Chapter: 389
I still don’t grasp why Lucy yearned so desperately for that necklace. The memories given to me from Lucy ended right in the middle of despair, after all.
But I can make some guesses. The driving force that fueled Lucy back then was likely the myriad of memories left behind by Mira before she passed away. It’s not that hard to deduce why Lucy would want something so eerily similar to the necklace Mira used to wear.
Surely, back then, Lucy saw her mother’s reflection in that necklace.
Knowing this, I gave that necklace to Mira. I pulled it out to convey the longing and sorrow Lucy felt.
I never thought it was odd. The appearance of jewelry always follows the trends of its time.
Just because it has a similar shape doesn’t mean I should raise an eyebrow; there are way too many identical accessories in the world.
But that’s not the case anymore. The moment this necklace became imbued with the pathetic god’s divinity, it became clear that he had arranged for this moment.
Pathetic God. You’ve been watching Lucy for ages. You witnessed her sorrow. You just let her suffer under a curse masked as a blessing while doing nothing.
Had the former Lucy known this, she would have surely rained down her grievances.
She would have unleashed her frustrations upon the incompetent deity.
And honestly, I’m not much different now.
I still despise the pathetic god’s ineptitude and look at him with pity as he pretends to be cheerful.
I don’t like that he handed such a heavy burden to a girl who hasn’t even matured yet.
But that doesn’t mean I hate or loathe him.
I know his intent is good.
I know he grieves just as strongly for the sadness on earth.
I know he suffers over his own incompetence.
I understand that he sincerely apologized to Phoebe, so I know he’s just inept, not evil.
Thus, despite personal feelings, I do not curse him. I don’t know what Lucy would think about this, but at least that’s how I feel.
Given the nature of the pathetic god, the contents of this necklace must be his form of apology.
Thinking that, I smiled and examined the necklace through my emotions.
[Necklace Filled with Miracles]
[This necklace contains the miracles of the deity. It lacks sufficient divinity to unleash its power.]
I silently apologized to Mira as I picked the necklace back up.
The utterly useless pathetic god couldn’t even convey what he arranged, but that’s fine.
Because the apostle of the god is here right now.
Though I didn’t request it, as his representative, shouldn’t I tie up the loose ends he left?
Taking a deep breath, I raised the divinity and infused it into the necklace.
And then I realized: there’s a reason miracles are called miracles.
Damn it. How complicated! Why does something as simple as infusing divinity have to be so convoluted?
…It’s fine. Stay calm. You’ve already performed a miracle once. Compared to what you did in Menestel, this is nothing.
[Lucy, can you really pull this off?]
‘…Huh?’
[Do you understand this? You, who could be called the embodiment of the past beastly knight? Can you really grasp this?]
‘No! Why are you suddenly starting a fight?! Do I look like I’m in the mood for joking?!’
What’s wrong with this guy all of a sudden?! He jokes around, but he wasn’t completely clueless about the atmosphere! Has he gone senile? Is he losing it!?
[There’s an expert on the matter right beside you, though?]
Hearing the old man’s playful voice made me understand what he meant, and I laughed awkwardly.
‘Could you just say you’ll help me?’
[You seem confused. I don’t recall anyone asking for help.]
As I was chatting with the old man, the gloom born from Lucy’s sorrow began to subside a bit.
‘Grandpa, you said I wasn’t being honest with you the other day, but I think you’re the same. Don’t you think?’
[Cough.]
‘I see. Grandpa, please help me. Lead me so that I can make a miracle happen.’
[If you ask me like that, I have no choice. Now, first, spread the divine realm. It’s important to make the operation of divinity easy. Then, next…]
The old man wasted no time in telling me what to do as soon as I asked. I followed his lead and slowly poured the divinity into the miracle contained in the necklace.
That process was so complicated that I failed countless times, but the old man didn’t scold me. He just told me what to do next.
Fortunately, I was becoming more adept at handling divinity as I listened to his explanations.
Initially, I had to undergo countless failures just to execute one explanation, but slowly the failures began to decrease, and there were even times I moved to the next step without failing at all.
Ah, but that just meant the mistakes became fewer. I still didn’t understand many things and continued to fail repeatedly.
How long did that go on? Despite my failures, I pressed on and eventually managed to perfectly recreate the miracle imbued in the necklace.
‘Grandpa! I did it! I finally succeeded!’
[Haha. I know you’re happy, but calm down for a moment. Shouldn’t we see what happens next? ]
‘Then for now, let me say thank you for helping! Really, thank you, Grandpa!’
Having said the most important part, I looked at the miracle arranged by the deity with a fluttering heart.
What did the pathetic god want to tell Lucy? What did he leave behind while gazing at the suffering child with sad eyes?
– Lucy.
The countless thoughts swirling in my head collapsed at those softly spoken words.
– My beloved daughter.
Tears, which had briefly paused, began to pour out again, making it impossible to think clearly.
– I’m sorry for not keeping my promise and leaving you all alone.
Holding onto my senses was a struggle, but I pushed down all the sounds escaping my mouth.
I had to ensure that Lucy, who might still be lingering in my heart, could hear this voice clearly.
– It might be shameless to say this now, but just know this: you brought me happiness. Each moment spent with you was a beautiful memory.
I needed to make sure Lucy could hear the voice meant for her.
– So Lucy, you don’t need to apologize to this foolish mother. I have already received such immense happiness from you.
“…Mama.”
– If you really can’t shake off the remorse, then just do one thing for this foolish mother.
“…Yes, Mama.”
– Please be happy. Make many friends. Have loads of fun. Eat a lot of delicious food.
I could see the deity’s divinity blurring through my tears. The miracle was coming to an end.
“…No! No!”
– When a long time passes and we meet again, let’s be able to speak with smiles.
“Not yet! Not yet, you stupid pathetic deity!”
Seeing him, I hurriedly tried to infuse the divinity into the necklace again, but it was impossible. The necklace was rejecting my divinity.
– I love you, Lucy.
“Is this all you can do?! Is this all it takes for you to be out of breath?!”
– It’s been like this in the past, and it will continue to be.
“Please! Please! Please…”
As the deity’s divinity waned, the crypt regained its original chill.
In the dead center, clutching the necklace, I desperately pulled up my divinity.
I made every effort to summon the miracle again.
[Lucy.]
‘Grandpa! Hurry! There’s so much more I need to hear! So many things I need to say!’
[That necklace has lost its miracle right now. No matter how much you plead…]
“Stop with the nonsense! Just help me! Right now! I need to…”
As I shouted, my mind turned completely white.
No.
I can’t.
Not yet.
I can’t fall.
I must…
*
When I regained my senses, I found myself lying on the bed in my room.
Staring blankly at the familiar ceiling, I felt an emptiness in my hand that startled me, causing me to sit up and then promptly tumble forward from dizziness.
[Calm down a bit. Right now your body is…]
‘The necklace! What about the necklace?!’
[…Isn’t it hanging around your neck? ]
Once I forced my arm to move and grope my chest, I finally let out a breath of relief upon confirming the necklace’s presence.
[You’re currently at your limit due to exhausting all your divinity. Even you, Lucy, will need to rest for a few days.]
Ah, that explains why I felt so weak.
Is this how it felt when I finished things up in Menestel?
I couldn’t just lie around indefinitely, so I mustered my strength and turned back, resting my head against the pillow.
‘…Um, Grandpa. I’m sorry. It’s just that…’
[I should be the one apologizing. I should’ve calmed you down slowly, but I was overly hasty.]
I was left speechless by the old man’s sincere apology. Normally I would tease him about being the one at fault, but the events in the crypt made that impossible.
[Lucy.]
‘…What?!’
[About the miracle contained in that necklace.]
‘Ah, that. ’
While I had ignored his words, swept up in emotion back in the crypt, I now understood that his words were true.
That miracle was merely something created with the help of the pathetic god. Now that his power had dispersed, this necklace was nothing but an ordinary necklace.
‘It’s okay, Grandpa. It’s disappointing but still…’
[The composition of the miracle itself is remembered. If I keep analyzing consistently, someday I’ll understand how it works.]
‘…Huh?’
[You could recreate it. Just like how you replicated my stories.]
‘Is that really possible?’
[You’re talking about me, the legendary Holy Knight Ruel. For me, creating miracles repeatedly is nothing.]
The old man. No, Grandpa Ruel made that claim with a reassuring voice.
[Miracles can be replicated, Lucy.]
‘…’
[So until then, you should work on improving your skills. So that you can create miracles with your own hands.]
‘…Yes, Grandpa.’
I was gripping the necklace tightly and covered my face with my remaining hand.
[Do you still have more tears to shed? ]
‘…I guess so. I’m surprised myself. ’
[Ha. I hope you don’t faint again from this.]
‘By the way, Grandpa.’
[What is it? ]
‘Isn’t it a bit embarrassing to call yourself a legendary Holy Knight? ’
[…I guess I’ve talked too much today. I need to take a break.]
How amusing it was for him to feel embarrassed after saying that.
I chuckled softly, but then found myself in a fit of coughs for a while before drifting off to sleep again.
And when I opened my eyes once more, a pesky blue status window floated before me.
Yet, what was different from usual was:
[Hidden conditions have been achieved!]
[Rewards will be granted!]
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