Chapter 168………………………
Next, Riena desperately called out to her two brothers and to Crown Prince Mikhail, her former lover.
Unfortunately for her, no one came to help.
They were surely somewhere in this plaza watching the scene unfold.
Even if they wanted to help, it would be impossible.
Since crimes related to religion fell under the jurisdiction of the temple, this was no longer an area where they could intervene.
Moreover, Riena’s charge was impersonating the Saintess at a time when the Monster Wave was approaching.
“That crime must be paid for with death.”
What Arsia had said to Riena during the public trial had not been a mere threat.
And now—would anyone really defend Riena, who was being blamed by the people even as she tried to block Arsia, the one known as the master of the divine beast?
To put it bluntly, that would be suicide.
Even if one were the Duke of Cassius or a legitimate imperial prince, if they did not want to make an enemy of the entire world, they had to remain silent now.
“Dad! Where are you, Dad!”
At Riena’s cry calling for her father again, I thought of Duke Cassius.
According to what Terrence had told me, after the previous trial the duke had visited Riena once more.
Most likely he had tried to persuade her to withdraw the saintess verification.
Even if he had disowned her, he probably didn’t want to see her executed.
For him, that had been the best he could do, and since Riena refused to change her mind, there was nothing more he could do.
“I’m innocent! That divine beast is a monster! I’m the real saintess!”
Riena, desperately shouting there, surely understood this as well.
But if she was dragged away like this, it would mean death, so she had lost her reason and was making a final desperate struggle.
“Help me! Goddess! Dad! Brother! Mikhail!”
Riena kept shouting uselessly until the very last moment, when she was handed over from the priests to the temple guards.
I watched her disappear into the grand temple with a strangely bitter feeling.
One of my biggest problems had clearly been resolved, yet I did not feel as relieved as I had expected.
That night, after falling asleep normally in my bed, I suddenly opened my eyes in a white space.
This again.
It was the same place where I had met Goddess Miela a few days earlier.
It seemed the goddess had something to say to me.
The white space was still empty in every direction—up, down, left, and right—just white…
No, not quite.
“Goddess, why on earth are you doing this?!”
There was someone else besides me.
Riena.
“Why did you betray me?!”
Riena shouted fiercely at the empty air, and the goddess replied.
“I did not betray you in particular.”
“Lies! When we met last time, you clearly promised to make me the saintess!”
Was she talking about when she opened the Gate of Verification?
Since I had been behind her, Riena had not noticed my presence yet.
For now, I decided to stay silent and listen to their conversation.
“A promise? That is news to me.”
“Ugh, don’t pretend you don’t remember now! I remember clearly! You said I would become the saintess…!”
“No, I did not say that. More precisely, I said that you could also become the saintess.”
“That’s the same thing!”
“No, it isn’t. It’s a matter of possibility.”
“Excuse me?”
“The position of saintess was created by humans in the first place. If you were acknowledged by humans, you too could become the saintess—that possibility exists, that’s all I said.”
Riena fell silent for a moment, then shook her head violently and muttered to herself.
“No… I definitely heard that I would become the saintess.”
“That is how you remember it. But I can accurately recall events from thousands of years ago, so my words are likely closer to the truth.”
“Anyway, that’s all in the past now! Hurry and save me!”
“How?”
“First, punish that wicked woman Arsia who is pretending to be the saintess with divine power. She insulted you by presenting a mere monster as a divine beast!”
“There are two errors in that statement. Arsia has been acknowledged by humans, so she can indeed be called a true saintess. And the child you saw is truly a divine beast.”
“W-what?! Then why did you give it to Arsia?! You should have given it to me!”
“I did not give the divine beast to anyone. I simply saw a human who seemed capable of guiding that child properly and led the divine beast to them. It was the divine beast itself that chose its master.”
“So why Arsia?!”
“I never said it was Arsia.”
“Then who… don’t tell me… Idel?”
“Yes.”
Soon after, Riena’s body began trembling.
“This is so unfair. It’s not fair. You gave Idel the divine beast, and since Idel supports Arsia, you even made the saintess verification favorable to Idel.”
“I just said I didn’t give the divine beast to anyone. You really haven’t listened to what I say since long ago. As for the saintess verification, I…”
Riena suddenly burst into tears, and the goddess stopped speaking.
“It’s unfair! If you’re a god, you should be fair! Why do you only favor Idel?”
“Fairness, you say. If I were truly fair, would I have chosen you out of countless lives and given you a new life along with a blessing?”
For a moment, Riena was speechless.
“Th-that’s because I’m special.”
“Didn’t you just say I should be fair? If I treat only you as special, wouldn’t that be unfair?”
“N-no, I mean…”
“Riena, what you really want to ask me is not why I treated you and Idel differently, but why I did not favor you over Idel. Isn’t that correct?”
After hesitating, Riena answered.
She seemed bold and honest now, as if she had discarded her last bit of pretense.
“Yes. I’m someone special who is loved by the goddess. I was born with the mission to save this world. So you should continue supporting me.”
“Riena, it’s alright. You no longer need to worry about the fate of the world. That is no longer your role.”
“…You’re going to entrust it to Idel? No! I can do it better! Give me a chance!”
“That would be difficult. After what happened today, the possibility that you will defeat the evil god and save the world has become very small. Perhaps the old you—who had capable subordinates and was loved by many—might have managed it. But the current you cannot.”
“But you still love me, Goddess! You said you loved me before!”
“There is a slight error in that memory as well. I said I cherished you, not that I loved you. And I cherish Idel just the same.”
“…What do you mean?”
“To be more precise, I cherish not only you and Idel, but all life in this world. All are equal to me.”
“H-how is that cherishing? To cherish something, you must treat one thing as special among many.”
“It seems we have somewhat different definitions of ‘cherish.’ But I truly do cherish all of you. Otherwise, how could I always watch your lives with such interest?”
“That’s strange. By that logic, does that mean to you I’m the same as a filthy cockroach?”
“Yes.”
Riena opened and closed her mouth for a while before shouting hysterically.
“You said I was special! You said you sent me back because you cherished me specially!”
“Did I? At that time you asked whether I sent you back because you were special. I answered that you were indeed special. Because you are—very, very lucky.”
“…What?”
“I did not say it in connection with cherishing you. It seems your memory became distorted.”
“W-wait. What do you mean suddenly by lucky? What about me is lucky?”
In response to Riena’s question, Goddess Miela kindly repeated the story she had once told me as well.
The reason Riena had been chosen by the goddess was nothing more than pure luck.
“……”
Riena lowered her head and said nothing.
I could only see the back of her head, but I could clearly feel how great the shock she had received was.
These two… are the worst combination.
That was what I realized while listening to their conversation.
A suspicious goddess who spoke everything vaguely, and Riena who interpreted everything in the way she preferred.
The goddess had once told me that she showed the truth to those who truly wanted to know it.
But even for me, it was difficult to find the truth in her words—she was that complicated.
If even I struggled, what about Riena, whose desire to be loved was far stronger than her desire to know the truth?
The goddess probably had not shown even a quarter of the truth she had shown me, and Riena must have interpreted everything in the way she wanted to hear.
Perhaps this outcome was inevitable…
Even I, as another human, had often felt that communicating with Riena was impossible. There was no way she could properly communicate with a being as fundamentally different as a goddess.
“…That’s impossible. It can’t be. I wasn’t loved?”
Leaving Riena muttering like a madwoman, the goddess spoke to me.
“Now, Idel. It’s your turn. I called you because I have something to tell you separately. But if you wish to speak with Riena first, you may.”
Only then did Riena notice me and stare at me in shock.
Like someone caught exposing something shameful, she bristled defensively.
“I-Idel… don’t think you’ve won. To that goddess, you’re just the same insignificant human as me. You’re not special either!”
“I never thought I was special.”
That was all I had to say to Riena.
“Miela, that’s enough. What was it you wanted to tell me?”
“Very well. Riena, you may rest now.”
“Wait! Idel, I…!”
Riena seemed to have more to say to me, but I did not.
After Riena disappeared from the white space, the goddess told me about the evil god.
Now my greatest goal was to save this world from the evil god’s influence.
