Like what?
“Accidental touches and test swings will warrant a small thunderbolt. Should they choose to ignore my warnings… Let’s just say I have forces more fatal than thunderbolts at my disposal.”
Fatal. Death. Got it. I didn’t think I needed the divine anti-theft protocol though, since Fran was the only one I wanted to serve.
“I’ve also taken Awaken from you, just in case. And you won’t be able to acquire it again, should the opportunity ever present itself.”
Harsh, but I didn’t mind. It’s not like I was about to argue with this goddess, or any god for that matter. Shame I never got to use Awaken for myself.
“Awaken is a skill which unlocks the latent power of beastmen. Nothing would happen if you used it.”
Oh, I see. But Fran already has Awaken, right?
“Yes.”
Then I have no use for it. Take it away, beautiful goddess.
“I’ve placed a new restriction on Lumina which prohibits her from summoning creatures that possess Awaken. Though, given the cost of summoning such a creature, it’ll be a few hundred years before she can pull that stunt off again.”
Was the summoning why Lumina acted so strangely?
“Yes. I’ve placed many restrictions on my dear vassal because of her love for her tribe. You know of the speech restriction, but there are others. For example, she cannot create an item which possesses the Awaken skill. Also, she would die if she were to use her dungeon to create a situation where Black Cats could fulfill their penance.”
What? Seriously? Then Lumina—
“Don’t worry, she’s not dead.”
But Fran evolved.
“In a very roundabout way. Lumina did not directly cause her Evolution. That was your fault. Lumina exhausted much of her energy, but her actions do not warrant death.”
Thank god for that. Fran would never forgive herself.
“Still, I cannot allow the same thing to happen again. Thus, the new restrictions.”
Lumina had been prepared to have Fran kill her to evolve. The Dungeon Master would’ve turned into an A-Threat Fiend if she had allowed herself to be taken over by malice. Fran would be completely justified in putting her down.
No wonder Lumina had tried so hard to push her away.
“Correct. Lumina would be dead if not for you.” The goddess confirmed my suspicions. “I thank you for that. Now, it isn’t fair of me to simply take a skill from you, so let me give you another in its place.” The goddess snapped her fingers again, wrapping my blade in a familiar radiance. What just happened? I took a look at my stats.
So…what’s this Stealth Evolution?
“As its name implies, it allows you to hide your Evolution, especially from other beastmen.”
A handy skill. There might be riots on the streets if beastmen found out that a Black Cat had managed to evolve. It was an Extra skill, too. There was one thing about the gift that caught my eye, however.
Umm, the leftover EP I had is completely gone.
“Only because you’ve made such a mess of things. It was the least I could do to restore balance. You’re coming out ahead in this transaction. Trust me.”
Sorry about that.
No use looking a gift horse in the mouth. Complaining would only irritate her. With a satisfied nod, the goddess floated upwards, becoming more transparent with every inch.
“Oh,” she said. “One more thing. I have allowed you to tell the world about the conditions of Evolution. We had planned for this, as long as one Black Cat managed to evolve. Even if the methods were slightly crooked.”
The goddess was fading fast. I shouted a question before she could go.
Tell me! What am I? You said I was your vassal. Do you know of my origins?
I couldn’t help myself. She was the first person I’d met who had a chance of knowing my identity. The goddess looked thoughtful.
“You see…it’s not my place to tell you who you are. But I’ll give you a clue. Find the Godsmith in the Beastman Nation.”
There’s a Godsmith there?
I remembered Old Garrus, the one who made Fran’s Black Cat set, saying that the whereabouts of the Godsmiths was a mystery. Had the Beast King managed to kidnap him? Heading there would be a difficult journey. It was enemy territory, not to mention on a different continent. Endangering Fran for my own purposes was the last thing I wanted to do.
“You never know until you ask. Even then you might come up empty.”
You don’t know what’s going to happen?
“Of course not. The gods are as much in the dark as you are.”
But you’re supposed to be gods. How can you not know the future…?
“Because we don’t. You mortals assume that because the gods are stronger, we have infinite power. We don’t, despite what humans say about the good and bad things that befall them.”
I’d met those people. Honestly, even I thought my encounter with Fran was something like fate.
“Would I really bother to appear before you to fix this problem if everything in the world happened the way the gods wanted?”
I guess not.
“Fate does not exist in this world; just an overlap in coincidences. You are responsible for the bad things that happen in your life, and you only have yourself to thank for the good things. That’s all it is.”
Which meant my encounter with Fran was one such chance encounter.
“Indeed. You and the Black Cat met by chance. You were also suited to each other by chance. But that you would cooperate with each other to this point… I daresay that is a miracle.”
I blushed at the goddess’ compliment.
“I have said too much. Know that the Goddess of Chaos expects a great deal from you both.”
I didn’t know how to feel about that.
“Ha ha ha. How indeed? In any case, you are free to search for or ignore the Godsmith. I recommend seeking him out. It would make for better entertainment.”
Wait!
“May you have a chaotic day.”
With that strange benediction, the goddess vanished into the abyss.
We still need to talk about the curse!
“Curse?” Fran asked. “What curse?”
Huh, I’m back… Some stuff happened
