novelraw Chapter 85 : Chapter 85
Chapter 85 : Chapter 85
Chapter 85: If There Is an Answer in This World (1)
A few days later, near the capital, Naflansee.
While walking aimlessly, he saw a tavern.
At a glance, it looked like it would collapse at any moment. Old wood supported a shabby roof, and with no one coming or going, he almost mistook it for an abandoned house. But a thick plume of smoke rose from the chimney. Osmond had been drawn to it and had just arrived.
[Well, what a ridiculously lucky day.]
When he opened the wooden door, he saw a boy.
[To think a customer would come to this place. And two of them, no less.]
He was a strange boy.
His right eye was red and his left eye was silver. In addition, most of his limbs were wrapped in bandages. Was he unwell? For a moment, Osmond wondered, but the boy's movements were too cheerful for that. What are you doing, mister? Hurry up and come in! The boy shouted with a cheerful expression and pulled Osmond's arm.
[Sit down first. I'll make you go wild.]
Osmond was led blankly.
Even though they passed by empty seats, the boy didn't stop. His lips also moved ceaselessly. The boy, who chattered about today's weather, the temperature of the ground, the movement of the clouds, mushrooms that were good to eat and those that weren't, blades of grass and ocean currents, and all sorts of delicacies, finally led him to a seat where……,
“Hello.”
a man was sitting.
The man's appearance was as strange as the boy's.
The table was lined with food and bottles of alcohol, but there was no sign of him having eaten, and a jester's mask covered the man's face.
[This customer was also alone. How about sharing a table while you're at it? It's boring to spend time alone.]
“No, I……”
Osmond shook his head.
He wasn't used to eating with someone else. In the first place, it was his first time visiting a tavern.
“Sit down, kid.”
On the other hand, the man gestured with his chin without hesitation.
“I was just getting full. I'll pay for it. You can eat and get as drunk as you want.”
“You haven't eaten anything. But you're full?”
Osmond asked.
Sitting down in an awkward posture.
“I can no longer eat food.”
“Then why did you set it up like this?”
“I don't know. I just wanted to.”
“You're a little strange. Are you sick somewhere?”
“I'm not sick.”
Osmond narrowed his eyes.
Come to think of it, the man's voice was familiar. He seemed to have heard the indifferently subdued tone before. And what about the hair visible beyond the mask? Silver hair, close to ash gray. And with that, casually worn formal clothes. Osmond felt a sense of déjå vu from the man.
“……Abel?”
“Who is that?”
To Osmond's question, the man tilted his head.
“It seems you're mistaken. I don't know anyone named Abel. I'm just a mysterious masked man.”
“A mysterious masked man?”
“That's right. I am a mysterious masked man.”
“A mysterious masked man……”
A mysterious masked man, what a strange person.
Even while thinking so, Osmond nodded his head. At a glance, he was no different from Abel, but he was not someone he would meet here, and since he was denying it himself, he decided to believe him. Was it written in the scriptures that if you truly believe, it will surely come true? It was better to encounter a mysterious masked man here than to meet Abel. So let's believe. That was Osmond's conclusion.
[Anyway, mister, your attire is quite intimidating.]
The boy said, placing utensils next to Osmond.
[You're not a robber, are you? We don't have any money to steal in our shop.]
“I am……”
Osmond lowered his head.
A leather armor was wrapped around Osmond's body. It was an armor gifted by Iris. An armor made of light and sturdy material to hide the arms and legs made of bone, and to make it easy to act as a spy. Osmond had just started his journey wearing it.
“I'm a spy for the Orléans family.”
At the same time as Osmond spoke,
“……A spy doesn't reveal his identity.”
the man sighed faintly, and,
[Anyway, that means you're not a robber, right? What a relief.]
the boy smiled with his arms crossed.
“Um……”
Osmond looked back and forth between the man and the boy.
The title of spy had been bestowed upon him as a formality, but in reality, he had been set free. Osmond knew that fact well. It must have been Abel's consideration. Instead of reporting to Iris from time to time as if sending news, he had received the mercy of being able to travel the world as much as he wanted.
“……Can I ask a few questions?”
That's why he wanted to ask. There were many things he wanted to ask.
Because he had rarely met and talked to others in a foreign land.
“Ask away.”
The man readily allowed the question, and,
[That's right. Ask as many as you want.]
the boy also nodded and smiled.
“I am……”
And so, Osmond opened his mouth.
“I'm so scared of wandering the world. It's awkward to talk to someone like this, and to show my face to others. I've been hiding all my life. I don't know where to go, and I don't know what to do. What should I do from now on?”
[Not knowing means there's room to find out.]
The boy answered without hesitation.
[I don't know much about you, mister, but it seems you've lived without mixing with the world. But you don't need to be afraid. On the contrary, it's a good opportunity. The sky, the land, the sea, wouldn't they still be amazing to you, mister? It's better to enjoy them before you get tired of them.]
“Airships fall from the sky, wars break out on land, and the sea is probably full of corpses.”
[Aren't you being too negative? If the World God heard you, mister, he would have burst into tears. He would lament, ‘Is this why I made the world?’]
Osmond was silent.
For what was this world made?
He thought he didn't know. According to the scriptures, the World God had sacrificed his body to create the sky, the land, and the sea, but he wanted to ask if it was worth it. Because what Osmond had felt from the world created through a dead god was, in the end, the lives that were dying one after another, just as the god had.
“I have……”
And so, Osmond opened his mouth again.
“committed countless killings until now. I don't particularly regret it. I've only killed evil people. Except for one person. Since I stabbed her heart with a sword, I've become afraid to live. I keep wondering if it's okay for me to be alive. How can I stop worrying?”
“Because you are alive, you will one day die.”
The man answered without hesitation.
“So, kid, you're worrying about something too pointless. It won't be too late to discuss life in the face of death. By all means, think about it when you're about to die. Whether it was alright for you to have lived until then. Otherwise, you won't be able to come up with an answer.”
“I almost died in my childhood, and I thought it didn't matter what happened. In fact, I think I wanted to die quickly. I couldn't think of life.”
“The past is just a shell. Don't be attached to the dead skin that has fallen off you. You are no longer a child. You have grown up to remain a kid, and you must have become stronger at the same time.”
Osmond was silent.
If life accumulates, will one's way of thinking also change?
He thought he didn't know. He had rarely thought about his own life. He had only valued Fleur's life. Staring at the back of his master who was relentlessly approaching death, he thought he had wanted her to look back at least once. That was the reason for Osmond's life.
“Thank you.”
Osmond stood up from his seat.
“I can't come up with an answer yet, but it was helpful.”
And so, Osmond took a step, and,
[Wait a minute, mister! At least have a meal before you go!]
“You don't have to pay. Just eat something instead.”
he left the voices of the boy and the man behind.
The road was everywhere. Whichever path he took, Osmond would arrive somewhere. It might be a small village. It might be a big city. It might be a vaguely spread out wasteland. What Osmond wanted to gain by repeatedly stamping his footprints was trivial.
He was afraid to roam the world, but he did not want to gain the world, and he thought he had no right to live, but he did not want to solidify the meaning of life either. He just wished,
‘It's pretty.’
he wanted to take note of the wildflowers whenever he saw them.
That alone was enough. Osmond bent down towards the flower that was rustling at his feet. Airships strode in the sky, wild animals came and went on the land, and the sea was far, far away, but,
[──Hey, mister!]
it was enough to see the flowers.
[Wait a minute!]
Fleur Epanoui.
It was enough to see the flowers that resembled you.
[Hey!]
Shriek.
A boy shouted into Osmond's ear.
Quite surprised, Osmond stood up. The boy from the tavern had followed Osmond.
[Take this.]
Then, a jester's mask was held out.
Osmond tilted his head. Wasn't this what the mysterious masked man was wearing?
[He told me to give it to you. He said you'll still need it, mister.]
“Why do I need this?”
[How should I know? Anyway, take it.]
“……Okay.”
[My business is done, so I'm leaving! Take care, mister!]
The boy waved his hand and walked away.
Osmond quietly looked down at the jester's mask. It was quite different from the iron mask he had worn as a murderer. It wasn't heavy but light, and the surface was made of cheerful colors instead of a bleak metallic color.
And so, Osmond put on the mask.
‘It's comfortable.’
Looking up into the distance, Osmond thought.
It was still comfortable. It was comfortable to filter the world through the mask.
He raised both the hand made of bone and the hand made of flesh. And so, he stroked the firmly hardened mouth of the mask.
Soon, he wondered,
‘Did I just smile?’
* * *
[Is this okay?]
“It seems so for now.”
[I didn't expect to be role-playing. I was just going to see you for a moment and leave.]
“I apologize. It was a matter that could not be postponed.”
The shabby tavern was collapsing.
No, it was closer to being dismantled. The wooden outer walls became trees, and the bricks that made up the roof melted into the ground. It was a strange phenomenon, but the boy and the man didn't mind. They soon faced each other and opened their mouths.
[Nice to meet you, ‘The Mother God's Left Hand’. So you're the hero who came from another world.]
The boy, the World God, spoke.
When he tore off the bandages that wrapped his body, cogwheels were revealed. It was quite a fun amusement. Opportunities to talk to his creations were rare. Above all, imitating a tavern owner was an unfamiliar experience. The World God, as a creator, was enjoying the life of his creation.
“It is an honor to meet you, World God ‘Epezeria’. My name is Abel Argento.”
The man, Abel, spoke.
When the cheerful mask was removed, a firm expression was revealed. Osmond Epanoui would meet many others, visit many places, and thus live. Abel had now finally fulfilled all of Fleur's requests. Fleur had asked him to save the subjects of the Saint-Pierre estate, and Osmond would be one of them.
“The fact that you have started to move means……”
And so, it was now time to return to the starting point.
His duties as ‘The Mother God's Left Hand’ were waiting.
“that the Demon King is stirring.”
[That's right. I can't specify it yet, but the Demon King is being created somewhere in the world. He will appear in a different form from before I regressed. Because ‘The Mother God's Left Hand’ has altered history.]
It's quite unpleasant.
The World God said, scratching his head.
[Even though it may not look like it, the whole world is my body. Monsters are crawling everywhere, the creations are starting wars, and on top of that, a Demon King is trying to appear somewhere…….]
“Do you regret creating the world?”
To Abel's question, the World God's gaze narrowed.
[How could I?]
To become a star, or to become a world.
The outer god ‘Epezeria’ had already made his choice.
He had chosen death as a god, and had come to live as a world. And so, he was the World God. The world could not function by the side of a god, and a god could never stay in the world, but only the World God existed outside the boundary of the creator and the created.
[What about you? Do you regret becoming ‘The Mother God's Left Hand’?]
To the World God's question, Abel smiled faintly.
“How could I?”
To die as a hero, or to live on as a madman.
Abel had made his choice in a distant past.
“I do not regret my choice. I only regret the life before I became ‘The Mother God's Left Hand’.”
[That makes sense.]
Abel, I can see it.
The World God whispered so.
[You should have been erased long ago. How are you moving with your soul so tattered? I really can't understand. If a god can't understand you, then only the creations can understand you.]
But listen carefully.
This may be your last journey.
You probably don't have much time left.
To the World God's advice, Abel,
“There is still time before the Demon King awakens.”
opened his mouth, pretending not to hear.
“What will you do in the meantime?”
[For now, I'll observe the world.]
By running around myself.
The World God muttered so.
[The sun and the moon, or the sky and the land. Looking down on the world like that is different from wandering around on two feet. Since I've started moving, I'll look around various places.]
What about you, Abel?
To the World God's question,
“I will watch over Monika's side.”
Abel answered concisely and turned around.
“I will see you again, World God. I will take my leave now.”
[You take care too, Abel. I'll leave Monika to you.]
Abel's footsteps pattered behind the World God's back, and the World God savored the presence and looked into the distance.
Everywhere was himself. Was this place where he was standing now once his back? With a faint smile, the World God thought.
[It is beautiful and ugly.]
The world is truly beautiful and ugly.
That's how the World God saw it. A world where prosperity and decline, progress and stagnation, life and death are repeated endlessly. This place was once a question that the Main Gods had come up with.
Are we really allowed to be omnipotent?
Omnipotent beings do not ask questions. The moment they came up with a mere question, the omnipotence of the Main Gods was dismantled.
And so, the world was devised. All questions are bound to extend to distant places, and the question that the Main Gods had uttered formed a world in a place far from the Pantheon. In other words, the numerous worlds were the answer. It was not possible for a god to be omnipotent, and because an omnipotent world was not created, possibilities arose.
[Yes, that's right.]
Creations,
if your answer is the creator,
then the creator's answer must always be the creation.
We are a question to each other and an answer for each other.
Superiority and inferiority are meaningless, and faith will sometimes be a hindrance.
[So shall I say it.]
One step,
the World God muttered, taking a step.
[If there is an answer in this world…….]
not through the mouth of the creation, not through the mouth of the creator,
it must be uttered through the mouths of all of us.