The process of repairing the damaged buildings went smoothly.
“The repair work is progressing quite rapidly,” Meliodas, who was participating in the reconstruction efforts, muttered to himself as he looked up at the nearly completed high-rise building.
A priest beside him replied with a grim expression, “To be honest... it is all thanks to the help of those monsters.”
In the direction they were looking, a group of worker ants was busy at work.
They carried heavy materials on their backs and scaled the steep outer walls, working seamlessly alongside the humans to carry out the construction.
The colony's worker ants had already accumulated vast experience in large-scale civil engineering projects.
When tens of thousands of them mobilized simultaneously, they could construct massive dams, roads, or fortresses in the blink of an eye.
This time, they were collaborating with the people leading the repairs of the damaged cities and villages of the old Goddess of Light Association, rapidly learning how to build houses and set up living infrastructure.
If the knowledge and experience required by the hive mind continued to accumulate, the Great Devourer would eventually be able to construct houses and cities without any local assistance at all.
Of course, unless there was a specific reason, they had no need to do so.
“Not only that, but our depleted food reserves are also recovering rapidly.”
Furthermore, just as Meliodas said, the Great Devourer possessed outstanding capabilities in agriculture and hunting.
The worker ants marched in neat lines to cultivate massive fields, while Gaia utilized the nutrient solution produced by the decomposers to release it through the roots in the soil, tremendously accelerating the growth rate of the crops.
Going a step further, they even processed the nutrient solution itself into a highly concentrated sweet water, distributing it to the reared subjects.
Since only a select few knew the actual ingredients of this sweet water, it was quite difficult to get the people to drink it without reservation.
Thanks to these efforts, the people—who had once feared widespread starvation after their lands were leveled—instead grew plump and healthy from the abundance of food and nutrients pouring in from all directions.
‘At this rate, we might be able to return to our old daily lives very soon.’
Meliodas believed that with the active assistance of the Great Devourer, the development of the protected zone would only accelerate, and all order could be restored within a few years at most.
However, the problem lay in the fact that this new order would be vastly different from the one they had enjoyed in the past.
“I... I don't understand. I know the Goddess sacrificed herself to save our lives, but at this rate, aren't we just becoming livestock to our mortal enemies?”
The priest beside him had lost his entire family in the recent war.
His parents had died in the bombardment that rained from the heavens, and his brother, who had fought alongside him, had perished under the sharp talons of the overwhelming swarm of Razorclaw Ravagers.
No matter how much the Great Devourer helped now, his deceased family members would never return.
Just because their lives were spared and their bellies were full did not mean their hatred and resentment would simply vanish.
Yuno, who had come looking for Meliodas, snorted disdainfully upon hearing this. “A full man cannot understand the pain of a starving one. As the defeated, it is already a miracle that you are alive. With one wrong step, every living soul on this land could have been wiped out. If you don't like it, go drown yourself in a basin right now.”
But Meliodas shook his head solemnly. “Be that as it may, we cannot completely dismiss this issue.”
After all, humans were not machines. Even if they had survived by some miracle after being defeated, it was impossible to expect them to forget all their resentment and hatred.
Of course, someone with Yuno's simple-minded way of thinking might be able to do so, but Yuno herself had harbored a grudge against the Goddess for decades, so she had no right to speak on the matter.
“Putting other matters aside, it is indeed difficult for those who have lost something to the colony to change their state of mind immediately. Ultimately, this is something we can only hope time will heal.”
Kane, who had arrived alongside Yuno, agreed with Meliodas's assessment.
This was because Kane, who had been researching how to efficiently manage the reared subjects, had actually given up halfway on the first generation of people who harbored direct hatred toward the Great Devourer.
Of course, it was not entirely without a solution.
As long as the chain of hatred was decisively severed at the first generation, they could rear the subsequent generations into loyal and devout servants.
The important thing was to ensure that hatred did not pass down through the generations.
Goddess Hestia's servants would perfectly assimilate with the colony over time, just like Hestia herself, who was now integrated with the Abyssal Palace.
“But Yuno, why did you come looking for me?”
Only then did Meliodas ask the reason for Yuno and Kane's visit.
Meliodas had now laid down all his arms and was living the life of an ordinary citizen in the protected zone. Ironically, he was experiencing a rather leisurely and peaceful daily life, the likes of which he had not seen in nearly a decade.
Being freed from the numerous responsibilities and duties he had shouldered as the Captain of the Empyrean Star Guard—a position that no longer existed—actually brought him a great sense of relief.
Meliodas glanced at Yuno and Kane.
Yuno had removed her symbiotic carapace ant helmet and armor, which were integrated with her body, revealing her true appearance as a young girl, while Kane had only taken off the mask that covered his face.
Yuno, in particular, had rarely taken off her armor or helmet even back during her days in the Empyrean Star Guard, to the point where some people did not even know what she actually looked like.
“I recommended you.”
Yuno grinned and pointed her finger toward the sky.
Meliodas's gaze naturally drifted toward the eastern sky where Yuno was pointing.
There, something floated high up in orbit, looking like a microscopic dot.
“Meliodas, this will be your first time meeting the Goddess alone, right?”
Upon hearing Yuno mention the Goddess, Meliodas's eyes widened.
Indeed, from the beginning of the war to its end, Meliodas had never forgotten that he was the Goddess's knight.
This was his mission and duty, having been born and raised within the sacred civilization.
Even though they had failed, and even though the Goddess had voluntarily become a prisoner of the monsters, his loyal paladin's heart had never wavered.
“Ha, look how your face changes the moment she's mentioned...”
Yuno clicked her tongue softly as she watched the atmosphere around Meliodas shift the instant the Goddess was mentioned.
She forced herself to swallow her complaint of 'I should have known and worn my armor.'
Rate on N.U.
