Putting the uselessness of the Goddess aside, Dina continued her explanation.

  The topic was how the boy Sei was ignoring the Goddess’ scenario. Honestly, nobody had thought that he would be so far off from the Goddess’ script.

  “Honestly, he should have lamented his own powerlessness and sought out power. With the Goddess’ adjustments, he would have long shot up to Level 1000. But even though he was weak, he continued to look for things that he could do and open up a way. There has never been a hero like this until now. He is a child who knows he’s weak, yet still continues to look for a way.”


  “But won’t she like such a person?”


  “Yes, of course.”


  While we were talking, one of the restaurant’s waiters came from the kitchen with a tray holding some pudding and tiramisu. There were three sets, so each of us had a plate in front of us. Dina and I knew what they were, but they were unknown dishes to Benet. The other world didn’t have pudding or tiramisu. Benet looked strangely at the pudding for a while before scooping it with a spoon and putting into her mouth. Then, she stiffened for a moment, but continued eating as if nothing had happened.

  “Does it suit your taste?”


  “It’s not bad.”


  Her response was nothing exceptional, but her hand, which was holding the spoon, didn’t stop moving. Apparently, she rather liked it. I also brought the tiramisu to my mouth and felt a slight satisfaction tasting its sweetness. I already knew this, but the difference between each world’s cuisine was like that of heaven and earth.

  If one wished to eat this in Midgard……Of course, there was no tiramisu there, but assuming somebody made it……It would cost several hundred thousand yen. Even nobles and royalty did not eat this. After all, I had been a ruler for a while, so there’s no doubt about it.

  However, the same dessert only cost three hundred ninety-nine yen here. For better or worse, I had been wanting to eat something like this without knowing how precious it was……I suppose that’d be the way to put it.

  “But this is really ironic.”


  “Eh?”


  After gobbling up the tiramisu, Benet spoke some mocking words. Dina and I turned our gazes to her.

  “The Goddess prefers people who can walk on their own two feet. But those people wouldn’t bother with her third-rate script. Strongly independent individuals would naturally reject the Goddess more often. In the end, the ones who would follow her script are those people whom she hates, the idiots who think that it’s only natural to be blessed. ……Only puppets would play along with a puppet show.”


  Benet’s sarcastic words made Dina lower her head and laugh a little. Her expression suggested that she was pitying someone who wasn’t here. But soon after, Dina looked up and returned to her usual smile.

  At that moment, a waiter came from the kitchen. Apparently, Benet had called for the staff.

  “Give me two each of the pudding and tiramisu from before. Also, add a gelato.”


  “Understood.”
……

  Benet, didn’t you say it’s merely not bad?

  If it was delicious, it would be fine to just say it was delicious. It was strange to not be straightforward about things.

  “Currently, there are barely any pieces left for the Goddess. Except for the ouroboroses which are her last resort, there’s only Sol, who can barely fight Ruphas-sama and the others.”


  “Sol?”


  “He’s the last one of the Seven Luminaries and the avatar of the Sun Ouroboros. Unlike me, he’s completely on the Goddess’ side. Depending on his movements, Sei-kun may be brainwashed by the Goddess due to his desire for power.”


  I see. So the Goddess intended to make the boy Sei a complete hero and turn him against me?

  Even so, if it was just him alone, he wouldn’t be a match for me. But it would be troublesome if all the humanoids united in the name of the hero. Public opinion could be more troublesome than simple violence. If the people of the world rose up to defeat me, Megrez and the others might be forced to fight me as well. There was nothing more troublesome than a populace that believed in its own justice.

  “That would certainly be a hassle……By the way, will you be alright?”


  “I won’t be alright. There may come a time in the near future where I’ll be moved as a piece by the Goddess-sama. There’s nothing that I can do about that, since I’m her avatar. It cannot be resisted with only willpower.”


  Dina spoke gently and met my eyes. Her eyes showed her readiness to meet her fate. Yes, she knew what would happen to her in the end.

  “So, Ruphas-sama, at that time, don’t hesitate.”


  “.……Ah, yes.”


  I responded to Dina’s words with my determination. Yes, the action that I needed to take had already been decided. No matter which route I took, it was inevitable that Dina would become an enemy if I aimed to defeat the Goddess.

  Move the piece called Dina and use her as a hostage. There was no way that the Goddess would not use such a simple and effective hand. And at that time, I would have to harden my resolve.

  After that, we left the shop after some further discussion and conversation. All that was left to do was go where we wouldn’t be seen and return to the other world. When we returned there, it would probably be the beginning of the final battle.

  It seemed that there was still an enemy in the form of Sol……but this wasn’t something that I needed to worry about. After all, the Twelve Stars were still there. Therefore, they would surely protect the place in my absence. But before that, there was another place I wanted to stop by.

  “Dina, is it possible to delay our return a bit? I want to make a detour……”


  ♌


  “.……What’s this? A bug at this time? Work properly! The developers need to do their jobs properly.”


  I was feeling down and unmotivated to do anything.

  After the end of the big event the other day, I was thrilled to see a new event signified by the appearance of Alovenus when I was about to login. Well, of course I was looking forward to it. After all, it had said, “Would you like to be granted a new role?”


  However, the screen just flashed and nothing else happened. I wanted my excitement back. Anyway, that was it.

  When I considered it calmly, I didn’t feel like logging in today. I wondered why I had been so passionate about this game thus far. X-Gate Online was a game that I had been enthusiastic about and spent a lot of time on, but it didn’t seem to be such an interesting game when I came to my senses.

  After all, there were a lot of things that broke the game’s balance. My friends had also said that it was a crappy game. I had argued about it at that time, but now, I felt like what they had said was true……

  Well, all online games were probably like this.

  The player wouldn’t notice it in the heat of enthusiasm, but it would cool down quickly once some distance was kept from it. This was a story that one would hear about a lot.

  That’s right. I had been gaming too much lately. I should try something different today. For the time being, it’d be a good idea to chill out and see if there’s an interesting game at the nearby store. In the end, I was still trying to find a game.

  Even though I was amazed at myself, I went down the stairs and opened the door to my house. Then, my domestic cat, Fahl, jumped through the gap in the door and ran outside.

  “Ah, hey!”


  I quickly left the house to go after Fahl, but I was surprised to find it immediately. It was rubbing its head against the leg of a blonde beauty who must have been passing by.

  This was impossible. Who was this super beauty? Was it CGI?

  Her blonde hair glittered as it reflected the sunlight. Its tips shone vermillion. In fact, she looked a bit like the character I played in X-Gate Online. She gently carried Fahl and placed it in front of me.

  “Is……No, is this your cat?”


  “Ah, yes. It—It is.”


  “I see.”


  Beauty-san handed my cat over to me and passed me by. At that time, I felt……What was it? It was a strange feeling that I couldn’t really describe. It was like someone whom I knew had walked by……It was as if I had known her even before I was born. Fahl was strangely restless, looking back and forth between Beauty-san and me in puzzlement.

  “Uh, excuse me!”


  “What?”


  “Ha—Have I seen you somewhere before……?”


  “Haha, what is that? A pick-up line?”


  “Ah, no. It’s not like that……”


  What……What should I say? Actually, I didn’t even know why myself. Why did I call out to stop her? She turned to look back at me once.

  “This is the first time we’ve met, and we won’t meet again. I just visited this place because I wanted to see it for a bit, and I’ll be taking my leave now. ……Our paths will not cross again.”


  After saying this, she walked away without looking back. Even so, to say that we wouldn’t meet again……Was it really such a disgusting pick-up line? Hmm. That must be it. After all, nobody would like to be asked, “Have we met before?” by a guy simply for passing by his house.

  At that moment, I saw a black feather floating by in the corner of my eye. I quickly caught it, but it seemed there was no crow nearby. At the same time, the woman had disappeared like a mirage.

  “.……Was it a dream?”


  As if I had been made a fool of by a tanuki, I released the black feather in my hand into the wind.

  “Was that enough?”


  “Yeah……Now then, let’s return to Midgard.”


  And so, I finished my first and final encounter with myself and returned to my original world. I didn’t know what his life would be like in the future. After all, he was no longer my avatar, but an independent person.

  ♌


  “Oh—!”


  Compressed mana was released from his mouth as Leon roared. Unless one was using a skill with absolute evasion, it would be impossible to avoid this attack that could even change the terrain of the planet itself.

  The attack range itself was strange in the first place. The roar released from the huge lion’s mouth spread in a radius, becoming a wall that attacked the enemy and allowed no escape. The range expanded to a few kilometers in an instant, making evasion impossible.

  Although it might be possible to avoid it if one could move at a faster speed in that instant, Sol couldn’t do so. He crossed his arms to withstand the attack. The ground, including the spot where he stood, was shaved off as if it had disappeared. Not only that, even the thousand-meter high mountain that was located behind him disappeared without a trace. It was needless to mention how powerful the attack was.

  However, even if a mountain could be erased, a powerful individual would not be erased so easily. This was that kind of world.

  Sol enjoyed the burning sensation on the surface of his arms and grinned.

  “At first glance, it seems like a powerful attack. No, it actually is a powerful attack……but you don’t have much control over it. It’s flashy, but its power is spread out. This won’t be enough to defeat me. It seems you still don’t understand the nature of a battle between powerful individuals.”


  “Huh?”


  “Let me teach you. What a battle between powerful individuals needs is……”


  Sol jumped from that spot and landed before Leon. However, it should not be underestimated just because it was a jump. When it was done at Sol’s speed, it was effectively no different from instantaneous movement. The moment after one registered that he had started moving, it was already over.

  “A concentration of power!”


  Sol smashed his fist into Leon’s nose. At the same time, a white glow shone and Leon was blown away. As he punched, he also activated arcane magic, dealing double damage. The attack looked plain on the surface, but it certainly did more damage to Leon than the previous roar had done to Sol.

  “Even if it looks like a simple punch, it still exerts a strong force since its power is concentrated. Didn’t Ruphas Mafahl teach you that?”


  A wide area attack seemed powerful at first glance. However, in reality, its power had been dispersed, thus it was actually quite weak. If there were a large number of enemies, it would be very effective, but there was little merit in using it against a single opponent. It would merely make it difficult to avoid, but one could just attack at a speed that the opponent couldn’t avoid.

  However, Leon’s life had always been filled with battles that had come to him. He had always been the one being challenged. He had always been the king who had to face the multitude by himself. Although it might clear away a swarm of small fries, he had never personally polished the techniques needed to defeat a powerful individual. And that probably wouldn’t change in the future as well.

  “Hah! In short, it’s just the tearful effort of a small fry! I’m originally strong to begin with. I don’t need that sort of thing!”


  Leon’s limb knocked Sol down as if the latter was a mosquito. Sol plunged into the ground as if it was tofu or something similar, but he immediately flew out of the ground behind Leon.

  Sei, who was watching the battle, was overwhelmed and said, “It’s not a pool……”


  In a battle between Level 1000 monsters, the ground wasn’t truly ground and footing wasn’t really footing. Sol kicked Leon away before the latter could turn around, releasing arcane magic in order to press the offensive.

  At first glance, they seemed to be evenly matched. But the balance was definitely breaking down