Chapter 19
-Uung...
After the manifestation of magic ended, the familiar scenery of my room unfolded before me.
Thanks to the markers I'd placed beforehand, I could comfortably travel using teleportation magic.
"Are you alright?"
I first checked Belladis' complexion.
"Yes, Lord God."
Our Bella, her monstrous Ability scores haven't gone anywhere, still looking perfectly fine.
'What was that all about?'
I just wanted to step outside for a bit, and suddenly a Star Child pops out of nowhere.
Then a meteorite falls from the sky.
'Today's fortune, perhaps?'
It seems I'll need to be careful about venturing out for a while.
-Just now, what happened!?
-A, a star fell...!
-A star...? Then! Does that mean a Hero will appear in our Kingdom?!
A commotion outside the door.
It seems everyone's quite flustered because of the meteor shower that just occurred.
It wasn't that strange for them to be bewildered.
A Hero.
They are hailed as one-man armies, and their numbers are incredibly small in each era.
And since they're the only ones capable of harming a Constellation...
Their value is estimated to be quite high.
-Thump! Thump!
"Constellation-nim! Are you there?!"
A stranger barged in without even waiting for an answer.
Dressed in aristocratic attire, with a bewildered expression plastered across his face.
A member of the Royal Family and a subject.
"How dare...!"
Bella made a fierce expression at his disrespectful behavior from the first meeting.
The middle-aged male subject, upon facing her aura, hic went pale in an instant.
I calmed Bella down by stroking her head and then asked about the situation.
"What is the matter?"
"I, I apologize! His... His Majesty urgently requests an audience—"
"Tell him to come himself."
'Whoa, whoa, whoa.'
The subject's face paled even further upon hearing Bella's harsh reply.
He's old enough; he can handle this much.
I'm not so heartless as to order an elderly man around.
"Understood. May I go now?"
"Th, Thank you....!"
Actually, I think I know why he's calling for me.
"You've arrived, Father God..."
Edmundo Carsein was incomparably more respectful than during our first meeting.
Feeling a sense of dissonance, I subtly brought up the topic first.
"There seems to have been a great Disturbance just now."
"...! As expected of the Constellation-nim. You've already grasped the anomaly...."
Edmundo was startled by my words.
I haven't done anything, yet his reaction is great.
'They're practically advertising it outside.'
I didn't delve into the details, just chuckled like a Constellation, "Huuhuu."
"As expected, the Lord God's prophecy was correct...!"
'Prophecy?'
Ah. That 'if it's not that, then whatever' thing I said.
I quickly played along with King Edmundo's misunderstanding.
"Huuhuuhuu."
"Ah, Lord God. To bless the kingdom once again like this...!"
"A star fell, and from it, I felt a tremendous power."
The Holy Sword.
From the perspective of someone who saw it with their own eyes.
And as a veteran who's been stuck playing the Game for years.
I dare to conclude that that horrific thing has arrived here.
"H, Holy Sword. Are you referring to the Holy Sword?"
I silently nodded.
Meanwhile, Edmundo, having heard my words, beamed like a child receiving a birthday present.
"Th, Then. Could it be...!"
"Perhaps, a 'Hero' might emerge from the Regarium Kingdom."
"....!!"
I've even seen the Hero candidate with my own two eyes.
The kid is quite naive; it'll probably take quite a bit of hardship for him to become a proper Hero.
Of course, that has nothing to do with me.
No, it shouldn't have anything to do with me.
'Hero.'
That dreadful resonance was etched into my memory like a nightmare from my Game playing days.
'Agh, shit! What's with this debuff!'
I messed around without knowing anything and got hit by the Holy Sword Death Beam, carrying the debuff until I reset.
It was a Realization that came after digging up information from the Community, so I had to tearfully reset my Religious Order for the 786th time.
It's something to be blessed and celebrated among humans.
Not for me.
「The Flow of Stars is felt from somewhere...」
'And what does that even mean?'
It's been popping up in front of my eyes ever since I saw the falling meteorite.
It's quite bothersome.
It's like some kind of force is trying to align me with the fate of the Holy Sword and the Hero.
Please, just leave me out of it.
'Nope, I don't want to...'
Thinking of the girl struggling not to fall made my neck feel cold.
"The descent of the Constellation and the manifestation of the Holy Sword. It seems the Regarium Kingdom is truly blessed this year... Huh huh."
King Edmundo chuckled with a benevolent expression.
"I haven't done anything."
A bit of humble bragging for image-building.
"A talent who will fight for the peace of the world has been born. I hope that day comes soon."
And.
There's one more reason to withdraw my followers from the Regarium Kingdom.
To raise a Hero, the help of professionals is required.
For example.
'Constellation of the Stars.'
It was certain that members of that Religious Order would come.
Just like Heroes, the members of that Order possess unsettling abilities proportionate to their small numbers.
Since every single Hero is odd-headed and unpredictable...
The Constellations selected individuals to assist them and mold them into proper 'people.'
'Where a Hero walks, there's a dancer.'
And the dancers are beautiful.
Why did players keep attacking Heroes, only to get beaten and die?
It was all because of the Heroes' and dancers' appearances.
The humans in this world who receive the blessing of a Constellation possess remarkably beautiful appearances.
'Is Divine Power good for the skin?'
Taking our followers as an example, it seems like a plausible hypothesis.
「The Flow of Stars is felt from somewhere...」
'Damn it.'
At this point, it's like they're openly advertising, targeting my followers.
It's too blatant. Is this flirting or something?
First, I need to withdraw my Knights and followers as a precaution.
The Holy Sword's power is poison, poison to Followers who use Divine Power.
'And a potent one at that.'
The days of worrying about permanent penalties are long gone, but...
I can't stand to see my followers, who are like my children, in pain.
“Father God.”
“What is it?”
Lost in thought for a moment, King Edmund called out to me in a hoarse voice.
“I understand that the power of the Holy Sword can threaten the very existence of even a Constellation.”
“That is correct.”
“Then, what about using it against the Constellation of the 'Black Sun' that you have sealed...”
[Black Sun's Incarnation: ....?!]
The Black Sun's Incarnation, who had been listening quietly, was startled.
Even without seeing his face, I could imagine him looking at me with an expression like the world had just ended.
[...Ah, no way...?]
'What.'
[Black Sun's Incarnation: Don't tell me you're planning to use that vicious weapon against me...!]
Hmm.
I thought about it for a moment.
Using the Holy Sword to take down the Black Sun wouldn't be a bad, clean method.
But getting rid of a decent punching bag I finally acquired wasn't very appealing either.
Had I already developed a sense of possessiveness?
[Black Sun's Incarnation: Did you... think of me that way...?]
'Then how should I think of you?'
Did he think I would cherish and protect him just because I took him in?
This was a business relationship from the start.
He'd already thrown away his image.
I was making a new image using that discarded image.
The Black Sun is evil, I am good.
What a meaningful resonance.
'But, after recalculating, I realized...'
Giving up the Black Sun's Incarnation here seemed like a loss.
Therefore.
“That is impossible.”
“I, is that so.”
“If it could eliminate a Constellation at once, it would be a very fortunate thing. However, we must be wary of the probability that it won't.”
That's all I said.
Implying that he shouldn't get deeply involved in Constellation affairs, I smiled at the King.
“If the Lord God says so, then it must be true.”
At my words, Edmundo Carsein readily withdrew his proposal without a shred of doubt.
I was pleased by the trust stemming from his noticeably increased Affinity.
“Then... it seems it would be best to observe the situation a little longer before making a decision regarding the Holy Sword and the Hero.”
“Understood, Father God.”
“Then...”
“...I will now tell you the real reason I came to see you.”
'This old geezer.'
He was building up the suspense quite a bit today.
What other shocking statement was he about to make?
Last time, it was a dogeza, so this time, would it be a somersault show?
'This is bothersome.'
I wanted to go back and play with Bella, or return to that white space after a long time and rummage through my status window.
“Aisella.”
However, the name that came out of his mouth was one from some rather unpleasant memories.
Even though we had become amicable with each other now, the PTSD deeply ingrained in my bones couldn't be helped.
My DNA had already decided to label her as "Pink Head" and place her in the enemy category.
“Yeees....!”
-Click. Clack.
A clear sound of heels echoed through the hall, accompanied by an elegant voice.
However, the figure that appeared…
“...Huh?”
It was a pink-haired woman, staring at me with an alluring posture, clad in our Religious Order's robes.
-Twitch.
Calm down. That's the infamous devil of the Community, Pink Head.
-Twitch, twitch.
But she's wearing our Religious Order's attire?
The very uniform that I had painstakingly commissioned for customization.
The same one as Lisia and Bella.
Knowing that it was my favorite attire, I felt like she had deliberately chosen it.
A princess, wearing the robes of my Religious Order to win my favor?
'How can I resist this?'
The beautiful NPC who always ranked high in the Community popularity polls, combined with this… It was truly a fantastic synergy.
'Ah.'
“F-Father God. Until now, I couldn't wear it due to my father's opposition, but now it's different.”
A shy gaze, like that of a girl in first love, subtly turned towards me.
-...That bitch.
I momentarily put aside the feeling of facing a natural enemy that came from beside me.
“Please… take me in.”
“King of Regarium, what is this?”
“The Lord God has forgiven all our sins and opened our eyes to a new world. What more is there to hesitate about?”
-Heheh.
Edmundo Carsein, smiling affably, formally called the princess forward and made her stand before me.
“My daughter was so insistent on showing herself to the Lord God that I prepared this. Is it alright?”
'It's more than alright.'
She was of such high quality that I wanted to add her to my collection immediately.
“I can no longer ignore my daughter’s wishes, Father God.”
Edmundo Carsein glanced at his daughter’s beautiful appearance and then turned his gaze back to me.
“If it’s not too late, would you take my daughter in?”
[Princess of the Regarium Kingdom, 'Aisella Carsein' wishes to join your Religious Order.]
[Will you allow 'Aisella Carsein' to join your Religious Order?]
Even so, there was the bad blood we had accumulated.
Both in the Game and now, even after it became reality, she had caused me trouble several times.
'Think carefully.'
[Princess of the Regarium Kingdom, 'Aisella Carsein' has joined your Religious Order!]
“Welcome, Aisella.”
“Oh, Father God....!”
When I came to my senses, I had already accepted Aisella into the Religious Order.
I couldn't resist any longer and decided to take her in.
'Good thinking, me.'
[Trait, 'Child Blessed by the Stars (S)' is permanently activated.]
[The amount of Faith Level gained from followers of the Religious Order increases!]
[Some Constellations are wary of your actions!]
'What are they going to do if they're wary?'
All the beautiful and capable followers in this world are mine.
I've decided so.
[The Flow of Stars is felt from somewhere...]
#
“...Is this the place?”
A figure arrived in the Regarium Kingdom, their robe pulled deep over their head.
Although they had concealed their entire body to hide their identity, their inherent physique and unique hair color were impossible to hide.
As if representing immense Divine Power.
A presence that inspired a kind of awe resided within the robe.
According to the Revelation she received last night, a child with the qualities of a Hero was born here.
Since those born with talent have distinct characteristics, finding them shouldn't be difficult.
'Sky-blue hair.'
The woman who had just passed the checkpoint and officially entered had that same hair color.
'True justice to the world, against the evil gods.'
The Sword Saint, 'Harien,' arrived here to assist the new Hero.