When That Day Comes Again (2)
Our party was full of maniacs. It wasn’t strange at all, since the whole thing had been thrown together by a mad party leader who thought it was perfectly fine to set out without a healer or even a simple herbalist. Still, the only reason we had managed to slay the Demon King once before was that, at our core, every one of us still clung to some scrap of sanity. If even I—the one who had always prided myself on being the most level-headed—was this rattled, I could only imagine how the rest of them were faring.
Yes. They all know. I told them myself.
The Demon King’s revival didn’t frighten me. Once is hard; twice shouldn’t be any harder. No matter how many times he crawled back from the grave, I would simply make him regret every single resurrection. I rolled around on the bed, trying to deny the Earth Mother’s unbelievable words, but after two or three turns the crushing weight on my chest became too painful and I gave up.
Killing the Demon King as quickly as possible and then continuing the journeys we each wanted to take in our previous lives… that didn’t sound so bad.
'Where am I, exactly?'
Would you like to guess?
Damn goddess.
Did you just have a very irreverent thought?
“It’s your imagination. Since I have no idea, would you kindly tell me?”
It’s near a place all four of you know.
“How many places do you think all of us know…?”
In all the years we traveled together, right up until we killed the Demon King, we had never once been separated. That meant we had walked every inch of the path from the place our party first formed all the way to the Demon King Castle. There wasn’t a single location one of us didn’t know.
Come on. Who do you think I am? I wouldn’t just drop you anywhere.
Evil. Trash. Not a heavenly goddess at all—just a wicked deity made of pure malice.
I placed you in a spot that suits a new beginning perfectly. …Wait. I think you just had another strange thought?
“I did not.”
A place that suits a new beginning… It was only logical to assume it was the spot where we had all gathered in our previous lives.
“…It must be the cathedral near the World Tree sapling.”
Oh! As expected. The others only understood after I told them directly!
Would it kill you to tell me directly too?
I’ll prepare a tutorial, so until then please gather whatever you need. Light exercise is fine too. You should get used to your new body. I am a very open-minded goddess, so even if you become consumed by lust I won’t cast you aside. Feel free to do whatever you want. There should be one or two in the drawer.
'…What exactly is in there?'
I swallowed hard and quickly looked away from the drawer that gleamed with a brilliant golden light. That was a drawer that must never be opened. It undoubtedly contained something terrifying that I should never see.
You’re not falling for it.
“Could you please be quiet so I can think?”
Do as you wish.
She had said she was going to prepare something, yet the goddess who answered so readily stopped speaking to me. The room fell quiet except for the chirping of small birds. Sitting on the soft bed, there was only one thing I could do—the same thing I had always done. Plan the next steps.
First, prevent the Demon King’s revival at all costs. After that, we would travel.
“Looks like I’ll have to suffer for quite a while again…”
To kill the Demon King we would need to collect about six divine artifacts. Just thinking about tracking them down again made my head throb. I had to walk that path once more? Good grief—
—Still, it would be best to start with the closest one.
“Sigh… I suppose I should begin with the World Tree sapling.”
I had no idea what abilities the others had wished for or what condition they were in right now. But in the Demon Realm, where a human’s power was cut in half the moment they stepped inside, we would need to borrow the World Tree’s domain if we wanted to use our full strength.
Oh! Most people would have been so flustered they forgot everything… You still remember your entire previous life? That’s impressive.
“What exactly do you take me for…”
She had promised to be quiet, yet it seemed she had already forgotten that promise.
You’re human. The one who receives my special favor…
If I received her “special favor” a second time I would probably stop being human and turn into something grotesque, but it still felt oddly nice to be acknowledged by the Earth Mother. Though being loved by a goddess like her was slightly unsettling.
—What could I do about it?
'Even if I remember almost everything, I should still write it down.'
There was no telling what might happen, so it was best to prepare for every possibility. Honestly, it would be more relaxing to charge into dungeons shouting “Romance! Adventure!” alongside the hero who used to do exactly that.
What are you doing?
“I’m taking notes. Could you please leave me alone while a human is trying to write?”
“Moonlight Step is necessary too…” What else did I need?
That’s too much. Are you sulking because I called you human? How cute! Ah, as expected. Why are all the beings I create so adorable? Wait a moment. But you are human, right?!
“Who said I wasn’t?”
While the once-confident me frantically pulled out a notebook and scribbled down everything I could remember, the Earth Mother, apparently bored again, kept talking to me. Ignoring her felt like it would lead to something terrifying, so I gave half-hearted, vague answers while my hand never stopped moving. Quite a bit of time passed that way.
The sunlight streaming through the window had almost completely faded, taking on a hue similar to my new body’s hair, when someone came looking for me.
Knock, knock.
“Saintess? Are you there?”
Creak.
“She must not be here… Aigoo. The Pope really is something else…”
'He asked if I was here, then immediately flung the door open.'
Whether it was the Earth Mother or the priests, nothing about any of them pleased me. Birds of a feather. How had so many people exactly alike managed to gather in one place?
The girl who had only poked her head through the door gap turned slightly and our eyes met. Her previously dazed expression filled with shock, and the corners of her eyes sparkled in the evening glow seeping through the window.
“Huk. You are here?! Saintess!”
The girl who had been trembling while barely holding the door open must have been telling the truth. She slammed the door open with her whole body and sprinted toward me. Before I could stop her, she closed the distance in a single bound and leaped with all her might.
“Oof.”
'You’ll hurt yourself, you little rascal.'
I couldn’t dodge the girl who spread both arms wide to hug me. Apparently convinced I would catch her, she naturally burrowed into my embrace, clutched my clothes so tightly it seemed they might tear, and began sobbing loudly.
Worried the notes I had painstakingly written would get wet, I gently covered the leather notebook and set it on the side table. Now that my hands were free, it felt awkward to just leave them there, so I patted the girl’s back. Only then did the sniffling child who had been sobbing against me gradually calm down. Her cries grew quieter until she was only hiccupping.
“…Feeling a little better now?”
“Yes… Oh, but… The Pope said that if the Saintess was here I should bring her…”
“Me?”
If the Pope had called for me, he could have just said so. Why was she watching my reaction like that?
“Yes.”
'…The Pope?'
There was only one being who could move the Pope to action.
I didn’t do anything.
It was clearly your doing.
“All right. Let’s go.”
If I dawdled any longer I would end up having to comfort a crying child again. As I stood up, brushed off my backside, and straightened my clothes, the girl watched me with a bright smile, thinking things had resolved more easily than expected. She scampered ahead to the door and waited for me.
'If I had a grandchild, would they be about this age?'
I had never even had a child, yet here I was thinking all sorts of things.
“Saintess! Hurry!”
“Yes, yes.”
Now I understood why the hero used to say that if you cried and then smiled, horns would grow on your backside. Yes, when she smiled like that she really was adorable.
The sound of bells drifting from the chapel we passed on the way to the Pope’s quarters was exceptionally solemn. The moment I saw the priests kneeling in prayer, my already stiff shoulders felt even heavier. The interior of the cathedral was covered with stained-glass windows depicting every hero of past generations. It was so extravagant that it seemed less like a temple for the Earth Mother and more like one dedicated to the heroes.
“Ah… You came? I was quite worried you might not.”
Not a single wrinkle. A rather young-looking priest hurried over and clasped both my hands tightly.
'He seems stronger than the hero was.'
“Who are you?”
Wasn’t the Pope usually a kindly old man with a face full of wrinkles?
“Aigoo. Saintess, even the Earth Mother wouldn’t play such a prank. It’s me.”
The hero had always said to beware anyone who went around saying “Aigoo, it’s me~!” —they were definitely con artists.
“So who are you, exactly?”
“Hmm… You’re still speaking informally and even joking around. It seems you really are feeling better? Hehe. I’m the Pope.”
“The Pope?”
Yes. That’s correct.
Would it have hurt to tell me in advance? Why did I have to say it first before you confirmed it—
“Yes, that is correct. It has been a long time since you last handled divine power. I invited you here so I could teach you how to use it. The goddess herself earnestly asked me to, so I will instruct you personally.”
I asked him to keep it a secret.
'See? It was your doing after all.'
The Pope stared at me with eyes full of fervor that made him seem like a fanatic. Startled by his gaze, I took a step back. As if he had expected it, he naturally seized my wrist.
“Since you have been absent for quite some time, it won’t be easy. No matter how beloved you are by the goddess, you must remember how difficult it is for a human body to wield divine power in her stead.”
I didn’t remember… Wouldn’t anyone collapse quickly if they were suddenly assigned such a passionate instructor when they were only just learning? Earth Mother. Are you sure it’s all right to learn from this person?
Don’t worry. I’m right here.
If it had been any other goddess, I wouldn’t have been worried at all.
“While you are busy whispering with the goddess, would it be all right if we head to the training grounds?”
'So he really is the Pope. How did he know?'
Of course. He is an incredibly devout man. Don’t be afraid—go on and get it over with.
The fact that I was supposed to trust her was the truly terrifying part—
—Ah, whatever. Let’s just do it.