Chapter 396 Peeling Off Like It's Softening
"By the way, why is it possession instead of reincarnation?"
"I don't know. Actually, I want to know how to reincarnate instead."
Sara asked Marcato a question she had been wondering about since she crossed her arms.
"A soul from a different world can't enter the cycle of this world as it is. It needs the power of the god who created this world. If you sneak in, you will be seen as a foreign object in this world, and if left alone, you will naturally disappear."
Gaia answered in place of the soul possessing the king.
"Wait, so I can't go to heaven, and I can't reincarnate either?"
"A soul that loses its body returns to the cycle, and there isn't a paradise after death. Well, if you call a place that heals or purifies the soul 'heaven,' then maybe it exists. But whether it can be called paradise is highly questionable. Depending on the state of the soul, there can be suffering."
"So, basically, what you do in life affects the afterlife?"
"It's not necessarily true, but you might be generally correct. Especially for a soul like yours that has become distorted, purification is not easy."
"What do you mean by distorted?!"
"Don't you understand that better than anyone else?"
As Gaia blew a breath onto the king, the king showed a pained expression. The soul possessing the king was probably suffering.
"Ugh, ah... stop, don't remind me. Uwaaa!"
"Look, the ones who died because of you are clinging to your feet."
"I'm not the one to blame. I'm not the only one at fault!!"
In front of Gaia, who had a frightening smile, the king fell to the floor, his knees weak as he backed away, looking pained. From Sara's view, there was nothing in the direction the king was staring at. Maybe only the soul inside him could see it.
"Goddess Gaia, has this person caused so much suffering to others?"
"It's true that he deceived people to make money. There are those who lost their wealth and jobs, and some even lost their families. Because of this, some chose death... but I can't say that this person's actions alone are responsible for that."
"Even though people chose death because of him?"
"In the end, it was their choice to die. Those who were swayed by his sweet words also share some responsibility. Moreover, to drag not just themselves but their own children down with them is nothing short of foolish. I did not create souls just for such things."
Yet, even though he was a criminal, seeing him suffer in front of her made Sara's heart ache. Plus, since he was possessing the king, he only looked like an old man in pain.
"Goddess Gaia, isn't this putting a strain on the king's body?"
"Well, I plan to heal that later, but I suppose it's time to stop for now."
As Gaia waved her hand, the king's body, which had been suffering, collapsed to the ground.
"This isn't the time to be sleeping. Wake up."
"Please, just forgive me already."
"I did not bring you suffering. You are aware of the sins you have committed and chose the punishment that fits them yourself. After all, what counts as a sin is just a rule set by humans. I did not say you should do this. However, to suffer so much means you understand your own sins."
"What do you mean?"
"There are many types of criminals. Some, like you, feel guilty for their sins; others enjoy committing crimes; and some are unaware they are doing anything wrong. You realized your sins, which is why your soul has been hurt and changed. The traffic accident you caused was due to your reckless driving. It can be said that this is a fitting end for someone who does not value themselves. If you suffer this much, you should just live properly. What a foolish man."
The king's body was breathing heavily, and sweat was forming on his forehead. He seemed to lack the strength to even stand up from the floor.
"That girl is also a soul from another world, so why can't I be reincarnated?"
"I am not the god of this world, so the souls I created cannot stay here as they are. The god of this world chose to take Sara. Her soul was given life by this world's god. Normally, a soul like yours, which entered without permission, should have vanished. However, when you came into this world, you fell near the king. You are holding onto your identity by connecting to the king's soul. But when the king dies and his soul returns to the cycle, you will be separated and will disappear."
"I don't want that! I don't want to disappear!"
"The king is already old. There won't be much time left."
"Please, help me. You're the god who created me, right?"
"But... your soul has changed, and it can't be restored to its original state. It seems I can't even bring you back."
Gaia looked at the soul that was more like a king than a king itself, filled with sadness, and then turned to Sara.
"Sara, I'm sorry, but could you sing for me?"
"Sing? Really?"
"Yes. That cheerful Marcato has given your music the power of a god. Could you pour a little of Marcato's power into this soul? After all, it is the creator god of this world."
"Ugh... I don't know, is it really okay for such a carefree being to be a god?"
"You humans seem to have strange ideals about gods, but we are not perfect beings. We are creators and adjusters, but we do not control the worlds and souls we create. We just watch over them."
"Then, taking action like this is an exception, right?"
"That may be true. But please, sing for me out of pity for me, who cannot bring back my lost child from another world."
"Is it really enough just to sing?"
"After that, it depends on that soul."
"--Me?"
Gaia nodded.
"You have possessed the king and whispered many unnecessary things into his ear, right?"
"This guy is too serious. If he's a king, shouldn't he act more proudly?"
"Of course not. If you were on Earth, you would know that an organization can't run well if the top just acts proud."
"That's true, but still... he's a king, you know? And yet, he doesn't even have a concubine."
"But there's a Crown Prince, so it's fine, right?"
"Well, I think it's okay to be a comforting presence. Plus, he really care about his subordinates. There are a lot of pushy nobles who misunderstand things, so I whispered to be a little mean to them. But even though it's just a little annoyance, this guy looks back on his actions later and gets super depressed."
"The king being down isn't your fault. Besides, you're suffering from guilt too, right? Anyway, stop doing that. Don't bother the serious king."
"But, you know, just being a spirit is boring. I want to prove my identity, you know?"
"That body isn't yours!"
"Sure, it would be nice if I could be reborn, but that's not the case for me."
Sara realized that the soul possessing the king was causing annoyances around him to feel a sense of purpose. Even though there was some malice, it wasn't really harmful because the soul didn't want to seriously hurt anyone.
"Hey, what's your name?"
"Miyamoto Musashi."
"Huh?"
"Seriously, that's my real name. My mom said, 'Since the last name is Miyamoto, let's name him Musashi'."
"That's more impactful than a flashy name."
"Because of my name, I was teased a lot when I was a kid."
"Um, Mr. Miyamoto?"
"Just call me Musashi."
"Okay, Musashi, can I ask why you don't want to leave the king?"
"Well, he's a powerful person. I can do whatever I want."
"But you learned that you can't just do whatever you want, right?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Then, should you get ready to leave soon?"
"But if I leave, I'll disappear, right?"
Musashi, in the king's body, slumped his shoulders sadly.
"Fine, I'll help you. I mean, if Gaia came all the way here, it probably means she can help you. I think Marcato wanted to erase you, though."
"That guy?"
"They're an outsider who barged into his own world."
"Isn't the difference in how we're treated really unfair?"
"I was kidnapped too, so it's not that different, right?"
"But it's still way worse for me!"
"Then, are we just laughing at each other's problems?"
"I've been thinking about this for a while, but imagine wiping your eye boogers with your fingers and then sticking them in your nose, versus picking your nose and putting that in your eye. Isn't putting boogers in your eye way worse?"
"I'm not doing either!"
"That's just a metaphor. A metaphor."
'Looks like a weird guy is following me...'
"You all seem to be having fun."
""We're not having fun at all!""
"You seem to get along."
Gaia giggles.
"Hey, Sara. Can you create a golem for Musashi?"
"I think I can, but I won't connect it to Magi, okay?"
"Do whatever you want. But you need to recharge the magic."
"That means I have to take care of it, huh? I can't just leave a golem full of bad brokers lying around, after all."
"Can you make it small enough to carry?"
"This not-so-cute thing?"
"I'm just talking about size. I'm not saying you have to carry him around."
"Hmm, if it can be small, I think I can make one that doesn't use much magic. Since it won't need to connect with Magi, it should last a long time."
"Also, if you have any magic stones from this world, could you give me a few? I'll make a substitute for the soul fragment. It's just a fake, but if I can successfully separate Musashi's soul from the king's soul, I should be able to attach it to this magic stone."
Sara nodded and took out several high-purity magic stones from her storage.
"What attributes should we use, Goddess?"
"Well, for attributes that match Musashi's soul, it would be these two."
Gaia selected the light and water magic stones from Sara's offerings. When she touched them, the stones floated and began to spin quickly. Suddenly, a bright light flashed from their center.
"Hmm. These are good quality magic stones. It seems they were made by you. How about becoming the god of this world in place of Marcato? You seem to have talent for it."
"I think I'll pass on such troublesome things."
"I'll ask you again when you get tired of living as a human."
Gaia made a suggestion that sounded like a joke or maybe serious, and in her palm, a sphere about 5 cm (� 1.9in) in diameter had formed. It was highly transparent and had a faint blue color.
"Is this a fake soul?"
"Rather than a soul, it should be called a vessel for the soul. If Musashi's soul separates from the king's soul, it might scatter. So, I plan to prepare a vessel to keep its shape and let it reside in a golem."
"But this soul alone won't be enough to power the golem, right?"
"I'm sorry, but could you also provide a magic stone for the golem?"
"If it's a request from Goddess Gaia, I can't say no."
Sara prepared a smaller magic stone and turned to Musashi.
"Okay, I'm going to sing now. I don't know what effect it will have, but I think Gaia will guide you."
"Y-yeah, got it."
"By the way, do you have any requests?"
"Huh?"
"Since we're at it, I thought I'd sing a song you like."
"I don't really know much about classical music. I only recognized the song you played earlier, so I figured you must be from Earth."
"If it's a song I know, pop music is fine too."
"How about a musical?"
"I might be able to manage a famous one."
Musashi's request was for a really famous song from a musical. When he asked if she could sing it in English, Sara asked why. Musashi mumbled, "I was supposed to see it on Broadway. For my honeymoon," suggesting he probably never got to see it.
As Sara began to sing softly, the space behind the king wavered, and Marcato appeared. When Marcato touched the king's soul, Sara's singing turned into a watery magic that wrapped around both the king's soul and Musashi's soul. Within the magic of her voice, Musashi's soul gently peeled away from the king's soul.
Just as Sara finished singing, Musashi's soul completely separated from the king's soul. When Gaia approached with the magic stone that would hold the soul, Musashi's soul was smoothly drawn into the magic stone.
"Sara, please create a golem with this soul container."
"Understood, Goddess Gaia."
Sara created a small golem about 30 cm (� 11.8 inches) tall to reduce her magic consumption. However, to distinguish it from other golems, it looked just like a teddy bear. It was soft and fluffy, made of fabric. Sara embedded a soul vessel in the back of the teddy bear and gently poured magic into the magic circle that would activate the golem.
"Musashi, can you hear my voice?"
"I can hear you, little lady."
"Can you stand up and walk?"
Musashi slowly stood up but quickly wobbled and fell over.
"Oh. It's been a while since I could move my body. Give me some time to get used to it."
"I made you small to reduce magic consumption, but isn't it inconvenient?"
"It's more fun than being stuck in a soul. I can move freely now. But why a teddy bear?"
"Gaia said a small doll would be fine. But personally, I don't like porcelain dolls. They seem like they could get up and move at night. I feel the same way about Japanese dolls."
"I kind of get that."
While watching the wobbly golem Musashi practice moving on the floor, Sara called out to Marcato.
"Marcato, you're back pretty quickly."
"I said I'd come when you finished singing."
"I thought I understood you liked music when you told me your name, but are you really that bored?"
"Ugh, Sara is strict."
"Of course I am. It was your fault that Musashi came to this world in the first place."
With Gaia next to them, Marcato was unusually honest.
"I'm sorry! But you could have just made the soul of a con artist disappear."
"Marcato, don't say things like that while ignoring your own actions. You're the one who kidnapped my soul, right?"
"I'm, I'm sorry."
Sara called out to Musashi, who was getting used to walking.
"By the way, why were you committing fraud?"
"Because it was profitable."
"Have you ever thought about getting a decent job?"
"Even I, when I just graduated from university, found work fun and enjoyed going to the office."
"Then why did you get involved in crime?"
"I got fired from my job."
"What? What happened?"
"I was set up by a colleague. They took credit for my work and framed me for embezzlement. The company forced me to resign instead of making it public."
"Isn't that just being fired?"
"That's definitely a de facto firing. And I don't know how it leaked, but I couldn't get a job in the same finance industry again."
Musashi seemed unwilling to answer any more, turning his teddy bear away. Then Gaia picked up the newly made teddy bear and stared into its eyes, which were created from a small earth-type magic stone.
"Strong resentment and obsession leave scars on the soul. You hold grudges against many people and are hated by even more. You were a capable man, but you were robbed of your achievements by your peers, set up, and fired from your company. The person you promised to marry also left, and when you heard that she married the man who set you up, your soul was deeply wounded."
"That's a sad story, Musashi."
"Heh. I don't need your sympathy. I was the fool who got tricked. So, this time, I decided to be the one doing the tricking."
Musashi, having escaped from Gaia's hands, landed on the floor and declared proudly.
"Well, Musashi. Doesn't that mean you're just losing to the colleague who set you up in the first place? Weren't they laughing at you for falling into the trap and becoming a fraud?"
"Ugh..."
"I don't know what job you had in your past life, but shouldn't you have succeeded in a job that you would have found fulfilling?"
"That's a nice thought. But, it's not bad."
At that moment, Marcato interrupted.
"Sorry to break up the fun, but that vessel for your soul has its limits. I think it can only last about 100 years."
"With 100 years, this person's soul should be able to regenerate to some extent. When that time comes, I will come to welcome my Musashi."
From a human perspective, that's a longer time than the average lifespan. Even as a teddy bear, Musashi thought it was enough time to live again.
"Um, when that time comes, please come to get me, Goddess... Gaia?"
Musashi finally remembered Gaia's name. Although, a god's name is kind of meaningless anyway.
And so, Sara ended up with another strange companion.
A teddy bear with the mind of an old man...!?
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