"Yeah. Nice to meet you. The human race finally has its protector again after thousands of years." The dolphin then glanced at the other magical beasts, and they then disappeared inside the woods, returning to their territories. "Sorry, but the talks between protectors are highly classified."

Kai was amazed and observed the situation. "I just realized my identity not long ago."

"From the lion?" The dolphin asked.

"!!!" Kai widened his eyes and became on guard. He didn't know how the dolphin could see through him.

"No need to be afraid. Don't you know the legend of my race?"

Kai furrowed his eyebrows before shaking his head. "Unfortunately, I haven't researched it."

"Haha…Is that so? Then it can't be helped. My power is related to the mind… That's the only thing I can say about myself."

Kai closed his eyes for a second before bowing his head. "Thank you."

"Oh?!" The dolphin was amazed by his action. It was considered normal for protectors to not share the information about their skills since their power was necessary and too big to handle. If it was leaked and the other protectors knew, it would be a troublesome situation that might lead to its own death.

That was why the dolphin didn't tell him anything more other than the single clue.

"What is your name, young man? Mine is Txpthep…Well, in your language, it's Tristep or something along the line." The dolphin introduced himself.

"My name is Kai Carter."

"I see. Kai Carter. I don't know how you gain that ability of yours, including the lion's ancestor consciousness, but I need to remind you. You are the leader of your race, so refrain from getting influenced by those from other races unless you have a certain relationship."

"Thank you for the advice. I don't have a plan for doing that for the time being." Kai nodded.

"That's good then. We are too scarce in this world after all. Unfortunately, I can't really travel too long because of my limitation." The dolphin sighed. "And the only one I can ask to play with me to deal with boredom is Clot."

"Clot?" Kai tilted his head in confusion before suspecting it was the shadow.

"She will come to us a bit later. Well, I have informed him to meet us, but considering her laziness, it will take a while. In the meantime, how about we talk with each other? This is a rare occasion that I can meet another protector like me." The dolphin smiled.

Kai thought for a moment and nodded.

"Since I am the senior here, how about I teach you a few things that you want to know."

"Then…" Kai immediately took the chance and looked at his surroundings.

"Ah, them? I just asked them to leave us alone."

"No. The next thing."

"Oh. You didn't hear it wrong. No people should learn the talk between protectors. That's why we are only eligible to become a full-fledged protector after learning many languages that other species use. You know what I mean?"

"I see. It's a kind of not having a translator, so you need to learn it by yourself."

"I don't know your term, but I think it's something similar. Anyway, you can't say a single thing about the talk between rulers. I hope that you can adhere to this unspoken rule among protectors. Well, I once ventured outside this place and found two more protectors…And they were the ones teaching me about this unspoken rule. And that's why I chased the two by your side away."

Kai nodded. "I understand. I will keep it a secret."

"Thank you."

"Then, may I ask the second question?"

"Sure. Ask me anything."

"Are our existences dangerous? I mean, loving war or something." Kai asked.

"Not really. Unless you have a hidden intention, we always love peace and want our race to live peacefully here. In fact, even the most prideful lion race doesn't have that ambition. Only the humans dared to control the entire world…And, I think there was another one, but I didn't get any information about them from my mentor."

Since they started talking, Kai decided to sit down on the ground so it would make it easier for them to talk.

"Mentor?"

"Yes. My mentor is the granny, or that's how many called her, including me. She is from Whale Race."

Kai remembered Rapakha's warning, and the whale must be the mentor he was talking about.

"You seem to know my mentor as well? Have you met her? She told me not to meet her for a few decades, so I was stuck here." The dolphin sighed.

"Ahaha…I don't know actually. I only heard her from someone."

"Oh? That's good."

"By the way, are you coming here because you want to meet us or just to get information for your fake ruler?"

Kai never expected to hear the word "Fake Ruler" from his mouth, but it seemed in the eyes of the protectors, another protector was their real ruler.

"Nope. I am here just for myself." Kai smiled, assuring him.

"Oh." The dolphin nodded and felt a bit more relaxed.

"I am curious about your strength actually. I mean, the magic particles were released not long ago, so how could you become so strong so quickly?" Kai asked.

"To think you have already gotten the knowledge about the magic particles. I thought the humans had abandoned such teaching…Or did you learn it from the lion?"

"Yes."

The dolphin nodded. "In that case, I will explain it to you. If you become a full-fledged protector, you will learn how to preserve your power. It's true that the magic particles were released not long ago, but some remained in this world. With that small amount, it was enough to preserve our strength. That's why we didn't get stronger this fast. We only released the preserved power."

"Now I see. I have never thought that is the case. This is more intriguing since I have never thought the Earth I am living in until now is such a place."

"Huhu…Interesting, isn't it? Unfortunately, no matter how hard you try, you won't be able to discover everything." The dolphin fell silent before asking Kai a serious question. "I want you to answer this honestly. Are you going to be a threat to this world?"

Kai looked at him and fell silent for two minutes. He was gathering his thoughts to make sure he didn't tell him the wrong answer. "Actually, I have no need of power as long as I can live together with my wives peacefully. Unfortunately, the world isn't that peaceful, so I am required to take up a sword."

"I can understand that, including that roaming mermaid." The dolphin sighed.

"Eh? You know her?" Kai widened his eyes.

"Of course. I have been observing your movement since that war. I even came to the river near it to follow the situation of the war."

"What?! I never noticed you."

"It's my ability. Well, I even met a group that killed another dolphin…But not from my family. I didn't know much about them, but one of them was far more powerful than the others. I used my power to attack their minds, so they didn't discover me."

"Oh?" Kai narrowed his eyes. "There was also a case of the sudden attack from this place…"

"I meant no harm…No, we meant no harm. The reason why we sent the magical beasts here was not to help either of you but to stop the war by the appearance of the third party. Unfortunately, we were stuck because your human race forced us to stay here. And I couldn't really make my appearance since it would become a bit too political in the eyes of other races."

"To stop the war?" Kai was bewildered by his statement. He never thought that the millions of magical beasts from this forest just wanted to end the war.

"I said it earlier, right? We, protectors, are to assume the world's peace. That's our purpose. However, there are still some that want to have a bigger territory or even the world like you humans…Either way, as long as there is a need to create another calamity, we will, without hesitation, sacrifice our lives."

"…" Kai fell silent, wondering whether he could say the same thing. Would he be able to sacrifice himself for world peace?

"Haha…You, youngsters, only need to stay behind and let the old bones do the job. After all, you still have wives in your generations, but…You might feel different in the future. You will stop feeling anything and might even want to kill yourself because you don't want to live anymore. Some of the protectors killed themselves after all." The dolphin laughed.

Kai sighed, feeling a bit relieved.

"Look! That expression of yours is the one convincing me that what I said is true."

He could only scratch his head, embarrassed.

"Well, the young need to enjoy their lives more, so no need to think about difficult stuff." The dolphin nodded. "I just hope that when the time comes, you don't bring chaos to this world."

"By the way, what will happen if a protector wants to rule the world? I mean, he/she must have felt stronger than anyone else, right?"

"Nice question. The answer is simple. First, we call the calamity to cause a ruckus in his colonies. If it's not enough to destroy them, the protectors might come together to defeat him and reduce his race to a certain point that almost makes their race extinct. That's all."

"That—" Suddenly, Kai stopped and rose from the ground, looking at the sky to his left. Something was coming, and it was big.

"Don't worry. I heard her in the last two minutes. My range of detection is farther than you. She is our guest."