Chapter 581: [Tales of the Gods 25]Hikari, Takanami, Kagaribi, Yoiyami, and...

* * *

This is a side story.

It's a continuation of the story of the apprentice goddess, Hikari, who sensed traces of her former classmates, thought to be dead, from somewhere beyond her world.

The was Chapter 482.

As far as the eye can see, a sea of clouds stretches out.

And looking up from the sea of clouds, for some reason, what spreads out there is... the ocean.

And between the inverted sky and sea—

A large rock was floating.

On the white, shining rock, short grass, slightly taller than her ankles, swayed in the wind.

Several fruit trees, their branches heavy with fruit, swayed, emitting a delicious fragrance.

Peaches, apples, pears, mandarins, mangoes, starfruit, and so on...

All kinds of fruits, regardless of region or season, were gathered there.

The reason such an indiscriminate orchard exists is because this is the world of the gods... the Divine Realm.

Now, in a small hermitage, built in a corner of that indiscriminate orchard, Hikari, the apprentice goddess, sat formally on her knees, with a serious expression, around a low table with several senior gods.

What they're doing is having an important discussion.

A preliminary meeting... before reporting information to a meeting attended by higher-ranking gods.

Normally, Hikari, being a low-ranking goddess, isn't even invited to such meetings.

But this time is different.

After all, Hikari is the one who brought up the topic of this meeting... and she's also involved in the incident related to the topic.

"...From beyond the boundary scars, from beyond the void... Hikari herself recently sensed traces of her classmates, who were thought to be simply dead."

Now, the one explaining the main points, looking at the documents in her hand, around the low table, is a god dressed in hunting clothes, one of Hikari's masters, and also her current superior—Takanami.

"Furthermore, upon closer inspection, there are multiple traces. As you know, human souls disappear in a matter of seconds in the void. That means that her classmates are currently alive... in a different world... other than this one. In other words..."

Takanami, who had been calmly explaining until now, couldn't hold back any longer, and sighed deeply.

And then—

"Judging from the circumstances... it's highly likely that Hikari's former classmates were victims of illegal soul collection by someone from another world."

She stated her conclusion, placing the paper documents she was holding on the low table.

"I've heard that souls from Earth-like worlds are easy targets... but I guess it's finally happened to us!"

Next, a goddess with long, crimson hair, reaching down to her waist, dressed in a scarlet hakama, said that, nodding at Takanami's words.

This goddess is named Kagaribi, and like Takanami, she's one of Hikari's masters.

She's always cheerful... a sister-like figure to Hikari.

"On top of the increasing youma invasions... you really bring troublesome problems, don't you?"

...The one who said that, glaring at Hikari, is Yoiyami.

Yoiyami looks like a man in his forties with a beard, and has a sharp gaze.

This god, with a shaved head, wearing armor and a battle surcoat, has a sharp tongue as well.

He's eliminating youma in the area west of Hikari's assigned area, so to speak, her "neighbor", and they clashed several times when Hikari first started fighting youma... but now, he's more like a sparring partner, who teases her every time they meet.

Yoiyami doesn't hate Hikari, he's just foul-mouthed.

He's not a bad person at heart.

Kagaribi, sitting next to him, chopped him on the head!

"Ow!?"

"Geez, Yoiyami! Why are you always so mean!? It's not helping the conversation! You're such an uncute old man... When are you going to awaken, transform into your second form, a beautiful boy, and make me happy?"

"Guoh... I don't have that kind of setting...!"

Kagaribi, saying those absurd things, continued to hit Yoiyami on the head.

Although Kagaribi looks young, she's a god who has existed longer than Yoiyami.

Yoiyami, completely outmatched by Kagaribi, can't do anything!

"You're the one interrupting the conversation, Kagaribi."

Takanami, frowning at the two of them, glared at Kagaribi first.

"S-Sorry..."

"And you too, Yoiyami. In this case, Hikari is the one who discovered the problem. She correctly understood the danger and reported it to me, her superior. There's no reason for her to be blamed."

"...My apologies."

And then, glaring at Yoiyami as well, Takanami calmed the situation.

"However."

And then he sighed again.

"As Yoiyami said, this is a 'troublesome problem'... Now, what should we do..."

"U-Um! About 'what should we do'!"

Here, Hikari, the apprentice goddess, dressed in a recruit suit, raised her hand energetically, and spoke.

"'Illegal soul collection by someone from another world'... that's basically kidnapping, right!? Can't we... rescue them... my friends!?"

"Rescue them, you say..."

Yoiyami scoffed at Hikari, who asked that with a desperate expression.

"Even if you say that, little girl, the stolen souls are most likely reincarnated. How would you even 'rescue' them? Should we kidnap them again, this time ourselves? Completely ruin their new lives?"

"............!"

Hearing Yoiyami's words... Hikari bit her lip, her face turning pale.

Perhaps unable to bear the sight of Hikari's face... Yoiyami, looking awkward, turned away.

"...That's problem number one."

Takanami, clearing his throat, started speaking quietly.

"However, some other world has stolen the souls of those living in this precious world. Naturally, we can't just let it go without any repercussions. But..."

"There's a possibility that they don't even think it's a 'crime'. That's why they're stealing our souls."

"That's...!"

Hikari was outraged by Kagaribi's words, and her blood rushed to her head!

Unconsciously, her divine power leaked out, and the small hermitage started shaking!

"You're being immature! Calm down."

Takanami scolded Hikari.

"!"

Exposed to her master's sudden anger, Hikari immediately regained her composure.

"I'm sorry..."

"No, I understand how you feel, so you don't have to be so apologetic... Now, what Kagaribi said is problem number two. How do we negotiate with those from another world... who have different sensibilities... probably beings similar to gods? This is a very big problem. What should be the compromise... We have to judge carefully."

"We can't just punch the annoying guys and call it a day."

Kagaribi, saying that, crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and tilted her head.

Negotiations and such...

It's a topic Kagaribi, who is impulsive and quick to resort to violence, really dislikes.

So she doesn't intend to talk about it any further.

Yoiyami, sighing at Kagaribi's behavior, asked Takanami a question.

"Well, isn't it up to the higher-ranking gods to think about those problems? What we, as lower-ranking gods, should be doing is... for example, identifying the coordinates of that other world. What are you planning to do?"

"Actually, there's no problem with that. As long as we have Hikari's divine tool and the cooperation of a few other gods, it should be easy to identify. But before that... there's something we have to do first. That is..."

"Problem number three. Finding the traitor... and dealing with them... right?"

And then.

The sliding door of the hermitage suddenly opened—

And a new god entered the room where Hikari and the others were gathered, along with those words.

And the moment that god entered the room!

""""Guh!?""""

Hikari... no, everyone in the room, including Takanami, felt an immense pressure.

And unable to stay seated... they involuntarily prostrated themselves on the tatami mats!

What they're feeling is a pressure... as if they were at the bottom of the ocean!

This pressure originates from the divine power leaking from that god... and clearly showed the overwhelming difference in power between Hikari and the others, and that god.

"Ah, sorry, sorry... It's been a while since I appeared before youngsters like you... I wasn't sure how much to 'suppress it'... but I also thought completely concealing my power wouldn't do! Ehehe, I also wanted to show off my dignity a little!"

However, the god, who had completely overwhelmed Hikari and the others with just his divine power, spoke to them in a surprisingly frank manner, contrary to his power.

Gradually... the pressure lessened.

Hikari, somehow managing to look up, saw a god in the form of a man... whom she had never seen before.

His gently narrowed eyes are a deep, ocean-like black... with a slight bluish tint.

And his skin is as white as snow, his body tall and slender.

He's wearing a pure white robe, and the pants covering his long legs are also pure white.

To put it in layman's terms, he's a male god with an appearance as perfect as an idol.

But there are also some strange things about him.

First, his whole body is soaking wet.

And although it's also weakening as the pressure lessens... for some reason, he smells fishy.

Furthermore, his hair, the same deep ocean color as his eyes, peeking out from under his hood... is slightly wriggling.

Like... the tentacles of some creature.

Beautiful enough to make you want to keep looking.

But the more you look, the more eerie it becomes.

That's the kind of god who suddenly appeared before Hikari and the others.

Hikari, Kagaribi, and Yoiyami.

Overwhelmed by his presence, they were all dumbfounded.

But among them, only Takanami managed to move awkwardly, and prostrated himself before that god.

"...Welcome."

And then, slowly.

Unable to hide the tremor in his voice—

He called out the visitor's... rather unusual name.

"'Snow Falling on the Deep Seabed'-sama...!"

To be continued.