Seed of Titan-Chapter 145: Four Reasons Why

Drai was speechless. He had many ideas on what Madeleine would tell him to do, but fetching milk certainly wasn’t one of them.

"What’s wrong? Didn’t you say you would do anything?" she questioned upon seeing Drai’s bafflement.

"N-nothing! I was just a bit shocked..."

Madeleine smirked. "I understand. You just started living here, so you’re still in survival mode. This task must seem unusual, if not ludicrous, to you."

Drai chuckled nervously, feeling like he’d just been caught. He did think baking was quite over-the-top for someone living in a wilderness.

Clacking her tongue, she said, "Without these small joys, my solitary life would be unbearable, and I would’ve asked for a reassignment decades ago. Why do you think I’m keeping all these animals here? It’s mainly to distract me from overthinking my life choices."

With slight hesitation, Drai asked, "Then why don’t you just leave if you don’t truly enjoy your assignment? If I were in your shoes, I would probably do that."

"Because someone has to do it. If not me, someone else would be sent here, and I don’t trust anyone but myself to handle this project. Besides, it’s not like I got nothing in return."

Drai raised his brows. "What reward is even worth spending decades here?"

"Heh, it’s a secret. Maybe I’ll tell you someday. Now, will you do it or not? I can always retract my offer, you know?"

Drai nodded profusely and hurriedly grabbed the jerrycan.

"But where can I get milk? Are there cows here?" he inquired.

"Head to the meadows and find a herd of beasts that look like horses. Then find a female that just gave birth—they’re usually with their offspring and protected by the rest of the herd. You can fill the whole can just by milking her."

"Oh, okay. Then I’ll be going." He immediately put away the jerrycan.

As Drai was halfway on his way out, Madeleine suddenly stopped him. "Wait, take this," she said as she flicked something toward him.

Drai caught the item—it was a metallic ring with intricate inscriptions. There was also a tiny protruding part on its outer surface.

"What is this?" he asked, inspecting the glistening ring.

"Try clicking the button."

Drai complied, and instantly, the ring projected a 2D image which Drai immediately recognized.

"A map!"

The map shown by the projection was refined and filled with details, even having contour lines to show the land’s topography and a blinking dot to indicate the user’s position. He noticed that some parts were overlapping with those of Max’s crude map.

Other than its refinement, the main difference between the two maps was this one didn’t have weird-sounding names on it. The areas were rather objectively named, such as ’Black-Birch Forest’, which was their current location.

"You can have it—consider it a gift. Now you won’t get lost, so make sure to return quickly," Madeleine remarked while cleaning up the dishes.

"Thanks!"

Drai was so excited that he nearly squished a critter on his way out. Even as he was nearing the edge of the forest, he was still admiring the tech.

’How could Madeleine’s standard of living differ so much from Max’s?’ he mused. ’Is it because she’s on an assignment and not randomly transported here? But this ring must’ve been made after she was done mapping out the area, and I don’t think she made this by herself since she doesn’t resemble a techwiz or an artificer. Hmm... I wonder if her organization shipped this thing here, maybe along with other items such as her kitchenware and tableware.’

While he was pondering, a large figure suddenly appeared before him.

"Drai! Where the hell have you been!?"

Max was standing there, looking simultaneously worried and relieved. He had faint dark circles under his eyes, and his beard and hair were messier than usual.

"Ahah... A few things happened..." Drai said with an apologetic look. Madeleine hadn’t mentioned anything about keeping their encounter a secret, so he figured it was okay to tell Max about it.

Following this, the two walked side-by-side, with Drai informing him of what had happened since they were separated from each other.

By the time Drai was done talking, Max’s concerned expression had changed into that of utter bafflement and disbelief. Everything Drai told him was absurd: stumbling upon a stone house, meeting an old lady that seemed to have lived here even longer than himself, the fact that she was living lavishly—even having dozens of pets, the mysterious organization she’s working for, the woman’s versatile powers, her ability to communicate with the outside world, and her peculiar request.

Of all the things Drai had mentioned, his three-day kowtowing was the least surprising.

Just when Max was beginning to suspect if the lad had consumed some kind of psychoactive plant and these were all just figments of his imagination, Drai pressed his ring, revealing the virtual map.

"My god... You weren’t kidding?!" Max exclaimed as he stared at the projection in shock and awe.

Seeing that the man was highly intrigued by the tech, Drai offered to lend him the ring.

Max hesitated before refusing. "It’s fine, I was just a bit fascinated. Besides, maybe that Madeleine doesn’t want me to meddle with her gift."

Drai furrowed his brows as he sensed apprehension in Max’s voice.

"What?" Max asked, noticing Drai’s scrutiny.

"Uhm... Are you scared of Madeleine?"

Max was taken aback by this bluntness, but he quickly replied, "Yeah, a bit. Why? Do you find it strange, or maybe cowardly?"

"Not cowardly, but yeah—it’s quite surprising, given how strong you are," Drai admitted.

Max chuckled before patting Drai’s back. "Listen, Drai. There’s more to this world than raw strength. Do you want to know why I’m treading carefully around her?"

Drai quietly nodded.

Max started explaining. "First, she’s a bad match for me, and for you too actually. I don’t know which of us would be stronger in a direct fight, but I’ve explored this place countless times and never even glimpsed her house, so her illusion must be highly effective on me. Furthermore, she almost certainly separated us on purpose that night so you’d visit her alone, which is unsettling—I never even noticed when or how she used her ability on me."

Drai nodded in agreement, feeling that he would also be totally helpless against Madeleine if she avoided any frontal confrontation and relied on her illusory abilities instead.

"Second," Max continued, "her backing must be really powerful. None of the top organizations in Rivideria and Gerdatti have ever managed to gain a foothold here, let alone establish a research station. I don’t know what kind of group she’s working for, but I definitely don’t want to get on their bad side if I can help it."

Drai also agreed with this point, which was why he never mentioned anything related to his first venture to Madeleine. He feared that the underground jungle and mysterious base were secrets he should’ve never come across.

He actually wanted to warn Max to keep his venture a secret if he happened to meet Madeleine in the future, but Drai hadn’t forgotten about the woman’s ability to peer through the forest, so he decided to do it later.

"Third, I’m probably indebted to her. I think she was the one who kept those beasts from following me here in the past."

Drai’s eyes widened as the realization hit him. "So she’s the one who stopped the swarm that was chasing us?"

Max nodded. "That’s my guess. I always thought there was something odd about the fog keeping creatures out, but from what you’ve said, it’s likely Madeleine has been guarding this place for some reason.

"Honestly, I don’t think all the fog here is her ability, since it would probably require a tremendous amount of mana to sustain, though she might actually be capable of that. But I have a feeling that the fog helps with her skill, maybe extending its reach or empowering it."

Drai recalled his conversation with Madeleine and wondered why it hadn’t occurred to him to question her about these matters. Perhaps the convoluted discussion on the Ark of Genesis had dulled his inquisitiveness.

"Lastly, there might be a huge benefit in befriending her, and not just merely contacting the outside world."

Drai nodded again. "Yeah, you’ll get to eat a lot of delicious food."

"That too, but I’m not talking about that," Max replied. "I don’t know why this never crossed your mind, but Madeleine might just be our escape ticket."