[Vol. 7] Chapter 255: Resist the Greedy Boss!
“The power of a god grows with the number of concepts and beliefs. If you return to your divine status sooner, won’t it be safer for you? Right now, all the forces of the world are focused on Sainz. The cause and effect are coming together, and this is very different from the time we faced the Demon Lord of [Slaughter] in the Holy Empire. It’s rare to have an opportunity like this to officially announce your return to the world. It will only help your future actions.”
“Anyway, the people we have to deal with already know about you. Since we’re going to fight them, is it really so wrong to collect a small protection fee from the people, without asking for much?”
“I’m not doing this to gain praise and faith...”
Looking at the priestess as she carefully explained the benefits, Sethlin instinctively responded. But soon, she shook her head helplessly again, her slightly furrowed brows relaxing as she returned to her usual gentle expression.
“Violet, I understand. You’re actually worried that I might get hurt when fighting against the [Twilight Council] and those mysterious strong enemies, so you want to use this method to expand [Life] faith and increase my divine power...”
“Honestly, I’m glad. This kind of concern, from you, Violet, is really rare. It means you see me as a true friend and partner. And you’ve become more... emotional. That’s not a bad thing.”
“When I said those things before, I didn’t mean to blame you or express any dissatisfaction. I just hope that next time, before you do something like this, you can discuss it with me first. That’s all, alright~?”
“Tsk...”
Facing the goddess, who was not angry but kindly asking, Violet, who usually only responds to softer approaches, had no choice but to retreat awkwardly and turn her head away in embarrassment.
“F-fine... I get it... Jeez, Sethlin, you have such a good temper. You’re so easy to take advantage of by bad people!”
“Hehe, if I really face such a situation, I won’t hesitate to ask you for help, Violet. I hope you won’t turn me away then~”
“You...”
The slightly teasing, romantic atmosphere gradually faded. The two women quickly shifted their focus, understanding that it wasn’t the right time for private conversation. Violet, feeling a bit more awkward, was the first to speak.
“So, Sethlin, have you already returned to your divine status as the main god? I can clearly feel that your aura has changed. Even your avatar feels different. You must have had a major breakthrough, right?”
Smiling and nodding, the goddess, feeling the continuous flow of prayers and faith around her, spoke with a hint of emotion.
“Yeah, I have to admit, Violet, you picked the perfect timing. No matter how you look at it, the Goddess of Earth has been gone from this world for over a thousand years. And with the work Minerva and the others did to prevent the seal from being broken, even if there were some faith left, it’s probably almost gone by now.”
“Had it not been for using this [Tower of Nature] as an anchor, gathering so many believers of nature and life here, and attracting the attention of the whole world, all while facing powerful enemies at the level of the laws... If any one of these factors was missing, it would have been impossible to create such a powerful force. It would have been wishful thinking.”
“Divine beings find it very hard to break through their own limits. Becoming the main god with only the concept of Life was supposed to be impossible. Although, with your help, I’ve recently sensed that I’m close to that threshold, I still lacked that final push. I didn’t expect to achieve it this way, honestly, it’s much faster than I imagined.”
“Anyway, congratulations! Now that you have enough divine power, I guess you won’t need me running around planting trees anymore, right? And that hero selection plan…”
The goddess blinked in surprise, then shook her head with a helpless smile.
“You didn’t plan on helping me increase my divine power just for this, right? Somehow, Violet, I feel like that might actually be true... Well, never mind.”
Seeing Violet put on a playful, clueless expression without denying it, Sethlin sighed but didn’t seem too bothered. She just shook her head lightly.
“Choosing heroes isn’t just to increase our camp’s power. This is something that benefits you as well, Violet. So, even though I’ve returned to my position as a main god, I still hope you’ll join in. But we can discuss that later.”
Watching Violet’s face fall in disappointment, the goddess gently ruffled her hair, as if comforting a child.
“As for the trees... The reason I planted divine trees around the world was mainly to support the main tree in Azure Sky Kingdom to maintain the Aibus seal, spreading blessings of life, and laying the foundation for announcing my divine name in the future. You’ve actually already taken care of the latter part of that by coincidence, so it’s no longer necessary.”
"Also, after continuing the investigation following my resurrection, I found that the world barrier sealing the Origin Realm... seems to be more complicated than expected.”
"In other words, even if we hadn’t sealed the Aibus back then, the passage forcibly opened by the ‘Doomsday Bombardment’ would have gradually closed again with the flow of energy, returning to the situation where it was difficult for creatures on either side to cross."
"Eh?!"
The priestess’ pupils shook.
"Hey, hey, why didn’t you tell me something this important earlier? Does that mean all our hard work, risking our lives, was meaningless? You evil boss Sethlin! You tricked poor workers into working for free! Give me my money back!!!"
"I only just found out about it recently. Besides, there was hard work, but ‘risking life’ doesn’t seem quite right. Come on, can you please be a little serious…?"
The goddess, ignoring the person who had started rolling around in the air without any grace, sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"Ahem, anyway, I’ve now shifted the focus of the Azure Sky Kingdom’s sacred tree to improving the ecological environment, nourishing magical power, and providing protection. The other trees you planted are the same. This wasn’t a waste of effort, since soon..."
"Zzz Zzz Zzz!!!!!!"
Before Sethlin could finish speaking, a miraculous, dazzling light suddenly appeared from the distance in the sky!
In the grand and ancient tower of the First District, colorful, magnificent light pillars shot up into the sky, reaching the clouds. Their power was so great that it rivaled the gift the Goddess of Life had sent to the [Tower of Nature]. The light, like colorful glass, immediately merged with the Midday sky, stirring it up and turning it into a magnificent magical storm that enveloped the entire academy city!
"A true law-level power?"
Standing in the void, the goddess squinted slightly. The black-haired girl, who had somehow appeared beside her again, also stopped laughing. Her expression became serious for the first time, and she muttered to herself.
"It’s the [Origin Storm]. It’s the secret weapon Lucine told me about... Since it’s being used, it means the time has come. That princess should be here by now."