LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 349
“Are you saying you’re just going to leave that being that resembles the Goddess alone?”
“Yeah. If a being with such enormous power appears… wouldn’t that be interesting?”
At my words, Asherat combed through her hair as if she were troubled.
“Interesting? Monsters drawn to that power caused a massive migration and inflicted so much damage! Many have died, and even those who survived suffered injuries or property damage!”
“W-was that the case?”
“Yes! It seems the Goddess isn’t paying attention! Even if they are alive now, those who’ve lost their homes face a grim future! Besides, many are becoming refugees!”
Hmm… I thought the number of dead wasn’t that high, but it seems I was mistaken.
Then again, not all damage involves death.
“At least the Church of Life is providing support to refugees, but if we leave that thing alone, it could become troublesome.”
“Hmm… Is that so?”
“Yes. So please do something about it. Evaluating its power, it’s comparable to ordinary gods. The gods of the Divine Hall might start taking an interest in it soon.”
“In other words, it feels like a god could descend to the land.”
Most gods are restricted from descending, but since that thing was born here, it faces no such limitations.
Hmm… Eliminating it isn’t too difficult, but it would be a shame to get rid of something that looks fun without properly watching it.
“Or perhaps you could ask the dragons to deal with it. I think they could manage just fine.”
“But I feel it could weave the story of the Demon King.”
“The Demon King?”
“Yeah. The Demon King.”
At my words, Asherat tilted her head. After all, the concept of the Demon King must be quite unfamiliar to her.
“Basically, the enemy of humanity. A being that acts to eliminate life, you could say.”
“Eliminating life… So are you saying you want to make that thing, which resembles the Goddess, the enemy of the Goddess?”
“Um… It feels less like my enemy and more like the enemy of life?”
“That’s the same thing!”
Well, I am the Goddess of Life, so I suppose it can be seen that way!
“Is it okay to create something like that?! Aren’t there going to be problems?! And it is the enemy of humanity. What if it exterminates all human life and the life on this land?!”
“To prevent that from happening, I’m planning on intervening appropriately to adjust the balance, so no need to worry too much.”
At my words, Asherat looked exasperated.
“Adjusting the balance… Aren’t you taking it a bit lightly? You’re talking about life! These are beings that the Goddess governs! They shouldn’t be treated so lightly!”
Hmm… I hadn’t thought about it so lightly. I just wanted to witness a little fun story.
“I’ve never taken it lightly. If I really thought lightly of it… shouldn’t this world itself be my toy?”
Despite everything, it’s indeed true that I cherish and value life.
As the cause for life’s birth, I carry my own sense of responsibility.
But.
“The existence of such a powerful enemy… is also necessary for the lives on this land.”
“Necessary? A formidable enemy that wants to kill them all?”
“Yes. Let me tell you a story.”
I began to unfurl a tale to Asherat.
“Once upon a time, the fishermen in a certain sea had a dilemma. They caught a tank full of fish on their boat, but those fish couldn’t live long unless they were in the vast ocean.”
In original terms, it was herring, and it was slightly altered to be referred to as loach, but let’s skip that for now.
“One day, the fishermen thought, ‘In order for these fish to thrive and be fresh, there must be a predator that threatens them.'”
“A predator…?”
“Yes. A predator. When they placed a larger fish that eats those fish into the tank, the amazing thing was that the fish managed to survive even in the narrow confines of the tank.”
“The existence of a predator made them crave life…?”
“Of course, while there are fish that got eaten by the predator, many managed to be transported alive.”
Of course, there wasn’t any scientific basis for this story. It was just mentioned in history or economics.
“Certainly, there wasn’t actually such a fish. However, the existence of a formidable threat can indeed bring about significant progress. You could say it’s somewhat like a whip.”
Through wars and competition, development has occurred time and again.
Without competition, complacency naturally arises, and complacency leads to decline.
Just as fish that crave life furiously flee, so should life not rest on its laurels.
“S-so, are you saying you will unleash this Demon King?”
“Of course, I’ll manage it appropriately. I can’t whip so hard that the fish die, now can I?”
After all, it’s important to maintain that proper balance.
“That’s… um… if that happens, I do feel that there should be a Demon King…”
Asherat pondered.
She fell deep into thought, wondering whether it was truly the right thing to do.
“And don’t worry; an existence meant to suppress such a Demon King is already prepared.”
“A being to suppress it?”
At Asherat’s words, I drew a sword and held it in my hand.
The hero’s sword, Clovis Solais, which had been without a master for a long time.
Upon seeing that sword, Asherat had a recollection of something she had forgotten.
“The Hero…!”
“Yes. The Hero.”
I said with a small smile.
“Since ancient times, the Hero and the Demon King are two sides of the same coin, inseparable like the two sides of a coin. If the Demon King appears, the Hero must also emerge.”
“B-but… It has been so long since a Hero has appeared…?”
“It hasn’t happened for a long time, so isn’t it about time for one to appear?”
After all, it might just be the perfect timing for the legend of the Hero to emerge.
“So, will the Goddess herself search for a human to be the Hero? Or will you descend as the Dragon Priestess?”
“Um. Well, I’m still thinking about it. But… you seem oddly happy?”
Asherat’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at the hero’s sword. For some reason, she had a very joyful expression.
“Well, I love the story of the Hero quite a bit. If something like that were to be created once more, how delightful that would be!”
Hmm… Is that the case?
In a world devoid of entertainment, each of these stories must be a delightful pastime.
“Anyway, I understand. I’ve realized that the Goddess isn’t trying to create the Demon King lightly. I’ll accept that.”
“Isn’t it more because you accepted the idea of the story of the Hero being created?”
“N-no!”
As the diligent Asherat, representative of the Goddess of Life, worked earnestly, there was an odd gap in her demeanor.
Anyway, it seems Asherat has also come to a conclusion.
“Perhaps it would be best to select a child with decent talent to make them into the Dragon Priestess?”
“Ah, but you know, that Demon King… resembles the Goddess quite a bit… doesn’t it oddly remind you of the Dragon Priestess?”
“Well, since it resembles me, naturally it would be reminiscent of the Dragon Priestess, wouldn’t it?”
The description of the Dragon Priestess initially was, in fact, a description of my humanoid form. If you resemble me, you’ll resemble the Dragon Priestess as well.
At first glance… it could be seen more as a resemblance to the Dragon Priestess than the Demon King…
“Ah! A good idea just struck me!”
I smiled at the still nascent Demon King.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
One day, a girl appeared at the Church of Life’s headquarters.
A petite little child. While it wasn’t unusual for such a child to be entrusted to the shrine of life, this time was different.
On the head of the girl, with her shining silver hair, were a pair of horns like a dragon.
In other words, the Dragon Priestess had appeared.
A little girl who didn’t even know her own name and whose consciousness had yet to properly awaken.
The priests of the Church of Life treasured this Dragon Priestess and brought her inside to raise her.
「With this, you can live here.」
At my words, the little girl tilted her head slightly.
“Ah, u?”
「Hmm. Since she’s still like an infant, it’s no wonder. She probably doesn’t understand what I’m saying.」
“U… uuh… uutta!”
「Truly, her mind is completely blank.」
Even a newborn baby would know more than her.
Well, it can’t be helped. Since I couldn’t approach her directly, I assumed it was necessary to act with the little I could. I have no choice but to overlook the shortcomings.
I watched the Dragon Priestess, who was still troubled and trying to murmur in a fluster. No, the girl who was the physical form of the Demon King.
Roughly splitting the Demon King into two, separating her newly created body from the nascent mind, and equally dividing the massive magical power led to the creation of the unaware Dragon Priestess.
By loosely linking her empty mind with mine, I planned to treat her like a kind of avatar.
We can call it the operation of the “Dragon Priestess. The identity is the body of the Demon King!”
Thus, through this loose connection, I ended up providing various kinds of support to the Dragon Priestess.
Ah, by the way, it was impossible to have a direct face-to-face encounter. The moment I got too close, her body started changing into magic.
In the end, I could only be of help by borrowing knowledge from afar.