Volume 2 - CH 2.1

Translator: Blushy

Editor: SenjiQ

【Evil God】

I’ve never seen the horizon before, even in my previous life. 

There was a spectacular view in front of me after we crossed the river. 

The wind was blowing and the grass swaying. 

In the area around Mongolia, the boundary between the sky and the prairie that stretches as far as the eye can see is called the horizon. That was exactly what the view was like. The scale of everything I saw was different. 

There was only greenery towards the west. To the north were majestic mountains and large forests. The atmosphere in the Human World was very different from that of the Demon Realm. The sky was bluer and brighter than in the demon realm. Wild horses were running in herbs below us. 

So, this is the Human World?

As I flew around and looked at the scenery below me, I saw something dull reflecting in the prairie below me. 

It was the tip of a spear. 

Someone was fighting with a spear. They were fighting with a group of Goblins. A small human spearman was fighting alone. The Goblins fell one by one every time the spearman fluttered around with their spear. 

Strong. 

Strong but outnumbered. More than 20 Goblins gradually cornered the spearman. There was nowhere to hide in the prairie even if they escaped. It would probably be easy to run around the Goblins. 

The spearman was already breathing heavily and seemed to have been fighting long before I found them. They probably won’t last long. 

Should I help them? I can still make it.

My body started moving when I thought about that. My mind was racing with thoughts such as I’m intervening too much, or that the Goblins the spearman was fighting might be under Draco’s command, but who cares. If I let someone die, then it would weigh on my conscience.

I erased my presence and landed on the ground and focused. 

The area suddenly became black, and thunder began to roar. I found that it consumes less karma to call up thunderclouds with ‘weather manipulation’ than with ‘Thunder’ as a result of practicing after losing the battle with God Okri. 

“… <Thunder>!”

A bluish-white Thunder pierced through the middle of the group of Goblins. 

I won’t hit them. It was enough to take away their will to fight. 

“WHAT THE HECK IS THIS!? DON’T PANIC!”

The leader howled frantically but the Goblins were agitated from the sudden thunder. It came out of the blues. The sky which had been clear until now had turned dark with clouds and thunder was striking down onto the ground. It was enough to make one realise that something was weird. 

One more bolt. 

This time, I aimed at the feet of the leader who was trying to calm the confused Goblins and fired. The leader screamed in terror as his feet were struck by a thunder bolt. The Goblins’ will to fight was completely shattered. 

They dispersed and fled while swearing at the thunderclouds. 

“It’s Hirano! Evil God Hirano!”

“Run! Hirano will curse the Goblins!”

How do they know my name? 

They were saying horrible things about me.

Though, it is true that Draco, who worships me, defeated the Goblin Demon King, so I guess it’s normal for them to fear me. If you try to be liked by everyone, then eventually no one will like you. The secret of success in life is to be hated by a certain amount when one should be hated. 

Still, I didn’t want to increase Draco’s enemies if possible. 

I erased the thunderclouds and the blue sky returned to its original state. 

The spearman was prostrating on the rain-soaked grass. 

They shouldn’t be able to see me, but they were looking straight in my direction. Perhaps, they could see me? 

“I do not know what kind of god you are, but I am truly grateful for your help.”

It was a slightly sweet voice. 

It was… a woman. 

Why was a woman fighting Goblins alone in a place like this? And the way she handled the spear. I probably shouldn’t reply to her and walk away, but my curiosity got the better of me.

“Lift your face.”

She had short, light grass-green hair, large unyielding eyes, and milky white skin. She was still a young girl. 

After hesitating for a while, I decided to appear in a hazy form. I’m glad Yoshinaga-san taught me this trick. 

“Why are you fighting with the Goblins, Girl?”

“It is because I, Ruro Banten, belong to a family of warriors. The Goblins have recently been drifting into the vicinity of our village. They loot, steal livestock and are even threatening us to give them young girls from our village. So, I came here to exterminate them.”

“By yourself?”

“There were some men with me when I left the village, but we got separated during the night.”

“I see. What are you going to do now? Are you going back to the village?”

“No. The Goblins already know that I, a warrior, am on my way to their village. There is no time for me to return to the village and regroup. I will rush at them.”

Hmm. She’s obviously naïve. Or I’m just making the wrong assumptions. 

She was probably deceived. She is from a warrior family and she’s confident in her skills, so she left to exterminate the Goblins, is probably what she thought. But the villages probably sent her here as a sacrifice. 

From the looks of it, she has no intention of returning to the village. She will lose her life if she’s going to face the Goblins alone. 

I could abandon her and look for the ‘Church’ but doing so would make me feel uncomfortable. I felt like I had to take responsibility for her since I had already saved her once.

“But you must be a very famous god since you are able to control thunder.”

“Yeah, my name is Hirano.”

“Hirano-sama. We have not seen gods much these days because of the ‘Church’ and it is making us feel uneasy.”

Ruro said as she kneeled and began praying to me. 

“I give my thanks to the gods in Heaven and Earth for bring the Great Thunder God, Hirano-sama to me on this day.”

The words that she had said in prayer seeped into my heart. 

A warm, comfortable feeling spread from the pit of my stomach to every inch of my body, and I felt a surge of strength. 

This is karma? 

I had never felt this before since I only had demon believers. One cannot get karma from demons, but you can get karma from humans. gods need karma. 

“Hirano-sama. I, Ruro Banten, would like to become your devout believer. Would you allow me this honour?”

“Yes, you may.”

It had stopped raining and light began to shine through the clouds. 

This might be surprisingly beneficial.

Ruro’s horse ran away during the fight, so she was going to camp here. She had chosen a bush that had grown thinly on the prairie as her sleeping spot for the day and quickly set up camp. 

A pleasant aroma filled the air. She put the contents of her flask into a hand pot and lit up the fire. It looked like animal milk. She added pieces of bread into the milk to make an impromptu stew.

Even the body of an evil god, which knows no hunger, was stimulated by the delicious smell.

“This is an offering to you, Hirano-sama. I apologise for offering you something so shabby.”

The stew and dried meat that Ruro offered me was delicious. The stew had just the right amount of thickness and went well with the slightly salty dried meat. 

“Delicious. Salt brings out the flavour.”

“I am honoured by your compliment. The salt is thanks to my ancestors who built a village near the salt lake.”

A salt lake is a dried up lake filled with brine. I remember that something like that exists in the Death Valley in the USA. Salt is a precious commodity unless you live near the sea. Oh yeah, salt was sold at a very reasonable price in Alunaha. This could be a valuable trade item. I had only come to check out the ‘Church’ but this was good information. 

The basics of business is to take something that is abundant and sell it in a place that has short supply. 

I must keep Ruro alive to make use of this information. 

“Tell me more about the goblins you’re going to fight tomorrow.”

“They drifted into this area a while ago, but I do not know how many there are. There are usually around 20 to 30 of them when they come to our village to steal livestock.”

“Are they the same ones who attacked you today?”

“I do not recognise the goblin’s faces, but I believe they are the same ones who came to my village.”

The goblins wouldn’t send everyone out to steal if they have a village. They probably also have some goblins on defence, so there should be at least 50 goblins there. A single girl wouldn’t be able to defeat 50 goblins. 

“Do you think you can win?”

“I can. You are with me, Hirano-sama and I have this spear.”

Ruro picked up her spear and stood up. She inhaled then exhaled. Tiny blue particles began dancing around the spear. The air tasted sweet. This feeling was similar to the fog in the <Red Forest of Jonan>.

“Karma?”

“This spear is called the <Spear of the Wind God>. It is a treasure that has been passed down the warrior family for generations and can produce powerful winds. It can even create whirlwinds.”

“… I’m surprised you managed to bring it with you.”

“Ruro is the direct descendant of the Great Warrior Chief Banten. There are no warriors left in the village who has a closer connection to him than Ruro.”

I thought the villagers had tricked Ruro and had sacrificed her to the goblins, but she might be stronger than I thought. Even so, they probably didn’t believe she could defeat 50 goblins by herself. 

“Do you have a plan?”

“No, since I am alone. I will just go in there and beat them up.”

“You’re very reliable.”

I answered while smiling wryly. It probably won’t be that easy. In Go, it was like carelessly playing a stone that is going to be taken. I know that Ruro could fight from the battle earlier, but I also know that she can’t win if she is outnumbered and surrounded. 

I’ve proven that I can scatter them with thunder bolts, but they are wary of me. It would be quite troublesome if they ran away and hid. Besides, I would like to save my karma if possible. 

She needs a plan. 

Ruro looked at me curiously as I threw a branch into the bonfire while thinking. 

“Is something wrong?”

“N-no, I did not mean to be rude, but you seem like a normal human, Hirano-sama.”

“I see. Do the gods you know look different from me?”

“Ruro has always felt close to the gods, but this is the first time I have met one.”

“I see. Do I look like a human?”

“You do. If you had not saved me with your thunder, then I would have…”

“Mistaken me for a human?”

Ruro nodded hesitantly and continued.

“Many people travel through this area, but your black hair is unusual, but you would not stand out.”

“Travellers, you say?”

Something flashed through my mind at that moment.