18 Each feeling (1/2)

Raina, Goddess of Wisdom and Victory

That's hard work, Raina.

As I walked back to my residence in Elyos, I was approached by a man.

I look towards the voice and see a man.

'What can I do for you, Alfos?

I ask Alfos, my twin brother god, about the requirements.

I get grumpy. I don't like this brother god very much. I'd like to believe that he looks a lot like me, but not inside.

''For what it's worth, it looks like the Dark Knight tried to kill you, Raina.

Did you come all the way down here to ask me that?

He says a little grimly.

'Oh, listen, Raina. That dark knight is a bit of a problem.

'I know he's a problem,'

Alfos shook his head.

'He has just destroyed the Holy Order.

What?

The Holy Knights are a knightly order made up of human heroes and elite members of the angelic race who serve the God King Odis.

They are the strongest knights in this world and the strongest elite unit of Elyos.

The only one that rivals them would be the Dark Knights who serve Modes.

What happened to that Holy Order that was destroyed?

''The skies around Elyos are under their jurisdiction. The skies over the Republic of St. Renaria are under their jurisdiction. He flew over it.

The sky is the domain of the gods. Basically, except for exceptions such as birds, it is not allowed to fly in that sky. I even managed to ask those brave men not to fly.

Human heroes, not to mention angels, ride heavenly horses to guard the sky. If he flew that sky carelessly, he would be caught by them.

Then he got into a battle with the people he was trying to capture and destroyed them. Well, he is the man who defeated the brave men who destroyed the Dark Knights, no wonder he can do that.

Alfos says matter-of-factly.

I am reminded of the Dark Knight Dihardt. He had a look that was very hard to believe was under Modes' command.

His dark hair and slightly shadowy, fearless face, and the slightly blue eyes that floated in his slit eyes were striking. Why would he serve Modes?

'Oh, you look happy, Raina.

Alfoss says.

'What?　Is that right?

I suppress my mouth.

'So what are you going to do about Odis?'

Yeah, I had peace with Modes.

Fellowship?

That was a surprising statement.

'Shouldn't the decision be made without a meeting of the gods?

The decision of the gods, commonly called the decision of Odis, it is binding on the gods who belong to Elyos.

It's called the decision of Odis, but it's not something Odis can decide to do as he pleases. Odis makes the final decision based on the opinions expressed at the meeting. And Odis has an obligation to follow the opinion of the meeting. Otherwise, no one would follow Odis.

'I don't recall being in a meeting where those opinions were expressed,'

Attendance at meetings is not mandatory, but you run the risk of having an adverse decision made without your knowledge.

And I have never failed to attend a meeting.

Also, a notice of the meeting should always be sent to the gods of Elyos, and when it isn't, they should be able to claim that the decision is invalid.

'No, Lena, only Odis made peace. So the other gods don't have to follow.

What's going on?

Surely that would be fine without a meeting.

'I suppose you thought you'd object, Odis, depending on the terms of the amity.

That's true.

'I suppose that's why. Odis made a pact with Modes that he himself would not attack Nargol in exchange for the destruction of his summoning tools.

What did you say?

Only Odis will not attack on the promise, but Odis is the king of the gods. If Odis doesn't attack, then all of Erios will not move.

In effect, it's like Modes signed a non-aggression pact with Elyos in exchange for a summoning tool.

'As far as Odis is concerned, the brave man and his dark knights were more of a problem than Modes, after all, he's a monster that can destroy the Holy Knights by himself. That's why I wanted to get rid of the summoning tools that Modes had in order to prevent him from summoning any more.

'So what about the brave men we have now, and Dihardt?　It's a problem, isn't it?

'Yeah, they want you to do something about it. After all, you're the one who summoned them.

It was a sore spot.

At first, it should have been easier, defeating Modes and returning them to the Otherworld was supposed to be the end of everything. But just one step closer, the Dark Knight appeared.

Moreover, all of the summoning tools were gone.

Summoning was banned, and the ban on creating those tools was also decided just the other day.

It could be difficult to move the brave men in the future.

''Wait a minute, it wasn't me who summoned Dihardt!

Dihardt is the one Modes summoned, and I can't do anything about it.

'Yeah, that's the thing, but Modes says that the dark knight's actions are up to the brave man, Raina. So I guess it's up to you after all.

Even if Odis didn't attack, if the heroes attacked, Modes would be finished. It's a natural request for Modes.

You will find that you will be able to get the most out of this. I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.

I had nothing to say back.

Since I couldn't defeat the Modes, I had to manage the actions of the brave men. If they act poorly, my position in Elyos will be lost.

''All right, we'll do something about the brave men. And if that's the only requirement, will you leave?

I say angrily.

'I'm sorry, one more thing to do.'

What have you done now?

He glares at Alfos. But he's not the brother to be frightened by that.

'Raina, are you not going to marry?'

What?

What do they ask all of a sudden?

'Is that also what Odis said?

No, it was my brother who was worried about his single sister.

I think it's superfluous.

'The male gods of Elyos are all unfaithful. I have no intention of marrying such a god.

Every male god of Elyos has a mistress. What kind of a thought is it that he makes many mistresses while courting me?

And that's what I don't like about this brother god. He is a bachelor and has probably more than 2,000 mistresses. I don't like my brother and the women who flock to him.

'Oh, I suppose some gods are more faithful than others.

I hate the ugly ones even more.

I don't know if he's sincere or not, but apart from an obviously unfaithful god, all I'm left with is a bad appearance.

That's why I'm single.

'So if you're not a god, then what about the brave ones?

'It can't be, he's just like you.

Rage was vaguely similar to Alfos. So I didn't like him much.

'That's a tough one. Then who should it be?

I reply in silence for a bit.

'There is no such person!

My brother laughs a little happily when I say this.

''Well then, we'll just have to do it. The hated brother will have to leave. See you later, Raina.

My brother leaves. I stare at his back.

Then I shake my head thoughtfully.

Why did I think of Dihardt's face?

Chiyuki, a girl who is one of the heroes

I couldn't go home.

I didn't expect my summoning tools to be destroyed.

After that, we chased after Silone, who ran off by himself.

In the first place, Syrone's life is more important to me than Raina's. It's ridiculous to sacrifice Syrone to save Raina.

I chased after her, but I couldn't get to her in time. That's because we ran into Spartoy on the way.

Rage was out of his element, and Kaya was unable to accompany him to protect Kyoka, who was crushed by alcohol. We had to fight with no vanguard, and we had a hard time. And because we were in a building, we couldn't use magic that had a lot of firepower for me and Reno, so we couldn't defeat Spartoi very well.

When we finally entered the room we arrived at, we saw a crying Shirone and Dihardt standing in front of her.