By the Grace of the Gods: Volume 1

  Prologue 1

  A single man stood alone in an empty space. His bone-tired face and streaks of white visible in his hair made his age seem to be in his late forties or fifties.

  But contrary to his appearance from the neck up...

  Underneath what was probably his sleepwear of a plain T-shirt and loose shorts, his vigorous body was bursting with well-built muscles indicative of how much training it had gone through.

  “Hmm...? Where... am I?”

  The man blinked around and muttered, wondering if he had gotten blackout drunk in a store somewhere — when three people appeared before him, seemingly out of nowhere.

  “Awake now?”

  “Can you think clearly yet?”

  “We’d be grateful if you could respond.”

  “Yes, I’m fine. The suddenness of everything surprised me, so I was slow to respond. My name is Takebayashi Ryoma.”

  “It’s fine, it’s fine. There’s no need for any formalities. Come, have some tea.”

  An old man with a long beard smiled gently at Ryoma’s conditioned reflex to introduce himself and waved his hand across the ground.

  A coffee table appeared out of thin air, along with enough cushions and teacups for everyone present.

  “Now, why don’t you sit down first?”

  “Okay, thank you.”

  Out of the three people who appeared, just one of them was a woman.

  The young woman smiled cheerfully at Ryoma as she urged him into a seat, which Ryoma accepted with a word of thanks.

  The others sat down in a similar fashion: the elderly man to Ryoma’s front, the woman to his right, and the remaining boy to his left.

  With the four of them seated along all sides of the coffee table, they began to drink their tea. After one sip, Ryoma opened his mouth.

  “Pardon me, but I have a few things I’d like to ask about, if you don’t mind answering?”

  “Of course. That’s what we’re here for, after all. However, I have a pretty good idea of what your questions may be. Would you listen to us speak first? Some of your questions should be answered that way.”

  “I understand, please go ahead.”

  Seeing Ryoma bow his head, the elderly man nodded once before launching into a frank explanation of the situation.

  “We are what humans refer to as ‘gods.’ I am Gain the Creator, and the woman to your right is the Goddess of Love, Lulutia. The boy to your left is the God of Life, Kufo. We live in a world different from your Earth. And I must regretfully inform you that last night, you took your last breath while you were sleeping. We brought your soul here after your death. Here, as in heaven.”

  “I see, so that’s what happened.”

  Ryoma nodded in acceptance, bringing his tea to his mouth for another sip.

  The three gods were baffled by the reaction.

  Especially bewildered was the god with the appearance of a young boy, Kufo.

  “Wait, that’s all?! Shouldn’t you be more like, ‘No way!’ or like, ‘Why did I die?!’ or something like that?”

  “Those who have come here before you were a little more shaken up...”

  “I am surprised, and I do think it sounds a little unrealistic. But if this was a dream, then I’d wake up eventually, if this was real, then humans indeed die eventually. After all, the work at my company was rather relentless... I’ve seen many coworkers and new recruits quit, owing to the damage to their health, so I figured I would die early too. If anything, it’s a miracle my body has held out to the age of 39 going on 40. Plus, reading stories like this is a hobby of mine... I love it. I don’t have any family or relatives, so this is a much better option than just turning into ash.”

  Ryoma spoke with earnest contentment, but the confusion on the gods’ faces did not fade.

  “R-Really? Should humans think that way? Are you sure you haven’t reached some kind of enlightenment?”

  “I don’t think hobbies have anything to do with this. There have been several people with the same hobbies as you, but they were rather ecstatic. They wouldn’t listen at all, so it was quite a handful... though I suppose I should be grateful they weren’t pessimistic about it all.”

  “Well, I suppose we’ve been saved the trouble of convincing you, then... That leaves far fewer topics to go through. Was there anything you wanted to ask?”

  Ryoma thought for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.

  “In that case... How did I die?”

  “Hmm? You want to start there?”

  “Yes. I don’t consider it a surprise that I died, I just don’t have any memory of dying.”

  “Well, I suppose you wouldn’t remember a death like that.”

  “Your death was caused by a brain hemorrhage from head trauma.”

  “Huh...?! As far as I remember, I was just trying to sleep in my room.”

  “Yes, you did fall asleep. But during your sleep, you sneezed numerous times.”

  “Four times, to be exact. Each time you sneezed, your pillow shifted; until the last sneeze caused your head to hit the floor. Your futon was a cheap and flimsy thing, so it didn’t act as much of a cushion...”

  “The impact wasn’t enough to wake you up, but it was enough to cause a vessel in your brain to burst. The bleeding continued through to dawn, when your brain succumbed to the extra pressure.”

  After hearing that, Ryoma looked down and processed the thoughts in his head. Then his expression suddenly soured as he squeezed out his words.

  “That’s bullshit... How could I die such a pathetic death?”

  “““???”””

  “I’ve taken beer bottles from my drunk boss and metal pipes from delinquents to the head before and turned out fine. I can’t even count how many times I’ve taken punches to the head from my father during training. So why the hell did a stupid sneeze finally do me in...?!”

  It was as though Ryoma had forgotten everyone around him as he started to reveal his intense emotions — but the gods watched on as though they had expected this.

  “Ah, there it is.”

  “Unfazed by his own death and our existence, yet shaken by something like this. What an odd child.”

  “It looks like he held some pride in the strength of his body. His father forcefully drilled martial arts lessons into him from a young age, and he continued to train himself as part of his daily routine until he died. Kufo, Lulutia...”

  “Yes?”

  “Is there a problem?”

  “I don’t know if it’s a problem, but there’s something about him I’m interested in. Could you assist me until he calms down?”

  Gain’s expression was much more serious than when he had been talking to Ryoma. The other two gods sensed what he was thinking and started talking in words that couldn’t be heard by humans, all while keeping an eye on Ryoma, who was clutching his head in gloom and tuned out from his surroundings.

  “Phew... Oh, oops. I’m sorry, I was lost in my own little world.”

  Some time later.

  Once Ryoma had regained some of his composure, he lifted his head to find the gods drinking their tea just like before.

  “It’s fine, we’re usually pretty free and the other world is in a fairly good place right now, so there’s plenty of time. And it isn’t an odd sight to see people losing their composure here. Human souls are meant to be paired with a body, after all. Even if we use our divine powers to maintain that, the instability makes it easy for emotions to run wild. It’s no surprise for us, so you don’t need to worry about it either.”

  “The perception of time is a little vague in the divine realm, and souls can’t feel hunger or thirst. It wouldn’t be unusual for four years to pass befor
e someone calmed down enough to talk.”

  “Four years?!”

  Ryoma didn’t hide his surprise at the words of Kufo, the god that looked like a young boy. But that was a regular occurrence for the gods.

  “It depends on whether the person snaps out of it themselves or if we need to intervene to calm them. But we typically leave them alone for a while, because they don’t listen when they zone out of reality like that. And it’s more troublesome to have them be wary of us, so we can’t act rashly. There are some people that break down at every point of our conversation. Four years can pass easily while waiting for them to calm down. That’s why you don’t need to worry about it, Ryoma. If anything, we should resume our conversation now that you’ve calmed. Is that all right?”

  “Yes, I understand.”

  Gain nodded once at Ryoma’s response.

  “Good. Now, as for why we called you here... Perhaps you’d understand if I described it like this? It’s the trope.”

  “I see, so I’m going to another world. Is it a transfer? Or am I being reincarnated, since I’m dead already?”

  “You really are quick on the uptake...”

  Ryoma listened to Lulutia’s explanation, paying no mind to the slight astonishment in her expression and tone.

  “It’ll technically be a transfer. You’ll be using a body we created in our world, so you won’t have parents or relatives.”

  “Your body on the other side will be fairly young, so you can consider it a reincarnation. If you have any requests about your appearance, we can alter it to a degree too.”

  “Exactly how old will this body be?”

  “Roughly ten years of age. At that age, it should be believable enough that you wandered into a forest and survived out of luck. You won’t be suspected as much as a child, so you can head to the town and begin your life there. Of course, we’ll protect you as much as we can. Your social status will be that of an orphaned commoner, but we’ve selected a kingdom with a more open-minded society to send you to. It shouldn’t hinder your daily life.”

  “Thank you very much. Please make sure my appearance on the other side is somewhat normal. Incidentally, what should I be doing once I reach the other world? Do I have some kind of mission?”

  “Hmm... You technically do, but it ends the moment you go to the world. That’s why practically, you don’t. If I had to say, then your mission is the act of going to our world itself.”

  “Our goal is to send the magical energy of Earth to our magically depleted world by sending you to our world.”

  While Ryoma accepted this explanation, he had a new question to ask.

  “You can’t send magical energy alone?”

  “Indeed. To put it simply, there’s a wall between our two worlds. Magical energy normally cannot cross that wall. But if we open a hole with our power, we can transfer magic through it. However, this is an extremely difficult task, even for us gods. Maintaining the hole requires power, which we run out of before transferring the necessary amount of energy. That’s where you come in! You won’t be conscious for this part, but we use our divine power to push your soul into the wall and use you as a prop to keep the hole open for a short amount of time. During that time, we transfer the magical energy from Earth.”

  “Our world has developed the use of magic, so running out of magical energy would cause many problems. Not only would the people relying on magic to live suffer, but monsters that feed on magical energy would go extinct, removing them from the food chain and destroying the balance of nature. On the other hand, Earth has magical energy that it doesn’t use, and there are no monsters either. It won’t cause a problem if it runs out, so we’ve been taking it for ourselves.”

  “I see... If there isn’t a particular reason for the depletion of energy, is it just being caused by the consumption outpacing the production?”

  “That’s correct. There are many reasons for it, but humans are the main cause. I understand that magic is useful and has developed out of exhaustive research, but its consumption keeps going up...”

  “It’s a little difficult to keep the consumption of magical energy under control. Furthermore, using too much of the magic inside your body can make you unwell. It’s much easier to gather the surrounding energy to use magic instead, but seeing the reliance on such an irresponsible method is saddening.”

  While the gods complained about the use of magic and humans, Ryoma was off feeling excited on his own.

  “Umm... Would I be able to use it too? Magic, that is.”

  “You can.”

  “Yes.”

  “Sure you will.”

  “Really?! Oh, pardon my rudeness.”

  “It’s fine, it’s fine. Magic, was it? You’ll be transferring into a body just like the humans over there. Naturally, since the humans can use magic, you will be able to as well with some training.”

  “Also, like we mentioned earlier, you’ll be under the protection of our divine power while crossing worlds, so we can bestow a bit of power on you too. Even if you have no talent, we can raise your base stats to a level where you can enjoy using magic too. It gets a little more difficult if you want the strongest power in the world, though.”

  While Ryoma was a little embarrassed at how they were looking at him like an adorable child, he was still happy at the prospects of being able to use magic.

  “In that case, the power we’ll bestow upon you will be magic-related. First, we’ll make sure you can use all of the elemental magics.”

  “Umm... Wouldn’t that attract attention?”

  The three gods grinned at Ryoma’s question.

  “Everyone who comes here always says that! Especially the ones who read light novels.”

  “It’s considered rare in our world, but it’s not something people will fuss over.”

  “Really?”

  “Yup. Some people are born with it, and others can learn to use all the elemental magics with the right training. There are probably ten to twenty people among the kingdom’s knights that can do so. However, because there are so many elements to use, training them all evenly would result in less time to practice, making each one hard to master. Between magicians that can use every element to a limited degree and magicians that have mastered a single element, the latter one is more valued.”

  “Jack of all trades, master of none, huh.”

  “Indeed.”

  “That’s why nothing bad will come out of it, so it’d be perfect for someone who wants to enjoy using magic like you, Ryoma.”

  “...I see. Then please give me all the elements.”

  “Got it. There’s still some power left, so what would you like for the rest?”

  After that, Ryoma and the gods continued to talk about powers until they were satisfied.

  “...All right, that should be all that we can fit. Everything ended up magic-related, though. Are you sure? Carrying over the martial arts you learned in your previous life won’t be a problem, but this many types of magic means you won’t be able to use strong magic right away, you know?”

  “As long as it won’t hinder my ability to live, please do everything as we discussed.”

  “Okay. If you haven’t changed your mind, then that’s for the best. Now we come to the last step.”

  Gain accepted Ryoma’s firm determination and pulled out a wooden board, parchment, and quill out of seemingly nowhere.

  The parchment listed all the details of their discussion until now, along with an empty space for a name to be signed at the bottom right.

  “To think I’d be signing contracts even after death...”

  “Oh, is this not to your liking?”

  “I wouldn’t say that. It was just a little unexpected.”

  “Well, the contract isn’t actually necessary.”

  “Huh?”

  Lulutia and Kufo’s response to his meaningless remark made Ryoma pause in reaching for the quill.

  “This is just a final check. It’s for you to confirm th
at we’ve fulfilled our duty in explaining our circumstances and the situation you will be placed in. By signing it, you’ll be confirming your willing participation. That’s why you can confirm verbally as well.”

  “Really?”

  “We change it up based on the person we’re dealing with. A verbal agreement is easier than a contract for the younger kids.”

  Hearing that response, Ryoma focused on the contents of the contract and signed it once he finished reading it.

  The next moment, his body was engulfed in a faint light.

  “Huh?!”

  “Don’t worry. This is just proof the process has started; it won’t harm you.”

  “Unfortunately, that’s the rule. After all the explanations and decisions are made, there isn’t much time until you’re sent to the other side.”

  “I wonder why it’s always the nasty ones that always stay the longest, while the likeable ones depart on their journey so soon...”

  Those words made Ryoma realize the time had come to say their goodbyes.

  “I see. That is rather regretful. I am forever in your debt.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s your life, live it how you please. We’ll send you to the safest forest possible, so rest assured.”

  “We’ll always be watching over you. This is a goodbye, so you can say what you want, too, you know?”

  “You don’t have to be so polite in your speech either.”

  “Why don’t you show your true self, since this will be the last time we’ll meet?”

  “Yes... Yeah, you’re right. Thanks. I guess you could tell I was putting on airs, huh?”

  “We’re gods, after all. Of course we’d notice. Not to mention how different your tone was when you had your breakdown.”

  “You should have just spoken to us like that from the start!”

  “I don’t think I could suddenly speak casually to a god...”

  “It gets uncomfortable when it goes too far, but you’re fine, Ryoma. I have a magnanimous heart. Since I am a goddess, after all.”

  “I see.”

  “Do you have any plans for when you get to the other side?”

  “If there’s anything you’re worried about, let them out now.”

  “We’ll hear you out!”