Chapter 68 – Return of the Emissary

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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A god was a being infinitely close to omnipotence.

The more one transcended the limits one had unconsciously set for oneself, the closer one drew to omnipotence.

A great power that could freely accomplish whatever one willed.

One could shatter a mountain, or briefly evaporate the sea.

This power was the very reason ordinary people looked up to gods.

And having defeated Blood-Soaked Mud, I quickly grasped just where the strength I had gained should be put to use.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.

The seawater poured into the iron pan boiled up.

In the end, the seawater let off some bubbles then evaporated entirely.

All that remained was pure white powder made up of sharp, granular grains.

Hwen and Bartol stared intently at this powder, then began to dab at it with an index finger and taste it.

And immediately scrunched up their faces.

“Ugh, pft. Bitter.”

“But rolling it around properly, I am certain. It is salt.”

“Old man, that’s disgusting. What do you do if you shred the roof of your mouth?”

“But still, to taste salt for the first time in a long while.”

“Good grief.”

With Hwen continuing to scold him, there was nothing he could do.

Bartol reluctantly brushed the salt off his index finger and smacked his lips in longing.

I nodded at the assessments of the two.

“If it is safe to eat, that is enough. Until we can recover from the damage suffered at Terjaohm, I shall produce salt for the time being.”

“O great one, my heartfelt gratitude for your truly benevolent consideration.”

That said, both of them were equally pleased at the news of a stable salt supply.

Even Hwen, who had been scrunching up her face, smacked her lips after Bartol and replied.

“What a relief. I had been wondering whether we would need to go all the way to a rock salt mine.”

“We cannot afford to spend that much time. We do not have time to refine rock salt.”

“Truly wise words.”

Having come from life on the abundant modern Earth, I had nearly forgotten.

This world was at best early modern era in its development.

Naturally, whether digging for rock salt or evaporating seawater, enormous manpower and time was needed.

Up until now they had been managing with salt from preserved food like jerky, but the remaining provisions had never been large to begin with.

I was a little worried about how other places were getting their salt.

…For now, though, the first priority was caring for the refugees gathered at Terjaohm.

“Call me once all the salt has been made. In the meantime, care for those who suffered losses and mediate any conflicts.”

“As the great one wills.”

Of course, making salt was not all I did to pass the time.

After sending Hwen and Bartol off, I also resolved to make a decision I had been putting off.

It was time to create an angel to help Ceciel lead the refugees.

I decided to ask Ceciel’s opinion first.

Just in case she had had a change of heart.

While scooping up seawater to boil with a sunbeam, I called Ceciel and put the question I had in mind.

And.

“Yes! No, I mean, I’m all for it! Absolutely in favor!”

I’d asked just in case, but it was as expected.

The moment Ceciel realized I had changed my mind about creating angels, when I had been so against it until now, she came bouncing.

She flapped her wings vigorously and threw swift, swift punches, then grabbed her sword and began slashing at the air.

“Follow me! I am the first angel to serve Star Creation, Archangel Ceciel! Everyone stand aside, the heavenly host approaches!”

It seemed the image of a swarm of angels marching around was already vividly alive in Ceciel’s head.

Her exuberant, rambunctious leaping made laughter bubble up naturally.

That said, I did not forget the proposal I needed to make.

On top of an observation tower with few people around.

I asked the bouncing, excited Ceciel.

“Would you prefer a familiar face, then?”

“What?”

“The reason you kept wheedling me about making a church. Was it not because you were lonely?”

“…No, it wasn’t? I’m totally plucky?”

Even if the words said so, the expectation was written plainly on her face.

The voice that had gone twice as high as usual was proof of that. It seemed she was happy at the thought that a reunion might happen.

It was a fine decision for me too.

Converting an angel that already existed was far simpler than creating one from scratch.

The guilt of calling souls at rest in peace back into battle was somewhat less as well.

“Then let’s ask the angels inside Seeding Star.”

“But Seeding Star is still up in the sky…?”

An angel did not know everything about a god.

All the more so for a fringe angel who had never been among the favored.

I slipped my left hand into my own chest and answered.

Splash. A sensation like dipping a hand into deep water traveled from my fingertips.

“Elysium is a god’s flesh and body entire. As long as I do not die, it remains connected.”

Before long, my left hand was buried in fine sand and feeling around.

And then, the moment I grasped something round, I knew instinctively.

The star covered in twigs and thin tendrils of vine: Seeding Star. The Elysium where the angels’ souls dwelt.

Everything happening within it passed through my mind like a panorama.

The most important thing was.

“Conveniently resting.”

That Seeding Star had finished all its work and was idling.

***

Understanding the nature of the paradise the gods promised, the Elysium, was difficult.

It was a land only the already-dead could reach, and gods did not readily show it to others.

On the rare occasions when someone did experience Elysium, it was not uncommon for them to voluntarily take their own life afterward.

Each time, the living could not help but feel their expectations swell.

The angels who had been permitted to ascend and become stars were no different.

The angels lived a far more glorious life than ordinary humans, but passage to Elysium was not something easily permitted.

If angels ever envied ordinary humans, it was precisely for this reason.

And the angels who finally arrived in Elysium after untold hardships came to know to their bones that this expectation had been right.

The small girl angel Cheniel, murdered while protecting Ranium, was one of them.

Cheniel was running around the garden carrying a watering can, as per the mission given to Seeding Star.

“Today is the day to water the Starflowers. Watering day, watering day.”

She hummed a song with pitch and rhythm completely off, and was simply happy.

They said each god’s Elysium was slightly different, but Star Creation’s Elysium was exactly as Cheniel had imagined.

Mild, gentle sunlight throughout all seasons warmed the soft grass.

A clear stream wound its way babbling along, and families gathered on either side to wash their feet.

The fluffy soil beneath the grass could be scooped up, moistened, and worked into clay.

And the moment a wish was put into the clay, it would transform into the thing desired.

Playing with this clay was the pastime of the people gathered in Elysium.

“There, a bit more there!”

“Bricks are stacked like this, see? It fits perfectly, doesn’t it?”

“Let’s decorate the inside too!”

Elysium was a paradise where hunger, sadness, and worry did not exist.

Within it were people freed from memories of fear, pursuing the dreams they could not fulfil in life.

Cheniel watched them with a soft smile and dipped the watering can into the stream.

“Have lots of water. Grow strong and healthy.”

Trickle, trickle, trickle…

Cheniel spent peaceful, tranquil hours with a smile in her eyes.

She was so immersed in happiness that she even missed the message sent by Elysium’s owner.

It was several minutes later that Cheniel’s smile broke.

Her fellow angels, who had somehow flown to the riverbank, called out to Cheniel.

“Cheniel! Cheniel!”

“Oh? Hatiel, I’m over here.”

“Cheniel! Didn’t you hear?!”

“Whaat?”

Cheniel, who had fully adapted to Elysium, was nothing but leisurely.

It was not until she saw Hatiel approaching, face drained of color, her long black hair trailing behind her, that she felt something was wrong.

“St, Star Creation is accepting volunteer angels to descend!”

“…Hiccup.”

She forgot to breathe the moment she heard the message.

A short while later, the angels of Elysium had gathered in the library Anniel had built.

“Hiccup.”

“Cheniel, let’s breathe in. Hoo, ha. Yes?”

“Hoo… hees… hiccup!”

Cheniel unable to stop hiccupping, and Hatiel trying to calm her down.

“What if Paviel went? Paviel’s a good fighter.”

“I, I think Maniel, who has the looks that people would prefer, would be better.”

“What?! Hey, you can’t hold a grudge against my recommending you because you like to fight!”

“I have never liked fighting. I just liked training, that’s all!”

Paviel the muscle angel and Maniel the white-haired angel jabbing fingers at each other and bickering.

And finally, Anniel looking around at all of them, letting out one sigh after another. Five in total.

“From the looks of it, it seems none of you intend to step forward of your own free will.”

“Well, that…”

“…..”

In their heads they all knew they should respond to the call.

A sense of duty and resolve was still pricking some corner of their hearts.

But the things they had experienced outside Elysium had already taken root in their minds.

While they were all murmuring and hesitating, Cheniel, who had barely managed to stop hiccupping, opened her mouth.

“…But going out there just means dying in a flash.”

“Ch, Cheniel.”

“I wasn’t a fighting angel to begin with. Tending the garden, caring for people, that was my role, and I only started fighting somewhere along the way.”

Cheniel hugged her knees and curled up small, murmuring.

“Bearing Responsibility said so. That we die off like mayflies. Even Ceciel, who is right beside Star Creation, is barely holding on. If I go out, I might really die like a mayfly.”

“Cheniel, an angel must not fear death.”

Hatiel stroked her cheek and tried to soothe her, but Cheniel refused to budge.

Cheniel abruptly turned her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

“If I thought there was something I could do, I wouldn’t be afraid. But imagine dying the moment someone blinked, out there. Being unable to do anything, and if I’m unlucky, never coming back to Elysium. I… don’t like that kind of thing.”

“…..”

Everything was in Cheniel’s words.

In a world where the heavens had already fallen and demons ruled and governed, an angel’s power was far too feeble.

The demons that had devoured divine flesh were beyond what an ordinary angel could even dare level hostility against.

Even so, they had braced each other’s backs and fought, saying they could do it, but in the end they had come to understand.

Even the things they had thought were going well up until then had only been because the demons looked down on them and went easy.

The mythical feats Star Creation and the enemies had shown were bestowing a deep sense of helplessness upon the angels.

One by one, heads began to droop, and at that moment.

Only Anniel closed the book she had been reading with an audible thump and rose from her seat.

“Then I suppose it ought to be me.”

“Anniel? You?”

“I have sins I’ve committed. And Ceciel seems bored too. Besides.”

Anniel looked at the still-unfilled shelves in the library she had built, and continued.

“To fill this up, it seems I can’t do it alone.”

***

The small commotion inside Elysium was quickly over.

Because an angel had appeared and volunteered to descend, rather than staying.

Golden dust gathered and before long, took the shape of a winged human.

It was Anniel, who had served as Ceciel’s aide.

“I present myself before the great one, Godfather of Stars, Star Creation. My name is Anniel. I have left Elysium to atone for the sin of having proposed human sacrifice to Ceciel.”

“Right. Since you’ve come, give it your all.”

“Of course, Star Creation.”

Anniel was an angel with a gentle impression.

The very stereotypical picture I had imagined, so there was nothing particularly to scold.

There was no further point to meddle in, since she had come forward for atonement.

Ceciel squealed with delight the moment she saw a familiar face.

“Anniel!”

“I’m glad you seem well too, Ceciel.”

“How have you been? What, what’s Elysium like? The others!”

“I’ll tell you once I have Star Creation’s permission.”

“St, Star Creation! How are the others doing?!”

Ceciel’s eyes wide and sparkling.

I could not bring myself to betray that expectation.

“Rest easy. I’ll arrange for you to meet them all soon.”

Having made up my mind to create angels, there was no point in hesitating any further.