Published: September 10, 2025
Satou here. When I hear "divine punishment," I think of the Bible, but it seems that in Japan, too, there are various fables involving gods’ punishment or the saying "a curse will befall you."
Of course, I’ve never directly experienced divine or godly punishment myself.
◇
[[[Listen closely]]]
A voice filled with an overwhelming presence descended from the sky for the third time...
According to the log information displayed within my vision, this seems to be a divine oracle from the gods.
Multiple words—or rather, words with multiple meanings—directly reached my mind.
Apparently, the gods are trying to communicate to many people not through spoken conversation, but by direct means.
After a moment of silence, the main message began—
[[[Taboo]]]
[[[Taboo]]]
[[[Taboo]]]
It seemed that multiple gods were delivering this message together, not just one.
[[[Taboo]]] [[[Weasel]]] [[[Taboo]]] [[[Arrogance]]] [[[Taboo]]] [[[Destruction]]] [[[Taboo]]] [[[Divine Punishment]]] [[[Taboo]]] [[[Execution]]] [[[Fallen]]] [[[Discipline]]] [[[Faith]]] [[[Pardon]]] [[[Peace]]]
Somehow, I got the impression it was like a hysterical person whose emotions were running too high to explain properly.
Or maybe it felt like listening to a radio with bad tuning and mixed signals?
Murmurs of agony escaped from the people.
It seemed the intense chain of images was tormenting them.
Still, not a single person stood up; they endured the pain.
That shows just how strong their fear of the gods was.
I was a little curious why I was unaffected.
Eventually, the sound of bells quieted, and the divine oracles, accompanied by a torrent of images, came to an end.
There were some words I couldn’t fully understand, but overall, it seemed clear: “Divine punishment will befall the Weasel Empire for breaking taboos.”
However, one thing about the words caught my attention.
The unknown little girl I met earlier in the dog-headed battle spoke normally.
—Could it be that what I just heard was not the gods, but some entity pretending to be gods?
Many people lost consciousness, but the resolute ones started to weakly lift themselves up.
I hesitated a little about leaving Kei and Miss Shelmina behind, but I’d just cast healing magic to make up for it.
Using unit deployment, I moved toward the location where Liza and the others I’d left in the Weasel Empire were.
◇
“Master!”
“Mr. Satou, it’s terrible!”
“Good, you two are safe.”
When I arrived by unit deployment, Liza and Ms. Zena noticed me and rushed over.
They seemed fine thanks to their high levels, but apparently, all the maids inside the mansion had lost consciousness.
For now, securing the safety of the two was more important than grasping the situation in the Weasel Empire.
I took the two with me and returned to the Isolated Island Palace.
“Satou.”
“Liza~?”
“Welcome home!”
Once back at the Isolated Island Palace, the younger group was the first to greet me.
“Huh? Master?”
Alisa’s carefree attitude struck me as odd.
“Could it be that the divine oracle didn’t reach here?”
“Huh? What’s that—”
Alisa, distracted, dropped the rice cracker she was eating mid-sentence.
It seemed the oracle hadn’t reached them.
Blocking even divine interference—getting Yuika to cast a barrier was the right call.
“—Could divine punishment have been executed on the Weasel Empire?”
Alisa’s serious face was charming, but I wished she’d brush the rice cracker crumbs off her mouth first.
I nodded, wiped her mouth, and led everyone to the living room.
An urgent message arrived from the Echigoya Trading Company.
I connected the line with the manager and Tifaliza using the spatial magic “tactical communication.”
“We have confirmed the divine oracle. If any problems arise around the Shiga Kingdom or at branch offices, report immediately via emergency communication without hesitation.”
“Understood, Lord Kuro.”
“We shall strive to gather and analyze information.”
Just as I was about to end the call, the manager stopped me.