“

At first I never believed even a single thing that the man I’ve once met one night at the woods was saying. He was acting weird; he was wearing something weird. Everything around him, his aura, his looks, his style, his speech everything… Weird.

“I came from a different world…”

He came with an introduction like this,

“I don’t know if magic is something available on this world.” “it is something abundant from where I came from” “It was a world where war exists.” “Knowledge of parallel worlds have been proved real.”

Those were things one would only read on fictitious light novels authors enjoy writing about: Fantasy genre featuring romance and tragedies.

What would I believe? Of course I’d be believing those things I would see right on the spot. It’s because it would be something I would be experiencing for real. What would be the truth? There were always two truths on the side of a conflicting story: The truth being told by the one and the truth being told by the other.

I could talk all day to everyone about the thing I experienced, yet they would still believe the truth that has always been proven by the current science of our world.

But if that case would always be true, then how would I explain the form of luminescent existence that stood (he was really floating) right at front of us?

”

Ingrid, Post Hotspring Arc

Modern Earth, 20xx+1

“Who… What…”

“Oho~~”

He looked like a playful kid at his early tens and before teens of age. A middle schooler? Amidst the turmoil going on at the parking lot at the top of the hill, there were fire, lights, shouting, everything’s a mess. He just stood there like nothing.

No… more like, he was floating.

“Of course you would be shocked. I never really intended to break the laws of nature in this planet as it seemed I is waaaaaay too far behind from what you would call modern.”

Suddenly he started talking like someone Fred would really love to talk to when I first met him: An alien from another word.

No… Perhaps…

“Ah yea, you’re hunch is right. You’re starting to get a hang of it now.”

Did he just read my mind? No shit!!

“Well yeah, can’t help it, part of my existence.”

No questions asked. He is a God.

There were lots of religions that had been established ever since this little ‘far behind’ world of us started revolving around the sun. All of them, either they choose to worship a single, or multiple gods, for me the concept is all still the same. My mother nor my father never took their time explaining those things to me so I was never active when it comes to discussions like those.

But still, If I have to give my honest opinion, if the existence right in front of us that moment really was a God, then it would be closer to those being depicted by fantasy novels. That being said, I assumed that he’s a being from another plane of existence besides ours.

“I just wish I could meet a God from our world, ‘cause it seems that you’re not.”

“Ah them… I know quite a number, but they’re busy attending to other issues so…”

“That’s why you’re left with the task of meeting up with me?”

“Meeting up with you and that garbage of a Maou currently sleeping at your lap. Ooooh how lucky… To be sheltered and pampered by a cute little girl. And here I thought he’d have improvements since I’ve sent him to this world. But there seems none. What a waste.”

The ‘God’ suddenly talked about Fred and things that were really out of his style. I visualized Gods as some respectable deities being worshipped. They supposed to be existences that have this air around them that makes them dignified, absolute, and full of holiness.

But him…

The such carefree look… The pinnacle of ‘just got back from a day of hard work and I wanted to laze around so don’t bother me.’ Is written all over him. The lightings did not match the way he talked. I gave a heh, talk about a grand entrance if you’ll just act that way, which was a freebie thought since he could read it anyway.

“Before you tell me the story about Fred, let me ask you something.”

“Oh. And here I thought people of Earth would get all politely when talking with a God. Guess I’m mistaken. I really hope there would be more of people like you.”

“Quit it. It would probably be just me, Fred and my tenants too... You’ll just get disappointed, wasting your time searching earth for others like us.”

“Excluding Ara?”

“Ara is a special case. The first identity could treat you with due respect, but I’m not sure for the second one. Heh… And also, I won’t be shocked if you know them by the way, considering your great magical entrance. I won’t even try to argue anymore, it’s pointless.”

For after all that happened. It still hurt my pride that I did not believed what Fred was telling me the first time we met due to the ridiculousness of the story. It was only natural.

Most people said: to see is to believe. Well I wouldn’t blame myself for laughing over somebody’s high fantasy story without knowing I would get to experience it firsthand at the near future.

Nobody’s born a fortune teller anyways.

“Hmmm. I’ll take note of that. Well, what is it that you’re going to ask?” -he took what I’ve told him.

“Why did you chose earth to be Fred’s destination?”

“Ah, yeah, to be honest it’s quite random. This some higher existence I don’t even know is the only one who knows how this stuff works. Sometimes I just want to go to his place and give him a good smack too, making us do all the work for him. We just execute orders. Think of it as some random number generator stuff… Still, I doubt you’d get satisfied by that answer, so instead I’m going to tell you everything that happened when I met Fredericus.”

There were things that still happened before I’ve met up with Fred at that hill a year ago. Things that only he and the ‘irresponsible god’ he told me knew. The God volunteered to tell me the story so I could only be curious and agree to his proposal.

But great information from a God must cost a lot.

“What would it cost me?”

“Oh no no… This is free of charge. I don’t really want to charge you since my rates are ultra-high. A few life cycles worth might not even cut the cost. Instead, I’d rather give you a great spoiler to who you really are!”

What he said really intrigued me.

It was information unknown to even me: something my parents would not want to tell me even if the world ends. Of course I wanted to know. But that didn’t really matter the most at that moment. Or was it?

Do I really need to trust him?

He looked like an existence that posed threat to whether or not each and every God were to be treated with respect. Should I still do it like the usual? Still, for the effort that he made, coming down from his realm to the lowly primitive earth, I decided to listen to him.

But still…

What I really wanted to know that moment was about Fred, and if I had to weigh both, I would rather choose to know about him more. Besides, he offered a special and would tell both of them if I would stay put and hear his story first.

He might be easygoing but who on earth might know what he could do? I didn’t want to be someone who would trigger earth’s Apocalypse or Armageddon due to my thick-headedness.

“Fine. It’s a deal. I’d love it if you just keep it brief. There’s currently a gang war going on up there so I don’t want to risk us getting caught here with your magical whatever godly appearance and you’ll end up taking action against them.”

“Ah don’t worry. We’re on a time rift.”

Whatever that meant.

“Okay then…”

That was the signal. I got that grasp of the situation after I took the glance at the surrounding: Everything was on a stop. We were in a space he created where it was only me, Fred, and him. Just how powerful these beings could be?

Then he started talking.

He told me the story of when he started to take interest with Fred, even when he was still alive It was a quick summary of how Fred managed to lead his own army of demons to battle with the humans being led by Yuusha.

There were things in common, but the way Fred told his side was quite different. The background was the same: wars here, there, everywhere. Two strong sides battling over for nonsensical supremacy and reign all over the land. It really was like a medieval setting just with magic and fantasy genre. I remembered the way Fred dressed when I first met him. I thought it was just cosplay, but I guess it made sense as I dig in deeper at the story.

God have mentioned Yuusha a lot too like Fred. I guess Fred’s version and perspective really is different from him. I knew Fred loved Yuusha a lot so he would only tend to get biased on telling stories.

While he was busy going on his tell-tale stories, I looked at the peacefully passed-out Fred at my lap.

“Hmp, you silly Maou. To think that there’s still these parts you haven’t told me.”

I hit his nose with a light flick.

And so on the ‘Irresponsible God’ continued to tell a quick short tale: those including the events from when Fred met his first highest general, up to his second in command. I remembered him calling them by their titles: General Orcas, General Minos, and General Morgianna.

He also told me about how Fred firstly meet Yuusha. Lifespan of humans differed from demons so Fred was already around his late seventies when he first met her. I was like: doesn’t that make him a lolicon? Well died at Mytherion anyways so being an old demon who let a kid human grow up and fall in love with her wouldn’t get questioned by authorities anymore.

But truth to be told, hearing the romance story of Fred and Yuusha made my chest sting. What turned me into someone so careless to fall in love with a tenant I just met not even a year ago, not to mention suddenly being head over heels with him to the point that a single story about his first love would make me feel uncomfortable. I felt that I really need to think things through again.

“So. Where are we again?”

He stopped. He seemed like he got bored, telling too much stories about Fred already. The logic behind it was quite simple: He’s thrown Fred already away to this world, meaning he’s served his purpose and the God not interested with him already.

I felt quite sorry for the Gods of earth if they were even real, as they were being idolized due to humans thinking they are doing their best to keep earth in track and reward those hardworking worshippers properly and timely; while Gods from other dimensions just throw those that doesn’t pique their interest. But I couldn’t really tell that to the God in front of me.

“I think you’ve covered quite everything.”

“Aaaaah that really felt long. I wanted to go to the main event already.”

“Eh? That was just a starter?”

“Ah, no, this won’t take long. I just took a long detour to gain your trust.”

“What choice would I have? Somebody claiming that he’s the one who sent Fred to this planet popped out of the blue. Whatever sorcery or magic or divinity is affiliated with this, I could trust what you say a little. Besides, what you’re telling incidentally match up with what Fred told me too. There would be no way you two set me up for a long running prank, right?”

“No interest.”

“Thought so…”

“Well I’ve told you a while ago I’ll be giving you a bonus, and will tell you something about yourself you don’t even know, right?”

I wouldn’t gain much from knowing it anyway, is what I thought those moments, but I never knew what he was about to tell me was something that would change how I treat Fred forever.

“Actually, there’s this another God that I’m not on good terms with, you following?”

“mhm…”

I just nodded, but I wondered why he suddenly started gossiping like an office guy that got irritated over a lousy colleague.

“You see… It’s quite a trouble. She pulled one on me, and manipulated something from behind my back. I just recently knew about it so I hurriedly went to earth to see how Fred has been doing.”

“What are you saying…”

“You see, I’ve tried to make Fred about his attachments on Mytherion since he died. I’ve done him a favor and sent him to a world without a trace of magic so he would have zero chance of getting back to Mytherion, considering he died already.”

I kept listening to him.

“He was supposed to forget. That’s what I originally planned. There were no rules, telling other Gods should not interfere with another one’s path being laid out to a living being, but out of respect to the hard work being done by the God, it had become a best practice to not interfere, or you’ll be altering somebody’s fate.”

“What are you getting at?”

“You see, this God I’m not in good terms with made in contact with Yuusha when she died.”

Ah…

Everything started falling into place.

People of earth have called this thing: Fate. Whatever it was: had it been laid out by a God for someone to just follow; or it really was there to begin with and a God just carefully guides somebody to meet with his destined fate. Same went for me, as I’m just a normal human being that’s not a protagonist of a fantasy story.

“I’m taking a liking to you, you sure pickup fast.”

“Why tell this to me now? Why appear now? Are you going to bring things back at order and kill me right here and right now?”

“Oh no, I won’t… I don’t want to anger the said God, nor waste the efforts of your mother who’ve raised such a fine lady.”

“Eh?”

That’s where thing went off.

“Eh whatever you mean? Have you not understood where I was trying to get at? Such a turnoff.”

“Then… Then I’m not the reincarnation of Yuusha, sent here by the God you’re talking of?”

“Mmmm… Yea, That’s quite a miss. Sorry for giving you a misunderstanding, Lady Ingrid. Mmmm, yes. The name really has a nice ring to it. Have you ever asked your mother for her real name?”

“No… No way…”

Realization hit me hard. Of course I would only know her name when she’s already living here on earth. Her name when she’s already married with Father. But before that. The life she had. Her previous life. How would I know? Of course I’d have no idea, nor have any way of knowing.

My mother was Yuusha.

I asked an important question:

“Did she knew from the very start?”

I was not new to these plot twists. I was just quite shocked that I’ll be experiencing on hand those things that could only be read on supposedly fictional fantasy novels. What if they’re really experiences from authors that they couldn’t tell others so they just have to write them and they sell?

Well If I would be honest, I was really shocked too. But expectation did not met reality, so the shock was lessened by a great amount. Like a moving object hitting a foam to lessen impact and damage being dealt.

“The God was still careful. She made it look like they were only flashes from your mother’s memories and dreams… But not really flashbacks. Imagine being on an imaginary situation on a dream and wake up to the harsh cold reality of not being able to be with your prince charming anymore.”

I took a deeper breath. I knew there would be a catch to it.

“But your mother… Really inherited the sharpness of the former Yuusha. Even after being reincarnated to Earth as a normal human, it seemed that traces of her abilities back on her Mytherion days remained within her. I do not know if it’s a bonus given to her by this God, or it really is on her.”

“You mean she knew?”

“Yes. And she’s also made a record of it, up to the moment she died. I’m just really sorry for her that she was sent to a different timeline. It seemed like even that God had very limited knowledge of when and where I’ve sent Fred, so I think she really just took a chance Your mother will meet Fred. Yet she failed! Ha Ha!! I don’t really even know her motive anyways.”

That was the great revelation. That which he announced to me. But the story was summed up to the most general form. There were still a lot of things behind it. Those which he gave me the decision-making.

Which will I choose?: to live my life like this God haven’t said a single thing, or to pursue the path to knowing who my mother really was.

“Anyways. It seems like my time is up, so I’ll offer you one last piece of the puzzle and you’ll build the rest, okay?”

It seemed that he was just an astral projection, with no literal form. Since he talked that way. I wondered if his power can’t sustain to be in a certain place for too long. For a God that’s quite new, being unable to do something. But I would not want to be choosy. I’ve already obtained information regarding Fred, and I’ve obtained greater information that shocked me greatly too.

It’s a win for me and a win for me again.

“Your mother had kept a diary, hidden somewhere on your home. It was not a diary of her experiences on earth, but rather, a log of everything she’s experienced before being reincarnated here on earth.”

“What do you mean?”

“I won’t spoil you much. I’ll leave it for you to know, because stories being discovered by yourself could be found as the most interesting stories of all.”

“Tell me one last thing! What’s my mother’s real name!”

I shouted because I’ve felt the rumbling in the ground, and followed by the spiraling air at the surrounding, indicating the ‘Irresponsible God’s’ exit. He had told what he needed to. There’s no reason in staying any longer.

“Ha Ha Ha! Like mother, like daughter I guess. Promise me you won’t waste this one chance I’ve given you to uncover your real identity. You are really an interesting lady, Ingrid. Just like your mother, Ingretta Von Howartz.”

After the last of his voice was heard, there was nothing again. He vanished in thin air, leaving me in awe while keeping Fred on my lap like a sleeping baby.