Pawahara Seijo no Osananajimi to Zetsuen Shitara, Nanimokamo ga Umaku Iku Yō ni Natte Saikyō no Bōke

[Goddess’s Daughter]

“I see. So, ya guys came here to meet the goddess of wind.”

Ham, Ophir chewed on the meat that was still attached to a bone.

We’d decided to tell her the purpose of our journey while we had meal together in order to gain her trust for the time being.

“Ahh. So, I’d like you to tell us information regarding her if you perhaps know any.” Arca asked casually.

Ophir’s reaction, however, was surprising. “Ha, ya better not, just give it up. That hag hates humans. There ain’t no way she’s gonna lend ya her power.”

“Eh, are you acquainted with Turbo-sama, by any chance?” I asked.

“‘course, I was raised by that hag, after all.”

“““!?””” Our eyes went wide at her unexpected answer.

Who would’ve thought that there was a human who was raised by a goddess…

A saintess, no less; one overflowing with confidence at that.

Her power might be one step above that of the other saintesses.

Not that I thought Arca would lose, but I was really glad they didn’t end up fighting.

“That’s why I advise ya. Don’t meet that hag. She has given up on humans, after all.”

“Can I ask what do you mean by that?” Magmell asked.

Ophir turned her gaze away with an understanding look. “Exactly as I said. Humans are arrogant and selfish; they can calmly trample on the happiness of others just for deepenin’ their own pockets. Just look at these guys. All of ‘em are poor brats who’d been sold to slave traders. That’s why the hag… the Goddess of Wind Turbo, became really sick of ‘em.”

“““…””” We lost for words, looking at the children eating happily.

It appeared that everyone here had worked hard together to become like one big family such as this.

They looked so cheerful.

Their life here surely had been a very happy one.

“Ya wanna know why I’m tryin’ to crush that town? It’s ‘cause otherwise, Turbo’s gonna erase it without a trace.”

“Erase it without a trace…” I echoed.

In other words, Ophir’s act had been out of the desire to protect the town?

Still, ‘to crush it so that it wouldn’t be erased’…

As I was wondering to myself, Ophir continued, “That hag has been intendin’ to erase Afraal since a long time ago. But I objected her. I mean, I know there are lots of shitty guys there. But, there’re also lots of innocent people like these guys.”

“That’s…”

Certainly true, I thought.

Rather, I wanted to believe the good people outnumbered the bad.

“Then the hag set a condition. If I can do something about the people of Afraal, she won’t turn them to dust.”

“I see. So, to change people’s minds, you decided to attack the slave traders first?” Arca asked.

“That’s right. Those guys act like ordinary merchants, dealing with food and other stuffs on the surface. But behind the scene, they sell off kidnapped brats and women like they’re goods. I attacked ‘em so that they couldn’t continue with either of their businesses.”

I see.

So, the stolen food that she’d been distributing to other residents was originally items that the slave traders used as a cover.

“But has that really changed people’s mind? As far as we can tell, your reputation in the town is mixed.”

“Who knows. But they’re not the kind who’ll listen honestly if ya tell ‘em off, right? The only way to make ‘em listen is by force.”

“Fumu…”

“This is quite complex, isn’t it…” Arca and Magmell’s complexion darkened.

Certainly, if Ophir continued rampaging as she was, the slave traders would stop their business someday.

However, that only applied in Afraal.

They’d no doubt restart the same business in another town.

In short, it wasn’t a fundamental solution.

That said, this kind of problems were probably occurring all over the world; settling them all in one go was impossible.

In that case, we could only deal with the slave traders in Afraal first.

And then we could work to bring about a gradual change to the minds of the people in other towns, with the elimination of the existence of ‘slave’ itself as the end goal.

It was a very time-consuming task, but just boycotting the slave traders here wouldn’t solve the matter, after all.

But for that…

“Looks like we have no choice but to go see her—the goddess who hates humans, I mean.”

“Ahh. Whatever we’re going to do, it can only come after that.”

“Ha, I’ve advised ya, ‘aight? I won’t take responsibility even if ya end up getting killed.”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Thanks for the concern, Ophir.”

“N-no one’s concerned about ya!? Don’t get me wrong, ya baldy!?” Ophir abruptly turned away, seemingly embarrassed.

Looking at her, my face broke into a broad smile, thinking how surprisingly honest and cute she was.

But honestly, calling me baldy was too much.