CHAPTER 62
The Heavenly God?
I looked up at the being claiming to be the Heavenly God.
Composed of a massive, glowing form, it currently had wings on its back, just like me.
It had an aura so holy it truly looked like a god, but there was undeniable proof.

He looks exactly like me!

Long silver hair, milky skin, a slender frame. Looks that perfectly displayed the pinnacle of beauty. If there was a difference, it was maybe the eye color?
It was a slightly more mature appearance than mine, but they were so identical it was impossible to mistake.
If I, Ceres, had an older brother, this is what he would look like!
Considering my true identity, it was proof that the entity before me was indeed the Heavenly God.

"Ceres?"
"Uh..."

Because we looked so identical, my group was thoroughly flustered.

"He looks exactly like Sir Ceres..."
"What on earth is that?"
"Didn't he just say he's the Heavenly God?!"

Even the people who had been crying over the dead and injured just moments ago were all shocked.

[Hmm?]

Seeing the people's reactions, a strange light gleamed in the Heavenly God's eyes.

[Ah, right, I suppose this would be confusing.]

As if finally realizing why people were so shocked that he looked like me, he nodded in understanding, and then...

[Do not be alarmed. I have descended by borrowing the appearance of the Saint who summoned me.]

He spouted something that completely reversed the cause and effect.

"Excuse me?"

Knowing that this was the Heavenly God's true form, I let out a sound of surprise, but—

—Hold still. We have to do this so weird rumors don't spread later.

At that moment, the Heavenly God's voice echoed in my head.

—If I don't say this, people will try to figure out why you and I look identical, and that won't be good for you.

That was true, but a god was going out of his way to lie for me?
I stared at the Heavenly God with a bewildered face while he continued to lie.

[Humans, be at ease. I have come to save you in response to the cries of the Saint who called upon me.]
"O-O God, is it truly you?!"

The High Priest belonging to the capital's temple—what was her name again? Anyway, the capital's High Priest asked in sheer shock.

[Indeed! Lamenting his own lack of power, he offered a prayer to me, and thus I have appeared. Give thanks for his benevolence!]

No, I didn't.
The Heavenly God kept lying to the High Priest and the crowd.
I was extremely flustered.

"...!"

Wondering what he was misunderstanding, I tried to raise my voice, but the Heavenly God spoke to me again.

—Then are you going to tell them you accidentally summoned me while doing some nonsense trying to restore buildings? We just lie to make it sound good!

He had a point, but was it really okay for a god to talk like that?

—And don't speak out loud. Use your Divine Power to converse if you don't want them catching on that you and I are talking.
—Like this?

Because he told me to converse using Divine Power, I was surprisingly able to do it immediately, even though it was my first time.

—Excuse me, how did you end up coming here?

I politely asked the purpose of his visit first. Since I definitely hadn't called him, he must have come for another reason...

—Actually, you did call me.
—What?
—You tried to connect to the 'source,' didn't you? Who is Ceres's source?

Ah!
Was the problem that I held the image of connecting to the source to fix the buildings?!

—Normally, for a human to summon me, they'd have to commit an act of hubris that flips the world upside down. But if you possess Divine Power—which is itself proof of a god—and on top of that, power derived directly from me, it's a different story. If a normal human calling me is like an animal howling vaguely in the distance, you calling me is like getting a direct ping on the company's private intranet.

I understood what he meant, but why was his metaphor so modern? The company's private intranet? Did he know modern knowledge because he was a god?!
Shocked, I pressed him a bit further.

—Then you didn't come out here to deal with this mess?
—Correct.
—You must have known I called you by mistake, so why did you bother coming out?
—I was planning to meet you in person someday anyway.
—Me? Why?
—I'll explain that later. Let's handle this first.

The Heavenly God changed the subject as he looked around.

—I didn't come out here to solve this disaster, but now that I've seen this mess, I can't just leave it be. I am in the position of the supreme leader of the forces of good, after all.
—Of course you are, you're the Heavenly God. Please restore everything quickly.

I waited for the Heavenly God to actually do it, imagining him instantly repairing all the damage caused by the earthquake.
However...

—I can't do it alone.
—But you're a god.
—You're a god too. And right now, I'm basically treated as your summoned beast. Using too much power in this state violates the causality of the gods. If you had summoned me after some final battle sacrificing yourself to defeat a Demon King, I could restore things as a reward concept. But this is just a natural disaster, so the other gods would throw a fit.
—Then what can you do?
—Even in this state, I can do simple things like reviving the dead.
—I know how to do that too!
—I know.

The Heavenly God spoke coolly and pointed his finger at me.

—Therefore, you have to do it. Because you can.

I literally just failed.

—That's because you didn't know the proper method. I will teach you right now. How to handle Divine Power.

He was going to teach me how to handle Divine Power? As I looked puzzled, the Heavenly God spoke.

—First, let me correct a misconception you have. Divine Power isn't just some holy power used by gods. It's a power that exists on a higher tier than ordinary powers like magic, Holy Power, or mana.
—I know that much...
—No, you don't. You completely fail to understand what 'higher tier' means.

My eyes widened at his next words.

—Just as you were able to use Divine Power to heal the undead, if you use Divine Power properly, you can conversely use it to kill humans.
—You can do that?
—If you couldn't, how would gods use Divine Power to kill people? The most common use of Divine Power was probably smiting arrogant humans. Didn't you ever read Greek mythology?

I had, but if so, did you read Greek mythology? You're the Heavenly God!

—Divine Power is a force capable of almost anything. What matters is perception. The reason you only ever healed was because of the stereotypes you inherited from the people of this world, and because your attribute, following mine, is close to the holy attribute.
—Then if I just change my perception, I should be able to heal inanimate objects too, but I failed earlier doing just that.

And the result of that failure was you. I looked at the Heavenly God with a bit of skepticism, and he said:

—That's actually because you thought it was too important. You got tense over something trivial, which is why you failed.
—Excuse me?
—Listen carefully. It's sad that the people caught in this disaster got hurt, but it's not that big of a deal. Think of it as a trivial matter for divine beings like us.
—What kind of nonsense is that! Do you even know how many human lives are in my hands right now?!

I protested, but I was met with a scolding.

—So frustrating! I'm telling you it gets easier the more trivial you think it is!
—?!

—If you're having trouble, think about it this way. Think about the people usually around you. Every single one of them is an incredible being, right?

That was true.
Viol was the Emperor, and Alios was the heir to a Dukedom and a Sword Master. Hames was a High Priest, and Sibylius had even become a Demon King.
My mother, Ares, went without saying, and even Red was an incredible being compared to an ordinary person.

—If those girls died and you had to revive them, how do you think it would go?
—I think it would be difficult.
—Why?
—Because they are all powerful beings, the power consumption would be correspondingly huge.

It was just a hunch, but I had a conviction that my hunch was right and that it would actually be the case.
On the other hand, the people I had revived in the capital were as easy to revive as playing a prank. Why? Because they were all just ordinary people.

"...Ah!"

Only then did I realize what the Heavenly God was talking about and let out a cheer.
Right, that's why the difficulty of reviving them was so easy!
And this applied not just to people, but to buildings as well.
They weren't important buildings like the Imperial Palace, they were just ordinary buildings!

Having attained enlightenment, I first reached out my hand toward a nearby building. The building was instantly restored to its original state.
It was an achievement unimaginable at my previous level, but with my newfound enlightenment, it was nothing.
Soon, I unleashed Divine Power from my entire body.
Constantly whispering the realization I had just gained in my mind.
Then, my power expanded over a massive area. In a way that revived and restored any entity below a certain level within a certain range, regardless of the number.

—I'll widen the range for you a bit. I'm allowed to do at least that much.

Thanks to the Heavenly God's assistance, the range expanded to encompass the entire capital.
In a single moment, the entire capital was completely restored, and the dead were brought back to life.

"Phew~!!"

No matter how capable I was, doing this was exhausting; I felt like all my energy had been utterly drained. For the first time in a long while since getting healthy, my whole body ached.

[Did you see? This is my power.]

I was the one who did it, but the Heavenly God struck a pose. Before the people, who had lost their minds at the unbelievable miracle, the Heavenly God spoke.

[However, it is a pity. Because he summoned me and made me use such power, it seems the Saint will no longer be able to use miracles to revive the dead as he did before.]

What was he talking about?
"No, I..."
I tried to argue that even though I was tired now, saving people's lives was still a piece of cake, but—

—Stay quiet. Are you going to keep reviving people forever? I let it slide last time, but it's not good for you, and while it's not illegal by our standards, it's not a completely problem-free action either.

After shutting me up, the Heavenly God raised his voice again.