Chapter 166 – For the Liberation of the Goddess

“I have a question,” I ask after waiting for Claudia to settle down.

“Yes?”

“Do you yourself wish to be freed from the Labyrinth if possible?”

Claudia froze for a moment, then quietly shook her head.

“Because I chose this situation myself. If I can support the people living here, I don’t mind staying like this. But don’t misunderstand—the reason I’m telling you this is because when you become deeply involved with the village residents, there’s a reason I can’t hide these circumstances.”

…I see. So it’s not simply a matter of liberation. While Claudia desires the villagers’ safe lives and monster control, she also accepts her role as the Labyrinth’s core as her duty.

If Claudia is essential to maintaining the Labyrinth, then she probably doesn’t want the Confusion that would result from her liberation. It would affect the Kingdom of Verdugal, the Guild… and various other things. We can’t act recklessly.

So that’s probably her true feelings. But that momentary hesitation also shows Claudia’s inner conflict. In that case, all that’s left is to persuade her.

“What’s that reason?”

“There are those in the Labyrinth Village who can detect lies. If I withheld information and worked to get them out of the Labyrinth, those children might try to look out for me so I’m not alone, and they might tell you various things they know.”

Well… I suppose it’s better than having them distrust us because we hid information. Claudia was already somewhat mysterious to begin with.

Still, monsters that can detect lies, huh? It’s like a Magical Inquisition, but if it’s a passive ability, it would be troublesome when they leave the village. When that time comes, it might be good to make something similar to Grace’s Ring.

“Understood. But don’t we need to deal with deactivating the Last Guardian and fixing the monster spawning malfunction?”

“That’s…”

Most of Claudia’s concerns stem from that. It’s fine that monsters appear. For training purposes, if they can procure supplies without risk of death, nothing could be better.

Originally, Labyrinths were convenient for humans. So it’s just a matter of remaking it to be even more convenient. No different from what I always do.

“And on top of that, we’ll aim for liberation in a way that satisfies you.”

“How?”

“By tampering with the Spell Formula.”

When I said that, Claudia looked astonished.

Yes. Not fixing, but tampering. Rewriting it to suit our needs. Monsters only appear in training areas. Make sure they don’t take lives.

To begin with, having Claudia alone support the Boundary City is asking too much of her. We could restructure the Spell Formula to have all residents bear negative emotions thinly spread out… There are various ideas…

“It’s not like we have no chance of success, right? If it were called a god’s miracle, I’d be at a loss, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“…If you mean what’s called the Goddess’s Blessing, that’s the Royal Trait of the Moon Folk. My power was particularly strong, so I was perfectly suited for the role of handling regeneration. …Since being worshipped as a goddess, I feel that power has grown stronger.”

Claudia spoke with some weariness. So the Goddess’s Blessing isn’t actually part of the Labyrinth system.

Faith… or perhaps loyalty? Granting protection in response to such things is probably the power of the Shuastrus family.

Though it’s not Grace’s words, I can understand why she becomes deified. She has the Royal Trait, and there’s the mystery of coming from the moon. But what convinces me most is her way of living and thinking.

If she’s watched over Termwills for an unimaginably long time, sacrificing herself… then that deserves to be called divine. While acknowledging her goodness, I say:

“You don’t owe us enough to make us cross dangerous bridges. I understand what you want to say. But Claudia, you’re not a goddess—you’re royalty, right? If there’s an environment where it seems possible, we should use everything available.”

Claudia, who had been astonished by my words, paused for a beat before finally bursting into laughter.

“Fufu, ahah, ahahaha! N-no, I’m sorry. You just say such reckless things…”

“Well, I’m at least aware I’m being somewhat unreasonable.”

“…You really are interesting. As royalty, huh? Yes, that’s right indeed.”

Claudia spoke as if something had been resolved. Have I persuaded her… maybe?

This solves Claudia’s problem while also solving the Labyrinth Village’s issues.

If we destroy the Last Guardian and tamper with the Spell Formula, the villagers won’t need to suppress their emotions. We’ll work in parallel on enabling them to leave the Labyrinth, and if that happens, regardless of the Kingdom of Verdugal’s political situation, the Labyrinth Village can be used as insurance.

I don’t think we have no chance of success. If we couldn’t fix or tamper with the Spell Formula, Claudia wouldn’t need to challenge the Last Guardian in the first place.

“Alright. Understood. Let’s assume you can do it. Even so, there’s one problem.”

“Which is?”

“I have a solution for your problem. But… there are several conditions for that. Could you let me speak with Grace and the others for a bit?”

“Understood.”

—So I left the room and decided to wait in the master bedroom.

They seem to be talking for quite a while… I wonder what it’s about.

Then Grace comes to the bedroom to call me.

“What was it about?”

“That should come from Claudia-sama’s mouth.”

Grace smiles quietly.

When I return to the living room, Claudia says:

“The problem is about the Labyrinth after I’m liberated. Even if we maintain the monster-spawning mechanism, if I’m gone, there’s nothing to determine the Labyrinth’s direction…”

I see… Without someone at the helm, we don’t know what will happen.

We can’t just leave things to chance, from Claudia’s perspective.

“However, there is a way to maintain the Labyrinth without problems even after liberation. The descendants of those who led the humans at that time—I also have a contract with the Royal Family of Verdugal… but with similar Contract Magic… um…”

Claudia hesitates somewhat… I see. The monsters’ aggressiveness in the Labyrinth ultimately stems from the system to maintain Claudia’s mental stability. It seems she’s properly considered what happens after she steps down from her role.

“If such a thing exists, shouldn’t we just do it?”

“That’s why… I said there are conditions. This Contract Magic binds one bloodline for generations. As long as that bloodline continues, the Contract Magic’s vow ensures—the Labyrinth’s direction remains fixed and unchanging.”

In return, Claudia says there’s less flexibility to adapt to situations. Well, during world regeneration, they probably needed to adapt to various circumstances, but now the surrounding humans are adapting to the Labyrinth.

“What are those conditions?”

Claudia closes her eyes… takes a full few seconds, then says:

“…Marriage.”

Her face turns bright red as she looks away.

Umm…

“…When I finally step down from my long role, there will be no one left who knows me. At that time, my father who sent me off said to find someone I can truly trust, unrelated to royalty or political strategy… and make them my partner. That’s my final duty.”

Claudia’s face is still somewhat red, but she looks straight at me.

“You don’t owe me enough to fight the Last Guardian. But as royalty, you should use everything available. I think both those statements are correct. So I’ll create an obligation. I’ll accept your offer and let you use me—but if you’re risking your life, even if I offer everything I have, I still think it wouldn’t balance.”

“…No, it’s not that it wouldn’t balance, but that doesn’t mean…”

I exchange glances with Grace and the others. They—nod with serious expressions.

Considering various factors like whether there’s anyone else with prospects of defeating the Last Guardian, or the accompanying obligations… does that mean I’m the only one?

“I wouldn’t say this if it weren’t you. And to perform this contract, we need to go to the innermost chamber, which I’m also sorry about…”

“…Understood. But listen. I’ve told Grace and the others too. If you think I’m not suitable as a partner, feel free to break that promise.”

“Do you think royalty would go back on their word?”

Claudia smiles with a clear expression.

…Anyway, it’s about defeating the Last Guardian.

“Do you have any other questions?”

“Umm. Ah, come to think of it, I heard from an important person at the Moon Temple that Goddess Shuastrus is a woman in her prime.”

When I ask, Claudia slightly averts her gaze.

“…There’s that aspect of making sure people don’t recognize me when they see me. Also… if people knew a child like this was the goddess’s true form, wouldn’t they be disappointed?”

I see… Even if she’s reluctant about being called a goddess, if it supports someone’s heart, the image is important too.

Penelope would probably be happy… Yeah. I’m impressed.

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