God Wills It
"But wasn't the Hero of Justice a servant of the God of Justice and Seasons?"
"Right?"
"Then can't we just forge a divine oracle like we used to? The Pantheon promised to turn a blind eye during this operation, so manipulating the hero should be a piece of cake."
"Ahh. I suppose you could misunderstand it that way."
"Pardon?"
In this world of Endless, the 'gods' aren't all that useful.
Honestly speaking, they're pretty much pathetic, pitifully incompetent beings.
"Canaria, you heard about why the Scales Priestess can see the future last time, right?"
"She gouged out her own eyes so she couldn't see ahead, and in exchange, she gained the ability to peer into the 'future,' or so I heard."
"Exactly. That's the power of the Scales. The ability to balance the weights on the scale."
"Hmm."
"In other words, peering into the future or reading minds isn't the Scales' power itself. The price was paid by the priestess, not the Scales."
"Ah."
The Scales could access my secrets only because I had impersonated it first. It can't monitor the entire world. The gods of this world aren't omnipotent or omniscient.
On the contrary, most of them are more useless than their own servants.
"Those blockheads can't do anything on their own."
Gods don't place themselves on the 'Scales.' They don't enact 'justice.' They don't show 'compassion' to humanity. It's humans who receive and carry out the commandments.
Thus, gods are utterly useless on their own. They're just perverts who voyeuristically watch the priestesses and heroes they've chosen.
"Even issuing oracles is the same. If an oracle conflicts with a commandment, the hero prioritizes the commandment they received directly. Heroes are servants of the gods, but not slaves. They don't blindly obey every order."
Heroes respect and revere their own gods, but they don't submit unconditionally. They value the divine teaching to 'enact justice' more than any oracle.
They'll follow oracles as long as they don't clash with commandments, but gods can't issue unjust orders. They can't make a hero ignore evil.
Obeying a master is a dog's virtue, not a human's. So heroes are truly just beings.
They cause all sorts of nuisances with their sense of justice, but at least they don't make excuses like 'God wills it (Deus Vult)'.
"I... thought gods were a bit more impressive."
"The gods of the Pantheon are beings bound by 'Order.' Even if they have great power, they can't act against Order."
It's a stark contrast to the saintess's god, who descended directly and shattered planets. This is probably the gods' own measure to maintain this world.
Endless is just too fragile.
"That's why we have to go through all this trouble."
"Should we cut back on the offerings to the Pantheon? It does feel like a waste sending all that gold."
"Just leave it. It's money that's useless anyway."
"If it's useless, then can't I use it freely...?"
"Like hell you can."
"I had to ask, just in case."
The malice of the world toward Zara grew even more relentless.
As Zara began to resist, the few people who had been tormenting her started acting even more outrageously.
"I just asked for the coins you promised."
"You threatened me! That beggar bitch pounded on my door all night, so I couldn't sleep. And she did a shit job cleaning—the smoke wouldn't vent properly. You think you can demand full pay for work like that?"
The bald man bellowed. His face twisted viciously as he vented his rage at Zara.
Guards stood around with spears and swords at the ready. The bald man had called them, claiming Zara threatened him.
"I just asked for my rightful pay. And pounding on your door all night? That's a lie. I cleaned properly."
"You fucking beggar bitch—!"
*Slap!*
The bald man couldn't hold back and swung at Zara's cheek.
Her cheek stung, but Zara grinned instead.
Compared to getting run over by a carriage or falling from a ledge... an old bald guy's slap barely hurt.
"What a dog."
"What?"
And now, Zara wasn't the 'kind' Zara who couldn't say bad things anymore.
She could say what needed saying—and a bit of what she shouldn't.
She was one Fucking Lion.
"Why the fuck are you swinging at me, you dog? No hair, so at least have some shame, right? Oh, no shame, that's why no hair? Ehehe."
"You little shit—."
Soon, the man's fists and kicks rained down on Zara.
The guards didn't protect her. They watched her get beaten with glee.
Onlookers on the street pointed and jeered.
"Tsk tsk, serving up greed gets you the whip."
"That bitch scammed twenty coins off me last time—feels good watching her get hers."
"Bald guy's not so bad..."
Unilateral violence. People's indifference. The shame of finger-pointing. Horrific misfortune.
But she giggled and taunted the man instead.
"Ehehehe, doesn't hurt at all? Must be 'cause you're old and weak."
His eyes rolled back, and he snatched a sword from a guard's hand.
Or rather, the guard practically handed it over.
Considering the strength difference, if the guard had resisted, the man couldn't have taken it.
In this city, Zara had no allies.
"Die—!"
The man swung at Zara.
As she dodged—
*Clang!*
Metal clashed against metal, and the man's sword shattered to the ground with a clang.
"Aaaagh!"
The man screamed, his hand torn from the sudden impact.
Blocking him was a single woman.
"What a disgusting stench this city has. The smell of innocent people suffering. The filth of the weak oppressed by the strong, the noble insulted by the vile..."
A woman in pristine white metal armor that hid her figure looked down at Zara. A sword gleamed in her hand—the one that had parried the man's strike.
She smelled of sunflowers. A golden scent out of season.
She shone like the only one basking under the sun.
"...But you smell of dandelions. A good child."
"Huh?"
"Flowers trampled grow the strongest. You'll surely become a fine person. Enough to make me jealous."
"Ehehehe, thank you."
Disgust flickered in the woman's eyes.
A familiar gaze to Zara. Sticky, relentless malice striking without reason.
The look of someone who hated her. The sensation of the whole world dumping its resentment on her.
It was 'natural' for the woman to feel revulsion toward her.
But.
The woman didn't swing her sword because of that disgust.
"Ah, I see. These revolting people are jealous of you."
Instead, she stroked Zara's hair and nodded.
"Even I feel jealous of your vitality and kindness, so I can imagine the trials you've endured. But wielding violence swayed by one's emotions is no different from a beast. Now I know what I must do in this filthy city."
Finishing her words, she turned to the bald man, still clutching his hand and trembling.
She aimed her sword at him.
The guards tried to intervene—but she slipped past their grasps like a ghost with a single step.
"Wicked bald one. Hear who judges your sins by the ancient laws."
The law of one who punishes evil under the sunlight.
A declaration of pride in her name, even before murder.
Her name echoed through the city.
"The name of this hero, chosen by the God of Justice and Seasons—is Nasir Dandelion."
The Hero of Justice, Nasir Dandelion.
She swung her sword at the bald man.
He squeezed his eyes shut, trembling.
And.
*Clang!*
Metal clashed once more.
"Why defend that man?"
"Ehehehe..."
This time, too, the sword failed its duty.
Blocking it was Zara, gripping a fallen guard's sword, her voice trembling slightly as she spoke.
"I haven't heard his apology yet...!"
"...You're defending the man who just tried to kill you over something so trivial?"
"I still need my back pay, too."
"You can claim that even after he's dead."
"And most of all, I want this guy to feel ashamed of his actions and repent. I want him to properly reflect on every wrong he's done to me."
"You want him to suffer alive?"
"No! If he truly repents, then I'd forgive him."
"...You're afraid of being hated, aren't you?"
"I want to flip off the world."
Zara gazed into empty air.
A hallucination only she could see grinned back.
"I believe no one can become irredeemably evil. What matters is facing this moment properly...!"
"...If you interfere, I'll subdue you."
"Ehehe. Give it your best shot. But... you look pretty weak, lady!"