By Zephyria 
I also talked quite a bit about the people around me.
“…Actually, Mac Weaber and Justin Barret aren’t my friends. If I had to be precise, they’re Lucilla’s connections, but because of that, I see them often. I actually spend more time with my direct attendant, Philip Swanson, or my aide, Theodore Grand… but I don’t exactly consult them with my worries.”
“Why not?”
“…Because I’m going to be the Emperor. I don’t want to show any unnecessary weaknesses.”
“From my perspective, I think those people consider Rubel a friend.”
“You think so?”
“Wondering about each other’s thoughts, greeting each other warmly when meeting by chance, and promising to meet again—if that’s not friendship, then what is? Last time, you even drank together…”
“…I don’t want to talk about that time.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Using the absurd excuse that I was curious about what Mikael’s hands looked like, I spent a long time fiddling with them. Mikael also took my hand and examined it meticulously.
After hearing that it was a relief that my life line was long, I asked what that was, and after hearing the explanation, I laughed for a long while.
The idea of divining one’s fortune through the creases on a person’s hand sounded quite far-fetched. However, I pretended to believe it and examined Mikael’s hand. Like a Martial artist who used his hands a lot, the contours of his hand were rugged, and there were calluses in the center of his palm exactly in the shape of a sword grip.
“Then is this your life line? It’s broken in the middle.”
“…Well, it connects eventually, doesn’t it? That should be enough.”
“Is it okay to look at it so carelessly?”
“I’ve only heard bits and pieces of palmistry… Still, Ruben will live a long and wise life. They say I’ll have good luck with children, too.”
“…Luck with children?”
“…Um.”
When I gave him a slight glare, Mikael quickly played innocent again, saying, “I don’t really know.” When I told him I’d forgive him if he gave me a tight hug, he pondered for a long time and then just squeezed my hand and let go. He was so mischievous and maddeningly cute that I eventually burst out laughing.
As much as we shared many stories, we also shared many silences.
Mikael no longer pushed me away even when I pressed closely against him. It was the same whether I lightly hugged his waist or pressed my chin against his chest while looking up at him. While letting out an embarrassed laugh, he didn’t avoid my gaze and hugged me back. With my cheek buried in his broad chest, I listened to the sound of the rain and Mikael’s heartbeat for a long time.
In the evening, Mikael brought an Owen-style cake, made by mixing preserved fruits into batter and baking it, though I don’t know where he got it. I had never liked sweet foods, yet I couldn’t understand why I liked this so much while being with Mikael.
Between me taking one bite and feeding Mika the next three, the whole cake was gone in no time.
I wished every day were my birthday. I was happy throughout the entire day, enough to have such an absurd thought.
* * *
I originally did not believe in gods.
When I was young, it was because I cursed the god who pushed me into such a fate, and as I grew older, it was because I had never seen anyone who had actually encountered a god. It was because I realized that many of the legends spread throughout the world were created by humans for various reasons.
Therefore, while following the testimonies of Nadish Haisan and Elvin Brooks to meet the Oasis, the image I envisioned was quite simple. I thought I would kneel and pray before a pool of water, some holy relic, or a Divine object to receive a Divine Revelation.
However, the Oasis appeared before my eyes in the form of a dazed man.
His height was roughly 182cm. His dark blue hair and silver-grey eyes were not unfamiliar. There were many people throughout the Empire with dark blue hair like this man’s. Silver eyes were rare, but not non-existent. Professor Macbeth had eyes of that color. One would have to stare for a long time to see if the eyes were fixed in place, but that was all.
In the Theological Texts I had studied and learned, a god was something separated from the other world. They were the wind, the river, and the hills. An elegant and superior being whose will was naturally fulfilled with a single gesture or breath, a kind being who molded humans upon this earth and looked after their every step—that is what was called a god.
In the Theological Texts, the god who most often appeared before humans was the First Goddess. She was generally benevolent and merciful, and while she might not grant every human wish, she would at least listen to them until the end.
But this man, Oasis, was different.
Even while laughing and running wild atop a Sandworm—a worm-type monster I never once thought could be trained—or casually plopping down on a Spirit and floating through the air, he was excessively human.
Philanthropy? I couldn’t read a trace of that. Throughout the entire time, he looked at people, including all of us in the party, as if we were insects.
Is this really… really a god?
What on earth is the ‘object’ this man wants to give to Mikael?
I grew anxious, and my mouth went dry. I was terrified that Mikael might be taken away from me right now.
I gripped Mikael’s hand tightly. Mikael gripped my hand back. Thanks to our intertwined fingers, which felt as if they would never let go no matter what, I was barely able to push out the words I wanted to say.
“Did you… call us here to send Jeongyeon… Mikael back to his original world?”
“Huh? Pfft, hahah! Oh my, oh my, me? Hahaha! No, I just wanted to help find some lost property! To cross back over there, it takes more than just one or two people dying. No matter how thoughtlessly I live, I can’t stand to see that!”
The man laughed hysterically. Then, with a flick, he grew in size.
No, that wasn’t it. He had simply leaned his body over to look down. The moment he looked down from that height, a chilling presence filled and pressed down on my surroundings. It was an overwhelming power, enough to wipe away even the sliver of doubt I had held toward him.
Leaning on Mikael’s hand, I barely managed not to collapse. Large, shining silver-grey eyes filled my vision. I felt dizzy. I felt nauseous. I almost missed the moments when the songs of Clerics were forced into my starving, empty body.
Whether clean water or dirty water, the essence is water. No matter how clean the water is, if you fall in deep and cannot escape, you are bound to drown. I gasped for breath due to the immense Divine Power.
The god asked.
“Do humans… still use the term ‘size of the soul’ these days?”
“…Yes.”
I barely managed to answer. Then, a denser Divinity rippled with a strange sound. Was this Mana of a nature that could shake like water? I suppressed a gag. But I did not avoid his gaze. I felt that I must not run away.
The god curled the corners of his mouth as he looked at me. His eyes were not laughing in the slightest.
“Where do they say dead souls go?”
“…That they are… born again.”
“As what?”
I gripped Mikael, gripped Mikael’s hand tightly. The cold sweat flowing down my spine made my body feel even heavier. I didn’t have the luxury to look around.
Seeing that there wasn’t a single tremor in Mikael’s gentle gesture of concern for me, I realized that this pain was limited to me.
“As… as anything…”
“I see,” the god replied, answering only with the shape of his lips as if whispering, and only then did he take his eyes off me.
Even after the weights that had pressed me down vanished, I couldn’t move an inch from that spot. I listened to the voice that continued like a song.
The god looked straight at Mikael and affirmed decisively.
“It was your soul that crossed over to our world. That is just a lump of Mana, and when it dies, it will be divided into small pieces again and absorbed into our world. You, who are currently bound to that physical body, are just you. You can’t go back.”
A laugh escaped me unconsciously.
He can’t go back. That’s great. Even without knowing Mikael’s inner thoughts, I felt an immediate sense of relief.
The god spoke about the birth of the world. Two-thirds of it were facts I already knew, and one-third was lighter than what I had known. Just in case, I listened carefully and memorized it.
The god also explained the reason why Mikael had crossed over to this land. It was absurd to think that the Ninth God, whom I had cursed all my life, had coveted Mikael and stolen him away. Still, should I be grateful that he sent Mikael to me?
Having finished various explanations, the god pulled a blue bead out of the water and held it out. Mikael’s soul fragment was exactly the same color as Mikael’s aura. The blue that I admire, like, and love the most, so clear it was transparent.
Mikael swallowed the soul fragment.
And he did not change.
Of course, a few minor things did change. His gaze became a bit deeper, and the line of his mouth became firmer when he was expressionless. His lower lip became a bit more chapped than before the Breathing and regulating energy, and I couldn’t understand by what principle this happened. Still, with a bit of ointment, it would heal quickly.
Listening to the party members chatter in relief, I snuggled deep into Mikael’s arms and caught my breath.
Now that my mind was at ease, a mischievous thought occurred to me. I whined in a voice full of spoiled affection.
“…Was she someone you liked?”
“Pardon?”
“The one who carried a fan…”
“Nonsense! The only person I have loved in my entire life is Ruben—”
I know. If that weren’t the case, Mikael wouldn’t have allowed me into his arms so naturally. Even so, I burst out laughing at the words I wanted to hear from Mikael’s own mouth.
Yes, nothing had changed.
Since my world was Mikael, I was as happy as if I owned the whole world.
However, I could only laugh for a very short time. The answer Oasis gave to the question I asked just in case was absolutely horrific.
“If you want to save the ones who were taken, you’ll have to do it yourselves. Even if they’re saved, they won’t live for even a hundred years, so why should I?”
My blood ran cold.
It wasn’t just a problem for the 300-odd Imperial Knights who had already been kidnapped.
How many did he say died when Mikael crossed over to this world?
The statement that the enemies raised an army of 100,000 meant that approximately 200,000 people, including allies, fought the war.
War always brings futile deaths. Then, conservatively speaking, at least 100,000 and at most 500,000 deaths became the resources to open the boundary of the world.
A crazy god could kidnap and murder about 200,000 people on this continent?
The total population of the Sierran Empire is 1.5 billion. The number of troops who can currently go into battle is about 3.4 million. Among them, if you count only those capable of utilizing Mana, the knights of the highest Sword Expert rank or above, it’s slightly over 1 million. One-fifth of them would vanish?
Even if only a hundred people died, it would be called a catastrophe, let alone a hundred thousand. If humans were killed by humans, we could at least investigate the cause and punish them, but how are we supposed to handle people who die futilely according to the whim of a god?
Furthermore, the death of one person does not end with that person. How would the families who lost their breadwinners be treated? I thought of the orphans, poverty, and fear that would bloom like embers. The entire Empire would be paralyzed.
I felt suffocated. I looked toward Oasis, wondering if he was pressing me with Divinity again, but the fellow was simply averting his gaze.
I had to stop this somehow.
“…Is there no way for humans to save humans, no way to save those who were taken?”
“Well, what. Shouldn’t a god be overcome by a god? The eldest sister could suppress the youngest on her own, and to suppress the youngest with another god, you’d need at least two. Oh, exclude me for now. I don’t want to fight that kid.”
Fuck, I’m seriously going crazy.
It was very rare for gods to reveal themselves before humans. The task of searching for gods and begging for help seemed as impossible as floating a boat made of sand on the ocean.
I suppressed the urge to grab the collar of the guy spouting such carefree nonsense and shake him. Stupid bastards always give vague answers to vague questions.
With a desperate voice, I asked again, making the objective more concrete.
“…Will there be an occasion for us to personally have an audience with the noble ones? Other than that, is there no other way to stop the Ninth God, even for a moment?”
“Another way? I wonder… Ah. Oh, right. The Divine objects, using those would be similar. The sister handed those out, didn’t she? If you collect all six Divine objects scattered across this land, you’ll be able to put the youngest to sleep for a while. I’ve never tried it, but it’ll probably work.”
“Is it enough just to collect them? And the duration of the sleep?”
“I wonder… Three years? At most… at most about ten years.”
This is it. I must collect the Divine objects and put the Ninth God to sleep. It seems something happens when all the Divine objects are gathered. If this method succeeds, we just need to continue the ritual of putting the god to sleep generation after generation. If the cycle is every 2 or 3 years, it would be appropriate to replace the current Divine object events.
It will be too late if I wait for Beneto’s permission. I must return to the Empire immediately and raise an army.
The total number of the temporary knight order I can organize as a Prince is barely 400.
With four hundred Sword Masters, it’s worth trying to flip a Royal Castle. After all, to me, one Imperial citizen was more precious than dozens of kingdom citizens. How much damage would be caused by sequentially crushing or threatening the five kingdoms to seize the Divine objects?
Even so, the total number of dead, combining allies and enemies, would surely be less than 200,000. If I use magic troops or use long-range weapon projectiles…
It was then. Mikael wrapped his arm around my shoulder and looked at me with a worried face.
The moment I saw those clear eyes full of trust, I snapped back to my senses.
I should be a good person, at least in front of you.
…Again. Let’s think about this again.
Again… instead of war, murder, and violence, is there a way to… kindly, politely… borrow the Divine objects?