Chapter 722
In fact, contrary to Siegfried’s self-deprecating assessment, Levien’s mood was quite good.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that the people of Levien are completely optimistic or thoughtless, nor do they mourn the dead. The fact that the city had already been occupied by the Demon King’s army played a big part, but more than anything, the fact that the one who carried out this surprise attack was none other than the Demon King, and that the two warriors fought hard to stop the Demon King and ended up winning, was a major factor.
War and death are familiar. Despair and loss are also familiar.
What they are not familiar with is the hope of being compensated for or triumphing over all these absurd disasters.
Those who lost their neighbors and family members who were unable to escape while running away because their homes were suddenly destroyed in the middle of the night were like this. In normal times, even after the fighting was over, they would have been left with nothing but despair and sadness.
But the warriors showed up and put an end to what could have been a much bigger disaster.
After enduring the power of the evil god that could instantly turn a normal person into a monster, he defeated the source and defeated the giant as big as a wall while the fire giant held it back, cutting off the giant’s head with a sword that seemed bigger than his body. Some people in other cities who heard about it through rumors might dismiss it as just a rumor, but those who witnessed it with their own eyes could never do so.
Because the warriors’ fights were not as perfect, clean, and easy victories as in legends or fairy tales.
People tend to imagine within the scope of what they see. Just as someone who doesn’t know what an elephant is cannot draw one, the fights they can imagine are ultimately limited to what they see and hear in their daily lives.
Even in Itisel, most areas were difficult to encounter even orcs unless you went to dungeons or uninhabited areas, so even if you imagined yourself as a warrior, it was nothing more or less than a fight between very strong people.
The existence of a warrior who fights against an unidentified darkness that is controlled at will by high-ranking priests who call the area a sanctuary and fear, where people turn into monsters before their eyes, or a warrior who fights against a giant monster left behind by that being, is like the reincarnation of a legend.
It is so easy to imagine what would have happened if they had not stopped it, that it is impossible to even dream of the thought that this damage was caused by the warriors’ failure to properly stop it. If it were to happen even if we just sit still, then since a national-level cognitive war has begun, the atmosphere of rejoicing in victory is even more prevalent now.
However, the person who actually worked hard to create such an atmosphere had a hard time participating in it.
“A demigod···”
Esmu did not leave Levien even after the meeting was over.
Because of this, voices of concern for her safety were raised in the empire, but it was possible because the correct response was to find ways to help her both materially and spiritually and cooperate with her directly until the damage was repaired, as it was not unrelated to this incident.
Of course, it would be a lie to say that she had no personal desires at all, but Esmie was confident as she was receiving generous support under her name.
From her perspective, it didn’t really matter if she wasn’t confident. What’s the problem with a wife wanting to help out?
“Have there been any similar cases?”
“There are records of a being gaining powers equivalent to that of a demigod or of such beings appearing, but···”
It was a change that was difficult to notice unless you were a priest, but since she was an elf who lived her whole life serving the World Tree, the power that was at work was only for a very short time, but it was enough to give Asili confidence.
“So don’t worry too much, Esmue. When Eldi wakes up, you have to welcome him back healthy.”
“hmm·”
It was absolutely true. What would I do if someone I had worked so hard to save had a haggard complexion and was in a coma? Even the seriously injured Laika had recovered and was sticking together like that, so it was inevitable that I, who had not even a scratch on me, would lose my energy.
“I’m looking into this and that just in case, but... it seems like this is unprecedented.”
“That’s the first time I’ve heard of it. I’ve heard of people ascending to heaven and becoming demigods, but to become something like a demigod on their own and then return to being human again?”
Although it is expressed as a change that occurs when a person’s body is imbued with divine power, ascension and demigodhood cannot be defined so simply.
Numerous studies and records consistently state that the two phenomena are processes that transcend species.
It means that something completely different rises in the hierarchy, although it may appear to have the same skin and shape and bleed the same blood.
In the process, the mortal remains disappear, personality changes, and the person gradually ascends to the status of a god.
Of course, there were those who did not do so. However, they all had one thing in common: they gave up their divinity. It was said that it was only possible if one completely gave up that power and chose to live and die as a mortal, rather than remaining in the world as something that transcended species.
There are no records, at least not yet, of cases where power can be controlled at will without giving up power.
Even if it was true that he could control his power at will, it was something that could only be known after Eldmia woke up, but thanks to Siegfried and Saint Teneacy personally confirming the divinity that had been slowly fading away before he lost consciousness, it was accepted as a certain level of established theory.
It’s a life where there’s nothing ordinary from one to ten.
As Ashili and Esmie, who were looking at Eldmia with such thoughts, unconsciously met each other’s eyes and realized that they were thinking the same thing, and burst out into a small laugh.
I didn’t know I could feel at ease like this.
Just as Esmue was about to lift her teacup again with a hollow laugh, the soundproofing magic cracked slightly and the door opened.
“Hello, how are you?”
What appeared through the open door was someone I had heard was staying in Levien, but had never encountered before.
“I came here because I have business with Eldmia.”
The thought of the god, who had not left the library even once since the day of the Demon King’s attack, closed the door while facing the two people with an extremely indifferent face.