Michel 1

The peaceful Heavenly Realm, the Temple of Light.

I was quietly sipping tea there.

It was a day when the sea of clouds visible through the window looked more beautiful than usual.

“Soon, Seraphina and Beatrice will meet Lycoris…”

The figures of Seraphina and Beatrice heading to the Shia Kalt Great Labyrinth were as clear as the palm of my hand.

It would be a very important meeting.

My heart raced with excitement as I took another sip of tea.

Suddenly, the day I first met Lycoris came to mind.

A faint prayer had reached me.

It was a small seed with a will, frozen in the ground, praying for water!

“Ugh… It was so cute…!”

I wanted to give it water right away, but the selection window didn’t appear…

I had to watch it suffer pitifully for months.

“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I couldn’t use the system as I wanted…!”

Then, finally!

After months, the selection window appeared, and there was an option to move the corpse of a dead Frost Drake next to the seed!

I quickly chose it.

“And so, our cute seed grew…!”

But what the…!

As it grew, it began to believe I was the God of Blood and Slaughter!

“No! I like peace! I hate blood and slaughter! …But it was really pretty when it bloomed.”

A smile spread across my face.

My little seed had grown into such a beautiful flower.

“But that stupid Frostia…!”

She suddenly appeared, took my flower, and locked it in the freezer for three years!

Who puts flowers in a freezer, anyway?

“To make matters worse, she even named it Lycoris… Ugh!”

I had my eye on that child first, but Frostia took it and now Lycoris is head over heels for her!

“Ugh! Just thinking about it makes me angry!”

I jumped up, then sat back down.

Meanwhile, when Lycoris created a slaughter scene in the mountains, I was really surprised.

But she also saved a small village!

“So I was glad! I even gave her the «Radiance» skill through the selection window…”

A sigh escaped me.

But this child thinks she got it because of her slaughter festival…

“Moreover, the Red Moon is a skill she obtained herself, but why does she keep calling me the God of Blood and Slaughter…!”

“Haa… Maybe I’ll have more tea.”

I poured more tea, but let out another sigh.

“If only I could tell her directly…!”

Oh well.

“All of this is because of that incident 5,000 years ago!”

I sipped the tea and recalled the distant past.

A suspicious god appeared!

A god from another world who came to spy on our world, claiming to be Nirrath, the God of Copies!

What a name… It’s hard to pronounce…

So I said to him…

“Oh, right! I told him, ‘Why are you spying on our world?'”

He replied that he liked this world and wanted to copy everything, including our powers!

Can you believe it? Stealing another world?

At the time, all the gods, both good and evil, joined forces to defeat him.

To be honest, I was just in charge of healing from behind…

The gods who fought upfront were truly amazing.

But that copying god unleashed a final curse…

As a result, the gods could no longer directly intervene in the human world…

“It was really too much! I wanted to go to the human world for a festival!”

Now, I can only intervene through this system ability.

And it only appears when it wants, with the options I don’t even want!

Ding!

“Ahh! You scared me!”

A translucent selection window appeared with a strange sound.

I almost spilled my tea.

Even after 5,000 years, I still can’t get used to this sound!

The children have all met!

“Good…!”

『 1. Teach Lycoris the 「Radiance」 skill. (Consumes 2,000 divine power)

2. Grant a random buff (one-time) to Seraphina’s 「Oath Crystal」. (Consumes 500 divine power)

3. Bestow a blessing on Beatrice’s 「Silver Radiance」. (Consumes 15,000 divine power)

4. Do nothing.

※ Current divine power: 4,961,720 』

‘Why did the blessing for the Holy Sword have to appear now…!’

It was the blessing for the hero’s Holy Sword, which had finally appeared with terrible odds.

But if I were to bless the Holy Sword now, Lycoris would surely interpret it as a command to defeat her.

Ugh…

I had no choice.

Option 1!

As soon as I made my choice, Lycoris received the skill and began to glow.

Soon after, Seraphina knelt down, tears in her eyes, and began to pray.

“Yes, Lycoris is also my follower. Get along!”

I thought this was the perfect timing, but…

“Huh!? What are you doing!”

Why did they start fighting all of a sudden!

Fortunately, the battle ended quickly.

Seraphina seemed to have gained some realization and looked up.

『 Seraphina’s voice is heard. 』

‘Huh?’

『 To protect peace, overwhelming power is needed, Michel’s will. You are not Michel’s tool, but a protector for peace. 』

“Ugh! Why is this happening!”

“No! I told you to change Lycoris’s belief!”

I ran around the temple, tearing my hair out.

It’s a big problem.

If Seraphina returns to the Order of Light like this, the followers will think I’m the God of War.

No!

I’m the God of Peace who loves light!

Why does it keep going like this!

I always chose the best options!

“Haa… My tea has gone cold.”

I sighed and drank the cold tea.

What to do now…

…

“Solaris! Solaris!!”

I kicked open the doors of the golden palace and shouted.

No guards, no etiquette.

It was that urgent.

“Why are you being so loud?”

Solaris, the Goddess of the Sun, turned her head with a look of annoyance.

Her red hair blazed like the sun as it fluttered.

“Something big happened! My followers…!”

“Is it about the flower again?”

Solaris sighed.

Her golden eyes showed clear signs of fatigue.

“It’s different this time! It’s really serious!”

“Is it about the flower you’ve been raising?”

“No! Now even the Saintess has misunderstood!”

I jumped up and grabbed Solaris’s arm, shaking it.

Normally, she would have been angry at me for daring to touch the Goddess of the Sun, but today she just looked tired.

“So… What is it this time?”

“I’ve become the God of War…!”

“…Huh?”

“Me! I, the God of Light who loves peace, am becoming the God of Blood and Slaughter!”

Solaris’s eyes widened.

Then she burst out laughing.

“Hahaha! You? The God of War?”

“Don’t laugh! It’s serious!”

“So, how do you plan to fix this?”

“So… When can we directly intervene in the human world?”

Solaris’s laughter stopped.

She spoke calmly.

“Michel, just give up. We have to wait until we can go down ourselves.”

“How much longer do I have to wait!”

“I don’t know…” Solaris stroked her chin in thought.

“The Evil Gods of the Demon Realm are working hard to create a passage. If they succeed, maybe we can follow their method.”

“No! Then the Evil Gods will go first! Do you know what will happen to the human world!?”

“Do you have another idea?”

I had no answer to Solaris’s question.

Among the gods of the Heavenly Realm, there was no one who could solve this problem…

“Ugh… You’re all so foolish…”

“So, are you done? I want to take a nap.”

Solaris smiled faintly and said.

“What!? How can you nap at a time like this!”

“No matter how much you struggle, there’s nothing you can do now.”

“But…!”

“You can come back and complain tomorrow.”

In the end, I was chased out of Solaris’s palace.

The sun palace floating in the sky felt hotter than usual.

“How irresponsible… Ugh!”

***

“Since we’ve talked enough, shall we go?”

Bea began to prepare to leave.

《Wait! There’s one more gift!》

Lycoris’s root wriggled and gathered the cut root fragments from the battle.

《Take this! This root contains a very potent poison. It didn’t work well on you, but if you ever have someone you dislike… Hehe, you know what to do.》

It was hard to believe this was the words of a sacred being.

But strangely, it didn’t feel repulsive.

《You can mix it into food without anyone noticing, or just rub it on their clothes…》

The root swayed gently, carving the words with a look of pleasure.

Bea looked at me with a worried expression.

Her silver armor shimmered faintly in the blue light of the labyrinth.

“Is it… really okay?”

There was hesitation in her voice.

But I understood now.

For true peace, sometimes darkness is necessary.

“Yes. Michel told us…”

I nodded in response.

《Hey, what’s with you! You’re strong enough to win with your skills, so you don’t need this, but just in case… It’s like insurance…》

As Lycoris’s root carved the words, a new realization bloomed in my heart.

The root fragments in my arms felt heavy.

But my heart was as firm as their weight.

《Farewell! Come again!》

We slowly left the labyrinth, looking at the last words carved by the root.

‘For peace, allowing everything, the God of Light, Michel…’

The new realization completely changed my conviction.

What should I say first when I return to the Order of Light?

This truth, this realization…

“Sera…”

Bea’s worried voice was heard, but I was no longer confused.

On the contrary, I felt I had finally understood Michel’s true will.

‘Michel, I’ve finally understood the true meaning of peace.’

My prayer echoed softly in the ice cave.

And perhaps, this prayer was heading in a direction opposite to Michel’s intentions.