Vol 12 Chapter 3 (1/2)

Chapter 3 - A Request Made to the Hime-Miko

Part 1

During the night of the visit to Odaiba, G.o.dou was finally able to start

reading his textbook.

The final exams for the second semester were already over. However,

Kusanagi G.o.dou's test scores have slowly declined from their usual high

marks.

Well, he had been entangled by an incident involving a G.o.d-sama and was

involved with numerous things.

Although he could say it was simply due to a lack of preparation, he was

not only a G.o.dslayer and demon king, but was also a high school student.

As such, he should remain focused on his studies.

Especially during the month after winter break when the all-important

apt.i.tude tests took place in Jounan Academy.

For that reason, G.o.dou displayed diligence as he opened the textbook and

began taking notes on the table within the room.

”Eh? Speaking of which, did I get into a battle with a certain G.o.d before the

final exams?”

He was suddenly a bit concerned about this matter in which he had

forgotten.

It was now the second day. After the half curriculum of cla.s.ses prior to

winter break were over, G.o.dou walked towards the library. He was situated

in a quiet place where he could study the contents of the second semester.

If he ever got tired of studying he could always find a book to kill time.

However, time was of the essence since he must return before the sky

darkens.

Actually, starting yesterday he was responsible for cooking.

In the Kusanagi household when their grandfather was absent, G.o.dou and

s.h.i.+zuka would alternate the responsibility of cooking every couple of days.

Lunches were to be prepared individually while the person on s.h.i.+ft would

do both breakfast and dinner. Once G.o.dou came home he walked towards

the kitchen.

(Also, the schedule of s.h.i.+fts of course did not include their mother. Even

though one of the reasons was because she was rarely home for dinner,

the most significant cause for this was because she was their mother.)

Today G.o.dou planned on cooking with a pan which he filled with an

abundance of vegetables, pork and afterwards he liberally (but in good

proportion) added pickled cabbages.

The ingredients were cut and the time was also set on the rice cooker.

Once that was all taken care of, G.o.dou glanced at his cellphone that was

set aside and noticed a text message.

”Who sent this?”

G.o.dou, who didn't seem too interested, went to quickly check its content.

He then shook his head, completely unable to fathom what it was.

Not only did the email omit the name of the sender, but the email address

was unfamiliar to G.o.dou.

The contents of the email were 'Progress report, concerning the incident

from the past, the resurrection will take place during the winter solstice,

please be careful, Ying.'

At the moment it seemed like a warning, but it was overly simplified.

The report seemed like it was sent in pa.s.sing by a staff member who had

infiltrated the dangerous enemy ranks and began monitoring the enemy.

”The winter solstice mentioned probably refers to the day of the year where

the night is at its longest.”

The day of the year where the night is at its longest, in other words the day

when the earth is furthest from the sun.

A very popular j.a.panese tradition was to take a hot yuzu bath and eat

pumpkins^ every year during the 21st or 22nd of December.

This year's winter solstice should betide on the 22nd of December.

Incidentally today was December 19th. Seems like the revival will take

place in three days

”But who the heck is Ying and what is this revival?”

G.o.dou was currently contemplating over this. Revival just what is being

revived?

G.o.dou tried to search for an answer within his mind but was unable to

come up with anything. If it is not something he can remember then it

probably lacked importance. Perhaps it will be fine even if he forgot?

”However, during that time with the Santa Clauses we saw someone

strange during the investigation.”

G.o.dou immediately changed his train of thought. However, who should he

request for help?

Should he request Liliana again, or Amakasu? Neither of them would

probably be applicable. When all was said and done, one ambivalent

keyword came to mind. If only there was someone here who possessed

clairvoyance, then it may be possible to obtain an answer

No, wait a second. Someone who possesses clairvoyance, isn't that

person nearby?!

After eating dinner with s.h.i.+zuka and cleaning up, G.o.dou returned to his

room.

The room was really an eyesore. The j.a.panese-style six tatami room

contained a desk and chair, a j.a.panese-style wardrobe as well as a

bookcase. Anything that there was no room for was shoved in.

As a result, G.o.dou's room was very concise.

He did not possess any unnecessary items, which gave a plain lifestyle

feeling. Nevertheless, he still had items that were an eyesore.

The reason for this was due to him not having the temperament to be

storing things, hence this was to be expected. Besides the desirables and

necessities, he would not mind doing away with everything else if he had

to.

He would feel irritated if a large quant.i.ty of things were brought in.

Only the minimum requirement of a necessity will do. This

arrangement was much more lightweight, relaxed, and s.p.a.cey.

So contrary to what one might expect, G.o.dou was really fond of this sort of

profoundly plain room.

”Is my room really that lonely?”

He was referring to something besides the contents within the room. It felt

like this place used to be filled with something, something very lively .

While suddenly incurring this kind of feeling, G.o.dou sensed something was

missing.

Many things that were desperately needed were now lost this was the

kind of feeling that surfaced in G.o.dou. An indescribable feeling of being

lost and forlornness sank into him.

”As expected, there is something that I can't piece together plus the

relations.h.i.+p I have with those people hasn't really improved.”

There were a lot of suspenseful matters regarding the girls by his side and

their interpersonal relations.h.i.+ps. Even though the distance between him

and Liliana has curtailed quite a bit, it would be meaningless if he was

unable to further deepen their relations.h.i.+p.

His relations.h.i.+p with Erica was still the status quo. Also that girl seldom

attended school and was as cunning as always. And then there was

Yuri .

Not only did she have clairvoyance, she was someone who had the ability

to use Spirit Vision as well.

In this aspect, not only did she surpa.s.s Liliana, she also transcended

Princess Alice.

”At the present, I would say Mariya Yuri's a.s.sistance is the most essential.”

But how should he request help from Yuri, the sheltered Yamato

Nades.h.i.+ko?

She was someone who would evade getting into a discussion, an

inconversable hime-miko.

”Eh? It's like that?”

G.o.dou felt a little uneasy. Yuri was indeed a highly ranked girl. Not only

was she courteous by virtue, she was also conservatively polite. She was

very pa.s.sive towards making contact with boys making her unreachable.

However there seemed to be a completely different side of her. Indeed, it

was like the gentleness of Guanyin Buddha^ who provided help to all

living things combined with the indignant nature of an Acala 1 J

reincarnation.

'Til give it a try and see what happens ”

This kind of thinking was imprudent, parallel to some sort of evil thought.

G.o.dou appeared to have abandoned this kind of thinking as he shook his

head. No matter how he tried to play it off as a joke, the words of a

Campione would never appear as an antic.

But this was perhaps an opportunity for him to alter his relations.h.i.+p with

Yuri.

After spending two minutes stressing over this, G.o.dou picked up the

phone and sent out a text message. A response should appear tomorrow

morning at the earliest.

”If I don't take any risks then there is no way to move forward. Did a certain

supervisor say something like that in the past?”

Because he was incapable of openly stating his beliefs, G.o.dou had

entered a tiger's cave.

When the night pa.s.sed, it was December 20th.

Just as before, it was G.o.dou's responsibility to cook for the Kusanagi

household in the morning.

The first was miso soup, which is made by pouring miso into hot water and

boiling it into a soup, then adding potatoes to complete the soup. The

prewashed rice was then placed in the rice cooker for it to be cooked in an

environmentally friendly system using the least amount of labor.

Cuc.u.mbers, eggplants, and pickled radishes were also soaked together for

fifteen minutes.

”Afterwards I should probably cook some vegetables.”

”All you did was place the cut up vegetables in the steamer on the kitchen

stove for five minutes. You speak as if you are actually cooking Onii-chan.”

”What does it matter, it may be simple but at least it's very nutritious.”

G.o.dou was trying to comfort his sister while opening the door to the fridge.

He took out some natto 1 J , raw eggs, and nori and placed them on the

kitchen table. After that, he presented it like a western-style buffet. These

dishes should be enough between the two siblings.

The older brother lazily made the food, however the chef for the

Kusanagi household was absent so there was no other alternative.

”Onii-chan, it's clear that you serve decent dishes while occasionally

cooking, but once you start cooking on a daily basis you begin to slack off.

”But this is the case for the majority of skilled cooks.”

”Even if those skilled cooks cut corners, they would still be able to create

excellent dishes. However in Onii-chan's case, you are already putting in

minimum effort before you reach the stage where corners should be cut!

Because he was reminded of Liliana's culinary skills, he stated in the

following manner. However his sister had actually counterattacked.

At this time the doorbell to the front door sounded. Has she arrived?

”Who would be here this early?”

s.h.i.+zuka stood up and walked towards the front door while G.o.dou

continued eating. Perhaps his mind was entangled by doubt. After s.h.i.+zuka

opened the front door, a beautiful girl wearing her uniform came into view.

”M-Mariya-senpai!?”

That said, the two girls had an uppercla.s.smen-undercla.s.smen relations.h.i.+p

in the tea ceremony club.

Mariya Yuri elegantly lowered her head and spoke towards the startled

undercla.s.smen.

”I'm very sorry for disturbing you guys this early in the morning, but I have

some urgent matters to discuss with your brother. Please forgive my

rudeness.”

”Brother you mean my Onii-chan!?”

”Yes, would it be possible for me to accompany Kusanagi-san for a bit?”

She was directly looking at Kusanagi G.o.dou who was standing behind

s.h.i.+zuka.

Mariya Yuri had a stern and serious expression comparable to when a

n.o.ble princess adjudicates over sinners.

Regarding the G.o.dslaying devil king as an adversary, she casted an

intense seriousness that was much different than the highly ranked girl's

usual cautiousness. G.o.dou felt his intuition was correct.

This turned the originally conservative Yuri into a courageous, initiative

taking girl.

He had successfully coerced her!

However why did he have this feeling like he overdid it? There was the

saying you can't catch a cub without going into the tiger's den, but it felt like

there was a point where he had proudly stepped on the tiger's tail

The price of wanting to control the situation for himself felt like it had

spiraled beyond his expectation.

Since it is like this, he might as well keep her company. G.o.dou braced

himself and responded to the princess's calling.

Part 2

G.o.dou terminated his plans of eating together with s.h.i.+zuka and decided to

save his breakfast in order to eat it at night.

Fortunately clothing for him was not an issue. G.o.dou put on the s.h.i.+rt from

his school uniform and a coat, then immediately left after picking up his

backpack.

However, s.h.i.+zuka's tone on the other hand had a mix of anger (I wonder

why?) and bewilderment.

”O-Onii-chan, quit provoking other people. What did you do to make

Mariya-senpai actually come to our house!? Could it be the blood inherited

from grandpa has finally awakened!? Afterwards you better explain

everything clearly to me!”

T-There was no easy way to explain this, so might as well use a bit of

deception right?

The brother who was carrying these immoral feeling went towards the front

door and spoke to the hime-miko waiting for him.

”Sorry for making you wait.”

”No, it was me who first disturbed you without permission and I came off

very adamant. This sort of delay isn't a concern at all.”

After respectfully replying, Yuri started walking together with G.o.dou by her

side.

That said, if the words she had used were elegantly and respectfully

spoken like they had always been in the past, the words would have sent a

warm feeling to G.o.dou's heart. This was because the maiden by his side

was both adorable and stunning, thus making him feel embarra.s.sed.

However, the tone she used right now was filled with the dignity of a queen

of winter.

Just when they happened to leave Nezu Sanchome's business street, the

might of this dignified feeling became much more powerful.

”Well then Kusanagi G.o.dou, what was the reason for yesterday's text

message?”

G.o.dou flinched after being suddenly questioned.

Perhaps he was unable to speak about his aroused battle spirit caused by

various circ.u.mstances?

”It's nothing, just a few things I recently remembered ”

”No matter what position you hold, you still shouldn't do anything like this!”

Yuri took out her cellphone and displayed the contents of the text sent

yesterday towards G.o.dou.

Subject: Some matters we need to consult

'Today there was someone who sought to discuss some matters with me.

It seemed that he felt very anxious because he was being tracked by a

deity. Since my abilities were applicable, I replied 'then let's eliminate this

G.o.d'. After that, the G.o.d came looking to quarrel with me, making me feel

somewhat distressed. Once I crush that G.o.d, would it be better if he was

submerged in Tokyo Bay or the Suruga Bay?'

It seems Yuri's high cla.s.s temperament and her hime-miko duties were

provoked.

G.o.dou accurately antic.i.p.ated this and purposefully sent her a message

that would give her headaches by instilling apprehensive thoughts. He was

successful on his first attempt. As expected, Yuri was more than just a

kindhearted girl.

She was also strong-willed, n.o.ble, and had a habit of preaching and

nagging others.

Even though he cowered in fear from her aggressive att.i.tude, G.o.dou did

have a strong sense of satisfaction. It would be contradictory to Mariya's

nature if things did not turn out like this.

”You intentionally brought the heretic G.o.d into j.a.pan and now you intend to

cause ma.s.s destruction once again!? Your concern for the surrounding

area is completely inadequate!”

”W-Wait a second, Mariya.”

G.o.dou replied, unable to resist anymore.

”Everything in that text was a lie.”

”A lie?”

”Ah, haha, I only did that because it was necessary.”

Following that, Yuri suddenly displayed a smile that was clearly very

charming. Nevertheless, it was a smile that would insinuate fear into

anyone. This was an expression of regret showcased by the beautiful

princess.

”Why must you do something like this?”

”No, you see, there never is an opportunity for me to talk to Mariya right?

We are only able to have a proper conversation if I did something like this.”

Although he mentioned some pretty bizarre things, there was nothing else

that could have been done.

G.o.dou lowered his head with dignity and spoke his heartfelt feelings with

determination.

”I felt like if I tried to casually converse with you, you would evade my

attempts.”

”So it's like that? Just now I was contemplating whether or not to cut off all

connections to the lying and irresponsible Kusanagi-san forever.”

The hime-miko declared this with a cold smile. That compelling force of

hers had also increased.

However, G.o.dou immediately followed up by yelling ”Mariya” and closed in

greatly. The distance between G.o.dou and Yuri was practically nonexistent

as G.o.dou looked straight into her eyes. In the past, whenever a beautiful

girl approached him, he would cower and be incapable of doing anything.

”Ku-Kusanagi-san!?”

”I will apologize as much as you want me to for lying, but please listen to

me this one time.”

G.o.dou said this with the highest level of sincerity.

”This is an unreasonable request of mine, but rather than having Mariya

treat me courteously, I would heavily prefer you to show anger and criticize

me without anguish. Even if you feel uncomfortable, you should still

continue to conduct yourself as such.”

”If possible, I hope you would scold me whenever I do something

unacceptable in the future like you are doing right now. Basically me and

that idiot Salvatore Doni both need a person of this sort.”

A devil king is someone who is permitted to be unreasonably violent and

live an indulgent lifestyle that allows them to ignore other people's liberties.

Someone who possesses powers of a Campione should not be saying

these things to a mere human.

”So if someone must be selected, I hope that person would be you Mariya.

Of course, if Mariya doesn't want to then I won't force you What do you

think?”

”Kusanagi-sa G.o.dou-san ”

Suddenly, Yuri quietly stated G.o.dou's name.

This was really unfathomable since it was obviously an offensive change.

However, G.o.dou was not surprised with this new way of being addressed.

Instead, it could be said that this label was familiar sounding or rather, it

was something he was accustomed to.

Afterwards Yuri silently followed in kind with her head lowered like G.o.dou.

Her entire face turned red as she was probably very embarra.s.sed.

At this time G.o.dou finally noticed it, his proximity with Yuri was extremely

close. If his face was any closer it would be within kissing distance. They

resembled lovers preparing to embrace each other.

However, Yuri finally seemed to have responded with a nod.

This made G.o.dou feel ecstatic. The beautiful hime-miko, who was

fl.u.s.tered because of the close distance and wished to have some

separation, suddenly spoke in a whisper.

”Anything that the King No, if it is G.o.dou-san's wish then I will try my

best in response. However, I have something that I want to say about this.”

G.o.dou's back broke out in a cold sweat as sensed an omen of danger.

Surely enough, Yuri suddenly sighed and held a sorrowful expression

while looking up at G.o.dou.

”I didn't think G.o.dou-san was lying.”

”Eh!?”

”I don't know why I would wishfully think that G.o.dou would always be

sincere to me. Calmly thinking about it, there are clearly many strange

aspects to this. Nevertheless I still unconditionally trust you.”

Yuri's murmur was not of criticism but rather of sorrow.

Her serene and grieving expression instead greatly provoked G.o.dou's

sense of guilt.

”R-Regarding this, please allow me to once again apologize ”

”To earn a person's trust takes many years to acc.u.mulate, however losing

trust in a person only takes a swift moment I feel that what G.o.dou-san

has done this time should reflect what I have just said.”

”I'll do anything for forgiveness. Kneeling down, anything would be fine.”

This kind of uncomfortable situation was akin to being reprimanded.

Deeply experienced, G.o.dou did not hesitate when offering the highest

level method of forgiveness seeking. He immediately utilized a prized

technique pa.s.sed down within the family and knelt along the road. As a

result, Yuri's lonesome expression turned into a smile.

”It would have been fine even if you didn't do anything to this degree. I only

desired to have G.o.dou experience the same feeling that I just

experienced ”

Just like that she stopped him in his tracks. G.o.dou pondered while

maintaining his kneeling position.

Phew, I'll never lie to Mariya again . Furthermore.

”S-Sawa-san, did you hear that !? Mariya-san and cla.s.s five's

Kusanagi-san? The two of them seemed to have said staying by each

other's side, is that a joke? Or could it be ”

”Of course, it's just as Miyama-san thought, this is virtually the same kind

of conversation a married couple would have as they overcome a divorce

crisis. This means ”

”Not only were Kusanagi-san and Mariya-san dating, he even had an

affair !?”

”A guy like this is actually in our school. Cla.s.s five's Kusanagi, I'm on to

you!”

G.o.dou heard this unfortunate intermittent whispering. Looking to his side,

there were two girl students who appeared to be from Yuri's cla.s.s located

not too far away from them. The one with the gla.s.ses was Sawa-san, the

pet.i.te one was Miyama-san.

Speaking of which, he would trek through here on a daily basis. Moreover,

it was the only way to get to Jounan Academy.

Other than Sawa-san and Miyama-san, there were a couple students

staring at them from a bit farther away! Sensing this dangerous situation,

G.o.dou spoke without hesitation.

”Mariya! Come over here!”

O-Ok!

Unwittingly, they went to the entrance of the Nezu Shrine. A hurried

decision was made when selecting the shrine's courtyard as refuge,

prompting G.o.dou and Yuri to enter inside.

Part 3

G.o.dou and Yuri ran towards the vast courtyard in the Nezu Shrine.

Five minutes had already pa.s.sed since that previous scene. It was unclear

exactly when it happened, but the atmosphere between the two of them

had became tranquil and the mood strangely turned very positive.

G.o.dou discreetly tilted his head, just now he was clearly conflicted by his

own lie.

Moreover it was tantamount to yesterday morning. G.o.dou and Yuri

evidently had nothing to say, but their line of sight suddenly crossed paths.

Yuri candidly lowered her head and gracefully smiled. Considering G.o.dou

had said some outlandish things, this approach was appropriate.

The taut atmosphere from before seemed like it was merely a farce.

”G.o.dou-san, I actually noticed this prior to now.”

Yuri suddenly started talking as she casually walked in a uniform posture.

”I noticed that I no, we, forgot something very important.”

”You too Mariya!?”

G.o.dou was absolutely astounded. Could it be that Mariya's situation was

the same?

”Recently, I have been unable to remain at peace because I feel like I've

forgotten something important. It repeatedly felt like there was some sort of