Chapter 205
Chapter 205
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 205
Chapter Title: Goddess Analysis -2
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My experimental spirit is surging.
A desire to analyze and unravel the goddess has taken root.
The goddess is a vast net spanning the heavens. Forget her religious majesty—her very scale is immense. Divine power can be invoked anywhere in this world, after all.
It functions like universal gravitation, as a law of the world itself.
Divine power is an utterly bizarre and potent force. It dismisses medicine and pharmacology entirely, leaving only the result of 'healing.' A doctor would faint in shock.
Of course, in a world rife with concepts like souls and mana, it's far from science... but even to a mage, divine power is a marvel.
The Crimson Magic Tower's healing spells at least have some rudimentary principle, even if it's just for show. They accelerate a creature's natural healing by manipulating heat. Ask how, and the only answer is 'magic.'
Divine power's mechanism is even more 'magical.'
No talk of cells or observable rationales. The way divine power heals is simply 'it just happens.'
And it's not just healing. Looking at the divine spells Tara used back in the day, they offer all sorts of buffs. Physical enhancement, summoning shields, that sort of thing.
The goddess's parable she borrowed, 『Cogwheel: Homeostasis』, was practically semi-immortality.
So, if I can communicate positively with the goddess and cooperate... facing off against 'that' would be far easier. And the point I'm most excited about...
The ascension manifested through the evil god statue.
The Queen's 『Heroine』. It was an external force. Even when the Queen used it, the arrows didn't come from her—they felt like beams fired from some satellite floating in space.
And that power was woven into the world itself, turning the world's gears with its rumble.
This is it.
If I can figure out how it's done—and if I can adapt it—couldn't I install a TRPG simulator in reality itself?
I shared this idea with Evil God-chan.
It was nighttime then, and she was lounging half-reclined on a tree branch high up. The moon rose behind her, casting her in backlight.
Even with her face shrouded in deep shadow, her expression was strangely clear. That eerie glint in her eyes too. She's utterly unashamed to bare herself like this.
The leisure of a top predator.
With a calm expression tinged with a mocking sneer that looked down on the world, Evil God-chan spoke. The shadow of an evil dragon flickered within the girl's form.
"Yeah, that's the path I walked, Mima. That's the final destination. No need to distinguish virtual from reality. I could bend either to my will all the same."
"......"
"Think about it... how much like toys the world must've seemed to someone like me?"
To that, I replied clearly.
"Just draw the line and separate them. Games are games, reality is reality. And don't spin that 'I was originally good' nonsense, you punk. Your order's backward."
Evil God-chan talks like she blackened after gaining power. It's the opposite. She was already pitch-black when she crossed the finish line.
"Heh..."
Busted.
As if to say so, Evil God-chan let out a lazy laugh and stuck out her tongue.
Rattle, rattle, rattle.
The horse-drawn—er, manpower-drawn—carriage passed through the city gates. The guards gawked, and passersby whispered, but who are we?
"......Why are you pulling the carriage by hand?"
"That's right! Our house's Pingbalrez can easily haul a carriage with three people aboard!"
"Indeed. I am exceedingly strong. But autographs are troublesome—please just enjoy the view."
Pingbalrez and I just brazened it out. No horse? Then pull it yourself. We're a duo of tough guys who don't buckle under stares.
Evil God-chan's indifferent too. She gets shy about her own stuff but couldn't care less about others'.
Yuna, meanwhile, had turned into a butterfly and clung to the carriage ceiling, while our temp member, the young lady, squeezed her eyes shut in vicarious shame.
"So this is Elmest Territory? Cleaner than I expected."
"Were you expecting filth?"
"Isn't this where the succubus queen dug in? I figured it'd be more decadent."
"Ah, that kind of thing. But think about it—if she'd blatantly sucked pleasure out in the open, she'd have been caught and killed ages ago."
Fair point.
The Empire's boy knight fixer would've sliced through half of it. In that sense, credit to the Queen's savvy. She devoured a whole city without getting caught for all this time.
Maybe she was a genius at internal affairs, not seduction.
"City cleanup's not done yet, right? Should we tidy up a bit for Irid...?"
"If you're thinking of cleaning, the extermination squad's pre-scouted a few spots."
Pingbalrez explained the areas the Queen likely touched herself: shadowy brothels, bright brothels, secret brothels.
"......A lot of the same type?"
"Succubus tastes don't change."
Got it. First up: Elmest Territory's goddess church branch. Time to fulfill Evil God-chan's promise. Then torch the Queen's leftovers.
But first, business.
I poked my head into the carriage and asked the young lady.
"So, what's your plan now, milady? We've reached the city."
"Ah......"
"Y'see, I've got... connections with the Northern Grand Duke. Pretty tight, actually. So I can pull some strings for you."
"You're... friends with Father......?"
The young lady toyed with her sky-blue hair, pondering. A flicker of wariness crossed her eyes, not relief. Not the reaction for meeting Daddy's pal.
No signs of outright lying or faking, so she's probably the Grand Duke's daughter. Then maybe bad blood between them.
'Daisy'... yeah, not the sweetest temperament. She griped plenty about her fiancée too. Family discord, huh.
High chance their wishes don't align.
I switched to empathy mode.
"That guy's got a rotten personality, right? Stubborn as a mule, won't budge an inch."
"Yes......?"
"I'll apologize on his behalf. Should've beaten that temper out of him younger. Dude still rags on the maids over dust on his shelves."
"Ah, well...... he does have that side. Yeah."
She looked puzzled. Knows me as a close friend, but hesitant to buy it. Dig deeper: eyes, gestures, vibe...
It's like—
"You're giving that 'what a weirdo, how's he pals with the stern Northern Grand Duke?' face! Erb Basilion young lady. I get it."
Evil God-chan butted in with a spoiler. I was almost there.
"Hey, I was right on the cusp."
"Too slow. Annoyingly slow, couldn't stand it. Whose fault's that, slowpoke incompetent?"
"Want me to speed you to the Jordan River? Sorry, milady—this one's nagging."
"......"
She's unconsciously protesting: go find that boy you promised already. Dragging feet right in front of her's got her antsy.
Fine. Off we go. I left the young lady with final words.
"I'll grant most requests, so think it over alone. What to ask of me."
"......Thank you for your kindness, mage."
"No biggie. Friend's daughter."
I flashed a hearty grin and hopped off the carriage.
The goddess church building in Elmest Territory looked like it had 45% durability left. My simple verdict:
"Temple or ruins?"
"Closer to ruins......?"
"We used explosives on the goddess statue, but it wasn't this damaged."
"When I got ditched, it was smashed like this coming up from underground. The kid we met said... territory knights came and went? Looting?"
Looting, huh.
After the extermination squad took the lord's head, the royals sent a provisional territory manager.
Apparently, the knights went rogue in the power vacuum.
As I eyed the desolate church, stockpiling data for the session map, Evil God-chan strode in, bellowing:
"I brought someone to heal your sis—come out!"
What a booming voice.
And hers sounded pretty excited. Couldn't see her face from this angle, just her back, but I could imagine.
If the boy shows now...
Feeling viscerally that she'd saved someone, receiving his tearful gratitude, witnessing him and his sister embrace in joy.
If she could see more of the world's goodness.
If Evil God-chan found joy in doing good, I'd feel pretty great too. Might even feel proud, bump her status from half-devil half-fish or whatever.
But that's that.
I was fully prepped to tease. Mock her for getting mushy over good deeds now, ship her with the boy.
Both of us, hearts puffed with anticipation.
"Come out, you! I said come out?!"
"......"
"This is your last chance. To heal your sis and turn your life around—get it?! If you don't come out now......!!"
Expectations hurt sometimes.
They burst with a bang proportional to how grand they swelled.
Like a boy desperately awaiting Christmas gifts, only to find nothing by his bed come morning. A bitter pain.
Then disappointment. And after: Never expect again. Never dream again. Never...
Bad for a kid's psyche.
So before Evil God-chan's bubble burst, I placed a hand on her head. Casually said:
"Hey. You think you'd hole up in these ruins?"
"......"
"They bounced ages ago. Quit yelling and come on—if the customer's moved, we gotta track 'em."
"......Yeah."
Damp response.
She's smart, so of course... she'd figured something went down.
And gone further: She'd leaked the Queen's info here. If someone recovered it, those corrupt zealots stopped by.
From what the fallen holy knight said, they didn't scruple human sacrifices.
They might've scooped up the hiding boy and his comatose sister too...
Watching a spreader of malice suffer an irreparable mistake from her own evil, get hurt and regret... thrilling.
But who am I? Happy Ending Maker.
"Remember what I asked Tear Stain Guy and Scarface Senior when dropping you at the tower?"
"......?"
She whipped around, eyes wide: What?! Hope rippled from the depths of those big eyes.
Her fists clenched awkwardly. Unsure if I was teasing, lying, or for real.
So I added:
"What'd I trust to dawdle like this?"
"......Hey!!"
Evil God-chan flew into a rage, throwing a power punch. I laughed, ready to take it—unlike Yuna's puffball fists, this hurts!
I dodged around the ruins, contacting Scarface Senior.
"Junior, Rowillen... got nabbed with the boy. Both still alive, though."
"......"
"......"
I demoted Tear Stain Guy to Tear Stain Gay.