The Golden Gourd

"This is pretty fast...¨

"Right?" Babylon's Hangar had a super fast flying boat in it, so I decided to

take it out for a spin. I was currently in the skies above Regulus. Monica was

piloting for me.

The name I'd given to this flying boat was Gungnir. It was quite a long vehicle

that almost resembled a bamboo reed. As it sailed through the air it kind of

reminded one of a winged spear, hence the name.

Even though it was flying, I couldn't really figure out how it worked in terms

of science or aerodynamics... So I assumed it was powered by some magical

source.

Much as the name suggested, the flying boat was capable of soaring through

the air above the ground, or on the water. It was pretty darned fast, too, but I

was pretty sure I could go faster by using [Fly].

It could carry a maximum of twelve passengers at a time, though. The

spacious interior was definitely a positive.

Originally it was powered by Ether Liquid, but we remodeled it and added

new engine functions so it passively absorbed magic from the surrounding

atmosphere, much like the newer model Frame Gears.

"This thing can combine with Sue's Frame Gear, right?"

"Um, that's totally possible, yeah! The rear end can do the transforming part,

and stuff. Our presence won't be necessary, as it has a fully autonomous

autopilot system." Gungnir had an autopilot too, one we'd recently installed. It

had full voice recognition as well. You simply had to hop in and state where

you'd like it to take you, and then it would! Still, it was a rudimentary system

that couldn't adapt on the fly, so relying on it too much wouldn't be wise.

"We've like, totally installed a stealth cloak around the flying boat, too.

Though its noises can still be heard..."

"Is Gungnir equipped with anything?"

"Uhhm... Nope! But it's a rather sturdy construction. You could easily shatter

a Phrase by ramming into it."

Maybe for a Lesser Construct... I don't exactly want any suicide attacks done

against Uppers or anything.

Gungnir passed over Roadmare and flew through the skies of Yulong.

"...This place is still a mess, huh?" I looked down and saw the remnants of the

Phrase rampage. I saw scorched earth, ruined houses, uprooted trees, and

charred devastation.

But even amidst the wreckage, I could see signs of life carrying on. I saw some

villages well underway in their reconstruction efforts. It seemed that there were

good and earnest people, desperate to live their lives in their homeland.

It almost made me a little sad to think that some of these people might

consider me their enemy.

"My Lord."

"Huh? Kohaku?" As I gazed down beneath me, a telepathic message came in

from Kohaku. I wondered what she wanted.

"Lady Yae says she wishes to talk to y— Ghah! "Touya-dono, can you hear

me?!""

"Yeah, I hear you... Be gentle with Kohaku, okay?" Yae's voice suddenly mixed

in with Kohaku's telepathy. Kohaku definitely yelled, which meant Yae had

barged in. But what could have gotten her so worked up?

"I-I just received a letter from my mother through the Gate Mirror, I did! The

Hashiba army is invading Oedo as we speak, it is! Th-The army has twohundred-thousand men, and the Tokugawa-Date alliance has sixty-thousand! NNot to mention the fact that Ieyahsu-sama was wounded during the initial

assault, he was!"

"Wait, what?!" The army Tsubaki had warned me of was already making its

move. It seemed he planned to forcibly unify Eashen before moving on Yulong.

"I... I will ride in on Schwertleite and take out the Hashiba army, I will!"

"Wait! Don't get ahead of yourself!" I didn't want Frame Gears to get involved

in conflicts between humans. Yae was too panicked to think straight. That was

only normal, though. Her family was in grave danger.

"Monica, set a course for Eashen."

"Like, sure." I didn't know where the battlefield was, so we just headed

straight for Oedo. It would take about ten minutes to get there.

"I'm opening a [Gate], okay?" I cast the spell, allowing Yae and Kohaku

through to my location on the flying boat. It kind of felt like Yae had forcibly

yanked Kohaku through with her, though.

"Touya-dono! I... Wait, where are we?" Yae let go of Kohaku and nervously

looked around the inner room. Kohaku fell right to the floor and looked around

dizzily.

"Guh..." Kohaku let out a little moan and grumbled quietly to herself. Poor

little thing...

"We're inside the flying boat right now. I was taking it on a test flight. We're

on our way to Eashen."

"Th-Thank you... My father and elder brother have gone to the battlefield,

they have." This kind of reminded me of last time. But they were fighting a

much smaller, Takeda-led army back then.

Still, I wondered what was happening. It would've been better if I was going

to help an allied country, but this was an internal conflict. Ieyahsu was just a

feudal lord... I didn't really think Brunhild had any place in giving him formal

support. If we used a Frame Gear in the fight we'd definitely be exposed, too...

It might end up being theorized that I was trying to make Eashen into a vassal

state or something. Yulong would definitely spread rumors like that.

"Alright... I'll disguise myself as a masked rider who happened to be in the

right place at the right time."

"...Masked?"

I took out some mithril chunks from [Storage] and made a crude mask. The

mask only covered the top half of my face, kind of like the kind of thing you'd

wear at a masquerade. I wondered if I should attach horns to the forehead or

something.

Luckily for me, I had bought some Eashen-style clothing from Zanac. If I wore

that stuff, I'd look just like a native Eashenese person. The outfit was made up

of several parts, including white socks, wooden sandals, a haori jacket, along

with hakama pants and an uwagi to cover my torso. I could've just used

[Mirage], but that would've brought across its own set of problems.

I cast [Invisible] on myself and quickly got changed. Yae was my fiancee, but I

was still a little reluctant to strip down in front of her.

I had a katana with me, too. It was a prototype made back when I was

creating Yae's Touka blade. I quickly nestled it into the obi sash about my waist.

I put the mask on to complete the ensemble, and with that I looked like a

passing warrior in an oni-like mask. I thought I looked pretty damn cool.

"How do I look?"

"To me, Touya-dono... You look just like a person from Eashen, you do." She

said that, but she still gave me a funny look.

What? The mask a little too much? Well... I guess anyone wearing a mask

would look a little suspicious.

"Master. We're like, above the skies of Eashen and stuff." Monica's voice

came in from the cockpit, making me look down from the windows. There were

green plains and forests spreading far and wide, a stark contrast from the

devastated Yulong I'd looked at earlier.

"I have heavy life signs detected in the northwestern plains of Oedo. It's

totally likely they're uh, fighting right there."

"Head there right now. Full speed ahead."

"On it. It'll take approximately one minute." It wasn't long before we saw a

castle rising up from behind a hill. It looked mostly like a traditional Japanese

castle, but I could see some western influence here and there. There was also a

moat around it.

I could see tens of thousands of soldiers firing arrows at it. Some of the

soldiers in the back row were carrying flags showing the symbol of a golden

gourd.

This must be Hashiba's army... There's definitely not two-hundred-thousand

here... Tens of thousands, sure... But these guys are probably just the initial

wave.

Various soldiers charged across the moat's bridge, carrying in their hands a

wooden battering ram. They were smacking it against the inner gate. There

were people inside the castle firing arrows at the attackers, but the wind

suddenly picked up and diverted the flow of their shots. I bet there's a wind

mage amongst the enemy...

The wind continued to roar as the battering ram continued its work. Sitting

around and watching wouldn't help. I needed to move fast.

"Yae. Get inside the castle. Find Jutaro and Jubei and tell them that I'm here.

Don't let anyone else know, okay? Kohaku and I will stop the people outside the

gate."

"I understand, I do! ...Will it be okay if I go down there unmasked, will it?"

"It should be fine. Unlike Yumina and the others, our engagement was never

formally announced or anything. Why? You want a mask?"

"This is no time for jokes, it is not. That would cause my family to worry, it

would."

...How? I used a [Gate] to send Yae down to the castle tower. Then I took

Kohaku, waited for her to turn into her true form, and opened my own portal to

the top of the castle gate.

"Huh?!"

"What's that?!"

I jumped down from the gate, paying no attention to the bewildered men.

Both sides were briefly surprised by the sudden appearance of an enormous

white tiger and a silver-masked man.

"Outta the way, trash!" One of the commanding members of the army began

yelling. Seemed like he wanted us out of the way alongside the gate.

The log came smashing toward me, and I held out my hand toward it.

"[Power Rise]... [Gravity]!" A thudding sound echoed through the courtyard

as I stopped the log single-handedly. Then I lifted it, and the people holding on

to it, high into the air. They were cast into the moat. I made my own body heavy

with [Gravity], and fortified my physical strength with [Power Rise].

"What in the hell?!" The allied Tokugawa-Date army had been cautiously

aiming their bows at me, but it seemed like they finally realized I wasn't their

foe. They turned their weapons back toward the invading army.

Kohaku let loose a monstrous roar, blasting away the Hashiba soldiers that

remained on the bridge.

"This is a warning. Leave this place. Or else."

"O-Or else what, huh?!" The commander barked hostility at me as he slowly

walked backward. I calmly took my smartphone from my breast pocket, and

checked if the targeting lock had been completed yet. It had. Naturally, my

target was the enemy army.

"[Slip]!"

"Waugh!" In a flash, what felt like a light earthquake slowly rumbled beneath

my feet. That made sense, given the vast number of people I had made fall over

at the same time. I sort of wished I had a birds-eye view, because I bet it would

have been hilarious.

The soldiers on horseback were fine, though. That was probably because the

specific target of the spell was "The ground beneath the feet of the Hashiba

soldiers," and not anything else. That was fine by me, though. It wasn't like their

horses had done anything wrong.

"The hell are you doing?! Get up, idiots!"

"It's a battle here, people! Come on!" The superior officers were all on

horseback, screaming in anger at their own men. These idiots didn't even seem

to realize what was going on. People like those, who had no sense for danger,

deserved to be hit the hardest.

"Guess I should move about a bit." I took out an Eashen-styled Naginata from

[Storage], then removed the blade. After that, I cast [Power Rise] on myself

again.

It'd be fine to paralyze all of them (except the ones with talismans), but that'd

lead to problems. There were way too many to take as prisoners as war, and I'd

not feel so great about allowing the Tokugawa-Date army to easily murder

immobilized men.

My plan was to beat them so thoroughly that they'd be forced to retreat. And

so, I hopped on to Kohaku's back.

"Ready, Kohaku? We're heading right into the belly of the beast."

"As you command." I spun my spear around and gripped it tight.

"Get ready for the Silver Oni, Eashen! Let's rock and roll!"

Man... This is so cool.

◇ ◇ ◇

We charged through the enemy camp. I brought down countless foes with my

spear. Kohaku made a shockwave with her roar, blasting enemies away by the

dozens. Then, we cut through a crowd of them with ease.

After that, we made a U-turn and I took a combat pose once more.

Damn... There's a whole bunch left. A whole damn swarm of these guys!

A sudden rain of arrows came whistling through the air toward us.

"[Shield]." I deployed defensive magic, which made all the arrows bounce off

me. They fell to the ground with a clatter.

Guess I'll charge them again. Just as Kohaku prepared to make another run, a

young warrior appeared on horseback.

"Greetings to you, I am one of Hashiba's retainers. You may address me as

Fukushima Massanori! Be warned, stranger! My prowess with the naginata is

unmatched. I say to you, dark and mysterious Oni, that I shall not bow to the

aura of terror you have cast upon our fine—"

"[Slip]."

"Gwaugh!" His introduction was way too long-winded, so I cut it short. I'd cast

slip on his saddle, so he slid right off and fell on his butt.

What kind of idiot monologues in the middle of a fight anyway? I think people

might have named themselves on the battlefield in the distant past of my

world, but I wasn't really so sure about that.

I heard murmurs around me, some calling me a coward, some saying that I

fought unfairly. However, I didn't really care.

Personally, I thought I was brave! I'd charged headlong into battle and

scattered the enemy army, making them go "Waaah! Save us!" and everything.

They were the cowards! They had no right to call me names when they were

way worse.

Even though I'd been sending them flying, more of their soldiers still rushed at

me.

That Massanori guy got back up and lunged at me, so I dodged his attack and

knocked him over. I was a little irritated at how crowded it was becoming, but I

had a solution...

"Spiral forth, O Wind! Raging Sweeping Gale: [Cyclone Storm]!"

"Gaaaaaah!!!" A tornado kicked up in the enemy camp, blowing several

soldiers into the sky. I kept my eyes on the storm as I continued to beat down

more of Hashiba's soldiers.

"Wait, wait! I am Katou, one of Hashiba's vassals! You cannot—!"

"[Cyclone Storm]."

"Nooo!" Katou, or whatever his name was, flew away into the skies. I didn't

really give a damn about anyone here, or their monologues.

"What are you idiots doing?! It's just a man and his animal! Skewer them!

Stab them!" The enemy commander, atop a brown horse, ordered the foot

soldiers to surround me at all angles. They all thrust out at once.

Kohaku was much faster than them, though. She jumped high into the air and

avoided their spears.

"Come forth, Sand! Obstructing Dust Storm: [Blind Sand]!"

"MY EYES!" The soldiers clutched at their eyes and collapsed, Kohaku then

released another shockwave and blasted them away.

The moment she landed, she began to run. I matched her pace by swinging

my spear at the enemies.

"[Come forth, Wind! Helix Spear: [Spiral Lance]!" I blasted a spear of wind

ahead of us, and it mingled with the storm to blow through the entire Hashiba

army in a line.

"I-It's an Oni! There's an Oni here to kill us!"

"Run away! It's here to take our souls!"

Don't jump to conclusions... They look dead, but I've taken great pains to

paralyze them all or knock them out.

Suddenly, I heard a roaring of voices from the castle gate.

"The Tokugawa army is advancing! Hold fast!"

"It's no use! The right flank is crumbling! We can't intercept!"

Aha... Did Yae tell her dad already? The once-unified Hashiba army was

rapidly becoming a disorganized mob. Demoralized, too. I could hear it in their

voices.

"Retreat! Fall back! Fall back, damn it!"

"Run away!" The commanders could barely be heard over the clip-clop of

their horse's hooves. The foot soldiers ran after them in fear. Only the

paralyzed soldiers on the ground remained of Hashiba's army.

I heard cheers of victory from the Tokugawa-Date army. They had decided not

to chase the fleeing soldiers.

"Seems like we've fought them off for now, huh?"

"So it would seem, my liege." I jumped down from Kohaku's back and slipped

the spear into [Storage]. Then, I noticed Yae and her father rushing toward me

from the castle gates.

"Tou—"

"Shhh!" Yae was about to carelessly yell my name, so I told her to quiet down.

The two came closer, and I spoke to them in a hushed tone.

"It's been a while, Jutaro."

"Touya-dono, thank you for your aid. We are truly in your debt." Yae's older

brother bowed down to me. He was stiff as ever.

"But what is this you're wearing...?"

"It'd be a problem if Brunhild was involved with this officially. That's why I'm

not Touya. I'm the mysterious Oni."

"Ah... Very well. But what should we call you?"

"Uhh... Call me Shirogane." It was a simple name, but maybe not quite fitting,

given the silver-platinum connotations. Everything except my mask was black,

after all.

"More importantly than that, how is Ieyahsu? I heard he was hurt."

"Ah, yes. He had been struck by an arrow to the shoulder, but he is quite

fine."

"Can you take me to him? I'll heal him up." Most people from Eashen, Yae

included, didn't have much aptitude for magic. There were barely any people in

the country who could muster the power of light or dark, especially.

They did have their own specialized techniques that made use of magic power

in a sense, though. Ninjutsu, for example. Tsubaki throwing her voice into

nearby animals was an application of this.

"We'd appreciate that greatly. He's with father in the castle right now. Let us

depart at once, Tou— Shirogane-dono." Yae hopped up on to Kohaku and we all

headed toward the castle gates. The Tokugawa soldiers stared at us in a mixture

of shock and awe.

"Forgive me, truly... It seems I owe you yet another debt, Tou— Shiroganedono..." I cured Ieyahsu with my magic, and then helped the other wounded

soldiers too.

He thanked me, and we sat together inside a hall in the castle. The main

Tokugawa vassals were also present. Yae's father, Jubei, was there among

them.

"You know, stories of you have even reached Eashen... Your great and

extravagant deeds, as well." His eyes were filled with a curious sort of light as

he stared at me. He was generally full of wonder. He seemed somewhat similar

to the King of Belfast, and Mismede's beastking in that regard...

"What kind of stories...?"

"We've heard that you violently seized the princesses of many great nations,

that you annihilated an army of demonic monsters all on your own, and that

you have some control over great metallic giants... And that you used that

power to annihilate a country!" I smiled awkwardly as he spoke. Those stories

were... partly true, at best. It was a game of telephone... The stories probably

started true, but gradually warped from teller to teller.

I decided to brush that aside for the time being.

"My lord. Who is this...?" His retainers began to murmur amongst themselves.

It was only natural to be suspicious around an incredibly powerful man who

appeared from nowhere and refused to show his face.

"Ah, well. This is Shirogane-dono. He is a guest of Jubei's and the Kokonoe

family. As you can see, his strength is simply unmatched. A single Oni with the

power of a thousand men. He learned of our desperate plight and came to our

aid, he did." After Ieyahsu spoke, everyone looked over to Jubei. He nodded. His

affirmation seemed to reassure them, at least a little bit. Yae sat firmly next to

him, too. Kohaku had reverted to her miniature form, and was comfortably

nestled into Yae's lap.

"That reminds me, Ieyahsu. How is the war front?"

"Right now we are greatly outmatched. Hashiba far exceeds us in terms of

numbers. In order to succeed, we must take advantage of our enemy's weak

loyalty."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I said it was Hashiba's army... However, the soldiers were mostly from

Oda, Mori, Shimazu, and Chosokabe to begin with. The majority do not follow

him out of loyalty or respect. They simply fear Hideyooshi's power."

And here I thought control through fear was Oda Nobunaga's patented

method... Still, the Hideyoshi I remember from Earth's history was definitely

capable of cruelty. If I remember right, after his son was born, he made his own

nephew, Hidetsugu, commit suicide. Plus, he had Hidetsugu's wife, concubines,

and children killed as well... didn't he?

Still, cruelty wasn't all that unusual for the warring states period. Even

Tokugawa Ieyasu historically punished one of his traitorous vassals, Oga

Yashiro, by sawing him to death with a bamboo saw. The guy did try to sell him

out to Takeda, though.

That Ieyasu didn't seem much like the Ieyahsu in front of me... And the

Hideyoshi... or rather, Hideyooshi of this world seemed different too.

"So why is everyone obeying him? Is he really that strong?"

"Nay. He carries with him a golden gourd that commands a powerful jutsu.

With it, so they say, he can make anyone obey his power. The rumors state that

Nobunaga's assassin, Mitsuhide, was willed by the gourd to kill him."

A golden gourd, huh...? Maybe this is another artifact. Could we have another

situation like that immortality jewel again? It better not have fallen outta the

Storehouse! I worriedly took out my smartphone and began scrolling through a

list of items confirmed to be missing from the Storehouse. But nope. No gourd.

It might've still been an artifact, though. Just maybe one made by another

researcher, like during the Dragon King incident.

"So if I took out that gourd, do you think the enemy would crumble?"

"Possibly, yes. But Hideyooshi never leaves his castle. Even I've never seen his

face, despite being a feudal lord just like him. The rumors say he doesn't like

being seen due to the fact that he resembles a monkey."

...Some kind of monkey-faced feudal lord? I wonder how he'd look without

hair... Heh.

Still, having a lord who's also a shut-in is unusual. Hell, the fact that he was

granted the title is suspicious enough.

A monkey-faced man who found a golden gourd and infiltrated Oda... He must

have manipulated the Emperor and used that influence to become a feudal lord,

too. The Emperor isn't exactly anything special in Eashen, either. Most people

just do their own thing, so it's no surprise that he'd be able to muster up the

ability to manipulate so easily.

After that he crushed Oda and took over, I guess. I didn't really have a good

idea of what that guy's plan was or how it all connected.

"So... where exactly is Hideyooshi?"

"Oosaka. He built a golden castle there."

Is it really made out of gold? I guess that fits with the kind of guy he is... But

it's still a little much.

I projected my smartphone map into the air and gave it a look-over. The

retainers in the room exclaimed in shock, but I paid them no mind.

Tsk... They put up magic barriers all over the place... That means I can't just

use [Gate], then. I decided that Gungnir would be the best option, in that case.

"Tou— Shirogane-dono. Just what are you planning?"

"I'm going to attack Hideyooshi head-on... Hmm... I wonder if crashing into his

castle with Gungnir would be too messy. It'll probably blow the place to pieces.

But I can't really think of another way to get inside." Ieyahsu simply muttered in

astonishment at me as I planned my course of attack.

"...Are you capable of something like that?"

"I can do it, yeah. I have a lot of strange powers, after all. As far as finding him

goes, I'll just look around after I breach the castle. Then, I just need to take care

of that gourd..."

"Could I come along, then?" A sudden voice rang out from the hallway.

Everyone turned toward the source.

Standing there was a boy about my age. A tall man stood next to him. He

wore black armor over a black hakama, and a purple overcoat. Still, what stood

out to me was not his gaudy clothing, but the patch over his right eye.

I had a sudden thought as to just who this one-eyed warrior could be...

"Are you the one they call Shirogane-dono? That battle earlier was incredible,

truly incredible... I apologize for being late. Allow me to introduce myself. I am

the feudal lord who presides over the Date house. Date Jiro Massamune."

I knew it!

"Date... Massamune...? Then this fellow must be..."

"My retainer, Katakura Kohjuro Kagetsunna."

"A pleasure." The tall, slit-eyed man bowed his head. That's about what I

expected. If Date Masamune was around, then he had to be with Katakura

Kagetsuna. The two were an inseparable combo.

But there were more pressing matters on my mind.

"By come along... You mean come to Oosaka with me?"

"I do, yes. I'm interested in meeting Hideyooshi before he dies, and I'm very

interested in that gourd of his." Masamune smiled a little too broadly. It was a

little teasing, in all honesty. I had no doubt in my mind that this youngster was

plotting something.

Ieyahsu caught on as well, as he let out a sigh and commented.

"Massamune-dono... If your intention is to seize the golden gourd for

yourself, then I'd ask you forget such a foolish idea."

"What?! How did you know what I was thinking?!"

"Massamune-sama... Your thoughts were right there on your charming face."

Kohjuro spoke up and gave a veiled warning about displaying intent.

Massamune had certainly let things slip a little too soon.

"I'll just make it clear now. I'm going to destroy that gourd. It sounds like a

really bad artifact to me."

"Hmph... Very well, then. As you wish, Shirogane-dono. I will stand by your

choice." Massamune said that, but he started grinning again.

You're fooling nobody!

"...You are thinking of swiping it from him before he can destroy it, aren't

you?"

"What?! How did you know what I was thinking?!"

"Massamune-sama... As I said before... your thoughts were right there on

your charming face." Both master and subordinate were repeating their

previous exchange. They didn't necessarily seem like bad people, though. The

Date Masamune of my old world employed cunning strategies all the time, too.

Though I didn't recall him being exposed all that often.

"Ieyahsu, is it okay to take the feudal lord of Date right into enemy territory?"

"Well, I say that him wanting to go with you is no problem of mine. It is a

matter for his house to determine." Ieyahsu clearly had no plans of interfering,

even if they were allies. But I couldn't help but worry that if Date died their

alliance might end up dissolved.

"Actually... I too would like to come to Oosaka's castle. I'm not so lazy that I

would have my guests do all the fighting for me."

Hmph... I guess doing it all alone isn't fair.

"Then... can you and your men operate outside of Oosaka castle to draw their

soldiers away? While you do that, I can take care of the gourd, and then leave

the rest to you guys. How about that?"

"That sounds quite fine to me, but Oosaka is a rather far distance away... Ah,

but... Tou— Shirogane-dono, I have heard you employ transportation magic."

Leaving the castle unguarded would be bad, so we settled on taking thirtythousand soldiers from the combined Tokugawa-Date alliance with us. It was

going to be a raid, so that number seemed more than suitable.

"If we deal with Hideyooshi, will the civil war die down?"

"Well, the situation really exploded once Hashiba took on the problems that

Oda began... If we defeat Hashiba, then the fighting should end as well... I

hope."

"But the Emperor isn't capable of supporting our country. To whom will the

beacon of control be passed?" Massamune folded his arms as he muttered.

What's with that wicked face? You're making it way too obvious! You won't be

able to get one over an old raccoon dog like Ieyahsu if you make yourself so easy

to read...

Hashiba had destroyed Oda, so if I destroyed them... Tokugawa would be the

strongest Feudal Lord left.

Huh... Wait. Does that make this the this-world equivalent of my world's

Battle of Sekigahara? Or is this the Siege of Osaka's summer campaign? But

wait... It's winter... And Hideyoshi was dead when that happened. It is gonna be

spring soon, though...

I decided it was pointless to compare. It'd be a real pain if Hideyooshi united

the nation and invaded Yulong, so that needed to end as soon as possible.

Without any further hesitation, I hopped into Gungnir and made for Oosaka.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Is that Oosaka castle...?"

Whoa, that's bright... It's all sparkly and golden! The walls, support beams,

and roof tiles were all shining gold. It looked more like Kinkaku-ji temple, to me.

It was also shaped differently to the Osaka castle I knew. I couldn't even

imagine how much it would've cost.

Yae, Kohaku, and I walked along the castle grounds, watching as the sunlight

shimmered off of the grand construct.

Hideyooshi is in there, I guess. He didn't show up on my map, but that's hardly

surprising. Guess I've got no choice but to go in there.

For now, I'll bring the army over...

I cast my spell, and the Tokugawa-Date alliance soldiers appeared from all

four directions, surrounding the castle entirely.

A war trumpet blared all of a sudden, and then a beat of war drums followed.

The army charged onward and readied their bows.

The Oosaka garrison didn't seem to have anything special in place to prepare

for the raid.

"Alright, time to bust in."

"Ah, well... Oosaka castle has a magical barrier, does it not? Teleporting

within should not be possible, it should not... How do you intend to... Wait,

could you be planning to...?"

"We'll be flying in, of course." Yae made a frowny face at that. I forgot how

much she disliked flying. Rosetta was in the sky piloting Gungnir, but I decided

it'd be easier to just use my flight magic to invade directly.

"If you want to wait out here, by all means..."

"N-No, I shall join you, I shall. We are betrothed, and thus we should share

the same fate, we should." My future wife quietly motivated herself, both

hands on her chest. It was happy to hear her speak like that, but she didn't have

to talk like we were about to charge into our deaths.

"Alright, then. You wanna ride Kohaku, Yae?"

"Oh, is this how it works, is it?" I waited until Yae clambered up onto Kohaku's

back, and then I cast [Levitation] on them both.

Following that, I cast [Fly] on myself and floated the two of them next to me

toward the castle. Naturally, I'd also cast [Invisible] on us both. I didn't want to

be struck by arrows, after all.

We entered the castle and found ourselves in a broad room with laminate

wood flooring. What the hell... It's even gold on the inside...? I looked around

the room, and not a single thing was drab. Everything sparkled.

"This is rather distasteful, it is..."

"Yeah, it's pretty damn tacky..." I know they say people who enjoy gold are

those with lofty ideals, but this is a little much.

Hideyooshi didn't seem to be in the area, so we headed down some nearby

stairs.

There was nobody down the stairs, either. However, as we walked down a

long hallway, I felt an unusual presence. It was hard to place, but it was

definitely something weird. Yae and Kohaku didn't seem to notice it at all.

I slowly moved toward this unknown presence. We passed through various

sliding doors of gold, until we finally made it...

"Huh?"

"What is wrong, Touya-dono?" I stopped before a sliding door and opened it

just a little bit to peek through to the other side. The moment I looked through,

I snapped it shut immediately. Seriously?! I thought my eyes were playing tricks

on me, so I opened up the door again...

There was someone sitting on a pillow in the middle of large room. He wore

vibrant silk clothing of purple and red. He also wore a golden hakama. He was

scratching his back in a most uncouth manner. And, on his back... there was a

golden gourd. It was about the size of a two-liter soda bottle.

No way... That's Hideyooshi?! Yae peeked in as well, and she was just as

dumbfounded. She quietly muttered.

"...That is a monkey, that is."

"...So my eyes weren't playing tricks." I was a little relieved that Yae was

seeing the same thing I was, since it meant that my eyes were alright and I was

completely sane.

But there was absolutely a monkey here. A monkey relaxing in this room. And

he wasn't a man with a monkey-like face. It was literally a finely-dressed

monkey.

He was slightly smaller than Yae. He vaguely resembled a Japanese macaque,

but he was the size of an orangutan. I'd never seen a Japanese macaque that

size, though. I wondered if he was a magical beast or something.

"What the hell...? Is this one of Hideyooshi's pets?"

"Ook. Is someone there?" He spoke. The friggin' monkey spoke! I noticed he

had a paper fan in his hand. He slapped it against his palm as he looked us over.

We'd been discovered, so there was no point in hiding. I opened up the

sliding door and stepped into the light.

"Hoo hoo. An Oni, a lady, and a white tiger... Strange guests, strange guests

indeed. Are you friends of those outside? Ook."

"...Are you... Are you Hideyooshi?"

"Hoohoohoo! That I am. The one and only Hashiba Chikuzen no Kami

Hideyooshi!" I could hear his voice, but I could also vaguely hear monkey noises

underneath his words.

What the hell? It feels weird hearing him talk. It's like I'm watching a really

bad movie dub.

"You have done well reaching this place. Congratulations. Ook. As a reward,

you may become my personal attendants."

"Thanks, but no. I'm nobody's attendant."

"Hoo! I did not say you'd have a choice!" Hideyooshi's eyes suddenly shone a

gleaming red. That was when I noticed the something coming out of the gourd

on his back.

Yae and Kohaku suddenly stiffened up. Their eyes were unfocused and cloudy.

It almost seemed like they'd been put under some kind of trance.

"...Bastard. What'd you do? No, more importantly than that, what is—"

"Ook ook?! Why are you able to resist it?!" The monkey stood up, evidently

angry at me. His eyes glimmered again, and that something leaked out of the

gourd once more. It was exactly what I'd suspected...

"Why?! Why isn't it working?!"

"I knew it. You're not just a monkey, are you? You're just using a monkey's

body! And that gourd... It's your real body, right? Reveal yourself, servile god."

"You miserable little... Just who are youuu?!" The monkey's eyes became

blood-red all over. The something that kept leaking from the gourd? It was

divinity. Godly essence. The energy carried by anyone from the realm of the

gods. However, unlike the essence that my sisters and God Almighty held, this

one was murkier.

Servile gods were at the bottom rung of the ladder, as far as I knew. But

regardless of status, a god was a god. Manipulating humans would be trivial.

I was able to resist it because of the divinity inherent inside me. Kohaku

probably couldn't because she was only here based on my magic.

I sent a message to Luli, over in Brunhild Castle.

"Luli, do you copy?"

"I do, my lord. How may I serve?"

"I need you to find Karen or Moroha, immediately. Tell them I've found the

servile god. They'll know what that means. Thanks."

"As you command." My sisters told me they'd know whenever any gods used

their powers, but it looked like this guy had been using just little enough to

avoid detection. It seemed that the power flashed for just an instant, and that

was all that it took.

I was under the impression that my divinity was leaking out too, so I was

surprised this guy hadn't noticed. But then I thought perhaps I had some kind of

subconscious control over it, so maybe it was more of a trickle. Wait, then what

if I tried to focus...

I closed my eyes, focusing on the deep black of my vision.

Hm... This feeling... It's kind of like magic, but... brighter? It's hard to

describe... Kind of like a whole different type of pressure in the air... Gh... Let's

see if I can... bring it out...

It took only a moment. A dazzling flash of light. My body lit up like a Christmas

tree as I was engulfed in a shining vortex. The light reflected off the golden

room, causing a dazzling shimmer everywhere.

"Wuh..." The vortex gradually calmed, but I could still feel light flowing across

my skin. I looked down at my hands in surprise, and felt something tangible

resting on my shoulders.

Huh? My... Hair? I put my hands on my head and traced it... all the way down

to my waist. What the hell...? I have golden hair? Or uh... platinum blond? I

don't know how to verbalize this!

"Ook-eek! Th-That power! A-Are you from the realm of the gods?!" The

monkey fearfully took a step backward. The gourd then fell down from his back

and rolled along the ground. Gradually, it began to spit out a golden color, until

the entire thing took the shape of a man.

A thin old man lay on the ground. He had a scraggly beard, and glared at me

with eyes full of hatred.

As I stood there, with long golden hair and divine light emanating from every

pore on my body... it was hard for me to suppress the urge to yell "This isn't

even my final form!" I was also half-tempted to try a Kamehameha. But I was

fairly composed, all things considered. I was surprised by how well I was

handling this sudden transformation.

Something similar happened to the old man in front of me, as well. A divine

aura emanated from his body and wrapped him in light. Though the light was

somehow muddier than mine. Kind of like a dark gold, almost. All of a sudden,

he made his move.

"Hyaaah!" The scraggly old man, who somewhat resembled a praying mantis

in his motions, fired a beam of divine light straight out of his palm. I

immediately responded by catching it with my own hand. The resulting

shockwave sent a great rumble through the castle. The floorboards, walls, and

ceiling tiles began to crumble and shudder. Myself and the old man were at the

center of the blast.

Kohaku and Yae were in danger of being knocked down, so I used my magic to

suspend them in the air.

"Ook, eek, hooooooh?!" As the very floor beneath us disappeared, the goldclad monkey went tumbling down with the rest of the wreckage. Monkeys can

survive falling from trees, right...? W-Well, this is a castle, anyway.

The old man and I floated in the air and glared at one another.

Wait, how am I flying without using either [Fly] or [Levitation]...? Is this a

side-effect of my own divinity? As I thought about how weird that was, the old

mantis guy opened his mouth.

"You wretch... What are you? A lesser god? A servile god? Come to capture

me on some fool's errand?"

"I'm neither, and I'm here on no such job. Why don't you just come in

quietly? Don't you think it's selfish to come down to the mortal world like this?

Don't you think it's wrong to cause chaos from the shadows of Eashen like

this?!"

"Silence! Can you even begin to fathom the boredom I felt day after day? Do

you understand the emptiness inside me?! The dull, monotonous grind of that

world?!"

Huh... So do servile gods not have positions or something? Karen's the God of

Love, and Moroha's the God of Swords, but... Is this guy unemployed or

something?! He's a NEET!

"I haven't even gotten a chance to live my life yet! I'm gonna do great, you

hear me?! I'll become a wonderful god, and plenty of people will worship

me...!"

Sure sounds like a NEET. Can't a guy like this become the God of the Slackers

or something?

So this guy had gotten bored of being unrecognized in the realm of the gods,

and came down here to make this world his playground...

So he wants to be a god with duties that badly, huh...? What a pain in the ass.

"Didn't you violate the rules of the divine realm? You should surrender

already. Just come in peacefully."

"Hmph... I sense it, boy. Your divinity is still unbalanced. Are you perhaps new

to this? I feel as though you're something fresh... Something new. Do you really

believe you can handle me like that?"

"No, like I said, that's not my job..." Just as I began to speak, the scenery

around the two of us began to twist and warp.

In a matter of moments, everything was a strange off-white. The world

around me was a pure void, with strange beads of light floating here and there.

There was no ground beneath us, nor sky above us. We simply floated in an

endless, milky abyss.

"What the..."

"This is the Spirit Realm, you know? We can freely use our divine powers here

without interfering in the mortal world, you know?" Karen suddenly appeared

beside me without warning. She must have brought us here. Wait, what about

Yae and Kohaku?!

"Don't you worry yourself about those two, man. I disabled that hypnosis on

them and sent them to safety." Moroha appeared as well, equally sudden and

equally without explanation. The servile god saw them and immediately went

pale. Shock covered his face.

"The God of Love... and the God of Swords?! What are you doing here?!"

"Come on, man... You've been doing whatever you wanted down here, you

think we wouldn't notice? You've been hiding pretty good so far, but we've got

your number now!" Moroha pulled a blade from the scabbard on her waist. It

was just a standard steel blade. But that didn't matter, because the important

thing was who was wielding it. Even a wooden sword could rend mountains if it

was in her hands.

"You broke the rules, you know? Even if you're unemployed, you can't use

divine powers in the lower worlds..."

"Gh... Unemployed... Unemployed! Unemployed?! Everyone says that! Stop it,

it's not fair...!" The servile god clenched his teeth and growled. From the sounds

of things, my sisters weren't allowed to use powers related to anything other

than their respective fields, and even that was limited. It kind of felt like I was in

a particular weird situation in regards to those rules, though.

I wasn't a god, yet I wielded the power of one. I wasn't a god, so I wasn't

bound by the rules of their world. That was probably how it was, at least.

I figured if God Almighty decided that I was appropriate enough to become

the god of something, then I'd be accepted as one of them in their world... But I

didn't really feel like becoming a god or anything.

"Now, are you going to come easily? Though, given the severity of your

crimes, we can't give you a softer sentence."

"Yup. You're going to be reincarnated as a lesser creature for a whole

hundred-million years, you know?"

"Wh— Like hell I am!" The servile god shot out another concentrated beam of

his own divinity. Moroha was faster, though. In a single strike, she sliced off the

man's raised arm at the elbow.

"Gwugh...!" I was expecting to see blood, but... nothing came out of the

wound. His arm just floated off.

A god was a god, after all. Seemed like he was completely different from

flesh-and-blood creatures like me. That made me wonder why he took the form

of an old man... Did it reflect his feelings, or was it just the look he wanted to go

for? I wondered if he was more focused on a particular aesthetic than actually

doing anything useful.

"If you continue making this more annoying than it has to be, your head is

next. Once you've paid for your crimes, you may come back as one of us... But

that won't be an option if I end your existence right now."

Huh, guess gods can be killed, then. Even if they can live forever. They say

curiosity killed the cat, but maybe boredom kills a god... Seemed like all gods

probably died eventually. Maybe.

"If you're going to force me into such disgrace, then at least allow me to

struggle here! Haaah!"

"Not gonna happen!" As soon as the murky light began to emanate from the

servile god, Moroha split him clean in two down the middle.

Oof... I know there's no blood but that's, uh... pretty intense...

"Gahh... Y-You won't be so lucky next time..."

"Next time...?"

"M-Moroha! H-His arm!" The servile god let out a wicked laugh, and Karen

yelled out something about his arm.

That was when I noticed his severed arm, seconds before it vanished from the

space we were floating in. Shortly afterward, the rest of his body began to

dissolve into grains of sand.

"Damn it to hell... He was smarter than I thought."

"This isn't good, you know? His divinity's all gone."

"Huh? What just happened?" I was a little confused, so I needed some

clarification.

"He channeled most of his divine essence into his right arm and escaped to

the mortal world. Plus, his divinity's gone off our radar again, so we lost him."

"We're back where we started... Which means we'll have to stick around, you

know?" Seriously...? How'd he get away when we had him cornered? That's

hardly fair.

His divinity was masked again, and I couldn't use [Search] to find him, since I

had no idea what form he'd be taking.

He kind of reminded me of a lizard. Chop off the tail, but it can still grow it

back...

"Anyway, Touya...? What's with that costume? You look kind of strange, you

know?" Karen folded her arms as she looked me up and down. I was still

wearing the Oni mask, so I probably looked weird.

"I disguised myself because I didn't want Brunhild to be affiliated with the

Eashen civil war. But uh... more importantly than that, what's with my hair?

Why'd it grow out and change color?!"

"Hmph... You awakened to your own godhood, dumbass. You probably didn't

notice, but your eyes are golden too. This is your true form."

What?! I took out a mirror from [Storage]. Moroha was right, my eyes were a

glimmering gold.

"...Is it gonna change back?"

"If you suppress your own divinity you should change back, you know? The

fact you awakened means you should be able to control it."

"...Don't suppress it while we're here in the Spirit Realm, though. Right now

the area is clear since we're exerting our divinity, but if any Spirits or Wraiths

smell a human in here, they'll come here. And it won't be pretty."

Huh, alright... I'll save it for later, then.

My smartphone suddenly started to vibrate. The shock of the sensation made

me jolt. I looked at the screen, and it informed me that God himself was calling.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Touya? Sounds like your divinity has awakened..."

"Yup. There aren't gonna be any weird side effects, are there?"

"Hmm? You have not exactly turned into a god, so you should be fine... But it

was I who brought you into the Realm of the Gods, and it was I who forged your

body... It is likely that your essence has the same divine spark as mine."

Huh... There are different types? Oh, right... That other guy's did seem

murkier.

I tried to focus on Karen, and I suddenly noticed her golden light had faint

traces of pink inside it. Moroha's also had a light blue. I guessed that this divine

spark was probably related to the color you emanated.

"Hmhm... I wonder what I should do about that. If you have the same divine

spark as I, then you will likely become my ward entirely... Well, that is fine. I

have no problems with you as my ward, Touya."

"What do you mean?"

"You have the power of a god, but you are still human, Touya. I must define

your position clearly with the other gods... But I cannot appoint you as a god of

anything in particular, nor are you in a position to be made into a servile god...

That is why you will be my ward, and under my direct protection."

"That means we'll be family, you know?" Karen smiled and winked at me. I

was mostly confused.

Family, huh...? Wait! Don't eavesdrop on my phone call!

Still... Being family with God Almighty...? The God of Worlds? Sounds kinda

nice.

"Do not think about it too deeply. You have two elder sisters, after all... Just

consider me your new grandfather." Ha. That's a pretty high bar to pass, you

know? But alright...

"But uh... Do you know where that runaway god went?"

"I do not, I am afraid to say. His presence has become as undetectable as

dust. And finding him is not my job, young man. I am the one who should be

informed by those hunting him, no?" I was a little confused by what he meant.

Moroha suddenly leaned in to clarify.

"So long as that guy's running around, we have reason to be down here,

remember? I'm down here helping Karen find him, after all."

Huh... I see... Wait!

I suddenly glared at Moroha, suspicion burning in my gaze. She failed her

arms and yelled in a panic.

"No, no! Don't get the wrong idea! We didn't let the guy loose intentionally or

anything! We'd never mix business with pleasure, promise!"

Hmph... I guess I believe you... But I wonder if any other gods have been trying

to come down, and if I'll see any others coming down thanks to this convenient

excuse...

"At any rate, young Touya... That is the situation as it is now. I shall talk to you

again soon, take care." God Almighty hung up on me before I could talk.

Hmm... What can I do in this new God Mode anyway? After a little bit of

experimenting, I discovered that I could cast spells without speaking out their

names or chants. It was a little frightening wielding that kind of power.

I left the Spirit Realm behind, muttering quietly and pondering my new

powers.

◇ ◇ ◇

We returned to the mortal realm and found Oosaka castle ablaze. The battle

had been decided, it seemed. We heard victory cries here and there. The

Tokugawa-Date alliance was successful.

The sudden raid was simply too much for the unprepared Hashiba army.

Before I went to Ieyahsu's camp, I disabled my own divinity. My hair changed

back to its usual dark luster, but it didn't get any shorter... Is this gonna happen

every time I activate it? I hope I don't have a finite amount of hair in there...

I muttered anxiously as I made my way back to Ieyahsu's camp to meet Yae

and Kohaku.

"What happened to your hair, Touya-dono?!"

"A lot happened, Yae. But Hideyooshi is done for." Ieyahsu, who was

eavesdropping, suddenly cheered in joy. The defeat of Hideyooshi solidified the

victory that had been earned this day, after all.

The Hashiba army would collapse, and Tokugawa would now hold most of the

power in Eashen. It was similar to my world's history, yet completely different

as well.

I healed the wounded with my magic, and then decided to make for home.

Everything from that point on was Eashen's issue to handle, after all. Everyone

under Hideyooshi's control would likely recover their senses soon, too.

As a last word of advice, I told Ieyahsu to watch out for a man named Ishida

Mitsunari, just in case. But he didn't seem to know who that was, so it seemed

like that guy didn't exist in this world.

Oh well, I guess not everything's the same.

Yae, Kohaku, myself, and my sisters, all boarded Gungnir. Then, Rosetta flew

us off to Brunhild.

I was extremely tired, so I quickly reported in and headed straight for bed. A

lot of people asked me why my hair was so long, though.

A day later, my situation was dire. I collapsed into a deep fever, and I had no

physical strength. I wasn't hungry, and I felt lethargic. Not even [Recovery] or

[Refresh] had any kind of effect on me.

"Wow... This is symptomatic of the common cold, but it's also quite different.

You have a fever, but your body hasn't increased in temperature." Flora, clad in

a nurse outfit, looked at the thermometer with a frown. I was bedridden, of

course, wrapped up in blankets and looking up at her groggily.

"Wh-What kind of sickness is this?! Wh-What should we do?!" Yumina sat

beside the bed in a panic.

Heh... It's kinda cute seeing her get like this.

My eight fiancees were all in the room and standing or sitting by the bed.

Yumina, Elze, Linze, Yae, Lu, Sue, Hilde, and Leen were all there attending to

me. But also... Kousaka, Laim, Lain, Lapis, Renne, Cesca, Flora, Karen, Kohaku,

Luli, Kougyoku, Kokuyou, Sango, and Paula were all packed in there too. It was

way too many people for my liking.

I was happy they'd gathered there out of concern for me, but it was still a

little excessive.

"Alright, now... Touya is quite fine, you know? Everyone go back to work.

There's no problem here, no problem at all. It's just fatigue from yesterday. You

should just leave it all to me, you know?" Karen smacked her hands together

and ushered everyone out of the room. She was telling everyone that crowding

around wouldn't do me any good, but I couldn't hear all that much. My body

was so heavy that I couldn't even get up.

The door slammed shut until only Karen remained. She sat down on the

nearby chair and looked down at me with a frown.

"You with me, Touya? This sickness is just your body suffering the effects of

your divine power, you know? You'll recover if you rest for a day, and you'll

slowly get used to the power inside you, I promise. So sleep for now, okay?"

Oh, I see... It's because of my divinity, then... Thought so... I was just relieved

to know the actual cause. Plus, it wasn't like I was suffering any physical pain...

It was more that I simply couldn't exert any physical force at all. My head also

felt fuzzy, like I was dreaming.

Still, Karen told me to sleep, so that was what I planned on doing. I quietly

drifted off into the land of sleep. Anxieties be damned.

"Mmh..." When I woke up, my body still felt heavy. I opened my eyes, my

gaze fixed on the ceiling. It was a sight I was gradually growing used to.

"Ah... You're awake?" Linze was reading a book by my bedside, but she

paused to look at me. I wondered how long she'd been sitting there for. I

pretended not to notice the... Rosy nature of the book she was reading.

She poured me a glass of water from the jug on the bedside table and handed

it over to me, then dabbed my forehead with a wet towel.

I raised my body a bit, took the glass and drank from it, and then promptly

slumped back beneath the covers.

Ahh...

"Your fever seems to have subsided, but... Well, are you feeling any better?"

"Ah... I-I'm fine... I'll get better in my sleep, you know?"

"Still, I'm just glad to know there are times when you actually stay in bed,

Touya. It's a little relieving, hehe..."

Geez, what am I, a monster...? I guess I should explain myself soon, though...

It definitely looks odd from the outside.

"It's a little funny, is all... When I met you in that back-alley in Reflet, I stayed

with you and watched you grow as a person. Now you're a grand duke of your

own nation... You felt like a person beyond me sometimes, Touya... A-And a

little distant. So please forgive me, but... when I see you in a vulnerable state

like this, it makes me happy to know that... you're not always far away."

"...Hey now, nothing's changed. I'm always with you, Linze. And the others

too. I want you to be by my side forever, as well. You guys are the reason I got

this far, after all... Mh... I promise... I... I'll make you happy, so... Ngh..."

Zzz... I was suddenly hit by fatigue again. As I drifted back to sleep, I felt the

sensation of lips pressed against my cheek. The little smooch guided me back to

dreamland.

The next morning I opened up my eyes, and my body was light as a feather. I

felt completely refreshed. I'd slept a full day, and I was healed!

I wanted Lu to cut my hair right away, but I decided to hold off for a bit. If it

was just gonna grow out again if I tapped into my divinity, then there was no

point in rushing to get it lopped off.

"Oi! Are you alright, bruv...?" Renne saw me come out of my room. She was

carrying a basket of laundry down the hall. I was really proud of how diligent

she was becoming.

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for your concern, Renne." I gave her a little pat on

the head and turned to leave. I must have had a lot of people worrying about

me.

I wanted to learn more about the divinity within me. Karen was sleeping,

though... So I had no choice but to go to Moroha. I figured she'd be over at the

training grounds.

Naturally, I was correct. She'd been training hard all morning. I took her aside

to a quiet place in order to get some answers.

"Ah, well... It's a little complicated... You can ask about divinity, but uh... Well,

you see, each god has their own particular brand of it." Moroha looked a little

defeated, like she couldn't give me the answers I sought.

"So what about you, then? How do you use yours?"

"Me? It works well as a combat tool for me. I strike enemies with it, and guard

myself. But the best way I employ my divinity is creating weapons from it."

Moroha took a dagger out from a scabbard and, in a matter of moments,

shrouded the blade in divine light. The dagger quickly became a shining knife.

The light extended beyond the physical blade of the weapon, creating a longer

weapon.

Whoa, it's a beam sword!

"To be blunt, there's uh... no real rule about how to use your divinity. It's the

power of a god, after all. It just comes naturally to you. You'll get used to it, but

I wouldn't recommend relying on it often."

"Why's that?"

"Well, first of all, it's a power that isn't used in mortal realms. It's clearly not

magic, so you'll be at risk of exposing your identity. Secondly, it's a major strain

on your body. You'll slowly get used to it, and the after-effects will lessen

eventually, but you shouldn't keep on using it. Thirdly, there's no reason for you

to completely embrace your divine side so soon, right? Each time you use it,

you'll inch closer to godhood." Moroha raised some fair points. It reminded me

of what Linze said, too. About me being distant. The power of a god wasn't

necessary in my life.

Even so, I wouldn't want to have that power unavailable to me if I truly

needed it. That was why I wanted to acclimatize my body to the new situation.

I let magic power and divinity flow through my body, and triggered the divine

spark inside me.

My body erupted into brilliant light once more, and my hair turned golden as

well. It grew again, too... Right down to my damn knees. I grumbled quietly as I

shifted my messy hair around to my back.

"Can't I manage the hair at least, though?"

"Hmph... I wouldn't risk it. There's a chance you could have your hair fall out

each time you triggered your divine spark."

"I'll be alright, then..." I had no intentions of joining a monastery. I decided I'd

just have Lu cut my hair afterward.

"Oh right, another thing... You're triggering the power of Divine Providence

every time you shift into that form. Small animals, or people who aren't

particularly strong, will likely pass out in your presence..."

"Sounds like a pain..." I took the dagger and tried to gather divinity in my

palm like she did.

Ghh... This is way tougher than pouring magic into stuff...

Eventually, I manage to create a divine blade just as Moroha had. Compared

to Moroha, who had done it in a matter of seconds, it had taken me way too

long.

Seemed like handling divinity was a matter of hard work and repeated

practice.

"As you grow accustomed to your own divine spark, you'll be able to master

it."

"Oh, that reminds me. I can use magic without chanting in this form. Do you

know what that's all about?"

"Beats me. Gods like me don't use magic, remember?"

Oh, right... Crap. Guess I have no frame of reference here, then. I'll just have to

figure it out for myself.

I pointed up in the air and mentally conjured a [Fire Arrow], except instead of

a basic flaming missile attack, a monstrous torrent of flame burst from my

fingertips.

Holy hell. Would anyone even survive that?! Oh... Oh, whoa... Weird... My

divinity just... went down? It's not recovering half as quickly as my magic does...

Is this because I'm untrained? It feels weird being this weak... Ugh, seems I've

got a lot to learn.

This Apotheosis, which was what I chose to name my transformation, seemed

like a hassle. I deactivated it and returned to my regular form. As I'd expected, I

felt lethargic and heavy, but not nearly as much as I did the last time.

I returned to the training grounds with Moroha and waved her off. Then, I

noticed Lu doing her morning training. I called her over to a nearby bench, since

I was certainly due a haircut.

I summoned some scissors from [Storage] and handed them to her.

"W-Wasn't it shorter than this yesterday?!"

"Ahaha... Yeah... Sure is mysterious, huh...?" Lu began to carefully cut away at

my hair. Snippety snip. I didn't really mind if she made a mistake or anything.

Even if she screwed up, I could reach Apotheosis once more and grow it all

back.

I don't wanna go bald, though... If the transformation makes my hair grow out

from the roots, then they might end up running out... I made a mental note to

swing by the Alchemy Lab and ask Flora for infinite hair tonic.

"Something wrong, Touya?"

"Not at all. I was just worried about going bald."

"Heheh. I wouldn't mind. Bald or chubby, you're still Touya to me." Lu smiled

sweetly, but I definitely didn't want to be bald or fat... Even if baldness was

unavoidable, I pledged to never become overweight...

"Oh, right! Touya... You were investigating Felsen, weren't you? Did

something happen?"

"Oh, yeah. This and that. Do you know much about them?"

"Well, I was a little worried, actually. My older sister is studying over there,

remember? If something was going on in Felsen, I'd really prefer her to come

home."

Hm...? Oh, that's right. I'd never met her, but I did recall Lu saying something

about her elder sister studying over in Felsen.

Felsen was renowned as the Magic Kingdom, so I imagined that the second

princess of Regulus had some kind of aptitude or interest in magic.

Still, that did make me a little uneasy... I hadn't decided if Felsen was a bad

place or not, but it was definitely the place where the stolen Frame Gear parts

had been carted off to... Still, I doubted anything would happen to a princess

from Regulus over there.

"Oh, wait. Does that mean Regulus and Felsen are on friendly terms?" I

couldn't imagine a royal family sending one of its daughters to an unfriendly

nation, after all.

"Yeah, I think so. We're friendly... Or it might be safer to say that Regulus and

Felsen have a mutually beneficial relationship. They have magical artifacts and

new techniques, while we have raw materials and valuable goods like

spellstones and armor. We have a trade agreement."

"Have you ever met their King, Lu?"

"Only once. I was invited to a formal gala in Felsen. It's a little hard to word,

but... he didn't have the air of a mage about him at all. He kind of felt like a

grizzled mercenary, a hardened man."

A mercenary?! Can't say I imagined that kind of image for their King...

Hm... Felsen also has a trade agreement with Lestia, right? Maybe we should

use that as our way inside... If there's no bait, you can't catch a fish, after all.

After Lu finished up my haircut, I went back to the castle with her. Then, I

opened up a [Gate] to Lestia. I knew now that I had to make my move.