'Chat-GOD......?'
Luca was both annoyed and curious about yet another newly added application.
'It's not like I'm even able to fully utilize the ones I already have, so I can't exactly say I'm happy about getting sothing new... but this na is pretty intriguing.'
One glance was enough to see where the motif ca from.
And just from the na, it was easy to sense a trace of divinity.
'Not AI... Can it really be an app to chat with a god?'
Among all the apps he'd received until now, this was by far the most interesting.
He felt like trying it out right away.
"Hm... With this much contamination, it'll take quite a while to purify even if I put it in space."
While Luca was excited and thinking of trying out the new app, Whistle comnted, sounding a bit regretful as she looked at the golden heart.
Luca was impressed.
"Anything contaminated by a devil's power—does it all get purified if I put it into space?"
"You saw earlier how the devil lted away when struck by rain. The power of the sky is fatal to beings like devils. If you put it into space, which you could call the crystallization of that power, most devils' power gets purified."
"But is there ever a risk that it gets contaminated the other way around?"
The devils' power, capable of corrupting everything.
No matter how incredible the sky's power was, he wondered if it could really purify all devil's power.
"Well, I don't think it works against the power of the three great devils."
"The three great devils......."
Devil of Strength. Devil of Wisdom. And the Devil of Life.
Their nas sounded like divine relics belonging to heroes, but these beings were in truth the strongest and the worst.
In the original work, those three devils basically served as the final bosses.
'Masked Swordsman W...no, Willow took care of the Devil of Strength. Most of the key figures from Heaven's Door and Herote defeated the Devil of Wisdom. And lastly, the protagonist dealt with the Devil of Life.'
It wasn't always that way every loop, but in most loops, that was the pattern.
"But I've never actually tried, so I can't say for sure."
"Is that so."
While they were pondering over the forces of the devils and that of space, Ottbo ca flying in riding on Rivik.
"Luca! Is it all over?"
"...... Yeah. Are you alright?"
"I ran away, so I'm fine. Your pet kept motioning frantically, like it was telling to escape, so I had no choice but to bolt. Sorry......."
Ottbo looked genuinely remorseful and sad.
Luca replied in a flat voice.
"The only thing that can really resist a devil's power is the power of the sky. Running away so you wouldn't get in the way was actually helpful, so you don't need to feel so bad."
"I trained so hard so I wouldn't be a burden, but... I still didn't manage......."
"......."
He'd ant to ease Ottbo's burden, but it seed to have backfired.
Honestly, it wouldn't have mattered what Ottbo said while he was in hiding, the result would be the sa.
Luca bit his lip for a mont, then relaxed his shoulders.
"I've used up a lot of strength. Can I ask you to carry back to the mansion?"
"Eh? Ah, sure!"
At Luca's words, Ottbo brightened a bit and picked him up, flying back atop Rivik.
Of course, Luca had used a lot of energy, but it wasn't as if he couldn't make it to the mansion on his own.
'Well, since I brought him with , I should at least give him sothing to do.'
* * *
[Chat-GOD]
- An application that lets you chat with GOD.
- Each ti you chat, you need a certain number of tokens.
- Tokens are given when you hunt devils or recover divine relics.
- One token is used per each character you type.
- Tokens are consud only when you output a ssage.
Current token count: 500
'So it works like this.'
He vaguely recalled using AI chat back in the modern world.
He thought back then, the tokens consud for input and output were separate.
But here in Chat-GOD—so, Chat-GOD—it seed tokens were only consud for output.
'Is it that it's easy for a god to hear my voice, but hard for them to reply to ?'
He'd expected there would be so sort of limit.
Still, this was a reasonable one.
With that thought, Luca tapped the tokens feature in Chat-GOD.
[Token]
- The currency necessary for chatting.
- Earn tokens by completely annihilating devils or by using your smartphone to recover unused divine relics.
'You can recover unused divine relics?'
That was a bit odd.
After all, it was a divine relic—leaving one unused was regrettable.
'...... Ah. Contaminated divine relics.'
Contaminated divine relics couldn't be properly used until purified.
In the original, the protagonist had used 'storage' to bypass the contamination or divine relics he couldn't use via 'resonance'.
'Hmm... If I ever desperately need tokens, recovering a heavily contaminated divine relic that's hard to purify might not be a bad idea.'
The appeal of being able to converse with a god was enormous.
'Then... Shall I give it a try?'
Luca swallowed hard and launched Chat-GOD.
A familiar interface popped up.
'Since my tokens are limited, I need to ask questions carefully.'
After so thought, Luca asked his first question.
Luca: Are you the god of this world?
GOD: There are several gods in this world, and I am one of them.
'...... That was a waste.'
It was a completely pointless question.
When Luca saw his tokens decrease, he bit his lip and asked the next question.
Luca: What kind of god are you?
GOD: I am the god of stories.
Luca: What does the god of stories do?
GOD: I manage and progress this story.
Luca: What exactly does it an to "manage and progress the story"?
GOD: When the story was first created in the primordial ti, certain scenarios were set, and I help those scenarios advance in a rightful manner by using coincidence and inevitability. However, not all coincidences or inevitabilities co from , nor does all story progression go through .
It was a bit abstract, but it seed that stories had set scenarios and the god of stories existed to ensure they happened.
Luca: Then, does all the power of the smartphone co from you?
GOD: Yes.
'Oh.'
If a question could be answered simply, the response really was simple.
He had no intent to force Luca to waste tokens unnecessarily.
Thinking about what else to ask, Luca recalled sothing.
Luca: Out of the applications I have so far, there are so that I don't use much—is there a way to use them that I don't know about?
GOD: When those apps were first granted, the bond between you and the story was not strong, resulting in many restrictions. Now that the bond has grown, upgrades for previously received apps are being prepared. These improvents will occur through hint completion or devil hunting.
'Oh... So, features like hint fragnt collection or search could really be improved...!'
It was true those functions were inconvenient as they were.
But to think the reason was "restrictions."
Now that improvents were possible, he looked forward to them.
'But... is it really okay to tell this much?'
He understood that tokens were a limiter, but he still wondered if it was okay to get this kind of information.
Luca: Is it really all right to be told secrets about this world in this way? Is there any chance that doing this will prevent from using my smartphone in the future?
GOD: Because you have beco the central figure of the story, the pace of the scenario is advancing quickly—so parts even scrapped. However, since there is still a gap between the story's progress and your stats, more useful apps have recently been granted to you. Transmitting ssages through the smartphone consus far fewer resources than delivering an oracle, so the chances you'll lose the use of your smartphone are extrely slim.
'The story's progressing fast.......'
That was sothing Luca had sensed as well.
The Shadow Over the Academy, who manipulated most of the early parts from behind the scenes, had already been eliminated.
In the original, the protagonist t Albino during the Aldnoa War and wiped them out, but that had already happened.
On top of that, Zeritz left the academy and joined Eltima Cross far earlier than usual.
There were other differences, but those alone showed the story was progressing rapidly.
'And according to mother, the Demonz seem significantly weakened.......'
There were also signs that the remaining Demonz, who were gathering vitality on the battlefield, were reallocating their forces elsewhere.
Clearly, many things were changing.
' killing the Devil of Hunger this ti must have had quite an impact too.'
He wasn't sure if it was re luck, or if the "god of stories" had pulled so strings.
He t the Devil of Hunger before it had fully regained its power and took care of it relatively easily.
That surely shook the narrative.
'How many tokens do I have left.......'
Luca checked his remaining tokens.
Around 170.
At this point, it seed best to either end the conversation or just ask one more question.
'Most of my curiosity has been satisfied, anyway.'
He'd asked pretty much everything important.
Luca was pondering what else to ask, when suddenly his eyes flashed.
Luca: If I have beco the central figure, what happens to the original protagonist?
GOD: I cannot provide information that would interfere with the story's progression. Half the tokens spent on this answer will be refunded, so please ask a new question.
'Seriously?'
He ended up losing around 30 tokens.
'Wait, so all the things you answered earlier weren't classified as information that would interfere with the progression?'
He couldn't figure out what the criteria were.
Biting his lip, Luca hesitated, then asked again.
Luca: Within the limits of not interfering with progress, what direction should I take in the future?
GOD: ...
No imdiate reply from Chat-GOD.
Was the restriction of not interfering with the story's progress really that tough?
Even after a few minutes, there was no reply, so Luca clicked his tongue and was about to put his phone away.
Ding!
Then, the answer arrived.
GOD: You're already doing very well. Please continue to grant salvation to the villains as you have been.
"Salvation for the villains......?"
The things Luca had been doing up to now were essentially solving the problems of characters who would have beco outright villains in the original story, preventing them from turning to evil.
Was that really considered salvation?
'But now that I think of it... Haven't I already saved nearly all the villains?'
Not only Ottbo and Kryphi, but also Milia and Isella's hints were close to completion, and with the Shadow Over the Academy gone, most of the villains from the academy arc had vanished.
Outside of those at the academy, the only remaining villains were those from the Aldnoa kingdom, who were trying to start a war.
And even there, once the Demonz were dealt with, the rest of the story would resolve itself.
'If I solve Milia's problem, then even the first and third princes will be taken care of, so there really aren't many left.'
Just as Luca was putting his phone away in his pocket with that thought, Bella burst into the room in a hurry.
"Ma-master! There's a visitor!"
"A visitor? Who?"
It was unlike Bella to react like that just because of "a visitor."
Who could it be that made her react this way?
Looking puzzled, Luca turned to Ottbo, who had followed Bella in with a sowhat tense face.
"Big brother Ferka... is here as an envoy of the Gress family."
"!"
It had finally co.
User Comments
0 comments from readers