Is He a Bit Stupid?
Is He a Bit Stupid?
The title of Saint seemed to carry significant power.
"I may not always be able to remain at the princesses' side. I might have to leave suddenly, and publicly formalizing my relationship with the princesses could also prove difficult. Your Majesties, I am sorry."
Because my negotiations with the goddess hadn't concluded yet, and because I might have to go far, far away if my interpretation of the prophecy proved correct, I spoke honestly when the Emperor and Empress summoned me for an audience.
But the two of them simply smiled at my words.
"I understand. Since this all began because my two daughters insisted on it, such an outcome is only to be expected."
"We shall follow the Saint's will. Please, do as you wish."
The two of them openly and officially acknowledged the secret trysts between me and the princesses.
The situation was absurdly and overwhelmingly in my favor.
Anyway, that was how my relationship with the princesses came to be recognized.
And then, well...
"Amael. Again today?"
"Saint. Tomorrow is just the two of us, right!"
It became a daily occurrence.
We did it an incredible amount.
We did it every single day, to the point I wondered if it was right to do it this much.
But personally, while the act itself was one thing, I far preferred the time afterward, lying quietly in bed, naked, resting our heads together and giggling as we talked.
Trivial little stories.
"I tried a cookie today. Iomene really likes desserts."
"I walked barefoot across the grass, Saint. It felt wonderful. It felt exactly as good as it did in Almene's memories."
"I'm working on deepening the Three Primary Colors research so it can be applied to a variety of fields. I'm looking forward to it. Tremendous progress might be made."
I loved this time, rolling around naked in bed, happily chatting and sharing our warmth.
I also told her trivial little stories.
About which patients I had treated.
About what food I had eaten.
After sharing those mundane stories and finishing our intimacy, we usually went into the bathroom, washed up together, and then parted ways.
It was satisfying.
It was happiness.
I wished I could live just like this, right now.
With my heart full of such feelings, after dinner, I let no one into my room and spent the time entirely alone.
What did I do during that time?
I opened the Scripture of Grace, knelt before the goddess statue, and prayed.
"I have come again today. Goddess. Please, talk with me."
My prayers were desperate.
Once I started, I prayed so fervently that several hours would easily pass.
"I love my life right now. Healing people from time to time, eating delicious food, and spending time with my girlfriends. I truly love this time so much. The Emperor gave his permission for my relationship with Almene and Iomene. I want to marry the three of you. But I still can't give you a definite answer. Because of the prophecy Lord Lupiel gave me."
Please.
I heard that there are things called Divine Speech, and that gods even come down personally to visit people.
I've done so much, haven't I?
I normalized the order, didn't I? So please.
Please, meet with me.
Meet me and tell me that the prophecy laid upon me is a lie.
Please tell me that. I beg you.
"I haven't given them an answer yet because I feel I should confirm whether the prophecy I heard is true or false, and only then propose. I want to live happily with the three of them for a long, long time. So please, just meet with me. Just tell me whether the prophecy I interpreted is true or not. Please."
Had I not knelt and prayed so earnestly, day after day?
It was the third day since I had entered into that kind of relationship with the three women.
The goddess statue merely smiled benevolently.
No answer of any kind had yet been granted to me.
After praying frantically for three hours, when I saw the statue's smile, an inexplicable rage began to rise from deep within me.
So she had the power to cast me into hell, but not the power to meet with me?
Wouldn't meeting me for just a moment have been the far simpler task?
I felt a sense of resentment toward the goddess, who remained silent once again today.
I had really worked hard, hadn't I?
When I read the Scripture of Grace, I was surprised to find that many passages seemed to describe exactly the actions I had taken.
It was enough to make me wonder: was I really a saint?
So wasn't this a simple matter? She just needed to come visit me and say one light word.
'Yes, you misinterpreted the prophecy. That interpretation is incorrect. I'll tell you the proper meaning.'
And then, just happily...
I really wished she would show me an ending where I could live as a Harem King among women and then die peacefully.
But what could I do?
The goddess gave no answer, so I had no choice but to keep praying until she did.
I slumped dejectedly onto my bed again tonight.
Even so, in bed, the scent of Iomene, Almene, and Erpa lifted my spirits slightly.
A man whose blanket carried the scent of three women.
Awesome.
I prayed that this life would continue on like this forever, that I could live a happy, ordinary daily life, free from peril and hardship.
Praying this, I carefully drifted off to sleep.
And not long after, a strange sensation woke me from my slumber.
A feeling that my body was excessively clean and purified.
A feeling of the purest, cleanest state, devoid of any emotion or sensation.
I stood in silence upon an empty, perfectly white platform.
Where was this?
It didn't feel like a dream.
If it were a dream, the senses could never have felt this vivid.
As I wiggled my fingers and toes in wonder...
[Amael.]
I heard someone quietly call my name.
Startled, I turned toward the sound and immediately saw a gigantic woman floating in the void.
A face identical to the goddess statue in my room.
A benevolent smile.
And a body as colossal as the Statue of Liberty.
I understood instinctively.
It was the goddess!
Lilia had come to visit me herself!
"Go-Goddess? Is it truly you?"
[I heard your prayers and came.]
At Lilia's words, I choked up. I felt tears streaming down my face.
I slowly approached the goddess.
"I...I really lived my life earnestly. You've watched me, so wouldn't you know? I never did a single bad thing. Truly, I never once tried to use my skills for evil. So why did you give me such a prophecy?"
The goddess looked down at me quietly, as if pitying me.
And so, I poured out everything honestly to the goddess.
"What I want is truly nothing special. I now have three women in my life. It was a bit... semi-forced, admittedly, but I still like it. I want to live happily with those women for a long, long time. So please, just answer one question."
[Speak.]
"The prophecy Lord Lupiel gave me. What on earth does it mean? Do you truly intend to cast me into hell? That's not it, right? My interpretation of the prophecy is wrong, isn't it? I just misinterpreted it strangely because I'm a timid coward, right?"
At my words, the goddess who had been looking down at me with pity suddenly began to laugh.
That laughter somehow...
It was a laugh that mocked me.
I sensed disgust.
Anger.
And even hatred.
[I will cast you into hell. No matter what actions you take. No matter what good deeds you accumulate. It does not matter.]
The goddess leaned her face close to mine.
[Poor Amael. Your interpretation of the prophecy was not wrong.]
And then she uttered the single most despairing statement I could have ever received.
***
As expected, the good gods of the Pantheon had been watching the Saint, Amael.
The moment they saw an Evil God subtly approach Amael, several gods tried to intervene and obstruct it, but they did not succeed.
Even now, three hundred years later, the Celestial Realm was still a complete mess. Even the God of the Future Lupiel and the God of Evil Eradication Dulanear, considered the strongest among the Pantheon's gods, were panting and out of breath, having expended a significant amount of power just granting a single prophecy and a single chosen one.
The connection between the Human Realm and the Celestial Realm was so seriously damaged that, aside from granting holy power, the gods could barely even issue a Divine Speech. There was no way they could stop an Evil God.
The Evil God, having successfully approached Amael, had succeeded in skillfully picking at his trauma.
"Why...why? Why are you doing this to me..."
Amael asked through his tears.
His expression was one of utter injustice and resentment.
"I truly... lived my life so diligently. Why on earth are you doing this to me? Can't you just let me be a little happy?"
At his tearful voice, the Evil God shook her head.
[Do you know the source of the Authority within your body?]
Amael flinched at the words.
"It's... an adult game skill."
The Evil God couldn't understand the meaning of the word 'adult game,' but she could tell he was operating under a truly serious misconception.
The Evil God simply could not believe this naive, foolish human.
He was an impossibly easy target to brainwash.
Slowly.
And yet with certainty, the Evil God began to break down Amael's spirit.
[I shall show you the source of your Authority.]
The surroundings changed.
Three hundred years ago.
The era of the Heavenly War.
The war waged in the Human Realm was revealed.
The Evil Gods of the Abyss.
The demons of Hell.
And the followers of the Pantheon's gods clashed together, a spectacle of struggle for the victory of the faction they worshipped.
Demon worshippers and black magicians captured humans and offered them as living sacrifices, while Evil God worshippers dedicated offerings of human blood and entrails to add power to their Evil God.
And to stop them, saints, saintesses, and heroes fought desperately, persevering through a terrible and gruesome struggle.
And in the midst of it all.
The followers of the Demon King of Lust, Asmodeus, appeared.
Twisted and mad followers of frenzy, stained by decadent pleasure...
They committed acts too vile to speak of, offering sacrifices for their Demon King.
Amael's body trembled even more violently.
Massacre.
Rape.
Arson.
Watching all the nauseating acts committed to empower the Demon King, Amael collapsed to the floor.
"Those... those are the Authorities inside my body?"
The Evil God barely suppressed the ecstasy rising from deep within her heart.
Ah.
That face.
It was truly unbearable.
Nothing gave greater pleasure than the sight of a human crumbling and breaking.
[The Authority of the Demon King of Lust, Asmodeus, resides within your body. Amael. That is why I have no choice but to cast you into hell. That Authority in your soul will feed on the worship of the followers around you. And then, gradually, it will grow without your awareness.]
Slowly, as if torturing him, the Evil God showed once more the atrocities the followers of Asmodeus committed for their Demon King during the Heavenly War.
[And in the end, you will become just like them. So, before you do, I will stop you. No matter what good deeds you perform, no matter how you struggle, you will never escape your fate. You will fall into hell. And there, I will utterly destroy your soul and the Authority within it.]
It was perfect.
The Evil God waited for Amael's response, feeling a pleasure close to orgasm.
Surely, he would break now?
He would wail and scream in utter anguish, cursing his unavoidable fate.
And then?
It was obvious.
He would surely begin cursing the goddess.
He would surely begin hating the gods of the Pantheon who declared they would deliver an inescapable, tragic end.
The Evil God had already corrupted countless saints, saintesses, and heroes using the exact same method.
Amael would surely be no different.
The rest was predictable.
There was no way he'd continue serving the gods who had predetermined a bleak, unavoidable future for him.
Full of resentment, he might sabotage the order, or he might give in to despair and go on a rampage.
Many believers would die, and the Pantheon's power, which was directly linked to human faith, would naturally weaken.
If, at that moment, information was subtly leaked to the demons of Hell?
The demons would try to reclaim the Authority of Lust, and conveniently, the Pantheon's power would already be weakened.
War would be certain.
All the Evil God had to do was leisurely watch the spectacle, wait for both factions to self-destruct, and reap the benefits.
The Evil God looked down at Amael.
Now.
Cry out.
Cry out, cursing Lilia.
Cry out that you wish all the gods of the Pantheon would burn and vanish.
Why won't you grant me a happy future?
Why must I be ruined because of this damn Authority I never even wanted?
Scream, cry out, rage, and despair.
Amael raised his head.
Tears were flowing from his eyes.
He opened his mouth.
The Evil God watched that mouth with breathless excitement.
What kind of curse would burst forth?
What kind of despair would burst forth?
Just what kind of...
pleasure would you grant me?
"I'll sacrifice myself."
...Huh?
For a moment, the Evil God doubted her own ears.
What did he just say?
"Just let me sacrifice myself. If my staying alive creates that kind of horrible reality, then I think I'd rather die."
Even as he spoke, Amael struck the ground as if it were deeply unfair.
But even though his actions were like that, the words coming from his mouth were different.
"Take my soul... take it right now. And destroy it along with the Authority inside me. You can do that, can't you, Goddess? Can't you?"
The Evil God's mouth gaped open.
"There are three women I love on this earth. I don't want them to get hurt because of me. So hurry! Before my resolve changes, hurry up and destroy my soul!"
Looking down at the weeping Amael, the Evil God was rendered momentarily speechless.
She thought in all seriousness:
'Is this fellow a little lacking in intelligence?'
It was the first time she had ever experienced such shocking absurdity.