Chapter 39
“Th-Then show me! Show me the knowledge of the world beyond what I know!”
“…….”
My brain momentarily short-circuited, overwhelmed by the unexpected turn of events.
“……Why, why are you just staring at me?! Didn't you say you would remove my shackles?!”
Ah… shackles.
R-Right.
I did say that.
Drip- Drip-
A transparent liquid dripped, drop by drop, from the tip of a long, rod-like object.
My mind went blank.
Right, Lust.
This is to be expected.
Sloth prevented Ren from doing anything for hundreds of years...
...and Wrath hindered the Magi-Engineer's experiments.
Just like Pride turned the Demon God into a muscle-brained simpleton…
‘Did Lust change the Goddess of Wisdom into… this?’
“Why do you keep looking down…?”
The Goddess of Wisdom lowered her gaze.
“…….”
A chilling silence descended, and the lower half of her body seemed to loosen.
Thud-
A pink, uniquely shaped rod fell from her lower body.
A strange, pungent aroma filled the air.
“Kyaaaaa!”
Boom!
Smoke erupted, and the Goddess of Wisdom vanished.
A moment later…
“You saw nothing.”
“Huh?”
“You saw absolutely nothing! Nothing at all! Do you understand?!”
The Goddess of Wisdom thrust her face terrifyingly close to mine.
“Y-Yes…!”
I instinctively responded to her forceful demeanor.
“Haa… I'd love to reach into your mind and erase your memory, but my Divine Power can't reach that far… Haa.”
She muttered something under her breath.
But her voice was too low for me to hear clearly.
More importantly, I still couldn't read her thoughts.
I can't read her thoughts even though this is her true form.
Is it because she's the Goddess of Wisdom?
“Anyway, you said you would remove my shackles.”
“Yes, I did.”
The fact that she calls it a "shackle" suggests that she herself is aware that this "lewd" modifier is binding her.
…Honestly, it would be strange if she didn't notice, considering she can't control her urges even mid-conversation and ends up… well, self-soothing.
“How do you intend to remove these shackles, which even I cannot control?”
“First, let me explain the Sins I've resolved so far.”
I recounted the stories, starting from Ren, the Goddess of Sacrifice who was once Sloth, to the Magi-Engineer who cast off Wrath, and the Demon God who overcame Pride.
“Hmm. Treatment through games. Truly remarkable.”
The Goddess expressed her admiration.
Despite her serious expression and tone, perhaps due to the earlier incident…
She felt like a little sister chattering beside me.
“Do you know this? I know and can know everything about this Leypania Continent. This is my Divine Power as the Goddess of Wisdom, and also the Curse of Knowledge that binds me.”
The power to know everything… Truly a power befitting a God symbolizing wisdom.
The reason she calls it a "Curse of Knowledge" is… because she also knows information she doesn't want to know?
Like grandma and grandpa… or poop!
“But I don't know about this game of yours.”
“……Huh?”
The Goddess continued, her expression filled with exhilaration.
“I know everything about this continent! I have to know! But I can’t know anything about you!”
“What do you…?”
“I don’t know why, but I don’t know you! This means that only you can free me from this Curse of Knowledge!”
It was as if the existence of information she didn't know was driving her into a frenzy.
“So!”
Just as she was about to pounce on me and climb on top…
-The Pinnacle of Wisdom must not act rashly.
-The Sum of Human Civilization must not be swayed by emotions.
Dozens of voices echoed through the space, overlapping each other.
“Stop! Stooop!”
She clutched her head and writhed in agony.
“Stoooooop!”
As if those voices were the shackles that bound her.
* * *
A while later…
The voices subsided, and the Goddess of Wisdom calmed down.
“Ahem… I apologize. I showed you an unsightly scene.”
“Is this… the curse?”
This was entirely different from what I had imagined.
If she were bound by Sin, shouldn’t there be voices urging her towards sexual desires instead of these voices?
This isn't the voice of Sin, but rather…
“I apologize. As you saw, I am not influenced by the Sin of Lust.”
“So that means…?”
“These voices, these shackles that bind me… They’re a curse that attached itself to me when I became a God.”
……So that's how it is.
If the Goddess of Wisdom, unlike our Investors, wasn’t affected by Sin, it explained why I couldn't read her thoughts.
Could it be that this "lewdness" isn’t a result of being consumed by Sin, but rather an innate part of her?
“Even though those who created this curse have all returned to dust and met their deaths, I still haven’t escaped this curse.”
The Goddess of Wisdom spoke with a melancholic expression.
“I’m sorry, Goddess. I thought I could lift your curse, but……”
The problem wasn't the "lewdness" but something else entirely.
It's a problem I can’t solve.
“No. In fact, only you can solve it.”
“……Huh?”
“I said it earlier. Only that which I do not know can lift this curse.”
The Goddess's eyes, though less intense than before, still glowed with the fervor of excitement.
“The curse etched within me grows stronger the more I know. But you are unknown to me. Only you can penetrate my curse.”
She knows everything in this world, but she doesn't know me.
Is it because I came from Earth, not this world?
“So, won’t you put an end to this agonizing curse of mine?”
The Goddess pleaded with pitiful eyes.
Her desperate voice carried the weight of centuries of suffering and hardship.
For some reason, she reminded me of her past life self.
I couldn't bring myself to tell her that I wasn’t confident.
* * *
“Relax your body.”
“Alright.”
I wrapped my Dream Power around both hands and placed them on the head of the Goddess, who was lying down with her eyes closed.
“As you know, dreams are a way to access the unconscious.”
Whatever her curse may be, the only thing I can use to free her is my Dream Power.
To lift her curse through a game, I needed to understand her.
Unlike the Demon God, I couldn’t directly read her past memories and thoughts, so I needed her cooperation to learn about her past.
“I know. It means that a part of the brain awakens during sleep and replays the information within.”
“Uh… Yes, that’s right. So, in the process, you might recall unpleasant memories through your dreams.”
In Monica’s case, since she was human, I could read her unconscious just by summoning her to the Mental World. But to see the memories of the Goddess, to whom that power didn't work, she had to dream that dream again, and I had to enter it.
“At that time, you mustn't succumb to the negative memories inside.”
Judging by the voices from the curse, it was obvious that it would be a very bad memory. If she were to be consumed by the dream, I might be trapped inside and unable to return.
It happened once before… Ugh, I don't want to experience that again.
“I understand. Don’t worry. I trust you. If I can just get rid of this curse, there’s nothing to fear. I won't succumb.”
The Goddess assured me with a confident voice.
Well, she's a God, even if it's a trauma from her human life, she should be fine.
“Okay, then.”
My hand touched the Goddess’s flowing hair.
It felt unbelievably smooth, considering she had been cooped up in this Domain for so long.
“I’ll begin.”
*Hum*
Ripples spread from the crown of her head, and the space shimmered.
Soon, the Dream World enveloped me.
Flash-
Deeply sinking into the Goddess's unconscious.
In the darkness-filled space, wisps of gray smoke rose, one by one, taking on human forms.
A massive laboratory where dozens of Mage Researchers in white coats stood at attention.
Behind them were ten large tanks.
Inside each tank was a naked young girl.
Tap- Tap- Tap-
The laboratory door opened, and a masked man entered, followed by several researchers.
The researchers lined up on either side of him, hands clasped behind their backs.
He stood among the researchers and nodded.
“Report the current status of the Myuant-13 test subjects.”
An elderly man, who seemed to be the highest-ranking researcher, stepped forward.
“All ten subjects have successfully undergone the Knowledge Transfer Magic Enchantment. We have administered a potion that preserves knowledge and enhances intelligence through their cerebral blood vessels.”
“…….”
The masked man took a report from someone beside him and flipped through the pages.
“Any rejection responses?”
“Some subjects have shown rejection responses, but none have recorded extreme levels. Therefore, we determined that it was safe to continue the experiment.”
“……Good.”
The man closed the report and handed it to the researcher beside him.
“Let’s see the results.”
Woooong-
The man stretched out his hands, and waves of Magic Power shot towards the test subjects.
[Magic Power Amplification]
As his Magic Power swept over the test subjects’ bodies, the magic potions inside them began to rage violently.
“Myuant-13-01! Brain death due to cerebral hemorrhage!”
“Myuant-13-02! Shock reaction from the accelerated brain activity!”
“Myuant-13-04! Drug rejection response! Vital signs ceased!”
As the test subjects coughed up blood, their vital signs displayed on the Magi-engineering machines gradually disappeared.
Beep- Beep- Beep-
Soon, the sound of a flatlining heartbeat echoed through the speakers, signaling the death of all test subjects.
“……A failure.”
The man clicked his tongue.
“Useless things. Incinerate and dispose of them all. Prepare Myuant 14th Generation.”
“Yes, sir!”
As the researchers scurried around, following his orders…
*Beep*… *Beep*… *Beep*…
“M-Myuant-13-07! Vital signs confirmed! Accelerated brain growth through Magic Power successful!”
“……Hmm.”
Just one.
A test subject still alive despite coughing up a lot of blood.
The man’s eyes gleamed as he approached the tank containing the test subject.
“Move this subject to Sector 1. I will supervise her directly.”
The man smiled grimly.
“Even trash bloodlines have their uses.”
The girl called Myuant-13-07.
Looking at the Goddess of Wisdom in her human form, I had a feeling that this dream wouldn’t be resolved easily.