episode_0339

Episode 339

The light surrounding Leelia was more brilliant and dazzling than ever.

Somehow she didn’t seem like the usual Reelia. That gentle smile. A elegance that was hard to find even in Reelia in saintess mode was visible.

How did we get here in the first place? Reelia appeared right after the shining light appeared and disappeared. Considering my usual movements, it was impossible for me to come here so quickly.

Everyone around was looking at Reelia as if they had lost their minds.

Only Iscarade had eyes filled with excitement and madness.

“It’s been a long time.『Princess Sera』”

The voice sounded somehow foreign. As if it was not of this world. Besides, if it’s Leelia, there’s no reason for me to be away for a long time.

“Who are you?”

“I am the goddess who encompasses everything, or as the old saying goes, Rubus le Leria. Nowadays, the name is different in each country. Now, I am speaking through the person of this child with whom I had a little relationship.”

Looking at the goddess’s smile, the anxiety and sense of crisis from just a moment ago seem to have disappeared. It felt as if all the problems had already been solved.

“Long time no see, goddess.”

Iscarade greeted the goddess with an exaggerated gesture.

His purpose was clearly treason. Perhaps what he wants is to usurp the position of the goddess who alone holds the highest throne, or to regain her former power.

If so, this situation where the goddess appeared before his eyes may have been just as he had planned. Because everything is going according to his plan.

However, I don’t feel any anxiety.

Even Iscalade, who transcends space and raises the dead, feels like nothing in front of the true goddess. The divinity felt from the goddess was overwhelming.

The goddess responded with a quiet smile.

“Sorry, but I have no interest in you, Quantras.”

“You will. You must have appeared to welcome the next goddess. Isn’t that right? To take her life with your own hands, without the intervention of this unholy outsider! Now, don’t worry about my weak existence, hurry up and show me the majestic moment of generational change!”

I don’t quite understand what Escalade is saying.

A generational change of goddess? Wasn’t that a story from distant, ancient times? Besides, they’re taking your life?

“You probably don’t understand what he’s saying,『Princess Sera』”

“Honestly, yes. Although it is beyond my ability to understand that the goddess is in front of me in the first place.”

“Hehe, I guess so. So how about I say it this way? I was once human. And my name at that time was… Sarah Lustier.”

“…Yes?”

Time paradox?

Are you saying my future self will be a goddess?

No, no.

If you think about it carefully, Sarah Lustier is not just one person.

There is another Sarah Lustier.

Right in the novel I read.

“I think you noticed. Yes, I am Sarah Lustier. In the ending that you didn’t read, I died in terrible despair and pain.”

In the novel, Princess Sera faced hellish destruction at the hands of the evil woman Carmel. These were things that truly fit the genre tag of impoverishment.

I don’t know the ending of the story. This is because he died and was brought to this world without seeing its completion.

The goddess looked at Carmel with a gentle smile. I hurriedly joined the line of sight.

“You mean… it was you who brought everything back to the beginning and brought me here? To get revenge on Carmel… who broke you?”

The goddess shook her head quietly.

“No, not really. However, it is true that I wondered what would have happened if I had been a little smarter and stronger.”

The goddess glanced at Escalade, who was rubbing her hands furiously.

“And that was the opportunity for me to become a god. After I died, the goddess of vengeance, who ruled the world at the time, spoke to me. Don’t you want to take revenge on Carmel, who completely destroyed my body and mind and everyone around me?”

The goddess quietly looked at Carmel. Carmel’s shoulders were trembling slightly.

Carmel already knows. Because I heard about what he had done in the world of the novel.

“Of course I hated it. It’s natural to hate it. The pain I went through because of her… was indescribable. However, I believed that the evil woman Carmel… was not truly evil. So I quietly shook my head. It was about breaking the reasonable principles established by the goddess of vengeance and the ideology of hatred. That’s why I was able to become a new goddess.”

Princess Sera refused revenge.

In the novel, Princess Sera was a foolishly kind character.

But I think I know now.

That good intention was by no means a weakness.

Even in the midst of the terrible humiliation inflicted on her slender body, Princess Sera did not give up and believed in the good will that lay dormant within Carmel.

She was not swallowed up by hatred. I believed that even some evil people could choose a different path. So honest to the point of absurdity.

This new world I have experienced began based on that belief.

“You did a great job.『Princess Sera』 You truly broke the curse that was encroaching on Carmel’s heart and led the kingdom in the right direction. Entrusting myself to you, who was wandering in the cracks of the world, was the best decision I ever made.”

“…Sera…”

“Finally, I am grateful to be able to greet you like this. Above all, you were the reader who loved the world I lived in the most.”

“It’s the last time?”

“Yes. I have already melted into this world and disappeared. This is the last time I can talk about old memories and rituals. It also means that it is the moment to choose a new god.”

“Exactly!”

A loud voice bursts out. It was none other than Escalade.

“That was the power of fate concentrated in you, Princess Sera Lustier. There is no one in this world more worthy of being the next goddess than you! He is also a person with greater desires than any other human being! Now, hurry up and take over the will of the goddess! And the laws of the world are overwritten with desire!”

“The world of desire… That’s what you really wanted.”

Iscarade, Quantras, is the god of desire. A demon god who instigates human desires and gains power as desires become stronger.

That’s why he hoped I would become the next goddess. I hope I can make this world a more lust-filled place.

Well, it is something that cannot be denied. That I am a human being who is faithful to my desires.

However, it seems that Escalade is making a huge mistake.

“I will not take over the position of the goddess.”

“What!”

Escarade screamed in surprise. The goddess quietly asked me again.

“Are you sure? Being a goddess does not give you any obligations or responsibilities. If you wish, you can maintain your current lifestyle. Are you really refusing though?”

“Yes, becoming a god means that everything in this world goes your way, right? There is no need for such a boring place.”

The goddess smiled quietly.

“It looks like it will become a tradition to reject the ancestral goddess’s offer. It’s a world without God, so that would definitely be okay.”

“Think again, Princess Sarah Lustier! It’s God! It is an almighty power that can satisfy any desire! Anything you desire can be achieved! Any woman, any power, any force will be yours!”

Escarade screamed as if struggling. I could only shake my head.

“He is said to be the god of desire, but he does not understand human desires at all. After satisfying everything, what kind of desire can there be?”

“Pfft…!”

Up to this point, everything would have gone according to Escarade’s plan.

Originally, she might have planned to kill me and make me the next goddess, but since she came here directly, that plan wouldn’t have gone awry in a big sense.

However, he did not understand the nature of human desire until the last moment. That was ultimately his failure.

“Then…!”

Ominousness flutters like a mane from Iscarade’s entire body. Now it seemed like he was planning to take God’s place by force.

The goddess spoke with a sigh like a breeze.

“It’s trivial.”

A dazzling light explodes like a bomb right in front of the ominous Escarade. To us it was just a dazzling sight, but Escarade’s entire body was torn to pieces.

“Wow…!”

The bandages hiding his face are torn off. The person who appeared inside was a handsome boy with a pale face.

Iscarade’s body, struck by the exploding light, slowly dispersed into black smoke. The goddess looked at it and said.

“That one has not completely disappeared either. As long as human desires still remain, they are immortal. But you won’t be in trouble for a while.”

The goddess looked at me again and smiled.

“Now it’s really time to say goodbye, 『Princess Sera』 It was really nice to see you again. And Carmel, you too.”

“Sera…”

The face was Reelia’s, but there were definitely parts of that expression that resembled mine.

But that too was gradually fading away. Like she said, it’s really time to say goodbye.

An indescribable feeling rises up. It was a feeling too intense and complex to describe in words.

“I, too, was grateful, Sarah.”

Those were the only words I could convey. Sarah responded with an angelic smile.

“Goodbye, I hope you will be happy until the last day.”

Soon, Sarah’s presence disappears. All that was left was Leelia with a puzzled expression.

“Uh, what? This is… Wow, princess, why are you crying?”