It was lunchtime.
In the mansion’s dining hall, Suarlou—the mother of the twin angels Suarliu and Suarkou—was down on one knee before me.
"I am most profoundly honored to be granted this audience. I am the head of the Rohiel Faction, Suarlou."
...
I had only nodded when I was told Suarlou wanted to greet me, so why had it turned into such a formal affair? Couldn't we have just gone with a friendly "Nice to meet you," and "No, the pleasure is mine" kind of vibe?
Even the High Ogre Maids standing nearby were clearly enjoying the spectacle, making no effort to dispel the solemn atmosphere. I was in the middle of a meal, for goodness' sake.
"Suarlou, please, stop kneeling. It makes me incredibly uncomfortable. Give me a break."
It took me saying it firmly about three times before Suarlou finally stood up. I took a good look at her face. Until now, the only image I had of Suarlou was from when she had been foaming at the mouth and passing out. I was just glad to see her looking healthy.
Wait. If anything, she seemed strangely overflowing with vigor.
"I, Suarlou, hereby swear to devote my everything to Lord Hiraku."
"Pardon?"
"Now, your orders. Shall I begin by exterminating the Demon Race? Or perhaps the Human Race? If both are destroyed, your glory might not be passed down to future generations... but if that is what Lord Hiraku desires, I shall not hesitate."
"Wait. Just a second. Uh..."
Sensing my bewilderment, Tia, Kierbit, and Granmaria grabbed Suarlou and dragged her out of the room.
...
I paused my meal and asked the twins, Suarliu and Suarkou, for some background on their mother.
"To put it simply, Mother is... well, she was a member of the militant faction back when the Angel Race still called themselves God-kin. She claimed the title of the strongest before Lady Tia did."
"She did?"
"She has very strong feelings about the Angel Race and was famously ruthless to its enemies. We heard she mellowed out after she had us, though."
I-I see. But if she had mellowed out, why was she just talking about exterminating the Demon Race and the Human Race?
"The Rohiel Faction Mother belongs to is, to put it simply, a group that believes the Angel Race is the race chosen by God. Their stance is: 'As long as God and the Angel Race exist, the world will be peaceful and happy, right?' They are recognized as the most extremist faction among our people."
They were certainly extremist. So why was the head of such a faction putting me on a pedestal?
"It’s not so much a pedestal as it is worship. Mother has likely recognized the Village Head as being equal to a god."
Equal to a god? What could she have possibly seen to make her think that? I didn't get it. But regardless, I wasn't a god. If there was something causing this misunderstanding, I had to fix it.
"Isn't it because the World Tree is growing?"
...
"The World Tree was said to be granted to the Angel Race by God. It never grew at all until now, but the moment it passed into the Village Head's hands, it grew massive. Anyone would think you’re a god after seeing that. Literally anyone."
No, no, that wasn't my power; it was the power of the Universal Farming Tool. Ah, but since I received the tool from God, I suppose the confusion was inevitable. Still, I would just have to tell her from the bottom of my heart that I was just an ordinary human.
The greeting resumed.
"Pardon me for earlier. It seems my excitement got the better of me."
Oh. Even without me having to persuade her, the misunderstanding seemed to have been cleared up. Did Tia, Kierbit, and Granmaria work hard on that? I’d have to thank them later.
"I understand that Lord Hiraku desires peace. Therefore, I hereby swear to annihilate every force hostile to this village. No, I am ashamed of my arrogance in expecting orders. Even without being commanded, I shall act of my own volition."
Alright, pause again. Tia, Kierbit, Granmaria—I’m counting on you. Suarliu, Suarkou, gather 'round.
"Uh, look. Does your mother... just really like annihilating things?" I asked, unable to hide my concern.
"If anything, she's the type who enjoys it. I heard she went by the title 'Annihilation Angel' until Lady Tia became active."
Come to think of it, Tia did mention having a nickname like that. And Granmaria, Kudel, and Corone were the Genocide Angels? Those were quite disturbing titles. Looking at how they lived in this village, I would never have thought to give them names like that.
Anyway, I needed to check one thing—just how strong was she? Could Tia and the others keep her in check?
"We haven't had a direct confrontation, but Lady Tia is technically the strongest now. Besides, if Lady Kierbit, Granmaria, Kudel, and Corone all join in, they won't lose."
I see. In that case, maybe I should call Kudel and Corone over.
"Actually... even if Lady Tia and the others don't step in, as long as there are ten of Lord Kuro's children around, they can handle it."
...
Come to think of it, Tia had been beaten by Kuro and the others when she first arrived here. I noticed some of Kuro's children were already on standby nearby. Good. Even if Suarlou went on a rampage, the village would be safe. I had flinched and hit the brakes earlier, but I would try harder this time. Though, I was really pinning my hopes on the other angels' powers of persuasion.
The greeting resumed once more.
"Please forgive my repeated impoliteness."
Good, she sounded sensible now. However, I wouldn't let my guard down.
"Allow me to start over. I am Suarlou, mother of Suarliu and Suarkou. I look forward to our future acquaintance."
"The pleasure is mine. Also, please, could you speak a bit more casually? I'm not used to such formality."
"Understood. Thank you. Then, I shall be a bit more relaxed..."
Finally, we were able to talk normally. We discussed what Suarliu and Suarkou were doing in the village. I told her that the two of them were working hard. They really were. They had a bit of a habit of waiting for instructions, but they reliably finished whatever they were told to do. They had become an indispensable part of the village's strength. I told her as honestly as I could, being careful not to exaggerate too much. Suarlou seemed satisfied.
By the way, regarding her fainting the day before... apparently, she was shocked that the World Tree was growing and that there was a bug eating its leaves. The Angel Race was supposedly created by God through the consumption of the World Tree's leaves? Is that how it worked?
Anyway, I explained that the bug—the Giant Silkworm—was basically being raised by the tree itself. It wasn't an enemy. It seemed to exist for the tree's benefit, so I asked her to please overlook it.
Suarlou's greeting ended without any major issues, and she retired to a guest room. Suarliu and Suarkou went with her, acting as both guides and monitors. The villa for the Angel Race that Malbit and Ruincia had paid for was finished, but the interior wasn't fully furnished yet. The plan was to buy everything in Village Five when Malbit and Ruincia visited next winter.
Feeling relieved, my stomach growled. I had been interrupted so many times that I’d barely eaten. The food was stone cold now, but it would be a waste to leave it, so I sat down to finish. As I ate, I asked Tia, Kierbit, and Granmaria how they had managed to calm Suarlou down. I didn't want to accidentally say something to trigger her again.
"I told her that the Village Head is pretending to be human, and that he wouldn't be pleased by any behavior that might expose his cover," Tia said.
I stopped chewing.
Kierbit continued. "I suggested that since she has a chance to bear the Village Head's children just like Tia and Granmaria, she should have Suarliu and Suarkou focus on that rather than disturbing the world with war."
I-I see. That explained why there were so many hints about my night life dropped during the conversation.
Finally, Granmaria spoke. "Defeat cannot be permitted for God's Army. I advised her that to avoid a potential defeat, the correct path is to continue her daily training while waiting for the day the order is given."
...
In other words, the three of them hadn't corrected Suarlou's misunderstanding at all. They had just weaponized it to keep her quiet.
"No, no, no, I wanted you to convince her that I'm not a god."
"We cannot perform such a feat as moving a mountain," the three of them said in unison.
"Is correcting her really that hard?"
"No, insisting that the Village Head isn't a god is what's impossible." Granmaria pointed out the window. "You built a village in the Forest of Death. That alone is a divine act, a miracle. No matter how we try to spin it, there's no covering that up."
...
I-I see. I understood.
"Ah—just to confirm, you three still think I'm a human, right? We're good on that?"
"Of course."
Good. Thank you. Just in case, could you tell me why?
...
Why were they looking away? Don't tell me they actually believed I was just pretending to be human.
It was just a joke. It had to be. Hahaha.
For a while after that, I made a conscious effort to act as 'human' as possible. I really wanted to believe that people like Beezel, Michael-san, and Draim were still on my side.