“I see…”
“Yes. Many misunderstand and think of miko as beings that are loved by everyone and will always be happy, simply because they think that is what it means to be loved by god. But if everything goes well for someone even if they do nothing, just because they are a miko, all that does is create a foolish being. Having one’s life decided not by one’s will but by the will of a god can only lead to a very unfortunate life. And if we are talking about people, all it would do is create a very selfish adult that never truly grows up and becomes a real adult.”
A selfish adult that never really grows up, and a life where everything is decided by god. That’s what a lot of people think the miko is. Protected by god, loved by everyone, and lives in complete happiness.
But Mister Douroean is right. Someone like this would grow up to be an adult that thinks everything they want is right and has to be accepted.
If everything goes right, this person won’t understand how others feel. Sometimes I don’t understand how people around me feel too.
I act out of my own will, and god cares for me, but it’s not like god is watching over everything I do. If the miko really was what people think it is, I would be really self-centered. I tremble when I think about it. Everything would be decided regardless of what I thought and did.
The idea of an adult that never really grows up makes me think of my sister. My parents wouldn’t let me get close to her, so we never really talked.
She was taken as the miko and was a selfish person. Mister Douroean makes me think about how she became like that because everyone around her treated her like she was so special.
“Also, I’m curious… Where I was before, crops never failed, but they became bad after I left. The country declined too. Do you know what that means?”
“That is also a sort of automatic divine protection. This is simply what I know from having met miko and hearing about them. It is said that the land where the miko lives will never suffer from bad crops or natural disasters, but this is not true. Rather than making it so these things do not happen, things that originally had a high probability of happening have that probability reduced. Disasters can still occur where the miko is.”
“The probability is lower?”
“Yes, that is what I think. Lands that seem to worry about disasters every year see them stop and crops growing more easily. The way I see it, a miko is simply very lucky. Have you ever felt that you are lucky as well?”
“Yes. When I look for food I always find it, and it never has poison. When I was abandoned Scifo found me right away… I think a normal person would’ve probably just died.”
The forest is very dangerous. There are monsters and a lot of things have poison. But I didn’t encounter monsters and just found things I could eat safely.
“I believe the probability of finding things you can eat was increased, and the probability of finding monsters was decreased. Of course, this is not absolute, and depending on the miko they can eat poisonous plants and encounter monsters, but the probability that she will be safe is much higher compared to normal. Basically, as I implied before, the place where the miko lives will have its luck raised just by her being there.”
The place where the miko lives is lucky, so the probability that crops grow easier is higher, the probability that it’s attacked by monsters is lower, and the probability that natural disasters will happen is lower too. But it’s not all-powerful, and bad things can still happen.
“If something terrible happens in the place where a miko belongs, there is no telling what will happen to the miko. It could be said this is why a miko’s divine protection is loosely extended to the area where she belongs. I heard long ago that a country affiliated with a miko will be prosperous as long as she is there. Of course, this does not mean that no problems ever happen. Also, if a miko loves this place, her divine protection will linger even after death. The effect the miko had on probability will slowly decrease until it eventually returns to normal. However, if a miko does not love said place, the divine protection that spread throughout the land will cease instantly. Lerunda, you did not love the place where you lived, did you?”
“…I didn’t.”
The village where I was born, and the country where it belonged. I don’t really feel anything in particular towards them. I just did what my parents said when I was there. I don’t feel love or hatred towards that village. Just nothing.
“Then all that happened was that said place suddenly returned to normal. A miko is someone loved by god, but not something that is granted absolute happiness. A miko’s influence can also lead to tragedy. Depending on the point of view, a miko can be a good or a bad thing. If a land can deal with losing the miko’s influence and suddenly returning to normal, there is no problem, but there will be a sudden decline if they became too used to the miko’s influence. Many stop burdening themselves with the trouble of preparing counter-measures for disasters, because there aren’t any problems while the miko is around. Regardless of whether or not they have a miko’s divine protection, preparing counter-measures will lessen any problems they might have, but many will slack off a little since crops will grow where a miko lives anyway, and some will completely stop putting effort into it. In these cases, they receive a big blow if the miko did not love said land.”
The miko’s divine protection stays if she loved that land, and it gradually becomes weaker. In the meantime, the people there can adapt.
But if the miko didn’t love that land, that place goes back to normal all of a sudden, and if they slacked off while the miko was there, that land will receive a big blow.
Miko aren’t normal people, and they’re special, but it’s not all about happiness, and it’s not really as good as people think.
Miss Lan told me that crops in the village where I was born were being damaged by insects. That’s probably because people there got used to crops going well anyway and didn’t prepare against these problems. Now that I think about it, they were so focused on giving things to my sister and treating her well that they didn’t put effort into anything else. They planted things, but I don’t remember them ever talking about what they would do if there were any problems. Crops were always good, so they didn’t think about what to do if they turned out bad.
…Thinking about it this way, miko can make people around them lazy. I don’t know how to describe how I feel about this.
“So miko, make people around them lazy?”
“It is all up to the people around them. If people do not think about what to do when crops fail because crops have been good, they would do so regardless of whether or not said good crops were being caused by a miko. If people around a miko become less diligent, that is their problem, not the miko’s. Miko have their power of influence, but in the end, these people would be the same regardless.
In your case Lerunda, if you care for the people around you, do not let them rely on the miko’s power too much, and make sure they are ready for when you are gone. If you love the land where you live, your influence will gradually fade, and the land will slowly return to normal, but you still have to keep in mind that there is no guarantee that disasters will never happen. It is hard for you to be attacked by monsters, but not impossible.
Mister Douroean continues talking while looking at me.
—Girl and the winged people’s god – Part four
(The miko listens to the winged people’s god talk about things that have always been a mystery to her.)
Join my patreon to support me and read ahead.
Yeeeeeah, the beast folk village should start making preparations against the dangerous forest beast sooner than later.