WM – Chapter 57-58: Takatsuki Makoto speaks to Princess Sofia + Epilogue

Even though I am currently at a loss with our talk with the Great Sage…

From all people, it had to be you, huh.

“Takatsuki Makoto, do you have time?” (Sofia)

A clear voice that travels well.

It makes me feel the coldness of spring water from it.

And as always, she has a cold and unfriendly expression. 

Princess Sofia had for some reason come to our table.

She has a knight as her bodyguard, but it is not the haughty knight of before.

“What is it?” (Makoto)

I can’t ignore a princess, so I ask reluctantly.

“I had him quit being my Guardian Knight.” (Sofia)

At first I couldn’t understand what she was saying, but after a while, I got that she was referring to that arrogant knight.

Wait, eh?

You fired him?

“It is the sin of displeasing the hero-sama that saved Laberintos. Can you please forgive us with this?” (Sofia)

“Forgive…? In the first place, I am not a hero though…” (Makoto)

“You are one of the heroes that came from the other world. That’s why, I want you to please continue staying in Rozes.” (Sofia)

This is surprising.

Would she go this far?

I am just an apprentice mage here though.

“Hey hey.” (Lucy)

Lucy tugged my sleeve.

I know. I am not going to be such a bully.

“…I like the city of Makkaren, so I will continue being an adventurer in Rozes.” (Makoto)

Hearing this, Princess Sofia made a relieved expression.

But she instantly returns to her previous expression.

“Do you wish for anything? If it is something I can do…” (Sofia)

Oh, how generous.

But I don’t really have much of a wish though…

Right, let’s give this one to my friend that has been helping me out all this time.

“Actually, this here is my friend, Fujiwara-kun.” (Makoto)

“T-Takki-dono?!” (Fujiwara)

Fuji-yan who was suddenly pulled into it was surprised, but my thoughts should be transmitting to him.

“I was wondering if you could back him up for the sake of furthering my work. He is also one of the heroes that come from the other world. My achievements are thanks to his support.” (Makoto)

“…I see. What should I do in detail?” (Sofia)

Fuji-yan, sorry for putting you on the spot all of a sudden.

He is looking at me with eyes of ‘I didn’t hear anything about this-desu zo’.

But, as expected of him, he must have thought of something, he began speaking.

“Then, please grant me the freedom to do business in Rozes. Especially in the noble districts.” (Fujiwara)

“Alright. I will give you a permit with my name. Please come to the capital later to get it.” (Sofia)

““Thank you very much.””

Fuji-yan and I lowered our heads.

Is this much okay?

“Well then, let’s meet again.” (Sofia)

Princess Sofia leaves with hurried feet.

◇◇

 “Takki-dono, I didn’t expect you to suddenly throw the topic to me-desu zo!” (Fujiwara)

He was slapping me multiple times on the back.

“Sorry about that. But was that good enough?” (Makoto)

“It is great! Being able to freely do business under the name of the Princess of Rozes! With this, I will be winning it all in any businesses in the Water Country…” (Fujiwara)

Ooh, Fuji-yan is making an evil face.

“T-Takatsuki-sama, you do terrifying things…” (Nina)

Nina-san had a stiff expression.

“Did I say something weird?” (Makoto)

“Makoto…normally when royalty asks what you want, you normally refrain at first.” (Lucy)

“Goshujin-sama is also fearless.” (Nina)

I see, so that’s how the etiquette goes.

“Like I would know. I am an otherworldler.” (Makoto)

“Anyways, that Princess just now was pretty persistent in wanting Takatsuki-kun to stay.” (Aya)

Sa-san says this on the passing.

“Aah, about that, even though you took such rude behaviour, she still came here herself and listened to your requests.” (Lucy)

“Princess Sofia must have been angry inside her heart.” (Fujiwara)

“…”

If Fuji-yan says so, it must be.

Looks like the inside of Princess Sofia was burning. 

“The warriors and mages that Princess Sofia scouted ended up running to other countries, or would get injured and not serve as fighting force”, Nina-san explains.

Hoh, is that so.

“And so, that includes our classmates?” (Makoto)

“Right. It looks like the life in the royal castle of the Water Country didn’t fit them well.” (Fujiwara)

“Thanks to that, there’s rumours saying that Princess Sofia doesn’t have an eye for people. On the other hand, at the place of Princess Noel, there’s a lot of talents gathered around.” (Nina)

Hohoh, that’s quite the shameful rumor to have.

“That’s why she is trying so desperately to have the apprentice mage -she once gave no concern to- stay, huh.” (Makoto)

“As a result, you didn’t get exiled from Makkaren. Isn’t that great?!” (Lucy)

Right, it is as Lucy says.

“Then, let’s go back to Makkaren.” (Makoto)

“Okay!” (Lucy)

I want to go back and eat skewers.

And in this way, our adventure challenging Laberintos ended.

But my heart is not clearing up.

The words of the Great Sage.

The suspicions towards the Goddess remain.

Chapter 58: Epilogue (Second Arc)

I am dreaming.

I am in the space of the Goddess.

…I did expect her to call me here.

I see the Goddess sitting on the ground with laps touching. 

What is she doing?

Even when I got close to her, she didn’t meet eyes with me.

“Goddess-sama?” (Makoto)

“Makoto, do you plan on stopping being my believer?” (Noah)

“I haven’t said anything yet.” (Makoto)

“You are worried about what that white one said, right?” (Noah)

White…she must be talking about the Great Sage-sama.

“Goddess-sama, were you the ally of the Demon Lord 1,000 years ago?” (Makoto)

“…Who knows.” (Noah)

“I didn’t say I would stop being your believer.” (Makoto)

It would trouble me to not be able to use Spirit Magic.

I wouldn’t be able to do anything.

“Even if you stop being my believer, the Spirit User Skill will stay, you know.” (Noah)

“Eh? Really?” (Makoto)

“Gods are not so narrow-minded as to take away what has been given.” (Noah)

…Is that so.

“What will you do? Quit?” (Noah)

“As I said, why are you so persistent about that?” (Makoto)

“After hearing about what that white one said, you are suspicious about me, right?” (Noah)

“I have been suspicious about you from the very beginning.” (Makoto)

You did things like not saying your name, and hiding that you were an Evil God.

Let’s try asking her stubbornly.

“Why did you make my predecessor Evil God Apostle ally with the Demon Lord?” (Makoto)

“A lot happened.” (Noah)

She doesn’t want to tell no matter what?

“Goddess-sama, what is it you truly want? Please tell me.” (Makoto)

“…It is normally the other way around, you know. Why is the believer asking for the wish of the Goddess?” (Noah)

She looks at me with a defeated look.

Our silence continued for a while.

The Goddess began to speak weakly.

“…By the time I gained awareness, the Titans had already lost the battle of the God Realm, and there was no one around. Everyone was trapped in Tartaros, and I was alone.” (Noah)

“I lived together with the God Giants for a while, but they too fought the Holy Gods, and they were either killed or sealed…” (Noah)

“Since then, I was always alone for more than 15,000,000 years. I tried a variety of things to save my comrades, but in the end, I ended up getting imprisoned in the Deep Sea Temple…” (Noah)

“I couldn’t do anything by myself anymore…” (Noah)

“Even so, I wanted to save everyone…” (Noah)

Saving her Titan God friends.

 Is that her true wish as a Goddess?

But the Titans apparently have been sealed in a place that mortals can’t go to.

In the first place, was all the Apostle did something that helped out the Titans in some way?

“1,000 years ago, why did your Apostle kill the heroes?” (Makoto)

“The Devil bunch said that if I side with the Demon Lord and kill the heroes, they would save the Titans.” (Noah)

D-Devils?

This is the first time I heard of them, but there’s even those guys, huh.

“The Devils, the Gods that created the demons and monsters. They were also battling the Holy Gods. But, in the end, they didn’t keep their promise though…” (Noah)

Noah-sama says this in sorrow.

“Then, this time around, you won’t be asking me to kill the heroes, right?” (Makoto)

“In the first place, do you think you can defeat them, Makoto?” (Noah)

 I remember the figure of Sakurai-kun defeating the Taboo Dragon in one hit.

…There’s no way I can.

“The situation is completely different from 1,000 years ago. At that time, the mortal plane was ruled by the Great Demon Lord and demons. The people despaired, and the faith towards the Holy Gods had weakened. That’s why I thought the Devil’s side was in the advantage.” (Noah)

“Hmm…I see.” (Makoto)

“Maybe they learned from that. Now, everyone in the mortal plane is obligated to enter the religion of one of the Goddesses the moment they are born! With this, I can’t get any believers!” (Noah)

The Goddess raises her voice.

“That’s why, when your classmates came to this world, I thought it was my chance. The japanese were all without religion.” (Noah)

“But everyone got scouted.” (Makoto)

“The remaining one was you. Moreover, my charm magic didn’t work. It was totally outside my plans…” (Noah)

My Goddess is a real schemer.

“What are you talking about? All Goddesses do something like show their believers good dreams, you know?” (Noah)

“…Is that so.” (Makoto)

It isn’t something I really wanted to hear though.

“So, what are you going to be doing from now on, Goddess-sama?” (Makoto)

“…The source of the Holy Gods’ strength is faith. The stronger and plentiful the faith from their believers is, the stronger their control. On the other hand, if the believers fall into despair, their faith lowers, and the strength of the Holy Gods lowers.” (Noah)

A situation where humans despair…

“The revival of the Great Demon Lord?” (Makoto)

It is apparently going to happen in a few years from now.

“But I don’t want to become a pawn of the Demon Lord.” (Makoto)

“I know that. I won’t trust them anymore.” (Noah)

Hm, this is complicated.

“Right right. Just like the white one said, if the Great Demon Lord rules over the mortal plane, the humans will receive treatment lower than that of slaves. 1,000 years ago was a terrible state.” (Noah)

I would like Sakurai-kun to be the one doing his best on that front.

Maybe there really is the need to gather the strength of everyone?

“There’s a lot of scattered information, so I will arrange it.” (Makoto)

I place a hand on my head, and arrange the pieces of information one by one.

“The wish of the Goddess is: 

1. Do something about the threat of the Great Demon Lord that will be reviving in a few years.
2. Weaken the faith for the Holy Gods to lower the strength of the Holy Gods.
3. Once the strength of the Holy Gods is weakened, we might be able to save the Titans.

Is that how it is?” (Makoto)

Can I do something like that?

It sounds crazy difficult.

“I don’t plan on asking such unreasonableness from my only believer. I am letting you be free, right?” (Noah)

It is true that if I were to be asked that the moment I left the Water Temple, I would have immediately withdrawn.

“The reason why I told you to go to Laberintos was out of good will of wanting to have you meet your friend.” (Noah)

‘Isn’t that right?’, is what Noah-sama says with a cute face.

“But it is my chance now. In these 1,000 years, the faith towards the Holy Gods has been one-sidedly rising. The Devils that don’t find it agreeable are putting strenuous efforts to have the demons attack the mortal plane. You might be able to slip in well in that.” (Noah)

“Slip in, as in what exactly?” (Makoto)

“You will be doing greater achievements than the heroes the Holy Gods chose. By doing that, they will begin thinking: ‘The Holy Gods are unreliable. Isn’t the God that Makoto believes in better?’” (Noah)

“Do you think it will go that smoothly?” (Makoto)

I am not sure.

The Goddess must have read that sentiment of mine, her expression softens.

“Well, I won’t force you. Do as you please, Makoto.” (Noah)

Fumu.

So, choose yourself, huh.

But the Great Sage-sama said something that bothered me a lot.

“My Evil God Apostle senpai apparently had gone crazy.” (Makoto)

“T-That was…her putting it in an evil way. It was just that my believer got a bit crazy after falling way too deep into my charm! The person himself looked really happy, you know?!” (Noah)

Hmm?

Is that considered happiness? 

Isn’t that the pattern where only the person himself is happy when falling deep into an evil cult?

“Charm doesn’t work on you, Makoto, so it shouldn’t be a problem with you.” (Noah)

“That’s true, but…” (Makoto)

“So, what will you do?” (Noah)

The Goddess looks up at me while still sitting there.

[Will you accept the invitation of the Evil God Noah and turn around the system of the world?]

Yes

No ←

…This is the hardest choice to make in my whole life.

I once again look at Noah-sama.

She looks divine, beautiful, and lovely. 

(She continued to challenge the Holy Gods all alone…) (Makoto)

Since mythological times. 

Honestly speaking, I can’t even begin to imagine it.

Several millions of times more loneliness than my lonely training of around 1 year since coming to this world.

Noah-sama is the first person that called out to me when leaving the Water Temple. 

Even if she had ulterior motives.

The reason why I survived when fighting the Griffon was thanks to the Divine Protection of Noah-sama.

Spirit Magic was something Noah-sama gave to me.

I managed to reunite with Sa-san and Sakurai-kun.

(I have been receiving all this time.) (Makoto)

I haven’t given anything back yet.

“What will you do?” (Noah)

Noah-sama was resting her chin in one hand as she looked over here.

I once again look at the options.

[Will you accept the invitation of the Evil God Noah and turn around the system of the world?]

Yes ←

No 

This world is being controlled by the Holy Gods.

Different from my predecessor, I have to go against the Devils. 

I am the only Evil God believer in this world.

In other words…the enemy of the world.

(The difficulty balance is messed up…) (Makoto)

But fine.

The answer was obvious from the very beginning.

“Goddess-sama, let’s make your wish a reality together.” (Makoto)

I kneeled in front of Noah-sama and, while making eye contact, I answered her.

…Aah, maybe I have also been charmed?

“Thank you, Makoto.” (Noah)

The smile of Noah-sama was radiant. 

And in this way, I officially became the Apostle of the Evil God Noah, aiming to overturn the world together.

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