Chapter 8 – Invaders, or Rather, Customers

『Welcome!』

There are various dungeons across the world, but there is probably none that welcomes people with such a line.
If there was, then it would be plenty reason to question the sanity of that world’s inhabits.

Incidentally, the invaders, or rather, customers haven’t reached the dungeon yet. What awaits them is a trial of ambushing assassins that block their way. Using my power as an Administrator, the Intelligence Perusal, I was peeking o-, I mean, observing them.

『Mister, I recommend our inn!』

『No, come to ours!』

『We’ve got cute girls!』

『Weapons, armours, we have everything! Please come to our shop!』

『You’re missing medicinal herbs!? You mustn’t go to the dungeon without being fully prepared!』

『If you leave your things with us, you can fail in the dungeon without a problem! The storage store is this way!』

『Won’t you buy a map? without this the dungeon will be quite hard, you know!』

Indeed; the assassins known as touters.
Before they reach the dungeon, the challengers are exposed to the mad scramble for customers by the workers at the inns, shops, and storage stores in front of the dungeon. At this point, 9 out of 10 will drop out. Well, I say drop out, but it’s not like they die or get seriously injured or anything. They’re just a day late to the dungeon.
But still, these salespeople are all really formidable merchants. Are they really Evil God followers? Or could it be that I overly motivated them with my revelation the other day?

The small fraction of challengers that make it past the iron willed assassins, as well as the people that folded and come a day late can reach as far as the temple that serves as the entrance to the dungeon.
Hearing the words ‘Evil God Temple’, most people would be pretty cautious, but we don’t have gatekeepers or anything, and the doors are wide open.
However, lurking by the door are the second round of assassins.

And right now, a victim… Ah, my tongue slipped. Sorry, a new challenger had freshly arrived. And as though completely natural, the second round of assassins appeared before then.

『Do you believe in Anri-sama~!?』

『OWAH!? W-, who the heck are you.』

It was a blonde haired man in luxurious priest’s clothes… the Merry Pope Harvin. Any head of state should be really busy, but whenever new guests come, he often appears.

『Anri as in… the Evil God? Of course I don’t believe in something like that!』

Hearing his reaction, I basically thought “Well, yeah.” but the Pope looked up at the sky like it was the end of the world.

『Oohh, what sin! Anri-sama! Please grant these pitiful lambs your mercy.』

『Who the hell is a pitiful lamb!』

Please what?
By the way, this is a bit of a digression but this is his fifth time screaming those words today. There have also only been five batches of challengers today. And each time, the Pope had grieved like it was the end of the world. The challengers all yelled angrily at his words, but he wasn’t moved at all.

『I present this to you. A precious scripture copied personally by my hand. Please read this and learn of Anri-sama.』

While saying that, he took out a single book and handed it to the challenger. The man took the book by reflex, and accidentally accepted it.
…Indeed. He accepted it.

『The heck is… Wai-, UOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!? Ain’t this the Black Scripture? What the fuck have you done!』

Apparently the infamy of the scripture that I wrote is already well-known throughout the other countries, and so the man realised what had been handed to him. Once somebody accepts the cursed scriptures, they continually meet with misfortune until they transcribe a copy and hand it to somebody else, and apparently through this method, the scripture was already slowly spreading through the surrounding nations. …It’s a book of morals on how to live properly though.
When I showed Leonora the stuff I had written, the curse kicked in, which was how this whole thing started, but since I really do feel sorry for causing misfortune to befall others for no reason, I at least made sure to have the rules properly added onto on the back. Thanks to that, everyone immediately knew how to cope with it, and the recognition of the scriptures as a dangerous object quickly spread.
But still, just how many copies has he written. This is almost the 20th book he’s taken out of his pocket, today alone.

『I’LL REMEMBER THIS YOU FUCKERRRR!!!』

Leaving behind a clichéd line, the challenger ran out of the temple with the scripture in hand. I’m sure he’s gone to grab the things he needs to write a copy.
And like that, through the second round of assassins, the challenger who had finally made it to the dungeon dropped out as well, and once again, today the “Holy Land of the Evil God” continues to boast of being impregnable.

*imouto*

*imouto*

…Wai-, isn’t that bad? How is anything going to get done if everybody gets driven off at the entrance.
It’s great that the dungeon is impregnable and all, but I’ll be troubled if the guests give up and never come again. The first round of assassins──the touters──are fine since they’re just slowing them for a day, and aren’t driving them away. But the second round is no good.

“Divine Punishment.”

I teleported the tray from atop the table, to high above his head… right above it.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

『Haha, I truly apologise. I was a little too eager in my missionary work.』

I was conversing with the Pope across the screen, who now had a lump on his head. I’m thankful for his missionary work, but the way he’s doing things is terrible. No matter how you think about it, far from converting them, all it’s going to do is make them more hostile. Well, it might make them more fearful, so I might gain some faith through that instead though.

『Proselytising is fine, but chasing them away is forbidden. Rather than aiming for them when they come, it would be better to go for them when they leave.』

『I see! In other words, it would be easier for them to accept you after they experience your mighty power, Anri-sama. I am in much admiration of your wisdom.』

No, that’s not what I mean but… Well, whatever.

*imouto*

『Have all the visitors been human?』

『Yes. At the very least, I have not seen any demons that have made it as far as the temple.』

I asked the Pope about the challengers thus far, but apparently he hadn’t seen anybody from the demon side yet.
But I had predicted this to an extent. Where we are now was originally part of the Human Territory, so it was enemy territory for the Demon Race. If a large number of them came here at once, there would be the chance of the neighbouring countries overreacting, so the demons have no choice but to proceed with caution.

What’s more, looking at Leonora, the Human Race and Demon Race look basically the same. They don’t have horns or wings or anything. I asked her before, but at best you can only tell them apart through hair and eye colour. If they’re mixed, then the characteristics would average out, but as two races that were created as enemies, romantic relations between the two are pretty rare, so we should be able to tell them apart. But well, apparently thanks to taking in Summoned Heroes and the like, they’re gradually becoming mixed though.

My biggest worry would be a fight between humans and demons arising in the temple or the surroundings, but at the very least it doesn’t seem to be a worry at this moment in time. Having said that though, the Dark God set off the demon side as well, so this peace definitely won’t last forever. We need to stay on alert.

『Got it. I’ll continue to leave it to you.』

『Yes, understood. I shall convert them without fail.』

『No, like I said…』

『Oh, my apologies. I was to do so once they left, wasn’t it.』

Will things really be okay?

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“Fumu. It is quite delicious today as well.”

“Huhu, we have plenty, so please do ask for seconds without reserve.”

“Nom nom.”

Tena and Leonora were off early for once, so Lili included, today we were able to eat together. Lately we’ve all been busy and haven’t been able to eat together, so it was a precious chance to do so.

“I see. It truly is delicious, isn’t it.”

“Hmm, ain’t bad, ey.”

“Y-, Yes! T-, Thank you very much.”

…If it wasn’t for these guys, that is.
why are they even here, these two gods. Even though they apparently didn’t need food, they’re sneakily eating ours. What was pitiful was that Tena was quite nervous.
Incidentally, Leonora’s been sitting next to the Dark God and bravely tending to him, while Lili was sitting on the Light God’s lap and being fed. The Dark God is unsociable, but wasn’t unkind to Leonora… It really is the chest huh. Is it her chest?
Leaving the jokes aside, the Light God was pampering Lili alone, and the Dark God was being kind to Leonora, so it was probably due to the patronage of their respective races. Their attitude towards Tena and I was clearly different. I don’t think it would kill them to be a little kinder to us though.

“What is the matter?”

“Hahhn?”

Perhaps because they noticed my gaze, the two of them spoke to me.

“Why are you here?”

“I’ve already given instructions to the Demon Race, so all that’s left is to watch em. So ain’t it better to be close then?”

“I am the same. And also, if I watch over them from up close, when it comes time, I will be able to save the lives of the challengers as well.”

Hang on a moment.
I get that you want to watch over the match from up close since it’ll determine everything from now on, but I can’t ignore that.

“…Are you going to be here the whole match?”

“Of course.”

“Ain’t it obvious?”

Can’t you go home?

“Is there some problem, Anri?”

“Anri-sama?”

Guh-, Leonora and Lili have been taken by the enemy.
I looked towards my final ally, Tena.

“…”

“…”

The silent conversation we had, 『Do something.』 『That’s impossible.』 was decided in an instant.

If the followers of the Sacred Light Church and the members of the Demon Race knew that the Light God and Dark God were staying in the Evil God Temple, I wonder if they would go insane.
While pondering things in a state close to escaping reality, I gave a deep, silent sigh.

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<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Chapter 7 – Dungeon Restart

Ever since the revelation the other day, we began constructing the town around the temple again as a matter of urgent priority, and I was busy maintaining the dungeon that I had left alone for a while.
Ever since that day that I became the Evil God, not a single person has come to invade the dungeon with the temple built on top. It’s not like I deactivated anything, so in that respect the dungeon was still ready for people at this very moment, but since I may as well, I decided that I would perform maintenance on various things just in case.

Now then, with that as the preface, although this may be a little sudden, I’d like to change to the event that I’ve been waiting for.
Indeed. It’s time for the much awaited dragon summoning.

Dragon──the symbol of the strongest being that stands at the top of the fantasy world. Sometimes as the strongest enemy, sometimes as the most reliable ally, sometimes as the god that rules the world – though the position may change, the dragon is written as the strongest.
A majestic body and sharp fangs. Tough scales and claws that can tear apart any matter of being. And finally, great wings fitting of the ruler of the skies. With just one breath, they can blow apart a great army, and are sometimes able to make free use of even powerful magic. The strongest monster, the dragon, is such a being.

You can roughly split them into the lizard-like western dragons, and the snake-like eastern dragons, but it really has to be a western dragon, I think. I think there are all sorts of dragon fans, so there might be people who disagree, but at the very least, right now I’m the one doing the summoning so I’ll choose the way I like.

*imouto*

Or so I was faintly thinking, as I performed the preparations for the dragon summoning.

It’s a dragon after all, so I’m sure it’ll definitely be huge.
It might be a little dangerous to summon it in the office where the dungeon core is. The truth is I made that kind of mistake during the summoning for the 20th floor’s orichalcum Living Armour, and I have bitter memories of having the room half-destroyed. I won’t make the same mistake again.
Instead of the immobile main core, I held the portable subcore and teleported to the 30th floor boss room to summon the dragon. Even if I summon it somewhere else I’ll have to teleport it here anyway, so it saves time just to summon it here to begin with.

*imouto*

The room has been the same ever since the day that I met with Leonora here. The throne is human-sized and unsuited to the dragon I’m going to summon, but I’ll think about changing the room after the summoning to match it.

“Dungeon Create.”

I muttered so with the subcore in my hand, and a window appeared.
I chose the “summon” entry from it, and from various monster categories, I picked “dragon type”. And when I did, a list with various pictures of dragons and their parameters appeared. Fire dragons and water dragons and earth dragons and wind dragons – I felt like grinning just by looking at the lineup, but I worked hard to keep cool.
Since I’m going to summon one anyway, I’ll go with the strongest. Since the day I became a divine, my mana’s just been piling up without any chance to use it, so I can pick whatever dragon I want. It was possible to sort the list by the amount of mana used, so I looked at the one with the biggest value… How cool. He looks strong. I’ll go with him.

“Summon Dragon.”

It’s not like I needed to say that, but it just came out of my mouth.
When I began summoning, a gargantuan magic circle of 20m diameter appeared in front of me. When the magic circle flickered, an enormous amount of magic gathered above it, and space seemed to warp. And then, something giant began to show itself from that warp.
That giant being let out a roar before my expectant eyes.

“PIKYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

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Why did this happen.
There’s no better way to word my feelings. I just stood there dumbfounded, gazing at the tragedy before me.

A majestic body and sharp fangs. Tough scales and claws that can tear apart any matter of being. And finally, great wings fitting of the ruler of the skies. A dragon with all of these things was cowering in a corner of the room, hiding its face against the wall. Literally the Japanese phrase, ‘covering your head and leaving your bottom exposed’.

Black Dragon Vardneel.

500,000,000 mana points; an amount that surpasses just plain harassment, and is at a level where you just lose interest in summoning him to begin with. The most powerful and wicked dragon that had materialised in exchange for that ridiculous amount of mana let out a screech the moment he appeared on the magic circle, and as good as dashed away from me like a startled hare.

Mn, it’s not as though I didn’t have some faint idea that this would happen.
Lately I’ve only been talking to humans and demons, as well as divines who it didn’t work on at all so I totally forgot about its existence, but the description for the Evil God Aura skill certainly did say “has enough power to send a dragon running frantically”.
I acknowledge this. I acknowledge this, but it really is cruel.
Even though I’ve been looking forward to this… always looking forward to this…

I was even uncharacteristically excited while daydreaming about what would happen once the strongest dragon had my divine protection. But looking at him, it seems completely impossible that he’d accept me from the heart. And in fact, just taking a step forward from where I was standing had him tremble with a start, and frantically press himself further up the wall to escape.
Ah-, he’s finally showing his belly.
Don’t want. I don’t want the strongest dragon’s submission pose. I’m begging you, so don’t destroy my yearning towards dragons any further.

No matter how I thought about it, staying here wouldn’t better the situation at all, so in disappointment I left the room.

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Instead of returning to the office, I just teleported to the temple on the 5th surface floor.
There are plenty of things that I needed to do besides the dragon summoning, but I’m feeling really discouraged.
Laying down on the canopy bed in my room, I hugged my pillow and buried my face in it.

“Anri-sama?”

Hearing a lisping voice call out to me, I… had a look without looking that way. Apparently Lili had been in my room reading a book. She’s sharing a room with Tena, but lately Tena’s been busy and can’t look after her, so Lili’s been spending a lot of time in my room. I didn’t notice she was here, so I showed her something a little uncool.
I got up and was about to turn to Lili and reply, when I hesitated because I had no idea what to say.
Perhaps she noticed because Lili closed the book she had been reading, and then trotted up to me from the table.

“Anri-sama, what’s wrong? Are you sad?”

Apparently she realised my depressed atmosphere.
She asked me that while patting my head, so my eyes grew a little hot.

“It’s fine, there was just something a little sad.”

I soothed Lili, and patted her chestnut hair back. Lili narrowed her eyes comfortably.
I was finding Lili’s actions lovely, when I suddenly noticed that she still had her collar, and unconsciously frowned.
She hasn’t been blessed with my divine protection the same way Tena has, so she’s still a human. That’s fine in and of itself, but the problem is that she’s still a slave. When I became a divine, Tena joined the Apostle Race as well and was freed from her slave status. I considered that the same thing might happen if I gave Lili my divine protection as well, but there’s the possibility that apostles are immortal, so I was hesitant to change her at her current age.
If I can learn to use my 『Authorities』 decently, then I think I’ll be able to release her from being a slave without changing her from a human, but it’s impossible at the moment.

I removed my eyes from her collar, and spoke to her after changing gears.

“Are you studying, Lili?”

“Yeah, I was reading the book.”

“Good girl. I’ll read it out to you.”

“Really!?”

It would probably be better as study for her to read a book herself, but just a little bit as thanks for cheering me up should be okay.
Finding it charming that Lili’s eyes were glittering in excitement, I nodded in reply. It feels that my heart that had splintered from that shocking event was now being healed.

“What kind of book were you reading?”

“This.”

Lili held out the book that she had been reading.
I looked at the title of the book.

『The Girl and the Dragon』

No more.

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<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Thank you as always for your support.
This is Kitaseno Yunaki.

The illustration drawn by Yuzuki Kihiro-sama has been released on the Official Narou Contest website!
The splendidness of this illustration is better seen than described, so it would probably be faster if you saw it for yourself, don’t you think?
*imouto*
書籍版「邪神アベレージ」最新情報掲載ページ
*imouto*
Now then, for those of you who have seen the cover illustration, there is a little quiz I would like to give you.
*imouto*
*imouto*
Ｑ：Who is the protagonist of this series?
*imouto*
*imouto*
Yes, it’s Anri-san, isn’t it.
Well then, about Anri-san’s position on the cover illustration, please take one more look.
*imouto*
*imouto*
*imouto*
Anri-san? No matter how you look at is, she has the
LAST BOSS’ POSITION.
*imouto*
*imouto*
Normally on the cover, the protagonist or heroine stand at the front, but Anri-san is at the very back… in other words, in the background. The way this is drawn can only be said to be outside of the norm.
When I was first handed the illustration drawn by Yuzuki-sama, I thought in disappointment;
*imouto*
*imouto*
These people really understand!
*imouto*
Eh? Wasn’t I disappointed with the illustration?
It’s more of a “Damn, they really got me.” sort of meaning.
*imouto*
*imouto*
Now then, please look at the last boss’Anri-san’s eyes.
She’s a normal bishoujo isn’t she. Both dignified and beautiful isn’t she.
*imouto*
To those of you who see this and think, “Huh. She doesn’t look mean at all. What a let down.” I say this to you… How naive.
*imouto*
This is her normal mode, or in other words, her this-is-how-she looks-once-it’s-been-through-a-camera-and-picture form.
As for a picture drawn to the image of what somebody who had seen her in the eyes pictures her as…
Unfortunately, people would get angry if I revealed too much, so I shall end the spoilers here.
If you want to see, please buy the book and check for yourself. (Shameless advertising.)
*imouto*
*imouto*
Incidentally, with Anri-san stuck in the last boss position, the delicious parts were taken by Miss Leonora.
*imouto*
*imouto*
I actually wanted to comment on the spine, and the back cover and stuff as well, but because they weren’t released publicly, please wait for the real thing.

---

TL Note: You better buy the damn book.

http://www.alphapolis.co.jp/webContStory/each/145033369/
Thanks for the heads up, Tony!

I can’t think of a way to adapt this in this instance, but it’s a very common phrase in Japanese, so I may as well teach you guys:

A warm gaze, is the same as in English, but a lukewarm gaze means like, mildly disapproving.
Like, the gaze that you’d give when the only friend in your group with a girlfriend is flirting in front of you, or when you realise that one of your friends is a complete miser, or when one of your friends is vehemently cheering on some idol during the AKB elections.
Like, it’s not a warm gaze, but it isn’t a cold gaze either.
It’s sort of just like “Bro…” or “For real…?” or “Mate…”, you know?

(Although I suppose some people might give a terribly cold gaze for the last one.)

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Chapter 6 – On That Day, a Quake Ran Through the World

“Administration.”

I used my skill as an Administrator for the first time.
When I activated the skill, a menu-like window appeared before me.

Menu: Authority Activation
M*nu: Intelligence Perusal
M*nu: Divine Enchantment
M*nu: Divine Revelation

It was pretty simple for a god’s power, but considering my talk the other day with the Light God and Dark God, the power of the Divine Race is probably concentrated in 『Authority Activation』.
『Intelligence Perusal』 was just as the titles suggested, the ability to know about things that happened, and things that were happening. As you’d expect, even a divine wouldn’t be able to gather information on the future, and in the end the only information you could browse were on the past and present.
『Divine Enchantment』 was the act of handing out the power of a god to other people in the form of divine protection… but apparently it was no different from the Divine Enchantment skill. If I really had to say it, then apparently it wouldn’t bestow divine protection against my will, but I had no use for it anyway. In fact, I would prefer a way to undo the divine protections already out there.

And so, this time the one that I would be using was 『Divine Revelation』──an ability for transmitting words to your followers.
It was honestly pretty dull…
No, I mean, if it’s the Light God or the Dark God then it might be an ability that transmits their words across the continent, but most of my believers are inside the temple, so there isn’t much point. I could use my powers as the dungeon master to transmit my will after all, and although I wouldn’t be too keen on it, it wasn’t as though I couldn’t tell them directly either. Actually, let me revise that; it isn’t “there isn’t much point” but “there’s absolutely no point”.
But well, even if there isn’t, the other two gods are using Divine Revelation, so (although I’m not sure if I have any,) it’s sort of an issue of dignity. That’s why I had to take the same method.
I picked the middle entry on the menu and muttered,

“Divine Revelation.”

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“What do you mean by “dungeon”?”

“I don’t really get it, but you better not be talkin’ outta your ass.”

The two gods gave me extremely distrustful replies.
I know how they feel; right now I’m regretting it, wondering to myself what the heck I was saying. If I had to give an excuse, the meeting was really long, so I was mentally worn out.
But now that I’d already said it, it didn’t feel like a situation where I could take it back. I’ll force my way forward.

“Before I joined the Divine Race, I created a 31-floor dungeon, that still hasn’t been conquered yet. If the humans conquer it, then Light God Sophia wins. If the demons conquer it, then the win goes to Dark God Anbaal. If it remains uncaptured within a certain amount of time, then it’s my win.”

It was just a random idea, but I think it sounds surprisingly good.
Leonora, and the Hero Party from a while ago; both were close to the strongest tier within their own races, and neither could conquer even half of the dungeon. I don’t think a person that can conquer this dungeon exists in either race. Although, rather than pure ability, I’m talking more about the level of meatheadedness.
There’s also the huge benefit of not fighting the Light God and Dark God directly. Since I’m lacking in direct combat experience, I’ll be at a disadvantage no matter what, but if I use this method then my opponents will be the human and demon races, so my handicap mostly decreases.

“Ohh…? Ain’t that sound interesting.”

“You intend on involving the Human Race into our conflict?”

The Dark God seemed like he’d agree, but the Light God showed disapproval at my idea. Because the Human Race is something to be protected for her, so she probably wanted to avoid exposing them to danger due to her own circumstances. Well, the Dark God should be the same in that aspect, but I guess it’s just a difference in personality.

“It’s going to determine the management of the world, so it’s not somebody else’s business.”

“…I understand. Very well. I agree. Anbaal, how about you?”

“I’m fine.”

Alright, both of them are on board. What’s left is to figure out the rules in detail.

*imouto*

*imouto*

After that, we discussed things little by little, and worked out a set of rules. Unlike the discussion about the 『Authorities』 we had in the beginning, this conversation went much more smoothly.

*imouto*

1. The match is in regards to who can conquer the dungeon “Holy Ground of the Evil God”. If the humans conquer it, then Light God Sophia wins. If the demons conquer it, then the win goes to Dark God Anbaal. If it remains uncaptured within a certain amount of time, then the winner is Evil God Anri.
   In addition, ‘conquering’ is defined as being the first to touch the 『Proof of Capture』 on the 31st floor.
2. The winning Administrator gains the right to allocate the 『Sub-Authorities』. However, they will do so with the balance of all three Administrators in mind.
3. The length of the match is 1 year.
4. The use of 『Authorities』 to directly aid or hinder the capture of the dungeon is prohibited.
5. During the duration of the match, Evil God Anri will not add additional floors.
6. During the duration of the match, Evil God anri will not summon additional monsters. However, a single dragon is permitted.
7. Evil God Anri will take all care possible that no fatalities will occur amongst the human and demon challengers.
8. Light God Sophia, as well as Dark God Anbaal will prohibit the Human Race and Demon Race respectively from committing acts of aggression or subversive activities against the Holy Anri Thearchy for the duration of the match.
9. Evil God Anri reserves the right to take an entrance fee from the challengers. However, the fee shall not exceed 1 silver coin per challenger, per challenge.

“Such worldiness…”

“You a miser? Oi!”

I hear nothing.

“By 『Proof of Capture』, you mean that? How do I say this… Your taste is pretty fucked, huh.”

“It isn’t like that by choice.”

I stationed the 『Proof of Capture』 on a pillar-shaped pedestal that was in the first room that you arrived at, coming down the stairs from the 30th floor. I’d hate it for them to come into the residential area and mess everything up, so I’m planning on having them teleport outside after taking the 『Proof of Capture』.

“You were awfully fixed on the dragon, but is there some kind of meaning to it?”

“Dragons are romance.”

Various things happened causing me to put it off, but since I had plenty of mana, I wanted to summon the dragon that I’d been dreaming of seeing. And also, it wouldn’t be good for the dungeon’s image if there was no boss for the 30th floor.

I’m kind of getting the feeling that their gazes are getting more and more lukewarm, but it’s probably my imagination.

Also, it’s set in the rules that nobody is allowed to attack or commit subterfuge against us in the confusion. It’d be troubling if they came and invaded after pretending to be here to challenge the dungeon, so it was also a necessary clause, but with this, I was able to postpone the establishment of the country as well. When it comes to creating a nation, I honestly don’t think a 1-year grace period is anywhere near enough, but we don’t have many people, so we should probably be able to get things together to an extent.
Also, the fact that the Light God and Dark God also acknowledged us as a country is probably going to be really meaningful in our international relationships from now on.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Through the revelation, I spoke to every believer in the country.
About the Dark God that most humans weren’t aware of. About the power struggle that had begun between the Light God, the Dark God, and myself. About how in relation to that, people from various countries, as well as the demons would be coming here to challenge the dungeon. And about how our citizens were not to harm the challengers.
Also, I decided not to go out of my way to touch on the fact that our ‘power struggle’ was closer to pushing our workload onto each other. The other two were ordering their races to capture the dungeon with Divine Revelation, and I’m pretty sure they did the same.

It wasn’t in the rules that my citizens couldn’t harm the challengers so they technically could, but I can’t say I’d approve of that, so I decided to forbid it. I’d be troubled if their actions ended up as a dispute after all, and more important than anything was the fact that this was our chance as a nation.

Now that they had been directly instructed by their gods, the humans and demons were probably eager to challenge the dungeon. Since my dungeon fundamentally kicks out the fallen, it’s possible to challenge it again. In that case, it would be natural for challengers to live near the dungeon in order to challenge it. The nearest town is Riemel, but if there was an even closer place to stay, there wouldn’t be any reason not to use it. If we open up inns near the temple, I’m sure we’ll have customers.
I plan on taking the weapons, items and money of the losers just as I’ve always been, so if I open up a shop, and a storage store, I’m sure they’ll be popular. The products for the store can just be things that we’ve taken from them.
It might also be good to sell maps of the dungeon floors, and periodically change things up. Adding floors was forbidden in the rules, but modifying existing floors shouldn’t be a problem. It depends on the pricing, but I should be able to expect a certain amount of income.

Indeed; this match is a chance to acquire foreign currency.
Or rather, to our nation that doesn’t have a major industry, if we don’t do something like this we’ll never be able to be anything more than a self-sufficient village, no matter how much time passes. The management of the country I’m going to leave to Pope and the others as always, but letting this wonderful chance escape would be a terrible move.

That’s why at the end of the revelation, I finished with these words:

“From now on, our nation is to promote tourism as a “Dungeon Town”.”

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Yami, Bazooka, thanks for all the help in AK! You guys are the best!

---

Chapter 5 – The Meeting Unfolds

“『Authorities』 are things that we Administrators govern… there are 『Authorities』 for all things, phenomena and concepts. And to us, the 『Authorities』 are our 『power』, 『responsibility』 and 『duty』.”

“Each Administrator has a main 『Authority』 with a bunch of 『Sub-Authorities』, as well as 『Free-Authorities』 that don’t belong to any, so that makes up all three types.”

The gods of Light and Dark explained to me about the 『Authorities』 that were their main reason for visiting me. I wanted to take down notes, but it wasn’t the right atmosphere for that, so I decided to try my best to memorise it.

“An Administrator’s main 『Authority』 can’t be changed ’cause of their attribute. I’m 『Dark』, that overly serious woman over there is 『Light』, and as for you… Seriously? 『Fear』? That’s a pretty nasty one you’ve chosen, ey?”

I didn’t choose it. I didn’t choose it I say.
I can assent to their 『Main Authorities』 being 『Light』 and 『Dark』, but I can’t accept that mine is 『Fear』.

“In exchange for very few being able to choose a emotion-type 『Authority』, they can gain faith through that emotion, you see. It seems that you are only absorbing the fear directed at yourself, though.”

It felt like something from people my followers was flowing into me, but that was the reason? Just exactly how feared am I?
…Mn? There was something concerning in her words just now though.

“Can I absorb fear directed at things besides me too?”

“Obviously. 『Authorities』 are the right to manage the world, yanno. As long as you use their function properly, no matter who it’s directed at, you’ll be able to use it as faith. But well, emotions directed at yourself don’t need any conscious work on your half, so I guess it’s that much more efficient, ey?”

I didn’t know. I didn’t know. I decided not to use my power as an Administrator because I had no idea what might’ve happened, but is that why? As long as it’s linked to ‘gathering faith'[filling my stomach] this is pretty important, so I’ll have a look at it later.

“Anyway, the remaining ones are 『Sub-Authorities』 and 『Free-Authorities』, but they’re decided among fellow Administrators. Mains and subs become the Administrator’s specialty, yanno?”

“A specialised 『Authority』 cannot be used by other Administrators. On the other hand, free 『Authorities』 can be used by all Administrators.”

“Then couldn’t you just leave them all free?”

“If that was all it’d be aight, but you can’t gather faith from free 『Authorities』. And if you can’t distinguish whose responsibility is whose, the response to problems gets slow, and it’s riddled with risk.”

I see. That’s why they’re 『power』, 『responsibility』 and 『duty』, huh?
So in exchange for gaining 『power』, you gain as much responsibility in exchange.

“Having said that, if all 『Authorities』 are specialised, then there would be none remaining for other Administrators to use. As a result, those that have a high degree of risk are used as 『Sub-Authorities』, while the rest are left as free.”

“Anyway, here comes the main topic; up ’til now, all the 『Sub-Authorities』 have been split between me and her, but suddenly this new Administrator pops up. So we need to choose how to divide the 『Sub-Authorities』 again.”

I understand why they came as a pair now. It was to hold an important meeting about how the world would be from now on.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

With the general explanation finished, after brewing some more tea, the meeting resumed. Also, since I would feel bad about calling Tena to such a dangerous place, I steeped the tea myself. The two were making doubtful expressions, but I wouldn’t accept any complaints.

“Well then, guess we’ll quickly get to it. First of all, I’m taking 『Demon Race』. No discussions.”

“I too will not concede 『Human Race』.”

T-, The way this is going is… The so-called ‘taking-all-the-good parts-to-yourself-and-leaving-the-newcomer-with-the-remains-newcomer-bullying-scene’!?

Are they going to say stuff like
“『Goblins』 or 『Vulgarness』 would fit ‘a person of low birth'[an embarrassment to the divines] like you.” or “You ain’t thinking that an accident like you could be on equal terms with us, right?” to me?
They carefully explained various things to me so I let my guard down, but thinking about it, there’s no way that a human that messed up their territory by becoming a divine──although I didn’t wish for it──would be accepted by them.

But I can’t just take things sitting down either.
If I lose this power struggle, then it’ll also mean that this country will be looked down on by its neighbours. It’ll threaten the peaceful lives of Tena and the others too. I don’t want to recklessly abuse my influence, but I need a minimum amount of power as a foothold.

I need to be stubborn here.

“I won’t accept──”

“Leaving the rest to you.”

“I shall leave the rest up to you.”

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

──this?

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

“I do think that it is a difficult task, but I have faith in you.”

“Well, just see this as training.”

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

T-, These guys… They’re planning on pushing all the work onto me?
Right. Even if I take Leonora’s story with a grain of salt, they were a pair that didn’t care about the details as long as they were loved by their respective races. At the time, the conversation was about the Light God, but from what I can see it applies to the Dark God as well.
The Dark God called her overly serious, but just what part of this is overly serious?
Up until now, they’d be reluctantly working in order to protect their races, but now that there was somebody they could push all the work onto, they were planning to only take responsibility for the things they cared about, and were plotting to push everything else onto me.

This isn’t a joke.
I want the bare minimum power to prevent myself from being invaded, but I don’t want everything pushed onto me. What I want is to relax in peace; there’s no point if my schedule is so busy I’ll die.

I need to be stubborn here.

“I won’t accept this.”

“Ah?”

“Ah?”

I’m being glared at. As I thought, the Light God is scarier. But I can’t give up here.

“If you’re pushing all the other 『Authorities』 onto me, then I can also destroy the humans or the demons with 『Epidemic』. Are you fine with that?”

“─────!”

“─────!”

The moment I said that, the two gods stood straight up. I was being glared at just like before, but the pressure now was on another level.

“You have sure some guts, eh.”

The Dark God was gathering mana in his hands, but the Light God waved him to stop, and spoke to me.

“Did you say, that you would destroy the Human Race?”

“The fact that I’ll be able to is the problem. If one god has all the 『Authorities』, they’ll be unstoppable.”

“I see. So you wanted to say that there is a need for the three of us to be in balance. You have a point. However──”

The Light God stopped her sentence midway, before pulling out a massive sword as tall as she was, and slamming it into the table. A thunderous boom rang out through the room, and the round table was split in half.

“──the next time you speak nonsense like that again, I will destroy you.”

Scary… Yes, I will definitely keep that in mind.
I raised my arms face-height in surrender, before stating my defence.

“It was just an example; I have no intention of doing it.”

“I sincerely hope not.”

It seems that I somehow got her to sheathe her sword.
Of course, I never had any intentions of destroying the humans or the demons to begin with, and it was because there was that risk that I wanted to give an example of why we needed balance, but from now on I’m going to be careful not to say anything stupid about messing with the humans in front of her.

I can sort of understand now why the Dark God calls her “overly serious”. But if she’s going to be serious, then I would’ve preferred her putting that into a different outlet.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

After repairing the bisected table──the one who broke it was the Light God, so why was I…?──we resumed the meeting.
However, the discussion dragged on and we didn’t make progress. Although I prevented everything being pushed onto me, both the Light God and Dark God were trying their best to push things onto somebody else. In the end, it became something like “Even if one of us does something destructive, the other two can just cooperate and stop them.” and we just kept pushing things onto each other.
If I relaxed I would’ve just gotten things pushed onto me instead, so I also objected, but because of that, we eventually fell into a completely unproductive cycle of pushing things onto each other.
The old and new, male god and goddess, positive attributes and negative attributes; a frenzied 2 vs 1 battle that continually changed positions continued on, and along the way we lost track of who was objecting to what anymore.
Because we didn’t need to eat or sleep, it just meant that the argument continued endlessly.

“Hahh… Hahh…”

“Huu… We are not making progress, are we?”

“Seriously, you two are freaking stubborn.”

Even though we didn’t even need to breathe, we glared at each other breathless.
I wanted to tell him that he was just as stubborn as we were, but as the Light God said, we weren’t making any progress.

“Alright. I’ve got an idea that’ll definitely decide things.”

“Hmm, please do say.”

“Or rather, if you had something like that then say it to begin with.”

Dark God. Shut up.
I only just thought of it, so it couldn’t be helped.

“We’ll have a match, and the winner gets to decide on how to divide things. However, with the balance between the three of us kept in mind.”

“Ohh? Ain’t that interesting.”

“I see. Even if we continue the conversation, there does not seem to be an end in sight, so I think that idea is fine too. However, just what kind of match will it be?”

Naturally, I have no plans on simply battling it out. It won’t be a game or anything either. It’s clear that I’d completely lose in both.

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

“The match will be… a dungeon.”

---

Precepts for having an efficient meeting; as learned by Anri-san.

1. Decide on the length of the meeting beforehand
“An endless meeting is dangerous.”

2. Make sure to have somebody in charge of the direction of the meeting.
“Without one, everything gets out of control.”

3. Make sure to take minutes
“If everything is recorded, you’ll be self-conscious and pay more attention to what you say… probably.”

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter >

Chapter 4 – Light and Dark

When I joined the Divine Race I conquered the curse, and so I was able to take long baths again.
Up until now the curse would activate if I didn’t leave the bath before thirty minutes was up and send my clothes flying into the bath, so I always had to bathe while watching the time. Now I could finally bathe as long as I wanted.
Although I stopped sweating, I still got dirty, so I would usually bathe every day. More important than anything was the fact that getting into a hot bath was relaxing for the spirit, so it was essential that I did so.

“Phew…”

Feeling the heat soak into my body, I unconsciously let out a sigh. After pouring some water on myself, I dropped into the bath. Waves went through the bath, and the comfortable vibrations swayed my body.
I played around like that for a while, but because I had already been in for an hour, although I didn’t get dizzy I still thought that it was about time to get out, so I stood up.

And when I did, a man in a crimson robe suddenly appeared outside the bathtub without any warning.
He was a tall man with long, light green hair, and although he had a handsome face, he looked somewhat ill-bred.

“Ahn?”

It was so shocking that I had forgotten to even hide myself and stood there stock still. In front of me, the man looked around the room, before finally noticing me.

“…”

“…”

We continued to stare at each other wordlessly for a while, but the man finally lowered his gaze just a little, before averting his eyes with a scoff.

*imouto*

Still silent, I fired a relatively serious shadow bullet at the man.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

After preparing an emergency meeting room and round table on the 5th floor, I sat down on one of the three chairs. The other chairs were occupied by the peeper who intruded on my bath earlier, and a blonde woman wearing a full set of silver armour. Incidentally, although the man took my relatively serious shadow bullet, he was left without a scratch.
Tena walked around the table and placed a cup of tea before each of us.

“Thanks. We’re fine now, so you can leave. Also, tell everyone not to come near this room.”

“Y-, Yes! Understood.”

Perhaps I accidentally let some of my urgency into my voice, because Tena leapt out of the room with great urgency.
I felt a little guilty, but considering the situation, it couldn’t help that I was nervous.

*imouto*

Not even in my dreams had I imagined that the 『God of Darkness』　and the 『God of Light』 would march in here directly together.

*imouto*

The man sitting to me left in a deep crimson sleeveless robe had introduced himself as Dark God Anbaal.
Whether his long green hair, or the bared chest beneath his robe, his appearance just made him look like a member of a visual kei rock band, but because of his bad attitude, crossing his legs on the table, I couldn’t see him as anything but a hoodlum.
He saw me naked in the bath. He looked at my chest and sneered. I already had a pretty bad impression of him. When I considered that this was the deity that they worshipped, I began feeling sympathy for the Demon Race. I’ll make sure to warn Leonora later not to be hasty.
But the feeling of pressure I was feeling was the real thing, so I had no doubts that he was a god. He was the god that ruled over “darkness” so considering the attribute of my shadow bullet, it made sense that he was unharmed.

On the other hand, the armoured woman sitting to my left who appeared in the bathroom to scold the Dark God for intruding introduced herself as the God of Light Sophia.
Her beautiful blonde hair was tied into three braids, and from her appearance she looked like a calm woman in her twenties, giving off a clean and serious atmosphere… but there’s one thing I’d like to say.

Her appearance was way too different to the statue in the church; it’s fraud.
If something like this is allowed, wouldn’t it be fine for me to change my clothes too?

I only saw it from afar, but I think the goddess statue in the church was wearing something like a nun’s clothing. And in contrast, the woman in front of me was wearing a silver plate armour without a single gap, and no matter how you looked at it, she seemed like the martial type. She was like Joan of Arc. The fact that the person herself was quiet made things scarier instead.

Honestly speaking, I was less afraid of the hoodlum Dark God than I was of her. She didn’t seem the type who understood jokes, after all.
In contrast, the Dark God was just acting tough and wasn’t all that scary.
When I turned my gaze to him, perhaps he noticed my gaze because he looked my way.

“The hell you lookin’ at?”

“A peeper.”

Ah-, oops. I accidentally spoke my mind.

“Hah! You think you have anything worth peeping at?”

“That thin body and…” he said, before wordlessly looking at my chest. I reflexively wanted to cover up with my hands, but I felt like I would be the loser if I faltered here, so I just boldly glared back at him. But of course, perhaps I should be saying ‘as expected of a god’ because the mystic eyes had no effect at all, and he didn’t even flinch.

“To begin with, the heck is a god even doing in the bath?”

When I glared at him, he blocked my eyes like it was annoying, and said that. Well certainly I don’t have a metabolism, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t get dirty, so I thought it was obvious that I’d clean myself but… Do gods normally not bathe?
I mean, I’m fine with this peeper skipping his bathes or whatever he wants as long as he doesn’t come near me, but if gods don’t bathe, then could it be that she also…

“Anbaal, it seems she still hasn’t been released from a physical body. It’s natural that she needs to clean herself. Don’t think of her as the same as you and I who exist only as souls.”

The Light God cut into the conversation as though scolding the Dark God. And at the same time, she glared at me with an incredible glint in her eyes. Could it be that she knew what I was thinking about? Understood, Oneesama, you aren’t unclean.

“A brat with her shell still stuck to her arse, huh? Tsk, how annoying.”

The Dark God gave a languid sigh as though saying ‘my my’.
But still, I wonder what they meant. If I take the Light God’s words at face value, then these two were just spiritual beings without a body. Seeing them sitting on chairs and drinking tea made it a little hard to believe, but since there wasn’t any need for them to lie here, it was probably the truth.
But in that case, what kind of position did that put me in?

“If there’s anything you would like to ask, then I shall answer. Before we get into the main topic, it seems that you need to be informed of some background information first.”

“Guess it can’t be helped, ey. We aren’t getting anywhere at this rate.”

The Light God spoke to me who was having questions. I’m concerned about what her ‘main topic’ is, but for now I’ll obediently ask my questions. It’s dangerous to get into a conversation with people whose motives you don’t know, but because I had so little information, I wasn’t in a position where I could form any strategies.

“What’s the difference between you two and I?”

I decided just to ask what I had doubts about just now.

“We are all the same in that we belong to the Divine Race. However, because the ones formed from the divided Creator God, Anbaal and I, were divines to begin with, we were always souls without physical bodies. And in contrast, because you were somebody who became a divine from a human, you still possess your body. Once your soul becomes a divine, your body will be affected as well though, so it isn’t as though your body is the same as when you were a human though.”

“Me and that overly serious woman over usually exist without possessing any substance, but right now we’re materialised. But well, once your body is destroyed you’ll probably be just like us though.”

In other words, right now I’m like a half-baked half-divine with a physical body, but once my physical body is destroyed, I’ll be a complete divine just like them? I get the feeling that we just casually skipped through a fairly heavy conversation.

“But well, even if you still have a body, you’re still a divine, so there shouldn’t be any problems with exercising your powers.”

“Exercising my powers?”

Could it be that she’s talking about the ‘Administrator’ skill that came along when I became a divine? I can’t think of anything else that matches, so I think that’s probably it, though.

“Yeah. That’s the ‘main topic’ that we came aaaall the way here to talk to ya about.”

The Dark God pulled his legs back from atop the table, and after fixing his posture, he put his crossed arms atop the table and leaned in. The sense of tension in the room surged up.

*imouto*

*imouto*

“Today the reason we came here… is to decide on our 『Authorities』.”

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

So my friend asked me to play Aura Kingdom with him, which is why I didn’t get a chapter out yesterday. And while I was playing, I realised something: some readers play games too!

So anyway, in conclusion, if anybody plays Phoenix server in Aura Kingdom and wants to throw free stuff at me because they love me, I’m playing a lv60 ronin called ‘YamotoKoki’ (YEEART!) ahaha!

Oh, and I guess playing together is fine too, but I’m mostly asking for the free stuff (lol).

---

There’s a superstition that the area between your eyebrows is particularly sensitive and pressing a finger or stick there will especially hurt.

---

Chapter 3 – Progression of Heresy

『In the beginning, Anri-sama created the world.
Humans, animals, plants; all things that exist were created by Anri-sama’s hand.
However, the foolish humans did not know.
Sophia the Evil God was jealous of Anri-sama, and pretended that Anri-sama’s achievements were her own, and the people praised Evil God Sophia.

Anri-sama who lamented over the world dyed in heresy, decided that she would purge the world with only her believers remaining.
The believers of Evil God Sophia will surely burn in Hell for eternity.
Only those who believe in Anri-sama will be able to go to the new world, and obtain eternal happiness.』

After reading the words on the paper in my hand, I looked up and found that the Pope was standing there with eyes shining with some kind of expectation. Seeing that subtly proud face, the fact that his good looks were its only redeeming feature kind of pissed me off.

“…Leonora.”

“Yeah.”

Faiya~

“NOOOOOOH――――!?

Leonora was standing next to me and had been peering in on it as well, and when I had her burn it away the Pope began to scream.

I didn’t want to meet him so I had Tena act as my representative, but he specifically wanted me to have a look at something, so I even went out of my way to build an audience hall on the 4th floor, but I didn’t think that I’d be made to read something like that. The reason I added this hall was because they were treating me as a god, so I couldn’t easily head down to the 3rd floor and below, and since I didn’t want to invite him up to the 5th floor, there was no other place but the 4th.
Also, the reason I didn’t want to call him up to the 5th floor was because I didn’t want him to meet Lili. In his mind, Lili had been eaten by me, and as for Lili, she shouldn’t want to meet somebody who tried to kill her either.
Only, although I know that he’s somebody who tried to kill a person I’m close to, mysteriously I didn’t feel any sense of repulsion. I think it’s because his personality is so intense that the first impression was drowned out.
I wonder how Tena feels about this. She associates with him normally though.

“Why, Anri-sama――――!?”

“Uwah-”

The Pope drew in with a flood of tears, and in my revulsion, I accidentally sent him flying with a shadow bullet. It was so sudden that I didn’t hold back on my strength, or so I was thinking, but the Pope was just fine and immediately got up. I shouldn’t be one to say this, but is guy really human?
To begin with, these eyes that even cause the daughter of the Demon King to dogeza don’t seem to have any effect on him… Or rather, should I say that he even gets a little excited? It makes me want to avert my eyes myself.

“My apologies, I lost my composure. I am terribly ashamed, but could you please teach me what it was that was unsatisfactory?”

Even if you act all prim and proper now, it’s too late you know.
And even if you ask me what was unsatisfactory, it’s actually harder to point out something good about it. It’s the first time that something’s been so bad, that one of the less bad points is a good point. But well, if I had to pick the worst point, then…

“It’s needlessly antagonistic. And there are lots of parts that are disconnected from the truth.”

Even without antagonising them, the Church of Sacred Light might be hostile anyway, but that doesn’t mean that there’s a need to needlessly stir them up. We’re lucky enough that they’re glaring at another country, so I don’t want to provoke them and have their spearhead turned this way instead. And also, why did I end up the one who created the world? I have no memory of doing anything like that.

“Certainly, there are a few exaggerations mixed in.”

A few? So this is ‘a few’…
Or rather, before ‘exaggeration’, all I found were a bag of lies, but?

“However, we presently require something to gather people to our country. As such, I wanted to create a scripture. In order to draw interest, giving it a little impact would be better, wouldn’t it?”

Please give me a break. Just imagining a nation formed from people gathered by that kind of scripture is giving me goosebumps.
But in regards to the need for scriptures, I guess I can’t help but agree with his idea. I don’t want to starve either, so the idea of propagating the religion itself is something I agree with. Then in that case…

“I’ll write the scriptures.”

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

I might have been too hasty.
The blank paper in front of me was causing me to hold my head in trouble inside.
I accidentally said in front of the Pope that I would write it──the Pope gleefully left──but, since then the brush in my hand has written absolutely nothing.
To begin with, I only realised just now that there’s no way the deity themselves would write the parts that worshipped and praised the deity, but it’s much too late.

And also, even leaving that part aside, the rest of the contents are difficult too.
Amongst the believers gathered in the temple right now, many of them were in despair because of the Church of Sacred Light, or the social class system. Because of that, I needed to write something revolutionary and reformist like destroying the current system, but in that case, I’d had no choice but to write something antagonistic towards the Church or the other countries.
And personally, just as I said earlier, I definitely don’t want to antagonise the Church of Sacred Light or the other nations, so as much as possible I’d like to head in a direction that doesn’t provoke them.

“Anri-sama? Are you still awake?”

“Tena…”

When I sighed at how I was making no progress at all, I heard somebody call me from outside the room. Apparently after Tena had put Lili to bed, she came to see how I was doing.

“Overly exerting yourself is bad for your body, Anri-sama. I think it might be better if you went to bed…”

“It’s fine. You can go to bed, Tena.”

“Anri-sama…”

It wasn’t a lie. I’m still totally fine. For some reason after I turned into a divine, I stopped needing sleep. Staying up a few nights won’t hurt my health at all. It’s completely unrelated to physical fatigue.

“If you don’t plan on sleeping yet, then could I trouble you for some tea?”

“Understood.”

I know that as an apostle, Tena still needs to eat and sleep. Because of that, unlike me, she needs to properly rest. I’m happy that she’s worried about me, but she needs to rest after she’s done with the tea.

After she left a cup of tea in front of me, I was going to tell her to go to sleep, but before I could, Tena spoke to me first.

“Are you not making progress?”

Perhaps realising that I was troubled, Tena asked me that, and I nodded wordlessly. A situation where you keep crumpling up the pages and starting over can’t be called progress no matter how you look at it.

“What are you worrying about?”

“I can’t write something that endorses reform without picking a fight with the Church or existing countries.”

After saying it myself, the impossible requirements made my head hurt. The moment that you reform something, you’d be picking a fight with the people who currently had benefits, so to begin with it was contradictory.

“Umm, why is it that reform is necessary?”

“Why, you say? Well…”

‘Because that’s what the followers want.’ I was about to reply, when my mind suddenly came to a stop.
Is that really true?
It’s certain that there were lots of people amongst the followers that were in despair because of the Church or the class system. But if you asked me if all members wanted reform, then I would have to say that I hadn’t heard such a thing.
What the betrayed and wounded wanted was something more vague than that; ‘something righteous’. If that wasn’t true, then even without religion, they’d rely on something else in some other place.
And as for ‘something righteous’, there was no need to forcefully link it to reform. From the beginning, there was no need to touch on troublesome topics like the current state of the religions or countries in the world. As long as I state ethics or morals; state ‘the way things should be’, then that’s enough.

It felt like a ray of light shone into my mind that had been hazy from agonising over this.

“It looks like you’re fine now. It wouldn’t do for me to be a nuisance, so I’ll take my leave.”

Perhaps feeling relieved because she saw that I was fine, Tena gave a bow with a smile. I nodded back at her.

“Goodnight, Tena. And… thanks.”

“Good night, Anri-sama.”

Right. There was no need for me to put on airs.
In the end, the scriptures were just the basis, and not the entirety. You could tell this just by looking at the way the Church of Sacred Light spread. It’s fine just for me to write whatever I think. The religious stuff can just be left to the Pope and the rest to add on.

Mn. It feels like I can write now.
Pulling myself together, I turned to the page and began putting down my thoughts into words.

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

<The Black Scripture>
An item designated as an ‘S-Class Danger’.
Said to be filled with the malice of the Evil God, amongst the things in this world, it is a cursed item of particularly great strength.
Those who have received this item will continue to suffer misfortune until they transcribe a copy and hand it to somebody else. Additionally, as even the copy contains the curse, it will propagate endlessly.
Additionally, there is no means of destroying this item.

---

A list of the misfortunes of the cursed lett… I mean, the “Black Scripture”:

You suffer a bald patch.
You experience “popping ears” when heading to high places.
It feels like somebody is pressing a finger between your eyebrows.
You contract hay fever.
You will suddenly suffer stomach pains in places where there are no nearby toilets.
Each morning you will awaken to a leg cramp.
You will unfailing stub your little toe on a shelf.
You will unconsciously blurt out your real opinion.
You will end all your sentences in ‘evilgod’.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Chapter 2 – The Situation in Various Countries

『Well then, please tell us the situation in all the other countries.』

On the monitor, Tena called out to the people assembled there.
Sitting around the round table were the important members of the Faith, and of course, the Merry Pope was there as well.

Ever since the country-founding announcement, I sent people out to see how the other countries would move, and the information they gathered was to be presented at this meeting.

As for being there myself, with Tena already recognised as my representative, I left it to her and instead decided to watch on-screen from the top floor of the temple. Also, Lili was sitting next to me, reading a picture book and studying letters. In this world where the literacy rate and printing techniques were oddly high for a medieval European level, learning how to read was indispensable.

Tena sat on a special chair that was placed at the highest part behind the round table, and overlooked everybody gathered there. Just like how my appearance didn’t change when I became a divine, Tena’s appearance didn’t change either when she became an apostle, but for some reason I get the feeling that she was now wrapped in a kind of transcendental atmosphere.

With beautiful blonde hair, a youthful but dignified face, as well as the black outfit with the mysterious atmosphere, it was like she was a princess or a shrine maiden from somewhere. Well, I guess she’s exactly a shrine maiden.

『Well then, I shall begin. In regards to the movements of the Headquarters of the Church of Sacred Light, the Luxiria Theocracy, they immediately repudiated the announcement of our country’s founding. They are appealing to the other nations to agree.』

A commotion ran through the meeting due to the sudden report.

『Calm yourselves. Anri-sama is watching us as well.』

The Pope’s voice rang out through the noisy room, and the noise changed to complete silence.
Well yeah, I am watching, but there’s no need to say it.

『We knew from the beginning that this was how the Luxiria Theocracy would act. The issue is how the other nations will respond. How do things proceed on that front?』

A woman raised her hand at the Pope’s question.

『In regards to that, I will give the first report.』

『You’re… As I recall, the one in charge of the Kingdom of Fortera, weren’t you.』

『Yes.』

The Kingdom of Fortera was the nation that originally owned the place that we were in, and as somebody who was a stakeholder, you could say that they were the most important nation to us. I was very curious to know what news the report held.

『The Kingdom of Fortera rejected Luxiria’s appeal. Furthermore, they raised complaints about the dishonesty of the current upper echelons of the Church, and created a new faction, taking a hostile position towards them. Furthermore, in regards to our country’s founding announcement, they did not negate it, and are taking a neutral position.』

The meeting became even more noisy than before.
The Church of Sacred Light was the official religion for all nations in the Human Territory, and this was the first time in history that anybody had opposed it, so a commotion was natural. No, perhaps forming a new faction isn’t actually defying the Church of Sacred Light itself.

『The name of the new faction is called the Origin Faction, and are based on being faithful to the teachings of the Goddess.』

『What reaction did the Luxiria Theocracy have towards Fortera’s declaration?』

『Their Pope stated his own feelings of regret, and they seek a withdrawal of that decision.』

When the Pope received the woman’s report, and asked that question of the man who first gave the report on Luxiria, he received a reply that you could say was natural. But if they were going to withdraw that decision, they wouldn’t have made it to begin with, so it was already decided that the two would be hostile.

『The other nations also appear to be watching the confrontation between Luxiria and Fortera, and things are in a deadlock.』

Still, I wonder what’s going on.
From Fortera’s point of view, our country──we’re a self-proclaimed country, but──our country had stolen their land and declared ourselves a nation, so Fortera should have been the first person to deny us. That’s what I expected as well.
And the result was that they were taking a neutral stand, and taking a hostile position with the headquarters of the Church as well. I don’t understand why they would take a hostile position with the Luxiria Theocracy before taking one with us.

“Has the situation progressed?”

When I turned around towards the voice that called out to me, I found the person who should have been in the Demon Territory gathering information, Leonora. The moment I turned to look at her, she averted her eyes. It was an very smooth motion… She’s gotten used to it, hasn’t she.

“Welcome back.”

“Thanks. I just got back.”

For information in the Human Territory, I can sort of leave it to the Pope and the others, but as you’d expect, that wouldn’t fly in the Demon Territory. Since we’re right in-between both territories, I can’t neglect the Demon Territory either. Because of that, I asked Leonora to gather information there. As you’d expected, I don’t think she’ll tell me anything disadvantageous to her country, but we’re not hostile to the Demon Territory or anything, so just normal information is plenty.
Right, and I should see what Leonora thinks about the information from just now. She is royalty, so she might know what a country is planning. I’m worried about the fact that she’s a muscle-head though.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

“I see…”

The discussion was still continuing, but since I heard the most important parts, I decided to take a break and discuss the situation with Leonora over tea. She crossed her arms, and sank into thought for a while. While patting Lili who was next to me, looking at the sweet bun with glittering eyes, I waited for Leonora to gather her thoughts.

“Hmm, three things come to mind.”

“What are they?”

Leonora really is reliable. I’m sorry for thinking that you were a muscle-head.

“The first is that they’re very simply afraid of you.”

“…”

I was stupid for praising you. No, well, I certainly do think that they’re scared of me, and as a guess that probably isn’t wrong, but it was a pretty disappointing answer considering how much I was looking forward to it. While I was laying down on the table, Lili pat my head with her small palms. What a good girl.

“The second is that the Fortera and the upper echelons of the Church of Sacred Light had some kind of discord to begin with.”

“Discord?”

“Yeah. Earlier when the Forteran Army invaded, I told you, 『If a problem within their country is dealt with by the Church or the Order, they will come to owe them a favour.』 didn’t I? In other words, the Church of Sacred Light knew that it would come to that, and yet they still tried to form the Order of the Sacred Light. It might that they simply put precedence over opposing the Evil God, but there’s also the possibility that they had some kind of discord with Fortera.”

“In other words, forming the Order of the Sacred Light was to put pressure on Fortera?”

“It’s nothing but conjecture, but yes.”

I see. Then if we take that as the truth, then certainly it does seem reasonable that the Kingdom and Theocracy would be quarrelling.

“The third is… the relationship with the Demon Territory.”

“…?”

What kind of relationship would that be?
Seeing me tilt my head just a little, Leonora continued to speak.

“Even within the Kingdom of Fortera, this spot is the closest to the Demon Territory. Fortera is the frontline against the Demon Territory, but if a country appears here, that situation will change. It wouldn’t be strange for them to determine that there are large merits for losing just a small amount of territory.”

“That’s…”

In other words, using us as a shield against the Demon Territory?
If they did that, then it would certain explain their neutrality towards us. If they want to use us as a shield, then it wouldn’t be good to have either an antagonist, nor a friendly relationship. The former would just make a new enemy in place of the Demon Territory, and the latter would mean that they wouldn’t be able to push us to the enemy.
And by taking a neutral stance with the Evil God Nation──as long as they weren’t choosing to become our enemy, they would necessarily worsen their relationship with the Church of Sacred Light. And it was because they knew this in advance, that they revolted against the Luxiria Theocracy. That kind of thing?

“Both are possible, and it isn’t the case that there can be only one reason either, after all. It might have surprisingly been the result of all three reasons combined.”

That might be it.
For now, the fact that the most likely enemy Fortera, had now fallen into a deadlock with Luxiria was something very convenient for us.
We should work to fix our appearance as a nation while we still can.

“Speaking of which, what about the Demon Territory?”

“Ahh, they’re basically just watching. As the Demon Race, they aren’t fond of the ‘Evil God’, but that was because it was an idea used by humanity to demonise our Dark God. As a completely different person to the Dark God, there’s no reason to be hostile to you. If it seems that through me, they can come to a mutual understanding with you, they’ll probably be keeping this kind of relationship for the near future.”

“I see.”

I felt relieved after hearing that.
At the very least, it seems that for now, I’ll be able to concentrate on the problems in the Human Territory.
Feeling full, I rubbed my drowsy eyes while patting Lili on the head, and let out a sigh of relief.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

『I suppose that just about sums up the situation in the other countries, and the management of our own. Finally, there is one thing that I would like you to convey to Anri-sama for me, Tena-sama.』

『What is it?』

Mn?
It seems that they wrapped up all the complicated stuff while I was resting, but the Pope began talking about something.

『The truth is, I have thought of a plan to make Anri-sama’s splendour known to the other countries as well. I would by all means like to verify the details with Anri-sama.』

What is he planning…?
I’m worried. Terribly worried.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

I think most of you know already, but 黒歴史(kurorekishi), known as dark history or black history, refers to the incredibly embarrassing shit that happened to you in the past.
Like when you ran around pretending to be Naruto in 8th grade, or when you were so into death metal in 9th grade.
Or the time you started a dancing blog and uploaded videos of your own choreography(lol).

Of course, being an Evil God, there’s obviously the meaning at face value too.

---

Chapter 1 – The Beginning of a Dark History

I’ve heard a saying before about how it’s easier to destroy something than create.
It’s a somewhat paradoxical saying that emphasises the difficult of creating things.
Whether it’s buildings, or artwork, or culture, when you create something, a lot of time and effort is needed to do so.

*imouto*

But if I had to add one more line to that──

*imouto*

──it would be that cleaning up after things that you accidentally create are also quite a pain. Including bad things that you’ve accidentally done.

*imouto*

And if I had to add one more line on top of that──

*imouto*

──it would be that if you leave it to somebody else because cleaning up is a pain, there also exists the fear of things getting worse.

*imouto*

The newly erected temple, the Forteran Army that was driven away, the Evil God Followers who ended up saved because of this, and more than anything else, I myself, who had become an Evil God.
There were so many problems that I didn’t even know where to begin, so I decided to create a rough order of precedence, and allocate people wherever I could. There shouldn’t be anything wrong with this line of thinking.
And to me, the point of highest priority was dealing with the fact that I’d become an evil god, and all other matters were lower. Considering this once again, I still think this was correct.

So that’s why. That’s why…

*imouto*

“As our great god’s──Anri-sama’s, servant, I, Pope Harvin, hereby declare, the establishment of the 『Holy Anri Thearchy』!”

*imouto*

I want to believe that this isn’t my fault.
Also, I’d like for you to stop with that name. Very much so.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

The Evil God Followers were taken in on the first surface floor of the temple, and I left their care to Tena and Leonora. Having said that though, I had no intention of worrying as far as the minor details, and the fundamental idea was to have them arrange themselves.

“And so, why did it turn into this?”

“Even if you ask me that… you know?”

“I just passed on the message, 『Gather your followers over there.』 exactly as you said, Anri-sama, but…”

After Tena and Leonora returned to the top floor of the temple, they told me about the details regarding the speech that the Merry Founder──now, the Merry Pope, gave beyond the monitor, but apparently Tena just passed on the message as is. So how did it have anything to do with founding a country…?

“You’ll probably need to ask him yourself… But whatever the reason, now that he’s declared as such, you can’t so easily take it back, you know.”

“I know.”

What’s more, although we declared that we were creating a country, in the end our situation was just that of insisting that it was true. There’s the fact that we weren’t being acknowledged by other countries as well, but that was because we hadn’t created a country yet. We were just a temple sheltering 1000 refugees, without even a single house, so of course it that much was natural.
But since that announcement had already been accepted by the followers, it was too late to say otherwise.
Of course, I could use my position as God to force the decision to withdraw the announcement, but once I considered the chaos that would ensue, I couldn’t so easily take the plunge.

“Why do they know my name?”

“They begged me, 『Please, please tell us!』 so I ended up telling them, but… was that no good?”

I replied to Tena’s worried question with a shake of the head.
There was the fact that I hadn’t forbidden her to do so as well, and since there was the benefit of being more famous and familiar amongst the followers, I had no intention of criticising her. Because right after that announcement, my belly felt full. At the time I didn’t know what was going on and fell into confusion, but apparently, because the announcement had made my name known, the effectiveness of their faith ended up rising, or so I concluded later on.

Having become a member of the Divine Race, I didn’t need to eat, drink, or use the bathroom any more, but in exchange, how full I felt apparently depended on the religious faith that the people of this world had towards me. I guess that’s how it ended up.
Right now I had faith, so I was happy with a full stomach, but if the faith towards me dropped too much, then I’d be stuck with feeling hungry. Not only that, even eating food wouldn’t fill that hunger, so until the faith towards me restored, I’d continue to starve…
Considering this, forming a country might be convenient for me; mostly in the sense that keeping myself famous would fill my stomach. Although, far from solving any problems, the fact that problems had just increased gave me a headache, and I’m worried about the reactions of the other countries too.

What I wish is to live peacefully, but I don’t want to suffer and starve either. The ideal would be to maintain a deadlock where I’d preserve just enough faith, while not being invaded by any countries.
Having said that though, just being the Evil God Country would be famous enough, so…

“At least change the name.”

“Why? Isn’t it a fine name?”

“I think so too. And furthermore, the name is already well-known amongst the followers, and so, changing it now would be…”

It’s damned embarrassing. Embarrassing enough to roll about in agony on my bed.
Also, why is an evil god-worshipping country prefixed with ‘Holy’? I seriously want to know.

“It isn’t just the followers, you know. That guy has already sent out letters to every nation, after all.”

Why the heck is he so needlessly proactive!? If it’s already spread that far, isn’t it impossible to change now!?
Letting that country name become known across the land, what kind of shame torture is this?

No, wait, wait, thinking about it carefully, there’s a more important issue.
Isn’t sending something like “We created the nation of the Evil God” to every nation basically the same as a declaration of war?
And in a situation where far from being a “nation”, we’re not even a “village” yet?

“Every country is going to come attack us.”

“Although you can’t let your guard down, for now you’ll be fine.”

I asked Leonora ‘Why?’ with my gaze and… she averted her eyes. Although I’ve become a divine now, my mystic eyes are still in good health. I’m just glad that they haven’t gotten worse though.

“The country right beside ours is the Kingdom of Fortera. Considering what happened the other day, they’ll probably be cautious about invading.”

Well, I certainly did threaten the Forteran Army quite terribly. I guess they won’t invade right this second. Having said that though, just as Leonora said, I can’t let my guard down and it’s just a matter of time.

“For now, tell them that they can use the first three terrarean floors, Tena. Also, I’ll leave the management of the country to that Pope.”

“Yes, Anri-sama. I understand.”

Although I’m worried about choosing the Pope, incredibly worried about choosing the Pope… he was apparently the peacemaker in the cult, and there was no reason to change it. Moreover, I couldn’t think of anybody else for the job.
Incidentally, I’m using the 5th and top layer as another residence, and prepared rooms for Tena and Leonora as well. As for Lili, she’s still too young to be on her own, so she’s sharing a room with Tena. However, Tena became busy recently, so I’ve been looking after Lili a lot of the time. Perhaps that had some effect, because as long as I didn’t meet her in the eyes, she’d seem pretty attached to me. I’m a little moved.
The 4th floor is serving as a line of defence. But the actual stronghold is on the subterranean 31st floor, so it’s fine even if I abandon this place when the time comes.
The dungeon core is still on the 31st floor, and I put a newly divided subcore on the 5th surface floor. In exchange for having a number of its functions sealed, like the ability to add floors, with the subcore I could check for abnormalities in the dungeon even without being on the 31st floor. Only, it didn’t function as a backup, and if the main dungeon core was destroyed, then the subcore would break as well.

I hadn’t really decided on what to do with the 3rd surface floor and below, so I offered it for use by the management of the country. With this place as the base, they’ll probably clear the land around the temple and build a town. Only, I don’t really know much about that, so I left it all to somebody else. While I was at it, I pushed all the exchanges with the Merry Pope to Tena. No, I mean, I am sorry to Tena, but once I think about that guy’s vigour, I’m afraid of meeting him directly.

Incidentally, although they’re surface floors, they’re still part of the dungeon. I made it so that monsters wouldn’t spawn, but I couldn’t stop the miasma. Only, unlike the floors underground, it was open here, so I dealt with the problem by blowing it outside.

*imouto*

*imouto*

“Speaking of which, is it really fine for you to stay here, Leonora?”

We’d stopped the conversation so that I could tell Tena to give instructions to the Pope, but I suddenly had that wonder, and so I asked her.
She’s helped me with a lot of things, but thinking about it carefully, isn’t it bad to be receiving “aid from another country”?

“Yeah, no problems. My country is focused on this place as well, you see. They want know what’s going on. In exchange for letting me stay here for a while, I’ll help out.”

“…Thanks.”

When I thanked her, Leonora combed her hands through her beautiful silver hair, as her face turned a little red, and she looked away.

“I-, It isn’t really anything to thank me for. They’re orders from my country, right? I’m something like a spy, you know.”

If you were seriously stealing information, there’d be no need for you to tell me; would pointing this out to her be boorish?
It was obvious that she was worrying about me.

“S-, Speaking of which, have you grasped the effects of becoming an evil god?”

“About half of it.”

In exchange for not needing to eat, excrete, or sleep, I experienced the fact that I apparently needed faith. I don’t know about my lifespan, but since I’m a divine, I’m probably immortal. My mana and skills and stuff all went up across the board.
Also, although I didn’t need to eat or sleep, it didn’t mean that I couldn’t, so I hadn’t changed my lifestyle rhythm. I want to continue living life like a person to maintain my mental stability, after all. By no means is it because I won’t get fat no matter how much I eat or sleep.
I was scared about what would happen if I used my power as an Administrator, so I hadn’t tried it yet.

“Also, I can change my clothes now.”

“Hah?”

Even with curses on the tantou or robe, since I had become a divine myself, I had overcome them. But it wasn’t like the curses themselves had been dispelled, so I guess it would be more correct to say that even cursed, I alone could equip or remove them.
When I told her this, Leonora replied…

“Sorry to say this while you’re happy about it, but you’ve already become recognised as wearing those clothes. If you change too often, it’ll cause trouble.”

“Why?”

“Well, even if you ask why, if God kept changing their clothing, it’d be unnatural, right?”

…Certainly, I’ve never heard of a god who changes their clothing all the time.
Even when it comes to statues or whatever, it’s normal that they wear the same outfit.
Even though I’d finally been able to change… It seems that I’ll forever have nothing to do with fashion.
Is this also the curse of the Evil God?

---

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