Chapter 226: "Just Who Are You?"

Chapter 226: "Just Who Are You?"

Shien and Lucy had returned to the Capital deep in the middle of the night.

"I'm going back then." Lucy spoke with some exhaustion, "You should go back yourself. Don't make Vivian and the rest of them worries."

"You have some nerve saying that." Shien was also somewhat tired, giving his voice a particularly lazy tone, "Making me waste a whole day's time like that. My month of time is really valuable you know."

"Yes, yes, yes. I'm the one who wasted it alright?" Lucy didn't have the energy to keep arguing with Shien anymore either, so she just waved it off, "Then tomorrow..."

"Don't go dragging me to run around with you tomorrow." Shien hurriedly interrupted her, "I think that rather than trying your luck like today, you're better off going to that demon commander."

"Him?" Lucy stopped for a moment.

"Yeah." Shien expanded on his idea, "Probe him a bit and see how he responds."

"True enough." Lucy nodded thoughtfully, "If that monster really did have something to do with Lord Jacinta, then he should definitely react if he finds out that we've defeated it, right?"

"Of course, it's also possible that he doesn't react at all." Shien shrugged, "Or maybe he has some kind of method to know of it the moment the monster got beaten."

"Besides those, it's also not yet certain that Lord Jacinta really has something to do with this matter." Lucy let out a sigh, "That said, probing him is very much doable. I'll do as you say then."

"Do your best." Shien spoke like it didn't concern him anymore, "I'll quietly cheer you on from inside the library."

Meaning that he won't be accompanying her for that.

"You just go ahead and shut yourself in the library until you die then."

Lucy could no longer be bothered to keep arguing with Shien, so after leaving that final statement, she finally reinvigorated herself and headed toward the palace.

Shien also turned around and headed for the Latrard home.

Vivian and her party hasn't returned yet. They seemed to be doing a relatively troublesome quest, so it's going to be taking some time.

Megis himself has been staying at the adventurers guild for the past few days, returning home only very rarely. Shien was a bit curious before, but thinking on it now, perhaps it's because of abnormalities in the areas around the Capital that Megis was forced to stay in the adventurers guild to deal with all the issues from that?

From the current look of things, who knows when everyone will be able to return.

Shien really wanted to wait for Diere to return, but having ran around outside for the whole day and ending up in a fight with a strange monster, he didn't really want to keep waiting in his room while sweaty and dirty.

"Whatever. Let's just get a bath and go to sleep right away today. I'll get up early tomorrow morning and head t the library to make up for today's excursion."

Shien let out a somewhat regretful sigh and headed off toward the direction of the baths.

However, just as Shien opened the door to the baths and walked in, something happened.

"Rumble!"

The moment that Shien stepped into the baths, the space within the baths started warping.

Shien completely failed to react in time. All he saw was the world spinning before him as he stopped being in the baths and instead arrived in a very sacred looking temple.

"This is...!?"

When he saw that familiar temple, Shien's mind shook as the tiredness in his head instantly disappeared without a trace.

And right afterwards...

This is already the third time no. Shouldn't you be getting used to it already?"

A voice like divine music rang out.

Shien suddenly turned about and looked toward the source of that voice.

There, Shien saw a familiar and incomparably beautiful figure.

"Nien..."

That's right.

Shien had finally met Nien again.

"You seemed to have done quite a lot of things during this time, my dear Hero."

That incomparably beautiful goddess looked at Shien with a teasing smile as her star like eyes shined.

Shien immediately felt like all his thoughts were being seen through.

No, this wasn't just a feeling. It's what's actually happening.

After all, that goddess before him could read his mind. Thus, she'd know everything that Shien was thinking.

However, it still wasn't enough to stop Shien's impulse.

An impulse to properly teach this goddess a lesson, the impulse to literally mop the floor with her.

"I suggest that you don't, alright? Nien had easily saw through Shien's thoughts and spoke in an easygoing manner, "It's one thing if it's outside, but here in this temple, you have no way of doing anything to me. To use your words, impulses are demons, so you must not be impulsive."

That goddess acted very calm. It's lie she had no idea just how much trouble that all her actions have brought Shien.

Shien was so pissed that he ended up laughing.

"Do you not know just how much brain cells I lost over you the past bit? And now you're telling me to hold back?"

Shien's tone was quite angry.

However, Nien only reacted to Shien's anger with an amused expression like she was looking at a child throwing a tantrum as she spoke with a smile, "Do you blame me for it then?"

"Should I not blame you?" Shien shot back, "Who's the one who summoned me here while telling me to defeat the Demon King? And how'd that end up? The Demon King had been long since defeated for a thousand years already. The Hero's now just history. The three races are at freaking peace. Yet it's me the Hero who will end up shattering said peace the moment I'm exposed. Isn't this just obviously you playing with me?"

Shien spewed out all the grudges he had accumulated over the past bit of time at once.

Shien also put away her grin and quietly listened to Shien's complaints like she could accept it all. She just continued to look at Shien. In fact, no hint of negative emotions appeared on her beautiful face, and in fact, she instead seemed unbelievably gentle.

That look that Shien had never seen before had made the him who was filled with grudges calm down some.

"Oy, tell me." Shien could only take a deep breath before focusing his gaze on Nien, "Just who are you?"

In response, Nien's eyes drooped slightly, showing a certain amount of pain.

"I'm just someone who may or may not is supposed to exist."

Nien's voice was like it's coming from the heavens, with how hollow and empty it was.

"There's no need for you to guess at it anymore. I'm not the Highest God Omnis. Nor am I any of the known goddesses of the divine realm. I don't even know if there exists anyone that knows of my existence. Most likely, not even the three great goddesses or the six great demon lords know of my existence."

As she said that, Nien looked toward Shien.

"I know that you're very curious as to how I managed to summon you to this world."

"I can only tell you that this is my authority, my power."

"Within this world of Omnipotlin, when it comes to the one with the deepest connection to Heroes, who has the greatest understanding of Hero summoning. Then, there is no other candidate beyond myself.

"This includes that goddess."

With that, Nien waved her hand and the ceiling of the temple started rippling.

A certain scene gradually appeared past those ripples.

It was the scene of a goddess lying down among the flowers, deeply asleep.

"That's..."

Shien was stunned.

Nien stared at that goddess with a very cold look.

"She is Omnis."