“… Pfft.”
“…?”
In the empty prayer room, a figure suddenly appeared along with Arkish.
As a result of their combination, a light laugh fluttered in my ears, leaving me in a daze.
“Ahahaha! Just kidding, just kidding! You really think a so-called god would be bound by a language made by humans?”
“…Edel?”
“Yup! It’s Edel!”
The woman, Edel, cheerfully said while bringing her fingers into a V shape near her eyes.
Looking at the flowing holy power and her strange presence that was different from ordinary people, it really seemed to be Edel.
…So, is she a god?
What the heck?
“…Isn’t that a bit too much?”
“Hmm?”
I thought that, but I hadn’t voiced it out loud.
…Come to think of it, a moment ago, Edel had said, “You think a god would be bound by a language made by humans.”
Could she be, reading my mind?
“Correct~! Well, I can’t read everything, but our cute little lamb’s skills are so high that it’s not easy to read, you know.”
“It’s really you, Edel.”
“I told you so, didn’t I?”
She did say that.
I had never imagined a god could act this casually, so it was hard to believe.
With that attitude, she seemed more like a slacker you’d find in a village rather than a god.
“…Hey, I’m not forgetting that you can read my thoughts, right? I know. How convenient.”
“You’re a really interesting kid.”
Usually, people would shy away if they could read minds, but not only did I think it was convenient, I found it interesting.
Muttering that, Edel looked down at me, her mystical silver eyes sparkling.
“But could you please just tell me verbally? Like I said before, reading your thoughts is quite difficult.”
“Got it.”
“Good, that’s nice. So, why did our little lamb come all the way here? What were you curious about?”
Since she could read my thoughts, she must already know why I came here, but Edel pretended to be clueless and asked me.
What was I curious about, huh?
I came to the Holy Kingdom with the thought of asking her something, but I never imagined the god would personally descend.
Even if I could get an answer, I was only expecting something akin to a divine oracle—
“Isn’t a divine oracle something that shouldn’t be called ‘only’ like that?”
…Anyway, because of that, I was so flustered that I completely forgot everything I had prepared beforehand and needed time to reorganize my thoughts.
Since it was something I had been pondering for a while, it didn’t take me long to remember what I wanted to say.
“-Are you the operator?”
“…”
At my question, Edel seemed to be momentarily speechless, freezing with a smile on her face.
Like I was a moment ago, she looked as if she was selecting her thoughts before finally opening her mouth.
“I already know your speech pattern, but could you at least call me Edel? I may look like this, but I’m a god, so I really don’t want to look too unimposing.”
Opening with words quite far from my question, Edel lightly moved her steps.
As she walked, resembling a statue made in her image, she leaned against that same statue.
Before seeing Edel, I didn’t realize it, but there was a significant gap between the statue and her actual appearance.
To be honest, if someone told me to find Edel from looking at the statue, I would probably fail.
Well, how many people have actually seen Edel?
Those who have already must have long been laid to rest.
Thinking that way made me feel how nonsensical my current situation with Edel standing in front of me was.
“Considering what you just said, you don’t look all that moved. Anyway— it wouldn’t matter to deny that here, would it? I honestly didn’t expect you to ask so directly.”
Edel, who spoke with reluctance, let out a small sigh.
“When did you notice?”
“Well…”
If you ask when, it was probably when I ate that mind-blowingly spicy fried rice.
Such intense spiciness would not be easily felt in this Silia world.
However, if that were the only thing, I wouldn’t have suspected at all.
“That’s strange. So many people came over from a continent beyond that I didn’t even know existed, and you say you’ve blessed them.”
“The demon race came over like that too, you know?”
“But the demon race couldn’t be accepted so easily.”
Why did the two rounds of racial wars happen?
It was because the natives of Silia couldn’t accept the demon race trying to settle down here.
Of course, I know why the Silia people opposed the demon race’s settlement, so I’m not blaming them.
That’s just the way it is.
“No matter how much we take into account your blessing, it’s strange that such a large number of apostles settled here without any issues.”
And that wasn’t the only odd thing.
“Looking through the continent’s history, it’s rare to find the power of resurrection, and considering they came from another continent, their words and actions are too different from the Silia people, their growth rate is excessively fast.”
This is just the tip of the iceberg; if I were to elaborate, I could say much more.
Even I, who had only recently come into contact with the apostles, felt a sense of discomfort, but those who had interacted with them far more than I did not seem to feel that way.
They would just brush it off with, “Well, it’s fine because it’s Edel’s apostle, right?”
That point only fueled my suspicion further.
And then,
“What I could be sure of was thanks to Joanie.”
My certainty was struck from Joanie’s words and behavior.
No matter how much she liked to talk to herself, she was a bit excessive.
It was as if she were having a conversation with someone.
Even if that wasn’t the case, her words and actions were enough to evoke nostalgia for my old home deeply buried in my memory.
There were reasons I decided to accompany her, after all.
“Why didn’t you tell her you suspected it?”
“If I thought this place was a world inside a game, saying that out loud wouldn’t be good for me.”
A game character realizing they’re one in a game and talking to a player?
If it wasn’t intentionally designed that way, it wouldn’t be surprising for it to be deleted immediately.
By the way, it’s strange that I remember this when I’ve forgotten other things.
I must have really loved games in my previous life.
“Heh… But if that’s the case, isn’t it dangerous even now?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Maybe the way I’m thinking now is also controlled by someone.
I could be a character with the concept of, ‘A guy who lived on Earth in a past life but reincarnated in another world.’
“Living as a puppet isn’t as good as just dying. I just didn’t want to die before finding the answer.”
“…Don’t worry. You’re not a puppet. To put it bluntly… yes, you could say you’re a sword.”
“A sword?”
A sword carefully sharpened and kept safe in one’s pocket as a precaution.
Saying something incomprehensible, Edel continued speaking.
“To sum it up, half of what you think is right, and half is wrong. As you guessed, this world being a game is true…”
Edel spun around once.
Was it just me, or did her figure seem to have become slightly hazier than before?
“It’s simultaneously a real world.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
Either it is or it isn’t, and if it’s true, then it’s true— it’s not like it’s half fried and half sauced.
As I instinctively asked with a sulky tone, she wore a wry smile.
“Don’t think too hard. People from another world came into a world that actually exists. Just think of it that way, can’t you?”
Unlike you, they came to this world through a game.
I had heard the explanation, but I still couldn’t grasp it.
“Is that really possible?”
If that statement were true, then it would mean that the technological prowess of Earth advanced enough to create an entire world as a game.
How much time had passed since my death for that to have been possible?
“Of course, it’s impossible. No matter how much technology advances, would it even scratch the power of a god?”
Edel quickly agreed.
“If this world had been normal, and my power was intact. You know, don’t you? About beings that were not created by me, beings that invaded from other dimensions.”
At her words, something flashed through my mind.
It wasn’t hard to recall since I had just fought one of those not long ago.
“I’ve been fighting against them for a very long time. If you measure it in human time… it’s been over hundreds of years. But in the end, I lost. What resulted from that was—”
“The demons.”
“That’s right.”
It was a refreshingly clear answer.
The dimensions’ emergence in the continent first came to light when I was four years old, which is only around thirteen years ago.
So, she must have lost back then.
“They devoured, destroyed, and broke my world. And when the world breaks, the power of the gods naturally diminishes.”
“So, humans took advantage of that gap and turned this world into a game?”
“Hmm? No, no! Even if my power isn’t what it used to be, I wouldn’t be humiliated by mere humans!”
“Then what happened?”
“Hoo… Are you getting annoyed? That’s cute.”
Noticing my subtle irritation, Edel chuckled to herself.
Actually, it’s not that she’s perceptive; she is a true god.
I looked at her somewhat sadly.
“Making this world a game was my choice. I thought that was the best option.”
“…Making it a game was, the best option?”
“The god of Earth… in your terms, I guess you’d call it an administrator. I made a contract with that being.”
Her expression, which somehow seemed mournful, spoke volumes.
“I chose to turn the Silia I love into a game, hoping to cater to that being’s world instead of letting this world perish.”
If things had gone as they were, this world would have faced nothing but destruction.
Her voice was laden with all kinds of emotions as she spoke.
“That’s why I said it’s half right and half wrong. I am the operator of the game world… ‘Silia Online,’ but I’m also a god.”
So, how does it feel to have answered the question correctly?
Happy? Boring? Free?
I answered her that way.
“To put it bluntly.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“It sucks.”
“Ahahaha! Isn’t that right? I think so too!”
Edel burst into laughter so hard she held her belly.
…What in the world is so funny?
I just can’t get it.
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