Chapter 128
“I see,” I nearly agreed to save the world without even realizing it. Alice hastily said:
“Lord Helios, I truly don’t have confidence in eliminating the dark specter!” “Didn’t I tell you that you can do well? Don’t worry, I say.” “No, regardless of your faith in me, I lack confidence.”
When Alice strongly appealed, Helios replied with furrowed brows: “If you don’t do it, this world will ultimately be destroyed again. Then countless people in this world, including you, will die. Do you still not want to do it?”
“There’s no need to be so extreme… Couldn’t you find another soul even now…?” “Do you think traversing dimensions is as easy as visiting the neighborhood? We can’t find another soul at this point. Besides, I’ve already given you my power.”
The deity spoke resolutely. There truly was no alternative to her. At this, Alice couldn’t insist that she couldn’t do it. So really… I have to save the world?
When she had come to meet the deity, she only thought she would learn why she had come to this world. Had she known she would hear such astonishing news, she wouldn’t have hurried here; she might not have come at all. But even if she hadn’t come today, they would have met eventually. It was unavoidable.
Why me of all people? The Empress as the final villain was already overwhelming enough. Yet now her fate was to vanquish an even greater evil.
“I won’t make you bear everything alone.” As Alice was feeling aggrieved, the deity spoke softly.
“Your soul is connected to me, so I promise to protect you with all my power until your life ends. So please, save my world.”
A face infinitely more serious than before. Despite having a child’s appearance, for a moment an unapproachable sublimity emanated from the deity. And Alice clearly felt the deity’s desperation to save this world. He truly cherished his world so much that he was asking a mere human for help.
Faced with such clear sincerity, Alice had no choice but to accept reality. After all, the world the deity asked her to save was ultimately her world too. As the deity said, she needed to eliminate the dark specter even for her own survival. Even if that task was incredibly dangerous.
Just as Alice finally steeled her resolve and was about to answer that she understood, it happened. Suddenly, the tightly closed grand doors of the sanctuary burst open. Doors thrown wide open quite roughly. And a man entering through them.
Alice, recognizing the man’s face, jumped up from her chair in shock. “No, why is Kylus…”
Indeed, the man who had roughly opened the doors and made a wild entrance was none other than Kylus. It wasn’t the first time he had made such a dramatic entrance, but this time was different. Because the deity Helios was here too.
Regardless of Alice’s alarm, Kylus strode towards her. And behind him, High Priest Prion was seen hurriedly following. “Your Grace! You must not do this!”
Ignoring Prion’s cry, Kylus finally reached Alice and spoke with a rigid face: “My lady, are you alright?”
Kylus exuded an ominous atmosphere as if she had been under some threat. At that moment, Alice remembered—before departing for the temple, she had sent the butler to Kylus as a precaution. So Kylus had clearly rushed here, fearing something might have happened to her.
But still, Prion should have given some explanation… To think he would barge into the sanctuary like this. Alice quickly answered to calm him down:
“What? I’m fine, but more importantly…”
Kylus was looking only at Alice. As if nothing else existed besides her. It was a familiar tenacity, but Alice couldn’t receive him calmly now. Because the deity Helios was standing right where Kylus would see if he just turned his head.
Furthermore, Prion had also stood before her. Everyone was one step away from encountering the deity’s manifestation. The deity in a child’s form. Would his appearance, which he had declared humiliating, be revealed to others?
As Alice was at a loss for what to do, the deity’s voice sounded: [Don’t make such a fuss. They can’t see me anyway.]
Can’t see him? Alice paused at the deity’s words. Then she alternately looked at Kylus and Prion standing before her. They were indeed focused on their respective counterparts as if they couldn’t see anything but Alice, just as the deity had said. Kylus on Alice, and Prion on Kylus.
No matter how small the deity’s body was, at this distance, there was no way his presence wouldn’t be noticeable. Yet there was no reaction at all.
[You don’t believe me? I’m telling you, they can’t see me.] When Alice didn’t immediately believe him, the deity spoke once more. Alice naturally turned her head toward the deity. And she almost said: “Amaz—”
As in “Amazing, isn’t it?” But when she uttered the first syllable, the deity widened his eyes, and Alice hastily shut her mouth. Phew, I almost gave away that the deity was here.
Indeed, if she had spoken the full sentence just now, Prion would have immediately realized, seeing Alice speaking to empty space. That the deity was here.
Others might think she was crazy, but Prion was someone who knew the deity had called Alice. Hadn’t he personally stepped aside to allow her to meet the deity?
Tsk. The deity clicked his tongue at Alice as if looking at an insufficient child. Then he said: [There’s no benefit in showing this form of mine to them, so don’t give it away.]
‘I understand.’ Alice answered properly in her heart this time and turned her head. As she did, her eyes met with Kylus, who was still looking at her as if he had been waiting.
Fortunately, Kylus didn’t seem to have properly heard her small utterance, as there was no change in his expression. Ah, that’s not to say Kylus’s expression was good. His face was as rigid as the force with which he had thrown open the doors and entered. Of course, with his black eyes still filled with concern for her.
“My lady, are you truly alright? Really, nothing happened?” Kylus asked Alice once more.
To which Alice smiled at him as if telling him to calm down and affirmed once again: “Truly nothing happened. I’m really fine, Your Grace.”
Speaking with strong emphasis on “really,” Kylus’s face finally relaxed a bit. That was fortunate. Judging by Kylus’s expression just now, if she had said something had happened, he looked ready to tear down the deity’s sanctuary.
[Yes, like husband, like wife—your impious heart is exactly like his.] The deity, having read her thoughts, remarked.
Alice wondered if she should be offended by this or not. The deity had agreed with her thought, but… it felt like he was subtly insulting her. Or maybe not so subtly—perhaps he was openly insulting her.
Just as Alice was about to express her dissatisfaction to the deity for including her in the insult, the deity continued: [No, now that I look closer, he’s far more damnable than you. You’re a soul from another dimension, but he’s a soul living in the world I created.]
The deity frowned as if displeased. [To think he has not even an ant’s worth of reverence for the god who created his world. Is it because he’s a soul who should already be dead? He’s truly lost his mind. How did you end up saving such a madman?]
‘Madman?’ While it’s true that Kylus falls outside the category of normal people, and occasionally even I wonder if Kylus is in his right mind…! But there’s a difference between me saying he’s crazy and someone else insulting him. No matter how crazy he is, only I can criticize my own person.
Alice strongly objected to the deity: ‘How can you call someone else’s husband a madman? That’s going too far!’
[Husband? What husband… To think you’d choose someone like him—you truly are unlucky.] ‘Right. As if it wasn’t enough to be caught by Lord Helios and end up having to fight a dark specter that wasn’t in my destiny. I am unlucky indeed.’
[What’s that supposed to mean? ‘Caught by me’? Are you saying being chosen by me is unfortunate?] ‘Oh my, no. How could I possibly think that way? I was just… agreeing with you when you said I was unlucky.’
That was obviously a lie. She had indeed meant that being caught by him was unfortunate. That’s what happens when you keep insulting someone else’s husband.
[You…!?] The deity shouted as if knowing full well it was a lie, but Alice ignored him. It wasn’t as if she could acknowledge it anyway.
As the deity, stamping his foot, approached as if about to give her a smack, Prion shouted: “Your Grace, this is most discourteous!”
An angered face and a loud voice. Seeing Prion’s clear anger for the first time, Alice’s shoulders involuntarily jerked. She could no longer pay attention to the deity. After all, it’s usually the quiet ones who are scariest when they get angry. Even with Grand Madam Quillian, he had never shown such fierce anger.
Just as Alice turned her head toward Prion with round eyes: “This is the sacred sanctuary where His Holiness the Pope and the priests offer prayers to Lord Helios. Not only can those who are not priests not freely enter and exit, but even those of royal status must obtain permission from the temple to enter.”
With a flushed face, Prion raised his voice even higher: “Yet you, Duke, opened the doors recklessly, armed and without the temple’s permission! Even if you donate large sums to the temple, this was absolutely unacceptable behavior! It’s tantamount to insulting Lord Helios!”
