Will I End Up As A Hero Or As a Demon King – Chapter 45

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Chapter 45 – Goddess

Given the situation, it was somewhat predictable.

But what makes it even more certain is that one of the women who came into view looked familiar.

“(A woman with a sword and armor. Goddess of War, does that mean the three in front of me are all Goddesses?)”

Among the stone statues in the church, there is only one figure on the right in front of me that I can identify.

There is no doubt about it.

That’s not what I mean.

Where is the priest?

Why am I here?

Where am I even?

My thoughts came one after the other.

But such questions seem so trivial that a shock hits me, and I feel as if my brain has been shaken beyond tolerance.

“(…Aren’t they all too beautiful? I have never seen such a well-rounded figure in my life. It’s not just one of them, but all three… or two, since one is clearly a young girl…)”

“You… Do you want to be punished by the Gods?”

“――!??”

“(Ugggghhhh… I’m being pulled to the ground! T-this breathing is… painful… I-I’m dying…! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…!)”

“Ria. Our time is limited, and we haven’t heard anything yet, so stop.”

――Fuh.

“Gahah… Hah… Hah…”

This is not good.

They are clearly Goddesses, or rather, not humans.

Just thinking crazy thoughts is killing me…

I can’t stop the cold sweat from running down my entire body.

“I-I’m so sorry…”

When I looked up while apologizing, the girl in front of me on the left with long black hair, who looked like she could be a Japanese doll, clearly had a sour expression on her face.

This person, or rather this lady, must be called Ria-sama.

For some reason, the one in the middle with shiny long brown hair that almost reaches her waist and the blonde Goddess of War in the front right who looks like some kind of imaginary elf is blushing, but…

I must not think of unnecessary things.

I have to let my mind go blank.

“I understand that you might be confused by the suddenness of the situation, but let me make sure of something first.”

My gaze naturally turned to the words uttered by the woman in the middle.

“Who are you?”

“Uh…?”

“…..”

I have no intention of lying in this situation.

However, I don’t know how to answer correctly.

Is it my name?

Is it “Loki,” which is what I call myself now?

Or is my real name “Yuto Mamiya”?

“M-My name is Loki.”

“Let me ask you again. Who are you, and why are you in this world?”

This was not the answer she wanted.

Does this mean that she saw me as an Otherworlder?

“I am sorry. My original name is Yuto Mamiya. I don’t really know why. I was suddenly kidnapped and dumped in the forest.”

“Abducted, huh? Weren’t you swallowed by the dimensional rift?”

“I don’t know what a dimensional rift is, but what is it?”

“A dimensional rift is a distortion in space that has a very low probability of occurring anywhere, or to put it simply, a black crack that suddenly appears. If you are swallowed, you will either wander in subspace or, if you are lucky, you will be connected to another world where you will be thrown out.”

Swallowing the words of the Goddess of War carefully, I replied.

“It is true that I was first swallowed by a black crack. Then I went out into the pitch black space and…! …..I can’t say anything…”

Seeing the Goddess of War and Ria-sama with stern expressions on their faces at my words, I felt bad, but there was nothing I could do about it.

Why… why can’t I put into words what happened with Acorn?

I met Acorn, and after that, I was sent to the Great Forest of Palmera.

That’s what I should tell them, but the words are…! That’s right!

These ladies can read my mind, no matter what I think!

Then…

“(After I went out into the black space… I was informed by an acorn-headed boy whose name I don’t know that there is a world of weapons, magic, and skills, and I was sent to that world with no right of refusal.)”

That should get the message across.

――I thought so, but I was naive.

“…Rigal. I couldn’t read his mind half the time. Is it just my imagination?”

“No, me neither. Did Alicia understand?”

“No, after he went into the black space, I couldn’t read anything, like it was empty. After that, the world of weapons, magic, and skills must mean this world. And that he was forced to be sent here.”

“The same here. Is his memory also… slipping away? Hey you, what did you do? Do you want to die?”

“You are an outsider of this world. If you don’t tell us the truth, I will kill you.”

“Wait… Please wait! I’m trying to talk to you, but…! I knew it! I can’t get the words out no matter how much I try! That’s why I tried to tell you earlier in my mind!”

“(Please forgive me! I can’t tell you even if I wanted to!)”

“It doesn’t look like he’s lying, but… this is disturbing.”

“I can’t see his skills even when I use God’s Eye from a while ago? Was it like that for all the people who came out of the dimensional rift?”

“I can see that he has acquired some skills in this world. And since this person is talking to a priest, he must have at least acquired Different Language Comprehension. That would mean that there is an unknown skill at work that even we don’t know about, and it can’t be confirmed by using God’s Eye.”

“This guy is quite dangerous.”

“I don’t know how it happened, but we shouldn’t let him live for the sake of the world.”

“Even if that’s the case, who in the world would do such a thing… with skills we don’t know about, could it be a higher god?”

“We’d better talk to Felza-sama about this.”

“But our managed world has already been almost completely abandoned by Felza-sama, hasn’t it? Do you think they will listen to us?”

“I don’t know. Still――…”

While the Goddesses were discussing the future as if they were oblivious to my tiny existence, I just looked up at the white sky and asked myself.

Why is this happening?

Did I do something wrong?

Was it because I extorted a cheat skill from Acorn?

No kidding. This is not a cheat, just a convenience.

I was taken without my consent, sent to this world without my consent, and after a desperate attempt to survive, I finally found some ground to stand on, and then I…

I’ve been taken away again without permission and sentenced to death.

What’s the reason?

Was it Acorn?

Surely, that guy is the trigger.

Then what’s in front of me?

Aren’t these three the same as Acorn?

After all, they brought me here out of the blue and told me that they were going to kill me.

In a way, they are worse than Acorn.

And I’m still kneeling before such a company.

Hahahaha… There’s no limit to stupidity.

If this goes on, I’ll just die without doing anything. Then…

I’m sorry, Paisa-san.

Even though I swore an oath a while ago, I will not be able to keep my promise.

I said as I stood up, thinking it would be foolish to kneel.

“You’ve been bitching about nothing for a while now. Hey. Are the Gods all garbage? Or is it because they are garbage that they can become Gods?”

Silence falls.

All three of their eyes turn to me at once…

I’m going to die anyway, right?

――Then it doesn’t matter.

“You see? Answer me. I’m asking if all Gods are egoistic and selfish.”

“You…!! What kind of nonsense are you talking to God?! You deserve to die!!”

“You are so annoying… I treated you with respect, but you’re the one who wants to kill me, right? I am all dead now… don’t make me laugh. Besides, I wouldn’t talk like that to the people I met in the city of Bezart. Talking to the Gods, you say? I say it because you’re a God, you idiot!””

“Forget it, let’s just kill this guy. The city will be involved as well, but… I’ll give him the divine punishment and make his body disappear, too!”

“Hey, Ria! Wait for the divine punishment!”

“You see? This is it. It doesn’t matter if other people are involved, as long as it’s for your own convenience. Aren’t you just like the criminals?”

“!? That’s…”

“I don’t know what the guy who kidnapped me is up to. I was living a normal life in my original world when I was suddenly kidnapped. And I was forced to go to the forests of this world, even though I did not agree to it.

Nevertheless, I struggled to survive. I wandered in search of water in a world where I didn’t know left from right, fought monsters without knowing why, and ate creatures without fire because I needed food. All because I didn’t want to die.

The first time I saw humans, I was truly happy. When I saw a city for the first time, I was speechless with emotion. I’ve been struggling and struggling and struggling to stay alive… and I’ve been living steadily until now…

I finally felt that I was enjoying this world and … would continue to live in it…”

When I realized that I thought I was getting up, I was kneeling on the ground, drooping. Whether from frustration or sadness, tears flowed spontaneously.

“Hey? Tell me, will you? What have I done? What have I done wrong to you? Is it so bad to try so hard to live? …Hey …Tell me…”

“””…..”””

I didn’t get the answer I wanted.

But I said what I wanted to say…

I would be lying if I said I had no regrets, but I have no regrets about these things.

――I guess I just have to die.

“(Is there really such a ridiculous story about reincarnation? If so, next time… Next time, I’d like to live in a world where hard work is rewarded, like this world.)”

“You are…”

“…..”

“Who are you really?”

“I don’t know. I’m not God, so how can I look at myself so objectively? I’m just a man clinging to life and beginning to enjoy this world.”

“I see… One thing, let me just confirm one thing.”

“…What is that?”

“Were you given any skills before you came to this world?”

What is she suddenly talking about?

I felt that the atmosphere of the place had changed as well.

“Skills?”

“Yes. We sometimes reincarnate souls from other worlds who have died and bring them back to ours, with their consent, of course. When we do that, we give them some special skills… That happened to you, didn’t it?”

“Is that what you mean? What I received was a rejuvenation of my age. I don’t know how it looks to you girls now, but I used to be 32 years old. And I can see the status screen whenever I want. Those are two things. But I don’t know if that’s a skill or not. For some reason, they don’t show up on the status screen that I can see, so I’m pretty sure those two things are treated as skills.”

“You’re telling the truth. Is being hidden the reason why we can’t see through them even when we use God’s Eye?”

“Hmm, I’m sure both are skills that we don’t know about, but I think it’s different if it’s just a skill that threatens the world…”

“Hmm… You say you can see the status screen at any time? What does that look like?”

“I don’t know if you can understand it. It looks like the screen of the game that existed in my previous world. That is why it was so easy for me to accept it… I can see my level, my magic power, the value of each ability, and my skill tree, some of which is hidden, but I can also see what skills I have acquired and how soon I will be able to acquire them.”

“What’s that… Isn’t that much better than what we can see with the God’s Eye?”

“I can understand the skills, but what about the level? Ability stats? Rigal, do you know what that means?”

“No, I don’t know either. Is it something that Felza-sama set up as the foundation upon which this world was built?”

“I don’t know a story as deep as the origin of the world. But to put it in simple terms… there is a prayer to the Goddess, isn’t there? What is the basis for raising the skill level or giving new skills?”

“It’s based on the person’s contribution to the world that they have defeated the monsters.”

“It’s not quantified, is it?”

“It is not quantified. But we, the Goddesses, know the extent of their contribution, so we reward them with skills and increase their skill level when they fulfill it.”

“The root of it is ‘level’ and ‘skill points.’ When you defeat monsters, your level increases. As your level increases, you will receive skill points according to your level. Then, you use those skill points to increase your skill level or acquire new skills. That’s what you girls are doing for them instead, isn’t it, praying to the Goddess? If you don’t have enough points, you can’t do it. On the other hand, if you have a lot of points, you can raise the level all at once. Well, I’m talking about the status screen I’m looking at, so I don’t know if it really works the same way for people in this world.”

“Isn’t that a ridiculous story?”

“Yes… Maybe this is something only the higher gods know about…”

“Oh no… I’m getting a little excited.”

“”Rigal…””

“By the way, what do you mean by ability stats?”

“You said you just wanted to check one thing.”

“That’s what Alicia said! I-I apologize for my earlier answer, as you can see! So tell me!”

I’ve been blabbering on and on about how I’m ready to die, and I don’t care anymore, but the conversation is going in a funny direction…

“W-well, if you think it’s bad, that’s fine… Ability stats are each person’s individual ability stat, such as Strength, Defense, and Intelligence. As your level increases, so does your ability stat, and it seems that when you gain a skill, your ability stat will increase according to that skill. Even this is somewhat familiar, isn’t it? Sister-san said that the skills that are likely to grow differ depending on the job you choose and that there will be differences in strength and dexterity depending on the job, right?”

“It is true that the choice of one’s job is a kind of blessing from the Goddess, so the relevant skills are made to grow more easily according to the job one chooses… Are you saying that this is visible as a concrete number?”

“Yes, that’s right. Right now, when I go up one level, the amount of Magic Power is +6, and all the other ability stats are +3. You also know that when you acquire a skill, the corresponding ability will be +1, and when the skill level is 2, it will be +2, and so on. And I forgot to mention that you can also see things like blessings and titles. I don’t have any, though.”

“Amazing…”

“I-it’s confirmed! This is a feat that we, the lower gods, could never accomplish. It’s definitely a higher god!”

“Oh… I think I heard something terrible. Well, just because I heard it doesn’t mean I can do anything about it.”

“It’s the same for me. I can only see it. So I don’t know what you’re all worried about, but I don’t have the ability to use my skills to deceive you. Even now, if I were to face a D-rank hunter, I would definitely be the one who would be killed!”

“You don’t seem to be lying at all…”

“That’s right. I don’t feel any discomfort.”

“Yes…”

Do you understand me? And yet, you people didn’t even ask me what was going on, didn’t even tell me your names, and tried to kill me even though I was suddenly thrown out of here and just trying to live. Do you understand?”

“””I’m sorry!”””

Phew.

Anyway, it seems that I was able to avoid being killed, and if they’re sorry, then I guess that’s enough…

Meanwhile, the Goddess also has a reason to protect this world, right?

If that’s the case, I apologize for my earlier outburst.

“I am glad that you understand the situation. I’m sorry for my outburst earlier.”

“It’s our fault for being so hasty. It’s a little late for that, but I am Alicia. Do you recognize me as the Goddess of Love?”

“Ah no… I’m not familiar with this world yet, so I only know that the one with the sword looks like the Goddess of War.”

“T-That’s probably true, isn’t it?”

“As you guessed, I am the Goddess of War, Rigal.”

“You…? Is that so? I taught you everything you need to know, and you still call me that…?” [T/n: In case you don’t understand, the Goddess of War addresses him with Kisama, which is an extremely rude way to address someone.]

“!? No, I misspoke! Loki! You are Loki! Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, you’re right. I was afraid that you had forgotten that I had told you my name at all.”

“How could that be? I’m still a Goddess! Hahahaha!”

“I am Ria, the Goddess of Sin. N-nice to meet you…”

“Nice to meet you, too. I see; you are the Goddess of Sin, right? So no matter what the circumstances, divine punishment will suddenly dawn.”

“Ugh… Uwaaaaaaah!”

When I saw Ria-sama running barefoot somewhere, I asked a question.

“By the way, my original purpose for coming to the temple was to choose a job. Since I plan to live my life as a hunter, I was hoping that Rigal-sama would help me choose a job, but what kind of job can I choose?”

“Huh? I see. Then I’m… ah… sorry. I can’t give Loki a job choice…”

“Huh? You mean I’m not fit to be a hunter?”

“No, it’s not that. As I said before, the choice of a job is a kind of blessing. And blessings can only be given to people from this world.”

“N-no way…”

“We, the six Goddesses, are the Gods who rule this world, but we are also the inferior Gods who only rule this world. Therefore, we have not been given the ability by the higher Gods to bless any race other than those born in this world.”

“I understand what Ria-sama said earlier. It means that I am an outsider, an existence that is not recognized by this world…”

“Y-You already understand the situation! Loki-kun is the one who got involved, and you’re still trying to live your life. If that is the case, it is the role of the Goddess to somehow show you a way to salvation.”

“But I can’t get a blessing or choose a job, can I? Can I possibly go back to my original world?”

“That is also impossible. The power that we lower gods can use is similar to the limit of the power that a race can achieve. And a race cannot perform such feats as dimensional travel and ultra-long distance transitions involving the body.”

“””…..”””

“T-That’s true! How about this? Loki-kun, you don’t know anything about this world. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Ever since I was thrown into a world I don’t know at all, I’ve been groping my way through life day by day.”

“Then I will give you a special skill called Oracle. This is a special skill that is usually only given to those who have done great work in the church and are deeply religious. This is something special. I’ll give it to Loki-kun alone. I can’t give you a blessing, but if it’s just a skill, I should be able to leave it behind somehow. Hhmmmーーー!!”

“”Eh?””

Then, my body is completely lit up, and after a few seconds, the light disappears as if nothing happened.

‘Acquired Oracle Lv1.’

“”…..””

No, no, no, why does she suddenly go into action while I’m talking to her?

Is Alicia-sama the same type as Acorn?

Rigal-sama is also surprised by the sudden action, but maybe God doesn’t know the word consensus?

“Now I can give you advice, limited only to what is common sense if you are in trouble in this world.”

“Um… I was surprised that you suddenly acted without agreement, just like when I was sent to this world…”

“Eh. Oh… ah…”

“Just to confirm, isn’t the Oracle usually a one-way communication? I’m not asking questions or anything, but I’m aware that the Goddess gives words in one direction. Is that wrong?”

“T-That’s right…right, Alicia?”

“That’s right…isn’t it?”

“So, how will you know when I’m in trouble? Are you going to watch me all the time?”

“That kind of surveillance is not possible! Besides, we can’t even see individuals unless they come close to the God Statue! So if you have any problems, you can come to the church like this time…”

“As I explained earlier, I can see the status screen, so I will not undergo the ‘status judgment’ at the church. The “Prayer to the Goddess” can also be done by myself anywhere because I can wave the dots on my status screen. I have also been clearly told that I cannot choose my job. In other words, I don’t think it’s likely that I’ll be going to church in the future…?”

“”…..””

“I have saved some hard-earned money for my job choice, haven’t I? I’m wearing second-hand clothes full of patches and all that and 500,000 beeke. Do you know its value? By the way, at the inn where I’m staying, it’s 3,000 beeke per night. I already paid the extra money, you know. So I couldn’t choose my job after all, and well, it’s okay now, but I was almost killed, and after all, a skill that receives one-way words is… it’s very gratifying, isn’t it? If I could hear the pure voice of the Goddess without any context. I think it would take away my drowsiness if someone talked to me while I was sleeping. But still, it makes me a little sad…”

“A-Alicia…?”

“I-i-is it okay if this isn’t a one-way conversation?”

“Well, yeah… as a person who asks questions, I think it’s pointless if I can’t ask questions from here…”

“Hmm? …Eh? Don’t tell me, Alicia…?”

“…I understand if you want to say that much! There is only one person in the world!　Normally, only Shrine Maiden can obtain this Divine Communication skill! You can’t complain about that, can you?”

“Alicia! As you said, it’s a skill that only a Shrine Maiden can have. And since there are Shrine Maidens right now, that makes two people in the world, right? Are you crazy!”

“Hmm~ hmm~… this is also an apology, so… it’s okay! However! This skill will consume most of my power, so the skill level is 1! Everyone starts this way, so please be patient!”

“Uh, ah, yes…”

“And! I can’t answer questions that are fundamental to the world! Please consider it an extension of small talk at best! Do you understand?”

“Y-yes! I don’t really understand, but that’s okay!”

“Then I’ll give it to you! Rigal!”

“W-what is it?”

“I’m going to sleep for a while… Please give my regards to the other four, okay?”

“Okay… I’ll explain that you somehow used the unique top-level blessing… even though there is no blessing.”

So, I returned to the church with my consciousness, not really understanding what was going on.

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