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「First of all, you are not a personality that suddenly sprung forth from Cielmer. You are unquestionably a soul from someone who had died in another world.」
「I didn’t really have any doubts about that matter though.」
「Are you sure about that? Can you truly prove that you are not just a split personality born with the memories of a completely random individual?」
「Well I certainly can’t but…」

If you’re bringing that up, even if you say that the world was just made a minute ago, there’d be no way to prove that too. As I thought that, I couldn’t help but furrow my brows. Seeing me sulk, the Creator God chuckled again.

「You really are no good without Cielmer, aren’t you? Returning to the topic, wouldn’t the fact that your self-perception is correct serve as an important benchmark?」
「Well, that is true. It’s a lot better than being told that everything I know is a misconception at least.」

In other words, I’m not a psycho under the delusion that I have memories of a Yumemura Reon. Or rather, I guess I should be glad that Yumemura Reon actually existed to begin with.

「You died once and were reincarnated in this world. Originally, the soul of the dead is supposed to be reformatted and readjusted before being sent into the world as a completely different person. That’s why this is actually your second time coming here, not the first. Souls right after death enter a dormant state so to speak and will not wake up until their reincarnation, so you likely don’t remember it.」
「Are inter-world reincarnations unusual?」
「Not at all. Being reincarnated in the same world is common, but I frequently do it with the worlds under my jurisdiction for balance regulation since the souls are going to be reformatted either way.」
「So my reincarnation itself wasn’t anything special then.」

As the Creator God said, since the souls will be reformatted and readjusted anyways, it won’t matter which world they’re sent. I suppose that means that the sort of reincarnation I’ve read in stories is really just fiction.

「The new game plus sort, right? I can’t really say that it never happens. I’ve let some reincarnate with their memories intact on a whim after all and there were times the souls of the dead woke up before reincarnating and negotiated with me. In general, it all depends on my mood at the time. In your case though, I honestly had no intention of doing any of these. None at all.」

From what I’ve heard so far, I thought that was the case as well. Rather, there’s literally no reason for me, who hasn’t done anything remarkable in my lifetime, to be given special treatment.

「However, I did plan on giving you sorcery-specialized talent. I temporarily put your sorcery parameters to maximum and was pondering on how I should go about decreasing it, you see? The terms “parameters” and so on are just analogies by the way. It’s easier to understand like this, right?」
「Yes, thank you very much.」

Wouldn’t dealing with reincarnating souls one by one be time consuming? There’s probably no need to speculate but she’s likely dealing with multiple souls in parallel using some sort of godly power or so.

「Something like that. I am a Supreme Deity after all.」
「Even when we’re talking leisurely now, I’m sure that you’re constantly working behind the scenes.」
「Hahaha, revere me.」
「Even without that, I already revere gods.」

During my life, I don’t remember particularly thinking about gods. However, I do bow my head before the shrine archway every time I go to shrines and I do at least clasp my hands together in front of the jizou statues. That’s why with a god before me right now, I show respect.

「Considering that, you were awfully ready to eliminate me earlier.」
「Ciel is more important after all.」
「Fufufu. Now, onto the main topic. As I was adjusting your soul, something unexpected happened.」
「… There was an interference from the surface?」
「Exactly. The impudent fool was trying to capture me, a god, so I let him take the soul I had at hand on a whim. I could’ve retraced the interference and cut it at the source but in light of his efforts of reaching the divine realm while being merely mortal, I opted with that instead.」

Am I some sort of award now? Or rather, since he managed to reach the divine realm, will the gods be alright? At worst, that man’s experiment might even succeed.

「Regarding that, there’s nothing to worry about. While he might have stepped into the divine realm, it’s not like he can do much here. Ants may walk on the surface, but a single ant stands no chance against a person. It’s similar to that. Though, in actuality, the hurdle is completely different in comparison.」
「Anyhow, because the Creator God let me get captured, I arrived at Ciel’s side, is that correct?」
「Additionally, since I haven’t reformatted you yet, you still have your memories; and you’re that proficient in sorcery since I’ve already tampered with your sorcery-based parameters. If the timing was just a bit skewed, you probably wouldn’t be as proficient as you currently are with sorcery and you might not even have any of your memories.」
「If I didn’t have my memories, I likely would’ve panicked inside of Ciel.」

If that had happened, I probably would’ve cried every time Ciel started to cry.

「Oh? I was expecting you to at least have some grievances against me but it seems that you don’t.」
「Considering that it’s thanks to this that Ciel was saved, well… Besides, from how it’s going, you did do something for us, right?」
「Right, right. Since I somewhat understood what could happen at the destination you were headed to, I found your coming fate to be a bit unfortunate, so I decided to protect you at least until you reach 15 years old, the accepted age of adulthood in this world.」
「So that’s why you said we’ll be fine until we reach 15 years old.」
「Normally, a child’s mental fortitude wouldn’t be able to bear daily stomach mutilations, you know? They’d just die. Even if they’re not actually cut, people do die if they seriously believe that they’ve been cut or stabbed, you see?」

Now that she mentioned it, Ciel surviving through our first five years was nothing short of a miracle. While I did as much as I could to protect Ciel, I couldn’t stop that one brutality he called mealtime.

「To be exact, before you got taken, I embedded a part of me inside of you. By doing that, I am able to find your location and protect the two of you.」

In that case, does that mean that all the effort I’ve made was pointless in the end? That’s a bit depressing. Still, while I was being miserable, the Creator God continued her exposition.

「However, I had two miscalculations. The first is that a certain someone worked too hard. Before I embedded a portion of myself into you, I calculated it so that all my power will vanish by the time that you two reach 15 years of age. However, you worked yourself harder than I imagined. As a result of your effort, there’s considerably a lot more of my power left than I first anticipated. Your efforts were not in vain. While you did reach your current level of proficiency with assistance from me, you’ve only reached it because of your own efforts. These past years, you’ve been researching magic and sorcery for literally 24 hours a day. People would consider that insanity. Moreover, you’re always on the alert. You’re practically in constant combat-ready mode. With more than 12 years of combat experience, your abilities are abnormal compared to other people. And, well, about my power, there were actually a few situations when it was used. Like the first time you used magic or that time when your Jobs were being determined. Even so, there’s still a ton of it left.」

Being told that my efforts weren’t in vain honestly makes me happy. Now that I think about it, regardless of our current situation, I would’ve still needed to exert this much effort anyway in order to protect Ciel once we reach 15 years old. Also, it turns out that the magic I thought to be just accidentally activated was actually made possible with the aid of the Creator God’s power. With that, well of course I’d be able to use magic. If our Jobs were settled with her help too, then I really can’t thank her enough.

「Still, I don’t feel any magic power… divine power? Any power of that sort.」
「That’s because it’s been kept concealed. After all, there was always someone nearby who could cause problems for you two if the fact that you have divine power was ever exposed.」

Yup, he definitely was. If he had discovered it, then the moment we reach 15 years old and lose this power, we would’ve been locked in instant checkmate.

「I’ll say this just to be sure but this part of me— let’s just go with divine power. My divine power is embedded onto you alone. Cielmer had been protected together with you only because she is your host. Since it’s inside of you, no matter what Cielmer does, she won’t be able to feel any trace or presence of this divine power.」
「I understand.」
「Excellent. Now, despite the fact that there’s much of it left, it wouldn’t have been an issue as long as you gradually exhaust all of the divine power upon reaching 15 years old and beyond. However, this is where the second miscalculation comes in.」
「The Artificial Divine Messenger.」
「Right, that. That thing was made by the individual that took you, right? But this time he harnessed the divine power that’s drifting within the world. Seriously, mankind is pretty creative.」

Considering her reaction, it seems that Duke Rispelgia’s activities aren’t particularly out of line from the Creator God’s perspective. As I was looking at the Creator God, she blinked in surprise before letting out a small chuckle.

「It’s not like he’s done any significant damage after all. If I had to say, I’m letting him roam free only because he might provide some amusement. On the other hand, I’m not particularly attached to the individual, so I’m leaving his handling to the people on the surface.」

So if we hypothetically punish Rispelgia, it’s not as if the Creator God will be angry about it.

「And so, when you defeated the monster he created, you two came into contact with what you can call the atmosphere of the divine realm. At that moment, my divine power assimilated with you. The remaining excess, all of them.」
「… Wait, wouldn’t that turn me into a god?」
「While I call it a lot, it’s still only an extremely small fragment of me, so you’re just half-… or rather 1/10th divinity? While it’s only a miniscule amount for us, it’ll turn into an extremely powerful force on the surface. Because of that, there are but a few that can break through your divine power-infused barrier.」

A barrier infused with a god’s power. Well no wonder Fiiyanamia would prefer not fighting against me. Still, that same Fiiyanamia did say that she can destroy my barrier and the Creator God does know Fiiyanamia well enough to refer to her with a nickname, so…

「I was the one that dispatched Fii after all. And the spirits too. Fii was sent to that world to fulfill certain duties, while the spirits were sent to maintain the world’s natural balance. Fii is the overseer, while the spirits are the workers. There’s plenty of ways to describe their roles, but I dispatched them so that the world and mankind doesn’t fall apart. Though, since the spirits multiply on their own, the only spirit I actually sent in was the one called the Spirit King.」
「Would that be the reason why the spirits are attracted to me?」
「The divine power you have was originally mine after all. At the very least, they recognize you as someone related to me and they might even mistake you as family or a parent, so that’s only natural. To answer your numerous questions regarding spirits, this is also the reason why the high spirit was concerned for you, and the reason you started seeing spirits is because of the divine power assimilation as well. While it was embedded onto you before the assimilation, you likely couldn’t see them since the power was still under my control; after the assimilation, it was then under your control. Since the divine power turned into your own power, you could now see them. As for why Cielmer can seem them as well, it’s because Cielmer’s body changed upon coming into contact with your divine power. And as for why you two can’t interact with the spirits, I suppose that’s because you can’t even be considered a half-baked god at this point?」

All of my questions up until now are being answered like they’re nothing. Yeah, there’s no way I would’ve figured it out by myself. It’s too absurd. Wait, now that I think about it, everything started with Rispelgia trying to make a god, so it’s all just coming back to a full circle.

「What would be my relationship with Fiiyanamia and the Spirit King then?」
「Family, of sorts… I suppose? Fii was quite kind to you, wasn’t she?」
「Yes. I doubted her the whole time though.」
「Fii isn’t the type to get angry for something that small, you know. And I imagine she had some understanding about your worries and concerns as well.」

That’s definitely the case. If it wasn’t, she wouldn’t have attempted to get close to me knowing that I’m on the guard against her.

「In summary, most of the mysterious things that happened to you were generally the result of my divine power. In actuality, more absurd things were supposed to happen, you know? Like staying alive despite being pierced through the heart and stuff.」
「It’s that powerful of a protection?」
「You were living in a place where that could actually happen anytime after all. Still, something like a beheading would be impossible to survive despite the protection.」
「It would be absolutely horrific if we revived from that.」

That would definitely traumatize any witnesses. And if that happens, we might end up becoming zombies or monsters of that sort. With the discussion reaching a natural pause, the Creator God was sipping on a teacup that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. There’s also one in front of me before I even noticed, so I decided to have a sip as well.

It was just a small sip, but the gentle aroma of the tea filled my mouth. It’s not bitter, it’s distinctly sweet. And as I was enjoying my drink, 「Let’s proceed to the next topic.」 the Creator God continued our conversation.

Hiya~! Whew, a lot more exposition today, as well as some clear answers to certain events. The part with divine power being a trigger for Ain and Ciel to see spirits was easy enough to anticipate, but the exact reason why Ain is just plain popular with spirits was a bit hard to figure out, since there’s just a lot of possible reasons. Also, one small detail I like about the spirits flocking to Ain and Ciel was that not much flocked to Ciel while Ain is popular with them. Why is that? After this chapter, it’s simple. That’s because while Ain’s new divine power is like blending with Ciel, the original divine power from the Creator God, despite being assimilated with Ain, is *only* assimilated with Ain. In other words, Ain has more of the Creator’s divine power (which attracts spirits) while Ciel only has Ain’s divine power (which is probably somewhat similar to the Creator’s since it assimilated with Ain).

Now, one of my favourite thing about these past chapters is definitely the characterization of the Creator God (or the divine split that’s talking to Ain at least). One of my biggest gripes in isekai is how gods are presented. Not in a religious “That’s blasphemy!” sense or anything, but it’s the consistency between the nature of the lore god and the character main character’s treatment of them. First, many of the gods in other isekai are just plain poorly conceptualised as a character. To the point where some isekai are actually better when you don’t read the “Meeting with the god before reincarnating” prologue. And some isekai just circumnavigate around this by, wouldn’t you know, just not having a meeting with god. An example is Death March. Moving on, the fact that the god have either flat characters or are just made to be the butt of the joke is really really annoying. Look, if I was one of those flat character gods that are basically just office workers stamping your reincarnation passport and cheat power documents, I’d just send them to the shredder if the idiot was being rude and didn’t have an ounce of respect for us low level gods, letting him either just go back to where he should die or just sending him to the tundra isekai. I’m damn busy and one mistake is negligible. Anyhow, another is how when the gods are shown to be mind readers, and basically omnipotent, they don’t act like it. They just read the mind once to prove the point and become senile. Which could work well, but it’s definitely not intentional in a lot of stories. Now what I like about the Creator God is that she doesn’t bother to explain anything outside of the needed discussion. Why would she need to? Sure, she has some pity over Ain, but that’s it. Like, there’s just suddenly a cup of tea and she didn’t even tell Ain, it’s just there. She basically caused Ain five years of hell because, well, consolation prize for the little mortal’s efforts. Ain’s hell did save poor little Ciel though. And she fully expects Ain to be somewhat angry with her, but didn’t really mince her words anyway. She has a personality, but it’s not good or bad. But yeah, I guess the main point here is that writing gods as actual characters is the way to go, but a lot seem to just take some isekai god stereotype and just use it without even thinking if that god even works in that kind of story.

Now then, to another part I’d like to give my opinion on: how the god’s divine power protects the two of them. As I mentioned above, the Creator God doesn’t explain any further than necessary, so the exact effects of her protection is pretty vague. All that I can tell is that 1) It can protect Ciel from lethal and life threatening danger as long as it’s not an instant kill and 2) It only keeps the two of them alive PHYSICALLY. Because if it was just almighty, Ciel and Ain wouldn’t have all the mental scars they have right now. While it might be able to save Ciel form dying due to a psychological shock just causing her heart to fail because of the trauma of being practically disemboweled everyday, it doesn’t remove the trauma get as both Ain and Ciel have issues. Like how Ain is, as the Creator God says, no good without Ciel and how Ciel basically turned into an empty husk for the few hours she was separated from Ain at the start. Also, the protection really depended on Ain and Ciel to escape, it would’ve been useless otherwise since once it disappears, Respelgia can do whatever he wants. If it was only Ain, she would’ve just given up on life from the beginning, if it was only Ciel, she would’ve just turned into an empty doll ready to be manipulated by Respelgia as she really had nothing but torture and instructions to follow. Really, the protection is only of use if they had decided to escape, and they wouldn’t have if they were alone. Ain wanted to go out to give Ciel a chance in actually living a life, while Ciel just wants to be with Ain. As the Creator God said, Ain’s struggle was not in vain. Divine Protection sounds OP, but it was nothing without the two of them keeping each other mentally intact and motivated to take on the world. As usual, it’s just my opinion. Still, I really wonder what mysterious shenanigans the divine power would’ve caused if Ain instead chose to either focus on offence or be a well rounded mage, lol.

Now then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to comment. Stay clean, stay safe, and have a nice day~!