CHAPTER 21

God of War

“If I’m remembering correctly, this little girl specializes in fire magic like me.”

Paying no heed to Elulu’s fidgeting, Seiya looks at me.

“Rista, are there any gods in the spirit world who specialize in fire magic?”

“Well, there’s the Goddess of Fire… She might be able to help us.”

“Good. Take us to her.”

“Sure.”

As I try to start walking, Elulu grabs the hem of my dress and looks up at me with eyes drowning in worry.

“What’s wrong, Elulu?”

“Ristie… Is the fire god nice like you?”

She probably imagined some sort of angry, unforgiving deity when she heard that she was a fire god. I send her a smile.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about! Unlike Cerceus, Hestiaca is a wonderful, loving goddess!”

“R-really?! Thank goodness!”

Elulu’s usual cheerful smile returns to her lips.

After that, I begin guiding them to the reflecting pond past the courtyard. With breathtakingly clear water, the pond is about the size of a small lake, despite being within the sanctuary’s premises. Hestiaca often practices her fire magic there, but there’s no sign of her yet.

Hopeful, I continue heading toward the pond…until I see birds made out of fire magic gliding through the air off in the distance. There’s no doubt about it. Hestiaca’s here.

As expected, I find Hestiaca near the crystal clear pond with a massive firebird on her arm. As one might expect from the Goddess of Fire, she seems to have an attachment to the color red, as evidenced by her crimson dress. Coupled with her long, wavy red hair, one might mistakenly think she was completely red at first glance.

Before I can greet her, she notices me.

“Ristarte, it’s been quite a while.”

“Hestiaca! I’m sorry I’m so bad at keeping in touch!”

She speaks with a clear voice, then looks over at Seiya and Elulu.

“Oh, who do we have here? Are these your Heroes, Rista?”

“Yes! That’s actually why we’re here.”

I ask if she would be willing to teach Elulu fire magic.

“It is the duty of all the deities in the spirit world to support the humans trying to save their homes. I would be more than happy to help.”

Hestiaca agrees to cooperate without a moment’s hesitation.

Elulu bows deeply.

“I-I’m E-Elulu! Nice to meet you!”

Hestiaca gently rubs Elulu’s head, but Elulu’s stone stiff due to her nerves.

“What beautiful red hair you have. Hee-hee… I suppose that makes us twins, don’t you think? Anyway, there’s no reason to be so nervous. I won’t bite.”

“O-okay!”

“Now then, shall we begin? Show me your fire magic…”

As Seiya and I start walking away from the pond, we watch Elulu cast Fire Arrow into the sky. Elulu is in good hands. Mash, on the other hand, I’m worried about. I’ll have to go check up on him later.

Seiya stretches his back while strolling down the path we came from.

“All right, then. Time to find my new training partner.”

I regard him disdainfully. Seiya is acting like he has just been released from all obligations.

He reminds me of a deadbeat parent who drops their noisy kids off at a neighbor’s house and never comes home…but maybe I’m thinking too much about it.

Hmm… At any rate, we need to find a god stronger than Cerceus. The unified spirit world is a big place, so I’m sure there are plenty if you look for them, but I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head. Returning to the sanctuary and asking Aria is probably my best bet…

Thanks to my daydreaming, I don’t even notice the goddess right in front of me until we bump shoulders.

“Huh? Ah! I-I’m so sorry!”

I immediately apologize, but…

“Tch! Watch where you’re goin’, bitch!” she yells menacingly before grabbing my lapel.

“Eek!”

Her intimidating voice and appearance make my heart race. She has a beautiful but boyish visage with short silver hair. The only clothes she’s wearing (if you can even call them clothes) are the chains wrapped around her chest and lower body. Valkyrie, the Goddess of Destruction, brings her face closer to mine.

“Ristarte, you good-for-nothing, third-rate goddess! You got a death wish? Is that it?”

“I-I-I’m so sorry! Please forgive me, Valkyrie!”

I apologize profusely. After looking me up and down with a “hmph,” she smirks.

“By the way, Ristarte, I heard they gave you an S-ranked world. So? How’s it going?”

“Oh, uh… Well…I’m working really hard on it at the moment—”

“Pfft! A third-rate goddess like you doesn’t stand a chance!”

“Ha-ha… O-oh, you don’t say.”

I try to put on a smile, but out of nowhere, my chest suddenly starts feeling weird.

“Huh…?”

Only when I glance down do I realize that Valkyrie is groping my breasts!

“H-hey?! Valkyrie?!”

“Ha-ha-ha! At least you’ve got some nice tits on ya! They’re even bigger than mine and perfect for squeezin’!”

“P-p-please stop!”

But she doesn’t stop. She continues excessively massaging my breasts.

U-unf! If she keeps touching me like this…!

“S-stop! Ah…! Ah…! Mm… P-please…stop…!”

I beg with tears in my eyes until Valkyrie finally relents.

“All right, consider us even now. I’ll let ya off the hook this time, but it better not happen again, Ristarte!”

Valkyrie cackles as she walks away.

Ugh! This is sexual harassment! Goddess of Destruction? More like Goddess of Perverts! How is such a depraved goddess even allowed to live in the spirit world?!

My dress’s lapels are wrinkled, and I’m on the verge of tears…which is when I notice Seiya staring at me pityingly.

“Are you being bullied in the spirit world?”

“No! Valkyrie acts like that with everyone!”

I mean, I can’t deny that people look down on me because I’m new and a low-ranking goddess! That still doesn’t mean I’m being bullied, though… Well, at least, that’s what I like to think!

“At any rate, could you sense that exhibitionist’s tremendous power?”

“Exhibitionist…? Wait. Seiya, you could tell? That was the Goddess of Destruction, Valkyrie—the strongest goddess in the unified spirit world. Rankwise, she’s second only to Ishtar, and she possesses a lot of authority. It’s too bad her personality sucks. Oh, and Seiya? Don’t get any ideas. Training with her is out of the question, okay? She’s a monster. Trust me. She wouldn’t even hesitate to dispose of gods and goddesses who defy her. And humans? Forget it. She’d kill you on the spot for disrespecting her.”

I pause, then look up from adjusting my lapels to discover Seiya isn’t even there.

…Huh…?

…Lo and behold, Seiya is already a few dozen meters ahead talking to Valkyrie.

“Hey, exhibitionist, spar with me.”

Ahhhhhh! Has he lost his mind?!

“Who are you calling an exhibitionist?”

She glares at Seiya as if he just killed her parents.

“Just ’cause you were summoned to be a Hero doesn’t mean the rest of us deities have to like you, ya little shit. Disrespect me again, and I’ll split ya in half.”

“Oh yeah? Try it, then.”

I frantically lunge in between them.

“S-stopppppp! S-Seiya!! Apologize! Apologize to her this instant!”

I don’t care how strong Seiya is! He wouldn’t stand a chance! She’s the strongest goddess in the entire unified spirit world, and she’s nowhere near as understanding as Ishtar! If he pisses her off, she will literally kill him!

Valkyrie’s godly spirit radiates from her body as she glares at Seiya.

“Sorry, Ristarte. It’s too late to apologize! This guy’s dead!”

“W-wait…!”

Ahhh!! We’re never going to save Gaeabrande if you do that! S-somebody help!!

That’s when…

“Please stop!”

I hear a familiar voice and immediately see Aria panting while rushing this way.

“Valkyrie! Please lay down your weapon!”

“No can do. This human’s insolence is worth a thousand deaths.”

“But he is an extraordinary Hero summoned to save an S-ranked world! I beg of you. Please forgive him! Do it for me!”

Valkyrie ponders to herself for a few moments.

“Well, I guess I could forgive him if you’re the one asking, Aria.”

Then she leans in toward Aria.

“But in return, you have to let me feel those massive tits next time.”

“O-okay…”

Aria faintly blushes. Valkyrie laughs as she leaves. As I let out a deep sigh of relief, Aria gives Seiya a piece of her mind.

“That was reckless, Seiya! You can’t speak to Valkyrie that way! What do you think would have happened if I hadn’t been walking by? I can’t believe you!”

Huh? Strange… A-Aria’s kind of talking like me… She’s really letting him have it.

But Seiya doesn’t even blink.

“You and Rista got too worked up. That goddess was just baiting us so she could enjoy our reactions. The fact that I couldn’t sense any bloodlust proves that.”

Aria and I blankly stare at each other.

“R-really? Well…you seem sure of it, Seiya, so I’m not going to doubt you…”

There’s something different about the way Aria is talking today. Seiya seems to have noticed as well.

“Anyway, weren’t you a lot more reserved when we first met? Since when did you start caring what I did?”

Aria places a hand on her mouth in surprise.

“I-I’m terribly sorry about that.”

After clearing her throat, Aria tries to change the subject.

“A-anyway, you’re looking for a training partner to take Cerceus’s place, right? I know just the person. Follow me.”

Aria ends up bringing us to the sanctuary’s basement. After descending the long stone staircase, we walk down a narrow path that’s dimly lit by the occasional wall torch.

I never knew a place like this existed within the sanctuary…

I am once again in awe of the vastness of this place. Soon enough, we reach the end of the path, and Aria stops in front of a door. It looks like we’ve reached our destination.

The wooden door creaks as Aria opens it. A little girl sits with her legs crossed while sharpening a sword in the bleak, prisonlike stone room. Aria introduces us inside the dimly lit chamber.

“This is the goddess Adenela. She knows even more about martial arts than Cerceus.”

The spirit world sure is a big place, including the sanctuary. There are over ten thousand gods and goddesses living here, so there are many deities I haven’t even met yet—Adenela, the Goddess of War, being one of them.

“Adenela, would you be able to train with this Hero?”

Adenela turns her vacant gaze to Seiya and me, revealing the dark circles under her eyes.

“Tr-tr-train? W-with a human? Heh-heh-heh-heh…”

Enunciating poorly, she speaks with a loose mouth. Her unkempt hair is long and scraggly, and she wears ragged, prisoner-like clothing. To tell the truth, Adenela doesn’t look anything like a goddess. And to be completely honest, she kind of weirds me out.

“Ew. This goddess is seriously creeping me out. Ugh, disgusting.”

Ah?! Why did he just say what I was thinking?! I mean, it’s the truth, but still…! That’s the kind of thing you’re supposed to keep to yourself!

I fear this may turn into another heated situation like with Valkyrie, but…

“Heh-heh-heh-heh! Su-sure, Aria. I l-like t-t-teaching, after all. S-so let’s get started.”

As soon as Adenela says this, she vanishes. I shudder. How is she already behind Seiya?! As I gape in blank amazement, Adenela snickers while I stare at Seiya.

“Y-you were able to k-keep your eyes on me, huh? It appears you have potential, s-seeing as how Aria recommended you. M-maybe you’ll be able to learn my special move—Eternal Sword. N-nobody has ever been able to l-learn it before. I-it exceeds humans’ range of movement b-because of its lightning speed, s-so I don’t blame anyone for not being able to learn it. Th-their bodies would apparently b-break down first. Heh-heh-heh…”

Ack… She’s almost as bad as Valkyrie. What’s Seiya going to do? It appears Aria introducing us to her, but he should really think about it bef—

“Okay. Let’s do this.”

“Seiya?!”

Why isn’t he more cautious at times like this?! He was reckless earlier with Valkyrie, and now this! Unbelievable!

“Teach me that Unlimited Boredom move of yours.”

“Heh-heh… I-it’s called Eternal Sword.”

“Whatever. Follow me. We’re going to the Summoning Chamber.”

“Heh-heh-heh. Y-you’ve got guts. Let’s go…”

Seiya takes Adenela and leaves. Left behind, I worriedly turn to Aria.

“A-are they going to be all right?”

“Adenela is very strong, and I am certain Seiya will be able to learn her special move.”

It’s a relief to hear that. I bow.

“Aria, thank you so much for always helping me.”

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing, really. I want to do everything I can to help. It’s the very least I can do to…”

“…Aria?”

She falls silent with a serious look on her face.

“Oh, never mind. Forget I said anything.”

Then her usual gentle smile returns to her lips.