Chapter 42 - Three Years, and a Revelation - 3

After the revelation, Renée entered the meeting room and sat blankly in a chair, turning the message over in her mind.

[Go forth and do good.]

The utterly inscrutable sentence left her thoughts in a tangle. Her brows drew together, and her head tilted to one side.

"What does it mean?"

The question slipped out. Across from her, Trebo smiled and replied.

"Well, revelations from the gods do tend to be vague. I quite understand why you are struggling with it."

"Do you think you know what it means, Trebo?"

"I cannot give you a definite answer, either. A revelation is a matter of how its recipient interprets it."

The puzzlement on Renée's face deepened.

"Then why do they bother giving revelations?"

Wasn't that a fair question? If they weren't going to tell her exactly what to do, but merely toss out some vague remark, why give a revelation at all?

It was a decidedly irreverent thing to say, but neither Renée nor Bera, nor Trebo and Bargo across from them, cared about such things.

Bargo, who had been quietly listening, answered her question with amusement in his voice.

"They are posing a question."

"A question?"

"Yes. They set a question before those who have received their sacred marks. What will you do with this mark? What will you live for? Questions of that sort."

Wasn't even the question far too slapdash? Renée's expression clouded further at the thought.

Watching her, Bargo added in a gentler, more measured voice,

"You need not make it too difficult. They have not prescribed a correct answer. Both interpreting the question and answering it are up to you, Saintess."

Up to her.

Renée nodded and sank deeper into thought.

'Go forth and do good.'

The revelation left out any explanation of where to go or what to benefit. According to Bargo, she would have to fill in those missing pieces herself.

Her face scrunched up as her thoughts deepened. The more she thought, the more her head throbbed, drawing little groans from her lips.

After she had wrestled with it for some time, Trebo spoke again.

"You need not find an answer right now. Reflecting on your revelation is something you must continue throughout your life."

"Oh, yes."

Renée gave a small nod. After answering, she worked her lips uncertainly before asking Bargo and Trebo another question.

"Um, what revelations did you receive?"

She had begun wondering what it had been like for other people.

"Well, mine was 'Reflect.' His Holiness's was..."

"Judge."

"... Yes, that's right. In fact, revelations consisting of two or more words are quite rare. Among the current apostles, only the twins and you, Saintess, have received them."

The unexpected mention of the twins prompted another question from Renée.

"What revelation did Sir Krek and Sir Marek receive?"

"Protect, think, and understand. That was their revelation."

"Oh..."

Renée nodded slightly, then added,

"That's clear."

"Yes, well... As I understand it, the apostles of protection have received clear revelations for generations. From that, we surmise that the god of protection may be quite meticulous by nature."

"You don't know what the gods are like?"

"No. No one has actually met them."

Listening beside Renée as the conversation continued, Bera had a thought.

'Perhaps the apostles of protection have all been fucking idiots.'

Perhaps the god of protection had picked nothing but idiots as apostles generation after generation, and so his revelations had developed in a way that made sure even they understood.

He did not voice that conjecture.

Wouldn't saying it imply that Renée, who had received a two-word revelation, was more foolish than the other apostles?

To Bera, that would be more blasphemous—and more sinful—than anything else.

He remained silent, privately convincing himself that Renée had received a two-word revelation solely because the Supreme God cherished her so dearly.

"Hmm..."

Renée hummed thoughtfully. She pondered for a long while, then suddenly lifted her head as a thought flashed through her mind.

"Oh!"

Her face lit up, and she spoke excitedly.

"Go forth into the continent and do good for people! Could that be it?"

"Hmm?"

"If 'go forth' means to physically go somewhere... I can't use these divine powers on myself, so it means to do good for the other people I can save with them. That's what I think."

As Renée rambled on with a brightened face, Bargo chuckled and nodded.

"An excellent interpretation. If that is how you have understood your revelation, Saintess, then that is the right interpretation."

"Hehe..."

Renée laughed sheepishly at his words, then nodded.

"Yes, I think this is it. It feels as though everything fits together. What do you think, Bera?"

Bera looked at her and answered,

"An excellent answer."

Only after answering did Bera understand how she had come to embark on her incognito journey in his previous life.

'So this was how it happened.'

Had she traveled around the continent because her interpretation of the revelation had turned her toward the world?

Renée's radiant smile filled Bera's vision. She smiled with an air of relief, wrapped in innocence.

Looking at her face and hearing her answer, Bera realized that this young Renée felt not the slightest hesitation about living for the world. Admiration welled up within him.

It was something he could never do.

To arrive at an interpretation for the sake of others, then accept it with a smile like that.

For Bera, it was impossible.

Suddenly, a small smile settled on his lips. He could feel the light that existed within her.

It was a smile Renée could not see.

Trebo and Bargo, however, could.

Trebo's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, while Bargo screwed up his face and clicked his tongue.

Both men found Bera's smile sickening.

* * *

With the revelation interpreted, plans for what came next quickly began taking shape.

Renée had said she would go out into the world, and preparations had to be made: who would accompany her, the expenses for the journey, and the route she would take.

With so many things to consider, the Holy Empire found itself unusually busy.

Choosing Renée's escort did not take long, since she already had Bera. He would lead, accompanied by his trusted subordinate Norn and Hella, who would attend to Renée.

Deploying a large party was deemed wasteful, so her escort was settled at those three.

The matter of expenses was resolved by arranging to request funds from the Holy Empire at intervals. That left the route.

It was, in effect, the biggest problem.

How could it not be? The journey would take them across a continent with well over ten countries alone, and an even greater expanse when lands not counted as countries and the territories of other races were included.

Of course, they would not visit every place, but they still needed to plan a route to travel around so vast a continent.

In the Grand Temple's meeting room, discussion of their route—and, in particular, their first destination—was in full swing when Bargo spoke.

"What would you think of the Great Forest?"

"The Great Forest?"

Renée tilted her head and continued,

"You mean... the one in the southwest?"

"Yes. The land of the elves."

His confirmation left Renée even more puzzled, and she asked again,

"But isn't it impossible to go there? I thought there was a barrier, and no one could enter without permission."

That was what troubled her.

The Great Forest.

The domain of Aedrin, the Deepest Root, one of the nine ancient species, was nearly impossible to enter from outside because of the barrier she had erected.

Everyone living on the continent knew that.

Watching Renée question him with her head tilted, Bargo dispelled her confusion in an amused voice.

"We can go. The apostle of abundance, who is currently away, is stationed there. If we say we have come to support her, we can enter without difficulty."

"Oh."

Surprise appeared on Renée's face as she realized that the apostle of abundance, whom she had never met, was there.

"She has been stationed there for over ten years now... Perhaps things are not going well, because we never receive any good news. I suggested it partly to ask this favor of you. What do you think?"

"Hmm..."

Renée considered Bargo's proposal briefly.

Naturally, it appealed to her. Hadn't she, too, dreamed of the mysteries of the Great Forest as a child?

A land where beautiful elves frolicked and all manner of sweet fruit abounded.

Between those childhood memories and her inexplicably rising excitement, she quickly finished deliberating and nodded.

"Yes, then I'll go there."

"Excellent. I will send word as soon as everything we need is ready."

"Yes!"

* * *

After the meeting, Renée was walking beside the flower beds with Bera when she spoke excitedly.

"I'm looking forward to it."

"To what?"

"The Great Forest. Throughout the continent's history, hardly anyone has actually visited it."

Seeing her speak with flushed cheeks, Bera nodded and answered,

"Indeed. It is one of the hidden wonders that remain largely unexplored. I, too, look forward to it."

"Right? They say elves fly through the sky. Do you think that's true?"

They did not fly.

Bera knew that because he had seen elves in his previous life.

But somehow, telling her felt as though it would disappoint her when she was so excited. Instead, he gave an evasive answer.

"... I believe we will find out when we get there."

"Mm, right? Sorry. Just thinking about it has me all excited."

"It is only natural to be excited. You have no reason whatsoever to apologize, Saintess."

"Hehe..."

Silence settled between them again.

Matching Renée's pace as they walked beside the flower beds, Bera recalled the elf he had seen in his previous life.

He had never visited the Great Forest.

The elves he had seen were those who had left it to oppose the Demon King after his rise. In particular, there was the one called a hero: Friede, the Bowstring of the Wind.

How could he forget those invisible arrows that had come flying for his throat?

Recalling that past, and what people who had seen Friede back then had said, Bera parted his lips.

"I have heard that elves are truly beautiful. According to legend, their beauty enchants anyone who sees them at first sight, leaving them heartsick for the rest of their lives."

Of course, Bera did not agree.

For one thing, every elf he had met had been an enemy trying to kill him, so his opinion of them could hardly be lower. For another, by his standards, Renée was far more beautiful than any elf, Friede included.

But Renée had no way of knowing that.

At Bera's sudden mention of the elves' beauty, Renée felt her heart sink.

"I-is that so..."

Suddenly, a sense of danger filled her entire body.

Now that she thought about it, of course it would.

The elves would be beautiful. And Bera was a young man in his prime.

'He's bound to be curious about them!'

Renée squeezed her eyes shut.

Once again, she found herself wishing for divine powers that could turn back time.

'Why did I say I'd go...!'

She resented her past self for being so shortsighted. She resented the past self who had become excited at the mere mention of the Great Forest and agreed to go.

A picture formed in her mind.

Bera grinning foolishly at the sight of an elf. Bera unable to forget the elves even after leaving the Great Forest, pining away for them.

And in the end, herself secretly wiping away tears as Bera no longer looked her way...

Cold sweat trickled down Renée's back.

'N-no!'

In the autumn of her eighteenth year, Renée's love faced its first crisis.