By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 13 - Chapter 13

Chapter 8, Episode 13: Time Spent with Remily, Part 2

“Looks like I hit the mark,” Remily said.

My heartbeat had turned from calm to thundering in an instant, and I was sure that Remily could hear it, given our physical proximity. Is this why she demanded to cuddle with me? Could it still be a mere guess on her part? 

“Don’t be nervous. I have no intention of harming you in any way,” she whispered. “Besides, I pretty much knew before I asked you. There was a time in my life when I delved into researching historical children of the gods.” Remily began explaining how she’d reached her conclusion. “The idea seemed plausible after your match with Sever. I had been curious about your powers since our first meeting, when you spotted me after I cast Hide. First of all, you’re way too strong for your age. Second, your magic didn’t run out after casting all those spells on the road, which means that you have far more magical energy than most of us. When you showed us your merchandise—the instant meals and all that—that was the third sign, because children of the gods usually have exceptional knowledge in some area and make groundbreaking inventions. And number four, you told us about your gunpowder when we were trying to clear out those Undead under the cliff. For whatever reason, children of the gods show interest in firearms and gunpowder.”

She added, “One of those children of the gods told of in history is said to have used something called a ‘shotgun’ that sprays a wide area with small bullets... You called the last spell you cast in our competition Light Shot. Seeing how the spell acted just like this mysterious firearm, I bet you got the idea from that shotgun.”

“As a bonus, you reacted a bit strangely when we talked about King Masaharu. Almost like...you were taking every word to heart because it applied directly to you. How’d I do?” she asked.

There was no denying it now: Remily was sure of her assessment. Given how she had a general idea of what a shotgun was, she must have had a lot of information surrounding children of the gods.

If she can hear my heartbeat on top of all that, there’s no weaseling my way out... Then the least I can do is own it. 

Although tales of the children of the gods were considered nearly mythological, they were widely accepted as historical figures. If I’d kept on adventuring without holding my powers back, someone would have put the dots together sooner or later. It just happened to be sooner. “Bull’s-eye. Did I really react so strangely to the story of Masaharu?”

“Most people wouldn’t jump to this conclusion even if they’d realized the depth of your abilities. I only did thanks to my knowledge on the subject and... Well, let’s call it a hunch. And I think our travel companions are starting to guess too, even if they don’t mention it. That research I did stemmed from rumors surrounding Elia. You know how she has a lot of magical energy too? Since she’s also a descendant of King Masaharu, rumors spread for a while that she’s a child of the gods.”

“Right... I haven’t asked for details, but it was something about an accident she caused.”

“Rumors were starting to circulate before that, but the accident made them really spread. I couldn’t ignore it anymore, so I started digging into historical documents. Reinbach’s family was involved in the research—Sever was helping me with it, so he shares my knowledge on the subject.”

“I didn’t realize,” I admitted.

“Just to be clear, the Jamils won’t use you for personal gain with no regard for your wishes. The other nobles... Most of the other nobles would treat you with respect if they knew you were a child of gods,” Remily said.

Nothing would shake my trust in the Jamils, but I wouldn’t have expected a reaction like that from other nobles. So I asked Remily to elaborate.

“Each child of the gods has some sort of exceptional talent or great well of power. No exceptions. Nobles would see the potential for great profit in currying favor with you. On the other hand, there are records in history where upsetting a child of the gods led to them withdrawing from society or even triggering a disastrous battle. The power of the gods can be a great force of good—or a great force of evil. People do believe that the children are sent to us by the gods, and the church would not sit idly by if anyone so much as angers a child of the gods. Since upsetting a child of the gods could lead to disastrous effects on the kingdom, nobles would have to be willing to risk execution to get on your bad side.”

No matter how great the power, it would be nothing but a liability if a child of the gods couldn’t control their power. So it made sense that nobles would rather kiss up and make sure any child of the gods remained relaxed and content... But I still had more questions.

“Not to contradict you,” I said, “but I can’t imagine the kingdom’s entire nobility concerning itself with the moods of a single person.”

“Despite their self-important facades, the nobility and royalty totally concern themselves with just that.” Remily went on to give an example.

It was the story of a man who’d appeared one day in the kingdom of Rifall. He rode a tireless steel steed and could traverse the country at incredible speeds. He also wielded powers similar to Space magic, allowing him to transport vast amounts of cargo. The king at the time recognized his powers and ordered him to use them for the betterment of the kingdom.

However, the man valued his freedom and stubbornly refused the king’s order, despite threats to rob him of his career and liberties. Finally, when the king’s patience had been spent, he sent an army after the man...only for them to be defeated with ease. On the back of the steel steed, the man outran any pursuers the king could unleash.

From that day forth, the man went on to rob noble after noble. The steel steed proved as swift in attack as it had been in retreat, making his movements utterly unpredictable. As his gang grew in numbers, they became too powerful for even the kingdom’s whole arsenal to handle.

Without anyone to combat the bandits, they only gained more momentum. It didn’t take long for their criminal activities to reach neighboring nations. Furthermore, as the bandits fled the scene of the crime with their loot in tow, they always told the story of their leader’s downfall in the kingdom of Rifall, claiming that they robbed only to survive and to protest his treatment.

Eventually, the opinion of the popular court found the king of Rifall at fault; by now he was criticized by other nations in addition to citizens of his own kingdom. International relations crumbled, and the king lost all control of Rifall, until his brother took the throne from him and he was executed.

“His death quelled the international persecution, but this part of history became a stain on Rifall. It might have been a different story if the new king had been able to apprehend the child of the gods, but no such luck. Since none of the stolen goods were recovered...”

“It’s not a happy ending,” I said.

“Exactly. And that was just one example. Plenty of other tales speak of how a child of the gods threatened the balance of our world powers. You can see why the kingdom doesn’t want to antagonize a child of the gods—even if they can’t reach a mutually beneficial arrangement, they’re often content to live and let live.”

She sighed before continuing, “Of course, stupid people will always be stupid no matter the time period. And there are some examples where things got really ugly because no one believed a child of the gods when they proclaimed their identity. In the first place, the kingdom developed the live-and-let-live policy precisely because of cautionary tales surrounding the children of the gods like the one I told you.”

“I understand what you’ve told me, but not why,” I said. She’d shared a story from her past to warn me of what I might face in the future, but I wasn’t sure why she’d revealed that she’d pegged me for a child of the gods.

“I wouldn’t have told you if I thought you might go berserk just because someone found out your identity. I was sure you’d have an open ear and mind. I thought being honest with you would make things easier,” she explained.

“I appreciate your trust in me.”

Judging by the stories of the past children of the gods, Remily must’ve anticipated some possibility of me not taking this news too well—a possibility that could have been life ending for her... That she’d told me at all was a testament to her guts and kindness.

But then she dropped another bomb. “It makes things easier for me too. There was no way for me to tell you that Elias knows you’re a child of the gods and still pretend like I hadn’t figured it out myself.”

“What?” I had heard that name just recently. My instinct to turn my head was subdued by the voluptuous masses behind it. “Just to clarify... You mean, His Majesty?”

“Uh-huh. Elias took part in that research too... Well, he was the one who commissioned the research in the first place. On top of being king and a descendant of a child of the gods, I’m sure he has information we don’t. Documents only the royal family is allowed access to, for example.” At the end, the king had determined that Elia was not a child of the gods. “Her store of magical energy is vast, but that was the only sign she showed. Elias explained it away with her being a descendant of King Masaharu...but that wasn’t enough evidence to disprove the rumors, and we weren’t exactly convinced either.”

“But a king’s word is law, so we had no choice but to support it,” Remily said. “And it was more convenient that way for us to protect Elia. Most likely, Elias knows some secret way of determining whether someone is a child of the gods, unbeknownst to us.”

It made sense. At the very least, I had no reason to doubt Remily’s guess. In fact, I didn’t even know what kind of person the king was... What concerned me more, though, was that he apparently knew I was a child of the gods. While Hudom—who had spied for the king until just recently—still worked with me, he no longer gave the kingdom any intel on me after Reinhart spoke to him about it. Still, the king had to have heard of what transpired during the attack on Gimul.

“He brought it up with me, so I wanted to tell you first. You would have been surprised if he called you to the castle out of the blue,” said Remily.

“If you hadn’t told me, I would have been very suspicious.”

“All I want to ask you is to listen to him calmly when that time comes. Elias wouldn’t want to make an enemy out of a child of the gods.”

“Okay.” There was no sense speculating when it came to this. If my situation changed, I would seek Reinhart’s advice. “In preparation for that, I should tell the Jamils that I’m a child of the gods.”

“Are you sure?”

The truth was, there was no real problem with revealing that much about me. It was just that, historically, revealing this particular identity hadn’t worked out for everybody. Some children of the gods in history were betrayed by those they had confided in. Others were labeled liars and ostracized. Others still became too famous—they lost their freedom and loved ones to nefarious forces that had caught wind of their powers... There were just too many historical examples of misfortune befalling them.

The manual I had been given right after coming to this world stated that, while I was allowed to reveal my identity, it was not recommended. If I had my heart set on telling anyone, I was supposed to make sure I trusted them and would have no regrets if things went south because of it.

I trusted the Jamils wholeheartedly, and if they already suspected it, it might make it easier for them to make the right call if trouble arose.

“Besides, now that you know—and you’ve only known me for a few days—I don’t see the benefit of continuing to hide it from them,” I said.

“Makes sense. I was probably the most suspicious one in your circle.”

“I do appreciate what you’ve done for me. And I trust you to keep this between us for now.”

“Of course,” Remily said with genuine gravitas I hadn’t heard from her before. “Now that that’s out of the way, we should get some rest. Without a good night’s rest, we’ll be miserable tomorrow... Not to mention, sleep is essential for maintaining youthful skin.”

“Right... Good night,” I said.

After everything that’d happened, I must have been bone-tired. Despite the surprises I had faced today, I ended the night relaxed. In no time at all, a cozy sense of drowsiness came over me.