By the Grace of the Gods

“Huh?”

After visiting the church, praying in the chapel, and feeling called by the divine realm, I opened my eyes to see the nine familiar gods all gathered together.

Usually, only two or three would be present, so something must have happened today.

“Hello, thank you for coming.”

“Wilieris, and Lord Glimp as well. Thank you for your help the other day.”

“That was just the natural thing to do.”

“The recent actions of Seerelipta were something we could not overlook. That’s why we gathered everyone here and administered a proper punishment.”

“Ah... so that’s why everyone is here, and only Seerelipta is in such a state.”

I wasn’t sure what to say, or even if I should mention it, but right now Seerelipta was collapsed on the pure white ground of the divine realm.

“Dragon Horse-kun~ Help me~”

She seemed conscious and was asking me for help, but her body wouldn’t move.

I wondered what kind of punishment she had received, when Wilieris spoke with a tone of exasperation.

“She’s just dramatically collapsed, so there’s no need to worry.”

“Is that so?”

The one who answered this question was the god of magic, Lord Fernoberia.

“The punishment for Seerelipta was a partial sealing of her divine power. They left only the minimum power necessary to manage the world and sealed most of her abilities.

However, this hasn’t caused her any physical distress or suffering. The reason she’s in a caterpillar-like state is simply that she’s weak. ...When you met her, wasn’t she inside a huge water orb?”

“That’s right.”

“Before the sealing, she was always surrounded by that water orb, which created the most comfortable environment and allowed her to exert her maximum power as a god who governs water. It was a kind of barrier.

Even for me, another god, its effect is powerful. Without that water barrier, she can’t unleash her full power.”

“Ah.”

So, basically, she becomes almost invincible under certain conditions...

“Yes, that understanding is correct. But some felt that a mere partial sealing of her power was too light a punishment. So, while weakened by the sealing, she was made to undergo training conducted by elite troops from lower world nations under the supervision of the war goddess Kiriluel, including the pain and suffering that comes with training as part of the punishment. What she’s suffering from now is just full-body muscle pain. By the way, our bodies differ from humans, so training like humans do doesn’t benefit us at all.”

Being forced to undergo elite troop training with no benefits sounds really tough...

If I think that way, I wonder how Seerelipta must feel, considering she doesn’t look very strong at all.

“By the way, after coming out of the water, Seerelipta could only stand and walk for three minutes before complaining of exhaustion.”

“Isn’t that way too weak?”

I couldn’t help but say that to the collapsed figure.

She seemed conscious, replying,

“Well, if I’m in the water, I don’t need to walk. I can go anywhere by controlling the currents. Besides, on land there’s no buoyancy, so my body feels unnecessarily heavy... Who’s the idiot that made gravity or other useless things?”

“Dragon Horse-kun, as you can see, she’s well enough to complain, so there’s no need to worry. Also, I’m the one who created the gravity in this world, you know? Seerelipta, I can hear you clearly.”

Her reply—or more like a grumble?—earned her a glare from the other gods, especially Gain.

At that, Seerelipta theatrically crawled up to my feet.

“Hey, hey... I guess it’s not my place to interfere with the gods’ rules.”

“That’s true, but... as a victim, I wanted to voice my opinion or something!”

“Well, I don’t really mind that much.”

Then she said,

“Dragon Horse-kun, although she’s technically a god, you don’t need to hold back or be considerate, okay?”

“Hmmm... Wilieris might think so, but honestly, I’m not that bothered. I definitely felt in danger back then, but more than anger, I mostly felt really bad and confused.