kscans

Chapter 52 - The Twilight of the Gods and the Kobito-san ~The First~

《What is happening?》

《That one is a being granted from another world. Was she not the scythe?》

The sole foreign element, received from the gods of 《Earth》 and made to possess a soul of Arcadia. The gods of Arcadia, who had been told that this was the scythe that would move the world, harvest the miniature garden, and kill the Masters, could only stare in stunned silence at the turn of events.

Unaware of the gods’ intentions, she charged ahead as she pleased. She brought the Forest Masters to heel and journeyed across the world with innocent abandon. The gods of Arcadia were left speechless by the young girl who cut through existing conventions with satisfying ease and charged forward like a wild boar.

《Does she not possess the Right Hand?》

《Impossible. But, it is true.》

They could feel a brilliant power in the young girl’s left hand, but nothing in her right.

This put the cart before the horse.

But why?

As the gods of Arcadia puzzled over this, the gods of Earth appeared before them. They looked down at Arcadia with troubled expressions and bowed their heads deeply.

It seemed that due to the soul possession, she had lost the 《Right Hand》. Fatimah, the original owner of the soul, had apparently vanished into the abyss with it. The abnormal situation of two souls in one body had brought about an irregular result. The Kobito-san’s soul would eventually have to be returned to Earth. That was why they could not give her a new body. They had her possess the Golden King, which should have been the safest option, but to their dismay, that very Fatimah fell into a near-death state and was lost. As a result, Chihiro was forcefully awakened, and Fatimah, with whom she had assimilated, had taken the 《Right Hand》 with her.

What a disaster. This meant they could not destroy the Masters. The forests would not wither, and magic and magical power would remain.

This put Frontier in danger. Frontier had cherished its forests. For that very reason, it was the country with the most depleted land in all of Arcadia. At first glance, it appeared rich, but that was just an illusion, a deception. If the magic were to disappear, it would become a land more barren and dry than any other.

Above all, at this rate, defeat in the wager was inevitable.

《What should we do…?》

To the flustered god of Arcadia, the gods of Earth murmured thoughtfully.

We have prepared a message for such a contingency. All we can do now is leave it to humanity.

《She is a human like a child of the wild. She will surely notice. And things will turn out for the best.》

The gods of Earth smiled gently.

Since they could not interfere with the world, that was their only option. If she can save Arcadia, we will grant her any wish.

With feelings akin to prayer, the gods watched the Kobito-san.

If it was assistance to an individual, someone outside the world’s framework, they could interfere to some extent.

Just as the gods of Arcadia were debating whether to send an oracle, the scythe was brought down upon the miniature garden of Kilfan. That scythe was about to mercilessly take the borrowed life, and the gods, who rushed to the scene in a panic, used that as an opportunity to attempt to help her.

However, it unexpectedly brought about the best possible outcome.

Her wish was the dissemination of the miniature garden’s seeds. For the gods of Arcadia, it was an offer they could not have hoped for.

Thus, due to the Kobito-san’s unforeseen actions, the miniature garden project made a dramatic leap forward.

What were those thousands of years of grieving for? When they looked, Arcadia was slowly but surely choosing the best path.

The gods of Arcadia looked down at the world below with somewhat distant eyes.

There, waving white and red flags, was the Kobito-san, diligently working on transporting supplies.

After the great commotion in Kilfan, she took the translocated Kilfan people and headed for the northern wilderness. She set up a camp just before the wilderness adjacent to Frontier and guided each of them to their respective tents. The tents, kitchens, and other necessities for daily life were already in place. They were so well-equipped that the arriving Kilfan people did a double take. It was all thanks to Romel, who had seized the budget under the guise of the princess’s public works project. The Kobito-san received this blessing with a bow to the ground and built the camp to be perfectly sufficient.

Many people had helped.

Not just the royal palace and the knightly orders, but also the castle town, Yarmouth, and even the marquis’s border knights. A large amount of supplies had been sent from the city of Lumiere, and the large coral mixed in with them was said to be from the master of the ocean forest.

With a vast war chest in hand, the Kobito-san was suddenly fired up.

"Alright, let’s do our best!"

The Kobito-san grinned cheerfully.

Her actions were perfectly aligned with what the gods of Arcadia intended. She was aiming for a civilization that did not rely on magic.

A new country built using Kilfan’s technology. It would undoubtedly be a civilized society based solely on human power, not dependent on magic. Its cutting-edge technology and concepts would likely spread to Frontier as well. Eventually, it would surely spread throughout Arcadia.

Ironically, the situation was tilting in the direction the gods desired.

The reason was simple. The Kobito-san herself could not use magic.

The only magic she could use was creating a Master’s forest. In other words, in the magical civilization of Frontier, she was the only human who did not know the boons of magic. Therefore, in everything she did, physics and the concepts from her past life took precedence over magic.

She possessed an extraordinary ability to create a new forest and place a Master, filling an entire country with magic. However, knowing what the result of that would be, the Kobito-san chose steadfast human power over such an uncertain thing as magic.

Hard work does not betray you.

It was an idea unique to the Kobito-san, a realist from the modern age. She felt no attraction to a civilization that depended on something given and would collapse if it was lost.

This was likely where she differed from Katsumi.

"If you have time to wish for what you don’t have, get to work!!"

It was still fresh in her memory how the Kobito-san had kicked over the dumbfounded Katsumi, who was lost in regret, and had Pochiko-san drag him and toss him onto the ship.

Katsumi, who had been trembling while clinging to a single bee, was also participating in the founding of the new Kilfan. While still trembling, he was helping out using his modern knowledge. He seemed to have finally calmed down and was doing somewhat better, but he would still tremble whenever the Kobito-san approached, so the bee he had been clinging to was now acting as his guard and caretaker.

Perhaps it had grown attached to him after being clung to for so long. The bee never left Katsumi’s side and diligently took care of him.

Katsumi also cherished the bee, unconsciously reaching out for it.

"Why don’t you give it a name?"

The Kobito-san looked at the still-trembling Katsumi with an exasperated expression.

Am I a monster or something?

To Katsumi, she might be something close, but to Chihiro, it was the height of absurdity. As the Kobito-san scowled, Katsumi timidly asked.

"Is it okay for me to name it?"

"Why are you asking me? Why don’t you ask the bee itself?"

At her words, Katsumi lowered his gaze to the bee he was hugging.

"Do you… want a name?"

Hey. What a way to ask.

To the tactless Katsumi, the bee responded with a bzzzz bzzzz of its wings. To the bee’s obviously delighted response, Katsumi, though surprised, managed to find his words.

"Um… what should I call you? Tama? No, that’s for a cat. Uhm? Hachi? Maya? Are you a boy?"

Katsumi spoke falteringly.

The Kobito-san couldn’t help but snort at the names he listed and gave a wry smile. They were common names from nostalgic anime.

"The baby bees are mostly female, apparently."

Hearing this, Katsumi gently stroked the bee before him.

"Then, Maya. How about it?"

Well, it’s better than Tama.

Despite having a questionable naming sense herself, the Kobito-san acted all high and mighty.

Ignoring the little girl, the bee named Maya clung to Katsumi’s shoulder, looking quite pleased.

As the others watched the heartwarming interaction with the bee with a fuzzy feeling, something was wriggling on the Kobito-san’s left hand. A black and yellow striped snake. About thirty centimeters long and a little over a centimeter thick, it looked up at the Kobito-san with its big, watery black eyes.

Oh, right.

"You need a name too. You have stripes, so how about Shimajiro?"

The moment she muttered this, Katsumi, who overheard, burst out laughing.

"No way. It’s a snake, right? Isn’t that pitiful?"

I don’t want to hear that from you. Where did all your trembling go?

Nyoronyoro, maybe. No… if it’s a sea snake, there’s only one choice.

"Wadatsumi. Let’s call you Mi-chan."

The small snake smiled softly and purred, coiling around the Kobito-san’s upper arm like a bracelet. Seeing it, Katsumi was reminded of the ancient Egyptian gods. Even the gods were divided into many categories, with most being messengers, acting as proxies for the gods. The children of the Masters surrounding the Kobito-san looked like those messengers, and Katsumi couldn’t help but rub his eyes.

No way. If that were true, this little girl would be a god. That can’t be…

Thinking that far, Katsumi recalled the words of the manifested gods of Arcadia.

《Ei-sa is an important guest. She is our equal.》

From any angle, she looked like a person of Arcadia. Not a transmigrator like himself. At first, he had thought, another world reincarnation, how cliché. But on second thought, if they could transmigrate people, he didn't understand the point of reincarnating someone.

Was reincarnation necessary?

A transmigration with a twenty-year time limit was also strange. Is there something we don’t know?

Katsumi was suspicious, but he was too influenced by stories and wasn't seeing reality.

He did not know that most humans who got involved with gods met a tragic end. He might know it as a piece of knowledge, but he had not realized that he himself was now in that position. The unwritten laws of the gods are strict, and those involved with them are considered equally guilty and receive punishment. The reason the gods of Arcadia set a time limit was for that purpose. If they warped things any further, the seeds borrowed from Earth would be punished on a soul level. They would be cast out of the cycle of reincarnation, never to hope for a next life. The souls that helped the gods were promised a happy next life. The time limit was set to ensure that came to pass.

A toast to the gods’ efforts, desperately trying to bring salvation in ways unknown to mortals♪