Chapter 3

I'm sorry, I lied.

There's a gator who wants to post it now that it's been written.

『Huh? Here again?』

That night, the little person had a dream.

A space covered in a thin, white mist.

An endless white space, with the sky also white, and something twinkling here and there.

Upon closer inspection, twinkling lights could be seen in the distance as well.

She knew this place.

Sitting in the white space was a child named Chihiro La Jourge.

A young noblewoman of the country of Frontier. The title of noble, however, was more like a provisional one, given to her father, a commoner who had risen to become a royal chef, as a reward for his various deeds by the king.

Chihiro, born as this noble's daughter, had her own secrets.

When it came to those secrets, the young girl had been summoned to this white space before.

This was the heavenly realm, the place where the gods resided.

『Chaos? Abyss? You're here, right?』

Chihiro, with her jet-black hair, lazily muttered, a gesture unbecoming of a child.

Then, from the space that should have been empty, two handsome men appeared.

The man with long, wavy golden hair tied loosely in a ponytail was named Chaos.

The man with straight, shoulder-length golden hair was named Abyss.

Both had soft golden eyes and were quietly looking at Chihiro.

《It's been a while, beloved child.》

《Are you well? Do you lack anything?》

They were the gods of the world where Frontier existed, Arcadia.

Chihiro had helped them in her previous life and was given this life as a reward.

She never thought she would see them again. She had a bad feeling about it.

And as if to confirm her fears, the gods spoke heavily.

《Actually, we have a favor to ask of you.》

《This is something we didn't know ourselves...》

Reluctantly, the young girl listened to their story with a sullen face. It seemed that this was something she had sown.

In the past, these two gods had made a grave mistake.

Unable to bear the sight of the weak humans, they used their divine power to help them.

They bestowed the divine power, known colloquially as golden magic, which should only be given to carefully selected individuals, to create forests in Arcadia, turning the creatures living there into intelligent monsters, and filling the land with golden magic.

This was something that should not have happened.

There was an unwritten rule that the gods should not interfere with the future of the world.

The power of the gods was immense. Anything was possible. There was no such thing as impossible.

If such power were given, people would fall into decadence. Since everything would go well without doing anything, humans would stop thinking, and civilization would show no signs of development. The land would no longer grow, relying solely on magic.

Realizing their mistake, the gods decided to eliminate the golden magic that was the root of it all.

But further interference would be a bad move.

With the help of the gods of Earth, the gods of Arcadia attempted to bring about a change in the era through human hands.

One of the souls summoned from Earth for this purpose was Chihiro.

It was a huge inconvenience.

Without understanding what was happening, she was reborn as a dying child, retaining the memories of her previous life as a Japanese person.

Despite the twists and turns, it turned out well, but it was a tightrope walk with death just a step away.

Imagine starting a second life with death flags everywhere, leading straight to a bad ending. No matter how much you were paid, you wouldn't want to do it.

But that was in the past.

Though it was difficult to say it was all well, the golden magic had disappeared from the world, and the people were entering a new era.

Everything was supposed to be over. Chihiro was supposed to have started a new life.

But now, a major problem had arisen.

『Is it my fault?』

The gods nodded slightly, smiling wryly at the young girl's sullen mutter.

《In a way, it is. Everything was unexpected.》

《That's all we can say. It was born from the ring you connected. Please raise it to the end.》

Indeed.

A shocking fact had come to light.

Even after the golden magic disappeared from the world, magic remained in Frontier.

Not golden, but the four elemental magics.

This was a unique magic created by the land of Arcadia, which remained due to the existence of the golden ring.

The little person had completed this ring.

『So, it's like this. The golden ring was completed, so magic remained in Frontier?』

The two gods nodded vigorously.

《It was not supposed to remain.》

《All magic and all power were supposed to disappear.》

Then, with a slight narrowing of their eyes, they looked down at Chihiro.

《《You are the one who left it behind.》》

Ohhhhh... I just didn't want to kill the lords...

As the gods had planned, if the lords were killed and the forests withered, there would be no magic left in Arcadia.

Naturally, everything, including magic, would have disappeared.

But Chihiro had distorted this plan.

The monsters known as the lords of the forest. They had fulfilled the gods' wishes by filling the land with magic and protecting the humans.

Their fate, however, was to be destroyed like trash.

Such a thing could not be allowed. Having formed a bond with the lords and become close to them, Chihiro took action to save them, contrary to the gods' plans.

She completed the golden ring connected by magic and used it to destroy all the forests at once.

The source of the golden magic was the forests created by the gods. If she could destroy them, the lords would survive, wouldn't they?

Her prediction was correct. The forests lost their golden magic, but the lords survived.

However, as a result, she had created an environment where magic could exist within the completed golden ring.

The gods, looking at the stunned young girl, declared firmly.

《In any case, you are the Miko (Provisional). The one who bears the responsibility of acting on our behalf. You have the right and duty to interfere with the world.》

《Stabilize the magic that has been created and nurture and complete the new principles of magic. That is the responsibility of the one who created it.》

Miko.

This title is given to those who have been granted the power of the gods and have passed the selection.

A being on par with the gods, having undergone trials.

In common parlance, a living god. One who, in place of the gods in the heavenly realm, watches over the world in the mortal realm.

In her previous life, Chihiro had obtained the qualifications without understanding what was happening.

Now, she was living a normal life, but in her next life, she was supposed to gain eternal life and become a Miko.

《《You must take responsibility.》》

『Yes...』

Drooping her head, the little person had no choice but to agree.

But...

『What exactly do I need to do?』

The young girl looked up pitifully.

The gods smiled wryly and explained the procedure.

《Create a larger golden ring.》

《There are still several forests in the frontier. If you travel to the ends of the world and complete the golden ring, magic will reside throughout Arcadia.》

《《After that, follow the ways of the world.》》

『Ah... So, it will happen as it will?』

Nodding, the gods disappeared.

At the same time, the real Chihiro woke up.

Someone, please tell me it's a lie.

In the king-sized bed, her family of four slept side by side, snoring softly.

A peaceful scene. Yet, a storm raged in Chihiro's heart.

Parenthetically, those two seem to have been influenced by the strange gods of Earth.

Thinking about such distant matters wouldn't change reality. Sitting up, the little person held her head, a look of indescribable frustration on her face.

「Another pilgrimage?? You've got to be kidding me?」

In the early morning, before the sky had fully lightened, the little person pondered her future, lost in thought.

Her life was far from peaceful.

Here we go, the usual quality of the little person! ww

You know, a bunch of stars fell, and the gator is dancing in a 3-3-7 rhythm on a palm tree, waving a Japanese flag fan in both hands. ww

Isn't it human nature to want to return something you've received? Hence, the Monday post is moved up.

The gator is waving a Japanese flag fan from the shade of a palm tree.♪