The 19th day of the Earth month. I was just staring at the scenery now,
dumbfounded.
A lot of things happened yesterday. Alice had temporarily left from
guard duty, apparently due to a meeting of the Six Kings, and Ein-san
had been guarding me all day yesterday.
And then, Lunamaria-san's mother came to visit… and I was really
surprised that it was actually Noir-san, whom I had met before.
Noir-san left after drinking tea and chatting at Lilia-san's mansion for
about an hour or so, saying she would visit again.
Most of Noir-san's stories were about Lunamaria-san, and I enjoyed the
fact that she was generous with her family stories, like how Lunamariasan used to be… Lunamaria-san just looked at her with dead eyes, as if
she was screaming at Noir-san to stop coming back, but Noir-san just
said she would come back…
Well, I honestly thought the day would end with that ruckus, before I
end the day after going to bed but… honestly, I didn't expect more
unexpected events to occur the next day.
Moving my gaze away from the window of this luxurious carriage I'm
riding at… I called out to the person in front of me.
[…Ummm… Why did I get abducted when I should be carefreely eating
breakfast now, Chronois-san?]
[…I'm sorry about that, but it took a lot of work to arrange, so I didn't
get to tell you beforehand.]
[…Huhh…]
Yes, I was currently being transported in a carriage by Chronois-san,
who appeared out of the blue just before breakfast.
It was a sudden turn of events, but as soon as Chronois-san arrived, she
said "Sorry! I don't have much time. Don't ask anything and just follow
me." while bowing with a sad expression on her face, so I wasn't able to
refuse.
[…W- Well, that's ine but… Where is this carriage heading?]
[To the God Realm.]
[…Ehh?]
[By Shallow Vernal-sama's will, we are inviting you to the God Realm.]
[…Huh?]
Shiro-san invited me to the God Realm? Come to think of it, I think she
said something like that before… I- I see, so that's why Chronois-san
came to pick me up.
[I- I see. I can now understand why… By the way, Chronois-san… Why
do you look worn out?]
[…Shallow Vernal-sama decreed that we invite you as soon as
possible… I've been rushing around to complete various formalities
so…]
[I- I'm sorry about that.]
When I asked Chronois-san, who looked exhausted, she seemed to be
struggling with Shiro-san's absurdness as usual… This person really is
too troubled.
I mean, the other party is that Shiro-san, you know? She's the kind of
airhead that doesn't think that a jab for her would be a combo of
uppercuts and a missile launcher for us.
However, she just said various formalities… Even when going to the
Demon Realm, you would need a permit that would take a week to
issue, so the God Realm might not be a place you can just go and visit
immediately.
[Great job… Or rather, I guess you would need lots of procedure to go to
the God Realm huh?]
[It isn't that dificult to get to the "lower levels". You just need to apply
to the temple and get a permit to visit. However, it's the "upper levels"
that Miyama is going to this time…]
[Lower levels? Upper levels?]
[Fumu… You are aware of the shape of the lands of the God Realm,
right?]
[Yes… It's in the shape of a circle with an empty center, isn't it? I saw it
in the map.]
I remembered that the God Realm was a donut-shaped land, and was
quite small compared to the Demon Realm and Human Realm.
After hearing my words, Chronois-san nodded once before lightly
explaining to me.
[Umu, that's right… It's just that, it might be dificult to see on the map,
but the God Realm is divided into "three" areas.]
[Three?]
[Yeah, wait a moment, I'll get a map.]
Saying that, Chronois-san takes out the same map that Lilia-san showed
me before and holds it out to me.
Taking it and looking at the map again, which I hadn't really looked at
so closely before, I saw that the circular earth did indeed seem to be
three overlapping circles of different sizes, and I could see a slight gap
in between each circle.
[First, the outermost lands are called the lower level, where the lowerranked Gods, their subordinates, and the priests who serve the temple
live… As for that place, Humans and Demons can freely visit it as long as
they have permit.]
[…Fumufumu.]
[And the lands within it… the difference in elevation will be hard to see
on the map, but there's the second layer of the God Realm, the "middle
level", which is placed in lands higher when viewed from the lower
level… This is mainly the home of high-ranking Gods, and only people,
with at least the rank and credibility of a King of the Human Realm,
were allowed to enter here.]
Apparently, the Divine Realm is supposed to be like a mountain, and the
closer the area was in the middle of the map, the higher the ground is.
And then, the middle level is basically inaccessible, unless you're the
same class as kings… What about the remaining upper level then?
[…And in the place closest to the center, there are the lands called the
"upper level". This is a place that no one but the Supreme Gods and our
subordinates are allowed to enter, and among the Humans, you're the
second person to visit the lands after the First Hero… You should be
able to see how abnormal the situation is.]
[…I guess that would be because Shiro-san lives there huh?]
[You are correct, though you're slightly mistaken about something.
Shallow Vernal-sama lives on an island in the center of the Divine
Realm, which isn't shown on the map… It's an island loating in the
skies called "Sanctuary". In that place, even I will not be able to enter
without Shallow Vernal-sama's permission.]
[......]
Arehh? That's weird… I can tell from her tone that it must be an
amazing place. A place that even the Supreme God, Chronois-san, can't
enter without permission… making it literally the hardest place in the
world to visit.
However, an island loating in the skies? Isn't that… the place where I
irst got my blessing from Shiro-san?
(That's right.)
Ah, I knew it… So, why did you have to go through all these troublesome
matters? Couldn't you just teleport me just like you did the irst time
you gave me your blessing?
(…Now that you mention it, you're right.)
Oi, you there, airhead goddess… You just simply didn't think about it!?
Chronois-san looked like she would collapse from exhaustion here, you
know!?
(Well then, I will now teleport you…)
Stop right there!!! Don't let all the work Chronois-san did come to
nothing! I will properly visit you there under Chronois-san's lead, so
please just wait there.
(On one condition.)
…And why are you demanding me a condition for that? Oi, why? Are
you that free?
I haven't completely cleared my doubts but, I know all these questions
would just be useless to Shiro-san… For the time being, let me hear
what that condition is.
(Only Kuro is unfair, so please take a bath in the onsen with me too.)
…The heck is this person talking about? Onsen? Did she just say onsen?
Does onsens exist in the God Realm?
(I made them exist.)
Shiro-san, what the heck are you really doing!? Are you really that free!?
I mean… Does that mean you're seriously going to get in the onsen with
me!? No, no… As expected, that would be…
(Only Kuro is unfair.)
No, like I said, that is, errr…
(Only Kuro is unfair.)
…How about some compromise and we go swimwear?
(No compromise.)
…Is this one of those requests where I don't have any option to say no?
(Yes.)
She just said it outright. She just declared that she would keep
repeatedly saying it until I agree!?
M- Mngghhh… This is very troubling. Bathing with Shiro-san, who has
really magniicent proportions and is an immensely beautiful woman…
I'm not conident that I can seriously suppress my reasoning.
To make matters worse, Shiro-san can read my mind… I'm afraid that
she would be able to anticipate that I was desperately trying to endure
it, and move to crush my reasoning.
But well… Unfortunately, I don't have the option to veto. It would just be
an endless loop until I agree to it, so I would eventually just agree… This
is too unreasonable.
(Does Kaito-san… hate taking a bath on an onsen with me?)
I think that way of asking is too unfair. There's still no inlection in her
voice, but the damage is still too d*mn high.
Alright already… I'll go with you. I just have to take a bath with you,
right!?
(Thank you. Then, I'm looking forward to seeing your arrival.)
Hmmm, I'm not really sure… if it's because of the lack of inlection in
her voice or not, but it's hard for me to understand her intentions, and
since my Sympathy Magic isn't effective, I can't understand what she's
thinking.
[Have you inished talking to Shallow Vernal-sama?]
[Y- Yes, well… You see…]
Chronois-san, who seems to have been quiet because she noticed I was
talking to Shiro-san, calls out to me, and I slowly tell Chronois-san
about the conversation I just had with Shiro-san.
I spoke ambiguously about the beginning of my conversation with
Shiro-san, so that Chronois-san's hard work wouldn't have been in vain
but… For some reason, Chronois-san's eyes lost more light than before,
and turned into the eyes of a dead ish.
[…I see…]
[U- Ummm, Chronois-san? Is something the matter?]
I thought she would respond with "I will not allow such immorality!"
but… She looks like she just gave up on everything…
[…Miyama… later… When you get to Shallow Vernal-sama's island,
please treat me as if I'm not there… Please don't remember me at all…]
[…Huh? Errr… Yes.]
Dear Mom, Dad—— Call it a sudden turn of events, Chronois-san
suddenly appeared and brought me to the God Realm. For some reason
though, Chronois-san had eyes that looked like a dead ish, but I think
that's most probably——– Shiro-san's fault.