"Ah! I lost again!"
"Me next, milord! It's my turn!" The sounds of children playing filled the
street.
I picked up the small iron top the kid had sent flying. I'd thought to make
some toys for the kids.
I'd been teaching them how to spin it properly. They'd picked up on it pretty
fast. There was a makeshift arena made out of a bucket with a cloth to protect
the sides where the kids were having heated top battles.
Needless to say, my top was the best, and before long the kids had made it
their goal to beat me. As of now, they had yet to succeed. Bwahaha, they were
fools to underestimate the top spinning skills my grandfather passed down to
me.
"Alright, that's all for today. Here, I'll give you all your own tops so, be good
kids and go home, okay?"
"Really?!"
"Yaaay!"
"I'm gonna be your servant when I grow up, milord!"
If I could buy retainers for the price of a single top, I could probably hire an
army of servants.
I watched the kids run happily home, and spotted a familiar figure standing
nearby out of the corner of my eye.
A smiling old gentleman with a sturdy build and a thick white beard. There
was a pair of fox ears growing out of his head, and a bushy tail sprouting from
his back.
"If it isn't Olba. How long have you been standing there?"
"It has been far too long, master Touya. Or should I now address you as His
Highness, the Grand Duke of Brunhild?" It was the Mismede merchant, Olba.
The father of Olga and Arma, and uncle to Nikola, one of my own knights.
"I did not expect to find someone of your stature here, playing with children
in the street. It was so unusual that I couldn't help but stop to watch.
However..." Grinning, Olba plucked one of the tops left behind in the makeshift
arena.
"This is a truly unusual toy. I have not seen its like before. And its structure is
so simple. Would you be willing to let my company sell this creation of yours?"
"Yeah, that's fine. It isn't exactly something I came up with anyway, and it's
not like the manufacturing methods are a secret. Though, if you could, I'd like
you price it low enough that children can afford it."
"Hmm. If I kept the price that low, there would be no reason for people to
buy more than one. In which case..." He really was a merchant to the core.
Already, he was calculating how to maximize earnings. If he kept the price low,
he'd have to sell large quantities to make a profit. So unless he had an incentive
to produce in bulk, there was no point in selling it.
For other toys, you could expect people to come back for more after they
broke their first one. However, tops didn't really break easily. He did have a
point. In that case...
"What if I made different varieties... Wouldn't that solve our problem, making
them fun to collect? For example, I could make them in different colors, put the
various family crests on some, maybe images of Dragons and knights on others.
Wouldn't that make kids want to gather all the different kinds?"
"That's perfect! Even if they don't break, kids will want to buy a bunch that
way. If we take advantage of that... brilliant!" Maybe I shouldn't have said take
advantage of. That made it sound sinister. But it was true that making them a
collector's item he could produce as many as he wanted. Well kids would
probably be happy with just one, and the adults that had an interest in
collecting would have the money for more.
"This country truly is a wonderful place. There are so many opportunities for a
merchant here. Better yet, it seems most merchants haven't discovered that
fact yet!" His eyes were glimmering at all the possibilities for profit. It seemed
that he wanted to open a Strand Company branch store here. And in fact, the
initial purpose of his visit had been to obtain approval for that.
As they operated internationally, allowing them to establish an office here
would certainly make it easier to import and export goods. There was no reason
not to give him permission.
I decided to call over old man Naito and Nikola, to have them help figure out a
suitable location for their store. Nikola was more of a bodyguard than a
merchant, but I was sure he'd enjoy the opportunity to talk to his uncle so I
decided to bring him as well.
I let Olba decide how he was going to sell the tops. For formality's sake, the
country was entitled to ten percent of his profits on it.
I never expected that years down the line my top would be a highly coveted
item that nobles from all over were willing to pay ludicrous sums to obtain.
◇ ◇ ◇
"All right, I can use magic to preserve its hardness. Then, just in case it breaks,
let's give it a restoration function. Now, if I [Program] it to absorb the
surrounding magic..." Recently, I've been busy creating weaponry using the
Phrase crystals we'd gathered.
After all, it was an item that changed magic into hardness. The greater
amount of magic it received, the tougher it became. It also increased its cutting
ability, as well. That was the secret behind the sharpness of the Phrase's
attacks.
I filled the crystal with a significant amount of magic. That allowed me to
replicate Phrase's hardness, sharpness and even its regenerative abilities.
"And that's how I made this sword. The first one of its kind. I call it 'Touka.'"
"Touka..." Yae took the colorless, translucent sword from its sheath. The
crystalline blade was reminiscent of ice. The light coming from outside the
workshop gave it a brilliant shine.
"Just so you know, I made it automatically absorb magic from the
surroundings — primarily the air itself — so I don't think it will ever run out of
that. If that ever happens, though, you should know it by how well it cuts. Just
fill it up with magic and it should be back to normal." She tested its sharpness
on a piece of iron I'd prepared, and the blade cut through it like paper even
though she just lightly touched it. This sharpness is borderline scary.
"This should be able to cut through the Phrase. You have my thanks, Touyadono." After putting Touka into its sheath — which was made of a Phrase
crystal, too, but painted to not be translucent — Yae looked at me and gave me
a blissful smile. That made the creation more than worth it.
However, behind her, I saw four highly familiar faces — all pouting at me.
"...I've made things for you too, so stop looking at me like that." First, with Lu
being a dual-wielder, I gave her two short swords. They were pretty much just
like Touka.
I didn't have any weaponry for Yumina and Linze, but I gave them both a set
of Phrase crystal bullets. I set them to, upon landing, create an [Explosion]
behind them, causing them to get wedged into the target.
Though the [Explosion] itself wouldn't have much effect, it worked pretty well
as a propellant. I also made the bullets sharp and used magic to increase that
sharpness even further. The idea behind it was based on a fictional weapon that
used explosives to launch a high-speed metal stake — the pile bunker.
Then there were Elze's gauntlets, which made good use of the crystals'
toughness.
I'd spent some time thinking on how I could make their power more focused,
and I'd ended up adding some brutal-looking, cone-shaped attachments on the
fists. Two sharp horns — left and right — focused on a single point. It was easy
to imagine just how destructive a hit from those would be...
Normally, they would be hidden inside the back of the gauntlets, and I made
it pop out when she made her fists face forward — a sort of "pulverize mode,"
so to speak.
"Just so you know, it's dangerous to use it outside of battles, so don't keep it
in that state when—" Suddenly, a crash. Right as I was saying that, the stone
spread out on the workshop grounds was pulverized. Damn it! I know you want
to try them out, but that's gonna make Rosetta cry!
"Not bad. Breaking things is much easier than normal."
"That's because I've made it that way... Ahh man..." As I was thinking of what
excuse I'd make when Rosetta saw what happened here, I heard the sound of
trees falling down.
"Impressive sharpness."
"Amazing! The trees are so large, yet they get cut like radishes!" As Yae and
Lu turned gleeful due to the effectiveness of their blades, I looked at the fallen
trees and concluded that no excuse would work now.
Guess I'll bite the bullet and get scolded... I'm sorry, Rosetta. It's odd, though.
How did it come to this? Yumina and Linze, too, were putting the bullets into
their gun chambers, so I somehow got them to stop. I couldn't allow the
casualties to increase. Why are my wives so keen on fighting? Good grief.
After testing the weaponry, we made our way back to the castle, where we
were met with a panicked Lapis. Did something happen?
"Sir... No... Your Majesty. You have messengers from another country. Please
get appropriately dressed and go to Kousaka." Eh? Messengers? That's a first. I
wonder what country they're from... My Duchy of Brunhild was gradually
becoming a proper country. Naturally, international relations were next, but I
haven't made any preparations for this.
My country was surrounded by Regulus in the east and Belfast in the west.
That meant that there was no chance of me getting invaded as long as I was on
good terms with these two countries.
However, that didn't mean that not getting along with other countries was a
good idea. Every nation had their motives and methods, and there was always
the possibility that they could do something indirectly.
Still, so far, not a single nation considered my new, small country to be worth
interacting with. The countries in the western alliance knew me very well and I
interacted with them often. However, I didn't know how to react if the
messenger came from a country I didn't know.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Your Majesty, Grand Duke of Brunhild. I
am Nesto Renaud, a messenger sent here on behalf of Elias Altra, Pope of the
Ramissh Theocracy."
"And I am Phyllis Rugit."
"Very well." I sat on the throne in my throne room. Kousaka — the ex-Takeda
Elite Four member — was standing next to me and throwing me glances.
I know, I know. I have to avoid saying much and leave most of it to you. After
all, we didn't know what they wanted. Rather than saying something
unnecessary, it was better to just stay silent. "Silence is golden," as they say.
Also, I had little of the so-called "majesty" about me; I had to be considerate so
they wouldn't underestimate me.
"We wholeheartedly welcome you. Now, might we hear what is your business
here?" Kousaka spoke to the messengers. The person before me — Nesto —
was a grown man with short, blond hair. He was clad in a fancy white robe with
golden embroidery on it. At first glance, he looked like a priest. He appeared to
be over 40 years of age. His hair seemed kinda weird, though.
The person next to him — Phyllis — was a quiet, bookish-looking girl with
light purple hair in a bob cut. She looked about as old as me. Her robe was
white, too. It wasn't nearly as flashy as Nesto's, though.
They looked like priests of the Ramissh Theocracy. They worshiped the god of
light — 'Lars,' I believe. If they were priests there, then they had quite a lot of
political power.
One of them — Nesto — spoke up.
"Our theocracy's pope — Elias Altra — wishes to befriend the Duchy of
Brunhild. We also wish to propagate the Church of Lars in your lands by having
you accept it as your state religion. If you are willing to do that, Ramissh
Theocracy will recognize you as a sister country and always support you."
...Huh? State religion? As in, one that's protected by law?
"We invite you to undergo a baptism and begin building a church in your
lands. If you follow the teachings of Lars, the god of light, your nation will surely
become more prosperous than ever before." Nesto spoke those words with
great zeal and enthusiasm, but I felt the exact opposite, and it only got stronger
with every word spoken.
The hell's this guy saying? Why should I undergo a baptism from such a weird
cult?
"The teachings of our Lord Lars destroy evil and bring forth light and justice..."
"No, thank you."
"...Huh?" My words caused him to stop his heated speech and turn stiff.
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. I don't need a religion in my country." The speech
dragged on for a bit, but it was basically an invitation to his faith. And honestly, I
found it shady as hell. The god of light? Did he really exist?
"So you are saying that you have no need for the teachings of our Lord? Do
you not believe in God?"
"I'd prefer it if you didn't say such silly things. There's not a man in this world
who believes in God more than me. I thank him every day." I spoke those words
as Nesto glared at me.
It's not your god, though.
Reacting to what I'd said, the Phyllis girl joined the conversation. Unlike
Nesto, however, she didn't seem mad. She looked more confused than anything
else.
"Then why? If you believe in God, why do you refuse to spread his word?
Seems contradictory, if you ask me."
"It isn't. Also, you say that your god is the 'god of light,' Lars. Does 'light'
mean that there's a god of dark? Are there any other gods?" I answered her
question with another question. The one to answer was Nesto, who puffed his
chest as he did so.
"God of sea, god of mountains, god of earth — certainly, there are many
various gods. However, the one standing above them is the god of light, Lars —
the most glorious of all. He's an absolute god of justice, and not even the god of
dark can stand up to him."
"Doesn't seem like it, though."
"What?!" Nesto went past just glaring at me. His voice turned ragged as he
stood up — anger palpable in his expression and demeanor.
Well, I expected as much.
"Are you saying that our Lord is powerless?!"
"You called him an 'absolute god of justice,' right? Then why are there still
criminals and evil-doers?"
"Th-That's... That's what we're here for! We punish evil in His stead! It's our
duty! We are His limbs and...!"
"That's just your power, isn't it? Nothing divine about it. Don't confuse that."
Nesto's shoulders were shaking at this point. Did I say too much? Am I wrong,
though?
"Then what has your God given to us?!"
"Nothing. He's pretty busy. He leaves us to take care of ourselves. Doesn't
intervene unless there's something important. Also, it's not like I'm completely
rejecting your teachings. If you believe in your god, it's all fine by me."
Everyone has their very own god inside their hearts. Let people believe
whatever they want. It's fine like that. However, I don't like people using their
Gods in international relations.
Nesto looked at me with pure hatred in his eyes.
"...It appears that you have been bewitched by a wicked God. It appears we
will have to purify you."
"Ah?"
What did he just say? "Kohaku. Hold him down."
"As you command."
"Augh?!" Kohaku attacked Nesto from behind, pushed him down on the floor
and kept him there with its front legs. Naturally, Kohaku was in Byakko mode.
I walked over to Nesto, crouched down and looked in his eyes — full of fear of
Kohaku.
"I don't care what God you believe in. You can pray to whatever divinity you
like, regardless of whether they actually exist or not. However, I won't allow
you to treat my God as wicked. You don't know anything about him, so I don't
want you saying stuff like that." I glared at Nesto, opened a [Gate] on the floor
and teleported him... Straight to the river outside the castle.
When he disappeared, he left behind his blond hair.
I knew it was a wig.
I looked to the side and saw Phyllis, who was wordless with shock.
Oh. Crap. I overdid it.
He was a messenger from another country. I had better methods of
dismissing him. Hearing him talk badly about God got to my head. I mean,
seriously, how could that nice old man be a wicked God? Still, I went too far... I
turned around and saw Kousaka with his hand on his forehead, exhaling a long
sigh. Crap, I really messed up. And he told me to not talk too much, damn it.
"Umm... Priest Nesto is...?"
"Well... I teleported him outside the castle. Don't worry, he's not hurt."
Probably wet as hell, though. Guy might even catch a cold. Not that I would
care.
"My apologies. Please forgive his rudeness. Just so you are aware, this
audience with Your Majesty was based primarily on Nesto's own initiative, and
the pope was not too enthusiastic about it." Phyllis bowed her head.
Really? "Having this country adopt the Church of Lars as its state religion
would be a great achievement, after all. I believe that that was Nesto's plan."
So he just wanted to get ahead in life, huh? Pretty vulgar for a priest.
"Anyway, I don't plan on having a state religion. Tell that to your pope."
"Yes. Certainly. By the way, umm... about what you said... Have you perhaps
met God in person, your Highness?"
Oh? Did I say something that gave it away? Man, how should I answer this?
"I am sorry. This must sound weird... I just... became doubtful about whether
God truly exists or not..." Phyllis whispered that and brought her head down.
You sure you should be saying that? You're a priestess, aren't you?
"This question was always on my mind. People punish evil in the name of
justice. While a part of me sees that as a wonderful thing, I can't help but
wonder whether it's fair to mark someone as evil simply because they're
demonic or born from the dark. Also, can't we forgive someone who only made
a single error? Such questions came one after the other and..." I can somewhat
understand her, but is it really okay for her to continue being a priestess while
doubting her God so much? Suddenly, the smartphone in my pocket began
vibrating.
Eh? Now, of all times? Since there was only one person who ever called me, I
knew exactly who it was.
I took it out and answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it has been a while. I take it you know who this is?"
Yeah, of course I do. Still, you should say who you are when calling. This
timing, though...
"Were you watching?"
"Happened to be watching, yes. I must say, having you snap like that was
quite satisfying. Thanks for getting mad for my sake."
Crap, he saw me. Damn, this is embarrassing. As I was writhing about the stuff
I'd said, Phyllis fearfully called out to me.
"Umm... who are you talking to?"
"God."
"Eh?!" As Phyllis became surprised, I noticed that Kohaku — standing next to
me — was in a weird state. The tiger wasn't moving a muscle.
Wait, what? Even Kousaka is completely stiff. What the hell?!
"Oh, I just stopped the time there for a bit. Things could get troublesome if
anyone else saw me."
"You stopped time?! Wait, did you just say 'if anyone else saw me'?! Do you
mean that...?"
"I thought that I should answer that young lady's questions. I'm coming over.
She won't believe you otherwise. All right, then..."
"Hey...!"
Seriously? He actually hung up. I moved the smartphone away from my ear
and looked at Phyllis.
"He's coming over..."
"'He'...? Who do you mean?"
"Well... God." As Phyllis and I were both in a state of astonishment, God
descended before us, surrounded by blinding light. His divine — obviously,
considering he was God — aura engulfed us. A single glance was enough to see
just how celestial he was. He slowly went down and stood on the same ground
we mortals walked on.
"Yoo-hoo, it is I, your man God."
"Be more serious, damn it!" You obviously had more majestic things to say!
And stop smiling like that, the situation is ridiculous enough as it is!
◇ ◇ ◇
Phyllis stood before the merry old man, trembling uncontrollably. After a few
seconds, she seemed to lose the ability to stand. She collapsed to the ground,
twitching.
"Hm? Are you quite alright, dear?"
"Uh, God..." God didn't seem to understand what was going on, so I called to
him.
"There's a... force you're exuding right now, can you maybe turn it off? It's
making it hard for me to even look at you, so I can't even imagine what it's
doing to her."
"Oh? Ah, very well. Goodness me, I forgot I was in the mortal realm. Forgive
my carelessness... Divine energy tends to leak right out of me! I didn't even
notice..." Gradually, the golden shine in the room receded back into God's
body. Alongside it, the horrifying feeling of submission and oppression vanished
as well. That's God for ya, I guess.
"We should be quite fine now, I believe. Are you alright, dear?"
"Y-Yes..." Despite her words, Phyllis still only really seemed capable of raising
her head. That was perfectly understandable, all things considered. Having been
shown something like this? She'd have no choice but to admit the truth. I think
her earlier question about the validity of my God had been promptly answered.
God absolutely existed.
"We should change venues, I think. Is there another, more comfortable room
in the area?"
"Hm? I mean, I have a meeting room..." I opened up a [Gate] and the three of
us went through. Phyllis had trouble standing, so I had to lend her my arm until
we reached the couch.
I went to prepare us all some tea, passing by a frozen Renne and Cecile, who
were apparently laughing at something before being paused. I poured out the
tea by myself into a big pot, then returned to the room with a few snacks and
three teacups.
When I returned to the room, the two were much like they were when I'd
left. God was swaying around a bit, looking about the room like an excited child,
while Phyllis was sweating bullets and almost completely immobile. Her eyes,
on the other hand, were darting all over the place.
I poured out the tea into the cups and lined the snacks up. God took the first
sip, and I asked my question.
"I've got a question for you, old man."
"Mhm? What is it?" God placed his teacup down on the table with a smile,
and turned to face me.
"Do you know of any god of light named Lars?"
"That... does not ring a bell. I've never heard that name, no. In fact, amongst
all journeyman-level gods, and even trainee gods... there is no such being as
Lars, god of light." I didn't expect him to be that confident. Phyllis looked like
she had been punched in the stomach. But that was only natural, the god she
had been raised to believe in had just been completely outed as fictional.
"Well, maybe he isn't called Lars. Is there a god of light?"
"No, there is no such thing as the god of light. Well, if I were forced to classify
a god of light, that would probably fall under my jurisdiction. I'm the world god,
after all. There's a god of wind, a god of fire, a god of darkness, and so on. For
the most part, deities with the 'god of' prefix are the most simple and lowest of
the godly hierarchy." Hm, I wondered if that meant the god of love was a lower
level god, as well. That confused me, because she seemed very friendly with my
god, who I figured was pretty much at the tippy-top. I didn't really know much
about the social affairs of the divine realm, nor did I care that much.
"B-But... if that's the case, then what about the legendary incident, in which
High Light Priest Ramirez called down Lars, god of light?" Ramirez, the High
Light Priest, was the founder of the Ramissh Theocracy. The person who
supposedly purified the land by borrowing the light of God.
"Hm? You say he called upon a God? Even if humans could summon Gods,
which I sincerely doubt... it would still be rather rare. Then again, there are
some Gods that act upon simple whims, so I could not rule it out entirely." The
irony here was palpable. This God was probably the most whimsical of the lot!
"Still, as the story goes... I do not believe it was a God. It is more likely that he
summoned a spirit. To be more specific, a spirit of light."
"That's a little ambiguous... Is it possible to peep into the past and see what
happened?"
"That is not impossible, but... it would be a bit of a bother. Let me explain in
terms you may understand a little better. It is quite easy to pause an episode of
something if you watch it on DVD, yes? But say you recorded television for an
entire year, and suddenly needed to find the advertisements of a specific latenight talk show from a year and a half ago. Your recordings are numerous, and
you have not indexed them... it would be quite hard to reach that certain point,
would it not?" That was a needlessly complicated explanation, but I pretty
much understood.
"But then... what of our teachings? Our doctrine...?" Phyllis looked completely
depressed, which was only natural given that God had just shot down her entire
life. It was understandable, but even so, I didn't expect her to get that torn up
over it.
"Do you people need the hand of God to hold yours? Can you not march
forward for the sake of your own beliefs? Your own responsibilities? There's no
harm in taking God as a piece of emotional solace, but you must not use religion
as a crutch. Your parents, siblings, lovers, friends, you must trust in them, as
they trust in you. To be dependent upon us is the greatest mistake you could
make. The Gods will do nothing to your world. I can assure you of that. Only you
are capable of saving yourselves, or destroying yourselves. You are the ones
with the power to change the world, to create miracles. We above will simply
watch down upon you." God was certainly being thorough, but he still
interfered now and then, didn't he?
I decided to keep my mouth shut. I didn't think my commentary would have
anything to add. Phyllis seemed pretty sad, anyway, so snarky commentary
would just be insensitive.
"Well, even though I said that, I suppose it was not entirely the case... I
typically leave you to your own devices without looking. If young Touya were
not sent here, I may not have taken a look at affairs for another ten thousand
years or so." Just like that, he completely ruined the beauty of his message!
Even though he had made a point to say the Gods were watching, it felt more
like they were neglecting! He probably had a ton of different worlds to manage
anyway, so keeping an eye on every one would be a pain. "Is that truly the
case?"
"Indeed. It may sound somewhat cruel, but the world is not my responsibility.
No world is. The inhabitants are the ones who decide what happens to their
world. The Gods will do nothing, I promise you that. Well, we would interfere if
the troubles in the world were caused by us, for example the rare incident of a
God turning wicked and laying waste to the world below. We would step in
then." I certainly hoped nothing like that happened to us. Sounded like a bad
time for everyone. The rules seemed a little flexible and contradictory there.
Gods sure were whimsical.
"If I were to summarize, I'd say that I want the people of their respective
worlds to deal with the problems of their respective worlds. Even if a great
Demon Lord appeared and began to wage war upon the world, hoping to crush
or dominate it, we gods would do nothing if the Demon Lord were a natural
resident of the world to begin with. That being said, I would elect to grant
divine weaponry to mankind and aid their struggle. I do not like worlds in which
people suffer heavily, after all." That made sense enough. I supposed that
indirect intervention was also a fair option. It was enough to interfere, but also
not be a massive boost. But then again, he said they wouldn't intervene in the
natural order of the world, but they'd still grant some kind of superweapon to
use in the case of big events like a Demon Lord uprising? It all sounded a little
half-assed to me.
"There will always be those who depend on their parents forever. But the
humans of this world are children no longer, I ask that you walk by yourselves,
talk by yourselves. If you do so, you should be able to walk with pride and
strength, to clear all obstacles in your path. With that, we Gods will watch over
you keenly. Sometimes." That 'sometimes' was a little unnecessary. But I'm
sure that someone was always being watched somewhere across all the
universes, so it wasn't like they were slacking.
"B-But what am I to do...? If Lars, god of light, doesn't exist, then... All of his
teachings were made by a man, rather than the divine. Does that make it all
meaningless? Does that make all I've ever done completely meaningless?"
"It is not meaningless, far from it. I am certain that somewhere, at least once,
those teachings have saved someone. It matters not who made them, so long as
they do good. Simply look at it as 'for your fellow man' rather than 'for the glory
of God.' Cast off the shackles of doctrine, and live by your own strengths."
"...Y-Yes..." I didn't think her mind would be able to change right away. After
all, she had been born with a certain mindset, and raised in it. But, little by little,
I felt she could be freed from the shackles she was born into.
"Well then, I believe it's time for me to leave. It is not proper for time to be
put on pause for so long..." We moved back to my throne room, because it
would've been strange if we suddenly vanished in front of everyone else.
Kohaku and Kousaka were both as stiff as they had been before. If it weren't
for the unusual circumstances of the situation, I might've been inclined to pull a
prank on them. It was a tad late for that, though.
"Well then, my dear. Live strong, live brave. Live in good health." God bore a
beautiful smile, and turned into particles of light.
After a few moments, Kohaku and the others began to move again. They
looked in our general direction, somewhat confused. Since my location was a
little bit different to when time had stopped, I think it looked like I had
teleported from their perspective.
"...I-It feels like I just woke from a dream. Did... did that really just happen?"
"It really did. You met with God, the one and only. Do you believe, now?"
"...I do." The girl wore a peaceful smile on her face, and the shine in her eyes
seemed calmer, more serene. I hoped that she was able to reconcile things
within herself.
Then, with a quick bow and an apology, she left my throne room.
So ended my first diplomatic meeting. I was immediately reprimanded by
Kousaka. I couldn't really complain about that, though. I was not exactly good
when it came to negotiation.
In all honesty I was a little concerned, so I dispatched one of Tsubaki's ninjas
to the Theocracy. I summoned a tiny bird and asked him to take it along with
him, so that I'd be able to know any news as soon as he got it.
A few days later, I learned that a priestess of the Ramissh Theocracy, one
Phyllis Rugit, had been stripped of her position. She had been charged with high
blasphemy, the penalty for which was death.
◇ ◇ ◇
How could something so foolish have come about? I couldn't understand why
Phyllis had been marked for execution. The world was too cruel a place, to
allow this to happen to a girl who was finally able to act on her own thoughts.
"When is she to die?"
"Ah, yes... The execution is scheduled for three days from now, early in the
morning. The only reason she wasn't cut down on the spot was because of the
presence of a group that protested the order, and they didn't wish to create
civil unrest." The agent I had sent to Ramissh was able to instantly report in
through a telepathic link I had set up via a summoned bird familiar. From the
sounds of things, Phyllis had some allies over there, so that was a small comfort
to know. At the very least, I was glad she hadn't been killed yet.
"Thank you. Please continue your investigation, and let us know if there are
any new major developments."
"Very well." I cut off the contact. I had to figure out what to do. It was
obvious from the outset that I couldn't leave her to die. I was the one
responsible for Phyllis' new outlook on life, so the execution order was also my
responsibility by proxy.
"Ugh... this is why religion is such a bore, Touya. Religious people are always
convinced they're in the right, and never stop to consider other outlooks!" Elze,
leaning her arms on the table at the balcony, failed to hide her irritation. I told
everyone about the situation with Phyllis, though I took care to omit the part
about us getting a visit from God. I just replaced that part by telling everyone
that I had persuaded Phyllis to change her faith, or rather that she had left our
meeting with a few things to reflect on and ponder.
"So, what will you do?"
"Well, I figured I'd go there. I have to stop the execution, right?" I gave Linze a
simple enough answer. This was one of those situations where the fact that I
was a head of state could come in handy. They couldn't just brush me off,
surely. I decided that the best course of action was to directly negotiate with
the pope. After all, the life of one former priest wouldn't be that difficult to
negotiate sparing, right?
"And if they do not stop, if they do not, what will you do then?"
"Hm... it'll have to be a prison break, right? I'll bust in and save her."
"A-Are you stupid, Touya?! That'll cause an international incident!" Yumina
didn't seem to like my response to Yae's question, but I decided to keep it as a
last resort. I didn't think we needed to rely on Ramissh or anything, so if we
ended up souring relations with them it wouldn't be the end of the world.
At first, I held back a little. I wasn't sure if Lars, god of light, was a real entity,
and I didn't want to meddle in their religious affairs, but after God himself told
me that Lars wasn't real? That changed everything. Ultimately, their religion
was irrelevant to me in this matter, what mattered was their diplomatic
attitude. Part of me wouldn't have even minded if diplomatic relations broke
down between our two nations. They just sounded more like trouble than
anything else to me.
I shifted my gaze to Kousaka, who was quietly standing nearby.
"Will there be any issues if I earn the ire of that country?"
"Currently, I see no major negative repercussions. But they may send their
zealots to cause trouble in our country." Well that sounded a bit irritating. It
struck me as odd that a God with teachings of light and justice would have such
petulant, hounding followers.
"They can justify anything if they say it's in the name of justice... It's just a
convenient excuse for them..." Lu let out a quiet mutter, disgust painted on her
face. That reminded me of a saying I'd once heard. So long as everyone tries to
be the hero, wars will never end.
"Anyway, I can't just abandon her like this. I'm off to go save her."
"Then at least let us come, too."
"No, if we all rush in at once it'll only needlessly agitate them. I'll take care of
this one myself." Having said that, I decided to take Kohaku with me just to be
safe. My decision must have seemed somewhat irresponsible for a head of
state, but since we didn't know what to expect, I figured it'd be safest for me to
handle it alone.
So long as everyone tries to be the hero, wars will never end.
"Oh, so you're the grand duke of Brunhild, are you? Sorry, kid, but I don't
have time for your games right now. Go play royalty somewhere else." I made
use of Babylon to go all the way to the capital of Ramissh, only to be turned
away at the front door of the Isla Temple.
It was only to be expected, really. I had no real evidence to support my claim,
after all. If some kid turned up out of nowhere and introduced himself as a
monarch, I'd probably look at them funny, too.
"Look, can you just like, go fetch the pope for me or something? There's
something important I need to talk to her about."
"Fetch the pope...?! Insolent brat! How dare you talk of our pope like she's
some household pet!"
"Sorry? I don't believe in your religion, and I'm not even a citizen of your
country. I don't see why you're getting worked up over something like that." I'd
wanted to resolve things peacefully if possible, but the knight before me drew
his sword in a fit of rage. Whoa, this guy was quick to snap. I nimbly dodged the
knight's attack, following up with a chop to knock the sword out of his hands.
The metallic clang of the sword hitting the ground alerted the rest of the
knights, who were swift to react as they poured out of the temple in droves.
"What happened?!"
"We've got an intruder! Some insolent brat calling himself the grand duke of
Brunhild. He insulted the pope!"
"He did what?!" Two, four, six, eight... Around twenty knights in total. They
had me surrounded before I could even react. They sure brought out a lot of
people just to subdue one kid. For a group claiming to follow a god of light and
justice, they sure didn't seem averse to using cowardly tactics. Though, when I
thought about it, a team of heroes fighting together to defeat a single monster
was actually fairly common in superhero shows. I decided to just stick these
guys in that category for now. "I'll ask one more time. I, the grand duke of
Brunhild, wish to meet with the Pope of Ramissh to discuss an important
matter. Would anyone be kind enough to escort me to her?"
"We're not playing along with your little game, kid!" I brandished my weapon,
and without hesitation fired a paralysis bullet at the first knight to charge at me.
Seeing him collapse on the spot, the other knights faltered for a brief moment,
but quickly pulled themselves together and raised a war cry.
Mithril in my right hand, Black Dragon horn in my left, I shot my way through
the throng of knights with my trusty twin Brunhilds.
I immobilized their entire force in an instant. That's what you get for not
listening to me.
"Truly a bothersome crowd, these people."
"You can say that again." I instinctively met Kohaku's analysis with a
complaint of my own. Still, what was I to do from here? My options were to just
continue like this and force my way in, or...
Deciding that this was a better course of action, I cast [Recovery] on one of
the knights to undo the paralysis.
"There's a priest here called Nesto-what's-his-face, right? I want you to bring
him to me. If he refuses, tell him I'll spill the secret about his head to everyone.
That'll make him understand." I was already acquainted with that baldy priest,
so I decided to seek him out first. He was more likely to hear me out than these
guys were, at least.
The knight followed my instructions, taking off with a panicked dash into the
temple. Before long, a group of what I could only call paladins came out of the
temple fully clad in pure white armor, with Father Nesto leading the way. Oh
hey, he got a new wig.
"Your Highness, the Grand Duke of Brunhild?! What brings you to this place?!
No, before that, explain yourself! What is the meaning of this?!"
"I told the guard that I had important business with the pope. He refused to
hear me out, and then a whole group of them attacked me without warning. I
simply reacted in self-defense." So I explained, pointing at the listless knights
littered on the ground.
"Do you understand your position here? You've shot down soldiers of a
foreign country, and are attempting illegal entry into our sacred temple. This is
an international incident!"
"And raising your sword against the ruler of a foreign country isn't? Nice
double-standards you've got there." I could almost see the sparks flying as I met
my eyes with Nesto's. What a pain. This guy clearly hated me. The feeling was
mutual. Whatever, I just need him to take me to the pope.
"What is going on here?" This time it was a man wearing a gaudy robe who
emerged from the temple. His hair was neatly swept-back, and he had a silly
little mustache. He was the spitting image of a certain dictator. Ours would've
been a little bit taller, though.
"Cardinal Zeon...?" Nesto turned his head and muttered. Cardinal? If I
remember right, aren't those like a few really important guys who work directly
under the pope?
"Father Nesto, who is this man? It is most unpleasant to have him causing a
commotion on our sacred temple grounds." The cardinal clicked his tongue as
he turned to face Father Nesto. Oh boy, we've got a live one here.
"He, he's... Err, I mean, this esteemed gentleman is His Highness the Grand
Duke of Brunhild. He says that he wishes to meet with Her Holiness the Pope."
"This boy is...?!" The cardinal stared intently at me, looking me over as if
appraising my worth. It made me realize something. When introducing myself
as a leader, I should probably have been dressed the part. I made a mental note
to ask Zanac to make me some kingly clothes next time I saw him. I honestly felt
that too many people in the world judged others based on appearance alone.
"Your Majesty the Grand Duke of Brunhild, was it?"
"That's me."
"What manner of business could a foreign ruler have with Her Eminence the
Pope? If you'd like, I could relay a message to her on your behalf."
"Thank you, but I would much rather meet with Her Holiness in person. Could
I trouble you to escort me to her, instead?" The cardinal and I clashed gazes
with sly grins on our faces, each of us trying to sound the other out. I felt like I
definitely couldn't trust this guy. If my plea to rescind Phyllis' execution were
left in this guy's hands, I didn't think the pope would ever get to hear a thing
about it.
"...Right this way." The cardinal invited me into the temple. I was led to a
room and asked to wait there, with several paladins left behind to keep an eye
on me. I sat obediently in a chair, keeping to myself as the paladins' gazes bored
a hole in my back. I was neck-deep in unfamiliar territory.
They probably weren't stupid enough to assault me while we were inside the
temple, but doing as I was told seemed like the best course of action for the
time being.
After a short wait, the cardinal returned to the room.
"Her Eminence the Pope will see you now. Please, right this way." The
cardinal led me around through several more corridors. The temple was
unnecessarily huge. After climbing up a long staircase, we finally reached a
fancy door with golden borders, beyond which was a large, spacious room.
Lined up by the left wall were several men in robes similar to the cardinal's,
and to the right stood a row of paladins standing at attention. An elderly
woman in pure white robes and a big, long hat sat with a sharp look on her face
atop her raised platform. This lady was the popess, Elias Altra.
"Welcome to my temple, Grand Duke of Brunhild. I must admit to being
rather startled by your abrupt visit, but as the pope, I have agreed to meet your
request at an audience."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Eminence. Please forgive my
rudeness for barging in unannounced like this." I lowered my head as I spoke. I
wasn't really at fault in the slightest, but I figured I should probably still
apologize for beating up all their knights like that.
"...There is much I would like to say, but let us get straight to this business of
yours. Whatever has brought you all this way to my temple?"
"Regarding the death sentence of one priest, Phyllis Rugit, I would request
that the execution not be carried out." The entire hall was filled with mumbled
whispers the moment that name left my lips. The pope took note of this, and
shot me an intense look.
"What a farce this is. To think that a foreign leader would interfere in the
death sentence of a convicted criminal... I cannot help but worry for the state of
your kingdom."
"...A criminal, you say? Then tell me, what crime has she committed, exactly?"
"Her primary offense is her advocation that our God, Lars, is a figure of makebelieve. This is an unforgivable sin for a priest to commit. In addition, she is
suspected of being a vampire who has already attacked several people. A being
of darkness with such an evil soul must be dealt with appropriately."
What? Phyllis is a vampire? What's that supposed to mean? Are they saying
she hid that fact in order to become a priest and blend in?
"Master, do not let her mislead you. That girl was, without a doubt, an
ordinary human being. I would be able to recognize a vampire by the smell
alone." Kohaku supported me through telepathy. I knew I could count on
Kohaku. But still, things were starting to look pretty suspicious. Almost as if the
whole thing was one big, convenient set-up.
"That's strange. Shouldn't you be able to see through a vampire's disguise like
that with your god's righteous powers?"
"...Lars will never allow evil to go unpunished. All who defy him shall meet
with divine punishment. Much like in this case." This wasn't "divine
punishment" at all, it was just conveniently silencing dissenters. I began to
suspect that this old lady already knew that Lars was a big old fraud.
"So you claim, but haven't there already been a number of victims? I feel that
your god should have enacted his divine punishment before so many victims
arose, don't you think?"
"Any such victims must have been carrying sins of their own. The truly devout
would never have fallen prey to such evils." This was pointless. She was making
baseless claims with that backward religious logic of hers.
"...Then I assume you have no intention of rescinding Phyllis' death
sentence?"
"No evil can be allowed to go unpunished. Worry not, for we shall purify the
girl's soul in the process. These very actions are naught but pure salvation for
the girl." I let out a heavy sigh. The whole thing was just so stupid. Non-believers
are evil. When things go well, it's all thanks to God's guidance. When things
aren't going well, it's because you don't have enough faith. And when a system
based on these beliefs allows legal murder of innocent people, it just leaves me
dumbstruck and appalled.
"This is stupid. Every one of you here is truly beyond salvation."
"Wha...?!" My words froze the room into total silence. Even the pope stared
at me wide-eyed. I was done playing along with these jokers. Since it didn't
seem like words would be effective, I'd just do things my way instead.
"I'll declare it loudly for all to hear. Lars, the god of light, does not exist. He's a
false idol, and Phyllis merely caught on to that fact. You're free to have your
own beliefs, but stop labeling anyone who disagrees with them as evil. Don't
think that being religious somehow automatically makes you better than
everyone else."
"Silence! You will insult our God no further!" The paladins to my right all
instantly moved their hands to the hilts of their swords.
"I'm very sorry about that. So sorry, in fact, that I'd like to apologize to Him in
person. Bring your god Lars before me, and I'd happily kiss his feet." Not like
they could, even if they wanted to.
"I reject the very notion of your god, and all that he stands for. I reject any
teachings that could possibly allow one to enact false justice in the name of a
false idol, dooming an innocent girl to an unjust death. I'll say it again. You have
no God."
◇ ◇ ◇
Their religion was unusual to begin with. Despite having been around for a
thousand years, it remained mostly contained within their own country. Even
considering that the magic of this world made it nigh-impossible to determine
an actual "divine miracle," the fact that their religion had barely spread at all
was plenty suspicious. If I were to use healing magic back in my own world, a
new religion might spring up overnight. There would still be those who would
call me a fraud, of course, but the fact would remain that I had healed a
person's wounds, leading at least that person to believe in me. However, in this
world the most you'd get is a few thanks; it definitely wouldn't be taken as a
divine miracle. That was the nature of magic. That's just how things were over
here.
They called it a religion, but living in this country you would naturally be
surrounded and outnumbered by the devout everywhere you looked, leaving
you with no choice but to follow suit. It wasn't about whether you really
believed in the god or not; it looked more like a form of mind control in this
case.
One important thing to note was that not a single country had formed an
alliance with Ramissh. This country — or rather, the ground that the country
rested on — might have been hiding something.
Taking Belfast as a comparison, the people there placed more faith in fairies
than Gods. People who had met fairies could be found here and there, but
nobody would claim to have met a God. According to the God that I knew,
fairies were like the Gods' servants' servants or something.
At any rate, it was pointless to compare this religion to any of those from my
old world. Heck, I still couldn't even be sure if this planet was round like Earth
was.
Compared to the religions I knew, this one felt obviously different and
horribly warped. It didn't seem like it was meant to lead people to salvation, or
even just offer some peace of mind, at all. All I got from them was that they
hated anyone who disagreed with them.
Coming to the country myself had only helped solidify that impression. There
was clearly more to this country than it seemed.
"...And that's why I let myself get caught on purpose."
"I... see." I explained my plot to Kohaku as we sat together in an underground
prison cell. I swear I'm not just trying to save face. After my outburst, I was onesidedly labeled a villain. Naturally I'd be able to gather evidence after being
caught. ...That was definitely my plan, yeah.
"In that case... what do you intend to do now?"
"...Wh-What do you think I should do?" Kohaku leered at me, eyes filled with
doubt. I'm joking, it's a joke!
"For now, Phyllis' safety comes first. After that, we'll gather info. Let's go."