C303: A Spectator’s Astonishment

My name is Sasquani of the human race.
Born and raised in a wealthy family.

One day, I heard a strange rumor that gods were descending on our nation.

At first, I was skeptical.
I thought the demons were spreading the word about god descending to put an end to this corrupt world, but it seems that was not the case.

What is it, then?

Apparently, a certain feudal lord asked the occupying government for permission, and then the story spread from there. I was indignant, wondering what kind of lord would talk about such nonsense. But as I delved into the story deeper with great interest, I discovered something unexpected.

It’s Lord Dalkish of the Wallachia frontier, one of the most capable feudal lords of the Human Kingdom despite his young age. He’d never say anything ridiculous.

If he said so, then it seems gods will really descend.
Thus, a simple rumor turned into a hot topic in the nation.

I’m starting to get the feeling that this is far from fake news.
As I sought out further information, I found that the date of the gods’ descent was fast approaching.

I must go to the venue to see things for myself.

I’d be damned if I missed the opportunity to see a divine being in person!

Fortunately, I’m now living a retired life since my son took over the family business.
I decided to take my grandson, who has become quite the curious fellow, to sightsee… I mean, to do some worshipping.

…Hm?
You want to come too, my son?
You can’t. What about the store? Huh?

“Business can never give me a chance to see a god in person”?

Well, I see your point. Still…
Huh? You too, wife?
All the stores in the neighborhood will be closed that day, you say?

You leave me no choice.
Let’s all go together, then.

Do we want to see a god?
Yeah!!!

Here we are at the venue.

There’s surprisingly a large crowd of people.
Did they all come here with the same goal in mind?

I guess an existence such as a god is that big of a deal, after all.

A queer group of people takes up positions far from us.

“Now is the time for the gods to come down and destroy the evil demons!” say some as they beat the taiko drum.

If there’s a rumor of a god descending, I suppose it’ll also attract cultists like them.
Are they the remaining members of the Order?
I wonder if they think gods will unconditionally become their allies.

Oh well.
The important thing isn’t them but the god about to descend.

Several people on the grounds surround Lord Dalkish, discussing something.

We, the spectators, are prevented from getting too close by the territorial soldiers.

I knew the rumors were true the moment I arrived.
A god will be descending here today.

…How can I be so sure?

I’ll tell you why.
One of the people on the grounds having a friendly discussion with the feudal lord is…

A Lifeless King.

Of course, I didn’t recognize him at first.
As an ordinary, middle-class member of human society, there was no way I’d have seen him before!

But then, one of the spectators puzzlingly said, “Hey, isn’t that a Lifeless King?” and that was enough to convince me.

Especially since the person who raised his voice is famous—Matahassaun, an A-class adventurer.

So, he’s a Lifeless King?!
One of the World’s Two Greatest Calamities, a forbidden great mage who gave up his humanity in exchange for immortality?!
An undead king?!
They say at least five villages will perish in the area where he was witnessed!

Oh, how long have I lived to be able to see such a monster with my very eyes!
Today might even be my last!

At that moment, the Lifeless King took notice of us.

Ahh!
My eyes met his!!!

Some got really scared and even tried to run away, but surprisingly, he just waved his hand at us.

“Good afternoon, everyone. Thomack More has returned to the Human Kingdom after thousands of years!”

He’s casually introducing himself?!
He’s surprisingly kind and seems very approachable!
Wait, did he just say he’s Thomack More? If that’s the case, then he’s the legendary anti-Order founder!

…Our introductions took longer than expected, but the point is, there’s no doubt a god will appear if the Lifeless King is present!

Everyone’s utterly convinced now.
Some of them are already satisfied with just seeing him, thinking it was worth coming here.

Back at the grounds, a young, unremarkably ordinary-looking man says, “Please, Sensei.”
“Understood.”

The Lifeless King responded to the man’s request?!
That young man is incredible!
Looks sure can be deceiving!

“Nya!”

In response to the Lifeless King’s incantation (???), time and space begin to distort, and appear two gorgeous goddesses.

“Hello, Demetersephone!”
“It doth bring me joy to see thee again!… Oh, hast thou changed thy manicure?”

Deities really did descend!!!

But wait…
The two deities that appeared were earth and sea goddesses, not the celestial god we humans worship.

Ah. The Order members banging the taiko up until a moment ago look disappointed!
But all hope is not lost yet…

“I will summon Hera, the Mother Heaven Goddess, next,” says the Lifeless King, and the tension that was on the verge of dissipating suddenly showed signs of recovery.

After the second summoning ritual, Hera, a guardian deity of our race, appeared! She is the wife of Zeus, in short, the Number Two!
When the deity most familiar to us appeared, our tension as spectators…

“Let all women perish equally, except for me.”

…plummeted down.

The meeting between Goddess Hera and the other two goddesses went awfully.
Our goddess has no compassion for the mortals. Not even an ounce of it.
The earth and sea goddesses’ compassion is even more conspicuous than hers.

The Order that had been advocating the celestial deities’ supremacy became despondent and said, “I think I’m going to abandon my faith…”,” Me too…”

The divine meeting was unbearable to witness, let alone listen to. But the Lifeless King, who seemed to have done his part, came over to us.

“Sensei? Is your miasma okay when you approach normal people?”
“I’m not the same person I was yesterday, Lord Saint. I’ve been working on regulating my miasma since then, and now, I’ve developed a new spell that can suppress it, albeit temporarily!”
“Oh! Amazing!”
“The spell’s called “Fe Breze!”

As much as we are disappointed with our goddess, this kind Lifeless King’s popularity shot up.

Everyone lined up to shake his hand.
I also got to shake hands with him. I am deeply moved.

Some of the young mothers even brought their newborns and…

“I was thinking of having our goddess worship my child…”
“It’s a baby girl, right? Best not to show it to Hera, lest she curses your child with the words, ‘May she grow up ugly enough so that Zeus never looks at her.’”

We all nod in agreement.

Thus, my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to worship a god ended in a very disappointing way, but thanks to the Lifeless King, I managed to recover.

I was particularly disappointed when Hera said she wanted to eat more cake. Ultimately, she was forced to exit the scene by the other goddesses.
Once I’m back home, I’ll clean up the altar and replace it with an earth deity.
I’ll also tell my son to stock up on earth and sea deity altars. I’m sure they’ll sell.

I couldn’t figure out why the goddesses were summoned, but I learned that it was to ask them to allow the three races to marry each other and have children.

This was confirmed when Lord Dalkish’s demon wife became pregnant.
In any case, things are auspicious.