I set conditions for being summoned to another world, but the Goddess still called me. - Chapter 9

Episode 9: The Goddess Statue Incident Occurs

　The next morning, after Nina returned to make breakfast, I received a call from Goddess Alice.

【Ding dong】

【That’s enough.】

【So, how are you? Why haven’t you used up all your magic yet?】

【Weren’t you watching?】

【I was. But because my divine power is weak, I couldn’t track it properly. What’s more, when I try to track you, there’s a lot of noise.】

　It seems that divine power and magical power don’t go together.

【I see. I did fire a few spells at full power yesterday.】

【Really? It seems like your divine power was slightly drawn. It wasn’t a big deal】

　Hmm? Why is the perception different?

【The magic was amazing. It even went through a small mountain.】

【Eh? Wait a minute. Isn’t that almost as powerful the divine power I gave you?】

【No, not that far. The divine power you have me would maximum power destroy a planet, right?】

【Y-You’re right. There’s no way a goddess would lose to some mysterious magical power.】

【Magical power that just appeared out of nowhere. It’s true that it’s completely different. However, my magic power seems to be a bit unusual for magic in this world. It’s not normal.】

【What do you mean? Are you the Demon King?】

【How? You summoned me. So, how could that be possible?】

【Ah, that’s right. I did summon a normal human.】

【Could it be that I have become a relative of the Demon King? Or that the Demon King’s magical power is flowing through you?】

【There’s no such thing.】

【I just had a suspicion.】

【 Is that so?】

【Well, that’s fine. So, I just realised that magical awakening is a kind of symbiosis. What do you think about that?】

【Huh? Symbiosis?】

【Ah, if there is no Demon King, I wonder if something that produces magical power has attached itself to me. In that case, there might be a microorganism living in me.】

【Oh, so you think you’re living in symbiosis with microorganisms? But doesn’t that violate the law of conservation of energy?】

【 How do you know the mechanics of Newton’s law? Well, I suppose it’s weird in my case.】

【Right? Absolutely.】

【Yeah, you are actually drawing too much energy out of me. I’m in great health. Ah, no way.】

【What what?】

【No, that’s not it.】

【What is this? I’m having a hard time reading your thoughts right now, so tell me.】

【I thought so.】

【That’s mean.】

【Hahaha. No, I was wondering if the microorganism in me was consuming that divine power? It’s not possible, is it?】

【That’s it.】

【That’s it.】

【It’s consuming divine power.】

【Really? But you haven’t used up much of your divine power, have you?】

【That’s true, but if my ability is stronger than normal magical power, we can only assume that divine power is involved. I don’t know the details, but something feels weird. I feel like something is wrong. I have to report this to the Gods’ Realm.】

【Has this not been known in the divine realm until now?】

【Nobody knows. Oh, I’ll check with the previous god. He might know something.】

【Well, it’s just a hypothesis. Such kind of bacteria couldn’t possibly exist.】

【At least, it’s not a normal evolution.】

【Yeah. Hmm? So, would it be bad if I awaken Nina now?】

【I don’t know.】

【I was just about to tell her to give up, so I guess I’ll just tell her to stop.】

【Yeah, that might be a good idea.】

【Why do you look so happy?】

　That’s what I felt.

【I’m not particularly happy about it.】

【Really? So what about magic? Maybe getting used to it will be a problem?】

【No, for now, I don’t mind having magical powers as long as it helps me achieve my goal.】

【Is that okay? But if the magical power gets too strong, we might not be able to communicate at all, and other unexpected developments might occur.】

【Yeah. That’s a problem.】

【Also, I might forget my original plan and just live life the way I want.】

【Wait a minute.】

【Well, I guess the world would be better if I could live the way I wanted.】

【Well, I suppose if someone like you who comes from a highly civilised world is satisfied, then it must be good.】

【I guess so. Well, there’s no point in worrying.】

【I see. I get it. I’ll discuss some countermeasures. You can draw out your divine power whenever you want, but… if you use it in large quantities, it might be bad, so I’ll put a limiter on it just in case.】

【Ah, okay. That’s fine. For now, it’s okay if I don’t use my divine power.】

【Oh, about that. How about you try using your divine power next time? Maybe that will help suppress the magic?】

【Hmm? Can I do it consciously? Okay. I’ll try it.】

【Please do.】

　Is it really possible to use divine power and magical power separately? Well, we’ll just have to try it.

　I was thinking about all this in bed when Nina came calling for me.

“Ryuuji, breakfast is ready.”

“Hey, it seems like there’s been a lot of commotion outside for a while now. Did something happen?”

　While I was talking with Alice, I noticed that the street in front of the inn was strangely noisy.

“Oh, I don’t really know what it is, but it looks like the church is gathering everyone. I’m thinking of going after breakfast.”

“Church?”

　Speaking of church, that should be Alice’s church, right? I have a bad feeling about this.

　　•=•=•

　After having breakfast with Nina, we headed straight for the church in town.

　The church was on a hill at the top of the main street. It was at the back of a square overlooking the town I had visited the other day.

“Quite a few people have gathered.”

“Yeah, we’re gathering at the square in front of the church, so I think they’ve called out everyone. Nearly half of the townspeople might be here.”

　Looking at the crowd, something seemed a bit odd. There were a lot of women. Was it because it was a church gathering?

　Perhaps because the town is declining and the gender ratio is becoming distorted.

　While we were waiting and chatting like this, several people, led by the priest, came out of the church.

“Everyone, please come. I’m Father Morton. I’ve come here to consult with you about a problem that has been plaguing this church since its founding.”

　The priest greeted the crowd with these words. Hearing this, the crowd erupted in excitement. This was something completely different from the beginning of the church.

“The mayor is here too. The man behind him is the town’s leader,” Nina told me.

“What is this? Has a war started?”

“No way.”

　After a moment of uproar among the crowd, the priest raised his hand and waited for the crowd to quiet down.

“First, please take a look at this sacred object.”

　Saying this, the priest waved his hand and the cover of the large stone statue was removed.

“Oh my goodness.”

“What is this?”

“Who the hell would do something so cruel?”

　There was a statue of a goddess that looked like something from a dystopia. The moment the statue was unravelled, a great commotion ensued.

　Before goddess Alice tampered with the world’s parameters, the appearance of the statue would’ve suited the world. And, I was used to seeing the dystopian features. But now with the change in the health and beauty parameters, everything suddenly looks too awful. Some people were even moved to such an extent that they had begun crying.

“This must be the work of the devil, whoever it is, the Church will never forgive them,” Father Morton said.

　No, forgive him. He was the one who did it. No, he was the real God.

“That being said, we cannot leave our goddess in this state,” said the priest.

“That’s right,” someone said in agreement.

“Of course. Oh, poor goddess,” said a woman’s voice.

“So, after consulting with the mayor and the town leader, we decided to erect a new statue of the goddess.”

“That would be good.”

“Agreed!”

“Do it now!”

“I can’t bear to look at what they’ve done to our beautiful goddess. A goddess like this is impossible. The new statue is the best idea! You guys can say whatever you want.”

“Yes, yes.”

　As I thought, this is what happened.

　Making sure that the statue of the goddess is fixed properly. Ah, I can’t do anything about the problems individually. Is that supposed to be my job?

“I am glad that you agree with us. Therefore, we have been looking for someone who can recreate a statue of the goddess,” the priest hesitated.

“What do you think, Otto? You’re a master craftsman, right? If you can’t do it, no one can.”

　Someone was calling out to Otto the stonemason.

“Yes, you asked me to help you, but we’re speaking about a goddess here. She’s unlike any other woman. I’ve never seen a woman like her before. I can’t even do something I’ve never seen before.”

　Well, I guess that’s true.

“What if the most beautiful woman in town isn’t good enough? Look, there’s Nina over there. Why don’t you ask her?”

“Eh, me?”

“Can I ask you to be the model?” asked Otto.

“Oh, no way! I can’t do that. I’m not good enough. Besides, I can’t pray. I would never pray to myself.”

　That’s true.

“Ah.”

“Oh, do you have any idea?” Otto said hopefully.

“Ryuji, what about Alice? Can we have the goddess carved based on her?”

“Oh no. Alice? Alice is no good.”

She’s the one who said that. If I were to call her as a model, I would be punished by God.

“Is Alice the woman who was with Ryuuji?” Otto asked. He has an eye for this.

“Yes, that’s right. She’s Ryuuji’s relative.”

“Oh, that person is the best. Seriously, I thought she was a goddess.” That’s actually true. This guy is so sharp.

“No, but I guess I went a little far away.”

　This is going to be a pain, so I’ll try to get around it somehow.

“I see, that’s a shame. If only we had a picture or something, things would be fine,” Otto said, looking very disappointed.

“A drawing would be okay? I see, in that case… maybe we can do something.”

　Come to think of it, I can take pictures with my smartphone, right? I could probably copy footage with my cheat ability, so maybe that could work?

“Really? In that case, I’d love to ask you to do it.”

　Otto grabbed me like a fish that had come back to life and said,

“Well, I’ll ask, but it might take a bit of time.”

“Oh, I don’t mind. I have some preparations to make, so I’ll take my time and make it.”

　Otto looks incredibly happy.

“Oh, that’s wonderful. If Master Otto is happy with it, then there’s nothing more to be desired. The church will do its best to assist you. Of course, we’ll be grateful, so thank you in advance.”

　Well, it’s okay. At least there’s no comment from Alice in the Gods’ realm.

“Please give me some time to get the painting. Once it arrives I will take it to the church and then we can officially decide what to do with it.”

“I understand. I would appreciate it if you could do that.”

　Oh no. What if the church rejects the painting of the real goddess?