The One Who Did Not Become a God

When the white light faded, I looked out over the chapel from the altar.

The leaders knelt before the pews. At the very back stood Chris and—Bardo, frozen in astonishment.

—So it wasn’t just the leaders.

Chris was one thing, but Bardo was unexpected.

Well, it should be fine. It wouldn’t be hard to keep those two quiet.

“There is no need to be surprised. Truth is always found in the light, and light will never yield to the shadow of death. By your prayers and the Lord’s mercy, I have been permitted to set foot upon this earth once more. Now, please, raise your heads.”

“...Noah! You really... You really came back!”

Kyle shouted, then pounded his fist against the floor, still on his knees.

“I believed... No, there’s no way anyone could believe something like this! You idiot, you had me worried sick...!”

Tears welled in his eyes, impossible to hide.

“...How can something like this really...”

Still on his knees, Elios stared at Noah’s feet, utterly stunned.

“I finally understand the weight of the words you left behind. ...Was even death merely another step on the path to Truth? Noah-sama, just how far ahead can you see...?”

I quietly surveyed my companions, still kneeling, from the altar.

“...I will now disappear from your sight.”

At those words, Elios and Kyle jerked their heads up. Their joy was instantly replaced by confusion.

“Wait, Noah! You just came back. Why...?”

Kyle’s voice trembled.

I stopped him with a gentle gaze that brooked no refusal.

“If I remain in the Church, this ‘miracle’ will become a spark. Those in power will raise me up as their figurehead, while my enemies will denounce me as a heretic. Before long, the Church will split in two, and blood will be spilled. ...That is not what I want.”

I stepped closer and placed a hand on Elios’s and Kyle’s shoulders.

“Elios. Kyle. You are wielders of Light Magic. With the radiance within you, the fundamentalists’ attacks should eventually subside. ...I want the two of you to guide this school with your light, while I am gone.”

The two of them were speechless, seeming only to feel the warmth of my hands.

“...I can entrust what comes next to you. I believe in you.”

Just as I spoke those words as if they were my last, something happened.

Bardo pushed through the kneeling leaders and strode purposefully toward the altar from the back of the room.

“—Exactly. You die and come back to life, then as soon as you’re back, you disappear again. You really are a troublesome kid.”

As he spoke, Bardo casually snatched up the staff that had been placed beside the altar, near my pillow.

“It’s the staff you used. It seems to have changed somehow, and it won’t work in the underground chapel. Take it with you.”

He thrust the staff toward my chest.

“Are you sure?”

“Or would you rather I leave it here as a holy relic?”

Bardo grinned.

“...That would be a problem. Then I’ll gladly take it.”

I accepted the staff without hesitation.

It had been a while, but it fit my palm perfectly, as though it were drawn to it.

“Now, everyone, I leave the rest to you.”

I gently placed my right hand against my left, miming taking my pulse.

Then I met the eyes of each leader in turn.

The leaders all stood at once and silently returned the gesture.

The gesture of feeling the beat of their own hearts was as powerful as a new vow.

At last, I turned my gaze to Chris at the back.

Chris shrugged and said,

“Follow me. There’s a passage used by nobles who want to come and go unnoticed.”

He strode out of the small chapel as if to shake off his sentiment.

I entrusted the silver key still in my possession to Elios. The cold weight of the metal officially passed from my hands.

After looking back at the altar just once, I followed Chris.

In a cramped little room where Chris led me, I dressed in the shabby robes of a pilgrim.

Pulling the hood low over my face, I headed into the cool, hidden passage beneath the ground.

“Noah, what’s the truth? You could’ve stayed here and ruled the Church as a ‘saint,’ couldn’t you?”

Chris, walking ahead of me, asked in a hushed voice from the darkness. His back held a trace of loneliness, mixed with awe toward a monster he could not understand.

“Yes, but the Church is already under control even without me, isn’t it? Besides... there are still two more world-spanning organizations.”

I replied calmly without slowing my pace.

“Huh...? Two... more?”

“The Merchants’ Guild and the Adventurers’ Guild. I’ll be twelve soon, so I thought I’d start by joining the Adventurers’ Guild.”

Chris stopped and turned around, dumbfounded.

“...Are you sane?”

“I’m completely serious, Chris. Since I have the chance, I think I’ll try living freely for a while.”

My carefree voice echoed through the dark passage.

But what I’d said was enough to send a chill through Chris.

“You’re planning to conquer the world just by living however you please...?”

Chris spat the words out in disbelief, then pulled the lever on the heavy stone door.

Beyond the door, which creaked open, lay a maze of alleys in the Holy City, outside the Relief Bureau’s grounds.

“You give me too much credit. I’ll start by steadily taking on quests as a rookie adventurer of twelve. ...Oh, right.”

I took a step out into the damp night air, then turned back.

“Chris, I may need your help again someday. When that time comes, I’ll be counting on you.”

“Yeah.”

Chris’s mouth twitched slightly as he let out a short breath.

“I’ll have my people stationed in the major cities. If anything happens, use the Church.”

When he finished speaking, Chris worked the lever again.

The heavy sound of the stone door closing rang out behind me.