Chapter 58

“…Pfft.”

“…?”

The sudden appearance of a figure speaking Arkish in the empty prayer room left me stunned.

“Hahaha! I’m just kidding, kidding. As you thought, there’s no way a god would be restricted by a language created by humans, right?”

“…Edel?”

“Yes, it’s Edel!”

The woman, Edel, cheerfully made a V-sign with her fingers near her eyes. Given the divine aura emanating from her and the strange presence distinct from regular people, it seems she really is Edel.

…So, she’s a god?

This person?

“…‘This person?’ Isn’t that a bit too harsh?”

“Huh?”

I was certainly thinking that, but I didn’t say it out loud.

…Come to think of it, she did say earlier, ‘As you thought, there’s no way a god would be restricted by a human language.’

Could it be… she’s reading my thoughts?

“Correct~! Though I can’t read everything. Our cute little canary’s skills are so refined that it’s not easy for me to read your thoughts.”

“So, you really are Edel.”

“That’s what I said, didn’t I?”

She did say that. It’s just that I couldn’t believe a god would behave in such a carefree manner.

To be honest, instead of calling her a god, it feels more like I’m talking to an unemployed person I might see in any village.

“…Hey, you didn’t forget that I can read your thoughts, did you?”

I know. It’s actually convenient.

“You’re such a curious child.”

Most people would feel uncomfortable if they knew their thoughts were being read, but not only do you not mind, you actually find it convenient. With a faint smile, Edel looked down at me with her mysterious silver eyes.

“But still, could you try to speak out loud? Like I said earlier, it’s not easy for me to read your thoughts.”

“Alright.”

“Good, good. So, what was it that brought our little canary all the way here? What were you so curious about?”

Given that she can read my thoughts, she probably already knows why I came here, but Edel still asked me with a playful tone, pretending not to know anything.

What am I curious about…?

I came all the way to this holy land with the sole purpose of asking Edel my questions, but I never imagined that the god would appear before me in person.

Even if I were to get an answer, I had only expected something like an oracle—

“An oracle isn’t something you should dismiss as ‘merely an oracle,’ is it?”

…Anyway, because of her unexpected appearance, I lost my composure and forgot everything I had prepared to ask, so I needed some time to gather my thoughts.

It didn’t take long to recall what I’d been thinking about for so long.

I was able to speak up soon enough.

“—Are you the administrator?”

“….”

Edel, who had been smiling, froze as if she had been caught off guard by my question.

Just like I had earlier, Edel appeared to be sorting through her thoughts. After a moment, she finally spoke.

“I know you have a habit of speaking like that, but could you at least call me Edel? I’m still a god, after all. It’s not very dignified.”

Edel started with words that seemed unrelated to my question and took light steps. She walked over to the statue crafted in her likeness and leaned against it.

I hadn’t realized before meeting her in person, but the statue of Edel and her actual appearance were quite different.

To be honest, if someone told me to find Edel based on the statue, I wouldn’t have been able to.

Then again, how many people have actually seen Edel in person?

Most of those who have seen her are probably long gone.

Thinking that made me realize just how extraordinary the current situation was.

“You say that, but you don’t seem particularly moved by it. Anyway, there’s no point in denying it now, is there? I didn’t expect you to ask so bluntly.”

Edel, who had spoken reluctantly, let out a small sigh.

“When did you start suspecting?”

“I’m not sure.”

If I had to pinpoint when it began, it might have been when I ate that outrageously spicy fried rice. The intense heat that awakened forgotten memories was not something you could easily experience in the world of Silia.

But that alone wouldn’t have made me suspicious.

“It doesn’t add up. So many people came over from a continent across the sea that we didn’t even know existed, and you granted them blessings.”

“The Demons came over that way too, didn’t they?”

“But the Demons weren’t accepted that easily.”

Why do you think two wars between different races broke out? It happened because the native people of Silia couldn’t accept the Demons who were trying to settle on the Ardina Continent. S~eaʀᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Of course, I know well why the people of Silia were so adamantly opposed to the Demons’ settlement, so I’m not trying to blame them.

I’m just stating the facts.

“Even considering the fact that you, Edel, gave them blessings, it’s strange that so many Apostles settled here without causing much commotion.”

And that wasn’t the only strange thing.

“Even if we take into account that they came from another continent, their mannerisms were too different from those of the people of Silia, their growth rate was abnormally fast, and the power of resurrection, which is almost never mentioned in the continent’s history books…”

This was just listing a few of the main points; if I wanted, I could have gone on listing oddities forever.

Even though I’ve only recently started interacting with the Apostles, I could still sense that something was off, but the people who had been dealing with them far more often than I have didn’t seem to feel much of a disconnect.

They just brushed it off with, “Well, they’re Edel’s Apostles, so that’s probably why.”

That reaction only deepened my suspicion.

And—

“What confirmed my suspicions was Joanie’s behavior.”

Joanie’s actions and words nailed the final piece of my doubt in place.

No matter how much someone likes talking to themselves, she did it way too often.

Almost as if she were conversing with someone.

Even if she wasn’t, her words and actions were enough to stir a sense of nostalgia for a distant home deep within my memories.

That was one of the reasons why I decided to accompany her.

“If you were suspicious, why didn’t you mention it to her?”

“If this really is a world inside a game, like I suspect, nothing good would come of me talking about it.”

A character in a game realizing that they’re just a part of a game and then speaking to the player about it? Unless it was designed to happen that way, it wouldn’t be strange for them to be deleted immediately.

To think I would remember something like this when most other things are hazy. My past self must have really been into games.

“Heeh… But if what you say is true, wouldn’t you still be in danger right now?”

“I don’t care.”

For all I know, my current thoughts might also be manipulated by someone else.

Maybe I’m just a character with the concept of ‘a man from Earth reincarnated into another world.’

“I’d rather die than live as a puppet being controlled. I just didn’t want to die before learning the truth.”

“…Don’t worry. You’re not a puppet. If I had to describe you… I’d say you’re more like a sword.”

“A sword?”

A sword that’s been well-forged and tucked away in one’s bosom, prepared to face any danger.

Edel, having said something cryptic, continued speaking.

“To put it simply, you’re half right and half wrong. Just as you suspected, this world is indeed a game, but…”

Edel spun around once.

Was it just my imagination, or did she seem more transparent than before?

“…It’s also a real world.”

“…What do you mean?”

It’s either a yes or a no; there’s no ‘half fried, half seasoned’ kind of answer for this!

I couldn’t help but grumble, and Edel let out a bitter smile.

“Don’t think too hard about it. Just think of it like this: people from another world came to a real world. That’s all.”

Unlike you, they came over through the medium of a game.

She explained it, but I still couldn’t fully accept it.

“Is that even possible?”

If what she says is true, doesn’t that mean Earth’s technology had advanced to the point where they could turn an entire other world into a game?

How much time must have passed since I died for that to be possible?

“Of course, it’s impossible. No matter how much technology advances, it can’t compare to the power of a god, can it?”

Edel agreed quickly.

“This world was originally fine, and my powers were intact. You know this, don’t you? The beings that weren’t created by me, the beings that aren’t of this world. The ones that invade from other dimensions.”

With her words, something flashed through my mind.

It wasn’t hard to recall since I’d fought against one of them not long ago.

“I’ve been fighting them for a very long time. If you think of it in human terms… for over hundreds of years. But I was ultimately defeated. The result of that defeat was—”

“Dimensional Creatures.”

“Exactly.”

Her reply was crisp and clear, almost refreshing.

Dimensional Creatures first appeared on the continent when I was four years old, so it’s only been about thirteen years since then.

So that’s when Edel was defeated.

“Those beings consumed, destroyed, and corrupted my world. And when a world crumbles, a god’s power naturally diminishes as well.”

“And that’s when people from Earth took advantage of that and turned this world into a game?”

“Huh? No, no! Even if my power isn’t what it used to be, there’s no way mere humans could have done that to me!”

“Then why did it turn out like this?”

“Pfft, are you getting upset? How cute.”

Edel immediately picked up on my irritation and chuckled.

No, it’s not as if she’s keenly perceptive—it’s because she’s an actual god.

I looked at her with displeasure.

“I made the choice to turn this world into a game. I believed it was the best option.”

“…Turning it into a game was the best option?”

“I made a contract with the god of Earth… or, to put it in your terms, the Administrator.”

With a strangely forlorn expression, she spoke.

“I turned Silia, a world I loved so dearly, into a game and bound it to their world. In exchange, they allowed it to continue existing.”

If I hadn’t done so, the only thing awaiting this world would have been destruction.

Her voice, as she said this, was filled with countless emotions.

“So, that’s why I said you were half right and half wrong. I’m both the administrator of the game-world ‘Silia Online’ and its god.”

How does it feel to have solved the problem?

Do you feel good? Do you feel it was anticlimactic? Do you feel relieved?

I replied to Edel, who was looking at me curiously.

“To be honest.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“It sucks.”

“Hahaha! Right? I thought so too!”

Edel burst into laughter, clutching her sides.

…What’s so funny?

I really don’t get it.