C168
Later, Liena desperately called her two brothers and her former lover, Prince Mikhail.
But unfortunately for her, no one showed up to help Liena.
It is clear that everyone is watching that from somewhere in this square right now.
"Even if I wanted to help, it wouldn't be possible."
Since crimes related to religion were the responsibility of the temple, this was no longer an area they could intervene in.
Furthermore, Liena's charge is the crime of impersonating a Saint in this period before the monster wave.
"You'll have to pay for that sin with death."
What Arsia said about Liena during the public trial was by no means a simple threat.
However, protecting Liena, who stands in the way of Arsia, known as the owner of the divine beast, and receiving the resentment of the entire town?
"To put it bluntly, it's suicidal."
No matter how powerful Duke Cassius and the royal prince were, they had to remain silent for now unless they wanted to turn the whole world into an enemy.
"Dad! Where are you, Dad?"
When I heard Liena call for her father once more, I thought of Duke Cassius.
According to what I heard from Terence, he visited Liena once more after the last trial.
Most likely, the duke would have persuaded her to cancel the sanctity verification.
No matter how much he canceled their relationship, he wouldn't have wanted Liena executed.
It was his best effort, and unless Liena broke her will, there was nothing more he could do.
"I'm innocent! That divine beast is a monster! I'm a true saint!"
Liena, who was desperately shouting there, probably didn't know it either.
However, if they dragged her like that, she would die, so it was worth fighting to the end.
"Help me! Goddess! Dad! Brother! Mikhail!"
Liena shouted in vain until the last moment when she was handed over from the priests to the temple guards.
I watched Liena disappear into the main temple with a somewhat bitter feeling.
Although one of my greatest concerns was definitely resolved, it wasn't as relaxing as I had hoped.
That night, I fell asleep normally in bed and suddenly opened my eyes in a blank space.
"Is this it again?"
I was in the place where I met Goddess Miella a few days ago.
It seems the goddess has something to talk to me about.
The blank space remains white today, with nothing on top, bottom, left, or right… No.
"Goddess, why did you do that?"
There was one more person besides me. Liena.
"Why did you betray me?"
When Liena fiercely shouted into the air, the goddess responded.
"I didn't betray you specifically."
"Lie! The last time we met, you definitely promised to make me a Saint!"
Is this the story of when Liena opened the door to verification?
As I was behind her, Liena didn't seem to notice my presence yet.
For now, I decided to stay silent and listen to the conversation between Liena and the goddess.
"This is the first time I've heard about a promise."
"Ugh, don't act like a fool now! I remember it clearly! That you would make me a saint…"
"No, I didn't say that. To be exact, I said you could also become a Saint."
"It's the same thing!"
"It's different. It's a matter of possibilities."
"What?"
"I'm saying that the position of Saint was created by humans in the first place, and that there is the possibility of you becoming a Saint as long as you are recognized by humans."
Liena fell silent for a moment, then shook her head vigorously and muttered to herself.
"... No. I clearly heard that I was going to become a Saint."
"I suppose that's what you remember. But I can recall things precisely from thousands of years ago, so what I say probably comes closer to the truth."
"Anyway, it's in the past now! Please save me quickly!"
"How?"
"First of all, please use the power of God to punish that wicked bitch, Arsia, who pretends to be a saint. They insulted the goddess by presenting a mere monster as a divine beast."
"There are two errors in that statement. Arsia has been recognized by humans, so it can be said that she is a true saint, and the child you saw is truly a divine beast."
"What? Then why did you give it to Arsia? Of course, you should have given it to me!"
"I didn't give the divine beast to anyone. I simply guided it towards the divine beast because I saw that it could guide the child properly, and it was the divine beast itself who chose her as its master."
"So why is it Arsia?"
"I never said it was Arsia."
"Then who… Could it be Ethel?"
"That's correct."
Shortly after, Liena's body began to tremble.
"It's too much. It's not fair. You gave Ethel a divine beast, and since Ethel is on Arsia's side, she also passed the sanctity verification."
"I told you a while ago that I never gave the divine beast to her, but you've been quite deaf to me. As for the sanctity verification, I..."
The goddess stopped speaking because Liena suddenly broke into tears.
"It's unfair. The Goddess must be just. Why do you favor only Ethel?"
"Well, I was fair. If I had been fair in the first place, I wouldn't have chosen you among all those lives, nor would I have blessed you with the opportunity to live a new life, right?"
Liena was momentarily speechless.
"Well, that's right, I'm special."
"Are you saying I should be fair? Wouldn't it be unfair if I only treated you specially?"
"I didn't mean..."
"Liena, what you want to ask me isn't why I discriminated against you and Ethel, but why I didn't give you preferential treatment over Ethel, right?"
Liena hesitated before responding.
It was a confident and honest attitude, as if she had stripped away the last of her pretense.
"That's right. I'm a special person loved by the goddess. I was born with the mission to save this world. So Goddess, you have to keep supporting me."
"Liena, it's okay. You don't have to worry about the fate of the world anymore. That's no longer your role."
"... Are you thinking of leaving it to Ethel? No! I can do better! Give me a chance!"
"It's impossible. Because of what happened today, the chances of you defeating the Evil God and saving the world have become very slim. If you were the person you used to be, with capable subordinates and loved by many people, it might have been possible, but now it's very difficult."
"The goddess still loves me! You told me before that you loved me!"
"There are also some errors in that statement. I said I didn't love you, but I appreciated you. And I appreciate Ethel equally."
"... What do you mean?"
"To be more precise, I not only care about you and Ethel, but also about all life in this world. Everyone is equal to me."
"How can you appreciate like that? Out of many things, one must pay special attention to one to appreciate it."
"It seems we have somewhat different views on the definition of 'appreciate.' But I really care about all of you. Otherwise, how could I have always been interested in seeing you?"
"It's strange. Does that logic mean that to the Goddess I'm as good as a filthy cockroach?"
"That's right."
Liena was dumbfounded for a moment and then screamed as if she were having an attack.
"You said I was special! You said you appreciated me especially and brought me back!"
"I? You asked me this back then. Did I bring you back because you're special? Then I answered that you were special. You had to be. You were very, very lucky."
"... What?"
"I didn't say anything about appreciating you at that time, but your memory seems distorted."
"...Wait. What do you mean suddenly lucky? What makes me lucky?"
In response to Liena's question, Goddess Miella recounted the story she had kindly told me.
The reason the goddess chose Liena was nothing more than pure luck.
Liena bowed her head and didn't respond.
Although I could only see the back of Liena's head, I could clearly feel how great the shock she had suffered had been.
"These two... It's the worst possible combination."
That's what I realized as I listened to the conversation between the goddess and Liena.
The mysterious goddess who speaks vaguely about everything and Liena who accepts everything as she pleases.
I once said that the goddess shows the truth to those who want to know the truth.
However, the goddess was such an esoteric being that even I found it difficult to find the truth in her words.
If it was like that with me, then how would it be with Liena, whose desire to be loved is much stronger than her desire to know the truth?
The goddess wouldn't have shown her even half of the truth, and it was obvious that Liena would have interpreted it in the way she wanted to hear.
"In a way, this is a natural result...."
As a human being, there were many occasions when I felt I couldn't communicate with Liena, but there was no way to properly communicate with the goddess who was a completely separate being.
"Nonsense. That can't be possible. Wasn't I loved?"
The goddess spoke to me, leaving Liena murmuring like a person who had lost her mind.
"Come on, Ethel. Now it's your turn. I called you because I had something else to tell you, but if you want to talk to Liena, do it."
Only then did Liena notice my presence and looked at me in surprise.
She sharpened her spikes like someone who had been exposed to a secret she didn't want to reveal.
"E-Ethel... ... Don't think you won. After all, are you just an insignificant human being to that goddess, no different from me? You're not special!"
"I never thought I was special."
That was all I had to say to Liena.
"Miella, that's enough. What do you have to tell me separately?"
"I understand. Liena, you can rest now."
"Wait! Ethel, I...!"
Liena seemed to have something to say to me, but I didn't.
After Liena disappeared into the blank space, I heard the story about the Evil God from the goddess.
Now my greatest goal was to save this world from the Evil God.
---------------------------
Subsequently, Liena was quickly brought before the Inquisition.
The priests who attended the trial as judges unanimously decided to execute Liena.
