Chapter 19: A New Path

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“You said the god you followed was the Supreme God Luxlon. But I am not that.”

“That’s… my lord can take any form—”

“No.”

Bel cut off Lema’s words and shook her head.

“I told you. I am Evil. If Luxlon’s order is as you say, then I cannot be that other form.”

Lema’s eyes trembled.

Even with her brief, simple phrasing, the being inside her was not one to be taken lightly. Belmias was making that point clear.

In fact—
In fact, it was a problem he had already known, to some extent, but had deliberately ignored.

It was also something he had wanted to believe: that even if the god of light, Luxlon, had another form, that form would not greatly deviate from the doctrine.

Luxlon could be the god of healing or the god of life—and in a broader sense, even the god of wind or the god of flowers.
In a way, he could also be the god of disease or death, the other side of healing and life.

Even if they served principles with different names, humans fundamentally acted because they wanted to live peacefully, happily, and prosperously with each other.
Even the wrong desire to harm others was, at its root, driven by the wish to live happily themselves.

Beliefs based on fear—such as disasters, disease, or death—were the same in that broader sense.
That was why different forms of apostles were still absorbed into Lucilonia.
In the end, they shared the same fundamental goal: the benefit of humanity.

Without such a great cause, there would be no reason to unite.

Lema Valkite was from a family of holy knights, a prestigious lineage.
He was blind, but not foolish.
There was no way he didn’t understand this.
That broad inclusiveness was also the reason Lucilonia had lasted so long.

But Evil was different.

No one… worships such a thing on purpose.
Unless they are true heretics.

Heretic.
Heretic…

As the truth he had been avoiding was forced into the open, Lema’s complexion grew paler and paler.

“Even if it’s a different form, there’s no evil god there, is there?”

“Th-then why did you save the weak? If that is not the will of the Supreme God, then what is it?”

“The weak?”

Bel glanced around, as if to check something.

“I didn’t save the weak. I just didn’t eat women. Didn’t you hear them say there was a gladiator here just now?”

“That’s… it’s not that their physical abilities are weak… it’s because they were slaves who had fallen unjustly… Ah…”

Lema, who had been scrambling to make excuses, fell silent.

There was another human Bel hadn’t killed.
Though not present now, she had also spared the old woman among the slavers.

“That’s…”

“It’s because I don’t eat women. I don’t accept them as sacrifices.”

“…”

Still, Lema did not give up—
Even knowing his reasoning was collapsing.

“Th-that’s all… because my lord has a will—”

“You are useless, Lema,” Belmias said with a sigh.

“It is not my will. It is the will of my summoner. I grant the summoner’s wish first.”

Belmias was a being who granted human wishes.
She had granted the woman’s wish to kill all the slavers, and Lema’s wish to heal his body.
However, those acts were just for amusement—the summoner’s will always took priority.

That was fine. Lema wasn’t insisting his wish be granted.

“I… that is, I can help my master find the summoner. You said you don’t know the language, culture, or geography yet—”

“Do I need to know? I just need to find the summoner.”

“…”

“Is there a reason I have to drag you along?”

For the first time, Lema felt genuine curiosity about this summoner.
In a way, there was even a twinge of jealousy.

He couldn’t be sure if the summoner knew what kind of being Bel truly was.
He likely hadn’t known what he was summoning—whether it was a success or a failure.

But even without certainty, Lema could guess something.

Calling Bel Evil.
It sounded simple, but it was a designation made with deliberate calculation.

He didn’t know the exact method, but it was almost certainly true that a god—or at least a god-level being—had been summoned.
It was also true that the summoner had wished for a being that granted wishes.

But in this era, Luxlon could be any god, any concept.
Had it not been for that summoner, Bel would have been called by another name of Luxlon the moment she appeared in this world.
And regardless of who summoned her, she would have gone to Lucilonia.

Evil was a word chosen to specifically oppose Luxlon—a word that could never be Luxlon.

“You are a hindrance.”

“…”

Bel wasn’t merely saying Lema was useless.

“I understand… what you mean.”

It meant it was impossible as long as Lema considered Bel a piece of Luxlon.

But Lema still couldn’t give up.

If he were to give up like this, he might as well have ended his life on the day his brother had.

“Please take me with you.”

Bel raised an eyebrow.

He had to persuade her.
Somehow.
He couldn’t back down now.

It wasn’t enough that his body had been healed and he could hold a sword again.
Even if he cleared the accusation of heresy and rebuilt Valkite—
Even if he became a holy knight of Lucilonia once more—
It would be meaningless.

He had already learned of Belmias’s existence.
He could never return to how things were before.

Even if he did succeed in going back, he would spend his entire life doubting the Supreme God.

—There is no god.

When those words resurfaced in his mind, it felt like his eyeballs were spinning in their sockets.
He didn’t realize he was rationalizing, unable to accept that he and countless others might have believed in a non-existent illusion.

It was easier to think there was another Supreme God.
Easier to create a new enemy than to deny the foundation of his own existence.

It didn’t take long for Lema to decide.

“I can do it. Master, please do not forsake me…”

It no longer mattered what kind of being Belmias truly was.
He couldn’t let her go.

“Master, it will not be I who is a hindrance. It will be the apostles of Luxlon.”

“What?”

Only then did Bel show the faintest spark of interest.

“If you keep leaving destruction in your wake like this, the apostles will investigate you—and they will hinder you.”

That was true.
Even here, Bel had already drawn too much attention.

“You do not know what kind of power the apostles wield, or the ways they can obstruct you, master. I assure you—you will need me. I will do everything I can to help you find the summoner without being noticed.”

“…”

Bel regarded Lema in silence.

“You said you wanted to clear the accusation of heresy. Then you can’t.”

“A heretic?”

Lema let out a hollow laugh.

“The god is here. What god are they searching for?”

“…Huh?”

“Who calls me a heretic? They are the heretics!”

“…”

For the first time, Bel showed an expression.
For the first time, Lema recognized it.

The look you give a madman.

But it couldn’t be helped.
In this situation—if he didn’t go mad—would he even be human?

“Please take me with you. Master, please…”

Lema bowed until his forehead touched the floor.

“I-I have walked the wrong… the wrong path of light and justice my whole life, so I understand you are displeased. But there are things only a convert can understand. Let me serve at your side. I will prove my worth.”

“Lema, do you know what you’re saying?”

He was even saying things he didn’t truly mean.

“Yes… I know very well, master.”

“…”

Lema Valkite—
A holy knight who had believed all his life that following the Supreme God was the only truth.
A man who clung to Luxlon’s doctrine even after being branded a heretic.
Even when the retainers he trusted betrayed him.
Even when he became a s*ave.
Even when that chivalry brought him nothing.

Such a man, unable to abandon god entirely, had simply chosen another.

So—had Lema Valkite cast aside his beliefs?
Or had he abandoned everything else to keep only his beliefs?

It was impossible to say.

Bel stared down at him and spoke a single word.

“Poor thing.”

She made Lema lift his head.
Then her fingers brushed his cheek.

A warm wetness clung to her fingertips.
Only then did Lema realize—he had been crying.

“Alright.”

His god held out a hand.

Lema took it without hesitation.

“Let’s go, Lema Valkite.”

A long, restrained sigh escaped him—like air released after being held for years.

It was the moment a holy knight who had lost his god… found his god again.