How to Tame That Gentle Hero - Chapter 9.6

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“What is this?”

Puzzled, Resena reached out her hand. But the space made of white walls was too high for her hand to reach, so she quickly lowered it.

The scent of water stimulated her nostrils as if a river was flowing somewhere, but it was difficult to find where the stream was flowing because everything was green. Resena unconsciously took a step forward.

Splash.

As soon as Resena extended her foot, she felt the cold sensation of water on her bare feet. She looked down at her feet. Only by splashing water with her foot could she clearly tell that transparent water was flowing over the white floor.

“Where on earth is this place?”

“This is a place where only those chosen from early on may come.”

A relaxed voice cut through the air. A tall figure wearing a silver robe was walking steadily toward Resena.

Even the boots visible beneath the hem were white, allowing Resena to realize anew that she was dreaming. As far as she knew, there was only one special being who would appear in dreams, wrapped entirely in white like this.

“Lord Sernaus, the Main God…?”

“Correct.”

Resena’s eyes widened, and her pupils trembled.

The Main God quietly looked down at the mortal who was agitated despite getting the answer right. Standing before Resena, he reached out and patted her arm. Realizing this was his way of comforting her, she unconsciously clasped her hands together.

“My Lord, why… why have you called me here?”

He lowered his hood. Long white hair flowed gently down to his waist.

The unfamiliar god with a neat face spoke in a calm, beautiful voice.

“I have a message to deliver to you.”

“A message… to deliver.”

He began.

“First, I want to thank you for doing well according to your intentions. There have been several regressions… but you have gradually developed yourself and managed the current situation well to prevent Eldis from going berserk.”

“Thank you for the praise. But I can’t let my guard down. Neither Tom Baker nor the leader of the black mages has been caught yet.”

At that, the god wore a gentle expression, drawing a curved line at the corner of his mouth.

“Yes. But now that Eldis has changed somewhat from before, it seems only a matter of time before they are caught. Besides, you will be helping from the side, so I feel there is no need to worry about that.”

“……”

“You may call it overly hasty optimism. But you are truly doing well. Of course, you mustn’t forget other things. Telling Saint Lorona that the dream she has is of the catastrophic future before the regression was also quite suitable for catching my attention.”

Resena, who had been still, nodded slightly. Seeing this, Sernaus patted Resena’s shoulder firmly, like praising a warrior who had achieved merit.

“However, there is something you haven’t thought of that I wish to teach you.”

“There’s something I missed? What is it, my Lord?”

When Resena asked with a puzzled voice, she flinched upon seeing Sernaus’s eyes. The god’s eyes had double pupils—the inner one was deep blue, and the outer circle was clear like the summer sky.

But the clarity of those eyes revealed that he was a pure god who desired good to triumph over evil. Resena was momentarily lost, then suddenly thought of Vernas.

“Yes. What you missed is…”

He paused briefly, then carefully chose his words.

“Do you know why gods intervene in this world?”

“From what I’ve read in books, it’s because the gods’ form is human, and humans are the creations they molded.”

“Yes. That is one reason. But originally, most of the reason gods intervene in the human world is because we are worshipped by humans.”

Resena’s eyes widened at this unexpected answer. The god, who had been quietly observing her agitation, continued.

“Gods are beings that are born and grow to maturity without worship. It’s similar to the growth process of plants. But when they reach maturity and begin to be worshipped by humans, they are automatically given names and become deities who care for humans. Therefore, how much faith they secure from humans becomes the standard that determines the strength of their divinity.”

“Ah…”

So does that mean the power of Sernaus, the Main God worshipped throughout the empire, also stems from human belief? However, as if guessing Resena’s speculation, the god showed an arrogant smile.

“Of course, I am special among them. The power to interfere with and reverse the time of Ermerius, the God of Time, was something I was born with before being worshipped by humans. But for other powerful deities, it would be fair to say they were formed by human belief.”

“…Then, Lord Sernaus, are you guiding time to be reversed in a way that makes humans worship you the most?”

Sernaus shook his head.

“That’s not it. My reversing time using one human as an axis is to prevent humanity’s extinction. If you, who have given us divinity, were to perish, the gods would return to their initial state, reduced to a condition like plants that merely breathe.”

As he spoke, he slightly furrowed his brow, revealing his reluctance. But soon he added.

“And the reason you humans worship us is for wealth and prosperity, so I, too, am aligned with a divinity that allows humans to flourish and develop culture.”

For a god worshipped by proper priests who maintain strict religious lives, he is truly secular. But from the perspective of caring for humans, Sernaus was indeed a “fitting god.”

However, at this moment, Resena wanted to ask about the reason he permitted “Sernaus’s Light” to Eldis. According to his words, he would have chosen him as a powerful guardian to prevent human extinction and the demon king’s advent… Could he not have foreseen that Eldis would go astray like this?

As if anticipating Resena’s question, a straight curved line appeared again at the corner of his mouth.

“I can fully understand what you’re thinking now. You want to ask if I didn’t know Eldis would run toward destruction like that. But to confess, I don’t have the ability of prophecy. I can only turn back time. Now that Harma, who had the divinity of prophecy, has lost power as believers gradually decreased… gods have no power to glimpse the future.”

“But… among those who worship Lord Sernaus, there are those who dream prophetic dreams.”

Sernaus shook his head.

“Let me be clear, the future they dream of is not, strictly speaking, seeing the future. They only dream of the most likely future. Humans call this prediction or speculation. Sacred power also enhances such abilities, which is why famous scholars have emerged among the temple scholars. Their deductive power is also close to the research methods of magical science that have recently begun to develop.”

While Resena was momentarily at a loss for words, he gazed at her with clear eyes. Resena looked up at him, thinking of Vernas.

“And because of that, I want to tell you, Resena, about a highly possible future. Strictly speaking, it’s not a prophecy, but just about a future that could be realized if things continue as they are now.”

“Speak, my Lord. I am listening.”

Sernaus continued calmly.

“Strictly speaking, Eldis has not yet abandoned all of his previous tendencies. He has taken your advice to be suspicious of black mages and capture them, and although he has made the empire even more prosperous… because he has an innate tendency to trust people, if you are not by his side, he will gradually try to return to his previous tendencies. And the end of that would be destruction.”

“……”

“But if you completely change him, Eldis will take what is good from his previous tendencies and discard what is not. Make him clearly recognize that while trusting people, he must constantly be suspicious if evidence appears. So that the world does not perish because of him, so that even if he no longer loses precious people, the end does not become destruction again.”

“…My Lord. Are you saying that what I have done to change Eldis so far, and merely advising him in the future, is not enough?”

Sernaus looked down at Resena quietly. Then he lowered his head to match her eye level. And then he murmured in a slightly sad tone.

“Yes. I wanted to say that catching the black mages and Tom Baker will not prevent the world destruction that Eldis is heading toward.”