Ch.325325. Findenai and the Letter

It couldn’t be a more tiresome story.

Fate, endings, predetermined sequences.

While I pity those who are swayed by such things, don’t those who have lived solely for these purposes deserve some compassion too?

Bellas, god of festivals and joy, continued his unusually serious contemplation.

He drank alcohol and slept with women. Occasionally, the gods would get intoxicated on divine power and use it like a drug.

There was no particular reason.

He just enjoyed fun things, so as he sought ways to live pleasantly, he came to enjoy such activities.

At some point, he became known as the god of festivals and joy.

The divine realm.

The place where gods reside.

Not an afterlife for the dead as humans describe it, but truly a place where gods dwell and live.

Gods had similarities to the souls of the dead.

They had bodies but didn’t need to eat or excrete. Even if their hands or legs were severed, they could recreate them with mana.

They didn’t perform actions essential to physical bodies, and they transformed the impossible into the possible.

That’s why they were called gods.

Today, these gods had gathered in one place to hold another meeting.

“The end of the story we’ve been waiting for is approaching.”

Raizer, god of lightning and clouds, had perished, and Robelisk, god of giants, had taken his place.

At his words, the other gods wore determined expressions unlike their usual demeanor.

Some gods weren’t on good terms, and many were outright enemies.

But just for now.

Everyone was attending with one heart and mind.

For freedom.

The long, long wait.

The fate that should have unfolded over five years had been greatly distorted.

Five years had been shortened to two, and the hero’s destiny had passed from Aria Rius to a man named Deus Verdi.

“But there’s still a problem.”

Bellas raised his hand slightly as he spoke. Many gods turned their attention to him, and honestly, Bellas enjoyed it.

“There are still dormant souls remaining on the continent, right? Moreover, a woman called the Dark Spiritmaster has taken on Luanes’s role. She is absolutely an ally of Deus Verdi.”

The boundary between life and death.

That crossroads had not yet been resolved.

Through Luanes and Dante, souls were supposed to meet one of two outcomes.

Either annihilation or the destruction of the continent.

But now, it was neither.

The souls were currently sleeping inside Deus Verdi.

Strictly speaking.

The quest that needed to be completed before reaching the ending remained unfinished.

“Nevertheless, fate has begun to progress.”

Robelisk clenched his fist tightly as he answered Bellas’s question.

Twisted and distorted, it was now somewhat ambiguous to even call it fate.

Anyway, the final story had begun.

There was only one outcome.

Either Deus Verdi commits suicide or dies at the hands of the gathered armies from various countries.

No other result was possible.

The gods couldn’t accept this.

“In my opinion.”

The one who raised her hand then was Justia, goddess of justice. She was the goddess who received the faith of the current Saintess, Lucia.

“It seems that fate intends to end the two remaining stories simultaneously.”

She began to slowly and calmly pour out the thoughts she had been considering.

* * *

“You’re asking the obvious.”

[Pardon?]

Sitting in the chair in my research room at the academy, I rest my hand on the armrest and prop my chin.

The Dark Spiritmaster tilted her head at my response.

[If I’ve taken Luanes’s place as an inevitable existence, doesn’t that mean I’m in a position to fight against you?]

[You said that’s how the story structure works first.]

Stella nods in agreement. But I thought what they were saying was too obvious.

“It doesn’t matter because two stories are progressing simultaneously.”

[Pardon?]

[That means…]

“My death will likely be the bombardment of souls.”

I suspected that the souls sleeping within me would burst out the moment I died.

[So if you die, doesn’t that mean the continent will be destroyed?]

“Well, something like that.”

[No, what do you mean by ‘something like that’?]

Because last time…

“Master!”

As I was about to explain to the Dark Spiritmaster and Stella, a boisterous voice from the corridor interrupted our conversation.

She had returned after going to Norsweden with Deia while I was imprisoned.

I knew the area around the academy was surrounded by the city guard, yet she managed to break through.

Clank!

Findenai opens the door and rushes straight toward me.

Wham!

“Ugh!”

I involuntarily exhaled at the sudden weight. Findenai sat on my lap and hugged me tightly.

Not just the weight, but some intense energy pushed against my chest and the souls within me.

Something had changed.

Yet, it felt familiar.

That was the only way I could describe it.

“Kiya! This is it. This is master’s scent. The only drug permitted by the state.”

Findenai buried her nose in my neck and sniffed. I didn’t even try to push her away.

After all, I could never overpower Findenai with strength alone.

I just waited for it to pass.

“How was prison? Did you miss me?”

[This needs to be regulated sometime. Deus is too soft on Findenai.]

[…Deus.]

The two souls immediately complained, seemingly annoyed that our conversation had been interrupted.

Since Findenai couldn’t hear them anyway, they grumbled openly.

“What can I do? Master obviously prefers me, fresh and firm and alive. What good are those big red things if there’s no pleasure in touching them?”

[…Huh?]

[What?]

“…?”

I found myself staring at Findenai. Thanks to her sitting on top of me, I could see her face directly.

She licked her lips and smacked them.

I pushed her forehead away with one hand and asked.

“Just now…”

“Oh, playing hard to get, seriously!”

“Don’t change the subject. Did you just hear what the Dark Spiritmaster said?”

I asked because it sounded like she had responded, and Findenai answered as if it was nothing.

“Yeah, I can see them too now. Stella and the Dark Spiritmaster. Thinking about how they clung to you because others couldn’t see them makes my guts twist.”

[Ah, no… how?]

[Something has definitely changed about her.]

Stella seemed to notice the change in Findenai. I too had been bothered by something about her since we first met.

“Did you just cling to those things in prison too? You didn’t actually do it with a soul, did you?”

[Wow, so vulgar.]

“Your red thing is the most vulgar thing in the world.”

[Deuuus! Hit her for me!]

The Dark Spiritmaster immediately whined and clung to me. Sorry, but right now she was just being noisy.

I tried to push Findenai away to properly ask what had happened, but she immediately snuggled back and wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Ah, so warm. How is it? Much better than those dead women, right?”

[Wow, look how harsh her words are!]

“Shut up! If you’re dead, you should rest in peace instead of shaking your breasts at another woman’s man!”

[I’m not your man?! And I never shook them!]

“That’s the problem! They shake even when you don’t shake them!”

It suddenly hit me that Findenai being able to see souls might not be as good as I thought.

Compared to before when they couldn’t see or talk to each other despite being in the same space.

Now they could see everything each other was doing.

As I was trying to figure out how Findenai had gained the ability to see souls…

“Hnngh?!”

A sudden moan.

Findenai’s face turned bright red, her waist stiffened, and she fell into my arms.

[Oh my?]

Stella, who was behind Findenai, stepped back in surprise at whatever she had done.

Findenai hurriedly pulled away from me as if her weakness had been exposed.

She glared at Stella once, then answered through gritted teeth.

“Never touch that again.”

[I didn’t mean to. But why is that there?]

“…It’s my own effort.”

At Findenai’s answer, Stella gasped to herself and nodded. She even smiled faintly and clasped her hands together.

[You’ve become a great being too.]

“It’s not that impressive.”

Findenai sighed and glanced at me. She scratched the back of her head vigorously, then turned around and headed outside.

“As a maid who can’t properly fulfill her maid duties, I should at least serve as a guard.”

[Are you feeling alright?]

“I’ll be fine after smoking a cigarette. Master, Deia left a letter on the desk for you to read.”

Indeed, there was an envelope placed on the desk.

But more than that, I was intrigued by the strange feeling I got from the conversation between Stella and Findenai, so I kept watching Findenai as she left.

And then I saw the answer with my own eyes.

“…!”

A tail slightly protruding above her buttocks.

White fur with black markings.

A tiger’s tail.

“No way!”

I tried to call out to Findenai, but the door had already closed and she had gone outside.

I unconsciously stood up to follow her, but Stella blocked my way and put a finger to her lips.

[Shh. It’s a choice she made to ‘protect’ you. Please respect that.]

“But…”

[The mercenary captain Ranhart did something similar, didn’t he? Findenai will surely do much better than him.]

“…”

In the end, I had no choice but to sit back down at Stella’s words.

There must have been much pain and suffering, but Findenai had endured it all to get here.

With a bitter taste on my tongue, I opened the letter from Deia.

The content was simple.

She would remove me from the family register.

Also, Darius would lead an army to hunt me down to prove the Verdi family’s loyalty.

Sorry, but even if it meant cutting off me, the second child…

She would protect the family.

– You said it yourself. The best thing about traveling was having a place to return to.

Anytime.

– I’ll be waiting.

Telling me to come back.

That was the extent of it.

And what I desired most.