Chapter: 80
Let me rewind time for a moment.
After sending the annoying Second Prince off to the Arcad Kingdom, I casually dusted my hands off.
Since I’ve already placed an immortality curse on him, it shouldn’t be a problem even if I aimed a little higher.
So, before dealing with the Second Prince who has insulted me and this temple…
“Let’s move to a different location.”
I extended my right hand towards the boy I had hidden behind me.
“Come on, let’s go. Now that you’ve been chosen as the hero, you’ll have plenty to learn from now on.”
“Uh, um… Is something wrong? M-M-Me as a hero…?”
The small boy, clutching the hero’s sword, started shivering. Hmm. Was it really that shocking?
I guess it’s best to give him a little time to calm down.
“Let’s move to a different place. We can’t avoid the eyes of others here.”
I placed my right hand on the boy’s shoulder and gave my left hand a light snap.
In an instant, the scenery around us changed.
“Huh? Ugh?! Wh-What the?! Where are we?!”
“Quite the strange reaction. This is oddly amusing. Come over here.”
I gently pushed the boy towards a resting spot.
The inner sanctum of the Temple of Life. A place that only a few people associated with the temple can enter.
Aside from a few ventilation holes, there are no windows or doors, completely cut off from the outside world.
The serene space is softly illuminated by white stones that emit a gentle glow.
This area is where the dragons affiliated with the Temple of Life come to rest.
Well, since everyone who usually uses this space is currently on a pilgrimage, I can freely come and go here.
Here, we can relax without anyone bothering us.
“Where is this place?”
“The back of the Temple of Life. It’s a spot that only a select few with permission can enter.”
“The back of the temple?! I’ve never heard of such a place!”
“Well, it’s not exactly a place that anyone can just waltz into. Among the pilgrims, only a handful are allowed access.”
Only dragons can enter this space, and without any external doors, you can’t enter without using spatial magic.
I prepared this area because the dragons living here whining about needing a private space to relax among themselves. I never thought I’d end up using it this way.
Anyway!
“Alright, take a seat.”
I pulled out a nearby chair, forcibly plopped the boy down, and lightly snapped my fingers.
Small ceramic teacups and a teapot appeared in the air. I channeled magic to fill the teapot with water and began heating it.
Snapping my fingers again, this time a transparent container and a spoon appeared. The transparent container, or rather, the glass jar contained a sweet and sour yuzu marmalade. Hmm, my memory of creating these items seems to be accurate with my powers.
I opened the glass jar, scooped about two spoonfuls of yuzu marmalade into the teacup, then tilted the steaming teapot to fill the cup with hot water.
The yuzu marmalade dissolved gradually as it mingled with the hot water, and I gave it a gentle stir with the spoon to mix everything together, creating a warm cup of yuzu tea.
“Here, drink up. Just be careful, it’s hot.”
“Th-thank you…”
With a fascinated expression, the boy examined the teacup and the yuzu tea inside, slowly bringing it to his lips.
And then…
“Hot!”
I paused the yuzu tea that was splashing out of the cup, rewinding it back in. Even after warning him about the heat, he still got startled like this.
Maybe he’s never tasted something hot before?
“Be careful. I did say it was hot.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
I absorbed some of the heat from the boy’s cup to cool it down, saying,
“Try not to be so tense. Now that you’ve drawn the hero’s sword, we’re going to be spending a significant amount of time together.”
“Huh, together…?”
“Yep. As the one assisting the hero, I’ll be around. Just relax and sip that slowly for now.”
I snapped my fingers again, and this time a small basket of cookies appeared.
Ah, cookies might not really match with yuzu tea? They’re both sweet, after all… hmm…
Well, it should be alright.
“Take a break and enjoy a snack while you relax.”
I have a little something to handle for a moment.
I carefully grabbed a cookie and took a bite, leaving the surprised boy behind as I walked into another room.
Let’s see, first I need to inform the pilgrims affiliated with the Temple of Life.
I should detail all the shenanigans the Second Prince has gotten into and advise them to steer clear of the Arcad Kingdom in case he decides to cause them trouble.
If they discover what’s happened to the Second Prince, they might retaliate against the Arcad Kingdom. Better if they just don’t go.
Next… Let’s put that curse I placed into action.
Until the Second Prince loses his kingdom. Until that prince gets rejected by his own land.
Until he realizes the error of his ways while riding high on the power of the nation.
Hmm, honestly, if it’s punishment for blasphemy, we could talk about something big like a flood. But we can’t drown all humanity because of one prince’s actions.
Well, whether I can really cause a flood of that scale to wipe out all humanity… I kind of feel like I could, but that just sounds wrong!
Anyway, I’ll punish the annoying Second Prince until he recognizes his own faults.
As for individual punishment? I already dealt with that by making him immortal. Plus, since I sent him off with spatial magic and marked him, tracking him won’t be a problem.
Thanks to that, his life is going to be full of struggles in many ways. I’ll make sure of that.
Anyway, let’s leave the Second Prince’s personal issues for later.
I then set up a communication channel with the gods of death and sent them a message.
“The Second Prince of the Arcad Kingdom insulted me. What should I do about this?”
[It sounds appropriate to kill all the humans in that country.]
“No, killing them all seems a bit… extreme…”
[Do they really need to be spared? He’s a prince after all, potentially the next king. Wouldn’t it be better to just get rid of him quickly, for the sake of that kingdom?]
“No, I’m keeping him alive on purpose. I plan to torment him until he regrets his wrongdoing.”
[How about just targeting the higher-ups since the commoners are pitiful? If we handle the royal family and their retainers, that should suffice.]
The death gods, perhaps being too accustomed to the whole ‘death’ thing, went straight to the killing option.
[Especially that Second Prince… I’d love to see him come to the Afterlife soon.]
[I could give him a special tour of the lower levels of the Afterlife.]
[We’d make sure to keep his soul and essence looking fresh while constantly keeping him on the move, yes?]
Hmm. Looks like the Second Prince is guaranteed to go through something pretty awful after he dies.
“Anyway, make sure the punishment isn’t too harsh. Don’t go overboard.”
[Alright. Sounds good. Then we’ll use the Reapers to-]
Ignoring the three death gods scheming something against Arcad Kingdom, I also sent the same message to the Cloud Whale.
[What do you mean he insulted you?]
Ah, right. The Cloud Whale doesn’t know what that’s about.
So, if I want the Cloud Whale to understand…
“It means he captured and imprisoned me, making me his own to torment for all eternity.”
[How could he do something so awful!]
Seems like the simple explanation helped the Cloud Whale grasp the situation. Always good to explain things at their level.
[Captured and imprisoned? So that means I can never fly freely again! That’s horrifying! Utterly horrifying!!!]
Ah, from the perspective of the freely flying Cloud Whale, being confined would really be terrifying.
[Who is this guy? I won’t let him get away with this! I’ll ensure no new life can be born in that land ever again!]
“No, not to that extent…”
[No way! I’ll make sure not even a single blade of grass grows there! I’m so angry! Like, really angry!!!]
Whoa, the death gods are serious, but this kid is also incredibly serious.
Oh no, I need to stop this. If both of them go berserk at the same time, the Arcad Kingdom will become a horrific, lifeless wasteland!
So, in this case…
“Don’t act on it right now. Delay it for about six months.”
[How long is six months?]
“Hmm. Like after the sun has risen and set about 180 times.”
[180 times…? That sounds like too many….]
The young Cloud Whale still can’t count up to three digits.
Hmm… I should’ve made the Cloud Whale smarter when I created it as a god. It’s still got that childlike intelligence.
“Let me know when it’s time to give the punishment. Until then, keep your hands off.”
Oh, right. I also need to inform the death gods as well.
I’ll explain through the pilgrims how they should handle things, give them a generous amount of time, and even if nothing happens after that, it won’t be too late to punish them then.
So I relayed not to act right away to Cloud Whale and the gods of death, then communicated this through the pilgrims.
[The Second Prince of the Arcad Kingdom has insulted me in my own temple.
Therefore, I wish to hold the Arcad Kingdom accountable, so all pilgrims shall leave the Arcad Kingdom.
The punishment I will impose will be upon their land, so those wishing to avoid the punishment should flee the Arcad Kingdom.
However, you pilgrims are forbidden from directly harming them. The punishment they will face won’t be about life but rather through birth and death.
But if the Second Prince who insulted me sincerely repents and performs a pilgrimage of atonement, he may receive my forgiveness, and that’s when my anger will subside.]
Hmm. Let’s see, have I covered everything?
I’ve given a decent warning, laid down the countermeasures, and told the pilgrims — especially the dragons — not to create a ruckus. The divine punishment will kick off around six months from now.
Then… it’s time to stop fretting over the Arcad Kingdom and focus on properly raising a hero.
Surely, turning a human into a hero can’t be harder than nurturing the world, right?
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