The Infinite Magic Born of a Smile (Complete)
She was up in the clouds.
The ground beneath our feet was white clouds, and all around us—endless white clouds stretching as far as the eye could see.
The last time I came here, thunder was rolling all around, but now it’s incredibly calm.
Back here again.
Bring the slaves.
First-timer — second-timer.
Risha and Lissa stood beside me.
The Eternal Slave prepared by the Goddess when summoned alongside Starlight.
The first two slaves.
"This is where it began."
Yes, my lord.
Now that I can say it...
Lysa said, her voice tinged with shy hesitation.
I was thinking, back then, how nice it would've been if you'd been my master.
So that's how it is.
Yeah. I’d be happy no matter who my master was!
Lysa spoke quietly, yet with unwavering insistence.
Yeah, this place is definitely Eternal Slave territory.
“But if you’re asking which of the two is better… it’s really you.”
“Is that so? I’m glad.”
“Me too! I mean, I feel the same.”
“I know.”
I ran my hand through Risha’s hair.
Left twelve slaves behind, walked across the clouds.
The world was reborn.
Using DORECA and the power of the twelve slave cards, I restored every place the heretic god had destroyed.
People multiplied. Things multiplied.
I used modern knowledge to make all sorts of things.
The world was reborn—better than before.
When I heard about it, the tech level had been around medieval times, but now, overall, it was somewhere near the modern age, like the era when steam engines were invented.
And so, the world flourished. One day, an unknown door appeared at the Demon King’s castle.
We tied it up with the slaves, and ended up here, on the clouds.
It hit me, suddenly.
All the time it took to rebuild the world. All the things that happened in between.
Walking the clouds above, I remembered it all.
“Ah.”
Suddenly, I saw the Goddess and the Demon God.
When had they arrived? The two were sitting face to face on the clouds.
“Both of you were here?”
“Were, yes.”
“Did your power come back?”
“I haven’t gotten it back.”
“Stupid child. It wasn’t meant to come back.”
They both denied it.
I’d almost thought maybe they’d regained their strength—but no, that wasn’t it.
“So why are you here?”
“When the world was reborn, I made sure we’d gather here.”
The Goddess answered.
“Kouta, and Kouta’s slaves. And me, and Sistler. Oh—when Saint Night was reborn, she became Saint Night and her slaves. I gathered everyone involved.”
“I see.”
“Thank you, Kouta. For bringing the world back.”
I was thanked by the Goddess.
“So, what happens next? You gonna go back and destroy the world again if you get your strength back?”
“That’s the thing.”
The Goddess spoke.
“Apparently, as long as Akito’s alive, Sistler won’t do it. Says it’s more entertaining to just watch him.”
“That’s not what they said.”
“Eh, they did.”
“They didn’t.”
“They did.”
“They didn’t.”
“They did.”
The Goddess and the Demon God launched into a water fight of words.
Honestly… I’ve always thought this pair was weirdly alike.
Like, in a vague, half-remembered way.
“Anyway, I said it! So, Akito—”
“Huh?”
“If Akito dies, and Sistler’s power gets unleashed, I won’t be able to stop it. It’ll be over. Gone.”
“That’s a problem.”
“So I’m proposing—”
The Goddess smiled.
The most malicious smile I’d ever seen from her.
“Akito… will you become the god of this world?”
“…Huh?”
What the hell is this guy talking about?
I almost said it out loud.
"You’re becoming the god of this world. Once you’re a god, you’ll outlive me and the Sisters, so the problem’ll solve itself."
"...I see."
"Come on, be a god already. Be a god, I said."
"..."
"Child of man, well then? What’s it gonna be?"
"..."
Well. What the hell was that?
Just show up here and boom—this.
Right now, I’ve got twelve slaves. Nothing special about me.
I kept rebuilding the world till the end, but I’ve already handed the throne—the emperor’s seat of the nation that became an empire—to my son.
My son. The one born of Mira.
Just an ordinary human. And now suddenly, I’m told I’ve got to become something bigger than an emperor. A little bit confused, that’s all.
But I guess there’s no choice.
The Demon God? I’ll do it.
When I die, and I reclaim my power, I’ll destroy the world again.
We’ve been at this for too long. It’s clear by now.
She’s the type who’ll just go ahead and destroy the world again the moment she’s got free time. That’s her.
I’m the only one who can stop her.
Maybe what happens after I’m dead doesn’t matter—but leaving the extinction route set in stone? That’s a bad dream.
“Alright, I’ll become a god.”
“Really?”
The Goddess pressed me again.
I nodded. At this point, there’s no turning back.
“Right… thanks. Um, actually, there’s something I need to apologize for?”
“What?”
“Truth is, I’d already decided from the start that the master who passed through that thing would become the god.”
“…Wait?”
“You know, after the world was reborn? Most people get tired of power eventually, start thinking about immortality and all that. So I figured, ‘Well, if they’re gonna rebuild the world, might as well make the one who did it the god.’ So I set it up in advance.”
“…So what you’re saying is… even if I’d said ‘no’ to your question just now…”
“…Well, I’m already a goddess.”
“…Oy!?”
Damn it. Got caught.
I didn’t lose anything, but damn, I *felt* it.
“Sorry, Akihito.”
“You’re fun. That’s why I never get bored watching you.”
They said it without a hint of shame.
Yeah… guess we really are alike.
“Ah, but there’s a good thing too, Akihito-style.”
“A good thing?”
“Goddesses are immortal.”
“Ah.”
And… so?
“Since slaves of a goddess become angels, that means immortality—goddesses can kill us, sure, but nothing else can. So practically, we’re immortal.”
“…So that means…?”
“We’ll be together forever. Yay!”
The Goddess gave a thumbs-up and winked.
The Demon Goddess sighed, shaking her head.
“Master…”
A voice called out.
An Eternal Slave. One of the slaves.
Turning, I saw twelve of them standing there.
They stared at me, then smiled in unison.
Cute little creatures. So damn adorable you could never love them enough.
Six mother-daughter pairs. Twelve slaves. All laughed at once.
On the new, reborn world.
——Magic power was charged infinitely.