Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

Book 7: Chapter 11

The palace of the royal family of Sura, the Sacred Palace, was much smaller than anything in the kingdom, and ultimately even in the Empire. That said, it was a building with a lot of history, and the atmosphere spoke for itself. Surprisingly, few people were around, and they barely encountered anybody until they reached Sakura’s room. She mentioned that only a few selected individuals were even allowed to be close to the tower, which explained their small number.

“I’m sorry, please wait a moment.”

The biggest surprise of all was that Sakura quickly prepared tea for all of them. Lieze felt guilty and offered to help, but—

“You are all Mera-sama’s, as well as my, guests. This is what is expected of me,” Sakura declined and began sipping on her tea.

It seemed like the princess of this country was different from the nobles they had met before.

They followed Sakura’s guidance through the Sacred Palace when they ran into an elderly person on their way. Despite standing tall with no signs of age, he wore tight clothes with a woven hat, a wipe for him to wipe his sweat away. He looked like a gardener. He looked incredibly out of place. He must have just taken care of the garden. His hands and feet were dirty.

“Oh, we have visitors? Apologies for meeting you looking like this.” He took off his hat and apologized. “I say, isn’t this your first time having visitors? I hope you take good care of the lady,” he showed a warm smile and lowered his head, leaving them behind.

The group could barely even greet the man properly, but Kyle had an inkling as to who this man would be, so he asked Sakura.

“I’m sorry, but…could that have been…”

“Yes. He is my father.”

“The Holy Ruler…” Kyle couldn’t hide his shock and retorted in a rush.

The Holy Ruler…The one standing atop all faithful believers in this country, someone more important than even Emperor Benedix of the Galgan Empire. And yet, he was just acting like your average old man walking down the street.

“He is really into gardening, see…Ah, this is actually a national secret, so please don’t tell anybody about this. We can’t risk anybody harming his precious plants.”

It seems like even problems like these turn into a big deal for someone standing at the top of all faith.

“I have never heard of such a pointless national secret,” Shildonia voiced everyone’s thoughts.

“We cannot let people get close to the Tower, but he wouldn’t let the plants suffer either, so he has made it his own hobby to look after them…”

“Yes, I understand. We won’t tell a soul about this…”

Never had Kyle had to make discussions about something like this.

“So…could I get to the main point?” After Sakura had prepared the tea for everyone, she began speaking once more. “Now that you have been accepted by Mera-sama, I shall tell you the truth about our family. You hold the qualifications, after all.”

“Um…We can step out if this is related to Kyle, so…”

In fact, Urza felt utterly exhausted after the encounter with Mera, so she wanted to excuse herself.

“No, I ask you to listen…This is done in Mera-sama’s will, too.”

At the very end, Mera asked Sakura to explain her own circumstances, and this was an order by the goddess herself. Now that they couldn’t decline, Urza prepared herself.

“First, the royal family is tasked with looking after the Tower of Beginnings, governed by the gods. So in a way…we are nothing but caretakers,” Sakura said, as the one standing at the summit of this country. “The traditions state that Cairys-sama herself tasked us with this, but it was actually by all the gods and not just her. At the same time, we were made the [Oracle] of this generation, so we are given the power to witness a [Descent], too.”

After she explained all the details, she began focusing on Mera specifically, albeit reluctantly.

“…And out of all the gods, only Mera-sama is willing to appear before humanfolk. With the other gods absent, we can only act as she asks us to…” Sakura said, showing a bit of exhaustion in her tone as well as expression.

“So yesterday was…”

“Yes. I acted under Mera-sama’s orders. She suddenly asked me to…befriend you, so…I had no other choice. I cannot apologize enough for that…”

“Is that so. I can only sympathize.”

From the looks of it, Mera would regularly give her orders as ridiculous as these.

“I’m sure Mera-sama had a fitting reason to act in such a way…” Sakura smiled to protect Mera, but she clearly didn’t believe in her own words. “A-Anyway, this is the duty bestowed upon the royal family. At certain intervals, Mera-sama would inhibit my body, which grants me immense amounts of mana, but I still struggle to use it to its fullest potential…” Sakura showed a self-deprecating smile.

She was rumored to be able to use supreme-tier magic as one of the three individuals in the whole world, but the rumors seemed to have been giving her too much credit.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, but that encounter we had in the tower just now…how is that different from a [Descent]?” Minagi asked.

“Very different. The inside of the Tower is part of this world, but also the residence of the gods, so the gods can freely move within the restriction of the tower’s walls.”

That’s why she’s willing to offer her body for Mera to use instead of risking the effects of a [Descent].

“Hence, it has been more than a thousand years since the last [Descent].”

“Huh? But I thought the last [Descent] happened two thousand years ago when the Nameless Hero sought the gods’ help?”

“No, that isn’t quite true. There was one [Descent] when Zaales was still prospering.” Shildonia answered Lieze’s question instead of Sakura. “I…Or rather, my real body Magic King Shildonia Zaales met the Goddess of Earth Cairys before,” she bluntly exclaimed, telling a mythical story not left behind in history.

***

It is commonly known that the Ancient Magic Kingdom Zaales boasted itself in limitless magic power through the use of the [Divine Dragon’s Heart], allowing it to prosper for centuries to come. And the one governing this country was none other than Shildonia’s real body.

“Zaales prospered…But as a result, we committed two unforgivable sins. The first…is the creation of life…the creation of a soul.”

The artificial creation of a soul… wasn’t something fake like a homunculus or a chimera. They wanted to create life out of nothing, which should be a deed only allowed to the gods themselves, and Zaales managed to make significant progress.

“The new life possessing an artificially created soul was…a success at first. But, this isn’t relevant now. The other grave sin…was that we wanted to prove the existence of the gods.”

What they were…where they were hiding…It must have been an innocent desire to learn more at first. But of course, human desires are bottomless.

“The existence of gods has been inadvertently proven by the divine magic that is made possible through the faith in the remnants of a godly power. We understood this as a concept. However, that wasn’t good enough. We wanted to bring shape to our theory…And looking back on it, we couldn’t have been more foolish,” Shildonia gazed into the distance as she sighed.

After they had completed their research, they judged that interacting with the gods here in the Tower of Beginnings was possible, so they tried to steal this land from the royal family.

“I tried to object to these actions…But as I failed, I am just as guilty.”

Reaching their conclusion, Shildonia entered the Tower without the gods’s permission…and met Goddess Cairys.josei

“And then, we were given divine punishment,” she said and closed her mouth.

“What was this divine punishment?” Minagi couldn’t suppress the urge to ask.

“…Zaales was destroyed,” she bluntly answered.

Just this one sentence was impactful enough for everyone to go silent. Learning that the demise of one of humanfolk’s most prosperous countries was related to the gods was just too…shocking.

“After the peak of Zaales, the day my real body died, it all collapsed in a mere ten years. Even though it remained strong for a thousand years. Ironic, is it not?”

“But…wasn’t it said that the depletion of the [Divine Dragon’s Heart] is what led to the eventual fall of Zaales? I’m starting to get dizzy here.”

Met with a scale far surpassing anything she had experienced, Minagi was starting to grow even more exhausted, so she took a sip from her tea.

“Ah, you mean this?”

“…Pffft?!”

There, for good or bad timing, Kyle nonchalantly took out the previously mentioned [Divine Dragon’s Heart], leaving Minagi to spit the tea out in all directions.

“H-How the hell do you have that?!”

“Well…I’ll explain everything later.”

Kyle remembered that he still hadn’t filled Minagi in on everything, making him feel guilty again.

“The depletion of the heart was something we predicted, and we had prepared measures to cope with such, but the fact that the reason our ruin was divine punishment…is better left unsaid,” Shildonia reluctantly continued. “As this was treated on the level of the highest security, only a few individuals knew of this, and I had no intention of telling you this…but the gods let it slide, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”

“The royal family here has known of this from the start…and we were tasked to never tell a soul of it.” Sakura’s statement supported this truth.

“So Zaales fell…because they revolted against the gods…”

It sounded simple enough to put into words, but knowing the gravity of it all, it sent shivers down Kyle’s spine.

“Just as the stories described her to be, Goddess Cairys was kind and forgiving. She made it sound like it was partially her fault that all that happened…over and over. As for the details…I still can’t tell you. I promised to not tell people, so I couldn’t even inform you of this, Kyle.” Shildonia looked at everyone, speaking with a grave voice. “More importantly…this is what happens when you go against the gods’ will.”

Silence filled the room.

“…Now that I think about it, what exactly is this whole [Trial and Blessing] thing? Said that Mom took that thing, too?” Seran beautifully cut through the tense atmosphere.

“That…Well, as the name suggests, it’s a trial from the gods themselves, and those who challenge and overcome it receive a blessing that will grant you any wish.”

“Any wish…But it can’t just be anything, right?”

“Close to that. Of course, you can’t just wish for something that surpasses the strength of even the gods themselves. But as a direct wish from the gods, it allows for a large scale,” Leyla bluntly explained.

“For example…It could erase the existence of an island threatening the safety of the whole world?” Kyle remembered the story of the Nameless Hero who saved the world.

That must have been another case of this [Trial and Blessing].

“Absolutely right. We call those who were granted the blessing an [Enlightened].”

The [Enlightened] even appeared even in the myths, and the very first Holy Ruler was one.

“So you’re one of those [Enlightened], too, Mom?”

“Well…Involuntarily.”

“Leyla-san, you shouldn’t…” Sakura tried to cut in, but Leyla just loudly snorted.

“Shouldn’t what? Both you and the Holiness…And Mera just kept pushing me around.”

Leyla bluntly talked to the princess, yet Sakura didn’t mind. So Leyla was as much of a victim as Sakura when it came to Mera. The sympathy was astonishing.

“Oh? So you’re the same as that Nameless Hero…”

“Don’t bring up these stories in front of Mera. She hates stories where her younger sister stands out in such a positive light,” Leyla sighed, showing the trouble she went through. “Plus, I didn’t take it because I wanted to.”

“What do you mean?”

Hearing Kyle’s question, Leyla seemed less than willing to talk about it, but she knew that she couldn’t just sweep it under the rug. When she was a young orphan, she seemingly was taken in by a hidden village used by the Mera cult. It was one of the few places that actually valued strength over anything, part of the orthodox faction, so Leyla joined their training. And since they only cared about growing stronger and nothing else, Leyla didn’t know much about the cult and anything related. By the time she was ten, she was taken to this holy capital to the underground chapel. That’s when she learned of the extremist faction and met Cordi for the first time.

“The orthodox and extremist factions are like two different cults, huh?”

“Something like that. That said, I was really out of the loop back then,” Leyla showed a wry smile. “Through all the training, I fought at all sorts of places…and that’s how I met Seraia and Roel.”

Yet when she spoke of that, she had a nostalgic look. Shortly after, she apparently took the [Trial and Blessing], too. With no reason to fight for anybody, she became a gladiator at the Galgan Colosseum, becoming the undefeated champion.

“Basically, I didn’t have any particular goal or some strong belief that urged me to take the [Trial and Blessing], so I have no right to butt in with you.”

Seeing her react in such a self-deprecating way was really off-putting for the three from Rimarze who knew her.

“Ahh…Right. So, what wish did you have yourself granted?” Seran asked to get rid of the tense atmosphere.

“…A pointless wish. One I’m even regretting at this point.” She seemed like she didn’t want to talk about it.

“Ain’t that a waste?”

“Oh for sure. Even Mera gave me a dubious look, asking if I was really fine with that. Said she’d give me an extra because it’s something about her honor as a goddess.”

“Bonus?”

“…Strength. Back then, I felt like I’d reached my limit through my own training, but I was allowed to make it past that,” she said it so nonchalantly, but Kyle was rather shocked about it.

He saw through the strength of Leyla, who he thought he could never beat, and it also made his own heart jump because strength was what he wished for the most.

“So if I…take the [Trial and Blessing], will I be able to get stronger?” Kyle asked.

“That…depends on you,” Leyla answered with an uncertain look.

Her words were devoid of any emotion as she did.

***

“I…had no idea that you came from the future, Kyle,” Minagi said like she was blaming him.

“Right…I’m sorry for keeping quiet.”

Kyle had no other option but to apologize.

“But if I may make my case…If I had told you, would you have believed me?”

“I…don’t think I would have, no.”

If she hadn’t heard it from Mera herself, she would not have taken it nearly as seriously.

“More importantly, I’m just as shocked to hear that you guys knew…Why did you tell them, Shildonia?” Kyle glared at Shildonia, who remained calm.

“Unlike Seran and Lieze, I already had my doubts, but it still came as a shock. But your actions gave me the feeling that something was going on…so I had to believe it.”

Just as Urza stated, Kyle wasn’t exactly trying to hide it, but he also never bothered to explain himself. The only reason nobody probably called him out on it was that they were all trying to be nice, but Shildonia’s choice may have made the correct choice.

“But we still don’t know the details. Only that you know what’s gonna happen, and that you’re trying to change it. But that’s about it,” Lieze said like it was nothing special, but Kyle was shocked once again.

“Huh? That’s…all?”

“That’s all. We were never told the details, and not what you’re trying to accomplish,” Lieze continued, to which Seran nodded.

“But I didn’t think it’d be as crazy as trying to save the world.”

“Hold on…You were still following me…despite such a nonsensical reason?”

“Isn’t that enough?” Lieze gave Kyle a dubious glance, wondering what he was saying.

That said, Kyle’s question was more than gratified in his mind, at least.

“I’ve got a whole lot of complaints lined up. You didn’t believe us, right? You were worried we wouldn’t take you seriously so you never told us…am I wrong?”

Lieze’s words and gaze stabbed exactly where it hurt. In the end, Kyle decided they wouldn’t believe him, so he never tried.

“But…I forgive you. Because I saw you crying, after all.”

“Urk…” Kyle remembered he broke out in tears in front of everyone, despairing for good.

He had no memory of crying this much for the past ten years, and yet they were all smiling at Kyle. Though Seran, Shildonia, and Leyla were more like grinning at him than anything.

“U-Um…I read in a book that a crying man stimulates a woman’s desire to protect them, so it actually works quite well to seem appealing!” Sakura tried to provide a follow for Kyle’s damage, but it ended up being more critical.

“Please…Just forget about it…” Kyle pleaded as he was sinking lower and lower in his seat.

“So…Kyle, did you come to this place before?” Minagi started to feel guilty, so she changed the topic.

The reason for her question was most likely because she remembered Kyle not hesitating at all in his step when they first came here.

“Well, something like that…”

In reality, he first came here during the [Great Invasion], but the demons had already burned this place down. They gathered the survivors in an attempt to get back up on their feet again, hoping there was any saving. However, Kyle only arrived after everything was over, so he was met with nothing but despair. And yet, amongst all the fighting, it was but one glimmer of despair out of the many events he witnessed during the invasion that led Kyle to stop praying to the gods. But there was one thing that caught his attention. In his memory, he could see the [Tower of Beginnings]. None of it was destroyed, it was still standing like nothing happened.

I’m sure I went there to look for survivors…Is this one of the powers the tower holds?

Maybe it was the power of the gods to avert attention from the tower even in dire times like those.

“There is one more thing I’d like to ask. What about Souga?”

“Souga…He seems to be working under Cordi’s orders, but he should be back tomorrow,” Leyla answered Minagi’s question. “When Souga took up a request from Cordi, I didn’t like the sound of it. Especially so because it came from the aggressive faction within the cult. It’s not like him.”

Of course, as a Shinobi, Souga must have had a few fishy requests come his way, but he still valued his own rules, so it was more than a shock for him to take up Cordi’s request.

“I really don’t get it. I went with him to the Empire to make sure things wouldn’t escalate…And I would have loved to avoid you,” Leyla muttered and got up from her seat. “Kyle, I can’t put a stop to your plans, nor is there anything I can say…But think about it properly. Don’t have any regrets,” Leyla gulped down the tea and then left.

After a brief silence, Kyle and his friends figured it was time for them to leave themselves, but Sakura kept them.

“Um…I apologize for asking this, but could we talk a bit more? This is…Mera-sama’s order, after all.”

As a faithful follower, Sakura tried to abide by Mera’s order just a bit longer. Kyle appreciated this motivation and decided to give in, but the result was exactly the same as when they first met that day.