Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

Having met a goddess and princess on the same day, Kyle and his friends returned to the inn trying to combat the exhaustion.

“Welcome ba—What happened? You all seem rather tired.”

Dalia came to greet them, only to be utterly shocked. Leaving aside physical exhaustion, the mental strain left them unable to think. All they could do was get some rest. Once they left the Sacred Palace, none of them even said a word because the shock was just too great. They learned far more about the world than anybody else could possibly imagine.

“I don’t like to admit it, but that guy was right.”

Cordi said that their world would change, and Kyle was forced to agree. What Mera said was definitely the truth. A goddess would have no reason to lie. And there was definitely something going on. It was nothing minor, obviously. At the very least, Kyle understood that what he did wasn’t for nothing. This lessened his burden extremely, and it saved him mentally. And he was finally freed from the weight of hiding things from his friends. He was genuinely thankful to Mera for making this a worthwhile trip. The real question, however…was what they should do from now on.

The gods…will Goddess Mera lend us her strength?

She was definitely something that surpassed human understanding. If she were on Kyle’s side, it would allow him to rest a lot easier. At the same time, finding out that the gods knew of the [Great Invasion] and yet didn’t care to help was extremely hurtful to Kyle and his faith. However, Kyle still wasn’t sure about all that, and the [Trial and Blessing] she mentioned. Yet, he had to decide on that by tomorrow.

Maybe we could simply share our strengths?

That said, Kyle was uncertain if he could really get along with the Mera Cult, and it’s not like he could blindly trust Goddess Mera, either.

“Tomorrow, huh?”

His thoughts still hadn’t found a conclusion. What should he do? What would be the best choice? Thinking about it over and over still didn’t provide Kyle with an answer. Naturally, he had decided to not choose his methods in order to save the world, and he had already killed others. He couldn’t just take it all back now.

That said, can I really prioritize who gets saved and who gets damned…? Shit…

Kyle scratched his head, but his thoughts only made him hesitate more.

“Oooh, someone’s thinking.”

Seran had recovered faster than the rest and began teasing Kyle, but he didn’t have the energy to deal with him.

“What do you think about the Goddess, Seran?”

“A lot more respectable than I thought…Honestly, really.”

Lieze and the others seemed to agree, and there were a lot of things to be said, but the general impression was much better.

“I see…So, what do you think I should do?” Kyle could only ask since he was at a dead-end.

“I mean, what else should we say other than go for it.” Seran had no idea why he was being asked. “If you want me to stop you, I’ll do just that, and if you wanna regret some shit, I can give you a whopping.”

“That’s not what I meant…If I get the blessing, I’ll get…stronger, right?”

He could only remember the time Seran and he fought during the Galgan Empire’s Martial Arts Festival. Kyle may have won, but they made a promise to fight again. So Kyle didn’t like the idea of getting a headstart through the help of the goddess.

“And I told you to do what you want.”

Seran most likely had no idea of what Kyle was thinking, so he just answered like he was on a test.

“I shouldn’t have asked you in the first place…I’m heading out for a bit.” Kyle sighed and glared at Seran while stepping out of the room.

“It’s evening already, right?”

“Just to get a change of pace. I’ll be right back, and I’m not staying here to think over it,” Kyle said and walked away.

“God dang weakling…” Seran grinned as he hissed at Kyle’s back.

Kyle walked down the main street with no particular goal in mind, gazing at the people. It might be special to this holy capital, but you’d see a lot more people from non-human races walking around, such as elves, dwarves, beastmen, fishmen, and such. But in the end, you’d still see humans the most. Because he was looking around so much, he almost bumped into another person.

“Apologies, I was lost in thought.”

“No, don’t worry about it…Oh, have I not met you yesterday?”

Surprisingly enough, it was the caretaker of the Mera temple above ground.

“You were…Radain-san, right?”

“That is absolutely correct. Thank you once again for yesterday. I have never received such a generous donation before…”

Kyle had given him a thousand gold coins. This was enough for a person to live comfortably for a month, so this reaction was to be expected.

“Oh no, I just did what was expected from me.”

He lied once again. His main goal was for more people to know of his generosity. Beyond that, it had no more value.

“There is…something I wanted to ask you, as a follower of Goddess Cairys. What do you think about Goddess Mera?”

There was no deep meaning behind this question. Kyle was simply curious about the people’s feelings about Goddess Mera, especially from a faithful follower of Cairys. Met with this odd question, Radain gave an odd face but quickly responded genuinely.

“I understand…But please, let’s keep this between each other.”

Kyle nodded, so Radain opened his mouth.

“Mera-sama most certainly isn’t as vile a goddess as the world makes her out to be. She simply wishes for us humans to aim for greater heights, but this has been twisted over the years.”

To Kyle, this was an unexpected answer. Radain seemed to value Mera much higher than the average human, or non-human even.

“As I was tasked with looking after this temple, I try to be more understanding of Mera-sama, but other people…” Raidan said with a pained expression. “Was this…a sufficing answer?”

“Yes, very much so. Apologies for the weird question.”

“I’m sure it must have been important to you, so I’m glad I could assist you in your endeavors. I pray Cairys-sama protects you with her blessing…” Radain put his hands together and prayed, so Kyle thanked him once more and left.

It seemed like a small number of people knew what Mera’s faith was really about.

“Goddess Mera-sama…huh?”

Kyle gazed at the setting sun as he mumbled to himself.

***

“What’s wrong?”

Seran suddenly jumped up from the bed and moved to the door, when Urza called out to him.

“I’m going on a walk.”

“Right…”

Seran opened the door and stepped outside. Shildonia was eating on the first floor, and Minagi was catching some fresh air, too, so Urza and Lieze were alone in the room.

“Perfect timing, there’s something I wanted to talk with you about…Or actually, report to you,” Urza turned to Lieze.

“Sure. What’s wrong?”

Lieze nonchalantly responded, only for Urza’s expression to change drastically.

“I think I’m going to stay away from everyone…Or rather, from Kyle.”

“…Wha?”

Lieze failed to grasp what she was told, only for it all to click together.

“Wh-What are you talking about?!”

“I’ve already decided. Do you remember? The reason I’ve been tagging along is because he knew my true name.”

True Names are names held by spirit users like Urza, something resembling their own life and soul, and only close family or loved ones. During their first meeting, Kyle knew Urza’s true name, and she followed him along to find out how that was even possible.

“When Shildonia first told me that Kyle came from the future, I thought she was pulling a prank on me, but meeting that goddess, it makes sense now, and I won’t have to worry about him spreading my real name…But that also means I lost my reason to come with him,” she said as if she tried to convince herself.

“You lost your reason to…?”

“And I even have a reason to not come with you any longer.”

Before Lieze could even say a word, Urza continued.

“It’d be better if you worked with the Mera cult. That will benefit Kyle…and I, an elf, can’t get in his way.”

If Kyle really wanted to save the world, he would need the help of the gods. And if that one goddess willing to help was Mera, a non-human like Urza would only create complications.

“As the only saving grace, that goddess was a lot more reliable and trustworthy than I initially believed. You should work with her.”

Lieze agreed with that assessment, but that wasn’t the main argument.

“I think this is the right time. I don’t think I would do Kyle any good by staying with him.”

“But…are you really fine with that? Are you okay with saying goodbye to him?”

Lieze tried her best to convince Urza to stay. That her reasoning was meaningless. However, Urza didn’t miss the complicated feelings Lieze carried in her eyes.

Seriously, how kind can she be…

“You seem to have the wrong impression about this, but I don’t have any feelings for Kyle.”

A sharp pain ran through her chest. The guilt of lying to someone she cared about came to bite her.

“Of course, I know about his good sides, too. I can admire his pure desire to save the world…but even so, he’s got plenty of problems. What a helpless guy he is.”

The more she spoke, the easier the realization came of what she really felt for Kyle.

I wanted to help him…support him…but if he’s better off without me around, then…

If she could simply say that she was scared for her life, that she didn’t want to die, then maybe Lieze would have accepted this as a reason. However, they were too close for Urza to utter a lie like that.

“Plus, I don’t plan on waiting until the end has come. I will try to find my own way, and this might just help Kyle in its own way.”

“Ah…”

Lieze understood what it meant for Urza to say she wanted to do this for Kyle’s sake. That’s why she couldn’t say another word, and just continued to sob.

“I’m glad I met you, Lieze,” Urza gently embraced her.

Their race, age, history, everything was different, and yet a strong friendship connected them.

“But…I don’t want you to go!”

Lieze knew she was being selfish by asking for this, but she couldn’t control herself.

“It’s not like this is goodbye forever, right? We’ll meet again,” Urza said to the still-weeping Lieze, gently rubbing her head until she calmed down.

—Unbeknownst to them, however, a shadow was watching this scene unfold.