Volume 9, Chapter 26 – Differing Opinions (Part 2)

“Are you saying the Gospel didn’t tell us the truth, that it’s using me? Unfortunately for you, we are people who willingly follow the Gospel’s guidance. Without the Gospel, we wouldn’t exist today. If the Gospel hadn’t ordered the followers to search the world for the Hero, I wouldn’t even be alive right now.”

Lin’s tone gradually became less polite, her eyes narrowing slightly.

So she gets angry whenever someone speaks ill of the Gospel.

But she had prepared herself for this reaction before speaking. Yisi considered her response.

“Um… I didn’t mean to speak badly of the Gospel either. I just hope you give its mandates some thought, instead of blindly obeying.”

“That will only lead to tragedy, like with the old Pope! It was precisely because he hesitated, because he thought, that he caused the entire city’s population to be buried with him! To question the Gospel’s prophecy is, in itself, a form of disbelief!”

“Calm down a bit. As I said at the beginning, if the Gospel knows everything, shouldn’t it have known that the old Pope would choose to defy it? Since it knew this would happen, why didn’t it tell you directly? If it didn’t tell you because it has its own will, that means the Gospel isn’t a tool for saving the world at all, but is controlling you according to its own volition. All its prophecies are just for its own benefit. Conversely, if the Gospel has no self-will, it means it’s not omniscient and omnipotent. Doesn’t it fail to sense Demon Lords and Gods? That already says a lot. In the end, if the one bringing destruction to the world is the Demon Lord, how can the Gospel, which cannot sense the Demon Lord, know when they will bring about destruction? Finally, even the Kingdom of God, which forged this Gospel, couldn’t escape its fate of destruction under its guidance. What exactly can humans accomplish then?”

After all, the Kingdom of God, which possessed the Gospel, was now nowhere to be found, while the Demon Lord still lived on.

“If we question the Gospel’s commands, then the Divine Religion has no reason to exist, and even less so for me as the Hero! If even I, the savior appointed by the Gospel, don’t trust it, how can those outside who could potentially become our allies believe? Yes, just as outsiders say, people who trust a baseless book are foolish. But to waver in one’s faith just because others call you foolish, and then regret it when true disaster strikes—that is true foolishness! The Gospel’s prophecies have been proven true many times. Since it didn’t remain silent when we asked how to save the future, it means it has a way to save the future!”

“But the Kingdom of God is no more.”

Yisi stated the fact in a low voice.

As if her sore spot had been touched, Lin’s voice grew louder, her eyebrows shooting up with her angry expression.

“But was that the Gospel’s fault? Ultimately, the Kingdom of God sent Laxyphinia out to find the savior according to the mandate, but Laxyphinia failed to complete the mission! It was Laxyphinia’s failure that led to the Kingdom of God’s disappearance! It wasn’t the Gospel’s incompetence!”

“Laxy failed after trying her best, not because she didn’t try! If that’s the result even after trying, what’s the point of such effort? If the Gospel now gave you an impossible task, Lin, should you blame yourself? Lin, from the beginning, I wasn’t telling you not to believe the Gospel. As an observer, I just hope you don’t blindly follow its will. The reason I used the soldiers, Red, and Purple as examples was to make you consider your own feelings more. If everyone you know dies, even if you save everyone else, would you be happy?”

“Is Laxyphinia happy now? The entire Kingdom of God is gone. She failed her companions’ expectations. Is she happy? I survive only because I was saved by the Gospel, and in the end, I will only die because of the Gospel’s will. As the savior, as someone who carries the lives of the dead, the meaning of my existence is to fulfill the final wishes of those martyrs—to play the role a savior should at the critical moment. And the Gospel is my only means to achieve that end. Do you understand now, Yisi? Please stop telling me to value myself or to overthink the Gospel’s prophecies.”

“…You stubborn girl.”

If Lin weren’t a woman, she would have definitely punched her.

As an observer, she just didn’t want Lin to neglect herself in pursuit of something ethereal. But Lin used Laxy as an example. Honestly, she was getting a little angry now.

Partly because of Lin’s words, partly because of herself.

She had never asked Laxy how she felt about failing her mission. Although Laxy always acted fine, was she really fine?

The thought made Yisi’s heart clench.

No, this isn’t related to the current conversation.

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Yisi shook her head, banishing the miscellaneous thoughts.

Perhaps what she was doing was wrong. Her values and Lin’s were on parallel lines. Just now, it seemed like she was considering Lin’s feelings, but she was actually just imposing her own views on her. She cared more about her companions, while Lin didn’t want the past tragedy to repeat itself. She carried the lives of those who had died, so completing the salvation was the only path left for her.

One didn’t believe in the Gospel, the other was its devout follower. From the start, there was no need for them to communicate.

What an arrogant choice I made.

Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, Yisi, having calmed down, waved her hand, a trace of disappointment inevitably creeping into her tone.

“I understand. I won’t speak ill of the Gospel again.”

“…I wasn’t calm either. Bringing up Laxyphinia… I apologize.”

Lin bowed her head towards Yisi. The aggressive expression from before was now filled with apology.

She noticed too, didn’t she? Her reaction just now was unusual, like a cat whose tail had been grabbed. Yisi glimpsed something noteworthy in that. More than defending her faith, Lin’s words seemed like self-hypnosis, like whipping herself to not forget the past.

Although her previous actions seemed very mature, is her heart actually as young and fragile as her appearance? Is that why she needs to constantly remind herself that she is the Hero of the Divine Religion, someone saved by the Gospel?

Without further conversation, the two walked forward in silence, separated by some distance. The only sounds were the distant shouts of soldiers training and the crunch of their shoes on the gravel.

After a moment, as if unable to bear the silence, Lin asked in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible, “…Are you angry, Yisi?”

As if afraid of making Yisi angry, Lin’s tone was cautious and guilty.

Yisi answered bluntly.

“No.”

“…I’m sorry. No peer has ever refuted the Gospel to my face like that before. Even with Gore, I could feel he didn’t actually hate the Gospel; he just wanted to target me. So when you told me to reconsider the Gospel’s prophecy, I lost control…”

Her words were full of apology, and she even used honorifics when addressing Yisi. Lin kept her head down, her voice growing smaller and smaller.

She seemed genuinely regretful of her earlier words.

“No, there’s no need for you to apologize, Lin. I was the one imposing my views onto you. I shouldn’t have said those things to you in the first place.”

“…You’re definitely still angry.”

“I said I’m not.”

Yisi emphasized again, frowning.

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She was indeed very angry, but she knew it wasn’t Lin’s fault, so she could only keep it bottled up.

Lin pressed her lips together tightly, took a small step closer to Yisi, and cautiously peeked at her expression.

“Is there anything I can do to compensate?”

“No, there’s no need for that.”

“But you look like you don’t intend to speak to me anymore… I feel like you’re drifting away.”

She can even sense that?

Honestly, for a moment, she really hadn’t wanted to interact with someone on a parallel line anymore.

Yisi subconsciously looked at Lin and found her looking back with a sorrowful, worried expression, like a puppy soaked in the rain.

Although she put up such an aggressive front earlier, her true nature is just like what I saw in the dead city yesterday. She’s just a fragile girl propped up by the Gospel, someone who hasn’t really experienced much of the world. She probably spends most of her time, outside of missions, leveling up and learning magic, right? People like that aren’t uncommon.

Honestly, she didn’t think someone like that was suited to be a Hero. But if she said that, she’d just end up arguing with Lin again. Not wanting to worsen her already foul mood, Yisi clicked her tongue.

Just consider me a softy who can’t bear to see a puppy in the rain.

Composing herself slightly, Yisi gently patted Lin’s shoulder.

“Alright, stop making that pitiful face. I don’t know how you see me, but you seem to cherish our relationship. If that’s the case, don’t use honorifics with me. It makes me uncomfortable.”

“Your Eminen—”

“Honorifics.”

“Ah. Are you not angry anymore, Yisi?”

“As long as you don’t argue with me again.”

“But you were the one who started the topic.”

As if sulking, Lin puffed out her cheeks unhappily like a child.

Yisi waved her hand helplessly.

“Yes, yes, my fault, my fault.”

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She tilted her head to look at Lin.

Lin smiled back.

It should be fine now.

Yisi thought internally.

After walking a little further, Yisi returned to the original topic.

“By the way, does the Divine Religion operate on taxes from the Duchy of Chloe?”

“Taxes only cover a part of the church’s operations. Controlling the Chloe Kingdom only began ten years ago. Initially, the church funded itself by confiscating the property of those targeted during missions.”

“Hoh.”

No wonder Red and Purple tried to haggle when buying those trigger-activated items from her. The Divine Religion’s financial situation didn’t seem very good—or rather, it seemed quite bad. Even the Hero’s attendants felt pinched when spending money.

It’s probably a matter of scale. The Duchy of Chloe is too small.

What Yisi didn’t know was that during her silence, Lin felt as though she was being looked down upon. She tilted her head slightly towards Yisi, looking somewhat uneasy.

“Do you think we’re shameless? Sustaining ourselves by stealing the wealth of the dead?”

Lin probably found this practice disgraceful and assumed Yisi thought the same, just like someone with a scar might assume others are staring at it and feel offended.

“No, I absolutely didn’t think that.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?”

There was clear dissatisfaction in Lin’s tone as she said this, her mouth forming an upward pout (へ). Combined with the fox-ear-like ornaments on her head, Yisi found it quite cute.

She hadn’t noticed the small accessories on Lin before. Now, she suddenly recalled Lin’s room—that little nest with the powder-blue theme. Although Lin’s attire at first glance resembled that of Death’s bride, it was actually full of girlish touches. The fox-ear ornament in her black hair, the flowers underneath it…

“I was thinking it’s no wonder Purple tried to use her charms to get me to lower the price yesterday. So that was why.”

“That was Purple’s own doing, it had nothing to do with me. I didn’t force her.”

“Quick to distance yourself, aren’t we…”

“I’m just stating the facts.”

The soft ‘hmph’ sound reminded one of a child.

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This girl has her cute side too.

Yisi spread her hands.

“If people outside saw you like this now, their jaws would definitely drop.”

“Why?”

“They wouldn’t imagine that the girl they consider a monster is actually very cute.”

“Cute? Me?” Her voice filled with disbelief, Lin straightened up. “I’ve wanted to comment on your aesthetic sense for a long time, Yisi, but I held back out of politeness. Now you’ve brought this upon yourself. I have scales, and I’m a demi-human who can partially transform into a dragon. There’s nothing about me that deserves to be called cute. If I went out late at night, even adults would be scared to tears by me. Have your eyes been altered by monsters, Yisi?”

As she spoke, Lin even pointed to the scales on her cheek with her index finger. But this gesture, to Yisi the bystander, just looked like a girl tilting her head, trying hard to widen her eyes while pointing at her own face. Combined with the twitching fox-ear ornaments on her head, it actually made her look even cuter.

Taking in this pleasing sight and committing it to memory, Yisi pretended nothing had happened and continued walking forward on her own.

“Would lying about something like this benefit me in any way? Cute is cute, not cute is not cute. I’m very honest; I don’t easily call a girl cute.”

“Tsk.” Left behind, Lin quickly took two steps to catch up. “I remember now. That human named Camilla and the Blood Clan member named Loiswell… you used this method to deceive them too, didn’t you?”

“Huh? Firstly, I didn’t deceive Camilla or Pepe. Secondly, you’re gravely mistaken to assume my aesthetic sense is the same as those humans outside. From the first time we met, I thought the scales on your face were beautiful. They actually add color to you. Plus, your silky black hair… combined, it has a bewitching allure. Of course, setting those aside, you’re still a 10/10 beautiful girl, just without that aloof atmosphere. Honestly, at first, I thought you were a very unapproachable, cold type.”

The reason she hadn’t complimented Lin’s scales upon their first meeting was that she worried Lin would feel offended. But now, it should be fine to say it.

“You’re just trying to flatter me, right? That girl named Tiffany also told me you like to toy with girls’ hearts.”

Tiffany again?

What Yisi didn’t know was that as this thought crossed her mind, Tiffany, elsewhere, felt her hair stand on end.

Of course, although Lin said this verbally, and her expression was one of closed eyes and indifference, both the upturned corners of her mouth and her light steps radiated the happy atmosphere of someone who had just been complimented. Yisi even felt that if Lin had a dragon tail, it would surely be wagging back and forth incessantly.

Feeling wrongfully accused and helpless, Yisi sighed.

“No matter what I say, you won’t believe me, will you? But I truly feel you don’t need to feel inferior because of the scales. Someday, you’ll meet someone like me who finds them beautiful.”

“Alright, alright, that’s enough flattery. Even if you’re trying to help me get over the shadow of being discriminated against, this isn’t the way. It will only make me doubt myself more when others put me down. We’ve arrived at the academy. Let’s get ready and go in.”

At this, Lin straightened her black gauze skirt, adjusted her fox-ear ornament, and looked at the building before them.

Translator Note

ok.. i dont like her..