Chapter 51: The Weight of Truth

Not far away stood Lema.

He was leaning against the entrance, staring at the crimson sky.

His back looked lonely.

Bel called out to him and walked closer.

“Lema.”

Lema, who would usually sense her presence first, only turned his head slowly this time, as if waking from a daze.

“Ah, Master. Have you finished your business?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Lema answered faithfully as always and walked ahead.

Their destination was the arena.

Lema Valkite had been dispatched there several times in the past as a paladin, so he knew the location well.

Following his lead, they would arrive at their destination without much trouble this time too.

Bel walked beside him, slightly behind, at a slow pace.

After a few steps, she looked up at him.

No nagging today.

“Lema, what’s wrong?”

When Bel asked first, Lema looked at her with surprise.

Though her words sounded short and indifferent, there was unmistakable concern in her tone.

“Master.”

“Yeah.”

“……”

Even after calling her, Lema stayed silent for a while.

“Will you forgive me if I say something disrespectful?”

“Yeah.”

Even with her permission, Lema hesitated for a long time.

His steps grew slower, burdened by thought.

He wasn’t stopping completely, but his stride had lost its will, moving only because it had to.

“…The truth is, I always felt proud to follow Luxlon, the one true God, and I lived believing that was the greatest virtue.”

“I know.”

Bel liked people with strong convictions.

And more than just following Luxlon, Lema had been a man of firm principles.

That was why, even now—when he thought he had forsaken Luxlon—his taste remained exquisite.

“But looking back on what I’ve endured since being branded a heretic… my whole life feels like that of a frog in a well.”

Lema sighed deeply.

“Was I trapped in a world too narrow all along? Perhaps I was walking the wrong path from the start.”

“That can’t be.”

Bel denied it at once.

But Lema no longer trusted even the words of his own god.

Luxlon had abandoned him, and the new god made it impossible for him to fully believe.

“Even if religion deceives people? I… don’t know anymore.”

“Luxlon? You think that’s a deceitful religion?”

“Yes. From what I’ve learned, there were many gods in the world. But they forced them all into one.”

If only they were the absolute evil, he could’ve resented them freely.

Belmias had claimed to aim for the world’s destruction, so he forced himself to play the villain and act accordingly.

But the more truth he uncovered, the more meaningless all of it seemed.

“Does that matter?”

“Of course truth matters.”

Bel tilted her head.

“Do you even know the truth?”

“…At the very least, I know Luxlon is not it.”

“Heh.”

Lema stared at her, dazed.

It was the first time he saw Bel laugh out loud.

The first time he realized she could.

He swallowed dryly and asked.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because you’re worrying about useless things.”

“Useless?”

“Lema, the truth is, no matter what you think, the sun will set today and rise again tomorrow.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Everything in this world just exists. It doesn’t change. No matter what name you give that sun, no matter how you treat it, the fact that it sets today and rises tomorrow won’t change.”

“You sound just like Luxlon’s doctrine.”

Bel looked at him, her eyes curving gently.

“Humans try to understand everything from a human perspective. Then, when explaining it to others, they give it different expressions. In the end, it’s the same phenomenon described with different names.”

“But Luxlon’s apostles actually have special powers that benefit humanity. And under Luxlon’s rule, they manifest even better. Doesn’t that mean… that’s the true way?”

“In the past, it was called magic. Sometimes sorcery. Sometimes divine power. To others, it was seen as demonic. It only looks different because people look at it differently. But it’s the same power.”

“…Even my power?”

“Yeah.”

Bel gazed into the distance.

Her eyes looked as though she were recalling something from long ago.

“That’s the power of the moon.”

A power that could grant miracles, extend life beyond its natural span, and enrich the world simply through its use.

Some called it divine power. Others called it magic. Others still, by different names.

The moon in the sky always existed, but only humans gave it names and meaning.

Just like Luxlon, the so-called Supreme God.

“Long ago, humans used that power as naturally as breathing.”

“As naturally as breathing?”

“Yeah. All of them. From birth. But do you think that made them righteous people?”

Lema didn’t answer.

No—he couldn’t.

Right and wrong were human concepts.

The phenomenon itself existed regardless of what people named it.

And Bel was saying such naming was meaningless.

“They tried to understand everything, like you. And in doing so, they dragged down the moon—the source of that power—from the sky. And they perished.”

Lema often understood her words—until she suddenly said things like that.

“…I’ve wondered before, whenever you say that. When you say they dragged down the moon… is that a metaphor? Or did they really pull down a second moon that used to exist?”

“They dragged down the real moon.”

Still, he couldn’t imagine it.

“You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”

“It’s the truth. I thought the power disappeared when the moon vanished. But no—it only became available to fewer people.”

“…Fewer? There’s a condition?”

“Intelligence.”

“Intelligence?”

“People with higher intelligence could use it.”

“…So if I study hard, I can use it too?”

“Yeah. But it takes a long time.”

The humans of Pranagenis had already established standards to measure intelligence.

That standard couldn’t be reproduced now, but it had been clearly defined.

“The measure of intelligence is how far you can extend the boundary of ‘I’.”

In simpler terms, how far you could understand others beyond yourself.

It sounded simple, but it was harder than it seemed.

It could be trained through effort, but it took ages.

That was why, after Pranagenis, sorcerers or shamans only manifested after long years of studying humanity itself.

They were usually quite old when it first appeared.

And the more they could accept others into themselves, the more altruistic they tended to be.

Still, under religions that preached charity, the process shortened somewhat.

Though there were fatal side effects.

“Then… my power…”

Lema opened his mouth as if realizing something.

But Bel, growing tired of the conversation, shook her head.

“But Lema, what does it matter? This world will perish soon enough, just as my summoner wished. Stop thinking about useless things. It ruins my appetite.”

“Haha.”

A hollow laugh escaped Lema.

Bel still had a faint smile on her face as she looked up at him.

He stared at her white hair, tinged with sunset, and into her eyes.

Before he knew it, he leaned down.

Her lips, softer than he expected, were swallowed by his own.

His tongue parted her lips and captured hers, tangling, rubbing, and pulling it into his mouth.

The taste was sweeter than anything.

This time, he had stolen her lips on his own.

But Bel spoke first, as if granting him absolution.

“Tasty.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

Lema couldn’t help but chuckle.

“…Let’s go.”

His heart felt much lighter.