"Oh, sorry. Got all dark and depressing there. I didn't bring you here to say all that."
The crystal shined faintly as it talked. On the outside, it may have looked like nothing but a diamond-like object, but strangely, I could see a beautiful blonde haired dwarf woman with a smile on her face. Somehow, I knew that was exactly what Jenny would've been doing if she'd had a body right now.
"I wanted to tell you all the information I knew about the Goddess. Still, it might not be anything new to you."
"Let's hear it."
Info on the Goddess? That's the one thing I want most right now.
While it had basically been confirmed that Yggdra was behind all this, I just couldn't imagine what her end goal even was. Though Haruka, or someone like her, might know.
"All right. First, I'll talk about the grimmfolk and her connection to them. You probably already expected this, but the grimmfolk and the Goddess are indeed connected. Also, you should know about the true nature of the grimmfolk."
Tayuya cut off Jenny with the answer. "They're magic." Everyone's attention gathered on Tayuya.
"Oh, you already knew? Well, I guess that isn't so surprising."
"Of course. There would have to be something wrong with someone for them to not notice those badly made defects."
Well, sorry for having something wrong with me… If I'd actually said that out loud, it might have killed the conversation, so for now, I decided to shut up and listen.
"Magic? Like an actual spell?"
"Exactly, Fiona. Magic is a technique to cause a phenomenon by altering mana. Using the Metal element as an example, it becomes possible to create physical things."
"But aren't the grimmfolk living…?"
"They are not. They are simply a spell which creates something that imitates a living thing."
While listening to the conversation between Tayuya and Fiona, I remembered what the Grimm King had said to me before. He'd told me that the grimmfolk were something that had been created by the Goddess, and they would disappear when they died.
I evidently used to spit grimmfolk heads on posts, so apparently they remained for at least a while after they died. But the fact that they became mana when they died and that the bodies disappeared without a trace did give them something in common with any other spell.
No, wait a second. Was I beheading them as an experiment to see how long it would take for their heads to disappear?
"They are a magic spell that was unleashed upon humanity… That is why they all instinctively attack humans. It's just like Fire magic. The magic doesn't wonder why it was unleashed. The grimmfolk are an attack spell cast by the Goddess and aimed at humanity."
"N-no way…"
"Oh…"
After hearing Tayuya's explanation, Wendy turned pale, and Jaune tilted his head back and stared up into the sky.
I'd long known that the Goddess and the grimmfolk were connected, but I'd never expected that the grimmfolk would be a magic spell. Reality turned out to be nothing as sweet as I'd expected. She hadn't simply given orders as their creator or manipulated their minds. The grimmfolk themselves were an attack upon humanity by the Goddess.
"Though there are some exceptions."
"Exceptions? Do you mean that boy, Natsu?"
"Exactly, my king. There is no doubt that Natsu is the result of magic, but the caster is different. Natsu alone was cast by the Grimm King."
"We see. So that is why he is the Grimm King's son."
So the grimmfolk are literally magic… I see. Actually, it makes a lot of sense, now that I think about it.
Still, that's a really harsh truth…
"They are simply a magic spell that thinks it has free will… They are puppets created by the Goddess with no souls of their own."
"Like an NPC…"
"Master?"
"Nothing, never mind."
"Puppets with no souls." After hearing that, the first thing I thought of was video games. I was reminded of NPCs that game devs would prepare to give life to the in-game world. While at first glance they might have seemed like real characters with their own wills, there was actually nobody inside the character. They were simply puppets that moved according to prewritten programs. That was the true identity of the grimmfolk.
From the opposite perspective, though, that also meant that the regular townspeople and monsters I normally thought of as NPCs no longer fit that definition, since they weren't magic but actual people with clear wills. If there happened to be another person with knowledge from my world, they might also have equated the grimmfolk to NPCs with this knowledge.
Jenny waited for Tayuya to finish before continuing her speech. I returned my attention to her, temporarily putting thoughts of NPCs aside. Even if I pitied them, it would amount to nothing.
"There's also one more 'magic spell with a consciousness' that the Goddess created. I managed to get an idea of it after many years of research. 'Once upon a time, the Goddess planned to use this being as an agent or representative, but the being rebelled due to a difference in their perceptions of humanity and left the Goddess's control. It was said to have changed into a fish and fled into the oceans."
"Hmm, if Natsu is the Grimm King's son, then this being would be the Goddess's child? So, what is its name?"
"Ero."
"W-what a name…"
I couldn't describe the feeling that welled up in me after hearing the name from Jenny.
The hell is that? That name is definitely going to cause bullying. I've heard of some just god-awful names before, but Ero is up there with the worst. What the hell was Yggdra thinking when she named it?
But as I looked around at my party, the Twelve Zodiac's Guradians—Fiona, Penny, Tayuya, Jaune—all of them looked surprised.
"L-Lady Naru!"
"Hmm?"
"How are you so calm?! It's Ero! You know, Raiya the Pisces guardian! You changed her name to Borumi and made her the holder of Pisces constellation seat…? Ero It's her real name!"
What…?!
The bombshell that came out of Fiona's mouth caused me to freeze.
Yggdra's child is one of ours?! Actually, wait… I managed to capture one of the Goddess's children?! Panicking, I quickly sunk my consciousness inward. When I did so, I did indeed discover memories of a white haired young girl.
Is it just me or was she being surrounded by my party members and being driven half to tears by them calling her Ero over and over?
"A-ah, right… Now that you mention it…"
"What? She was your subordinate?" Jenny said exasperatedly.
Hey, this is the first I'm hearing of it too.
"Oh, right. Hey, Naru… If possible, could I ask you to repair the mass-produced Pennys? You can use any of the materials in Blutgang."
"We do not mind, but there's nothing We can do about the one that was blasted to pieces. Is that okay?"
"For the one that's in pieces… You can use it to make whatever you wish. Just disposing of it doesn't feel right."
"Understood."
I took on Jenny's request, but an idea suddenly came to mind. Why not take the scrap parts from the broken Penny to make a new armament for Penny?
I'd always thought that golems did not grow and could not surpass their limits. It was common sense. But I had an idea. If Penny herself couldn't be strengthened, why not simply bolster her strength with separate equipment? For example, if there were a golem that was super-specialized in STR, it would be shit on its own. However, if the golem were actually a weapon and could be freely wielded by Penny, then that would mean Penny's ATK stat would be boosted.
"There was actually something We wanted to make. It's been a while. Why not team up together once more, Jen? Even if you can't use alchemy yourself, your knowledge still remains, no?"
"That sounds fun! Your wild ideas always manage to surprise me. What did you just think of?"
It seemed like Jenny was happy to go along with my idea. Then from now on it was alchemist time. Since it wouldn't be any fun for anyone else, I thought Fiona and the others should wait outside. With that in mind, I ordered everyone to leave.
Noooww, then… What kind of fun weapon should we make?