The Inauguration Ceremony (1)
The atmosphere inside was solemn to the point of giving me chills.
A woman's authoritative voice suddenly spilled out from beyond the tightly closed door.
"Next."
"...What kind of place is this?"
Opening the door and stepping inside, the cool air that hit my body was so chilling it felt like my breath was being cut off.
In the center of a vast office that had no light at all, a woman sat silently on a chair placed on a high dais.
Only then did she lift her head and stare at me fixedly.
"Sign, traffic accident."
After a brief silence, two firm syllables dropped heavily from the woman's mouth.
"...What?"
"The only bad thing you've done in your life is stealing defective stationery from the office."
"W-what? Why all of a sudden..."
"Without bestowing any special favor on others, you've accumulated such virtue. Quite surprising, isn't it?"
The woman muttered this calmly and placed the A4 paper she was holding on the desk with a thud.
"It means the world has become quite harsh. A world where you can barely survive by trampling on others."
She then pushed up her glasses with a flick.
Every action was precise, without any error, measured like with a ruler.
What kind of person evaluates me so seriously...
"Very well. Since the conditions are satisfied, I'll give you a choice."
"Right now?"
"Reincarnation or becoming a Buddha. Which do you choose?"
An unexpected question came at last.
My mind went completely white as soon as I heard it.
"...So I really died?"
"Yes. As I mentioned earlier, your sign is traffic accident."
"Then the people I saw waiting in the hallway earlier..."
"They're all souls who lost their earthly ties like you and flowed into this place."
The puzzle pieces that had been swirling in my head were finally starting to fit together.
The strange sense of otherness that had been bothering me since then was finally being resolved.
"Ah, I see..."
"Normally, I would have decided your treatment arbitrarily without giving you a choice, but you're different."
"Because you didn't commit any evil acts?"
"Yes. At least among the souls who have stepped into this place, your hidden virtue is unusually distinct."
The woman leaned her body slightly forward from the chair.
"Even though you just barely survived while being pushed around by the world, you didn't harm anyone."
"..."
"That is what placed you on this special choice."
I pondered her words in a daze.
I hadn't boasted about living kindly, but I hadn't done anything bad to others either. A very ordinary life.
Who would have thought such a colorless existence would create variables in the afterlife.
"The answers to your questions end here. Time is short, so decide soon."
Reincarnation and becoming a Buddha.
I didn't want to experience the same thing twice just because I lived intensely.
But disappearing meaninglessly like this was a bit...
Even if my life was ordinary without any bad memories...
"...Reincarnation."
A firm decision after some hesitation.
Before I could finish speaking, the woman's one eyebrow twitched strangely as she stared at me.
"May I ask the reason?"
"I died too early, and I also want to live once as a woman."
My firm answer without any hesitation made the woman look even more bewildered.
I gazed at her quietly and took a small breath.
"The memories of my previous life will disappear, right?"
"Ah, I forgot to mention. The world you'll reincarnate into is not Earth."
After boldly answering and preparing my mind.
The woman, barely regaining her composure, hurriedly brushed her hair and added her words in a hurry.
"What?"
"Returning an ordinary human with such virtue to Earth wouldn't make sense logically."
"No, if I'm not reincarnating on Earth, where am I going..."
"I'll guide your soul to the Divine Realm."
An unimaginable shocking word popped out casually from the woman's mouth.
I was dumbfounded by the absurd situation that made me doubt my ears.
But the woman didn't seem surprised and pushed up her glasses again.
"Your vessel will be recreated anew, and your gender will be determined as you wish."
"I thought you said that because I was going to reincarnate on Earth again..."
"No need to be scared. The Divine Realm won't be that different from human society."
My mind was getting hazier as the situation drifted further from what I had imagined.
"However, in the Divine Realm, the virtue you accumulated in your previous life will shine brightly."
"Previous life virtue...?"
"Yes. If you do well, you might even aim for a high position in the Divine Realm with that virtue."
Of course, everything the woman said was something a normal human couldn't understand.
It felt like dreaming, with my feet floating.
"Souls sent to the Divine Realm are rare, so I'm looking forward to it."
"...Then what should I do there?"
"Well, I don't know that either."
Right after my question, the woman lightly snapped her fingers.
"Because I don't have the ability to predict a life's future."
With a clear, bright sound.
My vision went dark as if in a trance.
"Anyway, I look forward to seeing you active in the Divine Realm."
The woman's last words lingered like an echo fading away.
Without time to gather my thoughts, my hazy consciousness scattered and was pushed somewhere.
"...Next."
*****
How much time had passed since then.
"..."
With great effort, I lifted my heavy eyelids.
A brilliant light filled my blurry vision.
"Raise your head."
Then, an unfamiliar woman's voice came out of nowhere.
Turning my head unconsciously to the heavy voice that tickled my ears oddly.
"Indeed... it's an unusually high virtue for this era."
"Your talent seems outstanding, but it's not yet at the level to judge rashly."
Focusing my vision slowly as I reacted to the unfamiliar voices.
The solemn and grand audience hall appeared, quite different from the temporary assignment office I was in earlier.
"Now I understand why Vibris sent me directly here instead of to the village."
"...Please calm yourself. It's still too early to judge everything based only on virtue."
"Why do I sense thorns in your words? Are you doubting Vibris's judgment?"
"No. I just mean you should be cautious..."
"Even so, there's no need to scare the newly arrived soul."
It felt like I was in a scene from a fantasy movie.
Surrounding a woman sitting neatly on an ornate throne.
Several people stood in a long line on both sides, heads bowed.
"Wh-what is this...?"
"You've regained your senses."
The atmosphere was completely different from where I originally lived.
The building's interior, the clothing of the people lined up... everything radiated a magnificent yet eerie aura, unlike anything in this world.
"Welcome to the Divine Realm."
"Y-yes...?"
"I am Orbelia, the goddess who governs the Divine Realm."
A word that made one doubt their ears came calmly.
"I've heard about you through Vibris's report."
"..."
"You have accumulated a lot of virtue."
The woman introduced herself as a goddess out of the blue.
I was bewildered in many ways, but I couldn't doubt her words.
After all, among the people here, she was the one with the most splendid and unusual attire.
"Virtue in the Divine Realm becomes talent. And that talent manifests as divine authority."
"Divine authority...?"
In response to my cautious question, Orbelia nodded quietly.
"By the way, do you like the new vessel?"
After a moment of silence, Orbelia's soft words came.
At first, I didn't understand what 'vessel' meant, but later realizing it means body, my eyes widened in surprise.
"Wow, a new body..."
"I hope you like it."
"Everything except being too young is fine."
"Glad to hear that. Once a vessel is decided, it can't be changed."
Even a goddess has things she can and can't do?
"...Well, the small body will naturally resolve as time passes."
"Ah, sorry, but time doesn't work the same in the Divine Realm."
I thought the small body issue would be resolved with time.
But contrary to my expectation, Orbelia's answer was quite cruel.
"Even if time passes, your vessel will remain as it is now. This is the realm of souls."
"What? Then do I have to live like this forever?"
"An eternal, unchanging pure form. In the Divine Realm, we call that a blessing."
Swallowing my bitter smile, I looked helplessly at my slender wrist.
A body that doesn't grow no matter how much time passes...
It's strangely suffocating.
"Anyway, let's finish the greetings..."
"What's left?"
"Yes. It's time to test your talent."
Orbelia leaned slightly from the throne and gave me a meaningful smile.
"Test?"
"Deciding whether to send you back to the village or keep you here is a very simple procedure."
Orbelia said this calmly and extended her right hand slightly toward me.
"May I place your hand on my palm?"
"Ah, yes..."
I didn't know what the procedure was, but since it's the goddess speaking, I had no choice but to follow.
"It will be quick, so don't be too nervous."
Approaching the throne, I carefully placed my small hand on her white palm.
"Even if you accumulate a lot of virtue, only a few can connect it to talent."
"...What?"
"Meaning, whether the virtue you've accumulated will bloom into a certain talent, we'll check from now on."
A thunderclap-like sound hit my ear, but without time to be surprised, Orbelia's procedure began.
Divine Authority Test
"...Cecilia, prepare the inauguration ceremony right now."