Ch.115115. What is Happiness (1)

“Th-this is different from what we agreed on.”

“What’s different?”

The gaze came from much lower than my position, from below.

Looking down, I saw a small puppy form, humiliatingly wagging its tail.

“It suits you well.”

“I-I didn’t help you for this kind of future…!”

“Then what future did you want? One where you’re sealed away?”

“…!”

When I spoke half-jokingly and half-seriously, the tail that had been wagging furiously in anger paused.

A puppy.

The Moon That Swallowed Dreams had become a puppy.

It was quite fitting. Not just empty words, but truly.

At first, I considered forcing a divine manifestation, but at this point, divine manifestation is merely an accessory.

Other constellations are already using divine manifestations and living just fine, so I needed something more.

Like the puppy in front of me now.

A divine vessel that could inflict tremendous psychological damage to a constellation just by existing.

“Woof woof!”

The Moon That Swallowed Dreams barked pitifully.

I suppressed a laugh that almost escaped, then picked up the puppy with my hand.

“P-put me down!”

“Now listen to what I have to say.”

“More! More nonsense!”

“Even if you refuse to live here, do you think you could survive outside?”

All the Past Remnants have been sealed.

All except the constellation right in front of me.

We also succeeded in finding their source of funding and power connection with the help of the Source of the World.

So how is this “thing” in front of me, with no backing or connections, still breathing?

The answer was simple.

I just needed to give it a tiny bit of my divine power, just an insect’s worth.

“Or don’t. I gave you a chance, and you’re the one kicking it away.”

“I… I! At least like the other constellations…”

“Hey now, that wouldn’t be fair.”

“Th-those guys also tried to attack you just like me!”

At those words, the Emissary of the Sun and other constellations flinched.

“Where do you get the nerve to glare? Want a muzzle too?”

“Eep!”

Looking at it now, it seems to be adapting quite well.

It seems to suit its nature.

Playful and a bit temperamental.

I think I chose the divine vessel very well.

“C-cute.”

The Black Sun unconsciously expressed her simple impression.

“What! What’s cute! How dare you, how dare you look at me and…!”

“Gross. Don’t touch it.”

“….?!”

The Drea… no, the puppy seemed more hurt by my last comment than by the Black Sun’s reaction.

“Hey.”

“…”

“If you don’t like it, quit. I can just end our contract and say bye-bye.”

“N-no.”

“Or would you rather be sealed like the others? That works too. Honestly, it’s easier for me. I wouldn’t have to worry about you.”

The others must be wailing in the prison of eons by now.

When designing the sealing prison, the Source of the World installed such a mechanism.

Increasing the density of time, making 1 minute feel like 100 hours.

The so-called prison of time.

They will live such a life forever, constantly suffering and twisting.

That was the maximum punishment I could inflict on them.

“So, want to go back there?”

“…No.”

“Then what do you want?”

Whine…

The puppy, looking at me head-on with a defeated expression, finally managed to utter one sentence.

“For now, I’ll try to live.”

“Good boy. Even rolling in dog poop is better than the afterlife.”

Good thinking.

I put down the “puppy” who had made up its mind and headed toward where our people were.

“Is everything going well?”

“Yes! Things are flowing smoothly.”

“Good.”

They’ve been working hard to normalize the world.

The Father God’s church has tremendous influence, but the land is equally vast.

With just our church’s scale, we couldn’t fully cover this wide continent.

That’s why we had to slowly borrow the power of other churches.

Contrary to my expectations, the world was stabilizing much faster than anticipated.

It’s hard to imagine this is the same world that nearly faced destruction just a few months ago—such resilience.

Soaring prices have settled, and international politics have calmed.

Churches that had been preaching about the end times gradually quieted down as we applied pressure.

“…Is it time?”

My final vacation.

It seemed like the time had come to enjoy the romance I couldn’t achieve in Dianon until now.

“…What is?”

“Nothing.”

I said that while looking at the Black Sun.

She too had worked hard all this time.

It’s funny for me to say, but it must not have been easy dealing with my hysteria.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Back then, I was in a phase where I would get upset and despise constellations.

There was even an incident where our devout daughter almost got assassinated by her church.

‘I forgive your sins.’

Now, with this broad mind, I felt confident enough to absolve the Black Sun.

“So, what do we do now?”

“Good question.”

“…?”

I hadn’t thought about it even after coming this far.

I had vaguely hoped for an “end,” but hadn’t made specific plans.

Therefore—

“We’ll have to figure that out from now on.”

“Ah…”

“Let’s have some fun now.”

There’s so much we couldn’t do because of the invasion of other constellations and those Past Remnants.

The most basic of those was vacation.

I wanted to walk with my own feet on real vacation spots in this world, not fake themes in a fake world.

That would help me forget memories of the real world.

“That’s it for now.”

I announced that everything was over and left my seat for a while.

#

Time continued to flow.

The world successfully overcame the signs of destruction and achieved perfect victory in the holy war.

At the forefront was the name of the Father God.

The absolute being who always watched over them and protected them from various evil gods.

By now, no one dared to deny the existence of the absolute being.

The majesty shown in the holy war was so great that people now worshipped him as the complete god of Dianon.

“This is the right truth.”

Lisia, feeling deep faith from the bottom of her heart, headed to the prayer room today as well.

“…Why don’t you rest today?”

“I cannot neglect prayer even for a day.”

It was truly ridiculous to say such things while wrapped in bandages from head to toe.

Would the Father God really want to demand unnecessary sacrifice from his followers?

In Belladis’s opinion, not at all.

He preferred inherent beauty itself.

He never forced pain upon his followers.

“…Lisia. If you push yourself too hard, the Lord will worry.”

“Please don’t worry about me. I’m really fine.”

“No, people will think I’m not a special priest. It looks bad!”

Lisia tended to be stubborn about strange things.

Especially when the subject was doctrine spread by the absolute Father God, she would not yield.

Even among the tough special priests, she was exceptionally so in that regard.

How severe must it be?

“I agree with that statement too, Lisia.”

At the additional voice, the two devotees’ heads turned automatically.

Kalisa.

A woman with dark blue hair was looking at them with warm eyes, wearing a mysterious smile.

“Priest Kalisa.”

“The Father God doesn’t demand sacrifice from his followers.”

“This isn’t sacrifice.”

“Then what is it?”

“Devotion.”

“Oh, come on.”

When Lisia conveyed her unwavering intention, Belladis reacted as if exasperated.

Who would want to appear unlikable on purpose?

The devotees present here were all characters thirsting for the Father God’s attention.

Although they normally received more attention than others, human greed knows no bounds.

Rather, knowing the fullness of that love, they sought to move forward for the sweet fruit.

“I’ll be going.”

“I, I…!”

Watching Lisia head to the prayer room in her battered state, the two devotees grimaced and gave up.

“I’m worried she might really get seriously injured.”

“Hehe. It’s hard to get more injured than she already is.”

Lisia is a patient.

A patient who worked at the very forefront.

Yet she never missed a day of prayer.

Praying brings the Father God’s attention.

And when he sees her injured state, the Father God always bestows blessings that can heal her body.

If this isn’t perpetual motion, what is?

“Father God.”

So today too—

Lisia knelt in the middle of the chapel, filled with sacred energy, and called out one name.

“…Lisia.”

“….!”

And the man who couldn’t bear to watch her finally appeared in the chapel.

“I behold the most noble and sacred god, the absolute being in the world.”

“I told you to recover in the hospital room.”

“I could give my life to meet you.”

“No, don’t give it.”

“Please take me into your embrace.”

Ron sometimes found it difficult to adapt to the strangely proactive behavior of his follower since that day.

But.

Looking at those expectant eyes with red hair.

It was indeed his favorite devout daughter, so he found himself accepting her childish whims without realizing it.

“You’ll really rest tomorrow?”

“I swear.”

Since she swore, she would truly rest tomorrow.

Lisia wasn’t a little devil who would say one thing and do another.

“…Sigh.”

Welcoming the most peaceful space of all.

The absolute being decided to do his best to live for the well-being of his followers today as well.