Chapter 221
Goddess Luan said that a dimension had connected to another world.
It wasn’t too difficult to figure out that she was talking about the Gates and Labyrinths. After all, those were the only major changes that had appeared in the world then.
“I know.”
Franz replied calmly and sat opposite the Goddess. Then, as he gestured in the air, a teacup filled with tea appeared on the table.
However, the Goddess was wearing a strange expression.
“Is there a problem?”
“I was just a little flustered by how naturally you use your power.”
True, a mere human was using power in a god’s space as he pleased, so it was understandably flustering.
Franz thought he should restrain himself a little from now on and sipped his tea.
“But wouldn’t you know, Goddess, that I went to that other dimension or such?”
It was safe to say she knew about most of the things happening in this world.
It might be different if it were a place where another god’s influence was strong. But Nostra wasn’t such a place.
However, her answer was absurd.
“I was taking a short nap at the time, so…”
“Gods sleep too?”
“We don’t feel physical fatigue like humans, but we do sometimes sleep when we’re bored…”
The thought that she might be living too comfortably for a god… crossed his mind for a moment, but he quickly erased it.
In truth, being able to face a god like this was nothing short of a miracle in itself.
If one were a god, it probably didn’t really matter whether one lazed about all day or took naps.
“A-anyway, please explain it to me. How was the dimensional rift, and how was it beyond that?”
“It wasn’t a particularly big problem, but…”
Franz explained the gate, the labyrinth, and what had happened inside the labyrinth.
Goddess Luan listened attentively to the story with a serious expression, her brow furrowed.
“So it ended up like that…”
“What exactly happened?”
He was asking about the cause of the sudden appearance of the Labyrinths and Gates.
As Franz was living as an individual rather than an observer of the world, it was difficult for him to figure things out.
“The immense power generated when you fought the Demon God Tiamat created a dimensional distortion.”
“Then shouldn’t the same thing have happened in the distant past?”
He was talking about the distant past, when the Demon God and the human heroes fought.
They had also fought wielding weapons bestowed by the Goddess, so in theory, a similar phenomenon should have occurred.
“The situation is different from back then. To be precise, it’s the presence or absence of you.”
“Me…?”
“Yes, you possess an immense power far beyond what you think, to the point that even I am grateful you are a good person.”
Wait, if that’s the case…
“Does that mean the Labyrinths and Gates appeared because of me…?”
Realizing that he was the culprit, Franz was quite shocked.
He had certainly thought it was a problem on the level of gods, something humans couldn’t touch.
“There’s no need to blame yourself. If it weren’t for you, the world would have already perished.”
“I don’t particularly plan on blaming myself, but…”
Franz trailed off and thought deeply.
He thought about what it meant for him to have half of the Goddess’s power.
In fact, absorbing all the power the Goddess had right here and ascending to the position of the one true god was also…
“W-what are you thinking?!”
The Goddess was startled, and her eyes widened.
Come to think of it, the Goddess had the ability to read thoughts. He had completely forgotten about that.
“Too strong a curiosity will be poison to you.”
“I was just thinking about it. Of course I had no intention of putting it into action. More importantly, wouldn’t it have been fine if you hadn’t read my thoughts, Goddess?”
“Well, that’s…”
Having been caught out, the Goddess twiddled her fingers.
Seeing her like this, he thought she really resembled Yusti-ah a lot.
The saying “like Goddess, like Saintess” fit perfectly.
“Anyway, I’ll try to close that dimensional rift or something like that you mentioned, Goddess.”
“Really…?”
“But just in case, do you know how many more will appear in the future?”
“Let’s see… One, two, three…”
The Goddess gently closed her eyes and muttered as she folded her fingers one by one.
Well, if it was about three, he could do it as if he were going for a leisurely walk.
“Four, five, six…”
This might get a bit annoying.
Still, it was fine. Considering the byproducts he’d obtain, it was well worth enduring.
However, the Goddess’s next words shattered his thoughts to pieces.
“I think a little over 600 will appear in the future. But since I can’t predict when and where they’ll appear, I don’t know how long it will take to resolve them all…”
“…I think I’ll have to think about it a bit too.”
To think that each finger represented a hundred. Handling that kind of number alone was definitely impossible.
Was this what it felt like to be swept away by the flow of the world? It was a feeling of helplessness he hadn’t felt in a very long time.
Still, it wasn’t as if there was no method at all.
“I used to read a lot of tales of adventurers back in the day, after all…”
He just needed to assign ranks to the Labyrinths and hire dedicated personnel to resolve them.
The problem was how many high-ranked Labyrinths would appear…
“I guess I have no choice but to step up myself.”
For now, there is still far too little information.
For the time being, it would be better to move personally, even if it were annoying.
“I understand for now. I’ll try to think of a way for humans to join forces to resolve it as much as possible.”
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I feel a little more at ease.”
Goddess Luan smiled, beaming.
What could he do, even if it was annoying? If it was something someone had to do, it was better to move personally.
It was then.
“Flirting with a human when you’re a god - what a great thing you’re doing!”
Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard from thin air.
Turning his head, he saw the World Tree poking her head out through a round hole.
“W-who are you saying was flirting?!”
The Goddess raised her voice, her eyes widening.
As she gestured, the hole in the air began to gradually narrow.
The World Tree grabbed the narrowing hole and hurriedly tried to slip out, but unfortunately, she got stuck right at her pelvis.
“U-uwaah?! I’m dying…! I’m going to die…!”
“Just die like that.”
“S-sorry…! I won’t do it again…!”
“You should have done that from the start.”
The Goddess let out a 'hmph,' snorting as she widened the hole again.
However, because the hole suddenly widened, the World Tree ended up falling to the floor.
Since she had at least avoided getting her waist cut in half, he figured it was probably fine.
“Somehow, it seems you’ve never made a normal entrance.”
Franz said that as he reached out a hand to the World Tree.
Staring blankly at Franz, the World Tree subtly averted her gaze and grabbed his hand.
“I shouldn’t do this… If my daughter finds out, she’ll be disappointed…”
What was this now…
Franz let go of the World Tree’s hand he had been holding.
Because of that, the World Tree, who had been trying to stand up, fell back down on her butt.
“I-it was just a joke…!”
“I don’t really like those kinds of jokes.”
“Are you teasing me because I’m old? Huh? Even if I look like this, I can still live for another ten thousand years…!”
Ten thousand years was so distant that he couldn’t even imagine it.
Soon, the World Tree stood up, dusting herself off, and approached the Goddess.
With a smile spreading across her face, she looked just like a devil.
“Y-your expression is quite unpleasant. What is it this time?”
“Well, it’s nothing much. I just wanted to deliver the news that my daughter and Franz shared a kiss.”
The World Tree looked at Franz with a beaming smile.
“So that really was her lips…”
He had vaguely suspected it, but learning the truth made his face feel hot for no reason.
He wasn’t used to that sort of thing at all, after all.
“Is that true?!”
The Goddess asked, her eyes wide.
But Franz merely kept his silence.
In this kind of situation, silence meant affirmation, so a sigh flowed from the Goddess’s lips.
“I guess I have no choice. I’ll have to send an oracle directly to my daughter.”
“That’s cheating…!”
“There’s no such thing! As long as she gets pregnant first, it’s over.”
The World Tree and the Goddess began to bicker, as they always did.
Franz, who had been watching them for a while, slowly shook his head and stood up.
Thinking that somehow, gods and his companions weren’t all that different.
When Franz opened his eyes after leaving Goddess Luan’s Temple like that, morning had already dawned.
However, his body felt strangely heavy, or rather…
Looking around with half-closed eyes, he saw that three little kids had climbed onto the bed.
Seri-ah was asleep using his left arm as a pillow, and Zeni-ah was using his right arm.
Leviathan was even lying horizontally across Franz’s body, letting out sluggish breaths.
“Why on earth are these rascals on the bed?”
It was the moment Franz thought that and was about to let out a sigh.
Smack-.
Leviathan’s tail accurately struck his cheek.
It was so absurd that a hollow laugh naturally escaped his lips.
He never thought he’d experience getting hit by a tail while sleeping in his life.
Since he couldn’t bring himself to get angry at a sleeping kid, he was about to very carefully sit up when…
“…”
“…”
He ended up making eye contact with leviathan.