Chapter 171-172 - God Conference

“The Wind Founder, Toreido Shiva, was under the control of a monster.”

What is this person suddenly saying?

“The Wind Mother Monster, Beelzebub, entered the body of a human, and was able to freely control it. Many people have witnessed this ability it has. The Wind Founder Shiva was controlled at an early period and had the Beelzebub army act as the Wind Barrier of Rudras Metropolis to parasitize it. And then, matching this time’s five Founder Conference, they utilized you as a pawn in order to destroy humanity.”

“No, uhm…” (Haine)

“The Wind Founder Shiva -being controlled by the monster- utilized the Wind capital and had them attack without giving them an explanation, and then, Beelzebub would parasitize on all the five churches…however, at that moment, a ray of hope appeared.”

“Yorishiro-san?” (Haine)

“Kuromiya Haine-san, utilizing that rare power of his, he wiped out Beelzebub and managed to eliminate the special fly that was inside the body of the Founder Shiva. Thanks to this, Shiva managed to regain his self and cooperated in the subjugation of Beelzebub. Like this, we were able to splendidly overcome this crisis.” (Yorishiro)

……

“So, how is it?” (Yorishiro)

Even if you ask me how it is…

One night has passed since the series of battles with that repulsive Beelzebub and the Demon Lord Raphael, and we were still staying in the Wind capital.

And to put more detail in it, we are currently in the room of the Founder Shiva.

Due to yesterday’s fight, his whole body was wounded, and so, he is now lying down on his bed to recover.

His body had surpassed the limits of how much divine power it could release, it even came to a point that he was on the verge of dying, but thanks to the help of Yorishiro and I, we somehow managed to keep him among the living.

The ones here right now are only Yorishiro, Shiva, and I. In a sense, it can be called a conference of Gods.

“Shiva-san, from now on, we will have to line up the steps of the five churches and establish a cooperative structure.” (Yorishiro)

This is what Yorishiro, the incarnation of the Light Goddess Inflation, said.

“And yet, there was one church that didn’t heed this and one-sidedly attacked us. With this, the whole world won’t be able to make their next step. Even if you were to apologize and accept the blame, grudge would still remain. And above all, even if you were to be asked why you acted in that way, you wouldn’t be able to tell them the truth, right?” (Yorishiro)

That’s true.

There’s way too many obstacles in him saying that everything was a preparation done by the Wind God Quasar that took 1,600 years; all in order to have a rematch.

“It is fine to just throw all the blame to the monsters. By doing this, we widen the harmony between humans, and in a way, we would be giving those pseudo-lifeforms a reason for their existence.” (Yorishiro)

“…”

“…”

It became hard for Shiva and I to completely agree with what Yorishiro said.

We remembered that way too abnormal existence that had suddenly appeared.

“Wind Demon Lord, Raphael huh…” (Haine)

Calling himself the Lord of monsters, he wanted to exterminate humans and change the ruling of the world to monsters.

“Shiva, what do you think about it?” (Haine)

“Why do you ask me?” (Shiva)

“You four Base Elements were the ones who created monsters, right? Don’t you have your personal opinion regarding monsters?” (Haine)

Maybe I poked a place that hurt, the Wind Founder and Wind God Shiva went silent for a while as if gathering his thoughts first before opening his mouth.

“Honestly speaking, I didn’t even imagine this would happen.” (Shiva)

“The part about monsters gaining a will, deciding on an objective on their own, and acting on it?” (Yorishiro)

Yorishiro who didn’t see Raphael for herself seemed to still be half in doubt about it.

“Monsters are simply villains that the Gods created in order to maintain the religious faith of humans towards us Gods. No more, no less than that. That’s why, them having a will and deviating from the frameworks the Gods made shouldn’t be possible for pseudo-lifeforms that hold no soul. And yet, that was…!” (Shiva)

“Things don’t always work as planned. More so with a long span of time like a hundred years.” (Haine)

The monsters were created by the four Base Elements a hundred years ago.

Just how many monsters were born in that time, and how many have been defeated by the heroes? How many thousands, how many millions?

And in that time, the Mother Monsters that are the source of those monsters have been living as a single lifeform all the way till now.

They could at least gain a will on their own in all that time.

“Now that I think about it, it is something quite natural. I forgot in which legend it was, but it stated that simple tools can have a soul reside in them after being continuously used for hundreds years. In that case, even if pseudo, the monsters who are still living beings would fit even more in that category.” (Haine)

“Good grief. You Base Elements always have shallow thinking.” (Yorishiro)

Yorishiro says with a tiresome expression.

“Give me a break!! Tell that to Nova or Coacervate! They are the guys that always act with shallow thinking~~~!!.But…” (Shiva)

His agitation must have made his wound hurt, Shiva’s expression distorted, and he sinks his body deep into his bed.

“I am also to blame for giving tacit consent to their crime huh… Will this end it?” (Shiva)

“Hm?”

“That existence called a Demon Lord, will it end with just Raphael? We somehow managed to defeat that guy, but I don’t think this will be the end of it at all.” (Shiva)

Right.

The Wind Demon Lord, Raphael; the child of Beelzebub. The Wind Mother Monster obtained a will in the long time it lived, and with that will, it began to question the meaning of its existence, and he was the answer it arrived at.

“If there’s also another Mother Monster that has arrived at the same stage as Beelzebub…” (Shiva)

“The Earth Monster Monster, Grandma Wood, has already been erased, but there’s still the Fire and Water Mother Monster. The world might be heading to a more severe situation than we expected.” (Yorishiro)

The monsters that we thought were just a bother for the world have begun to evolve into having clear animosity towards humans.

Our objective was already to eradicate the monsters, but with this new possibility, we have to put even more effort when tackling this.

“Then, Shiva-san, I will ask you this as the Light Founder. About the subjugation of Mother Monsters -and possibly Demon Lords-, will your Wind Church…” (Yorishiro)

“We will of course cooperate.” (Shiva)

While still in bed, Shiva says this with confidence.

“More so if we are going to be using the excuse of me being controlled by the Mother Monster. I gotta make things right. We have defeated the Wind Mother Monster and the Demon Lord, but there’s many things that still need to be done.” (Shiva)

Shiva gets up from his bed. For a wounded person, he really doesn’t stay in place.

“Just like how monsters have changed, the human world is trying to change as well. It is also time for us Wind Church to cease the secrecy.” (Shiva)

“Ara, does that mean you will be publicizing the many things that the Wind Church has concealed here and there? About things like the moving city and the wind twin guns. The ethereal technology of the Wind is one to two generations ahead from the other churches after all. It would help us a lot that you will be sharing your knowledge.” (Yorishiro)

“I am not against it, but I will be having you pay the fitting price for it. The one who knows the worth of technology the most, is us Wind Church.” (Shiva)

“Ufufufufufu~~.” (Yorishiro)

“Hwahahahaha~~” (Shiva)

They are having a politic-like talk now.

When it comes to this kind of topics, I naturally end up estranged.

As expected, it really does make me jealous. I also wanted to get involved in the evolution of humanity and do things like making a human settlement.

“…Shiva, what will you be doing?” (Yorishiro)

“Me?” (Shiva)

Understanding the meaning of the question, Shiva’s expression gets darker.

Due to the fight with the Demon Lord Raphael, Shiva’s body has broken to an irreparable point.

Especially when he even utilized the God divine power in order to pin Raphael. There’s no way for the human body of Shiva to withstand it.

“This body is already useless. I did that with the intentions of trading my life there anyways, so it could be said that I profited big.” (Shiva)

“Why did you end up all worn-out just by going all out? You could have done many things like aligning the body with the divine power or something like that.” (Yorishiro)

“Shut up! Even if we are all incarnations here, the amount of things the four Base Elements can do is different compared to you two Poles!! Showing off the difference even in a place like this pisses me off!!” (Shiva)

The complex of Shiva that had been calming down had once again exploded.

But for Shiva who is the Wind Founder and hero, this would be a big problem since this would mean the Wind Church will face a heavy decrease in military power.

Standing against monsters is the duty of heroes. If he is unable to perform that duty…

“…I actually have a plan for that.” (Shiva)

• 172: New Style

Several days passed since then, a ceremony took place in the Wind capital.

The ceremony to appoint a new hero.

“The new wind hero, Toreido Hyue.”

“Yes.” (Hyue)

Being called by name, Hyue stands up.

She walks towards Toreido Shiva who pushed himself to be here even when he is not in the best of conditions.

“From today on, you will become the wind hero that will protect the Wind Church and Wind capital of Rudras Metropolis.” (Shiva)

“I humbly accept this duty.” (Hyue)

Shiva takes the long gun, that Hyue utilized in the battle, and gives it to her.

“We have added the high-purity amplifier mineral that we managed to recover from the pieces of the broken wind twin guns, Fuuma Koutarou, and have removed the limiters it had. It has become several times harder to utilize, but the current you should be able to master it.” (Shiva)

The long gun passed from the brother to the little sister’s hands.

That wasn’t the only thing that was passed to her.

The talk about selecting his little sister Hyue as the new wind hero was something that was first mentioned in the God Conference where Yorishiro and I were.

Shiva, who was completely battered by the fight against the Demon Lord Raphael, has now ended up with a body that is difficult for him to participate in any fights personally.

On top of that, the cooperation between the five churches will be growing active from now on, so he must have judged that it would be hard to be act as a Founder and hero.

Conferring the title of hero to Hyue who earned great achievements in this battle, Shiva will concentrate on his duty as a Founder.

This announcement stirred up all the people living in Rudras Metropolis, and after a bit of unrest, they accepted it.

That can also be said to be proof of how firmly the people trust the Founder Shiva.

In this ceremony, there were many people participating here who were hidden at the time of the five Founder Conference and didn’t show their figure. And within that group of people, we members of other churches were given guest seats.

The Wind Church that has been concealed in their secrecy; the wind was trying to change its direction little by little.

***

“I am looking forward to working with you from now on.”

By the time the ceremony ended and we had moved to the banquet to celebrate Hyue’s appointment to hero, the hero herself came to us to give us her greetings.

In this party filled with people related to the Wind Church, there’s a group of outsiders: Karen-san, Mirack, Celestis, and Sasae-chan; 4 heroes together. No, with the addition of Hyue, it would be 5 huh.

All 5 heroes of their respective elements have now gathered.

I was watching over that from a step back.

“Today, I have succeeded the title of hero. As fellow heroes, I would like guidance.” (Hyue)

“It is fine not to be so formal, Hyue-chan! From now on, we are fellow heroes and friends!” (Karen)

As expected, the one who cut off the stiff mood and tried to have Hyue-chan mix in was Karen-san.

And the remaining three follow-up.

“Here as well, I will be looking forward to working with you. But how to say this, with this, the five heroes are finally all gathered huh. Thinking about the time when it was just Karen and I…it is truly vexing!” (Mirack)

“In those days, I didn’t think Mirack-chan would become this much of a woman-lover though.” (Karen)

“Ya bein’ a hero from today on must mean that ya are my junior, ain’t it?! If ya don’t understand something, don’t hesitate to ask me-dasu yo!!” (Sasae)

“And Sasae-chan, don’t get conceited.” (Karen)

The retorting skill of Karen-san has increased?!

“No really, I seriously did wonder how things would turn out, you know. Being told that the wind hero was a man, my plans had been derailed, you know~. But in the end, the black hair ninja-type girl has joined, and I am going all banzai banzai here!” (Celestis)

“…Celestis-chan?” (Karen)

“So, I want everyone to check something out~~.” (Celestis)

Saying so, Celestis began to distribute something to the other heroes.

A thin stack of papers… are those pamphlets?

“…What is this?” (Mirack)

“The documents for the plan of our live concert debuting the five heroes! Thinking about the affiliations of each of us, it will be impossible to have a live in only one city, so naturally, it will become a live tour! It will be a hard schedule, but you will be able to keep up with it, right?! I have already thought of a choreography that will make a big number like five people all flourish on the stage, so make sure to give the documents a read! Also, there’s the need to make the costumes, so I am looking forward to your submits regarding your three sizes! Don’t go submitting false numbers just because it is embarrassing, okay? No one’s looking forward to accidental exposure due to costumes that don’t fit! Also—!” (Karen)

“”””……”””””

“Ouch! Why are you throwing back the project papers?! Ouch, don’t hit me with those! Or more like, who is the one throwing them while adding rotation to it?! It hit my forehead and makes it hurt unnecessarily more!” (Celestis)

…

I did know about it already, but it really does remind me that this is a gathering of characteristic individuals.

Leading these group as a team might actually be a pain in the neck.

Well, the only saving I can think of is that Hyue seems to be relatively normal in terms of common sense…

“Uhm…and so…” (Hyue)

For some reason, Hyue began to fidget.

“It has been decided that us Wind Church will be helping out in the subjugation of the Mother Monsters, and the Wind Church will be cooperating with the other churches. The secrecy policy we have had until now will be adjusted, and by deepening our relations, we believe that it will bring forth further development.” (Hyue)

“Hm, it does seem so.” (Celestis)

“I think it is quite the splendid thing! The world will get closer to peace!” (Karen)

The secretive stance of the Wind Church was a part of the self-defense measures they took in the era where the churches were fighting each other.

If they are planning on developing their relations with the churches, it is true that there’s already no need for that policy.

“And in light of that! I am sorry for bringing it out so suddenly, but since this is a banquet, I would like you to have a taste of the cuisine of us Rudras Metropolis, and so, I tried preparing several of our a specialties. My homemade cooking!” (Hyue)

“Homemade?! That’s incredible!” (Karen)

“Delicious food-dasu ka?! I be salivatin’ already-dasu!!” (Sasae)

“And now it has been revealed that she has domestic skills, a domestic character has joined us?! That’s nice! Our strike zone will widen!” (Celestis)

“The back figure of a girl cooking is nice.” (Mirack)

The reactions of the heroes are all favorable.

Hyue’s expression was shining like that of someone who had friends come to their house for the first time.

“I see…! I see! Then, let’s go right to it and have you taste it!” (Hyue)

Saying so, all sorts of food were being carried over to the table.

Preserved Grasshopper boiled in soy sauce.

The larva of a Burst King Beetle fried in bean curd.

Butterfly saute.

Marine worm pickled in royal jelly.

Also marine worm but this time cooked in rice.

Salted nettle caterpillar.

Bread.

“””?!!!!!!!!”””

Insect cuisine.

With the high tension Hyue showed at first, she begins explaining.

“In our Wind Church, we thrive in the medicinal food. Satisfying our hunger, we have also researched ways to increase the strength of our body with it! The result of much trial and error, the practice of eating insects which are high in nutrients was adopted. What I have made today are all dishes that are categorized as the best!!” (Hyue)

Karen-san and the heroes had a completely paled face and were sweating bullets at the explanation.

“W-What are we going to do about this?! I underestimated the cultural exchange. The hurdle of values is higher than I ever imagined!” (Celestis)

“But we were the ones who brought out the talk about cooperation, so we can’t refuse here! If at least one of us were to eat it…!” (Karen)

……

Good grief.

Having this right after that fight with Beelzebub would make things even harder.

I stop spectating from afar and, first, take one grasshopper that was soaked in broth and throw it in my mouth.

“Haine-san?!” (Karen)

“…….”

I chew chew, and swallow.

…Hm? Eh?

“This is good! I thought it was only salty, but the sweetness also mixed in, and it had a more complex taste than I thought! The grasshopper itself was crunchy and gave it a nice feel when chewed!” (Haine)

“The soup that was used to boil this grasshopper, that in itself has more than 20 types of ingredients used exclusively for this dish; the best sauce of all. With just that, it is an extravagant dish, but by mixing the grasshopper with this soup, it brings out even more depth to it! It is the result of the hundreds of years of research of the Wind Church!” (Hyue)

In the times I went to a mountain to do hunting and had run out of food, I had no choice but to catch and eat things like spiders and lizards, so I thought I would serve as sacrifice and eat it for them but, what is with this tastiness?!

“Delish delish delish delish delish delish~~! Delish-dasu!” (Sasae)

“Even Sasae-chan?!” (Karen)

As expected of the country bumpkin Sasae-chan. She is stuffing her cheeks on a plate that has a mountain of King Beetle larvas.

“Obaa-chan be good at making insect dishes, but this be more delish by a lot-dasu!” (Sasae)

“I see, I see! Burst King Beetle is famous for being really good for your immune system, and by eating it, it is said that it will help you have high resistance against diseases! They are hard to raise, but today I wanted everyone to eat good, so I brought the freshest ones! The ones that are trained in the wild have a whole different level of taste after all!” (Hyue)

“When I chew on ‘em, they be making a squishy *puchu* sound and it be delish-dasu! As expected, meat all be soft when they young-dasu na!!” (Sasae)

Sasae-chan was giving rave reviews.

But in contrast to that, the expression of Karen-san and the others get more and more stiff.

“W-What should we do?! Listening to that explanation, I can tell that it took quite a lot of time and money to make!!” (Karen)

“There’s a crazy amount of heart placed in thi~s. Looking at that beautiful smile, I can’t bring myself to say that I can’t eat i~t!” (Celestis)

Karen-san and Celestis were cornered.

While watching this, I bite on the bread that is in the menu.

“…Or more like, is this bread the only thing that is normal?” (Haine)

“That bread has dried crushed maggots mixed in with the wheat flour when made. It is apparently incredibly high in proteins, but since maggots are maggots, there’s the danger of food poisoning, so only maggots that were bred in special clean and supervised environments are utilized. It takes time and effort to make this bread.” (Hyue)

Moreover, it is freshly baked! The heat of the stove still remains in the bread and it is delicious.

“By the way, Mirack can also eat them normally huh.” (Haine)

“Who do you think I am? I am the fire hero, you know? Do you know how many female juniors admired me, made homemade cooking for me with their lacking cooking skills, and had to digest them all with this stomach of mine? Compared to that, this food just looks grotesque, but it is crazy delicious.” (Mirack)

“I see~. Ah, I thought of something nice. Don’t you think it would taste great to smear this bread with that bee honey there?” (Haine)

“I thought so as well. Okay, let’s put it to practice at once.” (Mirack)

A fun meal time.

On the other hand, Karen-san and Celestis were trembling all this time.

“For the sake of an amicable relationship between churches, for the sake of an amicable relationship between churches, for the sake of an amicable relationship between churches, for the sake of an amicable relationship between churches~~!!” (Karen)

“If I just think of them as relatives of shrimps and lobsters, if I just think of them as relatives of shrimps and lobsters, if I just think of them as relatives of shrimps and lobsters, if I just think of them as relatives of shrimps and lobsters~~!!” (Celestis)

It looks like they are muttering things while holding their forks and knifes, and were frozen in place.

Well, because three of the five are enjoying it, Hyue was incredibly happy, and the banquet proceeded harmoniously.