Chapter 219
Conversation with god.
Although he had conversed to some extent through Chat-GOD, in truth, that was closer to an information search than an actual dialogue.
And there was always a strong chance that he wouldn't get the information he wanted.
'I have to ask more freely about the protagonist.'
That's why Luca decided to use Call-GOD, or rather, call-GOD.
"Can you hear me, god?"
He spoke, somewhat tense.
The answer came right away.
― Yes! I hear you! Dear loyal reader!
Dear loyal reader.
He had definitely heard that voice before.
A memory left over from when the memories of 'Myunghyun Lee' and 'Luca Traverse' merged.
'The being who brought me here.'
Luca gulped and spoke.
"I'll be direct. What happened to the original protagonist?"
― He's lost his qualification as the protagonist!
"He's... lost his qualification as the protagonist...?"
The god lightly dropped a shocking statement.
Luca made an awkward expression at that.
― Yes. The scenario he participated in is now doomed to collapse, so it will have to be discarded.
"Discarded...?"
― Hehe, it really is more comfortable to talk in person. Answering only what's asked in chat was frustrating.
Bombarded with violent words, Luca was too shocked to reply, but the god beyond the phone sounded thoroughly refreshed.
― Um... I suppose I should introduce myself first? Oh! Don't worry about tokens. Thanks to the deaths of two of the Three Great Devils, my strength has recovered to a degree, so I have plenty to spare.
Without waiting for Luca's response, the god began to chatter away.
― I'm Maya, the supreme god of this world and the god of stories.
― I used to live happily, weaving stories I enjoyed in a peaceful world.
― But then, suddenly, these creatures called devils invaded my world!
Maya, the god of stories, spoke with a voice infused with rage.
― So many scenarios I crafted were destroyed by them, and my world was almost stolen!
― I tried to use my authority, cleverly employing pre-written characters in my tales to deal with them, but I failed.
― Still, I managed to buy some time, luckily.
Maya let out a troubled groan.
― But among the devils, the Devil of Wisdom was especially nasty.
― Even with restrictions in place, she kept scheming and ruined my story!
― In the end, I accepted it and decided to get help from beyond my own world.
Maya giggled.
― I got inspired by the gods of other neighboring worlds. They'd been resolving their world's problems by summoning people from other worlds and granting them authority.
― At the time, that was the trendy thing to do!
― So I decided to follow the trend, too.
Maya sighed.
― But I messed up the pick, you see.
― I even granted special authority and prepared a scenario in earnest, but got that sort of ending.
― I was so frustrated that I posted the story in your world, dear loyal reader!
Maya burst into delighted laughter.
― Everyone enjoyed my scenario!
― At least, until that damn protagonist ruined it!
― That wretched protagonist really was the problem!
Maya clapped her hands.
― Then, you left comments, dear loyal reader!
― Your insights at solving problems were so fascinating.
― That's why I asked you to normalize my world!
Maya sighed again.
― But it really took so much time and effort to bring you over.
― That's why ten years passed in your world's time.
― It doesn't matter now since it worked out fine, but still.
Maya, now excited, snorted lightly.
― Asking for your help was truly a stroke of divine brilliance!
― You made the scenario far more entertaining than I'd imagined!
― You even resolved that troublesome Devil of Wisdom problem!
Maya, seemingly calmer now, exhaled softly.
― I did pour some of my power in too, but your good judgment, dear loyal reader, made all the difference.
― Thanks to you, even that terrible protagonist will quietly end up dying while just playing at being an adventurer in the countryside.
― My story will become perfect!
Maya spoke in a blissful tone.
― If I defeat all the devils, I'll return to crafting stories and living as before.
― Stories that include you, dear loyal reader!
― I hope that day comes soon!
After hearing all that, Luca murmured in an indifferent tone.
"Are you finished venting?"
― Excuse me? Ahaha! Did I talk too much? Don't worry! This isn't using your tokens, dear loyal reader...
"Then answer my questions now."
Luca said flatly.
"Where is the original protagonist now?"
-... Pardon?
Maya sounded flustered.
― Um... well... the protagonist is...
"I get that you hate him. But I liked his story. So."
Luca clicked his tongue once and spoke.
"Tell me where he is. I'll make sure he doesn't make any wrong choices and help you finish your story."
* * *
Long, braided blond hair flowing down to the waist.
Red ribbon.
A comfortable black skirt paired with a pink knit sweater.
Rather than a Goddess, more like a literature-loving girl.
She was looking down at her tablet, fretting.
"Wh-what do I do? The loyal reader might do something reckless?!"
Maya, the god of stories.
She bit her nails.
"Eliminating that stupid protagonist is the right choice. That idiot who ruined my story should be left to die alone!"
Maya felt wronged.
She'd created a perfectly good scenario so the protagonist could enjoy her world.
He'd gained great strength and could have enjoyed exciting adventures and thrilling romance like any other main character.
She even gave him chances to grow on his own.
But he threw it all away and did a regression, a scenario she'd never considered.
"That would have been fine. I could handle a second or third run."
Crack.
Maya bit her fingertip harshly.
"But there were dozens of options for a good outcome, and he threw them all away and did whatever he wanted! I gave him so many hints!"
Crunch!
Blood ran from the wound at Maya's fingertip.
"If only he hadn't ignored Ottbo Gress! If only he had made him a friend! If he had rescued Luca Traverse from the darkness!"
Crunch!
The flesh of Maya's fingertip was torn off.
"If only he hadn't chased away Kryphi Mosto just because he disliked him! If only he had talked with him more and learned swordsmanship!"
Crack!
The white bone of Maya's fingertip was now exposed.
"If only he had reached out to Milia Fille, left alone! If only he had convinced her not to try resurrecting the deceased Isella!"
Maya's eyes were bloodshot.
"There were countless other ways! How could that idiot throw them all away?!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Maya slammed her tablet down to the floor.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
After smashing her tablet several times, maya took deep breaths to calm herself.
The wounds on her fingertips and the shattered tablet were restored.
She picked up her tablet again.
"Whew... It's fine. The loyal reader is clever. Eventually, he'll understand that he needs to abandon that idiot."
Smiling sweetly, maya touched the tablet.
"Then, maybe I should give him a hint so he can help?"
Bzzt!
A new scenario was generated from her fingertip and sent to Luca's phone.
"Hehe! I can't wait. I wonder what the loyal reader will choose."
Muttering to herself, maya smiled like a devil.
* * *
'Tsk. Even a so-called god is out of her mind.'
Luca clicked his tongue, looking at the location info Maya had provided.
'I was starting to get the feeling that something was off at some point. But to actually try and exclude the protagonist...'
Ever since he'd heard that the flow of the story had changed, something had felt strange.
Still, the protagonist's authority was necessary to kill the Devil of Life, and Luca too wanted to meet the protagonist, so he'd been looking forward to their encounter.
But the god wanted the protagonist erased.
'Even when giving hints, something felt off. Was it all just her whim...?'
Upon reflection, there were many awkward aspects.
Especially with Ravinia, there was a tendency to guide him toward her intended path.
'Annoying. I'll need to make a plan.'
The abilities he honed physically and his sky-derived strength were purely his own, but those acquired through the phone's application were gifts from the god.
A power given by the god could also be taken away.
If she didn't like his actions, there's no telling what she would do.
'I might be disposed of, just like the original protagonist.'
Luca clicked his tongue again, and Ottbo, who was driving beside him, looked at him with concern.
"But Luca. Are we really okay heading out like this, just the two of us?"
The two of them were headed away from the academy to a secluded rural area in the eastern region.
The very village where the protagonist was supposed to be now.
Although Maya's words couldn't be fully trusted, after cross-referencing the introductory description from the original with Ottbo, it seemed she wasn't lying, so they set off immediately.
"What's the problem?"
"Well... what if Demonz suddenly attacks?"
Luca answered flatly at his words.
"Right now, the thing Demonz fears most is me. So they won't rush in blindly."
After all, it was Luca who brought down both the Devil of Wisdom and the Devil of Power.
Demonz wouldn't be able to tell Luca from Willow, anyway.
From the perspective of the Devil of Life, attacking Luca, who defeated the other Three Great Devils, would be a huge risk.
"We made sure to leave discreetly, so there's no way they know my whereabouts. More importantly..."
Luca took out the Shinryu Dominion, folded neatly.
"With this, we can always run if needed."
The Shinryu Dominion—an artifact that declares a sanctuary.
Thanks to Willow's permission, Luca could use it, too.
"I guess that's true..."
"If you're that worried, drive faster. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go back."
"Hmm... Alright!"
Vrooooom!
Realizing that arriving quickly was the only thing he could do, Ottbo increased his speed.
'So he can drive even faster.'
Luca could only marvel at Ottbo's driving skills.
Screech!
"This looks like the place?"
"Hmm."
Luca got out of the auto-carriage.
He glanced around.
Then, the moment he looked at a certain spot—
― A medieval vibe straight out of a game.
― Houses with ramshackle wooden fences, thatched roofs, and crude chimney breaches.
― Livestock wandering about and the stench of manure they produced.
― I already miss the cities and apartment buildings of Earth, but it's alright.
― Because today, my new life starts here!
The descriptions came flooding back.
'Seems like this is the right area.'
Luca slowly entered the village.
It was so much more underdeveloped compared to the central region that he could walk the entirety of it in just a few minutes.
And so, it wasn't hard to find.
"Dumb mute bastard, playing around again, huh?"
"Hey! If you don't do your work right, no food for you today!"
"Ha. Maybe you should just hurry up and become monster food."
Some guys seemed to be harassing someone.
Amidst them, a very familiar language could be heard.
"You fucking bastards. Once the Guide or whatever shows up, I'll kill every last one of you!"
"... Ha."
It was the language of his beloved homeland.