By Zephyria 
The God of Records did not answer immediately. The bookshelf he had spread open was still a pitch-black ink color. The grass-green gaze that quietly observed Ruben didn’t feel threatening, but it felt endlessly distant, as if looking at something other than Ruben.
[Hoo….]
“Ugh…!”
The God’s sigh echoed through my mind.
No matter how righteous and good the Divine Power was, it was still the movement of Mana. When the concentration was this thick, pain naturally followed. Sounds of gasping for breath repeatedly leaked from various places.
Soon, the space before my eyes brightened to the point where the entire space turned white. It was so blindingly bright that I too scrunched up my brow. Immediately, Ruben, who I had pulled back and hidden behind me, whispered, “It’s okay,” and tugged at my shirt, calming my frayed nerves.
The Knights, wrapping their bodies in auras of various colors, and the Mages, using Circles to protect themselves, caused a brief commotion. The surroundings flashed and glittered vibrantly in every color imaginable. Sensing their reactions, the God hastily gathered his Divine Power back into his small body.
Ruben remained astonishingly calm even amidst the commotion.
I supposed this was also thanks to Ruben being of royal blood. I marveled at how great this Divine Blood, or whatever it was, must be.
“Rather than that… you need to exert a bit more effort.”
“I am a Prince of Sierren. While I might be able to assassinate the Emperor of Biban with the help of my Knights, I cannot involve myself in establishing the succession afterward. The Divine Object will also be ours, so it doesn’t matter who takes the throne after the assassination, does it?”
Ruben retorted sharply to the God’s dejected plea. However, the God was not deterred.
“I know, I know. But there are so few people capable of filling that position right now.”
“That can’t be—”
“Everyone in Biban, regardless of their status, drank the potion touched by the Ninth God’s breath. That’s why there are so few usable individuals, and even those are currently held captive by the current King, Queion.”
Ruben replied with a voice laced with a simmering groan.
“Surely… it’s only two?”
“No, three.”
What were the two, and who were the three?
As I remained merely puzzled, Ruben’s cold voice followed.
“You mean Queen Gloria of Biban and her two children.”
“Yes, it will be a bit difficult, but….”
“A bit difficult? They are not of the Biban King’s bloodline, and furthermore, the King’s jealousy and erratic behavior meant his children never inherited even a minor title. How can we establish these individuals, who lack even minimal influence, as King within a few weeks?”
“….”
“It would be better if you, God, directly manifested and declared who the future King will be.”
It was a valid point. Surely, a God should be capable of such a feat. Yet, the God of Records appeared troubled throughout. He suppressed another sigh and then slammed the book he had been holding shut with a loud clap. As the black pages disappeared from my sight, I felt a little more at ease.
“How can a bird hide its wings, or a fish hide its fins? If I appear in human form, they will not believe me, and if I stand before the children in my true form, it will cause great trouble. Even now, I have reduced my divine form as much as possible, but look. If all of you here were ordinary people, not Mana users, what would have happened? Could you have maintained your sanity before me?”
“….”
“Viper has too high a population density. Thousands of children would lose their souls with a single breath from me, so I cannot display my divinity before them. If it weren’t for that potion, I could have delivered a Divine Revelation, but now….”
“…Does the Divine Revelation reach those three?”
“Yes. So they will not suspect your identities. They still have their minds, their will. Even while suffering from Mana overload….”
“Does that mean their bodies have already undergone transformation?”
“…Yes. However, I can heal Gloria’s children. If you bring them here….”
But Ruben’s furrowed brow showed no sign of easing.
“Two are suffering from Mana overload, yet the Divine Revelation reaches all three.”
“That’s because… Gloria was a truly devout believer. She possessed a certain degree of inherent divinity….”
“Surely the other believers in Biban were not less faithful than her.”
“….”
“What are you hiding? I am not trying to read a record drawn by your personal opinion. If you, God, are not truthful with us, how can we help you?”
The God of Records was silent for a long while again.
The individuals gathered around were only those who shared a certain degree of truth. Marianne and Mage Boulder, Hugh Benson and Elvin Brooks, the initial three bodyguards including Samantha Andrei, and Benjamin. All of them watched the God’s lips with serious expressions.
It was only when Hugh Benson’s frown deepened to the point of appearing sunken that the God finally spoke.
“…Gloria.”
“Yes.”
“I… met her briefly.”
“Yes?”
What nonsense was this now?
Before we could question him, the God of Records hastily offered his explanation.
He said that Gloria, the current Queen of Biban, had fallen into the Lake of Memories when she was twelve years old. The God of Records, who happened to be nearby, saved her, and she, feeling enchanted by the God at the time, proposed to him – a cliché and common story.
However, the God of Records had found her endearing but had not loved her as an equal. He explained that he merely found the young girl so charming, like a small pet he was raising, and had only patted her head a few times.
Ruben asked with an effortful, reluctant smile, “Perhaps, her two children….”
“No! Absolutely not. It doesn’t even add up chronologically. Even if I were out of my mind, would I have relations with a human to that extent? That child was too young; I didn’t even want to impregnate her.”
“You’re so disgusted….”
Marianne, unable to help herself, let out a pained sigh and murmured.
Instead of scolding Marianne for her rudeness, the God continued his explanation.
“It’s just that, because she possessed so much Divine Power… her constitution became one where pregnancy was easier. Divine Power is meant to encompass the power of recovery and life… and I am the God of Records, Memory, and Abundance.”
“Ah.”
The God of Abundance.
“In any case, because of that, Gloria can still hear my voice. As long as she has the memories of me etched into her body and mind, she certainly can. It might be because they inherited their mother’s divinity that Gloria’s children can still endure without drinking that potion.”
“….”
“I want you to heal them and place them on the throne. It doesn’t matter how you do it.”
No matter how much I thought about it, it seemed insurmountable. I had no confidence in finding a solution.
However, Ruben pressed his deepened frown a couple of times and murmured, “You said it doesn’t matter how?”
“…Yes.”
“Very well. You said the Divine Revelation reaches them. Please tell them I wish to meet them soon. Preferably, I would like to meet all three at once.”
“Understood.”
To the child’s clear demand, the God of Records looked even more bitter. Ruben continued in a calm tone.
“I will devise a plan. The location of Biban’s Divine Object is—”
“That is also in the Royal Palace. Gloria can tell you its exact location.”
“…Yes.”
After entrusting all the tasks to Ruben, what did this God intend to do?
If only he were the God of Intellect. How would he solve a puzzle that even a God couldn’t? It was simply daunting.
I recalled the face of Queian Bis Biban I had seen before. That man, with his young face filled with nothing but worry and fatigue, did not seem like someone who wielded swords or magic.
The King of Biban had plundered the prosperity of his land for his own greed; he could indeed be called an evil person. Therefore, taking his life was not something I greatly hesitated about. It would not be difficult to eliminate a person without leaving any trace of a Sierren Knight.
The problem was that I didn’t know what kind of Magic Circles were installed in the Biban Royal Palace, or how many.
Biban’s Royal Palace has Royal Palace Mages, so I don’t know how this will unfold. No matter how talented, Mage Boulder is only 7th Circle, and Marianne, who increased her Mana by consuming the Spiritual Medicine bestowed by a God, is still stuck in the late 5th Circle.
The God of Records, after further recovering his body, returned to the lake, stating he needed to examine the continent’s past ‘Records.’ He seemed tired from wandering about after being freed from his seal. How could I fathom the fatigue of a God who lived for eons? Yet, I felt anxious, fearing he might fall into a deep slumber.
Immediately after the God disappeared, Ruben summoned several informants from Biban’s Nobility Yearbook.
The royal lineage of Biban and their political movements are of little use to me even if I knew them. Ruben granted me permission to roam freely, stating he had enough personnel to protect me, so I went outside.
❖ ❖ ❖
For the first time in a long while, I saw a bright sky.
It was the power of the Ninth God that had bound the God of Records to the lake. By releasing the Black Magic Circle, Aries Dolo, which had been overlaid to strengthen that seal, the God of Records was able to escape the lake. The Contaminated Mana, having lost its focal point, was scattering to find its own path, so the prosperity of the lake and its surroundings would slowly return.
As I looked up at the cloudless sky, watching the sunset slowly spread across it, my stomach churned.
Would the Ninth God, Wesley Kiadris, also know that the God of Records had been freed?
What schemes was Richard in Sierren’s capital concocting? While lost in thought, unable to shake off my unease, the person who followed me tapped my elbow. It was Hugh Benson.
“Prepare yourself in advance.”
“Prepare for what?”
“Mental preparation. You, me, and him. It seems the three of us will go to catch that fellow.”
Catch whom?
There was no need to ask. When a Prince of one nation attempts to assassinate the King of another, how could such news be spread widely? It was natural to choose someone from among those who were present with the God. However, looking at the person Hugh Benson pointed to with his fingertip, I was again puzzled.
“…Lord Andrei, for such a task?”
“I know he’s not suited for stealth… Elvin is too heavy and always within the Oasis’s sight, so he’s out. And would you and I go alone?”
That was true. As I meekly agreed, Bailey Barton clung to Hugh Benson’s side.
“Why am I excluded?”
“…Samantha is small and can handle a sword reasonably well, so if all else fails, you can carry her.”
“Why me….”
“And.”
Instead of indulging Bailey Barton’s persistent whining, Hugh Benson patted my back once.
“The Mercenaries miss you. Show your face when you have time like this.”