episode_0169

000

Arachne, having absorbed enough magic power, emitted light on her own, and the entire space was completely covered in white by the strong light flowing out.

A white space where color exists, but sound and smell do not.

Kleion was flustered, but calmed himself and tried to approach Arachne, who was showing a strange phenomenon.

However.

`My body… is heavy…?`

Kleion felt that his body was not moving as he intended, and he was bound to be embarrassed.

It wasn’t that gravity had increased, or that Kleion’s stamina was exhausted.

As if time had stopped, Kleion’s body was fixed on Arachne and was not moving.

He could only breathe, and he looked at Arachne in a state where he could not even open his mouth to speak.

And in the white scenery that came into his view, he felt a sense of déjà vu.

It slowly descended from above Arachne, fluttering slowly to the ground like a piece of paper dropped from the air.

Even when it touched the ground, when the ends of its feet touched the ground, ripples spread across the surface of the earth as if it had fallen on water.

Like Arachne, it was emitting such intense light that eyes, nose, and mouth could not be seen, and it was like a white shadow walking around.

Only the curves of the body and fluttering hair allowed him to confirm that it was a humanoid something with a `female` form.

The wings of light, which were glowing like the body, folded up, and then disappeared like particles of light as if they had never existed.

She – the girl of light, approached Arachne, who was still emitting light, and took what appeared to be her right hand to her forehead.

[Code acquired. Checking the target’s divinity… Found a divinity similar to the entity in the database. `Utu`.]

A voice, which he seemed to have heard somewhere, flowed from the girl.

No, to be more precise, it wouldn’t be a `voice`.

Kleion felt considerable dizziness from the girl’s will flowing directly into his head.

It was as if she had opened the lid of his head and was talking into it.

[-Negative. According to the query results, the divinity of `Utu` has been erased due to the destruction of the core. Identifying the entity as a new entity that has acquired `qualification`… Ugh…]

The girl, who was coldly muttering unknown words without any emotion, checked something from Arachne, then kept her right hand as it was and gently clenched her left fist, bringing it to her chest.

Tightly. Her fist, which seemed to contain a strong will, looked somewhat happy and pitiful.

Kleion’s gaze did not miss the girl’s movements.

[There can still be a new child born in this world….]

In a voice as if she had discovered new hope, the fist she was holding contained a bead made of light gathered from the light flowing from the girl’s chest.

It was very similar to Caliburn’s golden light, but it was a shocking sight that even higher concentrations of holy magic power were compressed into that small size.

Perhaps, if it were wizards seeking magic power or clergymen chasing after God, they would have rushed at it madly as soon as they saw it.

Of course, he couldn’t do anything in this situation where he couldn’t move his body.

The girl gently kissed Arachne’s forehead. As if a priest was blessing a newly born child.

And, as if absorbing the bead of holy magic power she had created into Arachne’s chest, she inserted it.

[A new… divinity has been confirmed to be born. Defining the subject myself. Definition completed. Identifying the entity as `Anansi`, a successor entity to `Utu`.]

And, back to her cold voice, her body slowly began to rise.

Only then could Kleion know her identity.

The girl with wings of light, who was wrapped in light and descended at the moment of reincarnation when a new god was born.

The incarnation of holy magic power, no. The girl was the holy magic power itself, the energy of this star.

“Ne…mea…”

The moment Kleion recognized the entity as `Nemea`, only his mouth slowly moved in his frozen body, and he could call the girl’s name.

[Ugh…!?]

Because her name was called, the girl, who was about to rise into the sky, instantly turned into light, and moved in the state of particles scattered like feathers, flying in front of Kleion’s eyes.

[You…. How can you see me…. Hear me, and call my name…?]

She reached out her finger and grabbed Kleion’s face. Her facial features are still only vaguely visible, but she no longer felt like her voice was piercing his head.

[Your soul… Ah…. Is that so….]

Kleion gave strength to his whole body to answer the girl’s voice.

I know your voice, I’ve touched it before.

Relying on memories that were unclear to himself, he wanted to call the girl’s name and stop her.

But the world did not allow Kleion more interference than necessary.

Just calling the girl’s name a moment ago. Recognizing her Advent was something that could not be forgiven for a human being.

Gradually, he feels his consciousness fading away.

[You certainly have `qualifications` too…. Kleion.]

The girl spoke Kleion’s name in a lonely voice.

The girl’s fingers went up to Kleion’s forehead.

Kleion felt his words choked to the point that he couldn’t even care that he couldn’t speak at the girl’s touch that gently stroked his forehead.

[Goodbye, Kleion. I will remember you.]

With the words left by the will of the star as the last, the fading consciousness completely seeped into the swamp of oblivion.

`Lesi…ah…`

The last thing he thought of was her appearance.

001

“Kleion… Kleion…!”

A desperate voice heard from beyond the darkness, with his eyes closed.

Kleion, realizing that his name was being called, slowly and carefully began to open his eyes.

For some reason, his body felt very heavy.

Surely, he could have had a good night’s sleep for the first time in a while today.

When he opened his eyes, there was a familiar face.

A woman with disheveled green hair and purple eyes was looking down at him, placing her hand on Kleion’s chest.

“Gala, Thea…”

“You idiot…! What did you do! Suddenly collapsing…!”

Galatea struck Kleion’s chest with tears in her eyes.

More than physical pain, his heart ached with guilt at the sight of Galatea making such an expression and clinging to him.

“Sorry… I-”

Kleion was talking like that and trying to get up, but he remembered that his memories were cut off after he had shared affection with Sasha.

“…I don’t know. Did I really collapse from fatigue…?”

“That’s why I told you to do suitable good deeds moderately…!”

Galatea said that, and hugged into Kleion’s arms as if she was truly worried.

He almost fell backwards from the weight, but Kleion somehow supported his upper body with his arms and stroked her back with his other hand to calm her down.

“Perhaps, it was influenced by being swept up in my former life.”

At that time, another woman’s voice was heard, and he turned his head towards it.

There was a beautiful woman with brown hair drooping down, wearing a robe made of white thread all over her body.

If you look closely, you can see that the robe is based on wedding lingerie that you have seen somewhere, and the more you look at it, the more you realize that the exposure is higher than you can imagine.

“…Could it be, Arachne?”

When Kleion said that, the woman nodded lightly.

The reason why he didn’t recognize Arachne in an instant was simple. The spider’s lower body, which was the biggest characteristic for her, disappeared, and he didn’t think of her as Arachne because she had become a perfect human form.

“Now, call me `Anansi`. Master….”

“Anansi… is that your name?”

In response to Kleion’s answer, Anansi smiled kindly and nodded again.

“Whew~ It seems like I somehow succeeded in my former life.”

At that time, Sasha, wearing her original armor, walked over. To be exact, it was Ruben’s side using her body.

“Lord Ruben…”

Anansi looked at Ruben like that and frowned slightly, but soon shook her head.

“In the memories of Utu, you were arrogant, self-centered, and a god who didn’t care about human lives, let alone the existence of gods other than yourself. Why are you dwelling in the body of a girl who follows my lord?”

“Kuhuhu… You’ve become quite the speaker, haven’t you? It seems like you need to learn some of Utu’s manners.”

Anansi and Ruben instantly unleashed magic power from their bodies and suddenly began preparing for battle.

“Both of you. Stop.”

When Kleion raised his voice to stop them from watching, the magic powers of the two, who were colliding with sparks flying, were released in an instant and scattered into the air and disappeared.

“Yes. Master.”

She willingly complied with Kleion’s will and still had a beautiful smile on her face, and

“…Humph.”

Ruben snorted as if he didn’t like her flattery.

“Anyway, I’m glad you successfully reincarnated. It seems like you succeeded in accepting the sacred object as well…. With this, you can protect the sacred object even if you’re not in this forest.”

“Yes. Everything is thanks to my lord’s consideration…. Thank you so much for giving me, who disgraced the divinity of Utu, a chance. Thanks to my lord, I was able to be reborn in this new form. Although I am not yet a strong god due to a lack of faith, I will use this power for my lord-”

Looking at Anansi holding Kleion’s hand, Ruben let out a voice as if dissatisfied.

“Hey~ I was the one who told you to reincarnate, you spider. You were growling so much, but once you mixed bodies, you became completely female. You don’t know the grace.”

“Ah. You were there. Yes, of course, I am grateful. Lord Ruben. To be exact, it’s to the girl Sasha, in whom that Lord Ruben dwells. I would like to talk to her more. When will you switch with her?”

Seeing the veins popping out on Ruben’s forehead, Kleion sighed and stood between Anansi and Ruben.

It would be better if they didn’t see each other, it would prevent unnecessary arguments now.

“So, Anansi. Can you tell me why you were performing such a ritual on the sacred object?”

“Yes…. Of course. That abominable human who deceived me. No, I think I know her identity now. According to the magic power and knowledge I received from my lord, she is a human with the blood of `demons` flowing through her. A `half-human, half-demon`.”

When Anansi’s eyes sharpened, Kleion nodded as if he had expected it.

Currently, when something bad happens near the royal capital, if you just point at her, she will be revealed as the mastermind.

“Is Ishtar or something trying to create a demon god with the power of Utu – no, the spider’s sacred object?”

Kleion thought for a moment at Ruben’s words, then shook his head.

“Of course, if it succeeded, it would have caused great damage by recklessly contaminating the forest, but the goal of that guy is to summon the Demiurge. Could there be some other purpose?”

Kleion muttered like that and looked around.

It is said that some of the holy magic power spread around and purified some of it when Arachne transformed into Anansi, but if you go a little outside, the underground would still be contaminated with black magic power.

The black magic power will slowly spread through the ley lines that run through the entire forest.

Fortunately, it is possible to purify it with Anansi’s power-

“…Ley lines.”

Kleion paused at the keyword that came to mind while organizing his thoughts.

The Forest of Virtue is a place where huge ley lines flow. These ley lines start from further west of the continent and lead to the royal capital.

In other words, this place is equivalent to the middle reaches of a river, and it is a place where magic power flows to the downstream royal capital.

If the ley lines in such a place are contaminated with black magic power-

“…Was that the purpose?”

“Did you notice something?”

When Ruben asked that after confirming that Kleion’s eyes were shining, Kleion nodded.

“First, let’s go back. If we’re late today, Kuon might cry. And Anansi-”

Kleion looks at Anansi. It was considered dangerous to leave her alone, thinking that Ishtar, who had confirmed that the situation had changed, might come back to this place again.

Anansi also received Kleion’s gaze and checked her body here and there for a while, then gave a playful smile.

“Hehe. In this form, there won’t be any problem even if I enter the place where humans live, right?”

001

“So, you brought her. Again.”

It was early evening when Kleion returned to the mansion. Lyla, towards Kleion, who came back with a woman she had never seen before, had a `again` expression, and Kuon received the guest, talking about `do I have to prepare for one more person` and similar things.

When he explained the whole story, Lyla sighed deeply, and Kuon was interested in the fact that she was a new god, so she glanced at Anansi so as not to be rude.

“Again… Don’t talk as if I usually pick up strange things.”

“You brought something strange enough last time. A demon’s head that is alive and even talks.”

Kleion was speechless at Lyla’s accurate remark, but Anansi smiled at the conversation between the two.

“It’s okay, magician. I’m not a strange existence. I’m just a `virtuous wife goddess` who is ready to use her power for my lord. Yes. Starting with Kleion-nim’s overall life, washing, doing the dishes, guarding, and even serving him at night. You can leave everything to me.”

“Eh!?”

“Kuon is shocked that even the housework will be taken away! It’s okay Kuon. I’ll kick this spider out…!”

At Lyla’s encouragement, not encouragement, Kuon nodded her head with energy, saying `U, uh…!`.

Kleion sighed while listening to the story of the three.

“More than that, I have something important to talk about, so I hope you listen. I think I know how Ishtar is spreading black magic power in this city.”

“Um… So, through the ley lines, right?”

When Sasha answered Kleion’s words, Kleion nodded.

“Yeah, that’s right. But, no matter how much black magic power an individual injects into a huge ley line, it’s like dropping ink into the sea. In addition, it’s still strange that the black magic power flowing along the ley lines continues to gather in this city.”

Lyla also nodded at Kleion’s words and opened her mouth.

“As Kleion said. The ley lines of the royal capital are more enormous than you can imagine. Even if you summon demons and put in a lot of effort in various ways, it is impossible to contaminate this entire ley line in a common sense.”

“…That’s right. Lyla. This royal capital is a city built at the intersection of four ley lines, right?”

When Kleion asked Lyla, Lyla nodded again and answered.

“That’s right. There is also an attribute to the magic power flowing in the ley lines. In magic science, the place where the ley lines with the magic power of `fire`, `water`, `earth`, and `wind`, which are elemental magic powers existing in nature, all intersect is called the `aggregate ley line` [Elemental Cross]. The magic power becomes stronger through the compatibility and opposition of attributes, and it talks about a propitious site where the various beneficial effects brought about by the magic power can develop the city more quickly. Historically, many national capitals were built on top of aggregate ley lines. The academy and the capital of the old empire were also such places.”

Kuon answered `I see~` as if she had learned it for the first time at Lyla’s explanation.

“The Forest of Virtue we visited today was a place where a `earth` attribute ley line flows. She tricked Anansi into placing a contaminated sacred object there, and contaminated the earth vein to send black magic power to the royal capital.”

“…There is enough possibility. As I said earlier, aggregate ley lines have the effect of amplifying magic power…. If you mix black magic power into your ley lines and flow it into this royal capital, you can do things like showing nightmares to the entire city even with a small amount of magic power. In addition, it is mixed with natural elements and hidden, so it will not be detected by the clergy.”

Lyla seemed to have quickly finished calculating in her head, tapping the table with one hand and resting her chin with the other.

“Then…. Does that mean we need to purify the remaining three places?”

When Kuon asked that, Kleion also nodded.

“Yeah. And, there must be traces of Ishtar left in those places, so it will be necessary to find her base.”

“…I see. Then, leave the purification to me. Kleion.”

“…Kuon?”

Kleion tilted his head when Kuon spoke with a confident expression, clenching her fists in both hands.

Of course, she doesn’t refuse if it’s something she can do for people in need and as a clergyman, but she was strangely motivated.

“Purification is my specialty! I’ll go with Kleion to the next three places and make sure they become clean ley lines!”

“…That’s reliable. Actually, I was worried about whether I should tell the Saint’s Blessing Order.”

If he tells the Order, they will definitely take some action. However, that would expose to the Order the existence of demons who have sneaked into this city and the Saint Princess who fights against them.

If that happens, the Order will also move to figure out the identity of the Saint Princess – that is, Amelia, who is a Saint Warrior who is not under their control.

…For Amelia’s sake, she had to avoid having her identity revealed.

Kleion smiled at Kuon and nodded, and Kuon also smiled shyly and strengthened her motivation.

“If so. Does that mean I’ll be doing `sacred` work with the clergyman outside and with me inside? Master?”

Anansi came in without showing any gaps, but Kleion turned to look at such Anansi.

[Are you really going to keep her here?]

Lyla’s worried telepathy echoed in Kleion’s head.

[No…. Don’t worry, I have an idea.]

“Anansi. Actually, there’s something I want you to help me with.”

Kleion grabs Anansi’s hand and talks with a serious face while looking into her eyes.

“! What is it, Master! If there’s anything I can help you with, please tell me!”

“Actually-”

002

“That’s how it is. This is the new nun, `Anansi`-yang, who will help you with the introduction of the sponsor here, `Aurelia`-nim.”

A kind-looking old nun introduces a beautiful woman wearing a white nun’s habit that is quite different from theirs.

Her hair is brown with purple highlights, but her atmosphere is reverent and you can feel a sacred aura, even when compared to other nuns.

Many feminized victims are talking in a young lady’s tone that adventurers, who are originally only a piece of paper away from outlaws, would never do, such as `The new nun is cute~` `It feels like both my body and mind are warming up~` at the warm energy they feel from her.

Only one person, Eustace, felt a familiar energy from her and shuddered.

“…Is she Kleion’s woman…?”

When she muttered that without realizing it, Anansi opened her eyes wide and looked towards where Eustace was.

“Did I hear my lord’s name just now…. Is it you?”

“…Hiek.”

Feeling a fear that made her want to hiccup, Eustace screamed.