Chapter 772: A New Phase Part 8

"...Aaahhh!! I hate Philosophy, it’s such a hard and boring subject!! Pandora, help me!! I don’t understand any of this!! At this rate I’m gonna fail this class too!!" Fanni says, showing me the questions from a book. I look at her, then at the book.

"What’s the problem?" I ask, looking over the questions and not finding anything particularly difficult. In fact, they’re pretty simple questions about philosophy — they lean heavily on your own life experience.

And they leave it wide open for you to give examples on whatever topic you want, which is actually extremely generous because it means almost any answer is accepted as long as it’s coherent.

"How am I supposed to have already formed a view on life without knowing what life is?" she asks, confused by the questions.

’She really didn’t get the core of the question?... idiot... at this rate she’d fail even without me doing anything.’

"Just use an abstract example." She doesn’t need to be literal, just abstract about the subject. In the end, philosophy is much more about interpretation.

"...How about I talk about God?"

"...God?" I ask, curious. I never gave the beings of this universe a religion. In fact, I created this universe very precisely in some aspects, but deliberately ignored others. So why do they believe they have a god? Obviously, if I wanted to know the reason, I could easily find out, but I think keeping the mystery is more fun.

"Of course. What do you think God is?" I ask with a playful tone in my voice.

"Well, I think God is like a kind being who loves everyone so much!!! He created us, and I’m sure He has a greater purpose for us!!!"

"..." I don’t know whether to laugh or feel sad that she thinks her miserable existence has any value to ’god.’ I did create this universe for something greater — to discover something I didn’t understand quickly — but that was all.

"What guarantees that God loves you?"

"Well, He created me, right?"

"...That’s pretty arrogant. Let’s suppose God created existence — He only created the foundation and let the rest follow as it should. You were born by pure chance."

"But God controls chance!"

"Chance is chance. God wouldn’t waste time manipulating it just so you’d be born. If that were the case, God would have to choose the movement of every atom in the universe. It’s not impossible, but why would He?"

"...Well... I guess still—"

"What would an Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient being feel when creating something?" I pose a good question to her.

"Love!!"

"...Do you feel anything when you plant a potato?"

"Huh? Well... no, but—"

"If you plant a tree over a family member’s grave, you’d feel affection for the tree. If you plant a potato to eat, you don’t feel love. And if a wild potato grows on its own, why would you even pay attention to it?"

"...I..." She seems to start having a small crisis, because these are things that slowly crush her faith — faith that was born from nothing. I never gave any indication that I existed. I am the God of this universe, and even so, I have no emotion toward it.

"So... God planted us over something He likes, right?"

"...Cute." I gently pinch her cheeks as she tries to find proof that God loves her.

"Yes, you’re right about that. Maybe God did plant you over something He likes, so He loves you." When I say that, her tail swishes from side to side, her ears perk up, and she blushes.

"Really?" The hope in her voice almost makes me laugh. In a way, she’s right — "God" does like her, since I like her. But she’s a special case, an exception.

"Yes. How would I know, right? Nothing stops that from being true. Now you have your philosophical answer — the only certainty in philosophy is absolute uncertainty about everything. Philosophy is much more about uncertainty."

"And that’s my view. Now you have to form your own." I wonder what worldview she’ll take from this answer, and whether she’ll actually understand or fail the upcoming tests.

"...Pandora, if you were God, what would you do? Now that you’ve said all that, I think I understand what to write for the question! If I were a god, I’d spend most of the beginning living casually — eating and exploring the world!" she says with confidence and a smile.

"...Hahahaha." I laugh at her, though with a gentle tone, because her choice is exactly what I’m doing — which is funny since they’re pretty similar, with differences in what actually happens.

’I think I understand why I feel this sense of interest in her.’ She looks a bit offended that I laughed at what she said.

"Pandora!! And what would you do then? If what I said is so funny, then you must have a wonderful answer, right!?"

"Me? I’d do exactly what you said." The confusion on her face is something I enjoy.

"But I think I’d do it with my personal touch. Still, your idea is good — really. Simple, practical, and something very personal."

"I’m sure you’d be an incredible Goddess!!" she says with confidence.

"Now let’s get back to studying. Let’s set this aside — after all, it’s impossible, right? These are answers you’ll never get."

"Maybe!! If I ever become a goddess, I’ll invite you to an amazing house I’ll build with my powers!!"

"..." There is no future where such a thing happens, and I won’t change anything. But it’s still nice to see her dream so big, because I know she’s joking about it.

"Wouldn’t you choose something bad once you realized you could do anything?" I ask, picking up my glass of water and swirling it gently.

"No!"

"Such confidence."

"I would always remember where I came from!!!" Her answer makes me crush the glass.

"P-Pandora!! Y-Your hand!! Oh my God!!! I-I’ll go get something!! ORIANE!! PANDORA GOT HURT!!" Fanni runs out of the room screaming for help.

"..." I look at my hand covered in blood.

"Oh, right... always remember where you came from, huh... yes, that’s exactly why I’m going to devour Fanni when the fun of this runs out." I will never forget where I came from and what I am. That’s exactly why I’m in this situation.

"How decadent. A being like me needing to hunt in such a crude way... Hehehe." My urge to kill Fanni grows. What would her crying be like as she’s devoured alive by someone she trusts so much?

"Fanni... you’d better start choosing your words more carefully, or I might actually get worked up." My heart skips a beat at the sight of such delicious prey.