I Reincarnated as the Villain in an Eroge, But Before I Realized, I Became a Capture Target
Translator: Reo
Editor: PalenMisha
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Luca POV 13 (Part 1)
Fwoosh, the book flew over my head, hitting the minister of finance straight in the face. And, of course, the person who’d been holding the book was the minister of administration.
The sound the book made when it hit his face sounded painful, so I was worried, but the minister of finance just pouted.
“I know I was kinda careless, but it could have passed as a joke. Did you really need to hit me?”
“Do you think it’s acceptable to hurt a pure child who believes in your words by telling them it was all just a joke? Should I go ahead and turn you into ash right now?”
“…My bad.”
“As long as you understand. Ah, Your Highness, don’t worry, he’s fine – his head is like orichalcum. But a good boy like you shouldn’t hit people, ok?” He cautioned me, so I smiled and nodded.
It seemed that the minister of administration turned scary when angered.
“Putting his jokes aside, is it real, you ask? That’s what it says in the literature. It’s from a long time ago though, before Soleil fell asleep.” (Finance)
The gods were entities born from the World’s tremendous amount of emotion. The oldest of them already existed 400 million years ago.
As the self-awareness of the World grew, so did the emotions born from such consciousness. And, gradually, demonic and purifying essence could no longer dissipate over time. These drifting clouds of essence became the prototype for the gods we know today.
In the beginning, the gods were the very emotions that the World felt. However, as they spent time in beautiful nature, observing the fish, the insects, and the wilderness, they began to form egos. Eventually, they came to have thoughts and took on the form of living creatures. However, 300 million years ago, they were still only capable of simple actions.
There were gods who simply observed living creatures and those who tried to imitate nature. On the other hand, there were those who took lives and those who were intent on destroying nature.
As time passed, these gods continued to learn what was enjoyable, what was sad, what made them happy, and what angered them. However, the cause of these emotions and their intensity differed from god to god, causing conflict among them. In the aftermath, many creatures became extinct.
The feuds between the gods never stopped, and the World mourned the many lives lost without being given a chance to prevent it. On top of that, there was a natural disaster that caused an oxygen deficiency for the entire world, leading to the extinction of 80% of the life forms inhabiting it. And still, the gods, who had no need for oxygen, did not stop fighting.
Then another year came to an end. That was about 230 million years ago – the moment when mammals were born.
The World then summoned a new generation of gods; ones that once again embodied its emotions, rejoicing at the birth of life and mourning its loss.
These overwhelmingly powerful beings were born out of the conscious will of the World, and under the World’s–their mother’s–control, they annihilated the old gods who never stopped quarreling.
And around 50 million years ago, when the fighting had finally come to an end, the surviving gods were freed from the World’s control. However, their bond with the World remained strong, and following their mother’s will, each took a territory to govern, making sure to look after the living creatures in their domains.
“So the current gods are mostly in tune with the World’s emotions, and, in rare cases, there are even those capable of reading its thoughts. The gods who could do that left behind records of the Akashic records and the singularity as well.” (Administration)
“Would it be possible for me to see those records?” (Luca)
“I apologize, they are very precious items and cannot be taken out.”
“Is that… so? It’s a shame, but your story alone was valuable enough. Thank you.” I thanked them with a bow and the minister of administration smiled, gently patting my head.
It was a gentle touch, as expected of the minister of administration, who exuded a graceful air.
“Incidentally, the World didn’t start thinking about the law of creating species from emotions until about 200 thousand years ago – before humans existed. Magical beings other than gods only have a history of about 100 thousand years. You’re best off remembering that.” (Finance)
“Was there really any need to tell His Highness that?”1
“So he knows I’m not an old geezer yet and have a lot of life left in me?” The minister of finance sulked, causing the minister of administration to let out a sigh.
“Apologies for using abusive language earlier. Also, for hitting you.” The minister of administration bowed his head in apology.
The minister of finance smiled and nodded, and, to my surprise, patted him on the head. Then patted my head too.
I couldn’t quite follow their conversation, but it seemed that the minister of finance was the older of the two.
The minister of administration fixed his hair that had been ruffled and turned to look at me again.
“By the way, about the singularity, it is said that a descendant of a god is more likely to become one. The bond between the gods and the World is a strong one, but they have too much power for the World to influence their fate. However, when it comes to the descendants of the gods, though their bond with the World is strong, they are weaker than the gods’, thus apparently easier to interfere with.”
If that were the case, then was this kingdom the catalyst for the destruction of the world, and was I, Soleil’s descendant, the only one whose records could be interfered with?
But even though people told me I was Soleil’s descendant, I’d never truly felt it myself. In the first place, it was unclear whether Soleil even actually existed.
“Conversely, since the World can interfere with the singularity, their Akashic records can be said to take several paths. Does a person become a singularity because their records can be changed, or can their records be changed because they are the singularity? Which one is it? That is the main problem at the center of the World Theory.” (Administration)
“Talk about it started to decline, and before you know it, the World Theory turned into physics. Man, humans are a fascinating bunch. Also, you are a descendant of Soleil, Your Highness, so you could become a singularity too. Maybe someday you’ll end up looping.” (Finance)
My heart skipped a beat.
I had already looped more than thirty times.
But even though they said it was a possibility, it seemed that it never occurred to them that it would happen to a child who was still under their parent’s care. They’d only laugh at me if I were to tell them the truth. I chose to smile and lie instead.
“It sounds interesting, and though it would be easy to say that it’s impossible, I don’t really want to, but… it’s still rather farfetched, and it feels like it would be quite troublesome if it were to happen to me, so I’d rather it didn’t.”
“Makes sense. Maybe that’s why they turned it into physics.” The minister of finance nodded as if convinced and I couldn’t help but giggle.
We then spent the rest of the time until dinner talking about physics and the two even personally escorted me to the dining table.
