Nothing ever ends.
The Emperor’s plan had two parts to it – a ‘no-back’ plan.
World War? That’s a given. No matter how powerful an empire is, if it declares war on the entire world, it’ll end up losing eventually. Even if it manages to unify the world, it would still be the same. That’s why the most crucial element of that plan was the ‘power of the Goddess.’
And if they couldn’t seize that Goddess’s power, even if they won the war in the end, they wouldn’t be able to maintain that victory for long.
The second plan, which was set up after observing the nation’s existence, was no different.
It wasn’t a plan to turn the world into a sea of flames outright, but it was one that didn’t consider any friction with neighboring countries. Striking right through Velbur and targeting the most important places in the Papal State was nothing short of mocking the very religion held dear by the Papal State.
It was outright terrorism. Terrorism conducted by someone sitting at the very top of the Empire.
In this case as well, if they could seize the Goddess’s power in the end, it wouldn’t matter. Whatever happened with the neighboring countries, they could make all complaints disappear using the power of the seized Goddess.
“…So?”
Charlotte, having listened to my explanation, asked in confusion.
“The Goddess was planning to ruin that plan from the beginning, right? And she used the Emperor’s psychology against him to extend her influence into this world.”
While the Velbur army quickly overtook the Papal State’s borders, the Kingdom of Iberia also deployed its troops at the border. However, fearing military conflict with Velbur, they held back from crossing it. The Kingdom of Iberia is less modernized than the Kingdom of Velbur, which is right next to the Empire. Besides, it seems there are issues with minority populations internally as well. They find the situation too unstable to initiate a serious military confrontation.
Still, true to being a country heavily influenced by the Papal State, they announced a statement of protest against Velbur… but judging by Charlotte’s lack of reaction to that news, I couldn’t help but think it was merely a formality.
We were still in the central Cathedral of the Papal State. About four hours had passed since the battle ended, and all the Empire’s knights, who had lost their motivation to fight, had been detained.
The Emperor and his children were no exception. Not a single one among them had died.
…In many ways, it’s a JRPG-like ending. Neither enemies nor allies, nor important characters had died; those who were dead or severely injured were all common folk with little fame.
Actually, rather than a JRPG-style ending, one could consider it a characteristic of the Chronicles of Aetherna.
“Sylvia?”
Charlotte called me again, having noticed I was off in my thoughts for a moment.
Oh, we were talking about the Goddess.
“Yes.”
I answered briefly.
“…”
“…”
Then there was a moment of silence.
“Uh… is that it?”
Charlotte asked again, sounding incredulous, and I tilted my head.
“No, I mean, there’s, like, those things, right? Since we fought for the world, there’s something more grand behind it all or some concrete reason hidden for the complicated plans…”
“I don’t think so.”
In fact, I didn’t understand Charlotte’s question at all.
“The Goddess and the Emperor were indeed competing over the whole world. The Goddess wanted to make the world ‘beautiful in her eyes,’ and to do that, she needed to get rid of the device created by the Fanggriffon in the past. To remove that device, she had to start planning from the time ‘when that device was created,’ and the result of that planning was the doctrine of the Papal State. Since the device was broken just before it was completed, there was an opening for the Goddess to intervene in the world.”
And through that opening, the Goddess actually intervened in the world.
Before the Papal State was established, she delivered revelations to her believers linked by faith to ‘me’ and prepared a place to deceive me. She crafted it to resemble the ‘original work’ so that she could prepare a path for the happy ending I desired. For centuries.
And I had been tricked along the actual log path and arrived here. If I hadn’t had such a selfish personality from the start or had a somewhat righteous character, I might have agreed to that ‘ordered’ world under the Goddess’s words.
The Goddess’s intentions were thwarted because she wished for me to be in that happy ending with her.
But how could the Goddess have made such plans?
No matter how much this world resembles the rules of the ‘original work,’ it’s ultimately not the game. There’s no system, status windows, or stats here. The Goddess created as many ‘similar’ aspects to the original as possible, perhaps for that reason.
It wouldn’t be strange for cities or towns to resemble those in the original. The Millennium Company diligently constructed cities and towns in their own intricate and convincing ways. However, the ‘dungeons’ that should have been made ‘like a game’ are completely different. Strange rooms everywhere and boxes containing oddly useful items…
The Goddess is a ‘Goddess.’ There must be worlds beyond this one. I don’t know much about quantum mechanics or parallel universes, but I’ve heard that there could be a chance that the worlds we can imagine exist in parallel universes.
Looking around at several worlds to find possibilities, preparing to deceive, and finally choosing a suitable character for the deception.
In that process, perhaps I was just a pawn selected to play the game.
…Or maybe everyone involved in the game was merely a pawn of the Goddess. The Emperor’s plan went awry from the start because of that being that is the nation.
The Goddess is a divine entity. There’s nothing certain I can conclude from the Goddess’s thoughts that I could only read piecemeal. Even at this moment, the Goddess might be crafting new plans beyond the world.
Well, by the time that plan is executed, I’d likely be long dead and aged, and honestly, I couldn’t care less about what happens to this world then, just like I don’t worry about people starving on the opposite side of the Earth. The only people I think “I want to save” are those whose faces I know intimately. Even those are divided into ‘people close to me’ and ‘just acquaintances.’
“I think she contacted her followers through that opening and created a stage to regain her power in advance.”
“That means the Papal State’s knights are moving all around the world, right?”
I nodded at Charlotte’s words.
If not, then it could mean there are quite a few in the Empire who have received ‘revelations’ as well. I think it would be best to investigate this directly later. The device was activated and the Goddess’s power was pulled back, but that doesn’t mean we can relax. We need to confirm whether or not there are still openings left.
I looked towards Sophia. If I had to pick the most injured among us after the battle, everyone would probably point to her.
The betrayal and anger towards someone she thought was a comrade must have driven her to throw herself at Damien without holding back.
However, thanks to Mia, she had healed a lot by now. If we searched around the Cathedral, there would surely be healing devices made by the Goddess… oh, hold on. The Goddess is now unable to intervene in this world. If that’s the case, the functionalities of that device might have disappeared too.
And the Divine magic as well.
Sophia’s gaze met mine and fell.
I didn’t quite know what she was thinking right now. The reason she came all this way was to confront the Emperor.
As the Goddess’s pawn who betrayed her and drove her out of this world, I had become something greater than Damien in some sense.
…Maybe I should save that conversation for later.
“My questions aren’t finished yet.”
While I was off in my own world with a distant expression, Charlotte spoke up again.
“If you really were the Goddess’s pawn, why did she choose you?”
“…”
Uh…
Was it because I am a thirty-something who immerses in JRPGs with tons of cute girls?
…Or maybe it was because I’m the type who gets emotionally invested in fictional characters and wants to save them all.
And I can’t be the only one like that. Those who get immersed can be found everywhere in the world. Perhaps the Goddess just picked someone who fit the bill among them.
The problem is that the one she chose happened to be a troublemaker who doesn’t care much about being the ‘chosen champion of the Goddess.’
Even if she analyzes people’s behavior and appropriately places them in the future, it seems she couldn’t read their ‘inner selves.’ This shows that the Goddess might not have much influence on free will. To put it precisely, she likely didn’t have enough power to intervene in that free will. If she could do that from the beginning, the world would have long become the orderly world she envisioned.
“Shall we change the question?”
Since I didn’t answer, Charlotte continued speaking.
“Why did you betray the Goddess at that moment?”
Because I thought you guys would be happy.
Not the false happiness implanted by the Goddess, but the happiness wrought by our own efforts, a happy ending to achieve.
And to be a bit more greedy, I wanted to be there smiling alongside you.
But naturally, I had no intention of stating such an embarrassing thing.
“Answer me, Black Lily of Grace.”
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