The legend of the Crimson Demon clan started from Suqing

#442 - One in billions probability

"That boy, you only met him by chance, he has absolutely no connection to you. This stone tablet also came into your possession by chance, and you came here specifically to return it… Do you think I'll believe such a lie? If you're going to lie, at least make it more believable."

"I'm not lying, it's all true, all coincidences! It's none of my business if you don't believe me!"

The waiting room at the train station.

The three of them were waiting for the train.

Erica and Kusanagi Godou were arguing loudly, neither willing to give in. And since the two were sitting on opposite ends of the long bench, Zunzun, sitting in the middle, was forced to bear the brunt of it.

"I say… I can accept that you two are getting along and want to communicate, but could you please be a little quieter?"

Zunzun couldn't help but say this.

Kusanagi Godou quickly apologized.

"Sorry, did we bother you?"

"It's all because that guy keeps lying. But constantly arguing with a boorish gentleman isn't very ladylike either."

Erica, on the contrary, blamed the other party, causing Kusanagi Godou's goodwill towards her to drop again.

Despite her dignified appearance, her nasty personality greatly lowered her score.

But even if Erica knew, she would scoff at it, and proudly say something like: "I'm just doing what I should do, not trying to please someone."\n… Right?

"Besides, why did you have to come along?"

"Because I also wanted to visit that famous Sardinian witch, but I didn't know her address, so… am I troubling you?"

"N-No, not at all, it's no trouble at all."

Kusanagi Godou didn't seem bothered at all by Zunzun's apologetic expression, but on the contrary—

"I'm interested in what you're planning to do when you meet her, and I'm also interested in the power contained in this stone tablet. Besides, that boy might contact you, so this is the best choice."

"Go back home."

He was full of disgust towards Erica.

Just as Kusanagi Godou was about to vehemently refuse, she immediately responded: "Oh my, if I used my sword, I could take the stone tablet back from you right now. I'm not doing that because I'm very gentle, and a person with a chivalrous spirit, do you understand?"

An implicit threat.

Considering the difference in strength between the two, he had no choice but to agree to Erica accompanying him.

"But saying you're a knight or something… is that chuunibyou, or a class from an online game?"

"To actually compare me, a descendant of the Knights Templar, to chuunibyou, or even those made-up games? It seems you're not only not a gentleman, but you don't even have basic manners, how pathetic!"

"I don't want that kind of manners!"

Kusanagi Godou, who had been constantly mocked, was on the verge of exploding. If it weren't for Zunzun, the third person present, and the fact that he really might not be able to beat Erica, he would have definitely lost his temper.

"But saying it's like a game isn't wrong either."

"Zunzun! ?"

"Zunzun?"

Kusanagi Godou was puzzled by Erica's address to Zunzun, his eyes seeming to say 'Is that really a name?'

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Zunzun. Although you might think it's strange, it is indeed my real name, there's no doubt about that."

"My name is Kusanagi Godou, and… sorry, your name must be foreign, and quite rare too. Also, you speak very good Japanese."

"Erica, Erica Blandelli."

The three of them tentatively gave their names.

Kusanagi Godou was somewhat puzzled by Zunzun's strange name, but his good manners prevented him from asking too much, simply assuming it was a foreign name, one couldn't help but admire his thick-headedness.

In order to communicate effectively, Zunzun chose to use Japanese, and fortunately, Erica understood the language, allowing for smooth and unhindered communication.

By the way, she also understood Mandarin, and spoke it well.

"Let's get back to the topic."

"Knight class in an online game?"

Kusanagi Godou was a bit confused, and under Erica's shout of "It's not an online game class!", Zunzun gave him a brief explanation.

"Godou, what you just said, that knights are a class in online games, is wrong. To be precise, the relationship between the two is reversed. Online games divide classes according to reality, knights, swordsmen, magicians, priests… and so on."

"You're calling him Godou already!? … Eh?"

"You don't think that all the classes in games are made up by other people, do you? No, no, you should have learned some history, and know that there was a knight class in reality, right? Also, you might think that things like magic don't exist in reality, but there are clear records from ancient times—sorcerers, priestesses, shamans and other professions."

"I-Is that so!?"

Kusanagi Godou wasn't an idiot, and quickly understood Zunzun's meaning.

In other words, games are actually designed with reference to reality, even if there are some exaggerations to enhance the game's expressiveness, knights and magicians do exist in reality.

"But ordinary people can't discover it, in other words, it's knowledge of the hidden world."

"Can't discover…"

Kusanagi Godou was stunned.

He suddenly remembered the newspaper he saw this morning. It was clearly a wild boar rampaging in the port, but the newspaper wrote about tornadoes and other natural disasters, and other ordinary people were completely unaware.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because Godou, you are already a participant, and have the right to know these things, plus I'm asking you to take me to see the witch, so it's a kind of reward."

Zunzun smiled at him.

Honestly, compared to that arrogant Erica, Kusanagi Godou preferred Zunzun's personality. If possible, he hoped this trip would only be the two of them. Unfortunately—

"How is it, do you know my origins now? Don't you find it incredible?"

"Ah, my knight filter has been shattered incredibly."

After all, the knights in stories must abide by the eight virtues, but Erica completely destroyed the very first one, humility.

"But, why are you chasing that guy?"

Kusanagi Godou was talking about the boy.

Seeing the confused expressions of the two, he continued: "He is indeed a very strange person, but he is not a bad person. Yesterday he was saving people over at the port!"

"No, that's not necessarily the case."

"What?"

"You saw the divine beast yesterday, right? That boy might be the one who summoned it. If that's the case, he's just cleaning up the mess he caused, there's nothing to praise."

The person who answered was Erica.

Yesterday, she met the boy and learned that he was going to retrieve his separated body, so she could basically conclude that the other party was the rebellious god who caused the trouble.

"The wild boar of Calia, the camel of Bosa, the sheep of Orgoglio, the bull of Balili… In the scenes where divine beasts have appeared these days, that boy has been witnessed near the divine beasts. Even if he's not the mastermind, he may be an important reference witness."

Erica said confidently.

"How is it, do you have anything else to say?"

"…No."

This time, Kusanagi Godou could only admit defeat.

"But, what kind of guys are gods? I still can't imagine it."

"Regarding that… to be honest, we can't really say whether they are gods in the true religious sense. However, some of the manifested gods rebel against the mythology that is their core, and they become rebellious gods. They bring disaster by manifesting on their own, and their mere appearance has a great impact."

Kusanagi Godou deeply agreed with this statement.

That wild boar that rampaged through the port, constantly trampling buildings and the earth, its mere presence there was already frightening.

"Then what should humans do when a god appears?"

"The first option is to treat it as a disaster like a storm or an earthquake, to swallow one's anger and not cause any commotion, just praying for the god's mercy or for it to leave on a whim."

That was completely relying on the gods.

Although it was a bit infuriating, it was more effective than meaningless struggles. The people who were affected yesterday were still living their lives with gusto today, so it didn't really matter.

"The second option is simpler, and that is to defeat the god."

"Can that kind of thing be done!?"

"Of course not!"

Kusanagi Godou was surprised, but then was given such an excessive answer, making him clench his fists like a fool being teased.

Erica, however, seemed to have her backbone broken, suddenly losing her spirit, and looking up at the blue sky with empty eyes.

"Ordinary people can't do it, not even the highest-level upper magicians. But, very, very occasionally—receiving three or four miraculous blessings of luck, then there is a glimmer of possibility."

"In other words, a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse?"

"That's not enough. It's not a miracle to the extent that the son of a slave is born in a stable and eventually becomes a savior. No, even that wouldn't necessarily be enough, unless…"

"Unless?"

Erica looked at Zunzun in the center of the chair, and Kusanagi Godou followed suit.

"Unless they have survived being struck by two meteorites, or even managed to win against a rebellious god by sheer luck, only then would they have a chance."

"I, I say… that kind of luck is already beyond ordinary people, you could say it's one of a kind, right? That should be the case… But why are you looking at Zunzun?"

"As you might have guessed, the mysterious Zunzun before us has done just that."

"— — — —! ?"

Kusanagi Godou looked at Zunzun, who was smiling and making a peace sign at him, marveling at the irrationality of this world. This was already beyond the level of ordinary people's luck!

"That kind of thing…"

"It's not impossible, Godou."

Before he could speak, Zunzun interrupted.

"As the saying goes, geniuses are one in ten thousand, but above geniuses there are even more genius people. It's just a matter of adjusting the base number upwards, it's very simple statistics. Whether it's tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, or even billions, tens of billions, there will always be a few people."

"That is to say…"

The person in front of him is one in tens of billions, based on the entire world, that minuscule probability!?

Really!?