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Volume 6 Chapter 144

Contract with the Goddess

「This is…… 」
I was in a space that seemed to stretch on endlessly, pure white in all directions.
I have been here before.
「Hero, you’ve done well in defeating the Demon King」
When I turned around in response to the voice, there stood an old man with white hair and a white beard that gave him a truly god-like appearance. No, not just god-like, he was the genuine deity who had transported me to this world.
Furthermore, he wasn’t just an ordinary god. He was the Creator God, the most powerful god who had created this world.
「Never did I expect you to defeat the Demon King and return so quickly…… Truly well done. Now then, I shall send you back to your original world. Ah, don’t worry. I’ll send you back to the time you were taken」
「Um, I would like to remain in this world」
「…….What?」
「I don’t mind not returning to my old world. Could you send me back to the Demon King’s castle right away?」
I wanted to return to Tina’s side as soon as possible.
However—
「I apologize, but that cannot be done」
「W-Why not!?」
「It’s because I have a contract with the deity of your original world. I borrowed you and your companions with the condition that as soon as you defeated the Demon King, you would be sent back to your original world」
「I-I…… never agreed to that!」
If I had known. There were so many things I wanted to talk to Tina about before defeating the Demon King. I wanted to get to know Tina more.
I wanted to give her the ring.
There might have been an option not to defeat the Demon King. Even if the Demon King was alive, sealing only his power would suppress the birth of monsters to some extent.
And if 『I』, who had hunted down millions of monsters, were to confront the demons and monsters born from the sealed Demon King, they would be no match for us.
If not defeating the Demon King meant I could stay with Tina forever, I would have chosen not to defeat the Demon King.
「I didn’t have time to explain since you were rushing me to transport you. However, I did explain it properly to your fellow heroes. Did you not know?」
I hadn’t heard anything about that from Takato. Suddenly, the expression on Takato’s face just before he attacked the Demon King flashed in my mind.
It wasn’t an expression aimed at the Demon King. It was a mocking expression aimed at 『me』.
……So that’s how it is.
『I』 finally understood Takato’s true intentions.
Takato knew that once the Demon King was defeated, I would be sent back to my original world immediately. And once he realized he couldn’t win against 『me』 and that Tina wouldn’t belong to him, he had planned to tear 『me』 and Tina apart.
Unaware of this, 『I』had told Takato it was okay to defeat the Demon King. As a result, I was here without even having the chance to say goodbye to Tina.
「Is there no way? Just a little time, that’s all I need. Let me bid farewell to Tina」
「When bringing humans to this divine realm with the purpose of transferring them, it’s easy to send them to the destination. But sending them back to their original world requires a tremendous amount of energy」
The positive emotions, will, faith, and hope emitted by humans, which the Creator God can harness as energy, have accumulated due to the many inhabitants of this world wishing for the world to be saved from the Demon King. That energy was used to bring Takato and his friends to this world and to send them back to their original world.
Apparently, there’s not much energy to spare. Originally, the Creator God intended to transfer only four heroes to this world.
It was by chance that 『I』got caught up in this. As a result, more energy than was initially planned was required, and it seems that the Creator God is in a deficit because of this.
There’s a certain amount of reserves, but apparently, the Creator God doesn’t want to use them unless for sudden world crises.
「Energy… C-Can’t we replenish that energy with something like my lifespan? Even just a little. Please, let me go back to Tina!」
「It’s impossible」
The Creator God looked apologetic. With that,『I』realized that my hope was truly in vain.
「I can’t do much about it, but I can ask other gods as well. Perhaps some god might be able to do something」
「P-Please!」
『I』 was willing to do anything. If I were told to defeat the Demon King again, I would. If my lifespan were needed, I would give it.
And then──
「If you make a contract with me, I can provide you with the energy needed to return to your loved one for a brief period」
A goddess appeared before me, ready to fulfill 『my』 wish.
「Thank you. I’ll do anything!」
「Fufufu, may I introduce myself first? I am the goddess who governs the memories of the world you were in until just now」
「The Goddess of Memory……」
「Yes. So, about the condition to grant your wish── You have to give me the memories of your time in this world」
「My memories?」
「That’s right. You had such fascinating adventures, didn’t you? It’s quite rare these days for a hero to start from level 30. And that girl, Tina, was it? Watching your interactions with her made my heart race」
The goddess’s cheeks turned slightly red.
Wait, does that mean she saw『me』getting intimate with Tina?!
──It seems she did.
Even if she’s a goddess, that’s really embarrassing.
「So, you see, I wanted to enjoy your memories from your perspective. By the way, if you give me your memories, you won’t be able to remember any of them. So, think it through」
I hesitated for a moment. It would be painful to lose all memories with Tina. But it would be even more painful to keep pining for her in my original world.
「……Understood. I’ll give you my memories」
「Really!? Yay! Oh, and one more thing, in order to gather the energy needed to temporarily send you back to our world, I’d like to erase memories related to your name from people all around the world. Is that okay?」
「Why would you erase…… my name?」
「You’ve been protecting many people from monsters, haven’t you? So now, there’s an overflow of gratitude and feelings toward you in the world」
Thinking about wanting to bring a little peace to Tina’s world and all my efforts up to now, I was glad to hear that many people were thankful.
「For us gods, we can’t directly convert those feelings of gratitude and emotions into energy. Because those feelings are・for・you」
According to the goddess, the feelings of gratitude and emotions directed toward 『me』 from the inhabitants of this world can be transformed into tremendous energy, but they can’t use it directly.
「Names are a significant aspect of shaping a person’s existence. By taking the memories related to your name, I can receive a part of the emotions and feelings directed toward you whenever someone expresses gratitude to you」
And apparently, the goddess can convert these feelings into energy. I didn’t fully understand it, but if the goddess says so, then that’s probably how it works.
Anyway, 『I』 wanted to see Tina again. While it would be nice to be appreciated by someone, it would serve no purpose in my original world. So, if the goddess could make use of the feelings toward 『me』, that is fine.
「I understand. I’m okay with that condition too」