I Don't Get a Choice, and Neither Do You!

After testing the waters several times, Herbert confirmed one thing.

As he understood it, the gods of this world were not supreme embodiments of the world's laws.

They were merely individuals who commanded the laws of a particular domain and possessed tremendous power.

Gods could fall, and they could be sealed away and suppressed by others.

They were not invincible.

Nor were they... beyond blasphemy.

Theory established. Time to put it into practice!

The buzzing in his ears had long since vanished, and that enraged, mighty being had not struck him with divine punishment and reduced him to ash.

"Also, before you answer, have you figured out how you're going to tempt me?"

"Wealth? Status? Power?"

"Let me break it down for you. We can skip status. Even if I leave this Monastery, I'm still a Duke's son, and I'll very likely become the next Duke."

"The same goes for wealth. I certainly won't lack money. Even if I don't become Duke, at worst, I can live out my days in comfort on an estate as a local lord."

"The only thing that holds any appeal for me is power. But I'm a Holy Knight recognized by the Monastery, and I'm entitled to access its complete legacy."

"When you put it all together, have you noticed that... you're actually not as important to me as you think you are?"

"No."

Herbert smiled meaningfully.

"Perhaps it's precisely because you understand that better than anyone that you've been avoiding the subject, pretending not to care. You planned to wait until fear drove me to beg you in desperation, then use that to control me..."

"My friend, I'd suggest saving yourself the trouble. Stop waiting."

The Evil God remained silent, offering no response.

But silence itself was a response.

Both the Evil God and the mortal understood that.

"Of course, I'm not saying all this to threaten you. I do have that much self-awareness."

Herbert did not press any further. His manner became as relaxed and languid as before, and he said casually:

"My request is the same as before-be a little more honest. Let's have an open, frank discussion."

"How about it?"

They were both clever. There was no need to waste the effort.

A little more sincerity, a little less manipulation.

The god offered no reply, and the mortal did not hurry her. Silence settled over the room.

Tick, tick, tick.

Time slipped past, second by second, to the soft ticking of the clock.

[You... have surprised me.]

After a long while, words finally appeared on the paper.

[Perhaps I truly shouldn't have treated you as an ordinary Holy Knight...]

The Evil God was displaying her magnanimity, but Herbert rudely interrupted her.

"See? You're still acting."

"You really don't need to do this whole 'I see through you, so you act surprised and change your attitude' routine. It's pointless."

"I'm begging you. Stop acting."

Still pretending! Still pretending!

Finally, after being exposed again and again, the Evil God could no longer keep up the act. She drew a large, angry face on the paper.

[...Tsk. You're such a boring Holy Knight!]

"Well, thanks for the compliment?"

A certain god of comedy indignantly accused the mortal of failing to appreciate her fun.

[Don't you know how much fun you're ruining by doing this?]

"Rather than respecting your bizarre tastes, I think it's more important that we clear up our relationship right now."

"Cut the crap. What exactly do you want me to do for you? And what can you give me?"

When Herbert pressed her again, the Evil God finally stopped playing games and obediently dropped her pretense.

[Very well, mortal. I admit... you truly have surprised me.]

[You win this time. You do indeed have the right to negotiate with me.]

[But before we discuss that, there's still something I don't understand... I'm an Evil God, you know? Are you really not worried at all?]

The Evil God could not understand it.

If this mortal understood everything and had seen through it all, why had he chosen to risk making a deal with her instead of seeking help from someone else?

Was he a madman?

But that did not quite fit. She could sense no impulse toward self-destruction in his mind.

"Worried? Would worrying help? More to the point, do I really have a choice?"

Herbert rolled his eyes, utterly exasperated. "The moment you took it upon yourself to bestow your blessing on me, I stopped having a choice."

"And if I don't get a choice, then... neither do you!"

Why should I have to let you push me around?

No.

I refuse to let you get everything you want so easily.

"Better we both lose than you win alone! If we're going to die, we're dying together!"

Herbert sneered and uttered blasphemous words that would have driven anyone else who heard them mad:

"I don't care what you want. I can help you, but only if you become my slave."

Faced with such an absurd demand, the god naturally refused to agree and asked coldly:

[You... must be joking?]

"Joking? Wasn't that your plan in the first place? Brand me with your mark, turn me into a fallen man who can't show his face, and finally leave me so desperate that I turn to you for help and become your enslaved puppet."

Herbert scoffed, then asked quietly:

"Why are you so unwilling now that it's your turn?"

Just the right to negotiate?

Not enough.

Nowhere near enough!!!

Herbert was not content to become merely a follower of the Evil God. He wanted far more than that.

After a long while, the Evil God finally answered.

[Mortal, I smell ambition on your soul.]

"Heh. Cut the crap. Just tell me whether you agree."

Having stated his demand, Herbert stopped acting as well. He spread his hands with shameless defiance.

"Don't rush to refuse. If you don't agree, I'll just turn myself in to the Archbishop at dawn. Surely he wouldn't kill me on the spot?"

Could he one-shot me!!?

[Are you certain?]

"Of course not. That's why I don't want to try, and won't."

"Let me remind you of something. Perhaps I'm not the only person you've blessed, and perhaps others like me will come along in the future. But I should be the most suitable candidate you can find."

[Why are you so confident?]

"Because I'm not a proper believer in the first place. Doctrine won't influence me."

[No. In fact, you are.]

"Hm?"

To Herbert's surprise, even after he had stripped away all pretense and pressured her, the Evil God was not furious. If anything, she seemed to be in... a very good mood?

[Hehe. You are not a lamb of the Gods. You are your own believer. You believe only in yourself.]

"Oh, come on. That's nonsense. Aren't I trying to put my trust in you?"

[Mortal, I will no longer underestimate you, and you need not continue your performance... I will stop pretending as well.]

Just as Herbert wondered how she intended to drop her pretense, a soft voice filled with pleasure sounded gently in his mind.

["Hehe."]

!!?

She could have spoken to me directly all along!

["Mortal... no, Herbert Albert, young Holy Knight. I acknowledge your worth."]

The Evil God, who had seemed easygoing on the surface but had actually disdained speaking with a mortal, finally abandoned her contempt.

["Greedy enough, cautious enough, mad enough... you are indeed a worthy partner."]

She personally extended an invitation to the mortal.

["In my name as a god, I invite you to become my pact-bound partner. Help me break free of my shackles, and I will give you an equal reward."]

"...A partner?"

Herbert narrowed his eyes and did not answer immediately.

Was this proposal difficult to accept?

Of course not!

Rather, this had been Herbert's true goal throughout his lengthy performance.

He understood his current circumstances well. Simply avoiding a position of helplessness was already difficult enough. Gaining the upper hand was utterly out of the question.

He had only briefly gained the advantage because the Evil God had underestimated him. By catching her off guard, he had barely managed to hold his own against her. He could never maintain that for long.

His outrageous demand that she become his slave, something he knew could never succeed, had merely been an attempt to achieve his real goal by making a smaller demand seem reasonable beside an extreme one.

Negotiation, after all, was nothing more than asking an outrageous price and haggling it down.

"Then..."

Herbert did not give a clear answer. Instead, he tried asking directly in his mind without opening his mouth:

"Since we're about to become close partners, surely you should let me know your name?"

["Hehe. Naturally, that is no problem. However, I cannot speak my name right now. Certain beings would notice."]

"All right! Then from now on, I'll call you Niohuru Evil God-chan. Or, for short..."

Evil God-chan completely ignored Herbert's generous gift of a name. With a nostalgic tone, she whispered softly in his mind:

["But you may call me..."]

["Nenasya."]