NOVEL NEXT Chapter 124
“Birthday?”
“Yeah, it seems the kids living in Elysion want to celebrate the day the Goddess was born.”
“Unnecessary. It would be better to declare the successor’s holy anniversary and exert influence.”
“Is it really necessary to refuse so decisively?”
“…Anyway, I’m just part of the most recently created plan among the Goddess’s children.”
“……”
“The successor and the first children don’t need to care about me. The direction of the plan has changed, but if the successor exists, isn’t it unnecessary to be conscious of me?”
Swish
The Goddess turned away completely, expressing that further words were pointless. She then quietly pulled a white blanket piled at the top of the lighthouse over herself to hide.
Rustle
A slender hand poked out from the blanket, groping around for something. She pulled out a pack of grape juice, stuck in a straw, and retreated back under the blanket.
Sssslurp
A firm rejection.
When the fatigue from burdensome work made her no longer want to talk, the Goddess would eat something while issuing a command to be left alone.
Slurp
It seemed like any conversation with the Goddess, who had switched to recovery mode while making slurping sounds, would go unanswered.
“……”
After solving the small rift that had opened in the USA following the second trial, the Goddess lay back down again.
‘She’s stacked grape juice and blankets up here in case she collapses.’
At first, I felt bad seeing the Goddess’s indifference towards humanity and mechanical attitude in the past, so I irresponsibly took on all the burdensome work.
‘But in reality, at some point, there were things only the Goddess could do.’
Thinking about how she accepted the starlight depletion and optimally arranged the room for recovery made me feel a bit sorry for her.
Her attitude of not caring unless it was her given command,
Submissive to me, the Goddess of [Start] and her designated successor.
A life lived in obedience, following what was given.
[Revelation]
The Goddess had always lived listening to the voice that came from above.
‘Yuki has found her new destiny on her own, but the Goddess remains empty.’
Unlike the apostles growing alongside the girl imbued with destiny, the apostle who grew solely for the mechanical commands of the Goddess of [Start] from the beginning.
An apostle indifferent to the world
The weakest apostle
The Goddess was also a Magical Girl.
Clumsy, indifferent, unskilled, and lacking consideration.
The [Revelation] Magical Girl clearly intended to prepare everything I needed to adapt to this world.
School, status, apartment… and Elysion.
As long as I had the will to save others, she seemed willing to hand over everything. She tried to help me move forward while watching the flow of the stars from the top of the lighthouse.
If I were a girl who had crossed over from a different era,
If I hadn’t read [Magical Girl HAZARD].
Would I have laughed at what the Goddess had prepared?
This girl had also been born ignorant, simply moving forward as a collection of mistakes, according to the commands of the Goddess of [Start].
Suddenly, looking closely at the Goddess revealed a stark contrast to my first impression.
The face visible under the hood looked particularly young and innocent.
The feet peeking out from her white priest robe appeared unusually small.
With such a frail body, she had desperately endured the ruined world to carry out the commands of the Goddess of [Start] and led Elysion to where it is now.
Knowing the future, I and Yuki, who had fought fiercely in the present, found the Goddess’s efforts alien and burdensome, but could either of us truly deny her life itself?
“……”
“…Still not gone? I don’t need you.”
“I understand. Just rest well.”
Slurp
Leaving behind the sound of grape juice being drunk, I headed outside the white lighthouse.
Perhaps there was one great gift I could give to that girl.
＊
July 11th
“Successor, this is…”
The Goddess was dressed in ordinary modern attire. Her usual flowing silver hair was tied neatly, and her casual outfit gave her a fresh look.
Above all, the modern clothes suited her very well.
“Happy Birthday, Goddess.”
“Happy Birthday!! Goddess!!”
“Happy Birthday!!”
[Celebrating the birthday of the Elysion’s Anonymous Goddess!]
The Goddess, rising with a disheveled face, was quickly detained by me and the Magical Girl of [Wings] at the entrance and was made to change clothes in an instant. And she was delivered in that outfit to the plaza.
“This is quite embarrassing.”
What awaited in the plaza was a birthday party.
A myriad of delicious-smelling foods filled the tables, waiting for the Goddess’s birthday celebration with brightly dressed Magical Girls.
“It’s a command from the successor. Please rest and enjoy your birthday today.”
“…I’m not the type to be comfortable in crowded places.”
“Then you just need to experience something new from now on.”
“How unreasonable.”
The Goddess fiddled with her skirt while speaking, but her face remained expressionless. Surrounding her were numerous Magical Girls, each bursting with excitement, just eager to share their hobbies with the often-stoic Goddess.
Tiptoe
The Goddess raised her head to stare blankly at the hundreds of Magical Girls who had encircled her.
‘This looks just like that cover that was trending online.’
Hundreds of veterans with all sorts of hobbies closing in towards the silver-haired girl with flushed cheeks as they approached.
Removing her hood and changing into modern clothes, the former aura of intimidation had vanished, and coupled with her delicate and pure appearance, it oddly felt strangely alluring, even though it was not a lewd situation.
– Smells like a newbie.
– Oh my… can I share my hobbies with this introverted newbie?
– Th-this is… gulp
The veteran Magical Girls seemed to have already caught the scent of something alluring.
“Oh right.”
“Hm?”
“Spend today with the Magical Girls and find something you like.”
“……”
“It’s a command.”
“…I’d rather go to the USA one more time.”
“The rift is safe for now, so don’t worry.”
Phew
A stampede of veterans from all fields rushed towards the Goddess to show her a new world.
“G-Goddess!! Shall we play the saxophone together?”
“N-no!! Not that kind of instrument!! Let’s paint with sticky paint together!!”
“It sounds gross!! Get out of the way!! Goddess!! I’ll show you the thrill of sweating and bodily sculpting!!”
“The Goddess is already beautiful!! Get lost!! Let’s discover the joys of fishing together!!”
Before long, the Goddess was getting pulled away by the veteran Magical Girls to somewhere.
At first, they held onto her hands, then linked arms, and then started carrying her away.
Finally, like an audience lifting a rock star, hundreds of Magical Girls took off and headed somewhere with the Goddess.
“Ugh.”
Surely, with the strength of a born 3-Star Magical Girl, she could have resisted, but for some reason, whether due to my command or her naturally non-violent disposition, she was feebly being dragged away by a hundred veterans.
As I watched the Goddess being gradually led out of the Elysion urban area and into the woods, a golden-haired girl approached me.
The Magical Girl of [Wings].
Perhaps she was the one most concerned about the Goddess among the girls from Elysion.
“Thank you.”
“Iris.”
“You were trying to give the Goddess a new opportunity, weren’t you?”
“Was it too obvious?”
“Not at all… I expected it.”
Iris gazed at the Goddess being led away by the crowd with a somewhat pained look. That gaze didn’t reflect pity for the current situation, but seemed to focus more on the past.
“The Goddess… certainly ignored people in the past, but it was because of her mission to unconditionally follow the commands of the Goddess of [Start].”
“……”
“We couldn’t blame the Goddess for being indifferent, as she lived for the commands and protected us.”
“I don’t hate the Goddess as I didn’t live through that time, but I wish she had tried to find the right path on her own. However…”
But,
Perhaps she lacked even the freedom to head towards an unknown tomorrow.
She could only do her best to fulfill the immediate reality.
She had no choice but to ignore everything outside the work assigned to her.
Now, I had come to sincerely understand that and could only pity the Goddess.
An empty life.
A life with only commands.
One of the two girls who had faced the suffering that even the Goddess of [Start], who issued the commands, had predicted and tearfully apologized for.
In this world where she had aided countless people, I thought I could no longer blame or fault the Goddess. For thanks to her indifference and selfishness in the past, this world could receive the great help of Elysion.
‘I too cannot truly say that what the Goddess did was outright wrong.’
Now what remained was the second chance given to the Goddess herself.
And…
“Now there’s only one person left who can fully forgive the Goddess.”