The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 522

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 522   God’s purpose

…However, a curse, huh? Honestly, I didn’t think it would be something this significant.

Well, I did consider it quite dangerous, given that it’s enough to kill an entire country, but I never expected such an intense backstory.

Coming here has allowed me to learn various new things. The stories about the elves and the church, as well as the details about the Sacred Tree and its Sacred Tree’s Child. While some of my questions have been answered through this newfound knowledge, at the same time, new questions have arisen.

“Hm? What’s the matter?” Roroel noticed my gaze as I debated whether to ask him about it.

“There’s something I’d like to ask,” I said, deciding to inquire with Roroel to resolve the questions that had formed in my mind.

“…I missed asking during the day, but you mentioned that the Children of the Sacred Tree exist to spread the power of the Sacred Tree—the power of the Divine Tree, right?”

“That’s right. Well, that’s what I’ve heard, at least.”

“Is doing all that to counter the curse? By spreading the power of the Sacred Tree worldwide, is it to resist in case the curse of the fallen god spreads?”

…It’s like creating the ‘Children of the Sacred Tree’ to spread power… in other words, moving to expand one’s influence. It felt somewhat inconsistent with the stance of the Sacred Tree.

The Sacred Tree is, for better or worse, lazy. It moves to protect those it acknowledges as allies, but otherwise, it remains indifferent. It doesn’t resist change, but it doesn’t actively initiate change either; it merely watches over the world.

That’s the impression I got.

Of course, this may not apply to the entire Sacred Tree. There are only a few Sacred Trees that I know of, mainly the one with Lilia and another with Flora.

Yet, there’s still a kind of discomfort that can’t be expressed in words.

“That’s a bit of both ‘yes’ and ‘no’,” Roroel replied vaguely to my question.

“I said there were no gods in this world, right? But why do you think beings from elsewhere would support humans? Because they loved humans? Of course, that might have been a factor. But they wouldn’t lend power to beings they dislike, even if they had some scheme. Instead of scheming, they’d rather blow everything away on their own, as they have the power to do so. However, the gods granted humans the power known as ‘skills.’ Why do you think that is?”

Why the gods gave humans something like skills. In the Holy Kingdom, they might say it’s because of love for humans, or humans were chosen, but in reality, it’s unknown. From Roroel’s tone, it didn’t seem to be a simple matter of just love.

“Even gods can’t do everything. In fact, having too much power brings its own set of troubles. For instance, trying to acquire a single star could cause a rejection reaction, and it might break. It’s like a territorial game. By making use of skills, they fill this world with their own power and adjust it so that they can intervene without causing problems.”

“Sacred Tree… no, from the perspective of the Divine Tree, it’s like having their land taken away. So, it’s a territorial game.”

“Besides that, it’s also said that the gods themselves are trying to increase their share. Well, I haven’t actually heard that, so I don’t know for sure.”

That story somehow made sense to me. After all, it’s a story where clear benefits come into play. People may not trust unconditional mercy, and I’m no exception. Regardless of being told that humans and gods are different, I believe that any conscious entity wouldn’t act without seeking some form of compensation – no, I’m certain of it.

Whether the person understands it or not is another matter, but there’s always a reason behind any act of mercy. However, whether that ‘reason’ becomes harmful to oneself or others is unknown, but it’s self-contained within that individual.

There are healers like Lilia who perform acts of mercy, healing injuries for the sake of making people happy. However, that’s an exception, a very rare case. It’s unimaginable that every god, without a doubt, is a ‘good person’ like Lilia.

Therefore, even if it looks like a simple act of mercy, there’s always something behind it. If it’s said to be for profit, I can understand the actions of beings like the gods who grant skills.

“Thousands and tens of thousands of years have passed since humans gained skills, but we don’t hear stories about the gods doing something in that time. Could it be that the adjustments are not yet complete?”

“Who knows? Maybe the gods are just playing games, not intending to do anything with this planet. There are even gods who loved humans excessively. They might just be enjoying watching those who gained their own power increase and thrive.”

Humans also play city-building games and territorial games, but those are more about enjoying the process of creation rather than manipulating what’s created… Well, there are some who drop meteorites on their created cities or engulf them in sewage, so it’s not entirely safe, I guess.

“But, the fact remains that their land is being desecrated.”

“As a countermeasure, did the Divine Tree and the Sacred Tree try to counteract skills by granting blessings?”

“The meaning of inheriting power seems to have changed a bit since the curse appeared.”

“But, despite trying to spread it, most people don’t even know about the existence of the Sacred Tree.”

“Well, that’s true. There’s also the church’s strategy to avoid having something like the Sacred Tree around, but more fundamentally, those who can receive the blessing of the Sacred Tree are quite rare. The original races are different from humans, after all. Without a foundation capable of receiving the power of plants, they cannot accept that power. Even if there were those who could receive it, they would either be non-human or very few. The power easily obtained by anyone and the power that only chosen individuals can obtain – which one is stronger, there’s no need to argue, right?”

In the past, it wasn’t limited to elves; anyone could become a ‘Child of the Sacred Tree.’ However, with the emergence of entities better suited to harness the power of the Sacred Tree as vessels for elves due to the curse, it became exclusive to the elven community.

“As a result, those who gained the power of the gods increased, and those who gained the power of fallen gods increased too. That’s why many were cursed when a fallen god was born. It was like being bestowed with a divine calling. And the cursed ones, dragged along by the rampage of the fallen god, started to move as they pleased.”

Those who gained the power of fallen gods – in other words, those who held the positions corresponding to evil gods. At first, receiving a fragment of a god might not have had much impact. But as their rank increased, the influence should have become stronger. Because as the power of the fragment of the god within them strengthened, the curses embedded in it, the curses flowing into it, should be incomparable to those of lower rank.

As a result, influenced by the curse, they went on a rampage with the evil gods… Ah, could it be that the cause lies behind the shadowy figures as well?

Whether their rationality broke or wounds were inflicted, in any case, their emotions went haywire, and they started succumbing to greed. That possibility is quite plausible.

“And the result was… betrayal and war?”

However, if that’s the case, what about the current church?

Because—

“No, it’s different. —That was an invasion,”

Just as I tried to ponder further, Roroel’s words interrupted my thoughts.

“That wasn’t a battle. It was an ongoing domination, trampling upon our dignity continuously.”

“…”

“Everyone said they transformed enemies into trees, sacrificing themselves in the process. It was originally a personal method, but a massive spell was used to extend its effect to the entire defense. Using the severed sacred tree as the core, they activated a spell utilizing the curses connected to it, turning all the ‘beings’ in the forest into trees.”

Come to think of it, they mentioned that even the remaining enemies eventually turned into trees. Wasn’t that supposed to be done gradually, hunting them down one by one? Instead, it was a magic that turned every human in the forest into trees at once.

If such a thing had been unleashed, it’s no wonder people would avoid this place. Strategy, politics, post-processing—none of that mattered. They must have purely chosen the path of ceasing to fight.

But…

“The beings in the forest, not just elves, but ‘humans’…”

“Those who invaded, tormenting our comrades like mere humans.”

“I see…”

Humans defeated them and did terrible things. As a result, they wished for death.

But merely dying was unsatisfying. That’s why, with the meaning of contributing to the sacred tree even after death, they chose the path of self-destruction, involving all the enemies in the forest.

However, Roroel survived here. So…

“You said ‘all the people in the forest,’ but you’re living as a person now…”

“…Because I ran away.”

Roroel said so with a smile. There was no trace of regret or shame on that face. Indeed, the smile seemed devoid of any emotion whatsoever.