The Start of the Journey (4)
“You said that bullshit so seriously, like you were a real goddess. I almost believed it.”
“It's not a lie—it's true.”
“But the story sounds way too fake.”
“I didn't expect you to believe it right away either.”
“You're giving me chills, so talk like you normally do. I'll believe you then.”
“Right? I felt kinda awkward too. Hehet.”
Lai's expression didn't look like she was lying. I was just caught off guard by the sudden revelation, but even a worthless, pathetic nerd like her wouldn't lie about something this big.
But if it was true, it was too absurd to wrap my head around. A Saintess was just one human, right? And her death would end the world? Then what was the point of...
Ah.
If the goddess was this pathetic nerd Lai Teresa, then yeah, it made a twisted kind of sense.
“The Curse of the Forgotten God. Why did I forget about that? Ugh...!”
“Curse of the Forgotten God?”
“It's the story of the sole god of the Rokea Continent before me, ■■■■■■■.”
“Who? I couldn't hear that.”
“Of course you couldn't. Even I can't pronounce it. It's a god who died and was erased from existence entirely.”
When I asked if gods just ceased to exist upon death, Lai nodded.
“A god's death isn't physical. It's being forgotten. If even a single worshiper remains, they persist—but without any believers left, they vanish completely.”
Gods were entities born from faith made manifest, so without worshipers to sustain them, they naturally faded away. Like how ancient people believed lightning was divine, birthing Zeus or whatever. Well, maybe not Zeus. Point is, once modern science proved lightning wasn't godly, no civilized person worshiped it anymore.
“Long ago, there was a war between demons and the allied races on the Rokea Continent—remember when I taught you continental history?”
“Yeah, it ended when the hero party beheaded the Demon King.”
“Right. The Saintess in that hero party was ■■■■■■■'s one and only worshiper.”
“So time passed, the Saintess died, her faith died with her, and ■■■■■■■ vanished? But could that really happen? If she saved the continent, her religion should've become the state faith—no, the continental faith.”
That would've been the natural progression. If it had, I wouldn't be here.
Lai muttered to herself, then grinned and continued.
“Right before the final battle with the Demon King, the Saintess was consumed by doubt.”
I listened quietly to Lai's tale.
Why had the god plunged the continent into war? Why provoke a fight with the passive demons? Why... did the god only manipulate from the shadows, never showing itself? Was believing in this god the right path? What if the god we worshiped was actually a devil in disguise? If the gods were demonic, was fighting the Demon King even correct? Wouldn't refusing to fight go against divine will? Shouldn't we try talking the Demon King down even now?
“■■■■■■■ couldn't answer her doubts.”
First, the reason the god never appeared here. Direct descent would've overwhelmed the continent with divine power, incinerating everything. It meant to protect the world but could've destroyed it instead. So it stayed away.
And second—I'd heard this before—the divine realm was boring. That's why she'd escaped it in this weak body: sheer boredom.
“Gods grown weary of tedium turned the continent into their playground for war games. But once the fun wore off, they realized what a shameful stunt they'd pulled. Instead of withdrawing from Rokea, they begged ■■■■■■■ to keep their boredom-fueled meddling a secret from their creations. With threats mixed in.”
Threats like: reveal our war-mongering out of boredom, and we'll turn Rokea into a battlefield again.
As she said it, Lai glanced at me nervously. Being a goddess herself, she must've been embarrassed by her kin's screw-up.
Smack!
I slapped her back with my palm.
This nerd was getting all timid over that?
“Dude. You intervened and ended that war yourself. That's what matters, right?”
“Ow! That hurts!”
Tears welled up, but she grinned through it—hehe-ing way better than her cringing hesitation.
“Ahem. Anyway. Frustrated by the god's silence, the Saintess resolved to abandon her divinity.”
She must've figured that without divine power, it'd just be some mysterious, origin-less force.
“Here's where it gets messy. You wouldn't know, Cluster, but gods can be real brats.”
“I feel that every time I look at you, but I let it slide.”
“That's basically saying it!”
“Yeah. Sorry. Keep going.”
“Ahem. Anyway. ■■■■■■■ was furious at the Saintess's choice.”
■■■■■■■ had been trying to stop the continental war but couldn't rein in the others. It'd poured all its power into the Saintess to minimize casualties. It'd dashed around, endured every hardship to end the war. It'd kept the other gods' antics secret to protect the continent. And now its own worshiper ignored all that?
But as it tried to argue, its form began to fade.
“Even gods get scared when death's knocking. Not that I'd know—I’ve never been afraid.”
“Yesterday you ran from me 'cause you didn't wanna get hit.”
“No, that was 'cause it hurt!”
“If Alicia—who took that gut punch 'cause you bolted—heard that, she'd cry.”
“Forget it! I'm continuing the story!”
Panicked, the god lashed out, embedding a curse of resentment into the Rokea Continent.
I, ■■■■■■■, decree thus:
The Saintess is one who wields the god's power in full through faith. Her body is a special vessel bestowed by the god to contain that power purely. Thus, her holy power is called divine power, not mere holy power.
I, ■■■■■■■, swear upon my existence and command Rokea:
Henceforth, no Saintess shall possess a perfect vessel for divine power. To claim such overwhelming might as personal property risks continental chaos.
An imperfect vessel will shatter. At that moment, the continent shall be purified by holy fire.
“And that's where the story ends.”
“So it took back the power just 'cause she didn't believe? What a brat.”
“Yeah. If they'd been mature like me, none of this would've happened.”
While Lai spouted nonsense, let me sum it up: Unlike priests, a Saintess is a special vessel that fully contains a god's power. The moment that vessel shatters—i.e., the Saintess dies—the massive divine power spills out, incinerating the continent.
Right?
“Why'd you go quiet all of a sudden?”
“Something's off. The previous Saintess lived 500 years ago, yeah? She's dead, but the continent's fine. No one's ever mentioned it getting wiped out.”
“■■■■■■■ lost its mind on the brink of oblivion and goofed by saying 'future Saintesses.' The existing one wasn't included in the curse.”
Future Saintesses? But ■■■■■■■ vanished, so no more Saintesses for it anyway. Total wasted effort...
Huh?
“Then why's the current Saintess cursed? She's your worshiper, not ■■■■■■■'s.”
“The curse targets the concept of Saintess itself. Any who wield a god's power as one.”
“Couldn't you just not anoint one? No Saintess, no problem.”
“Not quite,” Lai began, shaking her head.
“A vessel manifests alongside a Demon King's birth. When signs of a new Demon King appear, the god seeks out the vessel and makes her a Saintess. If she dies before awakening, the continent vanishes before it even starts.”
So the god's revelation doesn't create the Saintess—the vessel appears, the god finds her. And vessels emerge tied to the Demon King's birth. My arrival made a Saintess inevitable.
Lai sighed. “Didn't expect the Demon King—you—to show up five years early, though.”
I tossed her a question. “Can you lift the curse?”
“Well... it's a god's deep grudge amplified by divine power. I can't... unless it's someone with intense demonic mana.”
This girl really was an utter incompetent beyond imagination...
“What? Why're you staring?”
“Right now, the only one on this continent with demonic mana strong enough is... you. Hehe...”
Her usual airheaded grin. Basically dumping it all on me.
“Silvia... y'know, the Saintess. Let's bring her along, yeah?”
“Telling me won't help. I'm the Demon King, remember? She's probably safe at the temple.”
“I told you earlier~ The more she uses divine power, the shorter her lifespan gets... Stuck there, she'll have to use it, which means dying bit by bit each day?”
They say living a day is dying a day, but still—did it have to be this extreme? I knew she didn't mean it lightly.
“All I can do is brute force and hide my demonic mana. Turning humans against me this early? That's telling me to die.”
“Leave her be, and the continent burns. Divine flames would kill a demon like you first.”
Dying to humans or flames—which came sooner? Flames hurt more...
Lai's subtle nudge drew a hollow laugh from me. Never thought I'd get blackmailed by her.
“Fine, fine. But once we grab the Saintess, you look after her. Got it?”
“Yup yup! Deal!”
Like she'd foisted a massive problem on me and now scampered off before I could back out, rejoining Alicia way ahead.
“My bad premonitions never miss, huh.”
Truth be told, even without her asking, hearing about the Curse of the Forgotten God and the Saintess's death dooming the continent had me feeling like I had to retrieve her.
I mean, come on. Earthlings get isekai'd to save the world from crisis as heroes. The god who sent me mentioned special conditions—this screamed "save the Saintess to go home" plot.
“What a nightmare difficulty.”
If Alicia was right, high demons who might back me numbered just six. Pissing off the Gaia Empire—powerful enough to quarter the continent—with its holy power this soon? Could I handle it? Kidnapping the continent's symbol of hope? That'd make every other empire my enemy too. And what about the Liar Duchy, ruled by the first hero?
“You gotta suggest some plan.”
I knew there were no easy answers. "Hey Saintess, join my party!" wouldn't make her go "Sure thing, Demon King!" Even if she agreed, the temple wouldn't let her leave without a fight—kidnapping it was.
“Headache. It'll work out somehow.”
If this whole mess was some novel, I'd just pray I was the protagonist.