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After a while, the laughter abruptly stopped.

“Captain.”

And in an instant, the smile disappeared from his face. Because of this sudden change, Lil replied a bit awkwardly.

“…What?”

“In all my life, I didn’t think I’d ever hear such words with my own two ears, so I had to laugh for a moment.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Authority. Do you know that the concept you explained to me doesn’t exist? Do you even know what you were talking about?”

“What I was talking about? Of course, I know.”

Ed shook his head firmly as if he knew it weren’t the case.

“Let me tell you a story.”

“Again, out of nowhere?”

“Seems like the Captain doesn’t know everything, so I’m here to make it easier for you.”

Lil folded her arms as to say ‘let’s hear it’. In response, Ed turned his body towards her, cleared his throat and began to speak.

“There was a creature.”

“…”

Lil raised her eyebrows but eventually frowned again to indicate that she was listening.

“For convenience, let’s call this creature a ‘beast.’ The beast lived on barren land and fed himself by eating other animals and grazing the grass. The grasses were dried, twisted and thin and reptiles were the only animals that could survive there. As a result, hunger became the norm. They lived on the plains at the foot of a mountain with endless meadows on the other side. To sum it up, the north was a mountain range and the south was a meadow. Do you follow?”

“Yes, go on.”

“As lightning often struck, the meadow was a burned down terrain filled with crates. It was so rough and bumpy that the soles of one’s feet would be torn just by standing on it. The dry atmosphere was the perfect fuel for big wildfires, easily ignited by even the slightest heat from the sun. The land, devoured by flames, was desolate. But even though the beast lived in such circumstances, it never thought about crossing the mountains. The mountains were so densely packed with withered thorn bushes that even during the day, creatures couldn’t see anything through it and the nights were even more frighteningly dark.”

“What are you getting at?”

“Just listen. The beast lived on the land and gave birth to cubs. Its young would grow up and produce offspring, too. Then, one day another beast was born, he was an ordinary beast with no unique features. Neither his mother who gave birth to him, nor his father whose blood flowed through him, nor his brothers born from the same womb, knew he was exceptional. But he was special. Do you know why?”

“No, I don’t.”

Even though he received such a blunt answer from Lil, Ed continued his story steadfastly. 

“He had a tiny seed in his heart. It was a seed that never existed before and humans would later call this seed the will. For the first time, a beast was wondering what would lie beyond those mountains. In the beginning, he thought it was just going to be as unbearable as his home. But after some time passed, the picture drawn in his head started to differ from the barren lands. And when he almost died from curiosity, he decided to cross them. While most other beasts feared the act of passing the mountains, there were some that decided to follow him. As a result, he led a small group through the range. It must have been an excruciatingly difficult journey, but they eventually made it. What do you think they found?”

Just like Anunchio had done to him, Ed looked at Lil with serious eyes, waiting for her answer. Simultaneously, Lil looked down at Ed, whose face became obscured by a ray of sunlight. His shirt, face, and hair were suddenly dyed by the morning sun. For some reason, she could sense the origin of human life from that golden light. It reminded her of a wheat field. The golden waves one will find after they pass barren land and cross rugged mountains. It felt endless. The corners of her mouth slowly lifted as she imagined the exhilarating scene. When she could even hear the cry of a herd of water buffalos, it felt like she heard the rich sound of life. 

“..!”

“The will was the start of building a civilization. The beast that held the treasure of mankind in its heart wasn’t distinctive. Has he had it since birth? Did it develop later in life? I’m not sure, but what I do know is that he embraced it. That precious seed… Now, let’s assume that this creature wasn’t just a mere beast, but actually a human being carrying that treasure. He breaks out of traditions and sows seeds on barren lands that seem impossible to grow. It’s up to future generations to cherish it, bear precious fruits and bloom brilliant flowers. It will require generations of effort. The farmer doesn’t need to be disappointed if his seeds didn’t sprout in his life. It’s a task that will naturally be handed down to the next in line. If you want to see it pay off, have a child. In that sense, that curious beast from the beginning became a rather successful farmer.”

“…”

Ed smiled as he observed Lil’s reaction. At the same time, Lil contemplated the story and remained silent. Without saying anything, Ed cast his gaze beyond the market. Looking at the horizon, he eventually broke the silence.

“Do you understand why I’m telling you this?”

“No.”

“It seems that the Captain has one, too.”

“What?”

“Something precious. I was convinced by it today.”

“What… a seed?”

“I’ve been wanting to say this to the Captain for a long, long time…”

“…”

He returned his gaze to Lil. Instead of asking for an explanation, Lil only stared at him. Ed hesitated for a moment like a man trying to bring up something rather embarrassing.

“It’s an honour to have met someone like you in this short life.”

Ed used a vague sentence as his definite answer.

“…”

“My sarcasm about torture earlier was just to see if the Captain’s will was genuine. I apologise.”

Lil couldn’t tell if Ed’s words were true or false. 

‘He wanted to say this for a long time? And why is it an honour to have met someone like me? What a strange development…’ 

Lil looked at him a bit awkwardly as if she were seeing him, who always acted sly before, for the first time.

“What do you mean? How long ago?”

“It’s the result of keeping track of the gap between the ancient and the present times.”

“…Huh… I see, well, I’ve never even heard of such a thing before.”

It was unclear to Lil if Ed simply misunderstood her question or that he was waiting for an opportunity to change the subject out of embarrassment. But Ed continued to talk about his story with much enthusiasm.

“It’s the achievement of a prominent professor. The Imperial Clairaut doesn’t just teach medicine, you know? You can hear all kinds of myths there. It’s a real treasure trove for knowledge. Would you like to hear more?”

“There’s more?”

Ed stretched out his legs and nodded.

“Actually, the beast was indeed a human. When the humans who ruled the ancient world were destroyed by the wrath of the gods, the few surviving humans were embraced by the Mother of All Things as she took pity on them.”

“The surviving humans?”

“Yes, the Mother of All Things held them and when the gods momentarily turned their eyes away from the world, she safely anchored them. The children who crawled out of the boat were innocent creatures that knew nothing. With their pure souls, they were able to avoid the eyes of the gods. Then, when the world fell and the gods left, she stayed. The Mother of All Things who had to wait until the destruction was over, was left alone in the human world.”

While listening, Lil stared unconsciously at the green shining sea in the distance.

“…”

“She cried out of sadness because her brothers and sisters had abandoned her, and she cried out of pity for the humans left behind in the barren land. The sea began to recede with her grief. So over the years, the coast where they set off had been transformed into barren land. The water had evaporated… It’s just a little joke, but they say that the original sea didn’t have the bitter taste of salt as it has now.”

Ed laughed. Lil unconsciously followed his example and smiled without realising it.

“…”

“Anyway, this was the land the beast discovered. Some of the water that had disappeared came down as rain. The rain fell and fell till it formed rivers. The animals and plants that the gods, who were angry with the humans, didn’t pay attention to, were able to survive. The beasts happily settled in a land where life was alive and vibrant.”

“So, that land…”

“…Is the Central Continent we know today.”

Lil opened her mouth in astonishment. Thinking about it, there are hundreds of millions of people living on the Central Continent. She couldn’t even imagine how long that story had been flowing through time. 

‘And the fact that someone in the modern world is aware of this distant story…’

Lil asked bluntly.

“How can I believe you? Can you prove it?”

“Now the goddess of the sea… Originally, it was just ‘god’ in the ancient language, but I’ll call her a goddess for convenience. The name of the goddess of the sea, Orsay, has long been forgotten. No one calls her Orsay anymore, right? Instead, we use the word ‘mother’. Do you know why we call the sea that? She’s called the Mother of All Things, but to be more specific, she’s the mother of all living things. Even livestock survived by sipping the water of the river squeezed out of her. Plants that were dying were brought up by the rain, humans were even rescued by her hands. ‘Orsay’ was forgotten, but those innocent children knew. She embraced them and saved them. So the proof you seek can be seen anywhere and everywhere in the present world. Can you believe me now?”

“Why is this story about the origin not widely known?”

Ed shrugged his shoulders, dismissing it as nothing.

“Maybe it’s not the time to announce it widely.”

Ed, who actually was the ‘professor’ he spoke of and thereby the discoverer and researcher of this myth, decided it’d be best not to say anything about it, simply because he was lazy. He reasoned that if he was ever bored to death, he’d write a book about it. But for the time being, Ed just liked the fact that Lil was the first person to hear this story.