That voice?

My head spun rapidly for a moment.

That dream I had had back in my hometown, Hasphil territory.

It was the very same voice I heard then!

I asked softly,

“Who are you?”

[The starting line, huh. I wouldn’t call it a good choice. If it was an unavoidable one, that’s a different matter.]

“I asked who you are. Wait, hold on. Could it be… are you Velosian?”

Velosian, the mysterious figure said to have gifted the underground door beneath the imperial palace to Grade.

And between Velosian and me, there exists an S-grade secret.

So I asked with some expectation. But the voice simply chuckled and replied:

[Of all things, that’s one misunderstanding I would prefer not to endure.]

“…?”

[Let me make it clear so you don’t ever call me Velosian again. My name is Impelium. Pleased to meet you.]

I didn’t bother responding.

Impelium continued, unfazed.

[So, you’re planning to summon the Celestial God from the starting line. I assume you are trying to receive an oracle.]

“That’s right.”

[He will refuse.]

The voice was filled with unwavering certainty.

I wasn’t expecting it to be easy either, especially after what Idria had said.

But Impelium’s conviction seemed even firmer than hers.

“Why are you so sure?”

[Because I know the Celestial God well.]

“…!”

[I think you have begun to realize this yourself, He’s not the benevolent or warm presence humans expect.]

“Even so… I don’t believe He would be completely indifferent to humanity’s crisis like the Demon King’s descent.”

[Well…]

He answered vaguely, then added:

[It’s best if you see for yourself. It’s not like you have another choice anyway.]

“…”

[Let me give you one piece of advice, Mide Mohan.]

The voice turned serious.

[If the Celestial God refuses your offer… or worse, does something more extreme, say this to him:]

“…”

[‘If you refuse my proposal, Impelium will come for you.’]

I tilted my head.

“Impelium… that’s you, right? What’s your relationship with the Celestial God?”

[Naturally, I have no intention of telling you.]

“So many secrets. You know, I’m pretty good at uncovering them.”

[With that Eye of Omniscience, I assume?]

At those words, I involuntarily gasped.

The Eye of Omniscience was Trail’s secret weapon, something even Idria didn’t know about.

And Impelium had brought it up so casually. I couldn’t help but feel tense.

But he carried on as if it were no big deal.

[The Eye of Omniscience is a power the Celestial God once bestowed upon Trail…no, Bion Kunze, to be precise. And just as you’re guessing, I do have a bit of a connection to the Celestial God]

*TL : The Eye of Omniscience is also known as the Eye of Providence or the All-Seeing Eye. I’m not a Christian, so I’m not sure, but I think it might be mentioned in the Bible.

“You call yourself a ‘person’?”

[Of course. I am a person. At least, I choose to believe so.]

“…”

[You may want to keep honing the power of the Eye of Omniscience. Someday, it might uncover the truth about me and about Him. But I cannot speak of it myself.]

Impelium’s voice began to fade a little.

[Once your objective is achieved, leave the starting line as quickly as you can.]

‘Why?’

[The Celestial God’s omnipotence only functions within the domain of the starting line. Once outside it, he won’t be able to do anything to you.]

And then, he added one last thing:

[Ah, and once you wake from this dream, you’re going to be quite surprised. So brace yourself.]

What the hell does that mean?

The next moment…

I woke up.

And I had no choice but to panic.

“Hnnnh, hnnnnh…”

Neril’s face was right in front of mine.

‘WAAAH!’

[What the…?!]

‘Trail? Is that really you this time?’

[What a weird thing to ask.]

‘Why is Neril this close to my face? I’m pretty sure we were sleeping far apart…’

Trail yawned and replied:

[She rolled over to your side. She’s got some wild sleeping habits.]

‘…’

[Pfft. Is that really worth screaming over? Classic lifelong single behaviour.]

Neril has wild sleeping habits?

When I stood watch during our past life, she never even tossed and turned.

Meanwhile, Agril flew through the skies at a speed that even “full speed” couldn’t quite describe.

And the next day, by late afternoon…

With only a few hours left of the two-week limit Idria had first mentioned, we finally reached the Starting Line.

“Grrr…”

“You did amazing, Agril. Go ahead and rest now.”

Xenia calmed Agril and sent him off into the sky.

Then, with a somewhat emotional expression, she looked ahead.

“So this is the Starting Line…”

The overall impression of the Starting Line was one of gold.

Tall reeds reaching waist-high stretched all the way to the horizon.

As the evening sun cast its light on the field, the entire region seemed like it was made of gold.

Serein spoke wistfully.

“If only all these reeds were actual gold.”

“Serein, even if you don’t have faith in the Celestial God, is that really the first thing you say when arriving at a holy site?”

“Hmm… yes.”

“Well then.”

“And what about your first impression, Xenia?”

Xenia hesitated, then said:

“I wish all these reeds were wheat?”

“That’s pretty close to mine.”

“Not even close.”

Just then, Neril turned to me.

“So? You going to blow the horn now?”

I folded my arms, deep in thought.

Assuming blowing the horn would summon the Celestial God…

What should I say?

Idria had confidently claimed that the Celestial God wouldn’t issue an oracle, for the sake of appearances.

Impelium had said the same.

I didn’t think either of them were lying.

The one truth from the Demon Lord of Lies…

‘Rather than mulling it over alone, maybe I should ask for input?’

If we all put our heads together, we might come up with something solid.

I spoke up.

“Everyone, listen. Why do you think the Celestial God doesn’t want to give an oracle?”

“Idria said it was about keeping up appearances. Let’s assume that’s true.”

“Alright, so maybe giving another oracle to stop the Demon King, after the first one failed, would make Him look bad. I can get that.”

“…”

“But why would that matter? The Celestial God is already the sole, all-powerful being on the continent. Why would He care about saving face?”

Everyone fell silent, thinking deeply.

And slowly, one by one, they began to offer their own theories.

“Maybe… because He wants to set an example for His followers?”

“Or maybe it’s just His personality…”

“Ah. I vote for personality. Total cheapskate, you know?”

“Or maybe keeping up appearances is important in that position. People tend to care more about their image the higher their rank or title.”

“Should we try summoning some priests from underworld and ask them?”

It was then that Neril murmured softly.

“Sounds like a hero.”

“…What?”

“I mean, it just kinda sounded like that.”

“Tell me.”

A chill ran down my spine.

Neril shrugged her shoulders and spoke.

“It just felt like he was trying to protect his fame like a hero would. That’s all.”

“…”

“For a hero, building fame is important, but keeping it is just as vital. If they do something bad or let people down, their fame drops.”

“…”

“So maybe the Celestial God doesn’t want his ‘reputation’ to be tarnished. That’s why he refuses to give the oracle.”

Ah.

Ahhh!

“Aaaaah!”

“W-what the heck?!”

Grab.

Before I knew it, I had gripped Neril’s shoulders tightly.

“That’s it!”

“Aaaack!”

“Ah, sorry! I scared you, didn’t I?”

That was basically a scream.

[You screamed last night too, remember?]

‘That was completely different!’

[Nope. Pretty much identical.]

Ignoring the voice in my head, I said to Neril:

“Neril, you’re a genius.”

“O-okay, but could you back off a little? You’re way too close.”

“You’re right. Just like you said. The Celestial God refuses to deliver an oracle in order to protect his reputation. It’s gotta be that!”

I stepped away from Neril.

She hung her head, looking flustered.

[Wow. Did you really do that unconsciously?]

‘Huh?’

[Not bad for someone doomed to be single forever. Maybe you have a shot after all.]

What are you even saying?

At that moment, Xenia spoke up.

“W-what do you mean by that? You are not saying the Celestial God is a hero, right?”

“Hm? Oh, no. I would never say something that outrageous.”

“It already sounds pretty outrageous, though…”

“The Celestial God isn’t a hero. But reputation, no, faith matters to even gods. How do I put this?”

I paused for a moment.

Then carefully, with a serious tone, I said:

“If the word ‘reputation’ doesn’t sit right, try thinking of it as faith instead.”

“Huh? Okay.”

“A hero who loses all their reputation stops being a hero.”

“Hmm. Okay.”

“Then what happens if all of humanity loses faith? In other words, what if no one believes in the Celestial God anymore?”

Serein tilted her head.

“Would it matter? Even if no one believes, a god is still a god, right?”

“I wonder. Is a god that no one believes in really a god? Can they still exist as a god?”

“…”

“I don’t think so.”

They say the god created humanity.

I don’t know if that’s true. I have no way of knowing.

But if the god did create humanity, then wouldn’t the reverse also be possible?

“Okay, maybe that was too complicated.”

I continued, purposely using a lighter tone.

“The Celestial God wants to protect their reputation or faith. That’s why they are refusing to give an oracle to the one who will kill Idria.”

To keep existing as a god.

Idria stood up.

And then, she slowly began walking toward the cave entrance.

This was completely unlike her usual self, always lazing around at the deepest part of the cave.

Naturally, Kaeld followed her and asked:

“What’s going on? Where are you going?”

“It’s time. Time to deliver the fake oracle.”

“…!”

Kaeld swallowed hard.

He asked cautiously:

“Then… does that mean I will be able to defeat Mide?”

“That depends on how he responds.”

“…”

“If Mide somehow manages to receive an oracle from the Celestial God, then we are back to square one. Though the chances are slim.”

Even if it meant going back to square one, it was still better than Kaeld’s current one-sided defeat to Mide.

Naturally, a smile crept onto his face.

Idria looked at him coldly and said:

“You’re so lacking in tension.”

“Didn’t you just say we would be back at square one even if Mide gets an oracle? What’s there to be tense about?”

“You’re the same guy who got completely turned around even when you were far ahead of Mide.”

“S-shut up.”

“Back to square one means you have already lost. The difference between your incompetence and Mide’s competence is too great.”

Kaeld gritted his teeth, but he couldn’t argue.

Then Idria continued.

“So I will add another trick.”

“What kind of trick?”

“Humans are such contradictory beings. On the one hand, they only believe what they have personally experienced, so narrow-minded.”

Kaeld wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but he listened silently.

“And yet, at other times, they are absurdly easy to sway by others’ opinions.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“How many people on this continent have seen the Celestial God? Heard His voice or witnessed His miracles?” ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novęlfire.net

It might have just been my imagination, but her voice sounded more intense now.

“None. Not a single one. But no one doubts His existence. Even though they have never experienced Him themselves.”

“…”

“Seems like something we could use, doesn’t it?”

Kaeld felt like he was starting to understand.

His lips trembled as he spoke.

“So in other words…”

“Exactly.”

Idria smiled.

“My false oracle will begin by denouncing Mide.”

Good.

Let’s get this started.

[You seem a little too chill. You haven’t actually figured out a solution yet, have you?]

‘What are you talking about? I have figured out why the oracle isn’t coming. That’s a huge step forward.’

[You still don’t have a solution.]

‘I have got a lead. Trust me and watch.’

Trail chuckled softly.

[Fine. Not like I have got much choice now. I will be watching with high expectations.]

I nodded and said:

“Lisel. Mind if I borrow that horn?”

“Of course not. It’s the horn I borrowed from you, after all.”

“Thanks for thinking of it that way, but it’s yours now. I will use it well and return it.”

Lisel smiled gently and handed me the horn.

I took a deep breath with it in hand.

Once, twice, three times.

My party members matched their breathing to mine.

No one spoke a word.

They were all simply waiting in silence for the overwhelming miracle of summoning the Celestial God.

Hooo… Hhup!

On the fifth breath, I inhaled deep into my lungs.

Then, I blew the horn with all my might.

–BWAAAAAAAAAH!

TL : Wow, what a great cliffhanger for me to go on a week long vacation.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep