Whispering in the Spirit Forest
A weary sigh escaped the goddess as the connection severed.
In truth, though revered as “the Goddess,” she had no fixed gender. She could appear in any form, yet humans found it easier to extend goodwill and warmth when she manifested as a beautiful woman. Thus Grandia had chosen this appearance for her.
In the strictest sense, therefore, the term “she” was perhaps not entirely fitting for Grandia.
*The fate that once moved has begun to move again.*
A mutation among mutations.
Olivia Reinhardt’s existence was about to become the single most vital key to this war. She had known the heroine overflowed with talent; what she had not anticipated was how completely her brilliance would eclipse everything else.
If not for Alex’s poison, Olivia would have kept advancing, and who could say whether she might have reached the Goddess’s own position or even the Evil God’s?
The offer to hand over the Goddess’s seat had been half in jest.
The other half, though, had been earnest.
*At the very least, she would do better than I.*
Regret was all that remained.
She had once believed she had saved so many. Now, looking back, she saw the people whose deaths had been preventable.
Those she could not reach had been sealed in humiliation, and she had failed to act properly. She had never even been able to claim the responsibility for her own mistakes.
It was her fault that she had not killed the Evil God.
At that moment she should have hesitated no longer. Victory had been within reach; the target had been within reach. Yet the love and pity she still felt for the child she herself had borne had frozen her for the briefest instant.
That single emotional lapse had shaped the Goddess she had become.
How shameful. How foolish. How utterly stupid.
*I know I should not regret having tried to create life. But is it truly impossible to wish that I had not?*
If she had never made that offer to the Evil God, humanity and the monsters would never have been born. The war would have remained simpler, less tangled.
She would have preferred more people alive, more laughter ringing through the streets.
That had been all she had ever wanted.
No matter how hard she tried, every good deed slipped through her fingers like sand. She understood that the side driven by malice would always prevail in a war between those who wished to protect and those who wished to destroy.
*Please, Olivia.*
You are strong.
You are righteous.
Even if you fall, you would choose to fall in a way that still protects people.
*There was worry…*
Olivia’s heart had never truly wavered, yet the branches that held it were long and slender; one strong wind could have toppled them. That very fragility had eventually led to her betrayal and had nearly broken her.
But it had not.
*Ah, Lois.*
She knew nothing of him.
Truly nothing.
Most information on the surface world came through spirits, so her knowledge was limited. Still, she had managed to obtain the latest news by borrowing their strength.
Beyond the fact that Lois had once been Olivia’s companion, she knew almost nothing.
Great deeds, great talent, great destiny—such beings were often visible, their scales visibly shifting.
In that sense, Lois possessed none of those qualities.
*I hear there were many events in his past, but I know nothing of the details.*
Grandia let out a small sigh.
It had been so long since she had spoken at such length that a faint thrill ran through her. Yet the very effort of conversation left her a little tired.
The moment would come when she could finally confront the Evil God.
When the war ended, she intended to touch the world no more.
She had once mistaken necessity for her own whim; the races were simply walking their own paths now.
The first hero had been betrayed and condemned until he became what he was. Olivia had not.
Was it mere chance?
She could not say.
She was certain, however, that the one who would guide humanity need not be some transcendent being.
*Please, pathfinder of the Hero’s road.*
If that blade did not point in the right direction, it would surely spill rivers of blood.
***
“I only thought this would be a simple healing journey for the Hero.”
“The matter has grown far larger than I expected… I have come to believe that killing Alex before he could stir anything in Erchia would have been the wiser choice.”
“Well, he certainly won’t die quietly. If I were Alex, I would appear only on the day of the conference and hide elsewhere until then.”
“What? Haven’t you seen the image of the frightened man?”
“It has simply… transformed into caution.”
“How careless.”
“Everyone is, of course. Humans are creatures who think according to their own desires and standards. Objective thought is impossible; we can only strive for as much objectivity as possible. But that very attempt often makes us too coldly rational and blinds us to our own feelings.”
Rationality is the proper balance of reason and emotion.
To judge solely by law, reason, and right and wrong is not rationality. That is simply cold-bloodedness.
*Should I have left the Shrine Spirit behind?*
“She said it was fine.”
She had stayed beside her for several days, but the Shrine Spirit had been anxious to return and had insisted on leaving at once.
The Spirit Forest would recover quickly; it was overflowing with natural mana.
Both she and Livia had accepted the proposal without hesitation. The road was urgent, and arriving quickly was better than delaying.
With Titania’s introduction, they could reach a village and obtain a carriage to arrive in Erchia far faster.
“Alex, Velita, the new Saintess, the Red Dragon King, and who knows what else—the Demon King’s high-ranking officers, the Evil God… there are so many pieces on the board, don’t you think?”
“Indeed. Once this is over, I might even become a Hero.”
“You are already a Hero. You saved countless lives before defeating the Demon King.”
“As you say.”
“But lately I’ve been thinking otherwise.”
“What is it?”
“That the Hero’s burden is so very heavy.”
“Well, that’s true.”
If a Hero is someone who has polished their kindness to the utmost and saved countless souls, then nothing could be more noble or more exhausting.
Yet there was no guarantee that kindness would ever be repaid. Conversely, there was no guarantee that evil would always receive its just reward. Most who pursued evil believed their own deaths would be punishment enough.
Only when death was imminent did they cling to survival. Deep down, however, they often knew the truth.
Perhaps humanity simply prefers evil.
The betrayal of every act of kindness might be less logical than the retaliation of every act of malice.
And that was why so many people felt a certain sadness.
Yet she still believed that even if every good deed collapsed, someone would remain foolish enough to keep choosing kindness. She wanted to become one of those people who could help such fools.
And unfortunately, those fools died young.
They did not live long.
It was strangely comforting to watch even one extra day of life granted to such a fool.
“But even so, being a Hero is still the hardest path!”
“Why?”
“Because while some suffer, others laugh and live ordinary days in peace.”
“Indeed. The Hero’s suffering equals the citizen’s peace. How unfair.”
“Isn’t it?”
Livia smiled.
“You can only become that kind of fool on this path.”
She had called herself foolish.
If there was one thing Livia lacked in depth, it was perhaps only that she never allowed herself to underestimate her own shortcomings. She understood her limits and willingly left what she could not do to others.
If I cannot do this, then another person will.
Then I shall do what that other person cannot.
It was truly a healthy mind.
“So, Lois, let’s go play the fool together. After all, the road glowing with kindness and the road stained by malice can both be overturned. If both are foolish actions, kindness is clearly the better choice.”
“You speak so lightly. The remaining Demon King’s high-ranking officers, Alex, Velita, the true Saintess, the Red Dragon King… perhaps even the Evil God himself. And who knows what else we have yet to face?”
“Quite so.”
“Can you really solve all of it?”
“No, I won’t try to. If I did nothing, I could not solve anything. I will do what I can. I will do it.”
“….”
She fell silent for a moment, then smiled.
“Well, I said I would walk this journey until the end, so I will remain with you until your own journey concludes.”
“Of course. And I wish to make sure that when your journey ends, I stay by your side. Just as you reached out to save me, I will reach out to you this time.”
“Really?”
She had already considered that future less than ideal, yet she chose to ignore it.
“Then let us go to Erchia.”
“Still, I hope it ends in a happy ending, right?”
“Of course it does.”
No one—Goddess or otherwise—knew how this journey would conclude.
But for now, she hoped it would end happily.
She herself would see to it.