Ch.236Chapter 236 – Little Goddess (3)

Chris prayed.

She began with the suffering of her companions.

After barely overcoming those pains, now the suffering of people she didn’t know came upon her.

And as this happened, she endured with empathy for the causes of that pain.

‘I don’t want to live.’

She prayed while receiving the pain of a holy knight who had lost his wife and daughter, lost his world, and abandoned everything he had in despair.

‘I want to run away.’

She prayed while receiving the pain of someone who, unable to endure discrimination and persecution, had gone mad with a talent they’d stumbled upon by chance.

And then.

‘…I don’t want to leave.’

She prayed while feeling the pain of a mother who ultimately had to abandon her child for that child’s sake.

And each time she offered her prayers, Chris could vaguely sense where these pains originated.

‘These are the pains of people connected to me.’

Except for her companions, she didn’t know whose suffering it was.

It might be the pain of someone she had only seen from afar.

It could be a neighbor.

It might even be an enemy.

Perhaps it was the suffering of those like her family.

What was certain was that somehow she accepted and endured the pain of those connected to her.

Whenever her posture threatened to collapse, she gritted her teeth.

When she wanted to run away, she tensed the muscles in her arms.

Shedding tears at the overwhelming sadness.

Accepting the pain, understanding it.

Somehow enduring and persevering.

‘Everyone is hanging in there, so I must too.’

The owners of the pains she first felt.

The faces of those who were with her now came to mind.

Especially for one face that stood out among them, she had to overcome this.

So she continued to grit her teeth, endure, and pray.

And just as she felt a hand rest on her shoulder, Chris tensed her body to prepare for the next wave of pain.

“That’s enough now.”

A familiar voice reached her ears.

Chris slightly opened her eyes and turned to look at the hand on her shoulder.

And there was someone she hadn’t seen in a while.

“Kara.”

It wasn’t the other Kara she had seen outside.

The one who had said she would watch over her from within was standing beside her.

“We meet again.”

For a while, Chris stared blankly at Kara.

Her head felt a bit foggy, perhaps from continuously enduring the pain.

She thought she might have continued to stare blankly if not for the wind blowing around her and the chirping of birds, which strangely weren’t disturbing sounds.

After staring at Kara for a long time, Chris finally came to her senses and said with a quiet smile:

“It’s been a while.”

“Indeed it has.”

Exchanging brief greetings with Kara, Chris opened her eyes and looked around.

“Where is this place?”

She had definitely been in a white room at first.

But now her surroundings were filled with forests and buildings.

Some places had luxurious mansions, some had palaces, and others had huts.

And in some places, she could see strange, half-collapsed and broken black stone structures.

Various other buildings were jumbled together, and upon closer inspection, even the birds were of all different kinds.

And right near her was something like a black box filled with black glass.

Unconsciously touching it and marveling at the unfamiliar material, Chris quietly asked:

“You’re wondering where this is, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Chris quietly affirmed and said:

“I’ve never seen such a jumbled place before.”

“…It’s like this because it hasn’t been organized yet.”

Kara went to the black box with a quiet smile.

And when she touched a certain part, suddenly images began to appear on the black glass.

“Oh?”

Looking inside, she saw familiar scenes playing out.

Kay training, Sera making medicine, and herself talking with other people…

‘These are my memories.’

As this thought occurred to her and she looked at Kara,

Chris realized the identity of this space.

“Could this be my…”

“Yes, just as you think.”

Kara said with a smile:

“This is your mental landscape.”

After Kara’s words,

Chris looked around with slightly astonished eyes.

The scenery was completely different.

Different from the place where her memories had been floating around.

‘No, it is the same place.’

Looking closely, Chris’s memories were appearing over various objects.

Some on windows, some in book illustrations.

Models that seemed to be made by magic, and even the black box in front of her now.

“It wasn’t like this before…”

Chris unconsciously muttered, as it had been a rather empty place before, but not this jumbled.

“Why has this place changed like this?”

“I could answer that, but…”

Kara raised her hand to point upward.

“It would be better to see that person first.”

“That person?”

Chris turned her eyes following Kara’s finger.

And she saw.

“…Lady Evgenia.”

She uttered the name as soon as she saw her.

And before Chris’s eyes:

There was a giant woman with a jewel embedded in her forehead.

And having spoken her name, Chris unconsciously widened her eyes slightly.

‘…How did I know her name?’

Naturally, she had no such acquaintance.

If she had such an acquaintance…

‘Well, nothing would have changed anyway.’

In any case, during her poor church life, she never had the opportunity to meet someone like that.

Of course, she hadn’t met anyone like that even after she started traveling with Kay.

Someone she had never seen before.

Yet she knew the other’s name.

She knew that this person was the deity she had served.

And there was one more strange thing.

‘…This feels familiar.’

Was it because the power she used was this deity’s holy power?

‘No, that’s not it.’

She clearly knew this energy.

This comfortable and familiar energy, for some reason.

It was something she hadn’t noticed until now.

“That’s unexpected.”

“Pardon?”

“I thought you would ask, ‘Why is Lady Evgenia here?’ That’s the impression I got from you.”

Kara said with a smile.

And Chris quietly nodded at Kara’s words and said:

“Why is Lady Evgenia here?”

“…You didn’t need to repeat it verbatim.”

Looking slightly exasperated, Kara smiled quietly and said:

“…I’ll quietly explain how Lady Evgenia, or more precisely, her will, came to permeate this place.”

Kara sat down on a chair that suddenly appeared from somewhere.

The chair had soft cushions supporting the back, buttocks, and head, and for some reason had wheels attached.

At least, it was a chair Chris had never seen before.

“Do you remember the content of the trial you received this time?”

“…Yes.”

To accept the pain and sorrow of various people into her body, to endure and pray.

That was the content of this trial.

“That trial wasn’t simply to test you. It was a test to strengthen your mental power by making you accept pain, while simultaneously allowing you to receive the mental images of various people.”

“…Mental images?”

“Yes, mental images.”

Kara smiled slightly as she spoke.

“It’s nothing too grand. Simply vague memories that come to mind, or landscapes of the heart… just things like that.”

“So because I accepted those, this place has become like this.”

Because she had accepted the mental images of various people, landscapes she didn’t know appeared and mixed in here.

That was the identity of this jumbled space.

Kara nodded and said:

“Your mental landscape has accepted the mental images of various people. Because you accepted their pain, endured it… and empathized with it.”

“And,” Kara spread her hands wide.

“And although you don’t know it, your mental landscape is now greatly expanded. Expanded enough to accept the hearts of countless people.”

“Why would I need to do that?”

In response to Chris’s question, Kara folded her arms and pointed to Evgenia.

“To contain the will of a deity within you.”

“…Why?”

“It’s simple.”

Kara pointed at Chris and said:

“To make you the deity who will succeed Evgenia.”

At Kara’s words, Chris’s eyes widened once more.

“…A deity?”

“Yes. A deity.”

Kara looked at Evgenia.

“However, it hasn’t begun yet. If it’s now, you can still turn back.”

Kara looked at Chris and said:

“If it’s now, you can still put everything down.”

Kara spoke quietly.

“Conversely, if you follow the will of the deity and go beyond this…”

“Will it become more difficult from now on?”

Kara quietly nodded.

“You might lose your life, or you might lose something precious.”

“Why?”

“The moment you become a deity.”

Kara looked sharply at Chris.

“You will become a target for other deities.”

“……”

“So choose carefully.”

Kara opened her mouth with wide eyes.

“Which path will you choose?”

Chris lowered her head.

She pondered.

And then.

After hearing her few words, Kara smiled gently.

+

“What the hell is this…?”

The sealed door opened, and light filled the surroundings for a moment.

And as vision returned, a massive object was placed in front of the open door.

“…It’s a giant egg.”

[Is that an egg, my friend?]

“Shut up, fake dwarf.”

Rubrum glared at Dvel with genuine anger.

And I looked at Rubrum with a glare and asked:

“What is this?”

Looking at Rubrum with killing intent, I said:

“Where did Chris go?”

“She is inside that. And you need not ask me.”

Rubrum quietly said:

“Dragon magic flows within you. Focus and send your magic toward the egg. Sense the life within.”

While glaring at Rubrum, I quietly concentrated and controlled the flow of my magic.

However, perhaps due to severe magic consumption after the fierce battle, it wasn’t working well.

Just as I was about to look at Beatrice, Rubrum’s voice reached me.

“Concentrate.”

Rubrum, who was suddenly standing behind me with folded arms, quietly said:

“You are no different from a dragon, young dragon child.”

Rubrum spoke with slight irritation:

“Gather your power. Gather and amplify it. Handling vast amounts of magic freely is a characteristic of dragons. There’s no reason you, a dragon, cannot handle it.”

“……”

“Concentrate.”

At Rubrum’s words, I quietly focused my mind and gathered my magic in one place.

I condensed and gathered the small amount of magic to its limit.

And at a certain level:

The magic began to surge as if it would explode at any moment.

‘…It’s like a pressure cooker.’

The magic kept trying to explode, as if it had been compressed too much in a small space.

With a force much stronger than its original amount, it kept trying to explode.

I forcibly held it back.

And only then did I understand Rubrum’s words.

‘Gather and gather, condense, and amplify.’

Through continued compression, the magic amplified its power as if exploding.

And I released the magic with the explosive power I wanted.

The magic, now stronger than before, flew toward the egg.

And I felt it.

“…She’s alive.”

Like someone sleeping, a slow heartbeat.

And from within, the sound of regular breathing.

Chris was sleeping inside that egg.

And having realized the same thing, Beatrice frowned and said:

“She seems to be alive at least…”

Beatrice seemed somewhat uncertain.

Apparently, she could detect less information than I could.

“She’s alive. I’m certain.”

“That’s a relief…”

Sera exhaled deeply with relief and stepped back.

And Ive was gently rubbing her back as if to calm her.

But the problem wasn’t solved yet.

“What exactly is this state?”

“Didn’t I tell you? The purpose of this seal is to create a deity.”

Rubrum looked down at the egg and said:

“I don’t know when, but I can say with certainty.”

Rubrum looked at me and said:

“When this egg breaks, a deity will be born.”

As if believing it would happen, Rubrum spoke with conviction.

And Rubrum’s hand pointed to the seal.

“…Evgenia hid something nice.”

“What?”

Rubrum didn’t answer.

Instead, as if in response, he used magic to take something out from inside.

Then he threw it toward me and said:

“Take it. I have no need for it.”

After saying that, Rubrum turned around.

In that state, he said:

“I will allow you to stay freely in the lair and leave freely until your companion emerges from the egg, until you are prepared, young dragon.”

As if there was nothing more to say,

Rubrum entered the lava.

“…His form of address has changed. Has he acknowledged Kay?”

“I don’t know.”

I answered Ive’s quiet mutter as we watched Rubrum leave.

Still, judging by that attitude, it seemed we wouldn’t have to see Rubrum again today at least.

And Ive looked at me and asked:

“By the way, Kay, what is that?”

“I’m not sure?”

What Rubrum had handed over was something like an ingot.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the knowledge to immediately identify what kind of metal it was.

‘They say take medicine to a pharmacist.’

Then I should ask an alchemist about an unknown object.

“Sera, do you know what this is?”

When I asked Sera, she carefully took the ingot and touched it.

“…It seems to be some kind of alloy…”

But she didn’t seem to know what it was, as Sera tilted her head slightly.

Just as I thought her eyes were beginning to burn with interest at seeing something new, someone suddenly snatched the ingot from her hand.

[I didn’t expect this would still exist.]

“Do you know what it is?”

[Of course I do. …Did she leave it hoping her successor would put it to good use?]

Dvel showed the ingot to all of us as if to say ‘look carefully’ and said:

[This is called Harmony Steel.]

As if seeing it after a long time, Dvel continued to fiddle with the ingot.

[It has many uses. If you add something to it, it develops unique properties accordingly.]

Apparently finding this explanation difficult to understand, Sera tilted her head slightly.

And quietly asked:

“What was it typically used for?”

[The hero’s equipment.]

And Dvel pointed to my waist and said:

[And it was often used in weapons like those.]

Everyone’s gaze followed Dvel’s finger.

Dvel’s finger was pointing directly at the holy relic I was carrying.