Chapter 51: A Sin, a Punishment and Something After

A large number of soldiers with a resolute expression stood alongside the sovereign in the Imperial Castle. Empress Rosalie got up from the throne and slowly approached me with a solemn look.

「…He really is gone now. 」

Rosalie spoke to me without formalities. Her words showed a slight feeling of real sorrow.

「Geabrande was saved because you people helped defeat the Demon King. I shall thank you deeply on behalf of everyone in my country.」

I shook my head slightly.

「That’s okay, really. Besides…we should not take credit for saving the world because the greatest person who defeated the Demon King is no longer with us… 」

Rosalie spoke after she heard my sad words…

「I see. You’re right. 」

I nodded a few times. But, I couldn’t continue to speak. After that, she looked directly in my eyes with a sincere and apologetic look.

「Allow me to say a few words. Ryuguuin Seiya was a man that believed on his own efforts. He always adhered to justice no matter what others thought of him. I truly believe him now. He was a real hero for all of us.」

I also looked straight into Rosalie’s eyes.

「Yes. All of his actions consisted of a series of miracles that ordinary heroes wouldn’t be able to accomplish.」

Behind Rosalie stood Mash and Elle. I slowly approached them. Mash wore the armor of an Imperial Knight and Elle was dressed in a beautiful aristocratic outfit.

Rosalie invited the two dragon children to join the Imperial Knights. They were given special positions because they were the companions of the hero who saved the world. Mash joined forces with Rosalie per Seiya’s will. Elle decided to remain by Mash’s side in the Imperial Capital.

I gave Mash a handshake.

「Mash. I wish you good fortune. 」

「Lista… 」

Mash held my hands while he spoke with a serious expression.

「I will protect the world that my Master gave his life to save… 」

This boy looked so mature right now, as opposed to how he looked a few days ago. I held Mash’s hands strongly.

「I’m sure you can do it. 」

「Of course because my determination is absolute! 」

Elle laughed gently right next to me. Rosalie and I raised the corner of our mouths after we saw Mash’s incredibly serious face.

「Elle. Help Mash whenever he needs. 」

Elle replied 「Yes! 」 with a cheerful voice. However, she turned around to face me and showed a sad expression then.

「Lisutan…You’re really leaving us… 」

「That’s correct. I can’t stay here anymore. 」

On this moment, Elle embraced me softly.

「Elle? 」

「Will you…come again to play with us? 」

Elle spoke while looking tearfully at me.

「Let’s go to the hot springs when you come, okay? 」

Mash also showed me a smile.

「Yes, that’s right! We have to go to the Casino! 」

I smiled to both of them.

「You’re right. We need to go there. 」

「Absolutely? Do you promise? 」

「Yes. One day, I’m sure. 」

I embraced Elle tightly. And…

「Well then. I must go now. 」

I stepped away from Elle. I casted a spell to an empty space inside the Imperial Castle.

The portal to the God’s realm appeared. When I tried to leave…

「…Goddess Listarte. 」

Rosalie called my name unexpectedly.

「You are strong. I am still grieving over my father’s death. 」

「That’s not true. But…I have to become a proper goddess for Seiya’s sake. That’s what I decided to do.」

「I also have to follow your steps. As the ruler of an Empire, I must become a suitable leader for my people.」

「You’ll do fine as you are now. I’ll leave Mash and Elle in your care. Don’t give them unreasonable orders, okay?」

「Yes. I’ll keep that in mind. 」

Rosalie smiled at Mash and Elle. The two of them also returned a smile to Rosalie. I felt reassured with the situation. I put my hand on the portal then.

「Salute our Goddess of Salvation! 」

Rosalie’s voice echoed behind me. And the soldier’s whistles rang all at once.

I left Geabrande while listening to the roaring sound on my back…

—

I exited the portal in my room in the God’s realm. After closing the door, I looked at the portal for a while. I thought about everything that happened on the other side of the portal. I bowed in respect, and I finally made the portal disappear.

I sat down on my bed as I thought deeply of Mash and Elle’s faces while they sent me off.

Both of them had gracious faces. I wonder how long it has been since they felt peace.

Suddenly, the self-confident figure of Seiya passed in front of me. As usual, he squeezed his nose while making a bored sigh.

『It was just a “possibility”. 』

「Seiya… 」

The moment I tried to reach his hand, his silhouette disappeared. It was just an illusion. There was nothing here except a lonely-empty space.

『Listarte. You are strong. 』

I shook my head negatively when I remembered Rosalie’s words.

I got up and locked the door of my room.

No one will be able to come inside here. Nobody will look at me. So, there was nothing to hold me back anymore.

…I fell on my bed while I cried aloud endlessly as if I were a small child.

—

I ignored the sound of someone knocking on my door. Two days have passed since then. Someone brought me meals and put them under my door.

On that instant, I heard a metallic sound. Someone was trying to open my door after I ignored to open it. It was Aria. She opened my door with a key made from her sealing abilities.

「I’m sorry, Lista. But, Lady Isister wants to see you. 」

「…I see. I understand. I’ll go now. 」

I got up from my bed. Aria laughed a little when she saw my face.

「Oh my. What a horrible face you have now. Your hair is unkempt. 」

She grabbed my hand silently…

「Lista. Come over here. 」

Aria took me to the mirror in the corner of my room.

She didn’t ask me anything about what happened. She just combed my hair gently.

「…Okay. You look beautiful. 」

She said that while I stood in front of the mirror. The hair looked nice again. But, my skin was dry and all I could see was the reflected face of a tired woman.

Aria put her hands on my shoulders. Her expression hardened a little.

「Lista. I’m sure that Lady Isister will talk about the responsibility that involves your power as a goddess.」

Aria looked quite serious. But, I spoke to her without complaining.

「It’s fine. I will accept my punishment. After all, I was the one who broke the rules. 」

The words I just spoke and my true feelings didn’t feel compatible with my personality. Still, I lost someone important to me. So, I didn’t care anymore. I might get scolded or punished severely. In the worst-case scenario, I will be stripped of the title of goddess. None of that mattered anymore. On the contrary, I would be grateful for any punishment as long as it makes me change my mood a little bit.

Yet, Aria spoke to me with a determined expression.

「Don’t worry. You saved the S-rank difficulty world Geabrande. I won’t let them give you with a heavy punishment.」

—

As I walked behind Aria, I encountered Adenela, the Goddess of War, in the hallway of the temple. She approached me with a weird way of bent-back walking.

「Li…Lista. Are…Are…you all right? 」

「Yes, somehow I am. 」

I tried to smile at her, but I was not sure if I could ever smile or laugh again.

「How about you, Lady Adenela? I know that Lady Adenela liked Seiya as well. 」

「Well…Well…No, I’m more worried about you…you than myself. I…I heard about what happened. You…You must be much…much sadder, right? 」

I was having trouble in answering her question. Suddenly, I heard a loud voice coming from the other side.

「Hey, Lista! I don’t know much about the details! But, I can see that you’re not feeling well! Eat this and cheer up!」

The Swordsman God Celseus gave me a plate with a cake.

「It’s a different recipe! It’s a frozen cake! It’s cold and delicious! 」

Adenela looked at Celseus with hateful eyes.

「You…You had the nerve…nerve to give her…something cold…cold…during a time…time like this. You are…are an idiot…」

「Eh…What!? 」

Celseus became upset. I felt sorry towards him; therefore, I took a fork and ate a bit of that cake. And yet, it had no taste. In fact, it may have been a delicious cake, but my tongue lost the sense of taste. Even so, I forced a smile because Celseus was waiting for my reaction impatiently.

「Yes. This “Protein Cake” is delicious. 」

「No, it’s “Frozen Cake”, didn’t you listen!? This cake doesn’t have any protein, okay!? 」

「Ah, I’m sorry. So, it was a “Frozen Protein” after all. 」

「It’s a frozen cake without any protein ingredient!! I already explained that to you!! 」

Adenela put a fork close to the neck of an angry Celseus.

*sounds as if he was about to be stabbed*

「Shut…Shut up…! What…What do you have in there? Pro…Protein…! I…I shall not repeat myself…!」

「Yes…Yes, there’s lot of protein in there!! This cake is rich in protein!! 」

It was true that I didn’t taste anything. But…

「You’ll get a lot better if you bake with less protein. 」

I gave Celseus an advice about cooking that I didn’t quite understand. I left those two behind.

—

I entered the room with Aria. As always, the Great Goddess Isister was sitting on her chair. However, her face was a bit more severe than usual.

「Lista. I am grateful that you saved Geabrande. Thank you very much. And I’m also very pleased to know that you came back safely. However, no matter how I feel about this, you broke the Almighty’s rules of the God’s realm. You must receive your punishment.」

The Great Goddess Isister’s words were firm. However, that didn’t make me feel worried. Actually, I didn’t feel anything at all. I listened to her words as if I was listening the story of a stranger.

On the other hand, Aria’s blood started to “boil”.

「Lady Isister! Whatever you decide, you mustn’t forget that Lista saved the S-rank difficulty world Geabrande! You need to consider it carefully without forgetting that crucial point! 」

After a brief moment of silent, the Great Goddess Isister finally spoke.

「The punishment for Lista. To save the SS-rank difficulty world Exfolia. 」

「Wha…What!? 」

Aria was speechless.

「Ex…Exfolia is a world that was successfully conquered by the devil! After defeating the hero, Exfolia’s Demon King gained a tremendous power and the whole world became tainted by that evil force! To save that world would be pointless now …!」

Aria was uncomfortable and confused. The Great Goddess Isister continued to speak.

「Additionally, Lista. Your healing abilities as a goddess will be sealed when you arrive in Exfolia. That’s one of the consequences of your actions. The other is. If you cannot save Exfolia, your title of goddess will be forfeited forever.」

「Even without those consequences…that world would be too painful for Lista… 」

Aria hit the table because she couldn’t stand that anymore.

「That’s too cruel!! She won’t be able to help her hero if her healing powers are sealed!! It’s absolutely impossible to save that horrible world!!」

It was the first time I saw Aria with “explosive emotions”. However, the Great Goddess Isister spoke as if it was a light discussion.

「I wonder about that. I don’t think it’s an impossible task to accomplish. 」

「On what basis!? That place transformed into a demonic world!! What kind of hero will be able to save a world like that!?」

The Great Goddess Isister stood up and looked at window to see the garden of the God’s realm. Like looking at the window, she explained the real situation to us.

「When the deadly heavenly gate swallowed the Demon King…The effects of the Chain Destruction were swallowed along with him.」

Aria became astonished. Therefore, I asked the following.

「What…What did you just say? 」

「Normally, no one can ever go back to a world that a deity failed to protect, but this is a special case.」

The Great Goddess Isister turned back. She picked up a piece of paper on the table and walked towards me.

「Listarte. Summon the hero that appears on this list and go with him to the SS-rank difficulty world Exfolia.」

I hardly believed the moment I saw the heroes’ list. I was depressed all this time, however, my eyes became widely open when I saw the name on that list.

Ryuguuin Seiya

Level – 1

HP – 385

MP – 197

Attack – 124

Defense – 111

Agility – 105

Magic – 86

Potential – 188

Resistance – Fire, Ice, Wind, Water, Lightening, Earth

Special skills – Fire magic (Lv 5), Experience Gain Increase (Lv 2) …

His status decreased dramatically. It was as if it was reset completely. It became less than a thousand points in each category. But, I noticed that some information didn’t change.

As soon as I saw it, tears fell from my face without stopping.

…The power given by past regrets.

…The power that defeated the Demon King and saved the world.

…The power that protected me, and his comrades.

At the end of his status, it was written:

—

Personality – Unbelievably Cautious.

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