Hello everyone, Astaroth here. Lady Entropy once told me that humans and other animals are fundamentally different from Monsters. Apparently, at one point in time, the Goddesses found the world desolate, so they took a small part of their power, called it 'magic', and infused it into the world. The life born of this magic later became Monsters, and as such, Monsters are inherently magical, whereas the life born of nature became animals, plants and, eventually, humans. As a result of this, humans aren't innately born with the ability to use magic, and need to be given this gift by a Goddess.

"Oh my, if it isn't Lady Gnome", I said, eyeing the newcomer who had burst through a Godly Realm's wall without respect for privacy. Ignoring the tiny kick I felt at the back of my shin, I continued: "So then, Lady Gnome has a request for us? Whatever might that be?"

"... Gnome", Lady Entropy said, finally getting out from behind me. "... What do you, need?", she asked, looking down at Lady Gnome who, even compared to Lady Entropy, looked like a young child.

"It's the Heroes, the Heroes!", Lady Gnome shouted in response, looking at us both with a pleading look in her eyes. "The Heroes are targetedly hunting and bullying my adorable little Goblins! And my High Goblins, too! Just a bit more and they'll find the village!"

"Plea, please wait a, a moment, Miss, Miss Goddess of, of Earth", Evyna said, looking at Lady Gnome with a strange look on her face. "Aren't, aren't Goblins as a, as a whole cu, cursed by, by the Goddess of Earth?"

"... What're you on about? That's only natural, isn't it? After all, they're my cute little Goblins! Wait, in the first place, Lady Entropy, Sir Astaroth, who is this?", Lady Gnome responded.

"This is Evyna, Lady Gnome", I answered, "she's a new ally." I then turned to Evyna: "It is indeed true that Goblins and the like are cursed by Lady Gnome- but in truth, being cursed and being blessed do not differ much. You know about the different origins of Monsters and other life, yes?"

"Mon, Monsters come from, from Magic while, while other li, life comes from, from nature, right?"

"Exactly. It is because of this fundamental difference that the difference in terms exists. A Goddess implanting a human or an animal with a part of her power- in such a small amount it can be called 'Magic'- is, in a sense, that Goddess granting them power, which is why we call it a 'blessing'. On the other hand, doing that to a Monster will grant it power, but the Monster's core- made of Magic itself- will be influenced and dyed in that Goddess's element, and in weaker Monsters, their core itself may be eroded, completely replaced with the Goddess's Magic. This is why it is called a 'curse'. As a result, it's highly uncommon a Goddess would infuse weaker Monsters with her power- Lady Gnome is the only one who does such."

"Ha-ha! I'm amazing, aren't I?", Lady Gnome asked, puffing out her chest with a proud expression on her face as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I, I don't, don't quite think, that that w, was a compliment, though...", Evyna whispered under her breath before speaking in a normal tone of voice: "Th, then, is there no, no risk to, to the Mon, the Monsters when you, when you do it, Miss, Miss Goddess of Earth?"

"Naturally! After all, I have great control over my power!", Lady Gnome shouted in response, her expression growing ever prouder as she puffed up her chest more and more, hands still on her hips.

"... That's just, because you, have, the least power, of all the, Goddesses, though", Lady Entropy said, her toneless, matter-of-fact voice somehow adding to the severity of the statement as her emotionless, piercing gaze rested upon Lady Gnome. She did not seem concerned about the implied insult in her words, however.

"So, the Heroes are targeting Lady Gnome's Goblins, are they?", I asked, half attempting to defuse the situation and half attempting to hurry Lady Gnome along. "Do you think this is under orders of Lady Luciel?"

"Of course it is!", Lady Gnome shouted, her face distorting in a frown. "She must be plotting something! Like, like a perfect way to bully me, or something!" She jumped around and stomped on the floor in apparent displeasure, and seemed somewhat surprised at the way the environment reacted- that is, not at all.

"You can only, cause tremors by, doing that, in, your own, Godly Domain", Lady Entropy explained to the baffled Lady Gnome. "But, I don't think, bullying, is, Luciel's goal", she continued, closing her eyes as she contemplated. "She hates, me, and her, final, goal, is to destroy, me, and Astaroth too, if she figures out, he's my servant. So, then, maybe, she's attacking, other Goddesses to, gain power, and get rid of, potential allies, for me?"

"So she plans to claim the other Goddess's Aspects for herself while weakening them, does she?", I thought aloud, placing a hand on my chin and keeping the other on Lady Entropy's head, where it had been since the very beginning. "But isn't Lady Luciel the only Goddess to currently have lent out any Aspects? All the other Goddesses are holding onto theirs, I do believe, and she knows that, does she not?"

"That faker's lent out her Aspects?!", Lady Gnome asked in a rather loud voice in response to my words, jumping forward and grabbing my shoulders- before falling to the ground and being forced to let go.

"Lady Luciel has indeed lent out her Aspects", I answered, nodding. "She's called the receivers the Seven Saints, and each holds one. Additionally, I believe she has lent part of her Divinity itself to an eighth person who she has dubbed her 'Oracle'. Incidentally, we have managed to slay one of these Seven Saints, and that Aspect now dwells in me."

"Ah, so that's why you smell a little bit like a god now!", Lady Gnome said with a self-satisfied look on her face. "I'd figured that was just Lady Entropy's smell rubbing off on you, Sir Astaroth, but you got a bit of divine power to call your own! How nice. So, which is it? Which is it?", she asked, her eyes sparkling as she looked up in expectation, completely like a child would.

"The Aspect of Protection, though it was called the Aspect of Heavenly Protection under Lady Luciel's ownership", I answered.

"Ah, I see", Lady Gnome responded, before continuing on her earlier train of thought: "But if the faker's lent out her Aspects, then now's the time to take them all, one by one, right?! But first comes the defense of my Goblin village!"

"Wait, going back a moment", I said, "is it even possible for Lady Luciel to take another Goddess's Aspects herself? I can't imagine she'd give them to any regular Hero, after all, and I doubt even she could justify taking another Goddess's power to the world if that Goddess has responsibilities of her own."

"... Then, maybe she isn't, aiming for just, the Aspects, but even, the other Goddesses', Divinities?", Lady Entropy theorised, tilting her head, which in turn caused me to start moving my hand and stroke her head.

"Is that even possible?", I asked.

"... Theoretically, possible. System, will reject. But, Luciel will still, become stronger."

"We can't allow that faker to get any stronger!", Lady Gnome shouted in response to Lady Entropy's words. "We need to stop her from getting closer to any other Goddesses, then! Lady Entropy, Sir Astaroth, you need to help me!"

"Ah, uh, Miss, Miss Goddes of Earth?", Evyna spoke up after a long period of silence- which was understandable, since all three other people gathered here could kill her at a moment's notice. "You, you've been, been calling Lady Luciel a, a 'faker' for, for a while, a while now, but, but what do you, do you mean by, by that?"

"Huh? I'm calling her faker because ███████████████, of course", Lady Gnome said, her words cutting off halfway, almost as if a computer program had cut them out.

"The system won't, let you, say that, Gnome", Lady Entropy said, immediately also explaining the situation to me with that one sentence.

"So the system which announces our achievements and confirms progress also inhibits certain statements?", I asked to confirm my conclusion.

"... Kind of. It exists to, protect, the balance of, the world. If people knew, the truth, their reactions, would, damage that, balance, too quickly. It can be, shifted, but not, too fast, or the world, will break, beyond repair."

"I see. I assume that is also why we could not simply hunt down the Seven Saints one after another without returning to the castle?", I asked, nodding to myself.

"... Exactly. As always, your, comprehension is, weirdly, fast, when it comes, to these, big things. Maybe, your soul, is just, suited, for being, a leader?"

"W, well, Mister Astaroth was, was a, a Marshal, right? After, after being taken, taken here, my memories of, of someone called 'Arthur' return, returned, and if I, if I'm right, that was, that was you, right?", Evyna asked, sounding as nervous as ever.

"Yes, I was called 'Arthur' at one point, and indeed, I was a Marshal. Although, I do not recall meeting you back when I was still a Hero?"

"Of, of course not. After all, you, you were ru, rumoured to be, to be a candidate for, for the, the next Saint! Or, or was it Sage? I, I don't, don't exactly re, remember, but, you were a really im, important person, even to, to the point of, of getting really, really close to, to the Seven Saints! There's, there's no way a, a regular Hero like me could, could have, have met you!"

"... Close to, the Seven Saints?", Lady Entropy asked from the side, looking directly up into my eyes- which in turn caused Evyna to look between me and Lady Entropy in a panic, seemingly worried she'd said something unnecessary.

"Please rest assured, Lady Entropy", I said, although the only reason I was able to keep a straight face was due to the [Pokerface] skill I was borrowing from one of my Monsters. "At that time, I had not yet developed an interest in such things, so any feelings were clearly platonic", I explained. It wasn't particularly a lie either: I was simply what you might call a late bloomer.

"I wasn't, worried. Your past is, not, my business", she replied, turning her head away. If she expressed emotions through facial expressions, she would surely have been pouting.

"... If you say so, Lady Entropy", I could only reply in a resignatory tone before turning back to Lady Gnome. "So, these Heroes, and the Goblins they are hunting- where are they?"

"Ah, I think the humans called it the Hyst Woodlands? It's the forest with a whole bunch of my adorable little Monsters in it! That should tell you enough to find it, right?", Lady Gnome answered, squealing in delight as she thought of her Goblins' apparent 'cuteness'.

"... Should we, help her? What, do you, think, Astaroth?", Lady Entropy asked me, still refusing to look at me, but stealthily pushing her head into my hand. Of course, there was no way I would not notice such an action.

"Well, it is a chance to weaken Lady Luciel, is it not? And additionally, we do not want her to obtain Lady Gnome's Divinity, do we? That does not leave us with much of a choice, does it?"

"... I suppose so", Lady Entropy said, afterwards turning to Lady Gnome and taking on a grand tone of voice: "Rejoice, Goddess of Earth, Gnome! The Goddess of Darkness, Entropy, has decided to grant your request!"

[The Goddess, Entropy has accepted Goddess of Earth, Gnome's request for assistance.]

[You have been nominated for Goddess of Earth, Gnome's request for assistance. You may not refuse.]

[You may nominate as many followers as you like to accompany you on this request.]

"Yay! Thank you, Lady Entropy, Sir Astaroth!", Lady Gnome's voice resounded throughout the pitch-black Godly Realm, before she jumped out into the same direction she had entered from, disappearing from sight.

A short amount of time later, after Evyna had left, the moment Lady Entropy confirmed we were alone, she buried her face in my chest, almost like a small animal searching for shelter.

"What appears to be the problem, Lady Entropy? Could it be you are still feeling jealous from earlier...?", I asked her, but she shook her head in response before squeezing out a voice, even smaller than normal.

"Those theatrics were... embarassing..."