CH 207

[The One Who Should be Praised]

—Let’s wound back the clock a little, to after Exa blew away the wyvern along with the dark clouds in the sky with a single punch.

“Exa, -sama…?”

“I’m glad I made it in time. Are you okay, Kaya-san?”

Kaya-san stood stock still in a daze, and I gave her a smile. Then, tears burst out of her jewel-like eyes, and she threw herself at me, “Exa-sama!”

“Whoa, careful there.” I caught her and took her into my arms gently.

“Exa-sama… Exa-sama…”

She must have been terribly frightened.

She kept on calling my name, her delicate body trembling all the while.

“Everything is okay now. I’m here. I’m really glad to see you safe, Kaya-san.” I gently patted Kaya-san to reassure her.

She shook her head and said in between sobs, “B-but Grandfather… and the others in town… they…”

She’s still as kind as ever, I thought.

Even in this situation, she still thought about others.

I couldn’t let such a kind person be sad forever.

“Don’t worry.”

“…Huh?”

So I said while smiling at her, “I’ll save the mayor and everyone in town. So please move back a bit.”

“Exa-sama…?”

After giving a gentle nod to Kaya-san who had a confused look on her face, I released my arms from her, turned around, and looked down at the town of Magrid.

Then I held up my right hand to the monsters overrunning the town and muttered.

“—Be gone.”

—FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSHHH!

『――Wha!?』

In an instant, flames that were enveloping the town and the monsters that were wreaking havoc all turned into particles of light, causing Kaya-san to widen her eyes in astonishment.

I, meanwhile, continued, “Area Complete Resurrection—‘All Revival’.”

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine! The next moment, particles of light gathered all around the town, which then formed human shapes.

Once the light receded, complete humans took over their places.

◇

Amidst people’s cries of happiness, a familiar old man approached us, led by Kaya-san.

“Long time no see, Mr. Mayor.”

Yes, he was Kaya-san’s grandfather and mayor of Magrid.

I had received his help with creating Hihiirokane, so I greeted him in a relatively frank manner, but…

“O-ohh… such a divine form…So my suspicion was right, you really are the incarnation of Fire God-sama, our god…”

“Huh?”

For some reason, he oh-so-reverently prostrated himself before me, and I blinked my eyes without knowing.

“U-uh, Sir, you shouldn’t be doing this…!”

Just as I was about to help him get back to his feet…

“Fire God-sama…”

“So that person really is Fire God-sama…”

“Fire God-sama has saved us…”

“Fire God-sama…”

One by one, the islanders began to prostrate themselves following the mayor. Upon seeing that scene, the adventurers from outside the island all exclaimed in amazement, “He is a god…” and kneeled toward me.

“…”

Uh, what was I supposed to do now…?

Having people kneeling to me wasn’t exactly my thing…

This is troubling… I scratched my head, but…

“—Silence!”

『—!?』

All of sudden, Igniver-sama’s voice resounded, and everyone widened their eyes, me included.

—Blaze!

『Whoa!?』

Following that, flames emitted from my body turned into a phoenix, which then flew in a circle over the people before landing next to me in Igniver-sama’s original form who said, “My name is Igniver. I am one part of Olgou, the Goddess of Creation and one of the twin Goddesses of Genesis, and I am the one who governs over ‘fire’. In the other words, the one whom you have been calling Fire God is me.”

『!?』

Amidst the commotion and clamor made by the people, Igniver-sama continued, “And the name of this person whom you thought to be me is Exa. He is human, the same as all of you. He is no Fire God.”

It seemed that she had read my feelings and manifested herself just to explain the situation.

The reason why our fusion was still not canceled was probably due to Susanoo Kamui’s power.

“S-so it wasn’t Fire God-sama who saved us…?”

It may have come as a huge shock to the mayor and the others who believed in the Fire God, but it couldn’t be helped.

“That is correct,” Igniver-sama said with a big nod. “Yes, this person is not the Fire God you thought him to be. But! He isthe Savior whom we the five elemental gods, the seven saintesses, the Goddess of the End Phinis follow!”

『！』

…Mm?

Hey, Igniver-sama…?

“Therefore, it is not the name of Fire God that you should praise! Instead, praise this man, your true savior—‘Exa’! Know that this is my will as the Fire God!”

『OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!!』

The people cheered in response to Igniver-sama’s words.

“Exa-sama!”

“Thank you for saving us, Exa-sama!”

“Long live Exa-sama!”

“Exa-sama! Thank you for saving Magrid!”

“U-uhh, hey, everyone…?”

Amidst the thunderous cheers of “Exa-sama!”, I turned to Igniver-sama in a daze.

Igniver-sama then said with a fearless smile, “As I thought, it’s only right for one that deserves respect to be given the respect they deserve. Especially when it’s my husband. This must be what it feels like to be a faithful wife.”

“But is this okay…?”

As I gave her a doubtful look, Igniver-sama laughed heartily as usual and said, “Hahaha, stop worrying about it. You like to see people’s smiles, don’t you? There are a lot of smiles here. Smiles that are directed to you.”

“!”

I followed Igniver-sama’s gaze, and as she said, I found the great majority of people were smiling at me.

…I see.

Yeah, something like this might be nice once in a while, feeling something hot in my chest, I thanked Igniver-sama. “Thank you, Igniver-sama.”

“Mm, that’s a good expression. Now you understand what you need to do, don’t you?”

“Yes. I can’t let anyone take those wonderful smiles.”

“Yes, that is true. So, don’t hold back and face the enemy with everything you have.”

“Yes!”

With a vigorous nod, I soared into the sky to confront the unforgettable presence flying over straight towards me—Elysium.