Chapter 80: 80 The Goddess’s Past, An Uninvited Guest Appears?!

I opened my eyes to a gentle breeze. Looking outside, the day was just beginning to break.

"Huh, look at that fog."

The fog was quite thick. But rather than being eerie, the atmosphere itself was mysterious and dreamlike.

The blowing wind and the air I breathed were different from usual.

It was truly unique.

I looked down at the sleeping Goddess. Without realizing it, I stroked her hair.

It was soft. Perhaps because of the wind, it felt cool. And it was fragrant.

"My sleeping Goddess, you’re cute. When you’re like this, you’re so pure and even more beautiful."

A chuckle escaped me. Just looking at her made me happy. I was content.

I sighed briefly, then looked outside again. I stretched.

"Goddess, technicians will be coming from the capital around today or tomorrow. It’s not a large sum yet, but we’ll begin the restoration work on your temple. I’ll have to earn more a few times like this, but I’m not afraid."

Because I promised. To restore the Goddess’s temple.

I felt unnecessarily awkward. I smiled shyly and scratched my head. The Goddess was still in dreamland.

"Ah, I should go get some firewood."

I checked the fireplace and saw that the reserve firewood had all run out.

I’ll be staying here a bit longer, so I need to make sure the Goddess doesn’t get cold. Though I’m not sure if she’s sensitive to cold.

I stepped out into the pervasive fog. A damp feeling, along with the unique moisture of the fog, enveloped me. As I left, I belatedly saw the Main Quest Clear notification.

[Main Quest ’Debauched Hero’s Path’ Cleared!]

[Reward: 10000CP Acquired!]

[All Stats Increased by 5!]

Huh, now I’m starting to get stats over 100 one by one. Even at this level, it’s really just the standard for a regular knight of the Empire. It means I still have a long way to go.

『Main Quest』

◆My Beginner Days, By Chance~

-Objective: □Grow Hawkdia, □Expand the Sky-Floating Island, □Resolve Three Inevitable Incidents

-Each Reward: 25000CP

-Final Reward: 100000CP, Affection/Favorability +♥ for all possessed heroines, Secret Reward x1

It was a new Main Quest. Alright, let’s do this! Every single feeling at this moment was new.

"If summer back on Earth were like this, it would be legendary."

Because even if it’s humid, it’s fine as long as it’s cool. I chuckled self-deprecatingly.

As I was about to cross the temple grounds and enter the forest, my body suddenly swayed.

"Huh? Why... am I like this?"

My body swayed uncontrollably. As if my energy was being drained.

I hurriedly grabbed a nearby temple wall to steady myself. It wasn’t easy.

I leaned against the wall and then collapsed. What the hell, have I been having too much sex lately?

"Ah, ugh, what the hell...."

And just like that, my consciousness faded.

***

I opened my eyes.

Tat tat tat!

I heard the loud sound of someone running. It was the Goddess.

Huh? Did the Goddess wake up?

But I couldn’t call out to her right away. With a strangely hazy feeling, I could only nod my head.

"Uh, ugh... Goddess! Goddess, where are you going?"

Only then could I finally speak. But the Goddess just rushed past me without even looking.

Haa, it was heartbreaking. This sight.

I hurriedly ran to try and catch up to the Goddess. Just a little more, just a little!

Tat tat, Whoosh.

I tried to grab the Goddess’s arm, but she passed right through me as if by magic. It was like I was just flailing at empty air, trying to grasp something that didn’t exist.

"Huh?"

I looked down at my hand. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the Goddess who didn’t exist, but me.

My entire body was translucent. What the hell is this?

"Why is this happening? Did I collapse and die? Am I dead? Then where is this...?"

Only then could I look around. The surrounding scenery also had a slightly faded photograph feel to it.

"What the hell is this? Is this the afterlife? Doesn’t seem like it? Is it a dream?"

Confused, I kept looking around. Come to think of it, this is where I was just now, isn’t it?

But where’s the temple? The temple is gone?

"Damn it, where did the temple go? No, did the workers clear away even the slightest remnants? Already? That can’t be right."

My mind was a mess. As I wandered, trying to find something, anything.

A singing voice reached my ears.

"Birds flap their wings, a fair wind blows. Oh, the traveler of old gazes at the stars, retracing the past they’ve walked. Oh!"

It was the singing voice of a beautiful woman. Not far away, people cheered and applauded.

"Whoaaaaah!"

I went there. It was a place where quite a few people had gathered.

I passed right through everyone. I saw the person singing. It was the Goddess.

"Huh, did the Goddess sing this well? She never even mentioned singing."

I kept watching. The Goddess’s song continued.

She sang of nature, of humanity’s prosperity, and even touched upon the profundity of the universe.

It was a sweet tone with flawless vocal ability.

Just listening made me feel good, as if strength I didn’t have was welling up. The singing Goddess truly looked happy.

"You look happy, Goddess. As expected, you are the best...."

I smiled contentedly without realizing it. But the Goddess looked a bit different.

Finishing her song, the Goddess bowed her head.

"Thank you, everyone. Though I may be an inexperienced young woman, my dream is to be a singer! I want to heal you all with my songs and praise the greatness of nature!"

Uh... did I just mishear that?

Why is the Goddess speaking formally? More importantly, her dream is to be a singer? Even though she’s a goddess?

"What the hell, that’s not like the Goddess. Where’s her arrogant dignity?"

I watched blankly. It was hard to understand what was happening.

People cheered and encouraged the Goddess. The atmosphere was filled only with passion, energy, and happiness.

Then, something unexpected happened. A tree nearby broke and came flying. I turned around and saw figures clad in dark purple armor emerge.

"Kekekek!"

The figures looked around, then immediately began to attack the people. The peaceful place turned into pandemonium.

"Uwaaaah!"

People died one by one. The Goddess panicked and collapsed.

"Ah, no... the vanguards of the Outer Gods are here again...!"

She trembled with fear, yet shed tears in despair.

One of the vanguards, who had just split a person in half, turned to look at the Goddess. Uh oh, this is dangerous.

"Ah, Goddess! What are you doing? Run away quickly! Run!"

Frustrated, I ran towards her. From somewhere, I heard the sound of hooves.

I turned my head and saw a unicorn appear, forcibly carrying the Goddess onto its back.

"What the hell, what’s that now?"

Where the hell is this place? No, it feels like a completely different era, doesn’t it?

The unicorn carrying the Goddess galloped at full speed. I, too, tried my best to chase after it with all my might.

"Huk, heok."

I saw the vanguards chasing at near-supersonic speeds.

"This is insane. How are these guys, who look so weak, so fast?"

I ran with all my might. Just as I managed to shake off the vanguards, the location changed.

On a certain hill, I saw a unicorn bleeding and dying.

The Goddess was crying.

"I’m sorry, I really like you, and I want to protect you! But I have no power... You were the ones who never said anything even when I, an orphan, relied on you and leaned on you, ugh."

Crying close to wailing. She couldn’t even properly sit down, even as she hugged the unicorn as if protecting it.

Because there were dandelion flowers where she was trying to sit. She must have taken that awkward posture to avoid stepping on them.

"It feels like her love for nature is being conveyed."

As the unicorn breathed its last, the Goddess, with tears in her eyes, walked towards a certain lake.

"I offer my everything, oh Heavenly Deities. Please, grant me the strength to protect this nature! I offer my everything! Please grant my wish!"

Having cried out desperately, she immediately threw herself into the lake.

Splash!

And she never resurfaced. It was unbelievable.

"What the...?!"

The surroundings began to bend and distort. As if space-time was being twisted.

Then the scenery changed again.

Before I knew it, I saw the temple I recognized. A group of people were praying there.

"Goddess, please, rain upon our region!"

"Our crops are failing...."

"We will offer one sheep. Please!"

Isis, who had been an ordinary young woman, had become a goddess.

She emerged from the temple and snorted.

"You fools! You don’t even try and yet you beg me for rain?!"

As people were surprised, the Goddess shook her head.

"I don’t need sheep. I’ll grant you rain this one time, specially. Hmph, don’t misunderstand. I’m only doing this because you’re pathetic!"

As soon as she finished speaking, rain began to fall. People cheered as they were drenched by the rain.

"As expected of the Goddess! Thank you!"

People expressed their gratitude to the fullest and left. So she was a tsundere from back then, huh.

Watching the happy people, the Goddess unknowingly smiled and blushed. She was like a shy girl.

"She became a goddess. So she wasn’t a goddess from the beginning? That’s amazing."

This isn’t something found in history books. I don’t know why or how I’m seeing this.

Then, at some point, the scenery changed to a human village.

I saw people conspiring.

"They say magic has been discovered, right? We can become gods now too!"

"I even have something called a skill."

"Offering monthly tributes to a mere goddess... isn’t it a bit bothersome?"

"It feels like we don’t need a goddess anymore. Honestly, isn’t she annoying?"

"But the goddess... if you look closely, she is pretty. I wonder what she tastes like? Hehehe!"

Humans spouting lewd remarks. To them, the goddess seemed to no longer be worthy of respect.

And then, several people stormed into the temple.

"She’s neither a goddess nor anything else. Times have changed! So either give us your body, or die as you are!"

Humans attempting to violate the goddess. The goddess, eliminating such humans in self-defense.

It would have been good if it had ended there.

"Oh, oh no... the Goddess has gone mad!"

A boy holding a bundle of herbs, who happened to witness this scene, was horrified. He ran towards the village, shouting,

"The Goddess has gone mad, villagers! She’s trying to kill us!"

After this incident, no one came to the temple. Humanity had turned its back.

After that, the Goddess seemed to be losing her power, as the light emanating from her body gradually weakened.

Left alone, the Goddess hung her head, her face haggard.

"I tried to protect you, that’s why I became a goddess! You filthy and despicable mortals...!"

The Goddess trembled, shedding tears of blood. After that, a group of people arrived.

At a glance, they were extraordinary individuals.

"What the hell, nine lights on their chests? Crazy, each and every one of them is no joke, are they?"

By current standards, it was as if more than five Archmage-level individuals had arrived.

"We are Seal Masters. A maddened goddess would be nothing but a calamity, so we shall seal her in this region!"

The Seal Masters came and sealed the Goddess.

Only this part was known in history as it was. That righteous Seal Masters had sealed the maddened goddess.

After that, humanity finally found true peace.

And just like that, I lost consciousness again.

***

"Ah, ahh...!"

When I woke up again, the surrounding fog had somewhat lifted.

I saw the temple, now just skeletal fragments. I had returned.

"Whew, it doesn’t seem like a dream."

What the hell was that? Why did I see the Goddess’s past?

"Goddess, you lived through such a difficult past. What are these ’Outer Gods’ or whatever?"

I held my head and sighed. It felt like too much information and too many memories had flooded in at once, almost overloading me. My head felt heavy.

"Hmm?"

I sensed a familiar, yet slightly different, presence nearby.

"Did the Goddess wake up? But why is the direction towards the forest and not the watchtower?"

The forest side was still foggy. As I stared intently, the fog gradually cleared, and I saw someone walking towards me.

It looked like a woman with a good figure. Oh, is it the Goddess?

Thinking it was the Goddess, I started to approach, but then I stopped abruptly.

It was someone else.

"Huhuhut."

Silver-tinged purple long hair, deep golden eyes.

A being with dark, bronzed skin and a blessed figure exceeding 75E, yet radiating light from her entire body, just like the Goddess.

Her attire was an ancient style, a leotard interwoven with black and gold, with an additional skirt hem on the lower part.

A woman I had never seen before, with a smile in her eyes, held something.

It was a scepter with an eye embedded at its very top.

"Ah, I have finally found it!"

"...Who are you?"

"Me? I am Isis’s daughter."

"What...?!"

What the hell is this nonsense? But the woman said something even more surprising.

"And I am Horuz, the goddess who controls the Sun Dial, presides over the atmosphere and fire, and stands above all mortals!"

Jiiing!

A powerful halo shone from behind the woman as she finished speaking. Just facing it was painful.

"Kneel, mortal."

She slowly approached, beginning to laugh coldly.