Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Sinful God - 1
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This voice?
My head spun in an instant.
The dream I had back in my hometown, Hasfil Territory.
It was that exact same voice!
I asked quietly.
“Who are you?”
[Starting Line. Can’t say it was a good choice. A necessary one, maybe.]
“I asked who you are. Wait. Are you Bellosian by any chance?”
Bellosian, the mysterious figure who gifted Grade the door beneath the imperial palace.
Bellosian and I shared an enormous secret—an S-rank one, no less.
So I asked with high hopes, but the voice just chuckled.
[I’d take anything else, but not that misunderstanding.]
“...?”
[I’ll tell you just so you never call me Bellosian again. My name is Impellium. Nice to meet you.]
I didn’t bother responding.
Impellium changed the subject without a care.
[So, Starting Line. You’re planning to summon the Heavenly God. Get an oracle from him, right?]
“Yes.”
[He’ll refuse.]
Such unwavering certainty.
Of course, with Idria’s words in mind, I hadn’t expected it to be easy.
But Impellium seemed even more convinced than Idria.
“Why do you think that?”
[Because I know the Heavenly God well.]
“...!”
[You’re starting to realize it too, but the Heavenly God isn’t the benevolent, warm figure humans expect.]
“Even so, I doubt he’d be completely indifferent in the face of humanity’s crisis with the Demon King descending.”
[We’ll see.]
He continued in an ambiguous tone.
[Best to experience it yourself. You don’t have other options right now anyway.]
“...”
[One piece of advice, Maide Mohan.]
The voice grew serious.
[If the Heavenly God refuses your proposal... or does something worse, say this.]
“...”
[‘If you refuse my proposal, Impellium will come for you.’]
I tilted my head.
“Impellium—that’s you, right? What’s your deal with the Heavenly God?”
[No intention of telling you that casually.]
“You’ve got a lot of secrets. I’m pretty good at digging them up, though.”
[With that Eye of Omniscience, you mean?]
I swallowed hard at that.
The Eye of Omniscience was Trail’s trump card, unknown even to Idria.
Impellium knowing it so casually made me tense up.
But he brushed it off like it was nothing.
[The Eye of Omniscience was something the Heavenly God bestowed on Trail... er, Bion Kunze. And as you guessed, I have a bit of a connection to the Heavenly God.]
“‘A person’?”
[Of course. I’m a person. At least, that’s what I believe.]
“...”
[It might be worth developing the Eye of Omniscience further. You could uncover the secrets between me and the Heavenly God with it someday. But I can’t say it myself.]
Impellium’s voice seemed to fade a little.
[Once you achieve your goal, get away from Starting Line as fast as you can.]
‘Why?’
[The Heavenly God can only use his omnipotent power there. Outside that domain, he can’t touch you.]
He added one last thing.
[Oh, and brace yourself. You’ll be pretty shocked when you wake up from this dream.]
What?
The next moment.
I woke from the dream.
And I couldn’t help but freak out.
“Snooort. Snooort.”
Neril’s face was right in front of my nose.
‘Gah!’
[Wh-what is it?!]
‘Trail? Is that you this time?’
[What kinda nonsense is that?]
‘Why’s Neril right in my face? I’m sure we were pretty far apart when we slept?’
Trail yawned before answering.
[She rolled over to your side. Bad sleeping habits, apparently.]
‘...’
[Kuhuhu. What’s with the scream? It’s not a big deal. So typical of a lifelong singleton.]
Neril has bad sleeping habits?
She never tossed and turned during night watches before regression.
Agril flew through the sky at a speed that made “full throttle” sound inadequate.
And the next day, late afternoon.
With just a few hours left before the “two weeks” deadline Idria had mentioned, we finally arrived at Starting Line.
“Grrr.”
“You did great, Agril. Take a rest now.”
Jenia soothed Agril and sent it into the sky.
She gazed ahead with a somewhat emotional expression.
“So this is Starting Line.”
The overall impression of Starting Line was golden.
Tall reeds, reaching up to waist height, stretched to the horizon.
As the evening sunset touched the reed fields, the whole area felt like it had been forged from gold.
Serein spoke up, as expected.
“I wish all these reeds were actually gold.”
“Serein. Even if you lack faith in the Heavenly God, is that really the first thing to say upon seeing this holy site?”
“Hmm... Yeah.”
“It is, huh.”
“Then what’s your impression, Jenia?”
Jenia hemmed and hawed for a while before answering.
“I wish all these reeds were wheat or something?”
“Similar to mine.”
“Not even close.”
That’s when Neril asked me.
“So? Gonna blow the horn right away?”
I crossed my arms and pondered.
Assuming the Heavenly God descends when I blow the horn.
What should I say?
Idria boasted he wouldn’t give an oracle to save face.
Impellium said he’d refuse too.
I had no reason to doubt their words.
The one truth from the Demon King of Lies.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t suffer alone. Let’s ask for opinions?’
Putting our heads together might yield a solid answer.
I asked.
“Everyone, listen up. Why do you think the Heavenly God won’t give an oracle?”
“Idria said it’s to save face. Not sure if that’s true.”
“Let’s assume it is for now. Yeah, I get that if he gave an oracle and the Demon King he killed revived, it’d tarnish his image.”
“...”
“But ‘why can’t his face be tarnished’? The Heavenly God is already the one and only, omniscient and omnipotent being on the continent. Why obsess over image?”
Everyone started pondering quietly.
One by one, they offered their guesses.
“So he can be a role model for the gods?”
“Or maybe just his personality.”
“Ah, I vote personality. He’s petty by nature.”
“Or maybe reputation matters at that level. Humans care more about face the higher their status.”
“How about calling some priests from the underworld and asking?”
That’s when it happened.
Neril muttered softly.
“Sounds like a hero.”
“...Huh?”
“No, just a thought.”
“Tell me.”
A chill ran down my spine just now.
Neril shrugged and spoke.
“Felt like he’s trying to build his reputation like a hero. That’s all.”
“...”
“Heroes build fame, but keeping it is key too. Do bad stuff or disappoint people, and it drops.”
“...”
“So maybe the Heavenly God won’t give an oracle because it’d damage his reputation.”
Ah.
Aha!
“Aaaah!”
“Wh-what? What’s wrong?”
Snap.
I’d unconsciously grabbed Neril’s shoulders tight.
“That’s it!”
“Eek!”
“Oh. Sorry. Did I scare you?”
She practically screamed.
[You screamed last night too.]
‘This is totally different.’
[Nope. Identical.]
Ignoring it, I told Neril.
“Neril, you’re a genius.”
“F-first, let go. Too close.”
“You’re right. Exactly. The Heavenly God won’t give an oracle to protect his ‘reputation.’ Gotta be it!”
I pulled away from Neril.
She hung her head low.
[Wow. Unconsciously, no less.]
‘Huh?’
[Not bad for a lifelong singleton. Maybe you’ve got potential.]
What’s that supposed to mean.
Jenia asked then.
“Wh-what do you mean? The Heavenly God isn’t a hero, right?”
“Huh? No way I’d say something that outlandish.”
“No, that already sounded pretty outlandish...”
“The Heavenly God isn’t a hero. But reputation matters to gods too. So, how to put this.”
I chose my words carefully.
Then spoke cautiously and seriously.
“If ‘reputation’ doesn’t click, think faith.”
“Huh? Okay.”
“A hero without reputation isn’t a hero anymore.”
“Hmm. Yeah.”
“What if all humanity’s faith drops? No one believes in the Heavenly God anymore?”
Serein tilted her head.
“Wouldn’t matter, right? Not believing doesn’t make him not a god.”
“Maybe. But is a god no one believes in really a god? Can he exist ‘as a god’?”
“...”
“I don’t think so.”
They say God created humanity.
No idea if it’s true. No way for me to know.
But if God really made humanity, couldn’t the reverse be possible too?
“Anyway, not as complicated as it sounds.”
I kept my tone light on purpose.
“The Heavenly God wants to protect his reputation—or faith. That’s why he won’t give an oracle to the hero who killed Idria.”
To keep existing as a god.
Idria rose from her seat.
She slowly walked toward the cave entrance.
Totally different from her usual lounging in the deepest corner.
Naturally, Kaild followed, asking.
“What? Where you going?”
“Time’s come. Time to issue the fake oracle.”
“...!”
Kaild swallowed hard.
He asked cautiously.
“So, I can beat Maide then?”
“Depends on how he plays it.”
“...”
“If Maide gets an oracle from the Heavenly God, we’re back to square one. Unlikely, though.”
Square one was still a godsend for Kaild, who was getting crushed by Maide.
A smile crept onto his face.
Idria looked at him coldly.
“Lax, aren’t you.”
“You said even if Maide gets an oracle, it’s square one. Why tense up?”
“You’re the incompetent fool who got reversed like a lie even when way ahead of Maide.”
“Sh-shut up.”
“Square one is as good as defeat for you. The gap between your incompetence and Maide’s competence is too wide.”
Kaild ground his teeth but couldn’t retort easily.
Idria continued.
“That’s why I’m stacking the deck more.”
“What deck?”
“Humans are so contradictory. They’re narrow-minded, refusing to believe anything they haven’t experienced themselves.”
Kaild listened silently, unsure where she was going.
“But sometimes, they get swept up in others’ opinions ridiculously easily.”
“What’re you getting at?”
“Has anyone on the continent seen the Heavenly God? Heard his voice? Witnessed his miracles?”
Maybe it was his imagination, but Idria’s voice held a hint of fervor.
“Not a single one. Yet humans never doubt the Heavenly God. Even though they’ve never experienced him.”
“...”
“Doesn’t that seem exploitable?”
Kaild felt like he got it.
His lips trembled as he said.
“So, in other words...”
“Yeah.”
Idria smiled.
“My fake oracle will start by slandering Maide.”
Perfect.
Time to get started.
[Way too chill? You didn’t figure out squat in the end.]
‘No figuring out? I pinned down the vague ‘saving face’ to a concrete reason. Why he won’t give the oracle.’
[Still no solution.]
‘I’ve got the leverage to persuade him. Trust me and watch.’
Trail chuckled.
[Fine. No choice but to trust you now. Looking forward to the show.]
I nodded and spoke.
“Risel. Can I borrow the horn?”
“Of course. It’s yours to begin with, Maide—I just borrowed it from you.”
“Thanks for saying that, but it’s yours. I’ll use it well this time and return it.”
Risel handed over the horn with a gentle smile.
I gripped it and took a light deep breath.
Once, twice. Three times.
The party matched my breaths, steadying themselves.
No one made a sound.
They just awaited the overwhelming miracle of ‘summoning the Heavenly God.’
Hoo. Heup!
On the fifth breath, I filled my lungs deep.
Then blew the horn hard.
-Bwaaaaaah!