“By the way, what are you doing here?” (Yuki)
[Well, I heard that the great human kingdom in the south had undergone some kind of change. I thought it would be interesting to see it, and when I came here to look around, I felt a familiar presence – your presence – from all over the place. Is this perhaps your country now?]
“Well, technically yes. I am the current emperor, in a way. A lot has happened…a lot, really, has happened. It’s a long story…”
[I see, I see. I have time. More than enough time, that is. If you have time, I’m all ears. Why don’t we sit down and talk about it?]
With that, he created a poof of light, brightening the dark ruins and creating a table and chairs in the middle of nowhere.
It was a stylish use of magic.
I sat down on one of the chairs he created, and he sat down on the opposite side of the table.
I did not know if it was appropriate to describe him as sitting or not sitting, since he did not have a physical body.
…So, first I told the Spirit King what I have been doing so far, starting from the Rogard Empire.
What happened and how this country came to be what it was today.
Next, what happened in the Dwarven Village.
What I went through and what I learned.
And then, the ruins of the Demon Forest, which I found just recently.
My thoughts about that place.
[So…you have learned a lot. Especially about the mission of the Lord of the Labyrinth and the Gods.]
“Ah. I heard it from the Divine Spear God Ruin. That God was a funny guy. He was such an interesting God that from now on, if anyone asked me what religion I had, I thought I’d say Ruinism. The doctrine was, ‘Live your life to the fullest.’“
Living life to the fullest.
Celebrating life.
It was the duty of those who have life.
His words remained with me to this day.
His words were the most God-like praise of life I have ever heard.
I had been saying for a long time that if I were to ever accept faith, it would be in a Flying Spaghetti Monster religion… but I didn’t expect to finally find one, and now I have converted.
From now on, I intend to live my life as a believer of that God.
[Ku, Kuku, Master Ruin was indeed such a person. He was funny, a joker, and he praised the idea of living all the time.]
“A joker…yes. That was one of his characteristics.”
And my encounter with him was simply out of luck.
I guess that was also to be expected from a God that liked to joke around.
And…this old man knew about them.
“Spirit King, you must have been living for a really long time to know them.”
[Mm. I was born near the end of the Divine Era. Therefore, I don’t know everything. In particular, I know as little as you do about how they fought with each other. I only know that they fought with each other because of their convictions and because of what they believed in.]
“…I see.”
[Your wife, Leficios, should have been more powerful than me, even though I have lived much longer than her. The dragons are a very powerful species… but encountering her was the first time in my long life that I ever felt threatened by someone.]
“…Lefi’s said that now that she had a humanoid body, she would almost certainly lose if she played with you…”
[Hm? But in dragon form, I wouldn’t stand a chance.]
“No, actually, for some reason, she can’t go back to her dragon form. She said that…maybe because of her pregnancy, she can only stay in her human form.”
The Spirit King then looked at me, seemingly surprised.
[! Oh, is that so! That’s a very happy thing to hear. What are your plans for childbirth?]
“I don’t know the exact timetable, due to the unique condition of having a human body, even though she was originally a dragon, but she will probably give birth in another year and a half or more.”
[I see…I see! I have heard very good news. When the day approaches, I would love to visit your labyrinth again.]
“Oh, I’m glad to hear that. I’m sure she’ll be very happy to see you, too.”
Probably a little embarrassed as well.
It was Lefi after all, I could easily imagine it.
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