"Even though it's only been ten days since we last saw each other, you really do look like a different person compared to before."
Looking at Shane, who was staring blankly at her, the beautiful Goddess spoke these words—whether in admiration or mockery was unclear.
That melodious voice, as if capable of singing songs that would be remembered for ages, reached Shane's ears, leaving him speechless for an indeterminate time.
However, the reason for this was definitely not that Shane was captivated by the absolute beauty of the Goddess before him, to the point of being unable to extricate himself.
Shane was simply at a loss for words.
There was no helping it.
"...Why am I here again?"
Could it be that he'd died once more?
Just as Shane was thinking this, the Goddess seemed to see right through him and suddenly smiled.
"Don't overthink it. You're not here because you died." The Goddess explained, "You can check for yourself. This time, you were summoned with your body."
It was only after the Goddess mentioned it that Shane realized this fact.
Indeed, unlike the last time he was summoned here, this time Shane was not present in an incorporeal form. Instead, he had come with his body intact, with his feet firmly on the ground, not suspended in mid-air like before.
"This time, I was summoned while still alive?"
Shane looked at the Goddess before him.
"That's right." The Goddess nodded and said, "Seeing that you finally emerged from the forest of demons, entered a human town, and even became an adventurer, settling into this world, I summoned you to say hello."
Such an arbitrary motive made Shane really want to say, if she were so eager for him to enter a human town and officially settle in the otherworld, she shouldn't have thrown him into a forest full of demons at the start.
And once again, those inner thoughts elicited a response from the Goddess.
"If I hadn't thrown you into the forest at the beginning, how would you have been able to level up or learn so many skills?" the Goddess said with a faint smile, "And if you hadn't personally experienced your uniqueness, how could you have quickly realized how much more extraordinary you, as a hero, were compared to ordinary people?"
This sentence made Shane's face fall.
In other words, to ensure he fully understood how unique he was, the Goddess had deliberately thrown him into a forest teeming with demons, rather than a town inhabited by humans, right?
Wasn't she afraid he'd get eaten by the demons right away?
As soon as this thought arose, the Goddess's answer came immediately.
"Of course, I'm not afraid." The Goddess stated confidently, "With the protection of the Holy Sword, even if I threw you into the Demon Realm, you'd probably be fine, let alone a forest with demons only up to Level 50."
Upon hearing this, Shane couldn't resist any longer.
"I say, Lady Goddess, can you read minds or something? How do you always know what I'm thinking?" Shane protested, "And don't act like none of this is your responsibility. Isn't it all your doing?"
Whether it was the Holy Sword or the various skills, wasn't it all granted by the Goddess?
Shane had been just an ordinary person, after all.
As Shane was pondering this, the Goddess surprisingly denied his assumption.
"No, you've got that wrong." The Goddess said, "Whether it's the Holy Sword or the skills, they are your own possessions. I merely awakened them for you."
At these words, Shane was stunned.
"My own possessions?"
Shane was somewhat at a loss.
Seeing this, the Goddess began to explain.
"The so-called Holy Sword is a power born from the concept of the 'hero,' a characteristic only possessed by you otherworldly people summoned as heroes from the otherworld."
With an extremely melodious voice, like she was singing, the Goddess explained.
"Just like how someone in Omni Potanssen can awaken their skills unique to themselves—referred to as Unique Skills—you otherworldly heroes also possess your own Unique Skills and even an additional trait over the people in Omni Potanssen. Once summoned as a hero to this world, you naturally awaken your personal Holy Sword and Unique Skills. I merely sped up this process by awakening your Holy Sword and Unique Skills directly."
If that were not the case, why summon heroes from the otherworld?
If she could freely bestow powerful Holy Swords and Unique Skills at will, the Goddess wouldn't have needed to specifically summon otherworldly people to defeat the Demon King; she could have simply chosen heroes from her own world.
"After all, since I, as a God, need to seek assistance from others to defeat the Demon King, it proves that I am incapable of defeating the Demon King myself, correct?" the Goddess stated straightforwardly, "If I could casually grant others such powerful Holy Swords and Unique Skills, then I might as well defeat the Demon King myself, right? Why would I need heroes?"
The overly reasonable argument left Shane almost speechless once again.
But on careful thought, this did make sense, didn't it?
"In your world, there seems to be a belief that gods cannot interfere in the course of mortal life, so even when a Demon King wreaks havoc, gods can only watch and, at most, assist humans to defeat the Demon King on their own, according to mythology, right?" The Goddess remarked with some amusement, "Unfortunately, this isn't a world straight out of the mythologies you know. Although there are many similarities, this is still reality, and there will inevitably be differences."
What differences, you ask?
"For example, in this world, the Divine Race and the Demon Clan have been mortal enemies for countless millennia, constantly at war from long, long ago."
The Goddess spoke candidly.
"To us, the Demon King is the greatest enemy. If we could annihilate them with our own Power, we would have done so ages ago. There are no prohibitions against interfering in mortal life. On the contrary, the Divine Race often affects mortal life, causing many interventions."
Therefore, in this world, to the life of mortals, God is a belief, but not something intangible—it undoubtedly exists.
"You're already aware of 'Blessings,' correct?" The Goddess pointed out, "A Blessing is the most common form of intervention we, the Divine Race, provide to mortal life. You've also received the Blessing I granted, which is the only thing I've truly given you."
Apart from the Blessing bestowed by the Goddess, everything else was Shane's own Power.
Whether it was the Holy Sword or the Unique Skills, those were inherently Shane's own and had almost no direct involvement with the Goddess before him.
"Your abnormalities almost entirely originate from yourself, having nothing to do with me. As you might say in the world of your previous life, don't just pin the blame on me."
The Goddess's words left Shane speechless.
Seeing Shane , the Goddess smiled.
"Since we still have some time, let's chat a little about this world."
With that, the Goddess waved her hand, summoning a tea table and tea.