“...Pfft.”
“…?”
A light chuckle reached my ears, breaking the silence of the prayer room. Before me stood a figure, unexpectedly appearing, and speaking in Arkish.
“Ahahaha! I’m just kidding. Come on, do you really think a god would be bound by a language created by humans?”
“…Edel?”
“Yes! Edel it is!”
The woman—Edel—made a V with her fingers over her eyes, beaming cheerfully.
From the divine aura she radiated and the peculiar presence she held, I figured she really was Edel.
...So, this is a god?
“…‘This is’ a god? Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“Hmm?”
I hadn’t actually spoken, just thought it, but...
…Oh. She’d just said she wasn’t bound by human language.
Could she read my thoughts?
“Correct~! Although, I can’t read everything. You have a peculiar knack for blocking things out, so it’s not exactly easy.”
“It really is Edel.”
“Didn’t I tell you?”
She did say so.
It’s just that I didn’t expect a god to be this casual. She felt more like some idle layabout from a village than an actual deity.
“…You do remember that I can read your thoughts, right?”
I know. Makes things convenient.
“You’re quite a strange one.”
Most people would be uncomfortable with someone reading their thoughts, yet here I was thinking it was convenient.
Edel muttered this as she looked down at me with her curious, silver eyes gleaming.
“But, could you just speak out loud? As I said, your thoughts aren’t exactly easy to read.”
“Got it.”
“Good, good. So, what brings my little chick here from so far away? What were you curious about?”
She could read my mind, so she must already know why I came, but Edel still asked, acting as if she had no idea.
Why did I come here, she asks?
I’d come all the way to the Holy City with the sole purpose of asking Edel my questions, but I hadn’t expected the god herself to descend before me.
Even if I did get an answer, I’d only expected it to be a revelation, not…
“Is a revelation so insignificant that you’d call it ‘only’?”
I had been so caught off guard by her sudden appearance that my carefully thought-out questions vanished. I needed a moment to collect my thoughts again.
It didn’t take long to recall what I’d been thinking for a while.
“-Are you the Administrator?”
“….”
Edel froze, her smile still plastered on her face, as if my question had caught her completely off guard.
She seemed to be carefully choosing her words, much like I had been moments before, before finally speaking.
“I know your manner of speech already, but could you at least call me ‘Edel’? I may be a god, but I do have some dignity, you know.”
Edel opened with something entirely unrelated to my question as she took light steps toward the statue of herself and leaned against it.
Until I saw Edel in person, I hadn’t realized how different she was from the statue that was supposed to represent her.
Honestly, if I had been told to find Edel based on that statue, I would have failed.
Not that many people have seen Edel in person.
Anyone who did is long gone by now.
Thinking that made me realize how bizarre this moment was, facing the god herself.
“For someone saying that, you don’t look all that moved. Anyway, there’s no point in denying it now. I didn’t think you’d be so direct with your question, though.”
Edel said this with a resigned tone, letting out a small sigh.
“When did you figure it out?”
“Well…”
If I had to pinpoint when, it’d be when I ate that ridiculously spicy fried rice.
That level of spiciness was something I wouldn’t easily find in this world, so intense it stirred up memories I’d long forgotten.
But that alone wouldn’t have made me suspicious.
“It’s odd, right? The continent across the sea, unknown to most, suddenly has all these newcomers, and you just happen to grant them blessings?”
“The demons arrived in a similar way, didn’t they?”
“But they weren’t accepted so easily.”
Why do you think the two Race Wars happened?
It’s because the Silia natives refused to accept the demons who tried to settle here.
Of course, I know the reasons behind their resistance, so I’m not blaming them.
It’s just how things are.
“Even with your blessing, Edel, it’s strange that so many Apostles settled without much conflict.”
And that wasn’t the only odd thing.
“Resurrections, barely mentioned in the history books, the behavior of these Apostles, so different from Silia natives, their rapid growth…”
I could list just the major oddities, but I could go on forever if needed.
Even though I’d only recently encountered the Apostles, I felt an uncanny sense of alienness from them, yet those around me, who’d had much more contact with them, didn’t seem to notice.
They just brushed it off with, ‘They’re Edel’s Apostles, so that makes sense.’
That reaction only fueled my suspicions further.
And,
“I could confirm my suspicions thanks to Journey.”
Journey’s behavior had solidified my doubts.
No matter how much someone might enjoy talking to themselves, she does it excessively. Almost like she’s having a conversation with someone.
Even aside from that, her words and actions constantly reminded me of my faraway, forgotten home.
That’s one reason I decided to travel with her.
“Then why didn’t you tell her about your suspicions?”
“If this is indeed a game world, as I suspect, revealing that could bring me more harm than good.”
A game character realizing they’re part of a game and addressing the player?
If that wasn’t deliberate, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were immediately deleted.
Funny, how I don’t remember much else from my past life, but I remember this. I must’ve been a huge gamer back then.
“Heh. But doesn’t that make this moment dangerous?”
“I don’t care.”
Maybe even these thoughts of mine are being manipulated by someone.
Perhaps I’m just a character with a backstory of ‘a man reincarnated from Earth.’
“Living like a puppet is worse than dying. I just didn’t want to die without knowing the truth.”
“…Rest assured, you’re no puppet. If anything, you’re… a sword.”
“A sword?”
Edel continued, as if choosing her words carefully.
“A sword, well-sharpened, carefully kept close for protection.”
“If I’m a sword, what does that mean?”
“In short, you’re half-right and half-wrong. This world is indeed a game, but…”
Edel spun around in a circle.
It might’ve just been my imagination, but she looked even more translucent than before.
“It’s also a real world.”
“…What does that mean?”
Either it is or it isn’t. What’s with this half-and-half explanation?
I unintentionally asked in a grumpy tone, and she responded with a faint smile.
“Don’t think too hard about it. Just think of it as a real world where people from another world arrived. That’s all.”
Unlike you, they crossed over via the game.
I listened, but it still didn’t sit right with me.
“Is that even possible?”
If that’s true, it’d mean Earth’s technology advanced so far that it could turn entire worlds into games.
How much time had passed after my death for that to happen?
“Of course it’s not possible. No matter how advanced technology gets, it can’t rival the power of a god.”
Edel quickly agreed.
“This world was originally normal, and my powers were intact. You know, those beings not of this world, who invade from beyond dimensions.”
Something flashed in my mind. It hadn’t been long since I fought one of those.
“I’ve been fighting them for ages. If you count by human years… hundreds of them. But in the end, I lost. And what resulted from that is—”
“Dimensional Beasts.”
“Correct.”
Her answer was refreshingly candid.
Dimensional Beasts first appeared on the continent when I was four, so it’s only been about thirteen years since then.
So, Edel lost around that time, too.
“They’ve gnawed at, corrupted, and shattered my world. And as a world breaks, so too does a god’s power diminish.”
“And that’s when Earth people took the chance to turn this world into a game?”
“Huh? No, no! Even weakened, I wouldn’t let humans subject me to such humiliation.”
“Then why is it like this?”
“Aw, are you getting annoyed? That’s adorable.”
As I felt my irritation slip, Edel noticed immediately and laughed.
Not like a ghost, but as a real god would.
I looked at her, unimpressed.
“I chose to make this world a game. It was the best option I had.”
“…Turning it into a game was the best option?”
“I made a pact with Earth’s god… or, in their terms, the Administrator.”
She looked somber, as she explained.
“I agreed to turn Silia into a game, and by submitting it to his world, I ensured this world’s survival.”
Otherwise, Silia would’ve faced nothing but destruction.
Her voice was full of mixed emotions.
“So that’s why I said you’re half-right. I am the Administrator of this game world, ‘Silia Online,’ and also its god.”
So, how do you feel about solving the puzzle?
Satisfied? Bored? Relieved?
I replied to Edel’s question.
“To be honest.”
“Yes, yes?”
“It sucks.”
“Ahahaha! Right? I think so, too!”
Edel burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.
…What’s so funny?
I just don’t get it.