Chapter 117 - The assassin meets the Goddess of New Beginnings
Translator: VALIANT
I had a dream.
And a lucid one, at that.
This was the first time in 14 years that I had seen this scenery, one that couldn’t exist in real life.
After all, this was the white room where the goddess summoned me when I was reincarnated.
[Ta-tatadaaah! Congratulations! Your achievement points have exceeded the given value, and your destiny interference resources have increased! May the Goddess have mercy on you!] (Goddess)
And if I had been summoned to this room, it meant that the owner/goddess of this area was also here.
[We haven’t met in 14 years, but I see you haven’t changed.] (Lugh)
[If I had to say, you’re the one who hasn’t changed. Because my personality and the way I talk are calculated and directed to suit your character. The one who made me like this is none other than Y-O-U. Teehee…!] (Goddess)
She probably adopted the persona she believed was easiest for her interlocutor to talk to.
I tried to figure out why this was the persona she adopted in front of me.
My guess was that she was acting blatantly suspicious, and if I just showed some insight, I could discern her true intentions. It was the kind of obvious display that put me at ease.
[The upper limit of my destiny interference resources has increased? …So that’s how it is. Dia, Tarte, Maha. My encounters with the three of them were too convenient to be coincidental. Though I was searching for them anyway, I did think it was crazy how I could come across so many conveniently capable individuals one after another. This means that you can introduce other people to me like you did with those three, right?] (Lugh)
[Ah, so you noticed? That’s right. Manipulating the strings of fate is easy-peasy. Those three have been a huge help, right? So much so that you even *bleeep*-ed them all. Hey, sexy!] (Goddess)
[…Can’t say it puts me in a good mood to be told that my bonds with the three of them were just a setup.] (Lugh)
[Ah, that’s not quite right. Manipulating feelings and actions consumes an awful lot of resources. Frankly, it’d be an impossible game. All I did was slightly alter your destiny so you would meet the talents you sought. Just for that, nothing more. I had nothing to do with whatever happened afterwards. You should be proud. You got to ravish those three on your own merits alone. Oh no! Are you gonna assault me too…!?] (Goddess)
Those words brought me a huge amount of relief.
If even the girls’ feelings had been nothing but the Goddess’ machinations, my relationships with them would’ve just felt hollow.
[I see. …Good to know.] (Lugh)
[By the way, if this had been the original timeline, today would’ve been the day of Maha-chan’s death. Isn’t that great? They’ve all passed the anniversaries of their deaths.] (Goddess)
[That just sounded to me like all three of them were supposed to lose their lives before today.] (Lugh)
[Why yes, that’s what I said. Let’s see… Now where did I put the Akashic Records…? Ah! There they are!] (Goddess)
The goddess took out a thick book out of thin air in an exaggerated manner.
[In the original timeline, the first one to die was Tarte-chan, who was abandoned in the winter mountains to reduce the number of mouths to feed, and died of cold and hunger on her way to Tuatha Dé. And she got off easy. Then, Dia-chan was the next one to die. Viekone lost the war, then some dirty aristocrat who had his eyes set on her superior talent for magic purchased her in order to have her give him an heir, and—… Wow! That’s just nasty. Are humans stupid or what? Doing something like this to her will only leave her unable to give birth. Then, she was broken and discarded… Oh, poor thing.] (Goddess)
It wasn’t surprising to say that if it weren’t for me, this would’ve been their final fate.
But simply knowing that pissed me off.
[And finally, we have Maha-chan. Because she was so cute, the evil director of the orphanage sold her off to a lolicon aristocrat. But her will was strong. She skillfully buttered him up to earn her place as his mistress, and she got him in the palm of her hand. And then, just as she was finally about to open her own store with the backing of that lolicon aristocrat… Here comes the devil! Bandits kidnapped her with the help of the lolicon’s crazy jealous wife, and th— KYAAAHH! I can’t tell you what happens next! It’d destroy my character as a pure goddess! And so… she was meant to die today.] (Goddess)
[The fact that all three of them were fated to die if they hadn’t met me is not a coincidence, is it?] (Lugh)
There had to be a reason for that.
You wouldn’t guess from the way she looks, but all of that goddess’ actions had a purpose.
[That’s right. When tampering with someone’s fate, the greater the individual’s abilities and wits, the greater the influence they have in the future, and the harder it is to tamper with it. So I can’t meddle with the future of the most capable guys. But the kids who are fated to die early and have no future have little power over fate, so in spite of their talents, it’s easy to manipulate their destiny. Nice cost performance, am I right?] (Goddess)
[You sound like you think of us as pawns or something.] (Lugh)
[Oh, but I do. I mean, I’m not even a pawn myself, I’m the stage manager. …But, yeah, as I told you, there’s really not much I can do.] (Goddess)
Indeed, she couldn’t do much.
For if we were talking about the past 14 years, all she managed to do was bring me together with three girls who were supposed to die.
[So? Surely you didn’t summon me here just to talk about this, did you? …And I want to ask you something too. There’s too much I don’t know about this world. If you want me to save it properly, I’ll need information.] (Lugh)
I had felt this way since my first encounter with the demon Mina.
I was too ignorant about this world.
If I didn’t know the rules, I couldn’t win the game.
[Whaaaa? No can do. And I’m not saying this to be mean. Teaching you the rules would consume way too much destiny resources. So much that I wouldn’t be able to do anything else afterwards.] (Goddess)
[And yet, you kept rambling on about the girls?] (Lugh)
[Oh, there was nothing wrong with that. I mean, you already realized it all yourself, didn’t you?] (Goddess)
She proclaimed herself the stage manager, and fittingly so. Her emotionless eyes saw right through me.
She was right.
I knew that my first meetings with each of the girls had been arranged by the goddess, and that they would’ve died if they hadn’t met me.
[Then tell me whatever you can. Even summoning me here cost you some resources, right? If you’re the stage manager, then it had to have been for a reason.] (Lugh)
[Bingooo! That’s right. The higher-ups have concluded that all your achievements so far have contributed to saving the world. And they also added that you were a godsend from beyond. Therefore, more resources have been made available to you. And so, your new reward will be presented to you in the near future, so be sure to take it! I summoned you here to tell you that.] (Goddess)
[…I suppose you can’t tell me what the reward is because it would cost you resources. And the fact that you’ve gone to the trouble of using them to call me here means that it’s the kind of thing I’d miss if you didn’t notify me about it.] (Lugh)
The goddess gave me a cheerful smile.
Looks like I hit the bull’s eye.
For her to go this far, it must be a huge reward.
[Alright. I’ll be sure to take it. …I want to save this world as much as you do.] (Lugh)
I was deeply attached to the things I had built up in my life as Lugh Tuatha Dé.
And I didn’t want to lose my parents, who raised me with care, and Dia, Tarte, and Maha, who loved me.
[Yes. Then good luck with that. You’re the only one I can rely on now.] (Goddess)
[If you’ve depleted your resources just by saying that, I won’t forgive you.] (Lugh)
[It’s alright. I mean, you already know them yourself, don’t you? Those overpowered fools who casually use the knowledge of their previous life to become Gary Stus sure stand out a lot, after all. But if they get noticed and killed because of that, it won’t be my problem. Haaa, such a waste of resources. Although, it’s because they died that I was able to dispatch them. But from a goddess’ point of view, the basis of investment is diversification, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to only make a single investment.] (Goddess)
As the goddess stated, I knew about people who seemed to be reincarnations.
Those who acted like she described them stood out and were easily caught in Orna’s information network.
I actually met with them in person and suggested that we collaborate, but for some reason, they were all uncooperative people and turned me down.
And I knew that at this point, they were all doomed.
The humans reincarnated into this world by the goddess possessed high specs.
But those didn’t exceed the human standards, and the slightest moment of carelessness could cost them their lives.
[Well, that’s the end of this dream. When you wake up, be sure to give a morning smooch to your lovely Maha-chan. Alright then, this concludes the oracle of the Goddess! Phew, I’m beat. I’m done with work for today, so I think I’ll go hit the spa, and then I’ll watch a drama while sipping a drink.] (Goddess)
After that, the white room distorted itself.
What could be the goddess’ reward?
I’ll have to inquire about this matter to some extent and formulate a hypothesis. Otherwise, I might end up missing it.