kscans

Chapter 141 - The Little One and the Gods' Banquet, Part Nine

"Well, it is rather cute, is it not? A spirit much like you."

The Earth Spirit King patted the flustered Little One’s head, then looked at Chihaya with the kind expression of an old man.

"You must want a water spirit as well, yes? If so, you should go to the water magic circulation device after you return to Frontier."

"Huh?"

The Water Spirit King frowned slightly at Chihaya, who stood there looking perplexed.

"The water magic circulation device is at the bottom of the sea."

At the bottom of the sea? Why in a place like that?

The twins had identical expressions of doubt. Sapphard smiled wryly at their sibling resemblance and spoke of a past event. Long ago, there was a small island far to the south of Frontier. That was where the water magic circulation device was built.

"For the Lord of the Primeval Forest who can only be met there. I can only see that Lord of the Forest in that place."

However, the gods of Arcadia, unaware, placed the continent of Kilfan right there. As a result, the small island was crushed by Kilfan, and the underground magic circulation device sank to the bottom of the sea.

Wow…

It was terrible timing. An event that occurred in the gap between the installation of the magic circulation devices and the time it took for them to accumulate magic and demonstrate their true power. Due to an unavoidable physical phenomenon, Sapphard had missed his chance to obtain a water spirit.

"After that, this place was completed, but by then I no longer had a physical body."

Sapphard laughed, saying the timing was bad in all sorts of ways. It was only natural. None of these things could be accomplished overnight. He must have completed them one by one, desperately, over a long period of time. Thinking of the hardships of her predecessor, the Little One’s expression became complicated and indescribable.

"Don’t make a face like that. I had fun, and it was a happy life that went by in a flash. The same is true for you, isn’t it? Look back on it."

The founding king smiled with an elegant grace. His fulfilled smile exuded a genuine, happy satisfaction. At his words, the Little One also looked back on her own short yet turbulent life. There had certainly been many hardships, but it had all gone by in a flash. The days passed before she could even think of them as hardships, and before she knew it, she was living a happy life.

That’s right. This is what life is like.

It must have been the same for Sapphard back then.

"Well, that’s my story. When the time comes, Cesare, let’s team up and protect the Dark Spirit King."

"Protect him?"

"If the Higher Beings want him gone, there must be a reason. I’ve heard rumors in the Celestial Realm, but I don’t think what he’s doing is a bad thing. It seems like there’s room to negotiate so he doesn’t meddle with Arcadia. So, I want to go against the Higher Beings. Think of it as a form of harassment."

Sapphard flashed a cynical smile.

But the Little One had thought the same thing.

When she heard from Joker what the Dark Spirit King had been up to, she had thought, "If that world desires a cradle, then that’s fine, isn’t it?" She didn’t understand what was wrong with it. The part about him trying to destroy worlds that disliked the cradle was not ideal, but…

There, the Little One had a realization.

The Spirit Kings possessed the power to rule worlds.

And not just one or two. The power to nurture many worlds and wrap them entirely in pleasant dreams. The power to endlessly create dark spirits and support the very foundation of those worlds.

Isn’t that unbelievably powerful?

The Heavenly Gods can at best build and maintain a single star. The Dark Spirit King, who has snatched away and controls dozens of them, is an anomaly.

In that case, it’s almost like…

He is like one of the Higher Beings who rule over the gods. As she thought that far, multiple pieces clicked into place in the Little One’s mind with a sound.

A Spirit King dwelling in the Abyss. What if he was actually trapped in the Abyss? They say loneliness can kill a person. If even short-lived creatures like humans are affected, it must be an unimaginable pain for beings who live for eternity. Is that why the Dark Spirit King resorted to such outrageous acts? For him, was it an unavoidable means of comforting himself?

If you think about it that way, many things change.

Spirits fundamentally love humans. And for some reason, the human world always perishes. Unable to bear it, the Dark Spirit King intervened. If it was his one and only comfort, it would have been a natural act.

But the Spirit King’s actions saddened the Heavenly Gods. As a result, the Higher Beings began to move, leading to the present situation.

Wait, wait, wait, wait! Something’s wrong with this!

The Little One was Japanese. Because her home country had lived through a long, albeit not always peaceful, history, her sense of this was dulled.

In the past, there have been no nations that have survived for eternity. Many countries have histories of less than a thousand years, and even those continue to change their names and forms.

That is the natural way of things.

Humans are creatures that change. They change, they experiment, and they continue to create new civilizations. They are creatures that can change according to their environment. That is what a human is. The fall of a country is also a chance to be reborn anew. Is it possible that the beings in the heavens and the Dark Spirit King do not understand this at all? They force things into a mold of how they "should be," and when that doesn’t happen, they become disappointed and desperately try to maintain their own mold.

Ah, I’ve seen this pattern before.

The troublesome people who were on the internet in the past.

A tribe that is super dependent on others, who cannot stand it when everyone is not the same. They cannot live without receiving empathy, and they hate and attack people who are different. The actions of the Higher Beings are exactly that. And then there are the weak-willed people who cannot defy them. Brainwashed in such a way, even if they hold doubts in their hearts, they cannot voice them and are just yes-men who nod along. These are the gods.

If that’s the case, then the Dark Spirit King… might he be seriously trying to protect humans?

The Higher Beings who do not allow change. The gods who merely follow them. Humanity, which will perish on its own if left alone.

The Dark Spirit King who has watched this for a long time.

His methods are not commendable, but he is certainly protecting humans. He is stopping them from heading toward ruin.

Gods who have received names cannot descend to the human world. But the Higher Beings appear wherever they please. Yes, just as they made Cesare go back in time over and over, they can interfere with events they dislike. And yet, they do not interfere with the stars ruled by the Dark Spirit King. If they dislike it, they should be able to go back in time and repel his interference.

It all makes sense if it’s not that they won’t interfere, but that they can’t.

For some reason, is it possible that the Higher Beings cannot interfere with the Dark Spirit King’s power? That is precisely why they want to erase him. It also makes sense why they would try to use Sapphard and Cesare as indirect tools, if they cannot lay a hand on the Dark Spirit King directly.

Isn’t that amazing? The Higher Beings created the gods, created the world, and even manipulate time itself. They are, in a sense, omniscient and omnipotent beings. An opponent that even they hesitate to touch must be something extraordinary.

At this point, the way I see the Dark Spirit King has completely flipped. Is he truly an evil being?

The words the Little One murmured as she thought aloud froze the faces of everyone present.

"It’s possible… that’s possible. I never even considered that possibility! That’s the reason the Dark Spirit King still exists despite being loathed by the Higher Beings!"

"If he is a being that is not subject to the interference of the Higher Beings, then everything we’ve discussed so far makes sense. No wonder he was able to dominate other worlds as he pleased."

"But doesn’t that change the story? For us, who consider the Higher Beings our enemy, could the Dark Spirit King actually be a blessing?"

The people erupted in astonishment, beginning a debate on this and that. The Little One glanced at them and thought of Joker. She, too, did not seem to fear the Dark Spirit King very much. When they had spoken before, the two of them had simply sighed and said he was a troublesome fellow.

Could it be that she knows something?

In this classic situation where one mystery leads to another, the true nature of the Higher Beings was finally beginning to unravel. What she had seen until now was not wrong, but it was not the whole story. Everything has an opposite side, a different aspect. What is justice for them is not always right. And intelligent life forms are often creatures that seek their own benefit. Front, back, and side. I want to choose the one that is most advantageous from any of these angles. I couldn’t care less about the Higher Beings or the gods. I will choose happiness for Arcadia, nyo.

Thus, a new seed of doubt was sown and sprouted. The ingredients placed on the Table of the Gods did not wish to be cooked as others pleased. Unbeknownst to the Higher Beings who schemed to cook them to their liking, those ingredients were consulting with each other, infusing themselves with a deadly poison to shatter their plans.

New problems were revealed one after another, and the mysteries of the world expanded, winding in the unraveled threads.

Even in the midst of all this, the Little One reached for the sweets and started munching, mosha mosha.

Seeing her operating as usual, the Spirit Kings and Sapphard couldn’t help but feel a sense of warmth.

Wherever she is, whatever she’s doing, the Little One is the Little One.