“…Do you remember what that succubus lady—let’s just call her Vagia now—said? She brought up a god during her little skit the other day.”
“If I remember correctly, she mentioned the ‘God of Expansion,’ right?” Atou recalled. “I’d never heard of such a being before that.”
God…a supernatural being. The embodiment of transcendence that exists beyond human understanding. God is sometimes compared to the collective consciousness of humans or the universe itself, and it was the being currently bothering Takuto the most.
“I had always assumed that our current situation is being influenced by some being beyond imagination,” he said. “To start, it’s bizarre enough that you and I were transported to another world with our physical forms intact. It’d make more sense if this is the work of someone rather than merely a natural phenomenon.”
“So, you mean to say that a ‘god’ is behind our presence here and all the enemies we have fought up until now?” Atou summarized.
“That’s my theory at least.”
Atou’s face clouded over.
So-called gods existed within Eternal Nations as well. A good example of this is the Nameless Evil God, a concept that Takuto himself embodied. There were several other gods in Eternal Nations, but they were merely units, Commanders, or key characters in the story campaign. In other words, they were simply a part of the stage dressing.
But what Takuto was discussing was the real deal. A being who controls the creation and destruction of the world, rules over phenomena and concepts, and is positioned above all things. Not the kind of being spoken of in games or stories, but a much, much larger being.
Atou felt an unusual sense of unease as she grasped the magnitude of what Takuto was insinuating.
“That’s why I just can’t see where this All-Faction Conference will lead,” Takuto said. “If nothing else, I’m pretty sure it won’t simply end with everyone becoming buddies.”
“…King Takuto, do you believe this conference is happening at the behest of some god?” Atou asked, her voice mired with worry.
They would fend off any hostile being, even another Player. But when it came to a true god—a divine being with the ability to bring Takuto, Atou, and everyone else to this world…well, that was a different story.
The unknown is scary, and not knowing can lead directly to death.
Atou was a Hero, and she stood before Takuto, defeating all his enemies. Who could blame her for experiencing a moment of weakness over the fear of the unknown?
“It’s dangerous to assume that this God of Expansion is something we can understand,” Takuto said. “Or that it’s even the one powerful god I’m concerned about.”
Atou nodded.
The god that exists behind the Players. What purpose did it have in inviting everyone to this world?
She had a sea of questions, but Atou’s determination and feelings remained steadfast. No matter what happens, I will be with you, King Takuto…
Atou was Takuto’s Hero after all.
“That said, what we need to do is pretty simple. First, we need to increase Mynoghra’s national power, then aim for the Ascension Victory to revive Isla.”
Atou quickly nodded. Takuto was satisfied with her response. He expected her to be baffled by his revelation. It was only natural to struggle with the concept of some god pulling the strings in the background. In fact, Takuto struggled with the whole idea too. It felt like there was some fog hiding the finer details, and he was speaking of something vague and dreamlike. But now, it was this strange feeling that led Takuto to his conviction.
Now that I think about it, the TRPG forces I clashed with in Lenea had blathered about receiving some sort of mission from god. And from what the Elfuur Sisters said, that was likely the case for the Demon Lord’s Army as well.
Witch Erakino and her master, Player Keiji, seemed to be concealing information about this god. Takuto never figured it out. The Demon Lord’s Army also mentioned a god several times without ever getting into the finer details. And then it came up again in the message from the Succubus Army. Although there was little information to go on, clear conclusions could be drawn.
Since Vagia called her god the “God of Expansion,” there must have been an incident that confirmed this name. Some god—or gods—is clearly interfering with the other factions too—there’s plenty of evidence to prove it.
The question is, why isn’t there a god interfering with Mynoghra—with me? In my battle with the TRPG Player, there was definitely some kind of major clash on a higher plane. Which means we aren’t not under the protection of a god, right?
What in the world are they thinking? I would love to speak with him or her, if possible.
Takuto fell deep into thought. His mind whirled with the possible intentions of a divine being. What kind of being was his god? What did that being want from him? Why didn’t it directly interfere with Mynoghra? He sank deeper and deeper into thought, and when he finally reached the bottom, the depths of a darkness he had never reached before, something appeared before Takuto’s eyes—
“King Takuto! KING TAKUTO!” Takuto’s whole body jerked at Atou’s incessant call. Her eyes went wide when she saw his overreaction. “You’ve been stuck in thought for a long time. Are you all right? Would you like me to fetch you something to drink?”
“Ah, uh, sorry,” Takuto said in a purposefully cheerful tone, hoping to hide his inner turmoil. “I got lost in thought for a moment there. Yeah, I’d love something warm to drink. Mind getting it for me?”
“It’s easy to get lost thinking about such a difficult problem… I’ll be right back with your drink.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“GOD…huh?”
After making sure Atou was gone, Takuto let out a long sigh and leaned back into his throne. Everything was a mystery to him at this point, but he couldn’t shake the cloying premonition that things were about to become incredibly troublesome.
✦ ✦ ✦
PROBLEMS involving Players. Problems involving gods. Takuto had a never-ending supply of things to worry about. And on top of all that, he had to manage his empire.
They say a surefire way to keep a player from getting bored with a game is to pack it full of events, but Takuto was getting a little fed up that this world was reenacting games to that extent.
There was a knock at the door, followed by Atou’s voice announcing her arrival. She’d returned with drinks for them to take a break with.
Guess I’ll reset my mood with a drink, Takuto thought as he watched Atou enter the room with someone else.
“Thank you for waiting, King Takuto,” Atou said.
“Please forgive the intrusion, Your Majesty.”
“Oh, good to see you, Emle. Welcome, welcome,” Takuto greeted.
Emle came into the room carrying the tray of drinks. Takuto welcomed any of his officials at all times, but he thought it strange that Emle would come on her day off.
“I thought it wouldn’t do us much good to stew in our thoughts, so I decided to prepare some sweets for our break. Emle just so happened to be having some fun in the kitchen at the time, so I brought her with me,” Atou said, explaining the reason for Emle’s presence.
“S-Sorry, I couldn’t help myself…” Emle said meekly.
“Haha. The more the merrier,” Takuto said. “Since you guys went out of your way to prepare all this, why don’t we take a break in the council room?”
Taking a closer look, Takuto noticed a venerable array of homemade sweets lining Emle’s tray. She appeared to be thoroughly enjoying her cooking hobby in the Palace’s large kitchen. Takuto was pleasantly surprised to learn that someone was making use of the barely used kitchen. Maybe I should try my hand at cooking to take my mind off things? he thought as he sipped the cup of coffee they’d prepared for him.