Chapter 116
When Mirne first transmigrated into the novel, what bewildered her most was the absence of the gods.
Her relationships with the male protagonists were, of course, part of the story destined to unfold.
But the gods favoring her and showering her with countless blessings was the result of various mods.
Normally, the moment she transmigrated, blessings from the gods should have poured down upon her.
But.
"...What? Where did they all go?"
The gods were nowhere to be seen.
To be precise, every god who was supposed to exist in the world had disappeared.
"What on earth happened?"
The only god she had, at least, was Romper.
Other than Romper, they were all artificial gods created by installing mods.
Of course, the blessings of the artificial gods were extremely powerful as well.
The problem was that the circumstances were different between the game and reality after her transmigration.
"The artificial gods... unless we build temples for them separately, their divinity will weaken, and eventually they'll have no choice but to disappear?"
In the game, that didn't matter; once a mod was installed, it lasted forever without fail.
But when that was applied to reality, there were limits to the power of the gods only she remembered.
To eliminate those limits, she had to build temples for each of the gods installed through mods.
Naturally, the Kingdom of Maselin in its early days could never have had the resources for that.
So Mirne decided to leave the artificial gods alone for the time being.
Even if only their outward appearance remained, a god was still a god, and even if their blessings weakened over time,
they could be revived at any time as long as she built temples and fulfilled their need for faith.
But the problem was that she gradually had less and less time to build those temples.
No matter how much support she received from various countries,
she had to invest in everything from the aerial fortress to searching for the hidden elements concealed across the continent.
And when the Empire, her greatest source of support, abruptly stopped coming around just when she needed its backing in earnest,
she found herself in a situation where she was grateful simply to deal with whatever was right in front of her.
'The war that broke out halfway through because I wanted to hear the answer to my confession was bad enough....'
There was no leeway.
The reason she had been able to endure despite that was the potential of Aerial Fortress Urkon Azgal, but
even that had been taken by the Empire.
But now, as if that weren't enough.
"What? The Empire summoned me?"
"It seems they intend to put a definitive end to the problem caused by Aerial Fortress Urkon Azgal."
...Ha."
They said they intended to question her about why she had continued hiding a strategic weapon like Aerial Fortress Urkon Azgal.
And in the current situation, the only thing Mirne could do was
"...Tell them I'll go as quickly as possible."
visit the Empire as quickly as she could.
And not long after Mirne made that decision,
"The Kingdom of Maselin is said to be sending Mirne in a hurry."
the news was immediately delivered to the Empire.
"Yes, they had no choice."
The moment the report came in, Crown Prince Bellon smiled darkly and reviewed the current situation.
The male protagonists on the Eastern Continent could not act recklessly because the Eastern Continent was currently engulfed in chaos,
and since the beastmen's matter was already over, it was safe to say that Mirne effectively had no allies trying to help her now.
If there were any, they would either be a male protagonist who had suddenly rushed over by dragging the story forward, as last time,
or male protagonists who had been hiding somewhere would have to come bursting out.
'I'd actually prefer it if they did come bursting out. They'd be easier to deal with if they showed themselves openly.'
The more of them that came bursting out, the more Bellon stood to gain.
After all, dealing with them one by one would gradually reduce the number of variables.
According to the Crown Prince's memories, Mirne was ultimately bound by the laws of the world as well.
She could not create male protagonists indefinitely.
'Once the limit arrives... then I'll really be able to catch her.'
Enough of these minor thoughts.
'I should prepare too.'
He needed to begin preparing to welcome Mirne from that moment on.
+++++
Clatter, clatter.
[ The hand meant only for ㅁㅁ says that such a gloomy expression does not suit you. ]
[ The eyes meant only for ㅁㅁ say that smiling broadly is beneficial to your health. ]
[ The feet meant only for ㅁㅁ encourage you not to worry too much, since nothing serious will happen anyway. ]
"...You're looking out for me? How thoughtful of you."
Mirne gave a faint smile as she watched the messages from the gods appear.
Since there was no one in the carriage heading toward the Empire besides Mirne,
the artificial gods installed through mods had shown themselves for the first time in a while.
Gods created solely for the protagonist's convenience.
Originally, they had no function that allowed them to communicate,
but apparently, as the mods received a reality patch, communication through messages had become possible.
"Seeing you show yourselves like this really makes me feel that, for now, you're all I have."
Normally, even the spirits would have been around.
But now they were all at the Crown Prince's side, so for the time being, the only ones who could comfort her were the artificial gods.
"Why did it turn out like this? No, couldn't you have just... simply followed me all the way, exactly according to the story?"
Why did they refuse to follow the predetermined flow of the original work?
Since the ending had already been decided, couldn't the process simply fall neatly into place according to the wishes of someone who knew that ending?
Mirne could not understand why they had to make everything so complicated.
"I installed these mods... and I played the game countless times...."
Just as she felt more and more miserable the longer she spoke,
"Your Highness, we've arrived."
Mirne pulled herself together at the coachman's words.
'Right. When do I have time to lose myself in pointless contemplation?'
They said that even if you entered a tiger's den, you would survive as long as you kept your wits about you.
There was no reason that should be any different just because the den was the Empire.
But there was one fact Mirne had overlooked.
"Mirne, I understand you were punished not long ago for starting a war of conquest... but you were hiding an aerial fortress in the clouds above your royal palace? How is the Empire supposed to take this?"
The Empire was a place on an entirely different level from an ordinary tiger's den.
The moment she stepped out of the carriage, Mirne was summoned straight to the audience chamber, and before she even had time to organize her thoughts, she was face-to-face with the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince did not even give Mirne time to catch her breath before immediately beginning his interrogation.
"It was the Kingdom of Maselin's struggle to preserve peace. When the Kingdom of Maselin came under attack from various directions because of a scandal whose origins we could not identify, we had no choice but to...."
"But the period during which the Kingdom of Maselin came under attack from various directions does not match the period when construction began on the aerial fortress hidden in the clouds. Do you think that will serve as an excuse?"
"The Kingdom of Maselin intended to use the aerial fortress strictly as a defensive weapon. It is a fortress with absolutely no intention of invasion."
"And yet you built it in the sky. If it had been designed so that it could not move, I might have been inclined to believe you, but the fortress moved all the way to where the Imperial garrison was stationed."
"...."
"Does the Kingdom of Maselin intend to conquer the continent? Do you wish to become a new empire?"
The pressure continued.
It was not pressure that ended with a simple conversation.
Fwoosh.
Sol Bellos's power slowly forced Mirne down against the floor.
A force that crushed her even more ruthlessly while she was already prostrate.
At that moment, Mirne realized.
'The answer had already been decided.'
This was not a place where they had summoned her to hear her opinion.
The Empire had already finalized its answer.
And ironically, that answer was also the truth about the current situation.
A fact that absolutely must not be spoken aloud.
The Kingdom of Maselin intended to become the new empire of the Western Continent.
That intention had been laid bare through Aerial Fortress Urkon Azgal.
How could she get through this situation?
What answer could possibly be correct under the circumstances?
'With the Empire having already decided on the answer, is there any point in struggling? Why did they summon me? Is it really just to punish me?'
Mirne's thoughts raced.
If they intended to punish her, were they planning to kill her?
'If they did, Forced Save & Load would activate... Would that send me back to before Urkon Azgal was discovered?'
What on earth was the best solution?
While Mirne was struggling with those questions,
"Since you haven't come up with an answer immediately, it seems you've prepared a variety of excuses. Will receiving the Empire's punishment neatly sort out that complicated mind of yours?"
the Crown Prince calmly stated what would happen to Mirne from that point onward.
And at that very moment.
[ The hand meant only for ㅁㅁ burns the last of its remaining divinity and prepares to descend. ]
[ The eyes meant only for ㅁㅁ attempt to manifest in order to protect you. ]
[ The feet meant only for ㅁㅁ attempt to directly intervene in reality to somehow smooth over the current situation. ]
'What? No!'
For smooth gameplay,
the artificial gods that had provided various conveniences, beginning with brainwashing the male protagonists, tried to help her.
And for Mirne, that was the worst possible situation.
Of course, the functions provided by those gods had already been made permanent through the privileges.
Even so, having the gods appear in this situation, especially in front of the Crown Prince, would be the worst-case scenario.
'Why are they doing this? No, I never even asked for help!'
Because she had installed so many mods, Mirne did not know exactly what every mod she had installed did,
and because she had never anticipated a situation like this, she fell into a panic in an instant.
But.
[ The gods are about to appear in the Empire. ]
The Crown Prince had anticipated the entire situation.
[ Since nothing can exist above the sun, the gods must also raise their heads and look at the sun. ]
'So it has come.'
If he pressured her in a situation where no one could help her,
wouldn't the gods who had been hiding naturally have no choice but to reveal themselves?
A flame that burns forever.
'If it's a god, can't it keep burning forever?'
There was no need to search for it.
Because I could make it.