Book 5: Volume 3 Chapter 6, Hide and Seek Again

Translator: Kazumi

Editor: Silavin

 

Asura, writing in her office, raised her head as she sensed the Goddesses approaching. She could tell they were right outside her door. Though they still maintained their feminine grace, it was clear they were feeling quite lively.

 

Just as Asura raised her head, there was a knock on the door.

 

“They’re here. Come in.”

 

“Yes. Excuse me.”

 

Asura motioned for them to enter, and the five Goddesses opened the door and filed into the room.

 

“What brings you here?”

 

“No, nothing urgent. We’re just looking for something…”

 

The Goddess in the center conversed with Asura, while the others peered around the room intently. While this could be considered rude, Asura knew the situation, so she did not reprimand them.

 

“You’re looking for something? Do you think it’s here?”

 

“That’s what we thought, but it seems… No, it’s not here. My apologies.”

 

The Goddess in the center bowed quietly as she spoke, and the others bowed in unison. After that, they left the room, though their departure was a lot noisier than their entrance.

 

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A few minutes after the Goddesses left the room, a section of the office ceiling shifted slightly.

 

“…Are they gone yet?”

 

“Yeah. It should be fine now.”

 

As Asura spoke, Kousuke peeked out from the gap in the ceiling and sighed in relief. Seeing this, Asura chuckled.

 

“You never learn your lesson, do you? You’ve been told so many times not to say careless things when everyone is gathered.”

 

“Ugh! N-no, I mean… I just…?”

 

Kousuke had already hidden in this place many times. Every time it was because he’d made a careless remark that led the Goddesses to chase him. While the first time was understandable, by now it was entirely his own fault.

 

“So? What did you say this time?”

 

“I just mentioned that I’d moved my dependents to a new floor and was increasing my numbers for the first time in a while…”

 

After moving the wolves and foxes to the 83rd floor, he’d been summoning the dependents that had been depleted from the original floor. It had been a while since he had last summoned them, so one of the Goddesses had asked to give their blessing.

 

After that, he was surrounded in the blink of an eye. With the help of the Three Sisters, Kousuke managed to escape the encirclement and immediately fled to this hiding spot.

 

Asura, still smiling, shook her head slightly.

 

“You’re the same as always. Even though you’ve become a Living God, your sense of danger hasn’t improved at all.”

 

“Ugh…!?”

 

Kousuke was at a loss for words at Asura’s relentless observation. It was a fact that could not be argued. It was only natural, considering he had little desire to improve himself in the first place. But once he became a Living God, his crisis management skills should have improved if he had just paid attention, even a little.

 

The fact that there were no signs of improvement in this area could only be attributed to Kousuke’s fundamental lack of self-awareness.

 

“Well, I suppose that’s just like you?”

 

Asura tilted her head slightly and said it seriously, but to Kousuke it sounded like a reprimand. Hearing this meant that Kousuke himself was aware that things couldn’t continue as they were.

 

Realizing this, Kousuke lowered his head.

 

“Uh… I’ll do my best to improve.”

 

“Oh. I’m not being sarcastic, you know?”

 

“N-no. That’s somehow even more pathetic…”

 

“Really? Well, I don’t mind. Do as you like.”

 

Asura’s attitude towards Kousuke had been consistent ever since he had arrived here. That was evident in her last words.

 

“By the way, why haven’t the other Goddesses noticed me here?”

 

The Goddesses had been searching the room intently earlier, but the ceiling had never caught their attention. Kousuke always peered nervously through the smallest of gaps, but he had never been spotted.

 

“No way they could. I’m concealing everything myself. They won’t be able to find that spot.”

 

“I see. Why did you go to the trouble of creating this hiding place?”

 

This hidden space had existed even before Kousuke used it as a hideaway from the Goddesses. Kousuke had always wondered what it was originally made for.

 

“Oh, of course it’s there to hide all sorts of things.”

 

“What!? …Oh, you’re right. There’s a lot here.”

 

The area where Kousuke was currently housed was essentially pitch black, as no light reached it. This made it difficult to notice anything at first, but it also had magic that made one unaware of the presence of objects there, so Kousuke hadn’t noticed until Asura pointed it out.

 

When Asura mentioned it, Kousuke looked around again and saw that the space was cluttered with various items.

 

As Kousuke began rummaging around in the small space out of curiosity, Asura warned him.

 

“It’s fine to just look or touch things casually, but it’s better not to try and examine them consciously. If anything gets out of there, it will have far too much influence on the world.”

 

Kousuke flinched at those words. He had not particularly been trying to disturb anything, but the seriousness of Asura’s tone made him wary.

 

“Um… How much influence exactly?”

 

Kousuke asked timidly, and Asura answered with a grave expression.

 

“If something goes out of control, the world could be in serious danger.”

 

“Eh!”

 

“If a seal is broken, a dangerous virus could spread.”

 

“Ugh!?”

 

“There are many other possibilities, but I think those are the most obvious examples.”

 

“…I’ll never touch them then.”

 

Kousuke realized Asura was completely serious and began to tremble, shrinking as far back as he could.

 

Asura, sensing the tense atmosphere, chuckled softly.

 

“It’s okay. Everything around where you are is relatively harmless. The examples I gave you are kept further back.”

 

“Y-Yes, I see…”

 

Asura’s words didn’t seem particularly reassuring, and Kousuke responded with a monotone voice.

 

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After a while, the Three Sisters entered Asura’s room.

 

“Oh. Have things calmed down yet?”

 

Usually it took a little longer, but this time seemed even quicker than usual.

 

Eris shook her head in response to Asura’s question.

 

“No. It looks like things are going to continue for a while today, so we came to report early.”

 

“I see.”

 

Kousuke’s dejected expression in the attic came to mind, and Asura chuckled while nodding.

 

Looking at the Three Sisters, Asura noticed that Eris and Jal wore similar expressions.

 

“There haven’t been any similar opportunities lately, so perhaps they’re feeling pent up.”

 

“This is a good opportunity to let off some steam.”

 

Jal pointed out the situation, and Spica pressed further with a smile.

 

“You’re right. They can’t keep holding it in for too long, so this is a good opportunity. …So, Kousuke, hide there for a little while longer.”

 

Hearing Asura’s merciless words, Kousuke could only look resigned from his hiding place.

 

The four of them smiled, imagining Kousuke’s expression. He could not help but feel sorry for himself, but he could not say anything because it was all his own fault.