"I apologize for calling you out so abruptly. There are a few things I wish to inquire about."
"I will answer to the best of my ability."
The Great Spirit agreed readily.
I had worried about imposing, but that didn't seem to be the case.
Perhaps I should take advantage of her goodwill here.
Thinking that, I explained the situation to the Savior.
I relayed only the key points in chronological order.
That said, there wasn't much to tell.
The explanation concluded quickly.
"Countless small acts of good, collectively titled 'Savior'—do you think the will of the world would latch onto that?"
"A very plausible development. The timing is uncertain, but a Savior will undoubtedly appear."
The Great Spirit stated this conclusively.
I shared the same view.
Unfortunately, I had a nagging premonition that this wouldn't be dismissed as mere groundless anxiety.
The will of the world generally cannot be prevented from activating.
Countermeasures are always playing catch-up.
"Is there any way to stop it?"
"From the current stage, it is extremely difficult. A Savior's existence is sustained by people's rumors and worship."
"In other words, we would have to eliminate the people who can testify to their existence."
"Precisely. However, it is likely too late already. The riots, regardless of the impression they made, have made the public aware of the Savior. It is impossible to kill every single person involved."
The great spirit's opinion was correct.
Those who knew of the savior could not be distinguished.
Moreover, people like myself, local spies, and Luciana had also become aware of her existence.
In that town, the rumors must still be spreading.
Silencing everyone would be far too late.
If we tried to force a solution, it would mean destroying that town.
However, it was unclear whether even that would prevent the savior's emergence.
It would certainly invite unnecessary chaos within our territory—a strategy that was realistically unusable, to be sure.
I confirmed with the great spirit.
"Is there any other method that seems viable?"
"We could cast a spell of oblivion to erase the savior from people's memories. It would likely only buy us time, but it should have some effect."
"Understood. We'll carry it out today."
Erasing people's memories was quite the brute-force approach.
However, it was far more merciful than slaughter.
Some confusion would surely follow the oblivion, but that too would last only a few days.
Once people realized there was no major problem, they would surely accept it.
While piecing together the countermeasures in my mind, I glanced at the great spirit.
After a moment's thought, I made a request of her.
"If the scale of this situation demands it, I'd like to borrow your power—is that possible?"
"Of course. Protecting this world is my duty."
"My apologies. Your help is appreciated."
When the world's will becomes involved, anything could happen.
In that regard, having the Great Spirit on my side is reassuring.
I thought that since there was no obligation to accept, refusal would be understandable, but she seemed quite willing as well.
Perhaps she was diligently performing her duties as a defense mechanism.
"For the time being, I will monitor the situation through Yura. If anything comes up, please speak to me."
"Yeah, understood."
As I nodded, the Great Spirit vanished from the spot.
It seemed she had teleported elsewhere at high speed. I intended to contact her via thought transmission if the need arose.
Treating a defense mechanism like a helper felt questionable, but this problem had too many unclear aspects.
Until I could grasp the full picture, I should be prepared for various possibilities.
I entered the ruined audience hall, clearing away the debris with magic as I lost myself in thought.
(I wonder what form the savior will take?)
Most likely, individuals would awaken as heroes.
Gaining supernatural abilities and challenging me—the Demon King—would be the conventional scenario.
However, considering the creatures from the outer world, I couldn't be certain.
Whatever being appeared, I could only pray that the peace of the world would not be disturbed.