I am back – Chapter 140

After saying goodbye to Siyun and Ayun post-breakfast, I had complete free time.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Kalia, Dana, Arna, and Pia were doing absolutely nothing. If they were in the middle of taking down the Demon King, this would be the perfect time to rest. There’s hardly any time to relax like this on the battlefield.

But right now, there was no real justification for a ‘mandatory break.’ And without any reasoning, those four didn’t have laid-back personalities that would let them just lounge around on the bed.

“How was the prayer?”

Pia, who had just come into the living room after finishing her shower, sat by the table and questioned Dana immediately.

“It isn’t easy. But I did catch a glimpse of a clue.”

Pia answered seriously.

Though she wanted to show only a bright face in front of Siyun, when they sat together like this, she adapted a serious tone similar to the other party members. After all, the only reason they were here was that the Goddess had asked Siyun, the Hero, for help.

And they believed that the most helpful thing for Siyun right now was to show him the transformed world.

It might also be effective to receive thanks from everyone in Irrelaysia, but…

“It shouldn’t be too hard to prove that.”

Arna spoke up.

“All we need is for the Prophet to confirm it.”

That was true.

While it’s almost impossible for the Goddess to descend to the world herself, proving that Siyun was once a Hero could be accomplished pretty easily.

She could demonstrate it with the halo appearing behind his head, and if Siyun were to lay his hand on the Holy Sword, it would be even more convincing.

“Still, there will be those who won’t believe it.”

Dana remarked.

Right. There are always doubters. Even when Siyun was as he was now, there were nobles who couldn’t believe he was the Hero. On the outside, he was seen as a commoner, not a local of this world, and the fact that he didn’t even have the basic knowledge of Irrelaysia had him labeled among the commoners as someone who lacked common sense.

How could an uncouth being, unlike the knights, possibly be a Hero?

That was the laments of some insensitive nobles regarding him.

“Leave that to me. My brother has said he’ll cooperate, so at least if any nonsense arises, we’ll be able to shut it down in front of Siyun.”

Kalia said confidently.

“Anyway, about that…”

Dana asked Pia once more.

“Were you able to talk with the Goddess?”

“No, not exactly.”

As Pia shook her head, Dana’s shoulders slumped.

“But it’s not completely hopeless.”

Pia said, extending her hands forward and gathering strength in them.

Slowly, a faint light of white and black began to rise from the tips of Pia’s fingers, intertwining.

“I can definitely feel the Goddess is there. I feel her getting closer little by little each day. The closer it gets, the more the speed seems to increase.”

“Oh.”

Dana’s eyes sparkled.

“So it really won’t be long now. I feel the same way. It’s definitely become easier to channel my magic compared to before.”

As Dana moved her hands, a plate on the table lightly lifted in the air, but then clattered down moments later.

“In the past, they said magic was so much harder to control, but it seems true that mages have been continuously honing it to make it easier to handle. If we can just receive the Goddess’s Power, it wouldn’t be a mere dream to use large-scale magic in this world. Well, though there’s still some power that came through the gate that opened up last time.”

“…I sincerely hope that power doesn’t have too great an influence in this world.”

Upon Pia’s words, Dana nodded gravely.

“Well… still, the overall volume of magic in this world isn’t that high. If we don’t go about making a fuss, people probably won’t notice. Even if they do, it could take hundreds of years.”

“You both are amazing.”

Kalia said in genuine admiration.

“To be honest… I feel a bit powerless. I keep wondering what I could have done since coming to this world.”

“Don’t say that.”

Pia said with a somewhat stern expression.

“You were the one who played a crucial role in rallying the kingdom’s people, Kalia.”

“That was thanks to my brother.”

When Kalia bitterly smiled at Pia’s words, she shook her head.

“It was Kalia who persuaded your brother to change his mind. It was possible because you were the one who went there and talked him into it. There are already nobles trying to keep Siyun in check.”

“……”

Kalia fell silent at Pia’s words.

“Above all, it’s meaningful because they’re comrades who fought together.”

Arna, who had quietly been listening to the conversation, interjected.

“That’s why we are ‘beings who can help’ Siyun. Because you’re here, Siyun can feel at ease. So don’t be too hard on yourself.”

“…Hmm.”

Kalia, feeling a bit bashful, turned her gaze away.

“Oh, by the way.”

Thinking the atmosphere had become awkward, Pia quickly decided to change the subject.

“I didn’t realize it since I had spoken with the Goddess since I was young, but is this the level of Divine Power typical believers possess?”

“No, usually they can’t even generate Divine Power from their hands. You must not have a doubt about the Goddess, but honestly, there’s not a single person in the world who wouldn’t harbor even the slightest suspicion of her.”

“Suspicion, huh?”

Since Pia had never stopped conversing with the Goddess even once, she never really thought ‘the existence of the Goddess feels distant’ before. After all, the Goddess was someone she could speak to anytime it was necessary, and she was so affable that it didn’t matter whether they had to keep formalities when conversing.

Of course, even if Pia said this to others, they probably wouldn’t completely believe her.

The existence of a Goddess is an inviolable power, a being without limits who gazes over everything.

What would happen if the Goddess truly heard those words?

Of course, she could see everything. But there are clearly limits to that ability. If no one believes in the Goddess, then it becomes difficult for her to influence the world.

Still, seeing how she could act by sending Siyun the Hero implies that she might be able to aid people by bringing forth entirely new lives…

“They once said that giving birth to a new and powerful being is a risky venture,” she stated.

When she said that, she seemed oddly serious, which made Pia believe those words.

Anyway, that’s why she had never doubted the Goddess.

After all, she had always been so candid about those limitations.

If anything were hidden,

“Well, that would be human fault, I suppose.”

In a moment of impulse, she spat those words out before promptly shutting her mouth.

Back in her childhood, she would casually speak like that.

Of course, Pia didn’t indiscriminately hate or loathe people. However, she had seen so many instances where people used the Goddess’s Power as an excuse to mistreat others or would blame the Goddess for all the circumstances they found themselves in.

Among them, there were people who could feel the Goddess’s presence, but many others could not.

And if one could not even believe in the Goddess’s existence, then why would they search for the divine’s presence when blaming something?

Because Pia could not understand those kinds of people, she had said those words in the church without a second thought. Some passed on the remarks, but there were also those who reacted vehemently. This was true during her time as a Saint candidate and even during her time as a Saint.

After experiencing such people many times, Pia finally managed to refrain from saying such things in front of others.

She still didn’t find it all convincing, but at least she could hold her tongue.

Unless one of those moments of weakness reared its head.

“…Yeah, it must be human fault. It’s why the world is such a place where one can’t believe.”

But Kalia merely showed a bitter smile at Pia.

“Nothing will change if you question the God about why life in the world is difficult.”

“……”

The Goddess always looks over humanity.

And she always tries to help in any way she can. But that effort doesn’t always bear fruit.

The church tries to hide this fact, and so people misunderstand that the Goddess is omnipotent, and the deeper that misunderstanding goes, the more people drift away from their faith.

“Honestly, I feel like I can never thank Siyun enough.”

Pia sighed, voicing her thoughts.

Thanks to the undeniable witness of the Hero, people could begin to regain their faith in the Goddess.

Though it was still far from perfect.

“……”

Kalia, Dana, and Arna all nodded in agreement.