第６５５堀：神の審判 被告狂王：君の名は (Part1)
**Side: Yuki**
"Seriously!! You pervert!! You total pervert!!"
Ugh, she’s so noisy. She was the one hopping around in the buff, yet she’s only complaining about me.
"Hey. Taiki, Luth, Taizo-san, all three of you saw Hairen naked, right?"
It was a hassle, so I tried to drag the three of them in to get them on my side.
"Please, stop it. We didn't see anything."
"Indeed. We would never commit such a sacrilegious act as looking at a Goddess's naked body."
"Looking at the naked body of a woman goes against my vow to Hifie-san, so I did not see it."
Tsk, no luck. I could ignore Taiki and Luth, but if I pushed Taizo-san any further, it might put a crack in his relationship with Hifie, so I figured it was best to stop here.
However, I was left wondering what to do about the airhead calling me a pervert, when Sota-san and Enoru-san, having seen enough, delivered a sharp knuckle to her head.
"You were the one who showed it to us, so how about a little gratitude?!"
"Ouch!! Why should I be grateful?! I’m not some pervert who enjoys being seen naked!!"
"That’s not the point. We gave you the opportunity to meet Luna-sama, and we even brought you back to life."
"Honestly, if you get punished for this, we won't be able to protect you."
"Eh—!? Luna-sama wouldn't do something like that, right!?"
"Ah, hmm. Well, it’s kind of funny, so why not?"
That useless Goddess...
"Hey, don't go egging on the airhead. The main event is over there, over there."
I said that to Luna, who was chatting away idly, and pointed to the Aquenoki, which had been left inside the safe.
"Eh, seriously. Can't we just dispose of it? A new Goddess has appeared, so I’m in the mood to have a drink with Hifie and the others. Hey, Steve and the rest of you, just toss some TNT or plastic explosives into the safe and blow it up. Okay?"
"..."
Steve and the others looked reluctant.
"Obviously. You can't just blow up something that lives as a spiritual entity without any safety measures. It’s a huge pain if it possesses someone like Kagura did."
"Ah, so that’s the concern. Even if I say it’s fine from my end, it’s a no-go, right?"
"It’s a no-go. Even if we do a demolition, Luna, you give the instructions from one to ten. Take some responsibility."
"Haaah... It’s not like it’s my fault, is it? They were the ones who rebelled on their own... Well, I guess it can't be helped. Hairen, Sota, and Enoru probably won't be at ease until they see the results."
Finally, looking thoroughly reluctant, Luna walked toward the safe. Hairen and the others seemed to want to leave the handling of the Mad King inside the safe to Luna, so they didn't interrupt our conversation.
"Seriously, these guys love to drag me down. Anyway, what’s the combination for the safe? Or rather, I’ve never handled this type with the spinning dial, what do I do?"
"Steve."
"Yes, yes."
I wanted to tell her to just use her Goddess powers to figure it out, but if I said the wrong thing to Luna—who was putting in the bare minimum effort—she might just abandon the whole thing. I had Steve open the lock and pull out the broken core.
"Whoa. So there really was a spiritual entity inside. How greedy can you get?"
"So, what now? Are you going to hear his defense as planned?"
"Well... it’s a pain, but I suppose I have to... Ah, I’m so sluggish."
Looking genuinely disgusted, Luna spoke to the jewel.
"Alright, I’m going to manifest and revive you temporarily, so stay quiet."
After a flash of light, a middle-aged man who looked like a king stood there. This must be Aquenoki.
"Hmph. To revive my body... I shall praise you, woman."
"..."
Looking at his own body, that was his first remark toward us—or rather, toward Luna. My personal impression of this Aquenoki was: *This guy is hopeless.*
Luna, clearly not amused, stood in front of Aquenoki with a bright smile.
"What? If you want a reward, wait until later. First, the fake Goddess over there..."
She swung her right leg back, leaned her upper body forward, and kicked through like a pendulum. It was a beautiful soccer shot. If this were *Captain Tsubasa*, you’d call it a special move. It hit Aquenoki’s "golden balls" squarely without hesitation.
Perhaps due to the sheer impact, or perhaps the excruciating pain, Aquenoki flew about a meter into the air...
"G-g-g..."
He gasped, mouth opening and closing, unable to form words, before collapsing to the ground in agony.
Ignoring the women, we men—including Steve—instinctively covered our own crotches. Even if he’s an enemy, that hurts. It’s not the kind of pain you get from being cut by a sword; it’s the kind of pain a man fears instinctively. Even though he brought it on himself, it was a strike that made us all wince.
"Now then, for a high-ranking Goddess like me, to be spoken to like that, and on top of your past rebellion... how can you still have such an arrogant attitude?"
"...No way. You are..."
He finally seemed to realize Luna’s true identity, but his arrogant attitude remained unchanged. Luna stepped on his head as he lay on the ground.
"Do you have any defense? Give me a proper excuse. Why did you rebel against me? And what are you hoping for, clinging to a middle-ranking Goddess who is already gone?"
"Th-that is..."
"That is?"
"...That’s my line. You barely paid any attention to us, so why are you showing up in person now?"
"Huh? What are you talking about? Basically, managers like you gods are supposed to be hands-off, aren't you?"
"That’s only for you. The middle-ranking Goddess cherished us. What’s wrong with trying to revive her?"
Ah, so he’s saying he preferred the middle-ranking Goddess who was kind and favored them over Luna, who basically just gave orders and left them alone?
"You changed the policy on your own, purged the gods of this world on your own—who do you think you are?"
"No, your superior, that middle-ranking Goddess, did something reckless and got herself struck down by a human, didn't she? And I told you, I’m not just cleaning up her mess; there’s the issue of mana depletion. If things go on like this, you gods will just vanish, right? And as for 'who do I think I am,' I’m the Goddess who outranks you."
"...I don't believe what you say. The middle-ranking Goddess never once..."
"No, that middle-ranking Goddess was just an idiot, wasn't she? She got struck down because she interfered with human affairs in a weird way. Isn't that natural?"
...Hmm. Listening to this, it just sounds like the branch office staff throwing a tantrum because they won't follow the head office's instructions. Well, I guess independence in society usually comes from those kinds of conflicts...
"At the very least, if you’re going to rebel, return the authority granted to you by the gods and do it with your own power. Rampaging with the power we gave you and demanding this and that is just like a child’s selfishness, isn't it? If you can't follow my instructions, give up your power. I told you that back then, too, didn't I? If you have the guts, give up your power and come at me on your own."
"...Without the power of a god, I couldn't possibly resist."
"No, no. The one who defeated your superior, the middle-ranking Goddess, was just a human, right? What are you sleep-talking about? Have you become such idiots that you can't do anything without the power of a god?"
"..."
"This is why I hate creating living gods on a whim. There are too many idiots who stop thinking. Ah, the ones who followed me are better, but even then, they don't move to solve the situation, which is why I ended up having to pull people in from elsewhere. That’s why I’m here. Understand?"
Luna turned her gaze to me, and Aquenoki looked my way as well.
"Th-the mass-produced product of the Dungeon Master you defeated... But isn't he the same? Isn't he just relying on your power..."
"No, obviously. He’s following my instructions, so he gets preferential treatment. Besides, he doesn't hold back, whether the opponent is a god or not. He didn't come from a world with deep faith, after all."
"Absurd. You gave power to someone without faith... That is a blasphemy against the gods..."
"It’s not blasphemy. He works hard, and his ability is at the bottom of the barrel. He doesn't even have special abilities as a god. He just has the power to build dungeons and produce supplies. You know that well, don't you? Plus, there’s the catch that he can't summon anything unless he produces results. When you stole the core 500 years ago and used it, was it really that versatile?"
"..."
"Do you understand now? What’s important is what’s in your head. Everything depends on how you use it. You had the power of a god and the core, yet you still lost—that just means you’re disqualified as a god."
Wow. Hearing the situation, there really is no excuse for him. He’s a total moron for losing despite having a dungeon core.