Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 205

205.

“Wait a minute. Why are only the priests being punished? Is it okay for others to commit forgery?”

“It’s not a punishment, it’s a destiny. Like tears when you yawn, it’s just a rule set from the beginning. If you don’t like it, you can quit anytime. And of course, I can’t say it’s okay. You’re damaging your own conscience. The afterlife will be very painful, you know?”

“Is that all?”

“What else should there be?”

“You should punish them right away. Send down divine punishment or something…”

“Haha, how cute. You really think like a human, don’t you?”

I frowned at his ever-smiling face, even during a serious conversation.

“Humans often think that if they commit a sin, they will be punished by God.”

“…Aren’t they?”

“Well, it’s not entirely wrong. Except that the standards for sin and the methods of punishment that the gods think of are a little different from what humans think.”

“……!”

“Human life is a series of countless short lives. None of them are unconnected to the past, and none are unconnected to the future. So you shouldn’t think that the form you see right now is everything.”

“Does that mean they’ll eventually pay the price somehow? But the people who are harmed right now are being treated unfairly.”

“That is also part of the chain of continuity. Whether it’s unfair or not is not something that a being living in the present can define. You have to go through everything to know. You’ll realize it someday, too.”

“So you’re just going to leave it alone? Do you know what the Grand Duke is doing, hiding behind his status as a priest?”

“Yeah, he’s definitely a bad human.”

Kanos met my dumbfounded gaze with a strange smile. Of course, I wasn’t in the mood to smile at all. Who was the Grand Duke? He was killing innocent people with false prophecies, killing or tormenting those who resisted him, and to top it off, he was kidnapping children for human sacrifices for many years. Moreover, all these things were happening in the name of the Evil God. But how could he just leave it alone?

No matter how many lives a human lives, this life is only once. The law of cause and effect that goes around and around may seem reasonable to those who know everything, but it could never be fair to those who know nothing. The present is the most precious thing to them, and things that don’t happen right before their eyes mean nothing. Even if an evil person from a past life pays for his sins in the afterlife, the people who suffered from him will not be compensated. Even if they are compensated in other ways, they will most likely not even know it. Is that enough? Just because they don’t know?

Kanos may be right. Maybe one day I will think the same way he does. But to my ears, no matter how eloquently he explained it, it just sounded like he was making excuses.

The world I know is still simple, and the results I see before my eyes are everything. If someone is doing something bad and you know about it and condone it, you’re just an accomplice. Besides, isn’t the Evil God a being who has been suspected of being involved in the Grand Duke’s actions since long ago? He is indeed….

“I thought so. Is the Evil God behind it?”

“……!”

I flinched, startled by the voice that came in as soon as I thought about it. Kanos had a look on his face that showed he was enjoying my reaction.

“You were suspecting that the Grand Duke and the Demon King were plotting something together, and that I was also involved in it, weren’t you? Do I look like I’m helping them?”

“…Aren’t you?”

“Hmm, I wish it were that way.”

“Yes?”

“Then at least it wouldn’t be a headache.”

Kanos smirked at my wary gaze. He continued before I could even open my mouth.

“I’m sorry to say, but when it comes to that matter, I’m actually on the opposite side.”

“The opposite side?”

“The side that’s trying to stop them.”

The voice answering sounded somehow self-deprecating. His gaze, staring into the distance, was filled with a bitter aftertaste.

“…And the side that hopes it’s not.”

“You said you were going to leave it alone.”

I doubted his words even though he said he was trying to stop them, because it was a completely different answer from what he had said so far. Kanos shook his head at my sullen question.

“I’m not leaving it alone. It’s just that the way I’m taking action is different.”

“But…”

“Humans can’t accept it? So what? God doesn’t have to follow a method that pleases them. Why should God cater to humans? Even humans get upset when they have to forcibly follow other people’s methods. Don’t they?”

“…….”

I couldn’t find anything to refute, so my mouth closed on its own. It was a cruel thing to say, but it was also true. Perhaps feeling sorry for my dejected appearance, Kanos scratched his head and sighed.

“Hmm, I can’t help it. I’m not usually this kind, but I’d be sad if you misunderstood me, so I’ll tell you for sure. Aside from the law of cause and effect, gods are not supposed to directly intervene in the affairs of the middle world as much as possible.”

“Yes?”

“It’s their lives. If the gods solve every problem that arises, what’s the point? It’s best for humans to solve human problems. That’s also the right thing to do. In special situations, for example, when it’s impossible to solve it on their own, they step in. But that’s also very rare, and in most cases, God remains a helper who helps indirectly. That’s why there are priests. However, Akkadon has greater influence because the priest’s authority is greater.”

“Is, is that so?”

“Yes. Even if it looks like they’re standing by, it’s an inevitable structure.”

What, then he should have said so from the beginning. Why did he make it so complicated and confusing? Kanos grinned as I frowned. Only then could I understand his purpose. He was trying to tease me from the beginning.

“…You really have bad taste.”

“Nyahaha, it’s fun to tease you. Are you going to tell Ellyuen?”

“Tell what? Do you think I’m a 10-year-old kid?”

“You haven’t been born that long yet, have you? You’re more like a little kid who’s younger than 10 years old.”

Ugh, I have nothing to say when he puts it that way. Come to think of it, I haven’t been born that long as the Spirit King yet. Besides, my memories of my past life are only 17 years old, so it was obvious that I would look very young from God’s point of view. I decided to give up resisting early on. Once I accepted the given reality, I felt more at ease.

“So, have you tried to stop the Grand Duke?”

“Of course. When he impersonated a priest of the Evil God, and when he gave the oracle. I moved the hearts of the priests and sent warnings to the Grand Duke several times. Then he killed all my priests.”

“……!”

Ah, I’ve heard of that. The Grand Duke killed all the priests who opposed him or questioned the oracle. My face hardened as I remembered. It must have been quite frustrating for him, but Kanos continued without a care.

“There are no more of my people by his side now. The church has deteriorated a lot, and the remaining priests are only those who cannot hear my voice. If the soil is polluted, it’s not easy for new sprouts to grow. It will be restored someday, but it will take quite a while. Unfortunately, that’s all I can do as a god.”

“That can’t be…”

“But the Grand Duke won’t last long anyway.”

I perked up at the words that followed just as I was about to be disappointed.

“How do you know that?”

“Because it’s been decided that way from the beginning.”

“From the beginning?”

“Acts that go against the natural order and conscience also go against providence [divine guidance or care]. That’s why the world doesn’t allow it. The will of the world moves the will of the humans who live in it. Even if you leave it alone, someone will naturally stand up against it. Just like your contractor is trying to strike him down now.”

“……!”

As soon as I heard that, Isana and I looked at each other as if we had promised. In other words, Isana’s move to strike down the Grand Duke was part of the world’s providence, and the Grand Duke’s evil deeds would end at his hands. Is this what it meant to say that humans should solve human problems? Kanos smiled softly, crinkling his eyes.

“The Grand Duke will eventually pay for his sins in his current life. Of course, the depth of his sins is so great that his afterlife will not be easy either. This is the exact conclusion. Is this the answer you wanted now?”

“Thank you for enlightening me.”

“You’re welcome.”

I was more embarrassed when he calmly returned my sarcastic words. I glared at him with a sullen look, but it was not enough to shake his expression, which was like a solid wall.

“The problem is that there’s not much time left.”

“What do you mean there’s not much time left?”

“The forbidden spell.”

“……!”

The smile disappeared from Kanos’s lips, and the atmosphere changed. I could feel my body tensing up on its own just by watching him. I understood what he was saying without having to ask. It was about the ritual that the Grand Duke was participating in, the dark magic that could give birth to an Evil God.

“If that spell is completed to the end, all the results will be reversed. The world’s established providence will no longer work. It will be a world without cause and effect.”

It sounded even more eerie because of the monotonous tone that didn’t contain any emotion. I could see Isana trembling, so I hurriedly asked.

“Is it really that spell?”

“Well, the ritual itself is similar, but I can’t say for sure at this stage. The most problematic part is that too many young children are being sacrificed, and many of them have had their life force taken away… If they’re absorbing that power, I don’t know, but if they’re not, I can’t necessarily say it’s that spell. In short, there’s a lack of conclusive evidence.”

“Hmm… Can’t you read the Grand Duke’s thoughts or memories, or something like that?”

“I’ve already tried that.”

“You’ve tried it?”

“That’s the easiest way to find out. I’ve already checked the basics. The Grand Duke only knows that it’s a spell to fulfill his wishes. It seems that only children are being targeted, but in reality, a considerable number of adults are also being used as sacrifices. The formation designed on the altar was not very unusual either. Maybe the Grand Duke’s role is just bait. Or maybe it’s just a false alarm.”

His face, muttering to himself, was serious. He said he was on vacation, but he must have come down to investigate the truth of the spell. Now I knew why Ellyuen had left him alone.

He was really on the ‘stopping side’. I looked at Kanos with a fresh perspective. I felt strangely excited to think that a great being like the Evil God had the same purpose as us. When he was joking around and making things difficult, I was just suspicious of his behavior, but now he seemed more trustworthy than anyone else.

Wait, what did Kanos just say? That the Grand Duke was bait? I didn’t think about it deeply because I was thinking about other things, but now that I think about it again, I couldn’t just let it go. I hurriedly gathered my thoughts and asked.

“The Grand Duke is bait? Wasn’t he the one leading all this?”

“No. He’s just helping with part of the ritual; he’s not the one performing the spell.”

“If not the Grand Duke…”

“It must be the being who’s backing him. The one who gave him the false divine crest [a symbol of authority] and helped him become a priest.”

The moment I heard those words, the one person I thought of was the one behind the Grand Duke. The one who sent Deron to monitor us, and the one who ordered Lucarim to kill Isana. It was the Demon King.

“Could it be…”

“For your information, the magic power of the demons has a similar aura to the divine power of the priests of the Evil God. The higher the rank of the demon, the more so. The Demon King would have been able to imitate the divine power of the High Priest well enough.”

“……!”

Kanos nodded as if he had read my guess. It didn’t take long for my confused mind to come to a conclusion. I tried to calm down as much as possible and checked the situation again.

“Then is the Demon King trying to become an Evil God?”

“I told you, it hasn’t been revealed that far yet.”

“You haven’t read the Demon King’s memories?”

“It’s not that I didn’t, it’s that I couldn’t. The current Demon King has had an unusually strong ability to defend his mind since he was born. It’s almost at the same level as a god, so his thoughts are not easily read. If he’s determined to hide it, there’s no way to find out.”

“That can’t be…”

“Oh, an Evil God. What are you talking about?”

As I sighed and muttered, I heard Deron’s voice asking in a flustered tone. He seemed to have grasped the general situation from the contents of the conversation so far, and his face was turning blue.

“I’ve heard of a spell that was once forbidden because it tried to challenge the authority of God! Your Majesty the Demon King, no, Karyudrian! Could it be that he has broken that taboo?”

He was asking, but the tone, which was already filled with conviction, was closer to confirming his judgment. He was about to rush in and press Kanos, forgetting that he was even a god. Kanos smiled lightly, as if he found it amusing, and replied.

“I’m looking into that right now, Deron. There’s a pretty high probability that it’s possible, though.”

“Oh my god! How could that happen? I thought his recent actions were suspicious. Instead of this, you should interrogate him immediately and get him to confess…!”

“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible. I can’t just interrogate him without any evidence. I don’t even do that to the kings of humans, let alone Karyudrian is the Demon King. Even ordinary gods treat him with respect.”

“But!”

“In the first place, you’re a member of the demon race, but you’re too quick to suspect him. Karyudrian [likely a typo, corrected to Karyuan in next sentence] is a king who has rightfully ascended to the throne with the approval of all the dukes. Even if there are many aspects of him that you don’t trust, it’s not a good habit to distrust the person you serve.”

“…Does the Evil God trust him?”

“No.”

I was momentarily dumbfounded by the very confident answer and stared at Kanos. Deron and Isana, and even Alisa, were making bewildered expressions.