Book 5: Volume 2 Chapter 12, Razequa Amamiya’s Response

Translator: Kazumi

Editor: Silavin

 

Rumors of the small miracle that occurred in Sewri Forest reached as far as Amamiya Tower.

 

The Crown branch was located in the nearby town of Seichun, and word spread quickly through adventurers. A Magic Circle of such magnitude suddenly appearing in the sky. It would have been stranger if rumors had not spread.

 

Word also circulated that the Magic Circle had strengthened the forest barrier, and various speculations began rippling throughout Razequa Amamiya. Given the scale of the Magic Circle, even a nation could not ignore such a rumor.

 

Officials found themselves scrambling to determine whether the Elves had activated it, and if not, who had.

 

Naturally, the matter reached King Towa’s ears.

 

Towa listened to the report from one of his subordinates without changing his expression, though inwardly he sighed. As the King, he did not easily let his feelings show on his face, but he still had thoughts he wanted to voice.

 

*What is Father up to now?*

 

His subordinate looked at him expectantly, but Towa shook his head.

 

In writing and in speech, he would claim to know nothing. His subordinate openly sighed at this response. Like Towa, this man suspected the miracle in Sewri Forest was the work of the Living God.

 

To be honest, most of the confusion among bureaucrats who had heard the rumors stemmed from having to respond to inquiries about whether the Living God was responsible. Razequa Amamiya did not know the truth either, so they could only reply that they knew nothing. However, the sheer volume of inquiries was still overwhelming.

 

Towa had no answer to give. The subordinate who had come to report returned to his post with slumped shoulders.

 

Meanwhile, a few days after receiving the initial report, Towa visited the Management Floor.

 

“Oh, Brother? That’s unusual. Is something wrong?” Mia said as soon as he emerged from the portal.

 

Towa looked mildly surprised.

 

“Yes. I came because I had a question for Father… Where are you going at this time at night?”

 

Towa noticed Mia’s eyes waver slightly when he mentioned their Father, but he pretended not to notice and asked his question again. He had already finished dinner and was taking a short break to visit the Management Floor, so he was genuinely curious where Mia would be heading at this hour.

 

“Um, well…” Mia’s eyes wandered.

 

Towa gave her a flat stare.

 

“If you tell me now, I’ll keep quiet about it from Father and the others. So hurry up and say it.”

 

“Uh… Wait, my Little Amamiya.”

 

Mia confessed with a resigned air, and Towa sighed.

 

Lately, Mia had been so absorbed in Little Amamiya that she had been forgetting to eat and sleep while managing it. This was behavior that had led to some minor restrictions being placed on her by the entire Management Team. Towa knew this but did not try to stop her. Instead, he sighed again.

 

“Are you serious? Argh… be back in two hours.”

 

“What!? Oh, thank you!”

 

Towa gave his permission, and Mia’s face lit up as she ran toward the portal. Mikage followed hastily after her.

 

Towa watched them leave with a wry smile and started walking toward the living space.

 

No one seemed to have noticed Mia’s escape yet, the management members in the relaxation area were lounging in a peaceful atmosphere. Kousuke was among them so Towa headed in his direction.

 

“Oh, Towa? That’s unusual. What’s up?” Kousuke asked.

 

“I came to ask Father a question.”

 

“A question?” Kousuke tilted his head.

 

Towa decided to ask directly. “Yes. About Sewri Forest.”

 

“Um well…” Kousuke’s eyes darted around as he spoke.

 

Towa found it strangely impressed by how similar both Father and Daughter were. It was the exact same gesture Mia had made earlier when trying to hide something.

 

Furthermore, Kousuke’s eyes darted about as if seeking help, but no one made eye contact with him. After confirming this, Towa approached.

 

“Father?”

 

“Um, well, yes. I did it.”

 

Kousuke had no real need to hide anything, yet for some reason Towa watched him hang his head like a criminal forced to confess. He found it amusing but maintained his stern expression.

 

A sound of chuckling interrupted the moment, followed by a voice.

 

“Towa, that’s enough. You’re going to upset Kousuke if you take it too seriously.”

 

It was Floria.

 

Kousuke had not seen through Towa’s act, but Floria had clearly seen through it. Since Towa had no intention of being particularly harsh anyway, he took his Mother’s advice and quickly softened his expression.

 

“I’m sorry. But if we hadn’t done that, Father would have run away, wouldn’t he?”

 

“That’s certainly true,” Floria agreed.

 

“Uh…” Kousuke was at a loss for words, listening to this exchange between Mother and Son.

 

It was a fact that left absolutely no room for argument.

 

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Perhaps because of this exchange, Kousuke ended up telling Towa the entire story.

 

Of course, Kousuke hadn’t done anything questionable, so he’d had no intention of hiding anything from the start. He simply felt he might have gone a little too far.

 

After hearing everything from Kousuke, Towa let out a deep sigh.

 

“Well, how can I put it… Why does it seem like things always become massive when Father gets involved?”

 

Towa said this in exasperation, and Floria chuckled softly.

 

“Give up. Kousuke has always been like this, even before he became a Living God.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Otherwise, there’s no way he would have even considered summoning the Three Goddesses to the Mortal World simultaneously.”

 

Floria declared this matter-of-factly, and Kousuke groaned softly while Towa nodded vigorously.

 

“Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

 

The fact that Kousuke had summoned the Three Great Goddesses to the temple on the Fifth Floor was still being discussed there. It was only natural, since it had been one of the reasons Kousuke became a Living God in the first place.

 

Towa nodded her understanding, and Floria asked another question.

 

“So? Now that you’ve confirmed Kousuke created the Magic Circle, what will you do?”

 

“Nothing, really. I just wanted to confirm the facts. I feel sorry for the bureaucrats, but they’ll have to work hard for a while.”

 

Towa shrugged, and Floria looked intrigued.

 

“Oh? Why is that?”

 

“There’s no particular benefit to us making this public. Considering the future, it’s better to pretend we don’t know.”

 

“I see.” Floria nodded, seeming convinced by Towa’s answer.

 

Razequa Amamiya did not want to be questioned from all sides about whether the Living God was responsible every time something unusual occurred. Towa had decided it would be better to feign ignorance about the Living God’s involvement.

 

If Towa said nothing, at least in this case, they would not know Kousuke was behind it. There was a chance word would leak from the Elves, but considering the current situation, the probability of the Elves having contact with outsiders was close to zero.

 

Floria agreed with Towa’s judgment. Similar situations had occurred many times when she had been Queen. She had received inquiries about disturbances Kousuke had not actually caused, so she knew all too well how troublesome such matters could become.

 

In the end, with this incident too, the official stance became that it was suspicious the Living God might be involved, but unclear whether this was actually the case. Only rumors spread.