Makoto, who seemed stunned, observed the villagers on the PC until he regained his senses.
"You're not lying, are you...?"
Makoto let out a sigh as if his soul was slipping away and drank all the tea from the plastic bottle at once. He recovered enough to continue the conversation.
"If I were in Makoto's position, I think it would be normal to be wary of me, thinking that I'm crazy. But it's true."
"Yes. I was a little confused, but when I compared it to the questions I had when I was playing this game, it made more sense."
He shook his head several times and seemed to be talking to himself.
"But why did you tell me something so important?"
"There are several reasons. One is that it would be easier for us to work together if I revealed everything."
If there were discrepancies in the information, we might end up holding each other back when the time came. Besides, I sometimes speak as Yoshio, who has been to that village, in the oracle, so there was a possibility that Makoto would be confused when he saw the oracle.
"Secondly, I didn't want to lie to you."
We are friends who will develop the village together. There is no harm in eliminating even the smallest distrust.
"Third, I had a favor to ask of....In order to do that, you had to know the details."
"A favor? Please say anything! I'll do anything for you, Yoshio!"
Makoto is coming at me with a sniffle. Not as much as the villagers, but isn't he lifting me up too much, sanctifying me too? I'm not as respectable as he thinks I am, so I'm uncomfortable when he gives me a sincere look.
I think it's inevitable that if someone reaches out to you and lifts you up when you've been down, their reputation will skyrocket. This is especially true for a pure young man like him. However, I feel a little uneasy because I feel that this is more like dependence than respect.
"It's nice that you trust me, but I'm not that great of a person."
"But…"
"I'd like it if you'd be a little easier on me, if you'd treat me like a friend, even though I'm a little older."
"A friend? I'll do my best!"
So it's not something to get too worked up about. It seems like nothing I say will make a difference, but I'm sure that will change once he gets used to it.
"I'm sorry, I've gotten off track. I'd like to know if you've seen or heard anything around you or on the Internet that makes you feel uncomfortable."
"Uncomfortable?"
"Yes. As I mentioned earlier, it seems that players on the evil side are misusing the power of miracles. The people on the Lord God's side are worried about it. I've been asked to let them know if anything happens."
"I understand, I'll be careful."
Makoto believes that miracles are not to be misused, but being able to control supernatural powers is attractive to everyone. Even if you are on the side of the Lord God, you may still be tempted.
As a matter of fact, the God of Fate has asked me to be careful. He said, "Not only to the evil gods, but also to the players on the main god side."
After that, by the time we had finished chatting and deciding on the future direction of the village, it was starting to get dark outside the window. I thought about asking him to stay for dinner, but he had some business to attend to, so I decided to walk him to the bus stop in front of the convenience store. My mother hadn't come home yet, so I couldn't introduce him to any of my family members after all.
Oh, I guess I was able to introduce him to Destiny. If I had a driver's license, I could have driven him home, but unfortunately my car is a bicycle.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
I watched the bus drive away and was just about to leave when I felt a shiver run down my spine. Sensing danger, I followed my instinct and turned around to find my...sister at the bus stop. Sometimes I go straight home from work and come back at this time, which is fine, but...why is my sister glaring at me so indifferently?
"Oh, hey, you're early."
"I'm going straight home today. Anyway, who's that girl?"
It was only natural that she had seen Makoto, since she had gotten off the same bus.
"I recently met a friend...through a game, so I guess we're still acquaintances for now."
"Hmm. She's cute, isn't she?"
It was a harsh remark with no attempt to hide her displeasure.
"Cute or not, don't tell him, okay? Because he seems to care."
"What do you want me to say, "She's pretty"?"
...Something tells me that our conversation has not been going anywhere since a while ago.
"Are you sure you're not confused?"
"What?"
"He's my junior at work."
"Oh, so she's your junior at work. It would be nice to be missed by a girl like that, wouldn't it?"
I feel like I tried to clear up a misunderstanding and it got worse.
"I just invited him over to talk about games."
"Oh? You were in your room with her just now?"
My sister comes up to me with her eyes peeled. What's so surprising about that?
" Mom was home, wasn't she?"
"No, she was out."
"How old is she...?"
"Uh, seventeen, I think."
It had been a year since he dropped out of high school, so I was probably right. When I told her this, she staggered back.
"...criminal."
"What the hell? You've been making some serious mistakes, haven't you?"
"No. I'm not going to meddle in my brother's love life, but it's my sister's mercy to report you if you mess with a minor. And how are you going to excuse yourself to Seika-san?"
Oh, so that's how it is. If I tell Makoto about this, he's going to sulk and say, "I've been mistaken for a girl again." I can't help but chuckle at the thought of that scene.
"Big brother, this is no laughing matter. It's a crime to touch a minor."
"Don't say such things out loud. What if someone hears you?"
It was a good thing that no one happened to be around within earshot, but if the neighbors heard this, gossip would spread in no time. The speed at which information travels in the countryside is unbelievable, so it's a real problem.
"It's not my fault you're doing something you don't want anyone to hear."
She's in her twenties, but the way she puffs out her cheeks and gets angry is just like the old days. I don't think she ever made this childish gesture at work, did she?
"No, so you're fundamentally wrong. My friend is called Makoto, and he's a man."
"Man...that's a lie. None of my friends are that cute."
"Your friends are going to be mad at you."
I guess he looked like a girl because she wasn't looking close enough....No, it's hard to judge unless you look very closely and carefully.
"Which is it?"
She even asked me about it.
"Anyway, he's really a guy, my junior at work, and my gaming buddy."
"Hmm. I'll take your word for it."
"Okay, thank you."
It was originally my sister's mistake, so I had no reason to thank her, but I didn't want to cause any more trouble, so I said so.
"But it's been a long time since you brought home a friend."
"That's true. Except for Seika, it's been years."
Makoto said he hadn't been to someone else's house in a long time, but I hadn't been to Seika's house before in over a decade.
"I'll probably call him home again, so be nice to him when I do. He's a genuinely nice kid, you know."
"Yeah, I get it. I'm closer in age to him than you are. I've always wanted a younger guy like him. My colleagues at work are all cocky."
"Yeah, I get it. I'm closer in age to him than you are. I've always wanted a younger guy like him. My colleagues at work are all cocky.
"Don't ever say "young boy" in front of him."
It would be a compliment if he accepted it and used it as his selling point, but it was a no-no for him who yearned for masculinity. From there, we chatted about the current state of the company and how Makoto was working, and in no time at all, we arrived in front of the house.
My sister opened the door first and went in, and I was about to enter when I heard a ringtone from my pocket. I looked at my phone and saw that I had received a call from Seika, so I checked.
"Who was that girl that came out of the house earlier?"
I felt a piercing gaze on my back and turned around to see Seika peeking through the slightly open gate of a neighboring house.
...Was today a free day?
Now, let's give the explanation one more try!
Suffering from hallucinations that made me feel as if I were replaying a conversation with my sister, I finished the explanation and arrived at my room.
I was really tired. I was about to go downstairs to get ready for dinner when I heard a song on my phone again. I wondered if the bright pop song was the ringtone I had set for her. When I checked the screen, I saw the name of that person on the screen.
"Hello?"
"Hi, how are you?"
The voice is so cheerful and loud that I can't help but pull away the phone from my ears.
"Yes, I'm doing fine, God of Fate."
"I told you not to call me God. Just call me Michi-chan."
"That makes you sound like a vehicle driver. Besides, that term seems to be out of fashion now, doesn't it?"
The human world changes so quickly. But I wonder if she'll get upset if I call her that. I didn't really care about that. Is there anything that has changed?
Talking the God of Fate can easily derail a conversation, but this time I went straight to the point.
"There's no such information on the Internet at the moment."
"I see. Yoshio, since your information has been leaked to the evil side, there's a good chance you'll be targeted again, so be careful, okay?"
"I'll keep that in mind."
I'm well aware that I have to take care of myself because I've actually experienced it many times, but I'm more worried about Seika than me. The incident at the shrine and the last time involving the young president. I've gotten her involved twice.
"I've been proposing stricter restrictions on miracles, but there are many who are against it. There are many players who pay for miracles because of the reward. Money is important in this world, right?"
The gods of the other world were tainted by the mundane world. In Japan, the power of the gods has weakened, and they are becoming more like people, so it seems that they have come to the conclusion that they can't live with a clean slate, so I guess it's a normal reaction.
"It's not just the Evil God side, but the Lord God side as well."
The gods who followed the Evil God and the Lord God were called Followers, and they drifted down from the other world to Hokkaido, Japan, due to the war between them.
Although they lost most of their divine powers, they were able to exercise their miraculous powers by using the Bible, their alter ego, which they left behind in the other world. In order to survive in Japan, the followers set up a game company and decided to use games to gather the power of faith, which they have done to this day.
The details of the situation are more complicated, but I guess that's not relevant right now.
"As I was telling you before, I've made the situation clear to the Nature God player."
"Yeah, yeah. The God of Nature has a lot of problems...but the player seems like a good kid. The God of Nature is a bit flippant, though."
"...By the way, what kind of god is the God of Nature like?"
"Well, she's a free-spirited, dark-skinned gal. Do you want me to send you a picture?"
Oh, uh, that makes sense, considering that the Dark Elves believe in her. I'm curious to see what she looks like and what her personality is like, but I also feel like I shouldn't.
"Next time you get the chance, please do."
"She is in debt to me for saving her player, so she'd be happy to at least take a picture."
It's like a God with a groove. She seems to be the opposite of...Makoto.
"You should try to find out more about what I told you. I'm going to hang up now. I'll send you the money for your part-time job."
"Thank you very much. I'll see you later."
I hung up the call and let out a sigh of relief. It's quite comforting to know that she talks to me like a friend, but she's still a God. I feel nervous no matter how many times I talk to her.
She asked me if I would like to work for her company, but I turned her down. I'm doing a part-time job to keep in touch with the problems of the game and the movements of the players in real life.
I'm not doing anything special, and I can't shake the feeling of guilt that it's okay to get paid for something like this. But since I want to save money now, I've decided to gratefully accept God's offer.
"Now, let's see what the village looks like."
I finished what I had to do, so I settled down in front of my computer desk as usual.