Chapter 177
'Chat-GOD......?'
Luca was both annoyed and curious about yet another newly added application.
'It's not like I'm even able to fully utilize the ones I already have, so I can't exactly say I'm happy about getting something new... but this name is pretty intriguing.'
One glance was enough to see where the motif came from.
And just from the name, it was easy to sense a trace of divinity.
'Not AI... Can it really be an app to chat with a god?'
Among all the apps he'd received until now, this was by far the most interesting.
He felt like trying it out right away.
"Hm... With this much contamination, it'll take quite a while to purify even if I put it in space."
While Luca was excited and thinking of trying out the new app, Whistle commented, sounding a bit regretful as she looked at the golden heart.
Luca was impressed.
"Anything contaminated by a devil's power—does it all get purified if I put it into space?"
"You saw earlier how the devil melted away when struck by rain. The power of the sky is fatal to beings like devils. If you put it into space, which you could call the crystallization of that power, most devils' power gets purified."
"But is there ever a risk that it gets contaminated the other way around?"
The devils' power, capable of corrupting everything.
No matter how incredible the sky's power was, he wondered if it could really purify all devil's power.
"Well, I don't think it works against the power of the three great devils."
"The three great devils......."
Devil of Strength. Devil of Wisdom. And the Devil of Life.
Their names sounded like divine relics belonging to heroes, but these beings were in truth the strongest and the worst.
In the original work, those three devils basically served as the final bosses.
'Masked Swordsman W...no, Willow took care of the Devil of Strength. Most of the key figures from Heaven's Door and Herote defeated the Devil of Wisdom. And lastly, the protagonist dealt with the Devil of Life.'
It wasn't always that way every loop, but in most loops, that was the pattern.
"But I've never actually tried, so I can't say for sure."
"Is that so."
While they were pondering over the forces of the devils and that of space, Ottbo came flying in riding on Rivik.
"Luca! Is it all over?"
"...... Yeah. Are you alright?"
"I ran away, so I'm fine. Your pet kept motioning frantically, like it was telling me to escape, so I had no choice but to bolt. Sorry......."
Ottbo looked genuinely remorseful and sad.
Luca replied in a flat voice.
"The only thing that can really resist a devil's power is the power of the sky. Running away so you wouldn't get in the way was actually helpful, so you don't need to feel so bad."
"I trained so hard so I wouldn't be a burden, but... I still didn't manage......."
"......."
He'd meant to ease Ottbo's burden, but it seemed to have backfired.
Honestly, it wouldn't have mattered what Ottbo said while he was in hiding, the result would be the same.
Luca bit his lip for a moment, then relaxed his shoulders.
"I've used up a lot of strength. Can I ask you to carry me back to the mansion?"
"Eh? Ah, sure!"
At Luca's words, Ottbo brightened a bit and picked him up, flying back atop Rivik.
Of course, Luca had used a lot of energy, but it wasn't as if he couldn't make it to the mansion on his own.
'Well, since I brought him with me, I should at least give him something to do.'
* * *
[Chat-GOD]
- An application that lets you chat with GOD.
- Each time you chat, you need a certain number of tokens.
- Tokens are given when you hunt devils or recover divine relics.
- One token is used per each character you type.
- Tokens are consumed only when you output a message.
Current token count: 500
'So it works like this.'
He vaguely recalled using AI chat back in the modern world.
He thought back then, the tokens consumed for input and output were separate.
But here in Chat-GOD—so, Chat-GOD—it seemed tokens were only consumed for output.
'Is it that it's easy for a god to hear my voice, but hard for them to reply to me?'
He'd expected there would be some sort of limit.
Still, this was a reasonable one.
With that thought, Luca tapped the tokens feature in Chat-GOD.
[Token]
- The currency necessary for chatting.
- Earn tokens by completely annihilating devils or by using your smartphone to recover unused divine relics.
'You can recover unused divine relics?'
That was a bit odd.
After all, it was a divine relic—leaving one unused was regrettable.
'...... Ah. Contaminated divine relics.'
Contaminated divine relics couldn't be properly used until purified.
In the original, the protagonist had used 'storage' to bypass the contamination or divine relics he couldn't use via 'resonance'.
'Hmm... If I ever desperately need tokens, recovering a heavily contaminated divine relic that's hard to purify might not be a bad idea.'
The appeal of being able to converse with a god was enormous.
'Then... Shall I give it a try?'
Luca swallowed hard and launched Chat-GOD.
A familiar interface popped up.
'Since my tokens are limited, I need to ask questions carefully.'
After some thought, Luca asked his first question.
Luca: Are you the god of this world?
GOD: There are several gods in this world, and I am one of them.
'...... That was a waste.'
It was a completely pointless question.
When Luca saw his tokens decrease, he bit his lip and asked the next question.
Luca: What kind of god are you?
GOD: I am the god of stories.
Luca: What does the god of stories do?
GOD: I manage and progress this story.
Luca: What exactly does it mean to "manage and progress the story"?
GOD: When the story was first created in the primordial time, certain scenarios were set, and I help those scenarios advance in a rightful manner by using coincidence and inevitability. However, not all coincidences or inevitabilities come from me, nor does all story progression go through me.
It was a bit abstract, but it seemed that stories had set scenarios and the god of stories existed to ensure they happened.
Luca: Then, does all the power of the smartphone come from you?
GOD: Yes.
'Oh.'
If a question could be answered simply, the response really was simple.
He had no intent to force Luca to waste tokens unnecessarily.
Thinking about what else to ask, Luca recalled something.
Luca: Out of the applications I have so far, there are some that I don't use much—is there a way to use them that I don't know about?
GOD: When those apps were first granted, the bond between you and the story was not strong, resulting in many restrictions. Now that the bond has grown, upgrades for previously received apps are being prepared. These improvements will occur through hint completion or devil hunting.
'Oh... So, features like hint fragment collection or search could really be improved...!'
It was true those functions were inconvenient as they were.
But to think the reason was "restrictions."
Now that improvements were possible, he looked forward to them.
'But... is it really okay to tell me this much?'
He understood that tokens were a limiter, but he still wondered if it was okay to get this kind of information.
Luca: Is it really all right to be told secrets about this world in this way? Is there any chance that doing this will prevent me from using my smartphone in the future?
GOD: Because you have become the central figure of the story, the pace of the scenario is advancing quickly—some parts even scrapped. However, since there is still a gap between the story's progress and your stats, more useful apps have recently been granted to you. Transmitting messages through the smartphone consumes far fewer resources than delivering an oracle, so the chances you'll lose the use of your smartphone are extremely slim.
'The story's progressing fast.......'
That was something Luca had sensed as well.
The Shadow Over the Academy, who manipulated most of the early parts from behind the scenes, had already been eliminated.
In the original, the protagonist met Albino during the Aldnoa War and wiped them out, but that had already happened.
On top of that, Zeritz left the academy and joined Eltima Cross far earlier than usual.
There were other differences, but those alone showed the story was progressing rapidly.
'And according to mother, the Demonz seem significantly weakened.......'
There were also signs that the remaining Demonz, who were gathering vitality on the battlefield, were reallocating their forces elsewhere.
Clearly, many things were changing.
'Me killing the Devil of Hunger this time must have had quite an impact too.'
He wasn't sure if it was mere luck, or if the "god of stories" had pulled some strings.
He met the Devil of Hunger before it had fully regained its power and took care of it relatively easily.
That surely shook the narrative.
'How many tokens do I have left.......'
Luca checked his remaining tokens.
Around 170.
At this point, it seemed best to either end the conversation or just ask one more question.
'Most of my curiosity has been satisfied, anyway.'
He'd asked pretty much everything important.
Luca was pondering what else to ask, when suddenly his eyes flashed.
Luca: If I have become the central figure, what happens to the original protagonist?
GOD: I cannot provide information that would interfere with the story's progression. Half the tokens spent on this answer will be refunded, so please ask a new question.
'Seriously?'
He ended up losing around 30 tokens.
'Wait, so all the things you answered earlier weren't classified as information that would interfere with the progression?'
He couldn't figure out what the criteria were.
Biting his lip, Luca hesitated, then asked again.
Luca: Within the limits of not interfering with progress, what direction should I take in the future?
GOD: ...
No immediate reply from Chat-GOD.
Was the restriction of not interfering with the story's progress really that tough?
Even after a few minutes, there was no reply, so Luca clicked his tongue and was about to put his phone away.
Ding!
Then, the answer arrived.
GOD: You're already doing very well. Please continue to grant salvation to the villains as you have been.
"Salvation for the villains......?"
The things Luca had been doing up to now were essentially solving the problems of characters who would have become outright villains in the original story, preventing them from turning to evil.
Was that really considered salvation?
'But now that I think of it... Haven't I already saved nearly all the villains?'
Not only Ottbo and Kryphi, but also Milia and Isella's hints were close to completion, and with the Shadow Over the Academy gone, most of the villains from the academy arc had vanished.
Outside of those at the academy, the only remaining villains were those from the Aldnoa kingdom, who were trying to start a war.
And even there, once the Demonz were dealt with, the rest of the story would resolve itself.
'If I solve Milia's problem, then even the first and third princes will be taken care of, so there really aren't many left.'
Just as Luca was putting his phone away in his pocket with that thought, Bella burst into the room in a hurry.
"Ma-master! There's a visitor!"
"A visitor? Who?"
It was unlike Bella to react like that just because of "a visitor."
Who could it be that made her react this way?
Looking puzzled, Luca turned to Ottbo, who had followed Bella in with a somewhat tense face.
"Big brother Ferka... is here as an envoy of the Gress family."
"!"
It had finally come.