WOSE Chapter 5

The trivial bite mark in the sandwich, the plump tail wagging uncontrollably with unconcealed delight—everything was so endearing that Iyu ended up stroking the child's head without thinking.

"!"

Startled by the sudden contact, the child's shoulders and tail trembled.

"Ah, sorry."

She kept forgetting. To the child, she was still just an unfamiliar outsider.

She withdrew her hand with a bitter taste in her mouth. The child pressed both palms against the spot her hand had touched. So it had been uncomfortable after all. The moment she reflected on this again, the child's cheeks flushed bright red. Then a delighted smile broke across that small face.

The unexpected cuteness crushed the sandwich in her other hand beyond recognition.

If there was anything she could love in this detestable world, it would be this existence.

In truth, during their renewed time together, she'd considered abandoning revenge entirely and running far away with just the two of them. But the leaders of each race would be searching for the savior with burning determination. For an outsider with no connections in this world, escaping safely was impossible.

Even if they succeeded in hiding, problems remained. If summoning another outsider was possible? It would only add one more pitiful victim to suffer.

Above all, no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't forgive those who had deceived her and taken the child away.

So...

"Sorry."

She muttered bitterly to the child, her revenge finally resolved.

A distant past now blurred in memory. There had been a time when she'd walked through Asgard, the celestial sanctuary, with an excited heart. Freya herself had guided her, and she'd exclaimed endlessly at those heavenly landscapes.

But now Iyu crossed the sanctuary without any emotion. She didn't stop to admire, didn't enjoy the flower scent mixed in the wind. She arrived at the edge of Asgard, where part of Yggdrasil's main body was located.

The World Tree, Yggdrasil.

God of the nine worlds and creator of the seven races. The true manifestation of divinity.

And to her, the origin of all this tragedy.

Iyu stared coldly at the tree. The tree that sustained the world was so massive it looked like an endless wall.

Even so, she could feel this tree's breathing. How unpleasant.

What expressions would they all make if she burned down this damned tree they praised and worshipped? Would they suffer and grieve as much as she had?

It was a satisfying fantasy, but even dropping bombs on this sacred, massive tree wouldn't leave a single scratch.

Iyu shook off her futile delusions and clasped her hands before the World Tree as she'd been taught before.

I don't know what intentions you had in reversing time when you only watched me struggle in the abyss.

I will inflict the same pain, the same sense of loss, the same despair upon these repulsive beings you created.

After the false salvation ends, I will gladly mock them in the ruined world.

Iyu made her vow willingly.

As her prayer—no different from a curse—neared its end, a shadow fell across her back.

"You came to see Mother."

It was Freya.

Her eyes, carrying the freshness of grass blades, curved gently as she spoke with considerable familiarity.

"I heard this was your first time going out. To meet like this—how fortunate."

Freya, wearing a dress woven from starlight, was blindingly beautiful. She'd once thought of her as a goddess from mythology. Both her beautiful appearance and her heart.

That's why she'd been so happy when they became close friends. She'd genuinely cherished that embrace that had comforted her whenever responsibility became difficult, that gentle smile that never faded.

Now that she knew the affection she'd believed they'd built together had been one-sided, it all became a worthless thing of the past.

When she looked away from those affectionate eyes filled with goodwill, Freya offered an apology as if guessing another reason.

"As one who represents this world, let me apologize once more. I'm sorry for dragging you into such an absurd situation."

And she promised.

"You must be very confused right now, but we'll all work to ensure you can live peacefully here as well."

'Work, she says...'

Iyu rubbed the back of her hand across her mouth. A sneer nearly escaped without her realizing.

Making false vows without even wetting her lips—this being who could throw outsiders into the abyss again and again for the world's sake.

She was certainly suited to goodness rather than evil. The epithet "Goddess of Compassion" probably wasn't wrong. She genuinely, desperately wished for this world's salvation more than anyone.

The only problem was that in the process, while she might feel sorry and sad about minor sacrifices, she could choose without hesitation. And that "minor sacrifice" was Iyu herself.

Thinking of Tamia, who had been sacrificed along with her, made her want to slap this woman's smiling face right now. But Iyu forced out a false smile. She even nodded her head, pretending to be innocently moved.

"If you have any difficulties, please tell me."

"I will. Frey... Red Fruit of the First Branch."

"Oh my, you remembered my name. Just call me 'Freya.' It's a secret from the celestials, but I actually prefer this name the humans gave me."

A smile like flower petals spread across her lips as she squinted playfully.

Anyone who saw it would surely have been enchanted. But Iyu found facing her utterly unbearable.

Just before her shallow patience showed its bottom, fortunately Freya withdrew her smile and let out a sigh. She seemed to have noticed something behind Iyu. Elegantly raising her left hand, she added more quickly than usual:

"Actually, there's someone I wanted to introduce to you, and I just received word they're returning to Asgard today. Look there—they've just arrived."

Iyu turned to follow Freya's gaze. In the distance, a man in silver armor was approaching with straight strides.

Soon the man reached them.

"Welcome back."

Her gaze toward the man, her voice—both warm as spring wind. But despite the tender welcome that could melt anyone, the man only bowed his head lightly with an expressionless face.

Iyu stared blankly up at the knight who seemed forged from metal. While the broad pauldrons covering his shoulders and the patternless breastplate bore traces of battle, his blood-red cloak and platinum hair were impeccably clean without a speck of dust.

"..."

"..."

When the taciturn man maintained his silence, Freya introduced him instead.

"This is the Hundredth White Branch."

She already knew this man—terrifyingly beautiful yet solid as a rock.

A noble cleric, the sole heir to the celestial leadership. Also the commander of the Holy Knights.

The mission of the Holy Knights, established under celestial leadership, was to eliminate monsters occasionally emerging from the "Darkness" and manage the devastated areas around disaster sites that often descended into lawlessness.

It was grueling, thankless work that even "those" celestials avoided. But this man, who'd been a high-ranking cardinal-level priest from the moment of his birth, had volunteered for that uncomfortable position.

So this man was, as far as she knew, the only one who practiced the celestials' characteristic compassion and altruism completely and flawlessly.

'...Though for some reason, that compassion and altruism seem to avoid only me.'

Given his position managing places the savior couldn't immediately reach or had already left, they rarely crossed paths anyway. But he was completely unlike others who tried repeatedly to speak with the savior.

Sometimes it even seemed he wanted to keep his distance. Since their introduction with Freya between them, they'd spoken privately exactly once. And even that was hard to call conversation.

It had been one-sided criticism.

It was when she'd finally awakened from fever after a sacrifice. This man, whom she'd encountered by chance on a walk, had abruptly denigrated her efforts.

'Your sacrifice is worthless.'

'What?'

Her face had crumpled miserably. When the lives she'd saved numbered in the hundreds, thousands. When she'd just finished hearing thank-yous until her ears bled. Moreover, when the people of this world were the ones hoping for salvation—what on earth was he babbling about?

She'd wanted to snap at him like that, but face-to-face, the man was terribly large. And his face, showing not a single emotion, was so chilling she had no choice but to swallow her rising complaints.

'If you feel like quitting... tell me.'

The man watched her for a few more seconds before leaving just those words and walking away.

Iyu easily forgot that first and last conversation. It was natural since she hadn't encountered him after that.

Ironically, news of the man reached her after Tamia's funeral.