a long while, Suer finally opened his mouth.

“I’m saying this, Riku,” Sull hesitated, struggling with whether to bring it up, but he couldn’t find anyone more knowledgeable than him, “…Are humans really completely incapable of using any magic at all?”

"Or is it a superpower-like power? A power that can be used without a spirit?"

Suer pressed on with questions, but the answer that came his way was a fact that required no thought whatsoever.

"Humans are absolutely incapable of using magic. I remember you read about this many times in those books, didn't you? Haven't you given up yet?" Riku's words left no room for mercy, as if he wanted to shatter all of Sul's unrealistic fantasies. "Although humans still have a little bit of elf within them, we have absolutely no affinity for elves. How could we possibly use magic?"

"..."

Undeniably, Sue knew this. In fact, when he first learned of the surreal existence of magic, he was overjoyed and eager to learn such power. He even had Lennie accompany him as he flipped through the related books one by one, only to receive such a cruel answer in the end.

but,

I'm different from you guys...

Suer murmured to himself.

His body, the body that inexplicably returned to his youth after the mysterious time travel, is completely original; it's not a simple matter of his soul transmigrating into someone else's body in this world.

If every human in this world originally possessed some spirits within them, then Sull, who came from another world, could be said to have absolutely no spirits at all—no, spirits are everywhere in this world, so in all those years of eating and breathing, has Sull retained any of those spirits within him?

No way to know.

Even before his confrontation with Asano Shirasu, Sue had not thought about this issue at all, and after returning to the town, he was still worried about another thing.

Now, even checking the number of spirits within one's body is impossible, since humans don't possess any magic.

"I understand," Suer nodded, ultimately choosing to keep the matter to himself.

After all, he didn't even know why he suddenly had that strange connection with Asano Shirosu, and the conditions for activating it were unknown. He had tried to control the monkey afterward but failed. Most importantly, the white-haired orc did not sense the flow of the elf when Asano Shirosu shouted those words.

Therefore, even if it really is magic, it is absolutely different from any known magic.

Leaving the question to himself for the time being, Sue calmly began to tell Riku the reason why he had deliberately stayed behind alone, and what had happened to Leni and the others after their evacuation... except for that monkey.

His concerns included Asano Shirasu's death without leaving any information, the inevitable contraction of the orc race's power and sphere of influence, and so on.

Chapter Twenty-Nine Liku

“That’s too risky…” Riku sighed deeply.

“Yes, it was too risky. If Leni and the others had been a little less lucky, or if the demons had been just a little more intelligent, we probably would never have made it back,” Sull murmured repeatedly.

He feared the worst possible outcome.

He had clearly prepared himself to die, and was even moved by the fact that his impending sacrifice would save four lives. He had long since given up hope of living, but... when he actually saw Lennie climb up that hill, the emotion and joy of being rescued were undeniable; it was the most instinctive reaction.

Suer was genuinely grateful that he could continue to breathe this air.

“Lenny and the others are right. To these demons created by the Fantasy Race, compared to humans, they are actually low-intelligence monsters. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they are beasts endowed with incomplete intelligence. The only thing they surpass humans in is their immense strength, but they don't possess complete rationality... So those Orks don't think about where the voice guiding them to the Orcs' location came from; they just want to find the Orcs and fight them,” Riku paused and continued, “Besides, if it's to rescue you, it can't be considered a loss no matter what…”

“But compared to that, the risk I’m talking about isn’t Leni and the others’ actions, but yours, Sull,” Riku said calmly. “Your decision to return to the battlefield afterward is far too risky. If you were to perish there, it would undoubtedly be the greatest loss to the entire settlement.”

"But what if that orc left something behind—"

"Then let's retreat to another place! The orcs' range of activity isn't unlimited!"

"..."

Liku suddenly raised his voice, interrupting Suer's rebuttal.

Although the two had had serious conversations that were almost like arguments before, both of them knew that this time was different from all the previous ones.

After a long silence, Riku suddenly spoke softly, "Do you remember how old you are, Sur?"

"...Seventeen years old," Sur replied, puzzled, having no idea why Riku would bring this up at this time. "Only one year younger than you."

“Yes, seventeen years old…” Riku repeated softly in the darkness, “which means that if one of us has to die first, it will be me.”

!!!

Suer stared wide-eyed, but he couldn't see anything.

“After I die, you will be the only one in the entire settlement who still has the ability and vision to lead everyone forward... Do you understand?” Riku repeated once again, “So you absolutely cannot die there for this reason.”

Liku had already planned the deaths of everyone, including his own.

Sue was his chosen successor, the transmitter of his will.

For them, swearing an oath to their legacy is more than just a simple slogan.

Shocked by the determination in those words, Su Er stared blankly, mouth agape, unsure of what to say.

Compared to what Liku had just said, his infinitely conflicted and despicable anxiety had nowhere to go, like a shadow under the sun, with almost nowhere to hide.

An impulse welled up within him, urging him to pour out all his worries and anxieties to Riku, who was present there. Yet, he was also deeply afraid that the answer he would receive for his honesty would not be the one he longed to hear.

"...Even if more than half of them die during the escape?"

Even if more than half of the people die during the escape.

The words were the same, but the latter's answer was unexpectedly firm.

"Even if we lose many companions, as long as we move in the right direction, we won't be wiped out all at once. So, over time, the population will slowly increase—that's the right answer."

"...an answer that no one can say is wrong."

In this dark cave, right in front of Sull, Riku spoke frankly, almost coldly, about the most direct things that he would never tell anyone outside.

But how could Suer not hear it?

Perhaps it was precisely because of this absolute darkness that Sull was able to amplify his sense of hearing, like trembling tentacles capturing the most subtle changes—Likuta, is he crying…

Even the very tip of his voice was trembling.

Suer wanted to reach out and touch Riku's cheek, just as Koel would have done if he were there, his fingers tracing the body of a child who was only a year older than him. But as if he had expected it, Riku dodged, and Suer's outstretched hand landed on empty air.

Liku had already stood up silently.

This gentle, white-haired boy, Su Er had secretly spied on twenty-six times. He saw the boy angrily and self-reproachfully cursing and smashing everything in his room when he was alone in hiding, completely lacking the coldness he usually showed in front of everyone.

Those twenty-six times were the times when sacrifices occurred in each settlement.

Even though he had never met Riku before, Sull had thought that Riku in the past would not be any different.

The number of people who have given their lives for this settlement has now reached forty-seven.

Later on, Riku was no longer the only one issuing orders.

Even though Riku was trying his best to suppress all his emotions, Sull still sensed the pain and sorrow in the man's seemingly calm words that it didn't matter if half of his men were lost... If the lights were lit at this moment, one could probably see Riku's rare tears.

If he could, Sulbi would believe anyone that this white-haired boy wanted to see everyone live happily and joyfully.

Suddenly, Su Er seemed to sense something.

This gesture caused Liku to lose his composure so badly that he made a mistake by failing to control his emotions.

It wasn't just Sull who needed this darkness; Riku himself did too.

"What happened?" Suer asked softly, lowering his head.

Although he had these questions, no answer was needed; Suer had already found the answer in his heart.

This time it was Riku's turn to be silent, and he remained silent for a long time.

"...Ivan is dead."

Breathing rapidly and urgently, Riku finally spoke calmly.

"..."

is it?

So that would make it the forty-eighth...

Chapter Thirty: Suicide

Cole's celebration plans were nipped in the bud.

"...Then, was Ivan's sacrifice worthwhile?" Sur asked, troubled.

“Ah, of course,” Riku replied, his voice trembling so much he could no longer hide it, “We obtained the latest map of the goblins and their current power distribution… Ivan’s death was undoubtedly valuable.”