Chapter 20: The Merchant of Venice (6)

A wild ginseng that has grown by withstanding the harsh winds of Mother Nature, untouched by human hands, is called Heavenly Wild Ginseng.

“……Well, to put it simply, it’s the finest wild ginseng.”

How do I know this so well?

It’s because my Father explained it to me whenever he was bored.

‘This right here is what they call Heavenly Wild Ginseng! It’s a cure-all! Hey, son, don’t you dare set your sights on this! This one’s for me!’

It was a liquor my Father cherished dearly.

Thinking of my Father, my eyes grew red without realizing it.

‘……I’ll use it for something good, Father.’

Holding the liquor bottle filled with Heavenly Ginseng Liquor, I returned to the small world.

Shylock’s daughter, Lily, was still lying on her sickbed.

Now, time for optimized transfer……..

—Ding!

[Optimized Transfer List]

• Heavenly Ginseng Liquor …… 5P

[Divine Power: 340/459 → 335/459]

Soon, a pure white light burst forth, and a bottle of ginseng liquor appeared in Lily’s hand.

「Th-this is……?」

Lily stared at the bottle that had suddenly appeared before her, eyes wide with surprise.

I immediately explained.

“It’ll be a bit bitter, but please drink it all. Once you’re done, I’ll take you to where your Father is.”

Lily looked down at the cup and swallowed dryly.

Soon, a gentle smile appeared on her face as she spoke.

「God, I thank you for this drink you have granted as you spoke. And…… for granting my final wish, I give you my deepest thanks.」

After offering her prayer of thanks, Lily softly sipped the Heavenly Ginseng Liquor.

Perhaps it was quite bitter, as Lily tightly closed her eyes and winced.

But at that moment.

A dazzling radiance began to warmly envelop the girl’s body.

Soon, color returned to her once-pale face, and flesh filled out her thin limbs.

Even her ragged, labored breaths quietly settled into peace.

「How can this be…….」

Lily touched her arms and legs with a dazed expression.

Then, she immediately sat up from the bed and knelt down.

「God, you have given me a miracle. Truly…… truly, thank you.」

“Now, shall we go? To where your Father is……!”

I carefully reached my hand toward the window.

Without hesitation, Lily opened the window and stepped onto my palm.

At that, people who had gathered around the Venice Company began screaming one after another.

「Aaah?! Th-the hand…… a giant hand has appeared!」

「That’s Lady Lily’s room, isn’t it?!」

「G-goodness! Lady Lily has stepped onto that giant hand!」

「Oh my, Miss! That’s dangerous!」

Lily waved at the shouting people below and cried out.

「It’s all right! I’m with God now! I’m going to where my Father is!」

And so, I carried Lily on my palm and headed for the Sanctuary.

「……Then why don’t you intervene when we suffer, when we face misfortune? If God is omnipotent, shouldn’t you be able to prevent such things from happening in the first place?」

「God created and cares for us because He loves us. But you seem to take God’s love for granted, as if it’s His obligation or duty. Don’t you think that’s an awfully arrogant and selfish way to think?」

Within the Sanctuary, Janne and Shylock were still fiercely at odds.

I gently placed my hand between them on the ground.

A gigantic hand suddenly appearing in the middle of the Sanctuary.

Janne and the other Sanctuary Residents immediately bowed their heads in reverence.

Meanwhile, Shylock and his guards retreated warily, tense.

At that moment.

「……Father!」

Leaping off the giant palm, Lily immediately ran toward Shylock.

—Ding!

[Quest]

Wish of Father and Daughter

• 1. Fulfill Lily’s wish……. [Completed (V)]
• 2. Fulfill Shylock’s wish.

・Experience +400, Divine Power +20P

「L-Lily? How did you get here? No, more importantly, how did you get up from your sickbed? Are you all right?!」

Shylock hurried to his daughter and carefully studied her face.

Just that morning, her cheeks had been the color of clay, but now they glowed peach-pink.

And the daughter who couldn’t even stand on her own, let alone walk, was now standing straight with both feet planted firmly on the ground.

「H-how can this be? And how in the world did you get here?」

Shylock was so dumbfounded he even stammered.

Lily gently took her Father’s hand and spoke softly.

「God granted me a miracle and cured the illness that was eating away at me. And He personally brought me here to where you are, Father.」

「How can that be……..」

Shylock looked up at the sky with a blank expression.

I quietly looked down at Shylock and slowly spoke.

“Mr. Shylock, I admit it. I am imperfect. Just like all of you. That’s why I cannot completely eliminate the absurdities and inequalities rampant in the world.”

「What do you mean…….」

I took a breath and continued speaking.

“I know the sorrow and despair you feel, those dark and deep emotions. I, too, have lost precious people, so I fully understand. I’m sorry.”

Words spoken calmly to Shylock.

But, in truth, those were the words I had always wanted to hear.

Back when I was fifteen, after losing my parents.

「God is apologizing……. And to someone like me, just a mere creation…….」

Shylock looked quite shocked.

No wonder—an immense being called the Creator expressing an apology to a mere creation like him.

But it wasn’t something I said after weighing calculations.

Shylock was still staring blankly at the sky.

I continued speaking, slowly.

“I cannot turn back what has already passed, nor can I bring back those precious ones who have left us. But I can promise you one thing for sure.”

Jeanne d’Arc and the Sanctuary Residents, Shylock and his guards.

Everyone in the Sanctuary was gazing up at the sky.

At last, I declared in a determined voice.

“

Those who follow and believe in me, I will never turn my eyes away from my believers again. I won’t let my believers suffer the same unfairness as before……. For now, that is where I’ll begin.”

That was my true intention.

I don’t have the ability to fix everything in the past.

But I would protect these believers who follow me, no matter what.

Just then, Shylock murmured quietly.

「A Creator who apologizes to His creation and admits His own imperfection. Hah… In all my years traveling the world, I’ve never heard of such a God existing.」

I suddenly realized.

Now that I’ve confessed my own imperfection, Shylock might be even less inclined to believe me as a ‘God.’

But Shylock’s response was entirely different from what I’d expected.

「I don’t know about anything else, but to take responsibility for and protect those who follow you… Of all the things I’ve ever heard, that’s the most reasonable, and… the most trustworthy thing I’ve ever heard.」

Shylock slowly bowed his head.

—Ding!

[Quest]

Wish of Father and Daughter

• 1. Fulfill Lily’s wish……. [Completed (√)]
• 2. Fulfill Shylock’s wish……. [Completed (V)]

[System]

• Quest Complete!
  ・Experience +400, Divine Power +20P

[Level Up!]

[Creator Level: 6]

[Divine Power: 335/459 → 469/469]

Shylock’s daughter Lily’s deeply faithful request.

Thanks to the immense reward, my Creator Level rose by one.

At that moment, a new System window appeared before my eyes.

[System]

• As the Creator Level increases, the reproduction rate of offerings given by believers becomes more sophisticated.

The reproduction rate of offerings becomes more precise.

In other words, the offerings believers present will now be transferred closer to their actual size.

Meanwhile, Jeanne d’Arc, watching over Shylock and Lily, smiled faintly and spoke.

「I am imperfect. That is what God said. But because God is imperfect, He can understand and love us, who are also imperfect. It is precisely because He bears imperfection that He can truly be perfect.」

To be honest, it was a better interpretation than the reality.

But thanks to the Creator’s personal advocate, Jeanne d’Arc’s explanation, the believers slowly nodded in agreement.

[System]

• The faith of the believers becomes steadfast!

At that moment, Shylock, who had been listening in silence, dropped to his knees on the grass.

In Shylock’s eyes, gazing up at the sky, a gentle light flickered.

「Once I make a decision, I rarely change it. But you have changed my mind so completely, and calmed my heart, which had become as battered as a storm-tossed sea.」

Shylock tightly grasped his daughter’s hand by his side.

「You must truly be God. Thank you. For saving my daughter……. For saving me…….」

「……Father.」

With those words, Shylock’s shoulders slowly began to tremble.

—Ding!

Shylock, a target rumored to be so cold and calculating that he wouldn’t shed a drop of blood even if stabbed,

[System]

• A new believer has joined!
• Number of believers: 399 → 400

Hot tears were streaming down his cheeks.