Erica clearly saw and heard every interaction and every word exchanged between Lucretia and Godou Kusanagi.
Having already read the story, she knew perfectly well that Rowan's intervention had caused the original plot to veer wildly off course.
But she neither warned anyone nor interfered.
Instead, she watched the whole thing unfold with great interest.
Even when Godou Kusanagi left, she made no attempt to stop him.
Because she was curious.
Now that the story had deviated so drastically from its original course, would this supposed protagonist still be able to become a Campione?
If he could, then perhaps he really was the protagonist.
If he couldn't…
Then apparently this so-called protagonist wasn't anything special after all.
Nothing worth mentioning.
So Erica was very much looking forward to seeing what happened next.
Meanwhile, Lucretia returned to her library with the Prometheus Grimoire and handed it to Rowan.
After receiving it, Rowan carefully examined the artifact.
This thing really had been created by Prometheus.
Even now, traces of Prometheus's power remained within it, along with a portion of his Authority.
No wonder Godou Kusanagi had been able to use this thing to steal Verethragna's Authority and actually injure him.
Rowan immediately became extremely interested in the artifact and began studying it carefully.
He was no longer the ignorant beginner he had once been.
It took him only a single night to completely decipher the grimoire and master its power.
The following morning, Rowan saw Lucretia at the dining table.
"The grimoire you gave me was quite rewarding."
Rowan spoke while eating the breakfast Erica had prepared for him.
Well—
"prepared" might have been generous.
Erica had gotten up early and gone outside to buy it.
As for why she hadn't cooked it herself?
According to Erica, she simply didn't possess that skill yet.
Hearing Rowan's praise, Lucretia smiled faintly.
"It is my honor that something in my collection could be of use to Lord God."
Rowan continued,
"Which is why I'm going to reward you."
"I have three fairly good options. You may choose one."
"First."
"There are currently two Heretic Gods on Sardinia."
"Tell me which one you want, and I'll help you kill him so that you can become a Campione."
"Second."
"I can give you magic."
"Magic from other worlds."
"If you cultivate those spells to a sufficiently profound level, you'll likewise become capable of killing gods and becoming a Campione through your own strength."
"Third."
"You may make one request of me, and I will fulfill it."
Hearing those three choices, Lucretia's face lit up with a smile.
She sincerely praised him,
"Lord Rowan, you truly are an extraordinarily generous god."
At the very least, she had never encountered a deity more generous than Rowan.
Those Heretic Gods were each more arrogant than the last.
They barely regarded humans like her as living beings worthy of notice.
Compared with Rowan, those gods were nothing but walking disasters.
Aside from causing trouble for humanity, they were practically useless.
Rowan accepted Lucretia's praise without the slightest embarrassment.
He took a sip of water and said,
"I've always preferred win-win situations."
"Things are best when everyone benefits."
Lucretia immediately praised him again.
"Very well said, Lord Rowan."
"Your generosity is as vast as the sun and moon."
"Those Heretic Gods who do nothing but bring misery to mankind aren't even worthy of carrying your shoes."
"Alright, enough flattery."
Rowan waved his hand.
"Tell me your choice."
Lucretia immediately fell silent.
All three options were excellent.
She wanted every single one of them.
But in the end, she restrained her greed and began carefully considering the advantages and disadvantages.
Becoming a Campione was certainly tempting.
She could ascend to the top in a single step and stand above ordinary humanity, free to act however she pleased.
But that would inevitably attract the attention of other Campiones.
And in Lucretia's opinion, Campiones were troublesome people.
If possible, she would rather avoid dealing with them altogether.
Besides—
she herself had never particularly yearned for a life of unrestricted power.
Compared with becoming a Campione, Lucretia preferred a quiet life spent studying magecraft.
More importantly, she was deeply curious about what magic from another world would look like.
Could it perhaps be combined with the magecraft of her own world to open an entirely new path?
Rowan had already said that if she cultivated those spells deeply enough, she could eventually kill gods with them.
That meant the upper limit of this "magic" was extremely high.
That temptation was enormous.
However—
the third option was undoubtedly the most tantalizing.
One request.
Anything she wanted.
That was even more outrageous.
Judging by the fact that Rowan could casually offer to turn her into a Campione, his power had to be astonishing.
Which meant that single request was practically equivalent to possessing an all-purpose wishing machine.
Perhaps it couldn't literally grant anything—
but it could undoubtedly solve the vast majority of problems she might ever encounter.
After thinking for a while, Lucretia finally made her decision.
"I choose magic, Lord Rowan."
"A wise choice."
Rowan nodded approvingly.
"I know more spells than you could count."
"Take a look and decide what kind of magic you want."
As he spoke, he raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
A screen-like curtain of light unfolded before them.
One spell after another appeared across it.
Every spell came with a detailed explanation of its effects and power.
"Considering the value of everything in your library, as well as the importance of the Prometheus Grimoire…"
"You may choose ten spells to learn."
Lucretia already knew that Rowan was proficient in magic.
But only now did she realize that she had still underestimated him.
Because the list displayed on the screen contained—
at minimum—
several thousand different spells.
That was ridiculous.
No.
Ridiculous wasn't even enough.
It was completely absurd.
Even Erica couldn't help sucking in a breath of cold air and looking suspiciously at Rowan.
Rowan had told her that he was a God of Death.
And Erica had believed him.
But after seeing this enormous catalogue of magic today, she suddenly began to wonder—
was Rowan really a God of Death?
Or was he actually some kind of God of Magic?
Perhaps only a true God of Magic could master such an absurd number of spells.
Lucretia spent several hours carefully browsing the massive list before finally selecting ten powerful types of magic.
The first—
Time Magic.
This spell system was ridiculously powerful.
It could stop time and even reverse its flow.
Even among gods, only a select few possessed powers related to time.
Anyone who passed up something like this would have to be an idiot.
The second—
Spatial Magic.
The reason was essentially the same as with Time Magic.
The third—
High Enchantment Magic.
This was an extremely versatile form of magic.
The more magical abilities one possessed, the more outrageous the effects of High Enchantment Magic could become.
The fourth—
God Ear Magic.
This magic allowed the user to hear the thoughts, voices, and information of others.
Its effects were absurdly powerful and could grant an overwhelming informational advantage during battle.
The fifth—
Crush Magic.
An extremely high-level destructive magic capable of instantly shattering the atomic bonds of any matter it touched.
When used against living beings, its effect depended entirely on the caster's intent.
The victim could either be reduced to dust on the spot—
or broken apart into hundreds or thousands of tiny copies.
The sixth—
Shape Magic.
A spell capable of altering the shape of objects.
It could transform a stone into an island—
or even compress an entire island into a pebble.
The seventh—
Heavenly Body Magic.
This magic allowed its user to manipulate celestial objects such as meteors and meteorites for attacks, combining tremendous speed with devastating destructive force.
The eighth—
Resurrection Magic.
It could bring the dead back to life, provided the body remained sufficiently intact.
This spell had been created by Rowan after studying the magic of the Fairy Tail world, combining it with powers from several other worlds and the abilities of the Revive-Revive Fruit.
It was a genuine resurrection spell.
The ninth—
Soul Magic.
Another original magic Rowan had created by combining multiple supernatural systems.
It allowed its user to manipulate souls, create souls, and modify souls.
And finally, the tenth—
Travel Magic.
It could transport the caster to places they had never visited before.
It could even allow travel between entirely different worlds.
After Lucretia selected those ten spells, Rowan warned her,
"Most of the others aren't particularly dangerous to use."
"But you should be extremely careful with the last one."
"Travel Magic can randomly send you into other worlds."
"If you don't possess the coordinates of this world, returning here could be nearly impossible."
"If you're lucky, you may simply wander from one world to another forever, never finding your way home."
"If you're unlucky…"
"You might be dropped straight into an incredibly dangerous world and get killed immediately."
Lucretia nodded and promised that she would use Travel Magic cautiously.
Whether she truly meant it or not was none of Rowan's concern.
He had already fulfilled his responsibility by warning her.
Afterward, he activated Archive Magic and directly transmitted the complete cultivation methods for all ten spells into Lucretia's mind.
By the time Lucretia finished organizing the enormous amount of knowledge that had suddenly appeared in her head, several hours had already passed.
Rowan and Erica were long gone.
Looking at the empty room, Lucretia couldn't help sighing.
"He truly is a god as unpredictable as the wind."
So—
where had Rowan and Erica gone?
Naturally—
to find a Heretic God.
Deep within a vast forest stood the ruins of Saint Bastia.
The ruins had not been particularly well preserved.
However, in the central plaza was a triangular opening leading underground.
Stone steps descended through the opening, eventually reaching a subterranean temple.
The interior of the temple had been ingeniously constructed from carefully stacked stones, with the gaps between them filled with additional stonework.
Deep within the temple, an underground spring bubbled up from beneath the earth.
And sitting beside that spring—
was the Heretic God Mekal.
Despite being a god, his hair was wild and unkempt, as though it had never once been properly groomed.
An enormous beard covered the entire lower half of his face, giving him an exceptionally savage appearance.
To be honest—
judging purely by looks, this man resembled a wild barbarian far more than a deity.
Yet no one who actually stood before him would ever mistake him for some ordinary savage.
Because his body was simply too massive.
Too powerful.
Too sacred.
He wore extremely crude clothing—
dirty rags, a leather breastplate over his chest, and a tattered cloak draped across his shoulders.
Yet despite his shabby appearance, he radiated overwhelming majesty.
Anyone who stood face-to-face with him would instinctively feel the urge to lower their head and kneel.
That—
was the presence of a god.
Divine grace as vast as the sea.
Divine might as deep as the abyss.