I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

Jill silently covered her eyes with the back of her hand.

I don't know when it started, but the wise king is no longer here.

Jill never saw that man who was like a teacher and a father to her again, for some time now.

They rarely go to the Sea of ​​Stars anymore. Chen rarely takes the initiative to bring Jill there, and if anything happens, Jill usually has to go find him herself.

For example, personally throwing the transformation device that was always forced to recite lines into Chen's body for modification.

Now, the belt automatically transforms you just by inserting the energy bottle into the groove, without having to shout those embarrassing lines anymore.

Honestly, thinking back to that day when they were shouting their lines, Gilles almost wanted to pull out the Ea sword and kill them all.

Unfortunately……

Aside from the two girls and Black Rabbit, Gil seems to be no match for Izayoi and White Demon.

Those two were totally cheating!

Jill slowly opened her eyes.

"Master, are you awake?"

Leticia, dressed in a blue and white maid outfit, greeted Gil.

"Ugh... I'm awake...!"

Just as Jill was about to get up, his keen senses told him that there seemed to be something in his bed.

“…Brother Jill?” A cute girl with beautiful long silver hair popped her head out from under the covers.

Esther gazed at Gil with her mysterious, purplish-blue eyes, her tone tinged with doubt. Her expression was so adorable it could make anyone's nose bleed.

However, Leticia's expression suddenly turned serious.

"Don't be nervous, Leticia."

As Gilles wrapped Esther up in the blanket like a caterpillar, just like before, he poked the sword-wielding elf girl's cheek with amusement, "This girl..."

“I am Gil’s sword,” Esther said.

“Yes, that’s right.” Jill nodded.

Leticia looked enlightened. "So it was a gift from the master?" Gil paused his hand that was poking Esther's cheek. "Well, you could say that."

Gifts exist in many forms. The gifts possessed by an individual are considered a type of ability, which is directly linked to the soul.

This type of gift is part of the individual's soul and cannot be forcibly taken away without the consent of the master who controls the gift.

Other gifts are materialized gifts that can be bestowed upon weapons, giving them power to be used by the wielder and thus bringing them to life.

These kinds of gifts can be forcibly taken away. However, because of this, some of the materialization-type gifts are extremely powerful and of a very high level, and they have very demanding requirements for the user.

If the requirements cannot be met, then even if it is forcibly taken away, it cannot be used.

In addition, living beings can also be a blessing.

Just like Ester in front of us, Enkidu and Ester, who signed an elven contract with Gil, can actually be considered as Gil's blessings, and could even be collected by the blessing card that Gil currently possesses.

However, Gil never treated them as his possessions. Enki was his best friend, and Esther was just a sister who needed care.

However, in Leticia's view, Ester, who calls herself Gil's sword, is Gil's gift.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Leticia looked at Jill, who nodded, so Leticia went up and opened the door.

A little girl with fox ears pushed a food cart carrying breakfast through the door.

"Brother Jill, breakfast is ready!" The little girl named Lily gave Jill a sweet smile.

"Thanks, Lily." Jill smiled and stroked Lily's little head.

"Hoo hoo..." Lily felt very comfortable being stroked by Jill, and even let out a comfortable hum.

Jill stroked her chin. "By the way, Lily, take me to the community's land later. I need to start restoring the land as well."

“Really? That’s great!” Lily smiled.

“Tell me about the situation of our community’s land first.” Jill glanced at the food cart, her nose twitching slightly. “Huh? Wasn’t it said that most of the land in the community was abandoned? Why has there been a smell of vegetables for the past month? Do we have any restored land?”

After listening to Jill's question, Lily nodded vigorously. "Yes! Although it's very cramped, we've cultivated a plot of land behind the main building, and we're all working together to grow it. If the land doesn't lose its vitality, we can raise livestock, or build a large vegetable garden like before..."

“There used to be a vast vegetable garden…” Jill murmured to herself.

Lily swung her two tails vigorously, her eyes gleaming, and pointed out the window, answering, "Yes! On the road back to the reservoir from the main building, ahead of the main road, there used to be a very, very, really vast farmland. There were also pastures, and twice a year, during the changing seasons, a harvest festival would be held. Although it's now a destroyed and lifeless land... it used to have special vegetable gardens where famous spirit herbs or datura were grown, and many, many other wonderful farms...!"

Jill recalled the land and frowned slightly. It was a vast piece of land; if used to grow vegetables or other agricultural products, feeding the [No name] children would be no problem at all.

But now, that land has lost its vitality. Jill thought for a long time, then gently rubbed her temples. "So, in a little while, we'll have to ask you to take us to see what's going on with that land?"

"Okay, sure!" Lily's energetic demeanor cheered Jill up considerably.

"Well then, you go ahead and do your own thing. Good luck!" Jill patted Lily's head.

"Okay!" Lily nodded energetically and ran out.

……

At this time, [Thousand Eyes], 2105380, is located at the outer branch.

"Phew... [Thousand Eyes]... This must be it?" A figure carrying a long, narrow cloth bag that looked like it was meant to hold swords stood at the shop entrance.

"Hello, sir, what would you like to do for me?" The female shop assistant bowed to the figure.

"Ah, I'm here to find someone."

Her voice was clear and crisp, clearly that of a young girl.

"Find someone?"

“Yes, that’s the one I’m looking for—” the girl handed over the note, “It’s him.”

Chapter 444 The problem children seem to be getting into trouble!

The outer residential area of ​​Box Garden 2105380, [No name] former farm site.

Black Rabbit and Leticia stood on this white land that looked completely deserted.

Dressed in a maid outfit, with her beautiful blonde hair tied up with a specially made ribbon, Leticia sadly shook her head and squatted down on the spot.

"...It's so desolate, it's hard to believe this is the farm area. Now all that's left are rocks and gravel."

The land that had fertile soil three years ago no longer exists.

Jill reached out, picked up a handful of soil, and looked thoughtful.

It has almost lost its vitality, but there is still hope.

The black rabbit beside Leticia lowered its head with a melancholy expression.

"I'm so sorry. If the water problem could be solved, I could even take care of the children..."

"Huh? Oh, no, I'm not blaming you. After all, this isn't a situation that humans can improve on their own." Leticia waved her hands frantically.

Then she looked at Jill, who was checking the land's condition, and asked, "Master, how is it?"

"...It's regrettable, but this land is no longer viable; it has lost its vitality. Even with water, living things have no chance to take root and inhabit it. If we want the soil to revive, if we let it recover naturally, it will take at least a hundred years."

Jill said this

They both sighed at the same time.

For the two who knew the land was once fertile, the current state of lifeless farmland must be an unbearable sight.

The land that once boasted golden rice paddies swaying in the wind, abundant with brightly colored fruits, and that sustained the lifeblood of the community, is no more. A wave of sadness washed over the two of them.

The Demon King's attack on the world of the Little Garden, the only and most severe natural disaster, caused such immense damage that it not only robbed the community of its companions and pride, but also stripped them of their future.

Leticia stood up, brushed the sand off the hem of her maid outfit, and spoke with a stern expression:

"...Truly astonishing power. I consider myself to have lived for quite some time, yet I have encountered only a handful of demon lords with such strength."

With grave expressions on their faces, Black Rabbit and Leticia began to assess the Demon King's strength.

Both the residential and agricultural areas eventually collapsed in a strange way, as if they had gone through a long period of time.

If that's the case, then the reason is quite clear.

Black Rabbit stated his conclusion with a tense expression: "Manipulating time to cause the self-destruction of the land... On such a massive scale, the race capable of doing this must be at least a Protoss, and one that can even control the movement of celestial bodies, right?"

"If it is a Celestial Spirit that governs the movement of celestial bodies, then it is a monster of the same level as the strongest level ruler, the White Yaksha... or the Golden Demon King, the Halloween Queen."

The two fell silent, their expressions bitter. The weight of that silence was a testament to the formidable power of their nemesis, the Demon King.

Jill simply listened to their conversation while her mind wandered to other things.

“How strange…” Jill murmured, “If that’s the case, why are the upper echelons of those miniature gardens remaining indifferent?”

After hearing Jill's words, Leticia felt a chill run down her spine.

Yes, if a demon king possesses the power to render the land lifeless, he must be at least a three-digit level demon king.

Such a natural disaster should be condemned by the higher-ups of the Little Garden...!

“Just think about it.” Jill straightened up. “The so-called merit that overshadows the master… it seems that this is not just a phrase that only appears in ancient China.”

"...Could it be..." Black Rabbit looked at Jill, unable to utter the words.

“We’ll find out the truth sooner or later.” Jill swayed as she stood up, gazing into the distance. “Right now, the priority is to restore this land.”

“However, we can’t rush this.” Jill opened her palm, watching the yellow sand slowly flow out of her hand, and said, “Let’s restore some of the land for planting first. The children can’t take care of too much land.”

A thoughtful look flickered in Gil's crimson eyes.

I have a bad feeling...

"Black...Black Rabbit Sister! No...something's wrong!"

The three turned to face the direction from which the shout came. There, at the other end of the road leading to the main building, one of the older members of the group—a fox girl with fox ears and two tails—was rushing towards them with a look that looked like she was about to cry.

"Lily? What happened?"

"Miss Asuka... Miss Asuka brought Master Izayoi and Miss Yoh... Ah, this... this! It's a letter she left behind!"

Lily, wagging her two tails, handed the letter in her hand to Black Rabbit.

To Black Rabbit: