NOVEL NEXT Chapter 44
A sudden, intense light engulfed the space that was filled only with darkness.
Time passed without my understanding what was happening.
And then, when the light faded away and an infinite darkness filled the space once more—
――The sensation of falling from a high place.
What I first felt was precisely that ‘falling sensation.’
“……!!!”
―Bang!
Is this…… the floor?
No, this is where we were.
In a place where nothing existed, yet somehow I could stand on something—why was that?
What the heck is going on?
Just a moment ago, the one and only God Igguoqueden…
Creak!
―Am I coming to my senses?
“!!!”
Startled, I looked to the side.
Nothing was there. Yet, the mere sound told me enough.
That was… the existence that had been speaking with me.
The entity with whom I shared the divine grace of Igguoqueden.
‘What happened?’
―The ‘Divine Power’ of Igguoqueden has come upon me.
‘Yes… that’s right!’
500,000!
An absurd number.
So much divine power shoved into me!
I was overwhelmed, with no time to feel excited.
―Perhaps the shape you have taken is undoubtedly thanks to the divine power.
“!!!”
Shape…?
Only then did I notice the changes that had occurred within myself.
A hand. This is… a hand. A hand similar to that of Igguoqueden!
It clenched and opened, repeatedly.
‘This is the divine power…!’
―The fact that it is you and not me who has been chosen is surely a simple fact of Igguoqueden.
A simple fact!
“A simple fact!”
That it could speak.
That it could voice its existence!
Igguoqueden!
That fiery name caught in my throat once more.
It felt truly different. The emotion of something stuck in my throat and genuinely being choked!
―Now is the time to grasp ‘the will of the gods.’
“The will of the gods!”
That which had gained at least a minimal form through the power of the divine began communication with the god once more.
* * *
After donating 500,000 won.
Since the author had not responded, I considered how to move Ophilia forward.
Among the options, the simplest path—
I wanted to avoid the choice of ‘using miracles to elevate Ophilia’s intelligence enough to understand the will of the gods.’
Ophilia, despite realizing that she was unaware of it, was striving to move forward.
If I were to provide a miracle to her, perhaps it would solve the problem for now, but… in the end, everything she had worked for thus far would surely be in vain.
So, I wanted to help her indirectly.
Rather than forcing her to realize, I wanted to tell her that it was fine to move forward without understanding.
So what if she was lacking? Humans are meant to live with shortcomings!
I was just like that.
I had no friends and fell for a silly TV program as a child, getting hit with an absurd bill.
Everyone has their awkward moments. Ophilia simply had a few more than others.
Telling her that ‘it’s okay to act without realizing’ might be escapism in the real world, but…
At the very least.
As long as I am ‘a god,’ I wanted to create a world where that became the truth.
That it’s okay to be awkward. That even if you don’t understand, just acting is enough to be wonderful.
Isn’t that the power of fiction?
To project what cannot be achieved in reality and gain dreams from it, something like that exists, right?
‘…’
Lost in my deep thoughts, feeling a bit embarrassed from the over-immersion, I quickly changed the subject of my thoughts.
Anyway, to be reborn as a holy knight who acts on the will of the gods without any realization, I needed to help somehow.
‘What if there’s an artifact that could be used when something is lacking…?’
Artifacts. Nothing quite resonated.
Moreover, for someone as scatterbrained as Ophilia, who would probably forget it, that wasn’t reassuring.
‘In games, if your stats are lacking, you can buy buffs, items, or pets to help hunt…’
While I was lost in such thoughts about ‘indirect aids’—
‘…Huh?’
Wait a minute.
Pets?
Isn’t that a pretty good idea?
In the games I played, there were pets that would pick up items for you or teach you the right timing to use skills, providing small assistance.
Though they were expensive due to maintenance, in terms of convenience, they were almost essential.
I was no exception.
If it was in the form of a ‘pet’, maybe I could take care of Ophilia without having to stick around constantly?
At that moment.
[ Please give me money: Sorry for the delay, God Igguoqueden ]
[ Please give me money: Because of the sudden downpour of ‘Divine Power’, I needed a moment to organize… ]
[ Igguoqueden: Oh, you came, author ]
[ Please give me money: First of all… thank you so, so much ]
[ Please give me money: I genuinely never expected you’d grant me this much power ]
[ Please give me money: What can I do to repay the heavenly grace of God Igguoqueden? ]
[ Igguoqueden: Hahaha, honestly, considering the value of the illustrations you’ve drawn so far, I think it’s a fair trade ]
This was not just a flattering comment for the author.
Surprisingly, the author had been drawing many dozens of panels every single day.
Plus, perhaps because I had shown my liking, they kept including bathing scenes that were unrelated to the story.
Recently, as the holy knight part was progressing, thanks to that, I was able to take in a variety of breasts in different sizes.
Ophilia, with a solid body typical of a female knight and thick thighs, bearing the largest knightly chest among the three.
Linea, boasting a lively figure unique to youth, though her chest was smaller than that of her mother.
And Luka, with the most balanced slender body, without excessive development in any particular area.
Objectively speaking, Luka also had a chest that could be considered adequately large enough to be discussed elsewhere.
Just recently, she had a chest bigger than that of the first princess Yuria.
It was just that the other companions had outlandish traits.
As for me, I preferred the ample chest of Erin and Eirene…
The more breasts, the better. Seeing a variety of breasts would surely be beneficial for health.
Anyway, now that I had organized my stuff, I had some money.
Donating 500,000 wasn’t an impulsive decision; it was a token of gratitude for the author who had been creating this comic according to my wishes without complaint.
[ Igguoqueden: By the way ]
[ Please give me money: Of course, it’s possible ]
[ Please give me money: With this amount of divine power, what couldn’t we achieve? ]
[ Igguoqueden: Haha, right ]
[ Please give me money: However, this is my first time with such an enormous amount of divine power, and since it’s in an indirect form of help… ]
[ Please give me money: How to do it could be the problem since ‘the world’s response’ has never taken that route… ]
Good. I thought the techniques would come in.
All I have to do now is accept it!
[ Igguoqueden: You know ]
[ Igguoqueden: I roughly thought about it ]
[ Igguoqueden: Is this possible? ]
* * *
Time had passed since Ophilia entered the cathedral as a Holy Knight Plate.
After finishing her daily tasks, Ophilia returned to her room and let out a light sigh.
That day, the story she heard from the Saint.
The chilling reality that she could never hope to understand the will of the gods.
When she first heard it, she thought she could overcome it, but with each passing day, her shoulders felt heavier.
The stares of the priests at the cathedral who regarded her with curious eyes were something she could not ignore.
If all of this was a trial, she certainly had to accept it.
Yet, today felt especially difficult for some reason.
Originally, this was the time for physical training, but oddly, exercise was slipping from her grasp.
She vaguely sensed it.
That her way of thinking was somewhat different from others.
The reason Ophilia had been able to maintain a ‘neat knight appearance’ until now was thanks to the maids, who corrected her somewhat awkward behavior nearly 24/7.
Because of that, she had managed to acquire social skills safely. For things she couldn’t memorize, she would study and repeatedly work hard to finally memorize them.
Even she had words she couldn’t seem to memorize, and that was the ‘simple fact’ of the gods. For some reason, that particular word would not stick no matter how many times she studied it.
Thanks to her devout parents who were believers of Guoden Church, she could grasp the truths of Igguoqueden faster than others.
――Yet, she could never bring herself to think it might be the issue of ‘intelligence’ stated in the Bible.
‘…Am I not worthy of being a holy knight?’
Though she enjoyed the honor of being chosen by the god, she wondered if in the end, she might have disappointed the god because of her own inadequacies—
‘…No.’
After thinking that far, Ophilia quickly shook her head and immediately changed out of her knight armor into active training clothes.
She lightly warmed up, refocusing her mind.
‘As I get caught up in such thoughts, I will only hinder my progress. This too must be a trial from the gods.’
Ophilia thought of Luka, her fellow Holy Knight Plate.
By being close to her, she had heard plenty of stories.
Despite being in much harsher circumstances than her, she managed to be chosen as a Saint in the end—surely she must have had moments she wanted to give up, yet she never stopped trying.
Linea could not be excluded either.
Coming from royalty, entering as a Holy Knight Plate while relinquishing her name for the sake of the will of the gods must have required tremendous resolve.
Everyone was the same.
Carrying their burdens yet moving forward without stopping.
‘Even if I might never understand it in my lifetime… nonetheless, I will do what I can.’
Thinking not of what she wished from the gods, but rather about what she could do for the gods.
That was Ophilia’s path.
And it was precisely because she had such a steadfast spirit—
“…Huh?”
―That the gods could not help but take heed.
‘What is it?’
With a knock on the door, she wondered if perhaps the Saint had come, and she hastily opened the door—
“?”
Before her eyes, there was no figure of a person.
Just when she thought she misheard, she realized something was at her feet and looked down――
“!!!”
――A rabbit.
With eyes as black and round as sunflower seeds and fluffily white fur, there was a small, adorable rabbit.
“Igguoqueden.”
Uttering a somewhat strange sound, it looked up at Ophilia.