The Nature of the Creator
“...Were the Ancient Beasts not beings born alongside the world itself?”
[That’s right. Born together with the world.]
“Then the Creator is...”
[When God made the world, He made us at the same time.]
Ekuya fell silent for a moment under the sudden weight of the revelation. [Did God truly exist?] Sangun, learning the secret of his ancestor’s birth, wore a similar expression.
“I always thought that was just something the outsiders forced on us...”
[Well, fair enough. It’s not like you lived through the Mythic Age, and the records from back then didn’t exactly survive intact.]
“Then has our faith been blasphemous all this time...”
In the middle of seeing someone off, Ekuya found himself hit by a bombshell. He tried to steady his heart as calmly as he could. It was not easy. His composure slipped; his true feelings surged up before he managed to blur them again.
[Don’t worry about that. He is fair death and unfair life, the loving forest and the merciless sea. He doesn’t go around slapping blasphemy labels on every little thing that catches His eye.]
“But...”
[I said it’s fine.]
Sensing it, Yukgui gently patted his arm with a flipper.
[In the first place, the only thing He cares about is the world’s continued existence. Whether the living things in it live however they like, worship whatever they like, follow whatever they like—as long as they don’t try to destroy the world, He doesn’t care in the slightest. So stop fretting. Borrowing trouble never ends well either.]
“...Is that so.”
Even so, the gentle pats could not fully soothe the complicated feelings swirling in Ekuya’s chest. The boy’s eyes grew heavy and quiet.
“When I was reading the church’s scriptures to understand the outside world, the part about why they tolerate idolatry struck me as ridiculous... but it seems there was some basis to it after all.”
[Hm? What did they write?]
“Their scriptures say, ‘Since this entire world was made by God, even worshiping His creations is ultimately praise of His greatness.’ Therefore there is no need to persecute idolaters.”
Back when he first read it he had thought, Do these outsiders not know the meaning of respect? They’re smacking other people’s faith around... but now that Yukgui had confirmed God’s existence, it felt different.
[Well... it’s not wrong. Not wrong.]
Apparently it had been a statement grounded in truth. Ekuya felt strangely offended.
[To be more precise, so long as the world can keep existing, and so long as the object of faith belongs to the order of this world, He doesn’t care who you believe in or who you revere... but in the end it’s pretty much the same thing.]
“I see...”
[Hold on—He’s a god and He can just do that?]
[Why not? Human belief and His existence are separate matters.]
Yukgui’s words left both Ekuya and Sangun a little stunned. Coming from no one but Yukgui himself, they would not deny it... yet having something that had been the foundation of their lives shattered and reassembled brought a pain that words could not easily name.
[Then the persecution of demons is...]
[They’re not living beings of this world.]
[Hmmm. In that case, Ancestor... the Knight doesn’t serve demons, and he’s working for the world’s continued existence, so shouldn’t the temples allow him? With that generosity they showed earlier, this should be within the acceptable line, right?]
Still, Sangun shook off the shock quickly. He was the one being worshiped, a subject of faith, yet he had no stubborn desire to dominate; that made it possible.
[There are a few answers I can give on that... but first let’s fix what’s wrong and move on.]
[Huh?]
[Our God is not generous. He overlooks idolatry and denial of His existence simply because they’re not worth responding to—not because He’s actually merciful enough to let them slide.]
[Uh...?]
[Like I said earlier, He is fair death and unfair life, the loving forest and the merciless sea. In other words, people also call Him “nature.”]
The truths that kept pouring out only grew heavier.
[Now think about it. Is there anything more ridiculous than demanding mercy from nature? The world isn’t a place where nature cares for living things; living things simply live in accordance with nature.]
Yukgui finally reduced the two of them to complete silence. He himself did not look particularly pleased.
[And the idea that God rejects the Demon Knight? That’s wrong too. He has no eyes and no ears. If something belongs to the order, He embraces it; if it does not—if it carries an outside energy—He simply casts it out. Just as He grants death to a beggar who has struggled desperately to live and long life to a rich man who has crushed others underfoot, He pays no attention whatsoever to an individual’s actions. Look at us. If He had ever cared about us, would those ones have fallen in the first place?]
Given that the God Yukgui knew was such a being, the Demon Knight had to look after himself all the more carefully. Only he could look after himself; therefore he had to do so even more.
[Th-then the church folk’s prayers—He doesn’t hear those? If you pray hard, you get more Holy Power.]
[You idiot. That mechanism isn’t like us listening with ears and answering. Think of God as a well. Humans lower a bucket called prayer and draw up as much divinity as they can handle.]
“...Then they aren’t the chosen of God the way the legends claim?”
[The only one He personally chooses and continues to watch over is the Hero. Everyone else simply awakened those traits later, or was born with them.]
“That’s...”
[Anyway, rather than praying to God, you’d be better off wishing for good luck. He is absolutely not the sort who answers prayers, so lean on fate instead.]
In this world, the Demon Knight’s only absolute ally was himself.
[In this world, fate is a domain even God cannot touch.]
Yes. The only one who could save him was himself alone.
“...I will have to insist a little harder that the Knight stay longer.”
Even so...
“But first I’ll go see Aori. I’ve acquired a few things I need to take care of.”
Even if he could not save him, he could at least help.
The Inquisitor moved her hands and feet mechanically, healing people and helping those around her.
One flash of light closed external wounds; another mended internal injuries. Faces brightened. It was the miracle of God she performed in His stead.
『Save those who walk the path.』
Yes. That was the power she had performed in His name.
『Send those who walk the path back.』
At the same time, it was the power she had always performed.
『Kill.』
And it was what she still had to perform.
That was all.
“Why?”
But.
But...
“Why...?”
The Inquisitor felt her knees give way. It was not because her legs lacked strength, nor because anything was wrong with her health.
“Priestess?”
“O God, why...”
What had broken was only one thing.
“Why...”
Her heart alone.
“Just two weeks—please stay only two weeks longer!”
[Two weeks! Two weeks!]
Had they been trying every method under the sun for a radical transformation, even wounding their mouths and drawing tattoos? The Great Chief who had sneakily come riding Sangun clung to my pant leg as he pleaded. Sangun had even wound his tail tightly around my body.
“...One week.”
“Absolutely not—two weeks! I will not compromise!”
“Do I look like someone who compromises?”
“...Two weeks!”
What is wrong with these two? Leaving the clingy boy and the snake, I lowered my head, determined this time to drive them off firmly.
“......”
“......”
Round, pleading eyes looked up at me.
“......”
“......”
Y-you think using sparkling eyes will lower my attack power? You think batting those baby-fat cheeks and acting cute will drop my attack by two ranks?!
“...What is it.”
...You crafty, wicked little child! You fulfill a Great Chief’s duties so diligently most of the time—why use a child’s privileges only on me...!
“I will not ask for anything more. Can you not stay just two more weeks?”
Yet every child has a rightful claim to this kind of spoiled begging. And I, as an adult, have the proper duty to be swayed by it.
“...Promise me. Two weeks, and after that you will not throw any more tantrums.”
“Yes!”
[Waaaah!!]
“And take this with you when you go.”
“What is this?”
“Go and see. And you—let go of the tail.”
[Ah, understood.]
Watching the Great Chief’s cheeks flush pink at the conditional permission, I let out a soft sigh.
I had finally delivered the three million for the wig—plus a little extra, considering everything I owed them—but was accepting this proposal truly the right thing? The child had clung to me first, yet was it right for me to keep staying here?
The longer I remained, the greater the danger of these people getting caught up in it all... and knowing that, was I really going to close my eyes to it?
“Ah, and... I already told the priests that I would tour the forest with Lord Sangun today. So...”
I pondered whether, as an adult, I ought to play along with the child, or whether, as an adult, I ought to prevent the dangers the child might face.
“Would it be all right if I stayed here with you today...?”
But the answer would not come easily. Of course it would not.
“...Fine.”
Even adults know how to feel lonely.
Even knowing I should not, I had no choice but to give in.
[Ehh. When it’s me you’re always nagging me to leave, but you go easy on the little one. Ain’t that preferential treatment?]
“Shut up.”
[Hiiing.]
“Haha... Ah, right. Benefactor, the priests packed some lunch boxes. Would you like to eat together?”
At the Great Chief’s call I pressed my dry lips together.
Once I left the Great Forest, once I stepped outside this forest... would I ever hear words of that tone again? With the penalty of the Disguise Skill making it impossible to stay long in cities or villages, impossible even to find companions on the road, would I ever encounter such words once more?
“Ah, I don’t mean right this moment... I mean eating together at the time you usually take your meals. I asked the priests to pack more than usual. They really packed a lot, so it shouldn’t be short... probably...?”
It would be hard. Extremely hard. Unless I returned here again, and unless they still had affection left to give me then, it would be nearly impossible.
“...Do you dislike it?”
Which is why the result had to end up like this. If one is forced by position to walk a hard road, wanting to put it off as long as possible is only natural psychology.
“No. Let’s eat together.”
Unable even to smile, I brought my hand near the crown of the child’s head.
Is it all right to do this to the one who leads this whole region? Is it rude to stroke him without permission? The thought that flashed through me made my hand hesitate.
Thump. The child’s crown, rising on tiptoe, met the hand that had stopped awkwardly short. Ekuya cast aside the position of Great Chief and grinned bashfully like an ordinary child. [Hiiing.] Only the snake, convinced he was being discriminated against, grumbled pointlessly.
“...When did you eat breakfast?”
In that moment my frozen fingers began to stroke the head. Whenever I tried to stop, the child nuzzled in first, so it was hard to pull away.
“Around the time the sun just rose.”
He got up awfully early...
I glanced at the sun hovering near its zenith. Being a thickly wooded forest, at least the light never stabbed the eyes.
“We’ll eat now.”
“Yes!”
I had eaten breakfast a little late, but... my class is a physical one. In other words, the more calories I take in, the better.
So I decided good things are good things and prepared to eat. Sangun, who had been half-ignored until now, put on a thoroughly sulky face, but one apple tossed his way smoothed it over at once. I wonder if he even realizes he made the apple himself.
“These are the lunch boxes.”
“...Lunch?”
“There is a separate one for dinner as well.”
No... that wasn’t what I meant by the question.
I looked at the seven enormous lunch boxes and reflexively made a complicated face. The Great Chief had asked them to pack a little more, but did they have to pack this much...? How much could that little child even eat?
“Lord Sangun said he wanted to try a taste.”
[I ain’t actually plannin’ to eat. That tiny speck wouldn’t even wet my mouth.]
Fortunately my suspicion did not last long. Noticing my doubt, the child and Sangun hurriedly explained with awkward expressions. It was fairly convincing. Even an adult with an average appetite probably could not finish one of those boxes, but for that bulk it was nothing.
“This is fried rice, this is porridge, this is...”
Meanwhile Ekuya opened the lids one after another. Soup and stew, stir-fried vegetables, fried rice, curry, stir-fried noodles, several grilled dishes—the scent of spices used only in this place rose thickly.
“I couldn’t find a reason to leave the meat out. I’m sorry...”
“It’s fine.”
What are you talking about. If there’s a child who’s still growing, you put meat in even if it kills you. Between my preferences and the essential nutrients a child needs, the latter always wins. Even knowing of my existence, I would have told them to include it.
“We give thanks to nature, who always bestows grace upon us.”
More importantly, the fried rice and risotto... just looking at them made my mouth water.
I lifted a spoon toward rice closer to jasmine than Korean short-grain. The child had finished his prayer as well, so there was no need to hesitate. A stomach that had shrunk from weeks of living alone accepted the long-awaited luxury.
Light, almost flying grains rolled across my tongue first, then the coconut-milk-based curry sauce rich with chili fragrance burst open with the vegetables inside my mouth.
It felt as though the blood lost while practicing the Disguise Skill was being replenished. It was damn delicious.