Chapter 61: Human? (7)

“Explanation?” Ketal asked, his eyes narrowing. It was clear that the mage before him was not here to fight. “Does that mean you came here to have a conversation?”

“For now, yes,” Adamant replied, shifting his gaze to Elene. “I knew you were a bit of a troublemaker, my lady, but this is quite the spectacle.”

“Adamant, even you’ve come to stop me, haven’t you?” Elene said.

Adamant Lagesh—the chief mage of the Lutein Kingdom and the kingdom’s sole Transcendent mage—shook his head. “I haven’t come to stop you. I am here to explain. The knights are too tactless to convey anything properly.”

“If explaining doesn’t work, are you going to stop us?” Elene countered, her tone sharp.

“That’s true,” Adamant admitted with a slight shrug.

Elene bit her lip, her frustration evident. “Of course. You must be terrified of the king of the Denian Kingdom making the Declaration of Humanity. They must be desperate if they’re sending you.”

“That doesn’t concern me,” Adamant replied quietly.

His words caught Elene off guard. “What?”

“I know that the king of Denian can invoke the Declaration of Humanity, but that is not the reason I’m here. I came here because if you attempted to cross into another nation without any formal announcement to the royal family,” Adamant explained, letting out a weary sigh.

“You are the noble First Princess of the Lutein Kingdom. The weight of your royal blood is not something to be treated lightly. If you cross into another nation without proper protocol, it will create diplomatic issues.” Adamant rubbed his temple as though the very thought gave him a headache. “If you had spoken with His Majesty and traveled officially, I would have no objections. But moving like this is unacceptable. You must recognize your position more clearly.”

Elene’s lips tightened as she absorbed the logic of his words. There was nothing inherently unreasonable about his points. His reasoning was mundane, almost frustratingly ordinary. Yet, that normalcy made it all the more unsettling.

Adamant’s gaze softened slightly as he asked, “What exactly are you so dissatisfied with, my lady?”

“Dissatisfied? Did you just ask me if I was dissatisfied?” Elene’s voice rose, her emotions boiling over. Her eyes burned with fury as she shouted, “None of you are the people I knew anymore! You’ve all changed! At some point, you all became something that doesn’t fear death—something inhuman!”

“Yes,” Adamant replied with a calm nod. His composed response stopped Elene mid-rant. He continued his explanation. “I am aware that something has changed with us.”

“You... you know?!” Elene turned her fiery gaze to the knight, who recoiled in alarm.

“No! I really don’t know anything, my lady!” Parman protested.

“Parman speaks the truth. He does not know. None of us do—not the knights, nor the members of the royal family,” Adamant said, raising his staff lightly. “To avoid complications, let me put him to sleep for a while.”

“Ah...” Parman’s head drooped as he collapsed into unconsciousness.

Elene’s wide eyes darted toward Adamant. Something clicked in her mind, and she asked in a shaky voice. “Adamant, don’t tell me you—”

“If there were such a spell, I’d want to learn it myself. If it were the Master of the Mage Tower, he might know it, but sadly, I do not possess that kind of magic,” Adamant replied with a dismissive wave of his staff, cutting off her speculation.

Tapping the ground with his staff, he began to explain. “Your assumptions weren’t entirely wrong, my lady. We have changed. But we have not become the kind of monsters you think we are. We are still human.”

“What nonsense! How can you claim to be human when you can’t even die?!” Elene shouted.

“That’s a fair point. This is certainly a strange situation, and it’s difficult to explain,” Adamant admitted, scratching his head. After a moment’s thought, he continued, “Ten years ago, you were just a little girl who couldn’t even reach my waist. Now, you’ve grown into a beautiful young lady. It’s nothing short of a divine miracle.”

“I do not need your flattery,” Elene snapped.

“It’s not flattery,” Adamant said. “Do you understand how you’ve grown and developed into the person you are today?”

Elene frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“The growth of a human being is an intricate and systematic process. A wrinkled, hairless body transforms and matures over time. It’s an extraordinary phenomenon—one might even call it a miracle. Yet, no one questions or fears it.”

As people grew from childhood, their hair and fingernails grew by the day, their skin lost its elasticity, and their height increased.

Yet, no one found these changes strange.

“When you were a child, you recorded your height on the palace wall daily, rejoicing as you grew taller. But you never questioned or feared it. It’s the same for us. We have simply... become this way,” Adamant explained.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“I know it sounds ridiculous... I just don’t know how to explain this more easily.” Adamant scratched his head, visibly exasperated.

Ketal, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke. “So, one day, you simply stopped understanding the concept of death and became humans who regenerate like how hair grows or fingernails lengthen?”

“For a barbarian, your quick thinking is remarkable,” Adamant said, glancing at Ketal with mild surprise. “To clarify, it’s not regeneration. It’s more akin to returning to an original state.”

“Even so, isn’t that too drastic a change to compare to growing taller or longer nails? If someone grew an entire head taller overnight, wouldn’t that raise questions?” Ketal pressed.

Adamant nodded. “Indeed. But for us, it didn’t seem unnatural.”

These beings could not die; they resurrected after death. Yet, they found nothing strange about their condition.

Adamant let out a wry smile. “I won’t deny that not perceiving this change is indeed strange. If I hadn’t reached the level of a Transcendent, I would be no different from Parman.”

“So, you’re admitting it after all! You’re saying you’re not human!” Elene shouted.

“No, we’re still human,” Adamant stated firmly. His unwavering conviction left Elene momentarily speechless.

“I am aware that we have changed, but I am equally certain that I am still human,” he continued, placing a hand over his chest. “I am Adamant Lagesh, the man who taught you the history of this world, the pride of the royal family. I am myself, not some imitation.”

He chuckled lightly then continued, “If something were capable of perfectly mimicking me, wouldn’t that be even more astonishing? A being with such power wouldn’t need to impersonate me; it could simply destroy the kingdom outright.”

Elene couldn’t refute his logic. A monster capable of mimicking even a Transcendent would easily surpass such a level of power. It wouldn’t waste time imitating others; it would simply claim the throne directly.

“So, you claim you’ve suddenly changed, but you are still human, and I’m supposed to just accept that?” Elene retorted. Trusting his words was an entirely different matter.

Adamant scratched his head in slight embarrassment. “I admit it sounds absurd, but that’s our situation. From our perspective, my lady, it’s you who suddenly seems... strange.”

Adamant was the only one who had noticed the change. To everyone else in the palace, they were simply living their lives as normal humans. To them, Elene’s accusations felt like nothing more than paranoid delusions.

Elene’s face twisted with frustration.

“My lady, why not return with us?” Adamant suggested calmly, his tone almost soothing. “We are not monsters. We are merely... different. But we are still human. You can live among us peacefully, as you always have.”

“Don’t make me laugh! You’re monsters—abominations! How could I live among creatures like you? Humans who cannot die... such a thing shouldn’t exist!” Elene snarled, her teeth clenched in anger.

Adamant sighed, his weariness evident. “Monsters, you say? That’s not entirely inaccurate. After all, humans are defined by their fear of death.”

“Well, at least you know that much,” Elene muttered.

“But, have you considered this?” Adamant asked, a faint smile playing on his lips. “When you first realized what we were, you were consumed by fear. That fear caused you immense stress, and as a result, you began to eat more. Considerably more, to the point that it became a problem. According to the royal chefs, you were eating an average of seven meals and thirteen desserts per day.”

“That’s a lot of food,” Ketal murmured under his breath.

Elene’s face turned a deep shade of red, “W-what does that have to do with anything?!”

“The amount of food you consumed would have turned a normal person into a pig in less than a month. And yet, even after eating like that for an entire year, you remain as beautiful as ever, with a perfect figure,” Adamant said, his gaze resting on her.

Everyone’s attention turned to Elene, making her shift uncomfortably.

“What do you make of that?” Adamant asked quietly.

“What of it?” Elene replied, her expression confused. She looked as though she found the question nonsensical.

Adamant chuckled softly at her obliviousness. He turned his gaze to Aron. “And you, Aron. You are no different. If I recall correctly, two years ago, you were diagnosed with an incurable disease. It wasn’t life-threatening, but it required frequent check-ups. Yet, for the past year, you haven’t visited a doctor even once, and you’re perfectly healthy.”

“What... does that have to do with anything?” Aron stammered.

Adamant then turned to Ketal. “Do you see what I mean?”

“This is fascinating,” Ketal muttered, his tone filled with genuine intrigue.

“Ketal?” Elene stammered, glancing at him nervously. Ketal’s gaze rested on her, his expression unreadable. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Elene, since you met me, you have been avoiding my cooking out of fear. For days, you’ve sustained yourself on nothing but dried jerky. As I recall...” Ketal held up his hand, forming a small circle with his fingers. “You’ve eaten only this much in three days.”

“Yes, and I’ve been very hungry,” Elene admitted.

“With that little food, hunger should have been the least of your concerns. Your body should have started to break down,” Ketal pointed out.

Their journey had been grueling, with barely any rest. Even a trained soldier would struggle with such conditions, let alone survive on a handful of jerky for three days. The nutritional content simply wasn’t sufficient.

“And yet, you were fine,” Ketal said.

Though she appeared tired at times, Elene never faltered or stopped walking. Such endurance couldn’t be explained by willpower alone.

“W-what?” Elene stammered, confusion etched on her face.

At first, Ketal hadn’t given much thought since this was a fantasy world. He had even known a barbarian comrade who survived for an entire month eating nothing but ice, so he had dismissed Elene’s resilience as something similar.

However, Adamant’s explanation painted a different picture. Elene’s expression shifted, her eyes filled with disbelief. “I... I...”

“You are human, aren’t you?” Ketal finished her sentence, his tone neutral.

Elene fell silent, unable to utter another word. Those were the same words Parman had been repeating all along:

I am human.

“The entire royal palace was consumed,” Adamant said, his voice tinged with sadness. “Do you really think it’s possible that only the two of you remained untouched?”

Adamant’s bitter smile deepened.

“You call us monsters, my lady, but you are no different. The only thing separating us is form.”

***

Elene wanted to retort, to declare that she was human, that she was nothing like the monsters before her, and that there was nothing wrong with her.

However, every time she tried to say those words, the memory of her confrontation with Parman surfaced in her mind. Her words to him had been identical to the ones she now wanted to speak.

And all she did was dismiss everything Parman said, pressing a blade to his neck as he insisted on his humanity.

Only now did she realize the truth. Her belief in herself was as meaningless and hollow as Parman’s words had been to her.

“Ah...,” a broken sound escaped her lips. Her head hung low, and beside her, Aron’s expression mirrored her despair.

Adamant, believing the conversation to be concluded, looked at Elene with pity.

“Do not worry, my lady. You are not a monster. You are human, just like me. Return to the palace, and you will be able to gather your thoughts,” he said gently.

As he moved toward her, someone stepped into his path. It was Ketal.

Adamant frowned, “I thought you were more intelligent than the average barbarian, but it seems I was mistaken. You have failed to grasp the situation.”

“I understand it well enough. This is a case of Theseus’s Paradox, isn’t it?” Ketal replied calmly.

“Theseus’s Paradox?” Adamant echoed, puzzled.

“Is that concept unknown here?” Ketal asked before explaining.

Long ago, there was a ship called Ship of Theseus, which had been used in a great war and emerged victorious. The people of that nation cherished it and preserved it with care. However, as time passed, the wood of the ship began to rot and decay.

Each time a part of the ship deteriorated, they replaced the deck, the sails, and even repainted it with fresh dye. Eventually, every part of the ship was replaced.

The question then arose: was it still the same Ship of Theseus?

Adamant’s eyes widened in surprise. “Did you come up with that story yourself? It’s a different approach from the Vessel’s Dilemma. A fascinating concept.”

“A vessel? That’s new,” Ketal said with a chuckle, intrigued.

This world truly never ceases to amaze me

, he thought.

He had concluded that the Lutein Kingdom was a grand version of the Ship of Theseus.