CHAPTER 25

The God of Earth

It’s been one problem after another ever since Seiya and I got sent to Ixphoria—a world we were unable to save in the past. Right when the werewolf’s amnesia effect wore off and Seiya returned to normal, the Beast Emperor Grandleon showed up. Seiya was able to defeat him with the forbidden Berserk technique that he’d learned, but our relief was short-lived. We soon Learned that the Machine Emperor Oxerio was heading our way along with tens of thousands of Killing Machines known as the machine corps.

I shuddered at the thought of facing yet another powerful enemy and was so shaken up that I even almost forgot I was a goddess, but the overly cautious Hero I’d summoned, Seiya Ryuuguuin, maintained his composure. He then said that he wanted to go back to the spirit world and prepare, as he always does.

“‘Prepare’?! Don’t tell me you plan on leaving Termine like this?!”

Jonde, the former general of Termine, yells at Seiya when he hears he’s returning to the spirit world. Jonde may be tall, with a masculine physique, but his skin is as pale as clay. His untamed, wavy hair runs down his back and past his sunken eyes. He was used as a mere plaything, destined to live forever as an undead while Grandleon reigned over Termine.

I explain to General Jonde that time in the spirit world moves slowly and that we will be back in about one Ixphorian hour. He seems to take the news well. Jonde then puts on a serious expression, looks at me, and says:

“Goddess, there is something I would like you to do before you return to the spirit world.”

“Hmm? What’s that?”

“I want you to…let me die.”

“Jonde! What in the world are you saying?”

Queen Carmilla, my mother in a past life, yells at him, but he simply smiles back at her.

“My queen, no tools or spells can restore an undead’s humanity. It is probably only a matter of time before I lose sanity and begin attacking those around me.”

The queen and I are speechless.

But even so…I can’t just kill such a brilliant general!

“Ascending to the heavens by the goddess’s hand would be the greatest honor.”

Jonde smiles. At a loss, I turn to Seiya, who gives me a nod, then in the most natural way says:

“True, he could lose sanity at any moment. We should put him out of his misery as soon as possible.”

What the…?! You’re terrible!

Even Jonde knits his brow.

“It is extremely aggravating to hear you say that, but…well, you have a point. Goddess, I beg of you. Release me from this curse.”

“Are you sure?”

Jonde nods. The queen appears to have accepted his decision as well. With a grave expression, Jonde lowers his head to me and lets me know he’s sure. The queen thereupon faces him.

“Jonde…thank you for serving Termine all these years.”

“Queen Carmilla, I will be watching over the restoration of Termine from the heavens.”

The sorrowful farewell burns the corners of my eyes, but this is no time to be crying! I am a goddess! I must help him smoothly and painlessly pass on out of respect for his decision!

I place a hand on Jonde’s forehead.

“I shall return General Jonde’s soul to the heavens!”

I unleash a holy healing spell that causes damage to undead. White smoke rises from under my hand against his forehead.

…Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

His face twists in agony.

…Three minutes pass before Jonde cries out like he can’t take it anymore.

“G-Goddess…! I would really appreciate it if you could get it over with quickly!”

“Yes, I know!”

Wh-what am I doing?! I have to unleash all my power if I want this to work! The longer this goes on, the more he’ll suffer!

After taking in a deep breath, I open my eyes wide with determination.

Ahhhhhh! Burst into flames, my small galaxy! Arise, my ultra-goddess powers!

…Crackle. Crackle. Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

However, the holy light simply continues to burn Jonde’s forehead no more than around three centimeters across. That’s when, out of nowhere, he suddenly rips out his hair.

“I can’t take it anymore! The paaain! I feel like my forehead’s being burned with a magnifying glass under the sun!”

“I-I’m sorry!”

It looks like it’ll take a few hours with my limited goddess powers before I can send Jonde to the afterlife. Seiya then approaches Jonde with a fed-up sigh.

“Fine. I’ll toss him into the magma of the planet’s core with Endless Fall.”

“…?! I was hoping to ascend to the heavens, not drop into the pits of hell! Being killed by you is the last thing I want!”

Seiya lets out another sigh.

“We’re losing valuable time. He’s fine like this for now. I’ll leave some powerful earth serpents with him just in case he does go berserk.”

Earth serpents wrap around Jonde’s wrists, ankles, and neck like jewelry. As Jonde’s face clouds with utter disgust, the queen places a hand on his shoulder.

“Heh-heh. It appears we will be spending a little more time together. I’m counting on you, Jonde.”

“Y-yes, my queen!”

I made things a little awkward at first, but after seeing the looks of joy on the queen’s and Jonde’s faces…I feel kind of good about it. And just like that, Seiya and I walk through the gate and return to the spirit world.

After arriving at the spirit world plaza, I ask Seiya:

“So how do you plan on preparing for the machine corps?”

“I want to focus on perfecting my current abilities rather than learning a new one. In short, I plan on mastering earth magic.”

“So…do you want to meet the God of Earth?”

“Exactly. I want to begin training immediately, so if you know him…”

The deities of the five natural elements, such as fire, water, and earth, are highly regarded in the spirit world, and I’ve met the God of Earth, Boros, a few times. While many gods in the spirit world are massive and muscular, Boros is a slender deity with beautiful features. He’s so dainty that I could breathe on him and he’d get carried off by the wind.

We walk away from the plaza for a short while until I can see a beautiful field of flowers up ahead. Boros’s dark-brown hair peeks out from under his straw hat as, watering can in hand, he waters the myriad colorful flowers under the vast blue sky.

“Hey, Boros.”

“Hey, Ristarte. Lovely weather we’re having today, isn’t it?”

After greeting me with a pleasant smile, Boros returns his attention to the flowers.

“I love flowers. Simply looking at them brings me joy.”

Watching him regard the flowers with such tenderness, I feel my heart skip a beat.

How can someone be so hot?!

But when I tell Boros I want him to teach Seiya earth magic, he curiously tilts his head to the side.

“From what I can tell, he seems to already be quite experienced with earth magic.”

He has a point. Seiya’s earth magic is already at a very high level. What else does he need to learn to “master earth magic”?

Seiya approaches Boros, then says:

“Put briefly, I want to be able to create an even more powerful monster than earth serpents. I tried various things, but there is only so much I can do alone. Surely the God of Earth can create something more powerful, though, right?”

“But of course. Through perfecting soil magic, you can use rock magic, and if you learn how to create rock-type monsters, you can create golems and the like, which are far stronger than earth serpents.”

“Golems…! Now I get it! Seiya, you’re going to create an army of monsters to fight the machine corps, aren’t you?!”

“Exactly.”

We stare at Boros until a cheerful smile appears on his lips.

“The Hero is more than qualified to learn how to do this at his current level. Nevertheless, creating rock-type monsters is the most difficult skill when it comes to earth magic. It isn’t something you can do in a day.”

“That won’t work. I need you to hurry.”

This always happens, so I decide to fill Boros in ahead of time.

“Boros, this Hero is amazing! He can master divine skills, which usually take days to learn, in no time at all! That’s why—”

Boros suddenly cuts me off.

“I’ve heard. He is a rare person of talent who was given the task to save an SS-ranked world. They say he learns things in days that should take months.”

“Th-then—!”

“The problem lies with me.”

“Huh?”

A slightly troubled look clouds Boros’s expression.

“My time is limited. In truth, I can only be active from noon to night.”

Boros looks up at the sun.

“Night will soon fall. I only have two free hours left today.”

“What do you mean? Why is your time limited?”

“I’m sorry, but I cannot disclose that information.”

“We have to save a parallel world. I thought the deities of the unified spirit world were supposed to cooperate.”

“I am truly sorry…”

Boros lowers his head, his face stricken with anguish. I cannot help but defend him.

“S-Seiya! We can’t force him! I’m sure he has his reasons!”

A few moments go by before Seiya finally speaks up.

“…Fine. Then teach me as much as you can for the next two hours.”

“Very well. Then let’s get started.”

Thus their time-limited training begins.

Seeing the calm, handsome Hero training under the kind, attractive deity is a feast for my eyes. Holding back the urge to continue staring, I decide to leave the field of flowers behind so I won’t get in the way of their training.

It’s strange, though. Why is his time limited? He has very fair skin, and he’s basically a walking stick figure, so maybe he has some sort of chronic illness? B-but do gods even get sick?

After returning to the plaza, I head over to greet a few familiar faces. Sitting outdoors at Café du Cerceus are Ariadoa and Adenela. Cerceus is bringing them their coffee. Only when I see them do I truly feel like I’m back in the spirit world, and I can’t help but crack a smile.

“Aria! I’m back!”

“Rista!”

Aria rushes over and throws her arms around me.

“I’m so glad you’re okay! That must mean the ritual was a success and you freed Termine!”

“Y-yeah, um… It was…something…”

The ritual actually failed thanks to me, though. Adenela offers me some coffee. I guess she couldn’t stand watching me trip over my words any longer.

“A-anyway, have s-some coffee. I-it’s not good, but i-it’s not bad, either. Th-the flavor’s pretty whatever.”

“Hey! How can you say that?! I put my heart into making this coffee!”

I put my lips on the mug and take a sip. It’s not bad.

“Cerceus! This coffee isn’t bad at all! It’s like the good kind of instant coffee!”

“O-oh, great… Wait! What do you mean it tastes like instant coffee?! I’m using high-quality beans!”

While Cerceus fumes by our side, Ariadoa asks me:

“Rista, how’s Seiya?”

“Oh, he’s training under Boros right now.”

“…Boros?”

Seeing Aria fall silent sends a wave of anxiety rushing through me.

“Aria?! H-he’s going to be okay, isn’t he?! He isn’t weird like the other ones, right?!”

“I—I believe so. I’ve never heard any strange rumors about him, at the very least. There is something slightly odd about him, though. He never shows himself at night.”

“Oh, I guess he was telling the truth.”

“He probably has some sort of personal rule, so make sure you keep that in mind if Seiya is going to train under him.”

“Yeah, of course!”

I rise from my chair, then head to the cafeteria to make Seiya’s dinner.

He may be able to help Seiya only for a limited time, but Aria’s probably right. Boros isn’t some weirdo! In fact, he seems completely normal compared to that perv Mitis or Zet!

…Or, at least, that’s what I believe.