Questions and Answers
After furrowing their brows for quite some time, Cecilia and Wendy slowly began sorting through their thoughts before stammering out their lingering questions.
"Does... another world really exist?"
"Of course. It does. I'm living proof."
When I pointed to myself, Cecilia frowned.
"You can't really tell just by looking at you, though..."
"I know. Just saying."
"...I'm not in the mood for jokes."
"Well, I am."
"Eeeek...!"
She puffed her cheeks in an adorable pout. Chuckling at the sight, I popped a piece of fruit from the snack platter into her mouth.
"Mmph? Mmm... A-anyway! You're saying you're someone from another world, right? Inhabiting Stanasila Alzen's body?"
Swallowing the fruit completely before opening her mouth again—she really was polite to a fault.
"Yeah. Exactly."
"Then... what's your real name?"
"Kang Han-gil."
"...What a strange name."
"Oh, are you mocking my name now? The precious name my parents gave me? Good grief, being dragged into another world was unfair enough, but now I'm getting made fun of for my name..."
"T-that's not what I meant! I just said it because it sounded exotic! Don't twist my words into something weird!"
She squeaked in protest and began swatting my thigh.
"Stop teasing and give me proper answers! I have so many things I'm curious about!"
"All right, all right. I hear you. What else do you want to know?"
As I gently patted her head, she glared up at me with a sullen pout before finally speaking again.
"T-then... did the Goddess bestow all that vast knowledge upon you?"
"...That's what you're curious about? I figured you'd ask something else."
"Something else?"
"Yeah. Like... what happened to the real Stanasila Alzen, for instance."
"Uh... wouldn't he naturally have gone to the heavenly paradise? He sacrificed himself for the Goddess, after all. Didn't he?"
"......"
I was utterly lost for words.
"Neither my will nor Stanasila Alzen's was involved in the slightest. This possession was completely forced."
"Still, it's the Goddess's will, isn't it? Then one must obey. Wouldn't it be an immense honor, if anything?"
"......"
I decided to stop asking and stop dwelling on it. I had momentarily forgotten that she was the Saintess of the Holy Church. Crazy fanatic.
"...You asked if the Goddess gave me my knowledge, right? Well. In the past, I would've flatly denied it... but now, I honestly can't say."
The Goddess had made it clear: she shared a portion of the blame for landing me in this mess. Even now, closing my eyes brings the setting books vividly to mind. If this total recall—letting me remember every single detail down to things I'd never consciously memorized—was recreated through divine power, then one could argue it really had been bestowed by the Goddess.
"It must have been granted by the Goddess! There's no way such an incredible gift would just appear for no reason!"
"...Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night."
"Then that means Lord Alzen... no, Lord Kang Han-gil, you're the Hero, aren't you?"
"...What?"
Seeing Cecilia's eyes sparkling with adoration, I stared at her dumbfounded.
"Uh, no? Absolutely not. I can guarantee you I'm not the Hero."
"Huh? But the Goddess personally gave you power and even descended through my body to help you! And I heard it loud and clear! You said you'd kill the Demon God!"
"I did say that, but..."
"Then that makes you the Hero!"
"I'm telling you, I'm not. I get what you're thinking, but the one taking down the Demon God won't be me—it'll be the real Hero. At most, my role is just backing that person up."
"The real Hero...?! Wait! Are you talking about the legendary Hero chosen by the Goddess?!"
"Ah... right, that was the lore. Exactly. That Hero. The same kind of Hero who took down four Demon Kings several hundred years ago before dying—someone like that will appear soon."
"The one chosen by the Holy Sword?!"
"Chosen by the Holy Sword."
"That's enormous! Why didn't you tell me when you already knew?!"
"Because the topic never came up? Besides, I had no real reason to mention it."
"That's awful!"
I had no idea why that was considered awful, but she started swatting my thigh again as if I'd committed some grave sin.
"You're making a massive fuss over this. Do you like heroes that much?"
"Of course I do! Adventure! Justice! Strength! And salvation! No one in the Empire dislikes the Hero or tales of heroism!"
Watching her huff excitedly with steam practically puffing from her nose, I chuckled.
"Well, I can't guarantee the future Hero will be the kind of person you're picturing... but I suppose it makes sense you'd be interested. After all, it's set in stone that the Saintess joins the Hero's party."
The Hero and the Saintess. It was practically a fantasy cliché, and Origin World had been no exception.
"Exactly! To think I might be in a party with the Hero...! I'll work hard! Far harder than I ever have before!"
"It's great that you're motivated, but why are you telling me?"
"Huh? Well... Lord Kang Han-gil, you'll be in the party with us too, won't you?"
"You're spewing dangerous nonsense."
My face instantly went dead serious.
"H-huh?"
Cecilia flinched, tilting her head in confusion.
"What's wrong? You said your role was to help the Hero. Doesn't that mean you're destined to be in the Hero's party? In the name of the Goddess?"
"Like hell I am. Don't you dare say that anywhere else. I'll get genuinely pissed."
I gripped her delicate shoulders and gave her a stern glare. Overwhelmed by my sheer intensity, Cecilia nodded meekly. Then, suddenly coming to her senses, she asked again:
"Uh... but then, how do you plan to help the Hero?"
"You don't have to be in the same party to offer help. Providing external resources, backing them up, handling logistics—that's my role."
"I see...! A secret benefactor! How wonderful!"
"...It's probably a bit different from whatever you're imagining, but... whatever, close enough."
I sighed, took a sip of liquor, and watched her shoulders bounce with barely contained excitement and delight.
"Cecilia. Are you really that thrilled? Even though your role was forced upon you without any regard for your own will?"
"Pardon? Yes, absolutely."
"...Is that so. Impressive. Personally, it pisses me right off."
"Uh... but didn't you reach an agreement with the Goddess and willingly accept her will, Lord Kang Han-gil?"
"Who? Me?"
I let out a dry, incredulous scoff, pointing at my own chest.
"Did you not hear my conversation with her? How on earth could you possibly come away with that impression?"
"Uh... because you spoke informally to her? You two looked so close..."
"......"
It seemed Cecilia's intelligence dropped several notches whenever the Goddess was involved. Or maybe the divine descent had been such a shock that she hadn't processed the conversation properly.
"That was literally the first time I'd ever seen the Goddess. I only spoke casually because she pissed me off."
"...Excuse me?"
Her eyes and mouth dropped open in absolute shock before her expression instantly turned fierce.
"You can't do that! That was the Goddess herself?!"
"What do I care? Why would I show respect to a wench like that?"
"Wha—wha—what did you just say?!"
She seized up as if she had just heard an unspeakable curse that brought doom merely by being spoken aloud.
"Lord Kang Han-giiiiiil!"
"Kang is my family name, Han-gil is my given name. Just call me Han-gil."
"Lord Han-giiiil!!"
"You're going to burst my eardrums. What?"
"Never, ever speak like that again! Something terrible will happen! Truly!"
"Why shouldn't I? She should consider herself lucky I didn't unleash a whole string of profanities at that damn—"
"Lord Han-giiiiiiil!!"
She lunged, grabbed my collar with both hands, and threw her entire body weight into shaking me violently back and forth.
"You can't! You must not! You just can't! Absolutely, positively not! No means no! You cannot say such things! Ever! Do you understand?!"
"Urggh...! A-all right, fine! I got it! I won't! I won't do it, so let go!"
"Haa... haa...!"
She reluctantly released my collar, panting heavily with a flushed face.
"Phew... Ah, seriously! Now I'm finally getting angry! How could you speak about the Goddess like that?!"
"...You're genuinely terrifying."
I was brutally reminded that there was simply no helping a fanatic. A reflexive fit of shock, followed by total denial, followed by righteous fury... That was not how a normal human being functioned. I'd better avoid religion-related topics in front of her from now on.
"Right. Anyway... any more questions?"
I hastily changed the subject. Fortunately, the innocent Cecilia took the bait and fell into deep thought.
"Hmm... I don't think I have any more. What about you, Wendy?"
"Me?"
Wendy, who had been watching quietly from a slight distance, looked at me with a complicated expression.
"...Who else knows that you are from another world?"
"Ah~ Not many. Muriel, Rebecca, Cacciola... and the Demon King, I guess?"
"The Demon King... is it."
She fell silent, her expression indescribable, before finally giving a small nod.
"Understood."
"Nothing else you're curious about, right? Let's wrap this up, then."
"Ah! Wait! I just thought of more questions! How do you plan on helping the Hero? Where are the limits of your knowledge?! Do you know things about me, too?! And what is that other world like?! What kind of work did you do there, Lord Han-gil?!"
"Why are you pouring all this out now...? I'm not answering anymore. Too much hassle."
"What?! That's not fair! Please answer me!"
"No. More importantly, get out. I want to rest."
"I don't want to! I'm staying right here until you answer!"
"Sigh... Suit yourself."
When I sprawled out across the sofa, Cecilia rushed over and began shaking my shoulder.
"No, don't lie down! Answer me! Please?! How do you plan to assist the Hero?!"
"Stop bothering me and just leave already..."
"I'm not going!"
"Wendy. Take your Saintess and go."
"...I would also like to hear the answers."
"What?"
I blinked at her in surprise, having never expected such a reply from her, only to see an uncharacteristically playful expression on her face.
"Hah... So you know how to joke around, do you?"
"Naturally. I am human, after all."
"...You're not holding a grudge against me anymore? Earlier, you looked ready to devour me alive."
"My apologies. I was mistaken earlier."
"Pretty sure it wasn't a mistake. It's a fact that I used Cecilia."
"No. All of it was the Goddess's will."
"So that's your angle..."
I let out a sigh and took another swig of liquor.
"Well, if that's how you want to frame it... But still, aren't we a bit too unfamiliar for you to suddenly crack jokes?"
"If it made you uncomfortable, I apologize. Realizing you were an instrument arranged by the Goddess simply gave me a sense of kinship..."
"......"
The Goddess really was an insanely convenient excuse.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. Unlike usual, however, the knocks landed low and soft.
"Who is it?"
"Orabeoni! It's me! Vivian!"
"Vivian? What's going on?"
"Cecilia is in there, right? I came to hang out!"
"You heard her. Wouldn't it be better to go back and play with Vivian instead of inhaling cigarette smoke in here?"
"No! Hearing your answers is far more important than that, Lord Han-gil!"
"So much for your shallow friendship..."
I shook my head with a sigh.
"Come in."
"Okay!"
Vivian pushed the door open cheerfully and broke into a bright grin the moment she saw me.
"E-excuse us..."
Behind her, Leona followed with an awkward expression.
"Cecilia! You ran off right during your turn and paused the whole game! Let's keep playing!"
"H-huh? No, wait a second. Right now, there's something way more important—"
"What could possibly be more important than this right now?! Come on, hurry!"
Vivian dumped a deck of playing cards onto the table and urged her on. Cecilia glanced back and forth between me and the cards, before finally slumping into a seat at the table.
And just like that, out of nowhere, a card game broke out in my room.