Shota's Isekai NTR Adventure Chapter 2088: History of the elementals

"It appears that our response has left you feeling let down."

The straightforwardness of the flame elemental ancestors took me by surprise, though I found myself without any suitable reply.

After all, they had been the ones pushing for this to happen.

In the end, the only thing I managed to utter was, "What do you expect from me?"

At first, neither of them spoke, until one suddenly let out a sigh and continued, "To compensate you, allow me to share a bit about us elementals."

My eyebrows furrowed involuntarily upon hearing that, yet it was clear nothing would sway the determination of this flame elemental ancestor.

Thus, I decided to hear out exactly what revelation they intended to share.

"It’s straightforward: we elementals were mere weaklings trampled by others back then. Still, we lacked the awareness to recognize it."

Such a peculiar self-assessment from them, but the ancestors weren’t finished yet.

"This held true for every race in those ancient days. We all stumbled blindly through this world, figuring it out as we went—until a particular race emerged one day."

Their tone carried an eerie undertone as they spoke...

Particularly with the enigmatic gaze they fixed on me.

Deep down, I had a hunch about what was coming, so I held my tongue and waited for their words.

"I bet you’ve figured it out already—it was the humans."

Just as anticipated, that was my thought, though I still couldn’t grasp the reason for bringing this up. Humans had always existed, after all, without implying the transformation they described.

Yet the tale itself was straightforward enough.

Leveraging the cleverness bestowed by the gods, humans expanded everywhere. Other races watched and absorbed knowledge from them.

One could argue that humans paved the way for all those other races.

But that logic escaped me entirely...

"Haven’t humans only gained prominence lately? According to the tales from other races, humans were once oppressed until their rapid breeding allowed them to overwhelm in numbers. There’s no evidence of humans dominating as vastly as these flame elemental ancestors suggest."

As though reading my mind, the flame elemental ancestors responded, "In the war of the gods, humans were the first to switch sides. Their sharp minds bred insatiable greed, and some fell entirely to it, joining the forces of Destruction."

It required no brilliance to realize they shared this for a purpose.

Their stare as they spoke made their intent toward me abundantly obvious.

It served as a cautionary message, in one sense.

In another, it felt like a veiled intimidation.

Yet I sensed a deeper, personal edge in their voices too, as if they’d endured the sting of human treachery firsthand long ago.

Probing further wasn’t simple, and they didn’t appear eager to elaborate anyway.

"What became of the humans once the war concluded?"

With a derisive huff, the flame elemental ancestors answered, "What options remained? Utterly tainted, their fate was sealed in only one manner."

This revelation didn’t shock me and neatly filled the voids in my thoughts.

Humans had once ruled as a formidable force in antiquity, only to face annihilation for their deeds.

Denying it proved futile, given the precedents already established—like the downfall of the former Democratic Union.

At minimum, it curbed any humans tempted to repeat history.

Beyond that, the gods’ greater involvement now played a role.

Specifically, they’d selected a human champion to safeguard against continental race conflicts.

Concurrently, the Holy Empire stood as a bastion of devout humans loyal to the gods.

Evidently, the gods had absorbed lessons from antiquity and implemented safeguards. They ensured humans wouldn’t stray as before.

This shed light on their choice of me as well.

"We won’t falter like the humans of old." That was my declaration once I’d absorbed it all.

The pair of flame elemental ancestors squinted at me in silence, appraising the sincerity behind my words.

Hence, I met their gaze steadily, holding nothing back.

"We’ll keep a close eye."

Those were their parting words before vanishing entirely.

Far beyond a mere elemental advisory, this stemmed from a deeply personal grudge for these two flame elemental ancestors.

It left me pondering the ancient events that forged their demeanor.

Glancing at the surrounding flame elementals, confusion etched every face.

Clearly, they were in the dark too...