Once, the world was nothing but a barren wasteland, devoid of any life.
Then, a magnificent being descended upon it.
Being both the first and the ultimate, ancestor and master, the primordial goddess birthed numerous lives into this world.
Her name was Olivia.
Goddess Olivia brought forth various forms of life into the desolate land, from beings that resembled humans, to unintelligent beasts and plants that shaped nature. The life forms she created were diverse.
Wishing for the prosperity of her children, she watched over them from the heavens. The children, having lost their progenitor, joined hands and strived to prosper, hoping to fulfill the prayers of Goddess Olivia.
But at some point, the children began to fight.
The catalyst was the rebellion against Goddess Olivia by children who, though humanoid, possessed non-human organs—those who would later be known as demons and beastmen. They wielded weapons, shed blood, and the spilling onto the land brought further darkness, turning the path of prosperity into one of destruction.
Witnessing the conflict among her children, Goddess Olivia cried tears of rage and sorrow. Her anger shook the land, creating mountain ranges, while her tears formed great rivers and oceans. Touched by her wrath and grief, the children ceased their fighting. However, the rift carved between humans, beastmen, and demons was too deep, and reconciliation between the three races seemed hopeless. Still, Goddess Olivia continues to watch over them from the heavens, hoping that eternal peace will one day come to her children.
“This is a myth passed down through the church for ages.”
The priest closes an old, bible-like book, ending his long tale. Izayoi and Yuka, who have been listening intently, are intrigued. Izayoi, hopeful for a story about the sacred sword within the myth, is left empty-handed, although the myth itself was quite intriguing.
“Excuse me, may I ask a question?”
“Of course.”
“Why did the beastmen and demons start fighting?”
The priest shows a troubled expression at Yuka’s question.
“The truth is, we don’t know. There are theories, such as them being incited by a god opposed to Goddess Olivia, or perhaps they did not possess as much intellect as humans, but the true reason is unclear.”
“I see…”
Yuka, realizing that pressing further is futile, backs down. Izayoi, on the other hand, chimes in.
“What’s your personal take on it, Father?”
After adjusting his round glasses and pausing for a moment, the priest shares his thoughts.
“In my personal view, perhaps they didn’t possess the same level of intelligence or reason as humans. If they did, there wouldn’t be such violent, blood-shedding conflicts, and such strife wouldn’t continue to this day.”
The priest sighs, seemingly lamenting the unceasing conflicts in the world, which go against Goddess Olivia’s wishes.
“I see, that makes sense.”
Izayoi shows a somewhat agreeable stance, which to Yuka, felt unexpected, sensing surprise from her side. With an ambiguous smile, he reaches into his pocket.
“Thank you for sharing such a valuable tale. This isn’t much, but please take it.”
He pulls out a small pouch, containing a few silver coins.
“May Goddess Olivia guide you.”
The priest offers a prayer, then carefully accepts the pouch from Izayoi.
“Let’s go, Yuka.”
“Ah, okay…”
Izayoi and Yuka leave the church.
In one section of a relatively affluent district in Marcelg, where luxurious inns are lined up, Izayoi and Yuka have secured accommodations. Unlike in Telmus, without Yuka's runaway train-like actions, they’ve managed to get two rooms, which Yuka insisted upon.
But now, they’re both gathered in one room—more accurately, Yuka has invaded Izayoi’s room.
Yuka submerges herself in the fluffy bed, while Izayoi, sitting on a provided chair, watches her with an exasperated gaze. For over an hour since entering the room, she’s been occupying the bed without doing much, and Izayoi’s patience is nearing its limit.
“How long do you plan to stay?”
Impatient, Izayoi asks Yuka, who rolls over on the bed, lifting her head to look at him.
“Not sure~… By the way,”
Sitting cross-legged, she raises a question as if something just came to mind.
“What do you think about the priest’s story?”
“What do I think, huh…”
Izayoi crosses his arms.
“Even though it's called a myth, most of it probably consists of fanciful, fabricated stories. No need to take it too seriously.”
“Is that so…? You said we heard a valuable story though.”
“It wasn’t entirely pointless. However, it’s unwise to wholly believe a story that's likely been heavily altered by personal biases.”
Saying so, Izayoi reflects on the myth told by the priest.
“The focus should indeed be on the conflict among the three races.”
“I think so too, but the priest said he doesn’t know the reason behind the conflict.”
“Who has been passing down that myth?”
Caught off guard by the abrupt question, Yuka tilts her head.
“Who? Well, people from the church, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. The myth has been handed down by the ‘human’ members of the church.”
Izayoi emphasizes the word 'human', and Yuka seems to catch onto his implication. "After all, history and myths are things that get freely colored and altered by those who see and tell them. If the content is inconvenient for oneself, it might effortlessly be turned into something more favorable."
"So, you're saying that myth is entirely false?"
"I can't say everything about it is, but I at least think it's not composed solely of truth."
"I see. So that's why you didn't get angry..."
This was the reason why Izayoi did not particularly react to the priest's words in the church, which could be taken as insulting to beastmen and demons. Simply, he did not take the priest’s story seriously. Realizing this, Yuka nodded slightly in understanding.
"So, you’re planning to sneak in to verify that, aren’t you?"
"Hit the mark, didn't I?"
Izayoi falls silent. Inside, he was astonished. He knew she was sharp, but he didn’t expect his actions to be read. Even Izayoi couldn’t help but sigh.
"I’m coming too."
"I alone am enough. Plus, you can't hide your presence; you'd only be in the way."
"Grrr..."
Just as he expected, Izayoi silenced Yuka with a precise retort.
To vanish, to erase one’s presence. It might sound easy when put into words, but in reality, it is very difficult. Izayoi, acquainted with the method of erasing his presence through playing hide and seek with Gainos and Rem in the demon king’s castle, knew this, but Yuka did not. While she could detect the enemy’s presence with her inherent sharp intuition, she couldn’t hide the living presence emanating from herself as long as she was alive.
Yuka likely realizes that sneaking around doesn’t suit her. Without pushing any further, she quietly backed down.
However, dissatisfaction and worry clearly oozed from her face.
"Don’t worry. I won’t screw up."
"I'm not thinking you're going to fail. It's just... you always try to handle everything on your own, don’t you? Even now, you're keeping secrets from me, aren’t you?"
At Yuka’s sharp point, Izayoi awkwardly averted his eyes. His reaction affirmed that he was keeping secrets.
"I’m not blaming you. Probably, it's because I’m unreliable..."
"It's not that you’re unreliable. It’s just... you don’t need to know."
Saying that, Izayoi realized. This was no different from the dialogues in the demon king's castle. Saying things like "you don't need to know" was just deceiving and running away.
If he kept deceiving and running away like that, Yuka would become suspicious. Inevitably she would harbor mistrust, which could interfere with their actions in the future. That would be unamusing for Izayoi.
Trust from Yuka and information confidentiality. Weighing the two, Izayoi decided on a certain compromise.
"I’ll tell you properly what happened. So please wait quietly."
"...It's a promise."
"Yes."
Reluctantly, Yuka consented, got out of the bed, and left the room.
It seemed that Yuka's lingering in Izayoi's room was indeed to keep an eye on his solo actions.
Left alone in the spacious room, Izayoi began preparing to infiltrate the church.