Chapter 180: Homecoming
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 180: Homecoming
God created man in His own image.
Born in the Garden of Eden, man sinned and was cast out to the earth.
On earth, man sinned yet again, and God annihilated them all. In the end, only two of humanity remained, and from his own rib, he created mankind anew.
Thus, all of humanity are children of God, and it was said that any of you who resemble Him may enter His world.
Upon hearing that he was the god of Earth, Yohan stared at Illeija as if he’d just heard the most absurd thing in the world.
“...I’m a god?”
“That’s how I see it.”
“But I can’t do anything.”
Yohan protested Illeija’s claim. He couldn’t fly, use magic, or resurrect or heal anyone.
Far from being omnipotent, he could barely manage his own affairs. And he was supposed to be a god?
Wondering what kind of nonsense this was, he stared intently at Illeija, who simply offered a fresh smile as if she understood his doubt.
“You seem to be misunderstanding something. Just because one is a god doesn’t mean they are omnipotent and can do anything.”
“What kind of god is that?”
“Were all the gods you know of truly like that?”
At Illeija’s words, Yohan fell into thought. As he said, not all the gods depicted on Earth were omnipotent.
From the human-like Greek gods with their limited powers to the Norse and Egyptian gods—no single god ruled over all domains.
Such a god only appeared after the Roman era, with the emergence of the monotheistic system of Christianity.
“Besides, don’t humans already possess divine aspects?”
“Divine aspects...”
“The power to do what you believe you can do. Someone climbs a cliff hundreds of meters high with their bare hands, someone jumps several meters into the air, and someone else builds a spaceship that finally leaves Earth and travels to the cosmos—wouldn’t all of this feel like a divine ability to an onlooker?”
What Illeija was saying was this:
Humans already possessed a power no different from that of a god.
They were just using it without realizing it. The civilization humanity had built was proof of that.
“...In that case, how do I return to Earth?”
“Do what you can do. Ah, perhaps it’s easier to understand this way.”
Believe you can do it.
No matter what it is.
“Wh-what was that just now?”
Belatedly coming to her senses after the divine possession ended, Asha looked around in disbelief at what she had just experienced.
Yohan had no time to look after her and immediately left the church. Elesis, watching Yohan’s retreating back, took it upon herself to care for the now-alone Asha.
Outside the church, Margaret, who had been amusing herself by tormenting the vagrants, greeted Yohan.
“Disciple! Did something happen in there?”
“Yes, well. More or less.”
“What happened?”
“It’s hard to explain...”
Yohan looked at Margaret’s face. Seeing it brought back a memory: spatial magic.
Back when he had run away from home, exhausted by chores, he had succeeded in using spatial magic, even though all he had was a scroll.
At the time, he’d thought he’d simply mastered it through constant practice, but thinking back now, that wasn’t it.
‘Believe you can do it...’
Back then, he had been in a state where he firmly believed he could use spatial magic, without a shred of doubt. After all, he had always carried the magic scroll Margaret gave him and used it proficiently.
That was how he had managed to overcome Margaret’s own magic with just a scroll. Logically speaking, it was strange.
‘Using a scroll imbued with magic to wield it better than the witch herself?’
Humans may be tool-using beings, but this was absurd. It wasn’t just Margaret; it was the same with the other witches.
They were experts who had wielded magic for hundreds, even thousands of years. They were the masters of that magic. There was no way he, who had only handled it for a few months, could be better at it than the witches.
‘There was another reason.’
It was the divine power Illeija had spoken of—the ability inherent in humans.
The power to do anything, as long as you believe you can.
Though possibilities were divided by paradigms... even that could be overcome with training.
Which meant...
‘I can go back home?’
It meant he could return to that place where eight billion gods lived.
—Thank you! Thank you!
Yohan immediately provided Asha with all sorts of supplies and funds before returning to the cabin. He didn't regret it at all, as he had gained so much from her.
As soon as he returned, his Teacher rushed out and threw her arms around him.
“Yohaaan—!”
“Teacher.”
Yohan caught Evangeline by the waist, spun her around once, then smiled softly and placed a light kiss on her cheek.
Evangeline felt something was different about Yohan, who was suddenly so affectionate, but she didn't make an issue of it.
She was the type to welcome it, not reject it.
“Is your work all done?”
“Yes, pretty much.”
“Really!? Does that mean you don’t have to go out anymore?”
“I think so.”
“Yes!”
Hearing that Yohan no longer needed to wander about outside, Evangeline blushed for a moment, then carefully took out a green potion.
It was a vial of a color that killed one’s appetite just by looking at it—an elixir she had made by squeezing the sap of the World Tree while Yohan was visiting the church.
“Here, drink up!”
“This...?”
“Yep!”
With a reluctant expression, Yohan gulped down the potion Evangeline handed him. He didn’t know what was in it, but as soon as he drank it, his stomach churned and he began to feel a reaction.
The vitality overflowing within his body stirred his carnal desires. Yohan looked down at his member, which had shot straight up without even being touched, and let out a hollow laugh.
‘I see.’
It suddenly occurred to him that he had been neglecting his relationship with his Teacher these past few days. Not just his Teacher, but the other witches as well.
But unlike before, they had treated him with care. They didn’t try to pounce on him out of impatience, but handled him gently, as if he were precious porcelain.
That thought tickled Yohan’s heart.
“Teacher.”
“Y-yes? What is it?”
“Let’s go.”
“...Okay.”
Yohan naturally wrapped an arm around Evangeline’s waist and led her into the room. His erection, already straining against his clothes before he even touched her, showed just how aroused he was.
The moment they entered the room, Yohan ravaged Evangeline with the roughness of a beast. Even after he was done with her, his stamina remained, so he took care of the other witches all at once as well.
The sap of the World Tree was effective. Very effective.
At dawn, when everyone else lay spent, Yohan slipped outside alone, enjoying the refined atmosphere as he gazed at the moon in the night sky.
Some might ask what kind of refinement there could be without alcohol, but there was a certain charm to simply getting drunk on the night air. As he spent time alone, breathing it in, Yohan turned his head at the sound of faint footsteps.
“Yohan, what are you doing?”
“...Teacher?”
Evangeline stood there, wearing nothing but a gown over her naked body. Yohan quickly went to her and pulled her collar closed.
“It’s cold. You should go inside.”
“Hehe, you think a little chill like this will be a problem for a witch?”
“Something could happen to our child.”
“...A child. Right. I didn’t think of that.”
As she spoke, Evangeline cast a spell, and the surrounding temperature began to rise. Where a moment ago a slightly cool dawn breeze had brushed against his skin, a warm current now filled the air.
Feeling the warm breeze that drenched his skin with every breath, Yohan smiled lightly.
“Honestly. You really don’t listen, do you?”
“Look who’s talking. Ah, I hope our child doesn’t turn out like this.”
“I’m already worried.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t know about their personality, but they’ll take after my looks and be a great beauty!”
She declared this, patting her chest confidently. The fact that she could say such a thing meant she had recovered quite a bit mentally.
Yohan recalled when he first met her—the witch who had hidden her face and body under a robe, trapped in the paranoid delusion that she was hideous.
“Teacher.”
“Hmm? Yes?”
“I love you.”
“So suddenly...? I love you too, Yohan.”
Her current self was so positive it was hard to believe she was the same person from back then. It was safe to assume, then, that the reason she had summoned him had been more or less resolved.
Her wish for someone to love her—the witch named Evangeline—had been granted. It meant that the desperate desires she’d had when she made that wish had mostly been fulfilled.
In that case, making this suggestion wouldn’t be a bad idea.
“I’m... going to visit my hometown for a bit.”
“...What?”
To Evangeline, his words were like a thunderbolt from a clear blue sky.