I calmly established my concept. A mysterious wizard who traverses all dimensions to save the world. My voice was low and deliberately laden with meaning.

If I spoke lightly like a sparrow, it felt like a knife would fly at me. I had to act as if this guy had something up his sleeve, to make him think so.

And I began by denying the proposition that was the root of all problems.

“This guy is not an outsider.”

“Do you really think that makes sense? Even if his appearance, power, and manner of speaking have changed… I could never fail to recognize the darkness that flickers in those eyes.”

“Is that so…?”

Sharp as ever. The experience of being a former dark wizard doesn’t just vanish, or perhaps he was still mulling over the events of the session.

I scanned the surroundings. Many people were showing interest in the hostage situation unfolding in the middle of the road. I could have quietly handled the matter through illusion magic, but I deliberately stirred up a commotion to draw attention.

There were two purposes for this.

One was to act as a loudspeaker. To send a help call to the vanished Pingvalez and the sulking Master of the Magic Tower.

The other was to use the gaze of the public as a shield. It was a vile trick, but there was no other way to prevent the neck of the evil god from being snapped in half.

Openly slaughtering a seemingly delicate girl in the city center would be catastrophic for his reputation.

Bennett had to steer the “Hero Selection Tournament” in the desired direction to save Tara, so he would likely endure… or so I thought.

But perhaps the grudge runs deeper than I expected.

“I have received help from you. I feel gratitude. But my revenge takes precedence over that. So I warn you, step aside.”

“Do the other two feel the same way?”

“Yes, Tara and Niore would have made the same choice as I did.”

“……..”

His answer remains unwavering.

What Bennett experienced was merely a well-crafted story; it was all illusion magic. There were no victims. But Bennett does not know this.

If I were to say now that all these experiences were fake… he wouldn’t believe it. It would take a very long time to make him believe.

Ultimately, to resolve this situation, I must convince him of the difference between the outsider and the evil god.

“…You’re not going to throw me at Bennett, are you? Right, Mima?!”

“You’re thinking about it, so just be quiet for a moment.”

I pressed down hard on the top of the evil god’s head, which was clinging to my leg. She seemed excessively afraid of Bennett.

Just as a child who has a bug crawl on the back of their neck will fear bugs for life, the existence of Bennett, which is the origin of her being, seems to have left a trauma on the evil god.

Sin and punishment.

But even if Bennett’s experiences were real, I sincerely believe that the outsider and the evil god are separate entities.

Just as I think of ‘that’ as distinct from the evil god.

I brought up the discourse of a past life.

“If you feel indebted to me, please listen to this story. Have you heard of the ship of Theseus, Bennett?”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

“Of course, you’ve never heard of it before. It’s a word that does not exist here. There might be a similar concept, but they wouldn’t have borrowed the name of the ancient hero Theseus⋯⋯.”

“Explain it.”

There is a famous and interesting story. Depending on the perspective, it is a mysterious tale with dozens of variations.

“There is a ship that the hero Theseus sailed. The people of Athens wanted to preserve the ship that bore the hero’s achievements for a long time, so whenever a plank rotted, they replaced it with a new one.”

The Athenians repeated this process. To honor the hero’s achievements, they removed the old planks and attached new ones. And many years passed.

“Soon, not a single piece of the original ship that belonged to Theseus remained. Can we then call this the ship of Theseus?”

“⋯⋯If no original parts remain, then we cannot.”

“Then at what point does it stop being the ship of Theseus? One plank? Ten planks? Or does it lose its essence the moment even one original plank is changed?”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

Bennett pondered this issue. He could have grown irritated, dismissing it as a Zen riddle, but I appreciated his thoughtfulness.

It goes without saying that there is no answer to this question. There is only belief. And my belief is this. I placed my hand on my chest and spoke as I thought.

“My view is this: ‘Meaning’ must always be considered alongside ‘Direction.'”

What meaning could there be in a conscience that does not act, a gun that does not fire, or a theory that has no utility? Therefore, we must look at direction together.

“Even if not a single original plank remains, if it accompanies the hero’s great journey, then it is the ship of Theseus. Conversely, even if the ship is preserved exactly as it was, if it does not embark on an adventure, the probability of it being the ship of Theseus diminishes over time.”

So.

From ‘that’ ship, which has no function to feel joy from good deeds.

Yuna took a large plank and turned it into a ship, and I attached a sail of conscience to that ship. The ambiguous entity known as the Evil God is just like this. I explained this fact to Bennett.

“This child is a fragment extracted from the Evil God. I have imbued this fragment with a good heart. It exists on an ambiguous boundary that can neither be called a new being nor an original.”

“So you are claiming that the sins of the past have completely disappeared. Wizard?”

“I’m saying that I have yet to determine what to call her, Bennett. What we must look at is ‘Direction,’ and that is decided by the Evil God herself.”

Just as I, who am ambiguously mixed, chose the middle ground of black and white, the ambiguous Evil God should also have the opportunity to choose her direction. I have provided all the materials necessary for the choice.

Now it is the Evil God’s turn.

“If she chooses a wicked path, it is fine to call her an outsider. It is fine to hold her accountable for the outsider’s sins. At that time, I too will assist in the act of killing by dismembering and burning her…”

But if she denies her past self and declares that she will walk a new path.

“Then… could you please call her not an outsider, but merely a girl who happened to have bad parents?”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

The persuasion was complete.

Bennett gripped the black hilt, alternating between applying pressure and releasing it. He seemed to be pondering my words.

I pretended to relax my body as if leaving the choice up to him, but… with the hand pressing down on the evil deity’s crown, I secretly prepared my magic. A person dies when their neck is cut, but the nature of an information entity is ambiguous.

In a corporeal form, the succubus queen could be killed, but in a dream state where she is an information entity, the situation is slightly different. If I apply that nature, I might be able to disguise death.

I didn’t want to turn against Bennett, nor did I want to lose the evil deity.

I made the evil deity’s information a bit more malleable. She let out a strange sound, “Nueeek,” but knowing it was about saving her own life, she behaved herself.

And fortunately.

“…Is that so.”

Bennett closed his eyes and sheathed his sword. Did he understand?

It wasn’t just the evil deity who had sins in the past; Bennett, a former dark wizard, was the same. He might have recalled his own story.

That’s done.

The evil deity and I let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. If it worked, that’s a relief. Now, all that remained was to ease the tense atmosphere. We quietly discussed.

“…Hey, evil deity. Why don’t you try to charm him a bit?”

“…Are you out of your mind? If I act cute to someone who has barely held back, he’ll pull out his twin swords and come at me.”

That’s true.

Just as I decided that I would have to sacrifice myself to turn this scene into a comedy, an unexpected situation arose.

From the crowd of onlookers surrounding us, a priest stepped forward.

“It was an impressive… story. Wizard. And you too, Bennett.”

It was someone I recognized. A long time ago, I had seen him in the think tank of Irid, the noble’s uncle, the military priest, something like Yul. He looked like a priest.

With a subdued smile, he approached between Bennett and me, looking directly at me and asking.

He spoke in a voice that was calm yet loud.

“If so… I have something I would like to ask. Wizard of the Zatop. There is a great ship known as the Goddess’s ship. This ship had all its boards changed long ago, and it will continue to change in the future. New gods, new cardinals, new popes…”

From the surrounding crowd, I heard murmurs as if people were recognizing him. Perhaps because he was a former cardinal, he had quite a bit of name value. The attention was growing.

The surprise of the man who suddenly intervened without exchanging a word was momentary, as a prickling sensation came over me.

“…Then how can this ship become the ship of the goddess?”

He intended to use our bickering as a political attack to pressure the existing corrupt religious figures!

I quickly racked my brain. Since I intended to help Bennett’s ‘Reformist’ faction anyway, the more we could take down the existing corrupt powers, the better.

It seemed that man had come to a similar conclusion. Good. Let’s ride the wave. We’ll hear the details later.

I cast a slight illusion magic on my voice to make it clear and distinct, resonating all around. I even cast it on that military priest Yul.

And I spoke eloquently.

“It is only natural for the boards of a ship called religion to change. Time moves many saints across the distant waters, so in the end, only the ‘direction’ will remain.”

“Then, what direction should the goddess’s ship sail?”

“It is the original intention. We must move towards the direction the goddess pointed with her finger, the direction where the goddess’s faith was pure and devoted. We must chase the greatest meaning.”

The war priest uncle made an exaggeratedly moved expression. Some in the crowd nodded or clapped in response.

“…Thank you for your words, Wizard. Today, I have gained a great realization. Perhaps, Wizard, and you, Bennett… would you share more about the direction the goddess’s faith should take moving forward?”

“Very well. Brother Bennett, let us go as well; since we have formed a good connection, how could it not be enjoyable? Let us move to a place with good water and beautiful scenery.”

I subtly released the young lady as if it were not a hostage situation, pretending to be friendly with the war priest uncle as we moved.

Bennett looked suddenly bewildered, but it seemed he knew the priest uncle. When he gestured, he followed along for the time being.

Thus, the midday hostage situation was tied up as a gathering proclaiming a religious reform.

——–

Thinking back on it.

Surviving as the brother of the cold-hearted northern duke who would send his own daughter into exile.

Being there when Irid called for personnel.

Having a career that reached the position of cardinal, with a reputation so well established that some in the crowd recognized him.

The young lady thought that if she met this ‘uncle,’ things would somehow work out.

The following facts suggest that this war priest uncle is not just a simple, kind-hearted man, but rather someone who excels at political maneuvering.

“I am the former cardinal and current war priest, Dakiten Julius. Haha…”

He smiles amiably, but it implies that a fox is sitting inside. I crossed my legs and, with the demon lord perched on top, asked pointedly.

“What was that show earlier? I accepted it, but…”

“I thought it was a good opportunity, so I acted thoughtlessly… I apologize if it was rude.”

But I know you caught on and played along. If you were to align with the ‘Reformists’ and ride the Bennett coin, it would have been mutually beneficial, so you wouldn’t apologize.

“I certainly didn’t notice your presence when I saw you in front of the second prince.”

“There were so many high-ranking individuals present…”

Since it was a gathering of princesses, princes, and the head of the mage tower, it meant he didn’t need to stand out.

“Bennett, do you… know him? If you do, could you explain it to me?”

“…Sure. To get to the point, Wizard. You know that Tara cannot use divine power. Tara was stealing the divine power of a fallen priest through the fable ‘Regretful End,’ but the limit has been reached.”

There are many wicked people in the world, but if you keep exploiting them, suspicion will inevitably arise someday.

If every place Tara goes results in the loss of divine power, naturally, the suspicion will fall on her. Therefore, Tara needed a stable source of divine power.

Someone who could tolerate the fact that Tara has no divine power and is stealing it.

“The author approached us, the ‘Reformists.’ He expressed dissatisfaction with the current goddess’s faith, claiming that we are looking in the same direction.”

“…Did I say it that elegantly?”

—

“He said he could share his divine power. Also, he had a plausible way of fabricating divine power.”

It’s a loaded statement.

At Bennett’s introduction, the military priest uncle stood up and introduced himself with flair. The atmosphere felt more like that of a… con artist than a priest.

“…I am Military Priest Dakiten Julius, currently active as a member of the ‘Reformist’ faction. I look forward to working with you all.”

I clapped half-heartedly while organizing my thoughts.

The request from the young lady had been fulfilled on its own, so that’s a clear.

The misunderstanding with Bennett has been cleared up for now, so that’s also a clear.

Then, what remains is to subtly help with the difficulties Bennett is facing, enjoy a date in the divine city, and gather information about the goddess in the process…

…Only the matter of receiving love advice remains.