The admin is invincible.

Wild Grylls

And their powers are invincible. Praise the admin.

The trade restriction is gone. I'm finally free!

└Heavenly Demon Congratulations. You have cast off the shackles that bound you.

└Sword Masta Congratulations. So, no celebratory gifts for us?

└Heavenly Demon Tsk, tsk. You wicked creature, taking from someone who has so little. Have you no conscience?

└Sword Masta Can't I even joke? You're being awfully harsh;;

└Heavenly Demon There is a time and place for jokes. You cannot read the room.

└Sword Masta I've even been in politics, you martial-arts fossil;;

└Wild Grylls Okay, okay. Both of you calm down. I'll share some fish once I've cooked it. It's really good.

└Passing Dwarf Give me some too.

└Wild Grylls You already had some last time;;

└Passing Dwarf I'm asking for more because it was good lol

└Wild Grylls You're not having it with booze again, are you?

└Passing Dwarf Isn't that obvious?

└Wild Grylls ;;

└Don't tell me you're giving some to all the registered users?

└That fish is gonna be picked clean lmao

└Wild Grylls Gotta give some to everyone who helped me. There's a ton of it, so sharing little portions is fine.

└Starlight Lady I'm fine, thank you. I dislike fish because of the smell.

└Wild Grylls It doesn't smell fishy at all, though. It tastes like meat.

└Starlight Lady That changes things a little... Is fish good for working out?

└Slutty Princess White meat like fish is better than red meat if you're exercising!

└Starlight Lady Is that really true?

└Slutty Princess Yep! Athletes who get injured a lot also use diets like that to reduce injuries!

└Starlight Lady I see. Thank you for the useful information!

└Allfather Fish raised in the Forest of Four Seasons. I am very curious about the taste. It seems you are expanding my knowledge yet again.

└Wild Grylls After everything you've done for me, it's the least I can do.

└All Hail the Sun Sounds tasty. I'd like to try some crab later too. Can you manage that?

└Wild Grylls I'll do what I can. I might have to live on crab until I get a fish trap set up.

"Heehee."

In a rarely traveled alley, someone wrapped in a nearly ragged robe gave a quiet giggle.

The robe covered their entire body, making it difficult to get a proper look, but their silhouette gave a rough idea: slightly narrow shoulders and curves that accentuated a feminine figure. Together with the orange hair spilling out of the hood, they suggested a woman.

'I'm glad he's happy.'

She smiled at the forum window before her eyes.

Wild Grylls, the registered user who had been drawing so much attention lately. Lifting his trade restriction had stirred up considerable controversy, but the vote had been overwhelmingly in favor. That showed just how much trust he had earned.

'I've never seen him break a promise.'

She, too, had been keeping a close watch on Grylls. Not only had he ended up in the Forest of Four Seasons, he had discovered all kinds of rare creatures there.

He occasionally faced crises, but overcame them through his own abilities and the other registered users' help. Each passing day brought encounters with even stranger creatures, while Grylls himself steadily grew stronger. There was something oddly compelling about it: a reality pushed to its absolute limits, the likes of which the forum rarely saw.

'Grylls won't abuse the trading system.'

Fundamentally, Grylls was a decent person. An exceptionally decent one, at that. Even on the anonymous forum, he generally minded his manners and didn't casually insult people. Things changed when someone was rude to him first, but that was more of an exception.

Nor could she accuse him of ulterior motives, considering he was in the Forest of Four Seasons. His only goal was survival, so there was no cause for concern there.

'And he said he'd give up the privilege himself once he escapes.'

She was a stickler for principles. Whenever possible, she avoided breaking the established framework. But Grylls wanted fairness, not equal treatment, and his argument was compelling. Above all, the unique circumstances of the Forest of Four Seasons had clinched it. He alone could access the forum there.

The admin, Don't Abandon the Hero, decided to keep an even closer eye on him.

'He gave me this, too.'

She took a round bead out of her pocket. It was Grylls's gift. Though closer to a bribe than a gift, she had accepted it anyway.

'Are things like this really lying everywhere in the Forest of Four Seasons?'

She examined the round bead from every angle, marveling at it. The energy it gave off was extraordinary. Simply consuming it would grant great power.

'Though it won't do much for me.'

For her, however, it was little more than a high-performance mana restorative. After all, her name always came up whenever people discussed the strongest in the world: one blessed by the goddess, a sword forged by the Church itself to oppose the Demon King.

The Hero, Asella, examined the inner core a little longer, then popped it into her mouth.

'Better to eat it now than sell it.'

Inner cores lost their energy over time. Selling it would be awkward, too. Since she had been on the verge of running out of mana anyway, eating it was by far the better choice.

"Whew."

Asella exhaled deeply. The inner core's energy began circulating throughout her body. Mana filled her empty mana core (dantian), and she felt all her fatigue vanish. She hadn't even been able to sleep properly lately, but this would help her hold out longer.

'When will this misunderstanding be cleared up?'

She glanced out of the alley. Unlike the dark, deserted passage, the street beyond was busy with people. She heard children running and parents laughing as they told them to be careful, along with all the other sounds brimming with human life.

'It seems they haven't reached this city yet.'

She felt relieved. It looked as though she would have some breathing room for now. But she couldn't let her guard down. There was no telling when the Church's pursuers might descend on her.

'May the goddess grant her blessing. Surely this is all a misunderstanding.'

Murmuring inwardly, she accessed the forum. When she was on the forum, she was the admin, not the Hero. Being on the run left her little time, but she remained faithful to the duties and obligations entrusted to her.

'This, too, must be a task the goddess has given me.'

On the day the Church began hunting her as a "turncoat," Asella had become the forum admin the moment she fled its grounds. She hadn't even known the forum existed, so it had been quite bewildering, but she had adjusted now.

Well, the occasional shock images were still hard to stomach. She prayed to the goddess whenever she saw them.

Wild Grylls has requested a trade. Would you like to accept?

"Huh?"

She had been carrying out her duties as admin under the goddess's guidance when Wild Grylls, the registered user who had been causing such a stir lately, requested a trade. For a moment, she wondered if he'd sent it by mistake, then accepted.

Hello, Admin.

There's actually one more thing I'd like to give you.

Don't Abandon the Hero

Something you'd like to give me?!

What is it?! No bribes allowed!

Asella always spoke energetically, in stark contrast to her thoroughly depressing reality. She wondered what Grylls intended to give her. He'd only just given her an inner core; surely there was nothing else left to give.

I'll give you a little of the fish I caught.

It's really delicious.

Don't Abandon the Hero

Oh! Shouldn't you be eating that yourself, Grylls?!

And you must have shared it with the others already!

This much is fine.

You've made my life easier, so please take it.

Of course, you don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable.

What Grylls offered her, however, was neither a gift nor a bribe, but pure kindness. Asella was quite taken aback by a kindness she rarely encountered, and never on the forum.

What kind of place was the forum? Wasn't it a place where people were busy tearing into each other or venting their desires at every opportunity? And she was the admin. Despite her enormous authority, she regularly ended up being everyone's punching bag. Whenever a few anonymous users deliberately bombarded the forum with shock images, she wanted to give it all up.

'How strange.'

Even so, the admin's authority was immense. That was undeniable. As a result, users sometimes tried to become friendly with the admin for personal gain. Taken further, that could become cronyism, which in turn carried a serious risk of developing into wrongdoing. In fact, cronyism had caused many incidents already.

Such acts of kindness were how those cliques began, but...

'Grylls can't engage in that sort of cronyism, can he?'

Grylls was stranded in the Forest of Four Seasons. Even if he made a few friends on the forum, forming a real-world clique was out of the question. That allowed Asella to accept his kindness for what it was: kindness she rarely received even outside the forum, in real life.

GROWL

Right on cue, her stomach chimed in. After debating what to do, she reluctantly accepted.

'This must... also be the goddess's guidance, right?'

The moment she accepted the trade, a single chopstick appeared in her hand. Thick chunks of fish were threaded onto it like a skewer. Not one chunk, but three. They looked delicious.

"... Nom."

Without hesitation, she took a bite. First came the distinctive saltiness of salt, followed by a rich, savory flavor that filled her mouth. There wasn't a hint of fishiness. The richness and meaty savor brought a smile to her face.

'Delicious!'

It really was delicious. Being hungry made it taste even better. And she could feel her whole body filling with vitality.

"Nom, nom, nom! Nom!"

Eyes sparkling, she polished off every last piece of fish. It wasn't enough to fill her hungry stomach, but that didn't matter. Receiving kindness for the first time in so long made her feel full anyway.

'It's a shame there isn't more.'

Asella had finished every morsel of the kindness Grylls had given her. Setting aside her brief disappointment, she sent him a message, her face more animated than before.

Don't Abandon the Hero

Thank you for the food!

It was really delicious!

Right?

Would you like more if I catch some later?

Don't Abandon the Hero:

No! I have some shame!

But thank you!

He really was a good person, Asella thought. But even someone like him had a disappointing flaw: his faith.

Grylls had committed blasphemy before, including recently. It was fortunate he had done so on the forum; in real life, he would have had no grounds to complain if he were arrested for heresy. Horrified, Asella had warned him, but as far as she knew, he'd paid her no heed whatsoever.

'It's precisely in circumstances like these that he needs stronger faith... '

As the Hero, her faith in the goddess rivaled the pope's. Although she had been branded a turncoat and forced to flee, she had never let go of that faith.

'Yes. I'll take this opportunity to bring him into the faith.'

Grylls must have suffered hardships before, and he was still suffering now. Asella was no different. She had come into the world without parents and endured countless hardships. But thanks to the blessing of the goddess Aris, she had risen to become the Hero. With faith, one could endure. Hard times were precisely when one should believe in the gods.

Don't Abandon the Hero

Grylls!

Would you consider worshipping the goddess Aris?!

No?

Oh, would I be allowed to curse her out?

Don't Abandon the Hero

Cursing isn't worship!!

Then I'll pass.

Grylls hadn't changed. He didn't seem to have the slightest intention of worshipping a god. Asella found it difficult to understand. They were gods, after all. In a world where gods openly existed, his behavior was beyond strange. It was bizarre.

Don't Abandon the Hero

Why do you insist on cursing them?!

Do you not believe in the gods?!

I believe they exist.

I just curse them out.

Don't Abandon the Hero

That makes no sense!

You believe in the gods, yet curse them!

There were people who occasionally demanded that the gods strike them down if they truly existed. But Grylls was different. He believed in their existence and hated them all the same. The ideas seemed so contradictory that she couldn't tell whether he believed or not.

Don't Abandon the Hero

Why do you feel that way?!

Does that mean you hate everyone who has faith?!

I hate gods, not people.

It was a clear-cut answer, one that left Asella's mind reeling. He hated gods, but not people. What did that even mean? At first it sounded contradictory, but if one drew a clear distinction between gods and people, it made sense.

As her thoughts grew tangled, Grylls added something else.

I hate gods because I don't want to hate people.

I'm the kind of person who needs someone to hate before I can feel better.

Don't Abandon the Hero

Have you considered not hating anyone?!

Are you even human if you don't hate?

Jealousy exists for a reason.

Don't Abandon the Hero

So that's why you hate the gods...?!

Yes. It puts my mind at ease.

Don't Abandon the Hero

What will you do if the gods punish you for that?!

What kind of god doesn't even have the courage to be hated?

That's just a petty little shit.

"Eek!"

Asella let out a strange squeak and looked around, as though afraid someone might see. Only the individual user could see the forum, but who knew about the gods? They might be watching all of this.

'S-such impiety...! What on earth is he thinking?!'

She stared at the conversation with trembling eyes. He committed rudeness—no, blasphemy—as easily as breathing. He would have no right to complain if a god struck him down.

'B-but this is also a form of faith, in a way...!'

He believed in the gods so he could hate them. Paradoxically, that was a kind of faith as well. The problem was that it was faith steeped in impiety. Asella couldn't understand it.

PATTER

As she was gathering her thoughts, large raindrops fell onto her head. Looking up, she saw rain beginning to fall from the dark, cloud-covered sky.

'I'd better get out of the rain first.'

She started walking, but her mind was still full of Grylls's words. He would hate gods because he didn't want to hate people. The words had lodged firmly in her mind.

'I really can't figure him out.'

Quite apart from that...

'He's kind, but strange.'

His kindness had warmed her heart.

* * *

SHHHHHHH!

"Oh, come on."

Was it because I'd cursed the gods earlier? The rain was pouring down again. Watching the downpour outside, I muttered to myself.

'If that's really why, they're petty little shits.'

CRASH!

The moment I thought that, a deafening peal of thunder erupted.