"It really was incredibly fast..."
It took us about half a day to reach our destination, taking occasional breaks and flying in a way that bypassed major towns. The dragon carrying us landed on the north side of the Town of Gimul, just a short distance from the city itself. Seeing the gates in the distance made the reality of our return sink in, but more than that, I was struck by the dragon’s sheer mobility.
When I first traveled to Teressa on foot, it had taken me nearly a month. Even considering that I had been taking my time to complete requests and raise my rank, it wasn't a distance I could have managed so fast on my own.
I’d flown on airplanes plenty of times back on Earth, but I was still amazed that a living creature capable of flying at such sizes and speeds actually existed. I could see why monsters were utilized for transport. In terms of comfort and security, the dragon might actually have been superior to a plane.
Even this overwhelming creature was currently rubbing its head against Reinbach-sama’s chest as if it couldn't bear to say goodbye. One could never forget how dangerous they were, but in that moment, it was undeniably cute.
"You were a great help. Go and get some rest."
A moment after Reinbach-sama spoke, the dragon vanished like a mirage. I wondered if that was a summoning technique. I’d never heard of Taming Magic being used to summon familiars like that. Madam had summoned a large wolf before, but I’d been told Summoning didn't allow for the same communication as Taming Magic. Given how the dragon acted, there must be a loophole—perhaps something similar to Slime Magic.
"Now then, let us head toward the city."
"A carriage has been prepared."
That was right. The sun was still high, and we could have flown even further if we wanted, but we had landed here specifically to check the curse. If I was cursed, we needed to perform a Curse Removal as soon as possible. If we dawdled, it would only delay my treatment.
We all boarded the carriage Sebas had prepared, and the ride was smooth. We would reach the gates of Gimul in less than ten minutes.
"Reinbach-sama, thank you for the ride. We made it back so quickly because of you."
"You are always looking after us in one way or another, Ryoma-kun, so there is no need for such modesty. More importantly, are you truly certain the Gimul Church is the right destination?"
"Yes. I believe that is the most certain and reliable option."
There were many things I needed to do now that I was back in Gimul, but the immediate priority was checking for the curse. The candidates proposed to handle this were a Curse Specialist, an Exorcist, or a clergyman at the church. Normally, those would be the only choices, but I had a fourth option.
"I suppose it would be... though normally, one does not think to simply 'receive an Oracle from the gods.'"
"It’s a feat only a Child of God could pull off," Remily added. "I’ve said it many times, but you absolutely must not go spreading this around. Especially if the church higher-ups find out, it will turn into a massive headache."
"I don’t want things to get troublesome either, so I’ll be careful."
Before long, the carriage arrived at the city gates. The highest-ranking member of the Guard Force at the North Gate came out to meet us. Since we had seen the city from the air, it stood to reason that they had seen the dragon from the gate as well.
However, with the Jamil family crest on the carriage and the faces of Sebas and Reinbach-sama being well-known, we were waved through with just a few words. I questioned if there was even a point to the officer coming out personally. I felt a bit bad for him, but he was just doing his job.
Since I was going to the church, I decided to tidy up my appearance as much as possible while I had the chance. I used a Cleaner Slime to wash myself and stored my armor and weapons inside my Dimension Home. There wasn’t a rule against being armed, but it was a matter of personal etiquette.
"Ryoma-chan, could you lend me that slime too?" Elise asked.
"Of course!"
■ ■ ■
And so, we arrived at the church. Belle, the nun, was standing in front of the gate. She was surprised by the Ducal House carriage and bowed respectfully to Reinbach-sama and the others, but we told her we were simply stopping by to offer thanks for a safe journey. She led us straight to the chapel. It wasn't actually a lie.
There were a few other people already in the chapel, so we entered quietly to avoid disturbing them. As I sat in a chair in the corner and prayed, my consciousness was enveloped in the familiar light and transported to the Divine Realm.
"Hm?"
When the light faded, I was standing in the familiar, pure white space. Gain, Kufo, and Lulutia were there. Since other gods had been present recently, seeing just the three of them felt a bit rare. However, more than that, they were acting strange today.
Usually, they welcomed me with gentle smiles, but today their expressions were suspicious or bewildered. Beyond that, there was a stiff, heavy atmosphere hanging over the place. I wondered if I had done something wrong, but none of them spoke to me at first. It felt like they wanted to say something but the words wouldn't come out.
I didn't quite understand the situation, but I steeled myself and spoke up.
"What’s wrong? Did something happen?"
"It’s not so much that something happened as much as something is happening right now," Kufo said.
"Ryoma-kun, did you do something strange? I’m sensing a very odd presence," Lulutia added.
"That might be exactly what I wanted to talk about."
"In that case, let us hear Ryoma-kun’s story first."
At Gain’s prompting, I explained the events that had occurred in the Town of Ghosts. As evidence, I took the rock mass containing the mana gemstone out of my Item Box. As they listened, the gods, who had been deep in thought, looked even more grim.
"Ryoma-kun, hand that over to me."
Gain’s voice was heavy, a tone I’d never heard from him before. Startled, I handed it over obediently. The rock mass floated up on its own and settled into Gain’s hands. Then, Gain moved away from me, and Kufo and Lulutia joined him to surround the mana gemstone.
"I’m sorry, but just wait a little bit, okay?"
Lulutia spoke in a soft voice, but she didn’t seem to have much room to worry about me. I couldn't do anything except stay quiet and out of their way. Seeing the gods react like this, I started to feel uneasy, thinking it really was something dangerous.
After watching them for a while, the rock coating covering the mana gemstone crumbled away. When the gemstone was revealed, their expressions darkened further, until they looked as if they were glaring at a mortal enemy.
They held their palms over the mana gemstone, and three lights were born, beginning to envelop the stone until it turned into a large sphere of light. At that point, their atmosphere finally softened, and I assumed some difficult task had reached a milestone.
That guess seemed to be correct. They exchanged a few words, and then Kufo and Lulutia vanished along with the sphere of light.
"Apologies for the wait."
Gain, who remained behind, turned toward me. His grim expression had shifted to a troubled one.
"I’m sure you have many questions, and there are many things we must explain... but first, I must say, Ryoma-kun, good work. You did well to bring that to us."
"I’m glad if it was helpful. But if you're saying that, then that thing wasn't just a cursed mana gemstone, was it?"
Based on the gods' reaction, it must have been something incredibly troublesome. At the very least, I hadn't expected to be thanked just for asking about it. I broke out in a cold sweat realizing I had been carrying such a dangerous object.
"Indeed. To put it in a single word, that was a god."
I was unable to even react, freezing for several seconds.
"I’m sorry, did I mishear you? Did you say a 'god'?"
"I did. And just to be clear, I do not mean a 'clod' or a 'rod.' I mean a god, just like us."
"I didn't mishear then... but why would a god turn into a mana gemstone and be buried in a place like that?"
The question escaped my lips before I could stop it.
"The explanation for that is a bit long, but—"
To summarize Gain’s explanation: first, it turned out that the mana gemstone I brought back was inhabited by a "Demon King" who had once attacked this world.
Gods and Demon Kings are originally the same kind of existence. Gods who break divine rules to destroy or attempt to steal the worlds of other gods are distinguished by being called Demon Gods or Demon Kings. Apparently, it’s similar to how humans call those who commit crimes "criminals."
As for this specific Demon King, he was originally a god who managed a world with civilizations far more advanced than this one. However, the people used the technologies of that world for war, and the world itself suffered damage so great it was beyond recovery.
Gods and worlds are pairs. A god who loses the world they manage will eventually lose the ability to maintain their existence and vanish unless they find a new world. To avoid vanishing, they would usually shave off their own power to create a new world, but that is an act equivalent to discarding the majority of a god’s power. It is a last resort.
Most gods will endure it and create a world if necessary. However, on rare occasions, there are gods like this Demon King who despise that path and resort to stealing the worlds of others.
"I understand the circumstances, but when I came to this world, didn't you say that the Demon King was a thing of the past and no longer existed?"
"Yes, the Demon King himself is gone. That thing was a nasty parting gift. Most likely, before we struck him down, he intentionally placed a seal on a portion of his power and will to hide it from us and dropped it in that location. It would be more accurate to call it a 'Fragment of the Demon King' or a 'residue.' If you hadn't discovered it, Ryoma-kun, it would have continued to accumulate mana. In several tens of thousands of years, there was a high probability that some kind of powerful monster would have been born. If that happened, it would have had a negative impact on the entire world, so you truly helped us."
Tens of thousands of years was a timeframe so long it was hard to wrap my head around, but I understood that it was not something that should have been left alone.
"There are other people who have mana stones excavated from the same spot as that gemstone. Are those okay?"
"Those are fine. We checked them just now, and they are merely mana stones that solidified because the fragment was gathering power. There is no problem with them. The problem lies with you, Ryoma-kun."
"...I figured there was something."
"Even if it is just a fragment, it is a mana gemstone inhabited by the power and will of a Demon King. As you feared, you were cursed when you discovered it. You even absorbed the portions intended for the other four people."
"Even so, I don’t feel like anything is wrong."
Right after finding the gemstone, I had felt a chill and then a slight disruption in my thoughts, but since then, there had been nothing. I had even begun to think that the curse might have already been broken.
"A curse... or since it’s from a god, maybe divine wrath? Either way, how can it be removed?"
"No need to worry. It is troublesome, but it can be removed using the power of a fellow god. This was something we should have handled and prevented in the first place. I will take responsibility for the treatment. Well, first, have a drink and calm down."
Along with his words, a low table and tea appeared from out of nowhere, which I gratefully accepted. I was a bit worried, but if Gain and the others were helping, it would be fine.
"As usual, you are quick to understand and accept things."
"I don't think there's much a human can do about a god's power anyway, and maybe it's because I don't feel cursed? If there were clear symptoms, it might be different."
"I suppose so... Even so, you have terribly bad luck. I thought I had made your luck decent enough with my Divine Protection."
"I don't think my luck has been bad since coming to this world."
"Ordinary humans do not find hidden fragments of a Demon King or get cursed by them," Gain said flatly. "There isn't much worse luck than that."
He was so blunt about it that I actually laughed.
"Then, I'll be in your care."
"Just relax."
After I finished the tea, I prepared for Gain’s treatment. I lay down on the examination table he produced and relaxed as instructed. Then, as if a fog was gradually rolling over my thoughts, my consciousness faded away...