The Fertility God's Summons
The moment I opened my eyes, an embarrassingly massive and grotesque entity stood before me. I recognized it instantly. It was none other than the god who appeared in King's Crown, the very game I had been grinding until the moment of my death.
King's Crown was a fantasy game, so it naturally featured all manner of divine beings. Among them, Papiyas, the God of the Massive Root, held a rather special place. He was one of the ancient gods, counted among the oldest in the setting. Because of the game's core mechanics, his divinity exerted tremendous influence over mortals. After all, he was the god of fertility and procreation.
King's Crown was a generational strategy game. When the player character died—whether from old age or sudden accident—the player could continue as one of that character's descendants. In other words, the number of offspring equaled the number of extra lives. Naturally, a god who could most directly affect that "life stock" would never hold the same social standing as ordinary minor deities.
Papiyas was among the most powerful gods in the world of King's Crown. He was also famous among players for his extremely distinctive appearance. His design was suspiciously similar to a certain popular character from one of Japan's three major RPGs, leading most players to conclude that at least one developer was a fan of that series.
Seeing with my own eyes the god I had only ever known through illustrations sent me into a full-blown panic. A phallus larger than an elephant, no, the size of a dinosaur. Before I could even process the sight, the being who had introduced himself as the God of the Massive Root shook his colossal member with a wet, fleshy sound, clearly displeased by my slack-jawed staring.
"Insolent wretch. I personally descended to point out your mistake and grant you an opportunity, yet a mere mortal dares ignore a god's words?"
"Huh? Ah..."
Only then did I remember what Papiyas had said upon appearing: he had ordered me to bow my head. I hurriedly lowered it and apologized.
"I-I'm terribly sorry, my lord. This is the first time I've ever experienced something like this, so I unintentionally committed a grave discourtesy."
It was the same instinctive groveling I used whenever my boss chewed me out at work. Fortunately, my attitude seemed to please him. Papiyas let out a low hum and forgave me with surprising ease.
Sweat trickling down my temple, I cautiously raised my head. The god was now swaying his enormous body as though showing off, slowly waving his left hand. Because the hand was so massive, each motion produced a distinct whooshing sound as it displaced the air.
"Very well. Mortal from another dimension. I shall now explain why I have summoned you here. First, you are already dead in the dimension where you once lived."
So that was it. The horrific pain that had seized me right before I lost consciousness had already given me some idea. Had I pushed myself too hard? After returning from work, I would game like a madman until dawn, then drag myself to the office again the moment morning came. Repeating that cycle for months on end... it was no wonder my body had given out. Heart failure, probably.
"Therefore, your soul has been brought here. Should you refuse the proposal I am about to make, your soul will be returned to its original dimension, where it will receive whatever fate awaits it according to that world's laws."
The fate of the dead? Like the heaven-and-hell judgments I'd seen in movies and novels? Curious, I raised a hand and asked carefully.
"Forgive me for interrupting, but... could you tell me more about what happens after death?"
"Even I cannot know that. The gods have agreed upon a law: they shall not interfere in matters between different dimensions."
So the world itself was different. That meant Papiyas wasn't merely a game character. He was a real existence from some other dimension. Did that mean other games, novels, and comics could also exist as reality in different worlds?
Before I could dwell on that, I noticed a contradiction in what the god had said.
"Then why was I brought here? Didn't you just say different dimensions cannot interfere with one another?"
"I paid a great price to summon your soul because I have a purpose for you."
In other words, he had bought me. Why?
"Why someone as ordinary as me..."
"Hmph. You truly lack confidence in yourself. Did I not say I have a purpose? Do not doubt a god's will."
Years of living without self-esteem made the thought slip out before I could stop it. After pointing this out, the god fell silent for a moment, then asked a question that caught me completely off guard.
"Mortal. What do you think of Elaine Huxley?"
"Pardon?"
"Answer me seriously."
Why was he suddenly asking this? Though confused, I began to think carefully under the weight of the god's solemn tone.
Elaine Huxley. The face of King's Crown and one of its main heroines. In the game, when the player did not intervene, history followed a predetermined course called the "canon." According to that canon, Elaine first appeared as the fiancée of the crown prince of the Lu Empire, the most powerful nation on the continent of Hamaltia.
As the eldest daughter of Duke Huxley, a founding contributor to the empire, she had been renowned since childhood for her brilliant mind and exceptional beauty. When it later became known that she also possessed heaven-sent talent for swordsmanship, she was rightfully called the "Flower of the Empire."
Her stats were absurdly broken. In King's Crown, skills and attributes were called Traits, a tradition carried over from the Crusader Kings series the game had blatantly plagiarized. Elaine had been born with the three legendary cheat Traits: Genius Brain, Beautiful Appearance, and Heaven-sent Martial Talent.
Bloodline, talent, and looks. Possessing all three, Elaine was without a doubt the greatest marriage candidate in the entire world of King's Crown. If a player married her and produced children, there was a high chance the next generation's player would inherit those same three Traits. On top of that, her status as the legitimate heir of an imperial ducal house was an enormous advantage.
That was why, when King's Crown first launched, every player had been desperate to marry Elaine. But the game had earned its "overwhelmingly negative" rating for a reason. The developers never gave players an easy path. Countless players tried every method imaginable to NTL her away from the crown prince, yet all attempts failed. Her personality Traits were Chaste and Stubborn.
Some Traits reflected innate personality, and in many ways, those were the factors that most heavily shaped a character's life. Elaine would never commit adultery, even if beaten to death. No, she couldn't. The saying "you can't change people" had been implemented with ruthless fidelity in King's Crown.
Yes. Elaine loved the crown prince. This stubborn heroine loved him so deeply that, when faced with the threat of losing her chastity, she would choose to take her own life without hesitation. Therefore, her life was nothing but tragedy.
After reaching that conclusion, I answered the patiently waiting Papiyas.
"She is a pitiful woman. To have fallen in love with someone like the crown prince..."
Alec Lu, the crown prince. Players of King's Crown called him the Trash Prince, the Main Villain, or simply "human garbage." He was the archetypal bad man. After using Elaine, who genuinely loved him, for his own ends, he ultimately offered her as a sacrifice to summon the Demon King.
"Your words are correct. Elaine... that poor child."
As if empathizing, Papiyas let his massive body sag. The enormous crown perched atop his glans wobbled precariously, looking as though it might fall straight onto my head.
"So. Is that truly all you feel toward her?"
"My feelings toward Lady Elaine? There's nothing else, really..."
While I answered with half my attention on the swaying crown, Papiyas suddenly raised the scepter in his right hand and slammed it vertically into the ground.
BOOM!
A deafening roar shook the entire earth.
"How dare you! I summoned you here after investigating everything! Would you speak falsehoods before a god?!"
"N-no, even if you say that..."
"Did you think I would not know that you love Elaine?!"
"...What?"
Why would I love a game character who didn't even exist in reality? Stunned speechless, I could only stare as the god laid bare feelings I hadn't even known I possessed.
"Think carefully. When you first saw Elaine's portrait, that trembling in your chest—was that not the feeling of love?"
"..."
That was love? I could feel my pupils shaking uncontrollably. The tremors from the ground Papiyas had struck traveled up my legs and reached my heart. Was this frantic, pounding sensation really love?
"Hah... poor thing. Have you truly never loved anyone in your entire life?"
He was right. I was a lifelong virgin who had never even experienced first love.