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GA Novel decided to publish the work!

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N/a

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「How are we going to duel?」

「Let’s see. When it comes to being the Guardian Deity, one must have the strength to protect the village. So let’s compete in arm wrestling! 」

「Okay」

It might have been problematic if the topic was about mental calculation.
However, when it comes to brute strength, Iris didn’t plan to lose to anyone on this earth.

「If you are doing arm wrestling that desk should do」

Sheryl brought a small desk from the depths of the church.
Muriel and Iris clenched their fist on top of it as they assumed an arm wrestling posture.

「Well then, start!」

With Eclipse’s sign, the arm wrestling match began.
At first, she was worried whether this ancient desk could withstand a demon and the Guardian Deity arm wrestling — but that was a needless worry.
Muriel was indescribably weak.
The match was settled before the desk had a chance to break.

「No jaaaa! You are too strong! 」

「No…..you are too weak. Try doing it with Sheryl」

「Even This Mistress won’t lose to a normal human」

「That’s right. I’m just a frail maiden」

「Yeah, sure. Indulge me」

Iris tried to compare the two against each other.
In the end, Sheryl won.

「…….My arm strength is actually god-class!?」

Sheryl opened her eyes wide and stared at the hand that defeated Muriel.

「Wrong, wrong. Muriel was just too weak」

「Uuu…….This Mistress has materialized only recently, so I can’t bring out much of my ability…….besides, arm wrestling has nothing to do with being a Guardian Deity!」

「You were the one to bring this up」

「Just a little mistake! Strength is important…….but it should be determined through the real fight! So let’s fight! 」

There was a broom on the wall that Sheryl always used to clean the church.
Muriel took it and used it as a sword.
Since it couldn’t be helped, Iris took Sheryl’s mop as well.

「Take this」

Muriel attacked with the broom.
However, she was slow enough to put one to sleep.
Iris casually knocked the broom away with the mop.
The broom fell on the floor and sadly rolled away.
And while Muriel was spacing out, Iris lightly struck her on the head with the mop.

「I-It hurts…….」

Muriel had tears in her eyes as she rubbed the spot where she was hit.

「Big Sister Iris, you can’t bully the weaklings」

「That’s right, Iris-sama. Please get along with Muriel-sama」

「I didn’t intend to bully anyone…….sorry. Alright, alright. Let the pain go away」

As she said that, she used recovery magic on Muriel’s head and Muriel stopped crying.

「Oh……..it doesn’t hurt anymore」

「I didn’t hit you that hard in the first place. So, is it okay to consider it my win? 」

「Mumu…….apparently, you are slightly stronger than This Mistress」

「Slightly or not, since it’s my win, is it fine with you that I’m the first? Give Punigami back」

Muriel was sitting on Punigami since a while ago.
Punigami’s squishy body was good for hugging, lying, and sitting, almost omnipotent. The desire to monopolize him was completely understandable.
That’s precisely why Punigami was so precious to Iris.

「No, not yet! This Mistress haven’t lost yet! A Guardian Deity’s worth isn’t determined by strength, but by how much he makes his people happy! So let’s compare our contributions! 」

What a sore loser of a goddess.
That being said, how does one even measure contribution?
As Iris wondered about it, Marion stopped by.

「Iris, are you awake? You are awake! Eh, is it afternoon already!?」

Marion is a dragon normally living in the human form.
But since she was not proficient in it, she had horns on her head and a tail sticking out her rear.
Marion, who faltered upon seeing Iris awake, had not only her expression but even her tail swaying in confusion.

「It’s morning, morning. Why does everyone get so surprised that I’m awake in the morning? 」

「No, no. It is pretty surprising. So, who’s that sitting on top of Punigami? She doesn’t look human」

「Y-You are the dragon girl, Marion. This Mistress is this land’s Guardian Deity, Muriel. Worship me! 」

「Asking to worship on our first meeting………I feel a whole different kind of danger」

Marion too made a long face.
Most likely ten out of ten people will react the same.

「Muriel. You should probably stop asking strangers to worship you. They will definitely think of you as a weirdo. They need to know that you are the Goddess first」

As Iris advised, she thought that telling strangers『I’m the Goddess』is rather suspicious too.
However, with Muriel being the real Goddess, she had to make people believe.

「I-Is that so…..? Then let This Mistress explain. This Mistress is the Guardian Deity! 」

「Uwaa…….」

Marion’s expression was that of pity.
She didn’t believe Muriel at all.
Which wasn’t surprising.
There wasn’t enough context.
Muriel lacked the attitude to make others believe.

「Stop with that look! This Mistress is going to explain, so listen」

Muriel explained her backstory for the third time.

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A little more until 20000 points ٩( ‘ω’ )و
[¹]

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It was hard to get bored with watching Muriel when she behaved like that, but, at this rate, the conversation won’t proceed.
So Iris decided to restrain her and get to solving the problem.

「Eclipse. Let’s match our timing. One, two…..」

「Ei!」

The sisters cooperated as they put a blanket around the ecstatic Muriel.
Immediately after–.

「Waaaa, what is this?! Everything suddenly went dark! 」

Muriel struggled beneath the blanket.
Utilizing this, they wrapped the blanket around her, tied it up with a string made of magical power, and threw the roll on the bed.

「Punini」

Punigami rejoiced at being liberated from Muriel.

「Oh!? What are you planning to do!?」

Muriel, who stuck out her feet and head from the sides, recognized that she was bound and wiggled like a caterpillar.

「Even though you brought this up, you didn’t get to the main part after all this time, so I tried binding you for the time being」

「For the time being」

「I understand……..wait, it was you who brought this up! This Mistress has been here since a long time ago」

Muriel struggled intensely as she screamed.
But even faced with such violent struggles, the string didn’t show any signs of breaking.
Iris and Eclipse could easily throw this blanket off, though.
For someone calling herself the Guardian Deity, she was far too weak.

「Tell me about that in more detail. I understand that you aren’t a human, but for you to be the Guardian Deity…….」

「If Big Sister Iris isn’t afraid of you then you definitely aren’t human」

「E-Eclipse, you don’t need to mention the embarrassing parts!」

「Eeeh. Big Sister Iris is so cute」

「Punipuni」

Being teased by your little sister, how miserable, Punigami said in frustration.

「You are going to hear everything in detail! This Mistress was born about three hundred years ago. In other words, when this land was only in the early stages of its development –」

Spoke Muriel in a serious tone.
In the past, this land, while it wasn’t a wilderness, had a shortage of rains and the soil was unsuitable for cultivation.
And Muriel was a being “manifested” from the prayers of the resident of the Silverlight Barony.
Muriel responded to the prayers as she created rains, diverted storms, and made the soil fertile.

「However, on a certain day, out of nowhere, This Mistress lost her divine powers……….because of that, this land wasn’t able to provide for the people and they left……..eventually, This Mistress couldn’t maintain her corporeal form and, with time, even her consciousness dimmed…….oyoyo」

Muriel burst into tears as she told her story.
「Good girl, good girl」Eclipse patted such a Guardian Deity.
Eclipse was one such good girl.

「Hahah…..that’s why we couldn’t find you with our detection magic」

「That’s right. However! Because you settled in this church and let out gigantic amounts of magical power, This Mistress managed to regain her consciousness and restore a fraction of her power」

「Hee…….so you were the cause behind all those earthquakes? 」

「Earthquakes? What are you talking about? This Mistress squeezed out all of her power to just shake this bed. This Mistress didn’t have the power to cause an earthquake! However, were you scared so much to mistake it for an earthquake? Fufufu, how was it, were you scared? Perhaps, you were a few earthquakes away from leaving this place……….how regrettable. You caught This Mistress」

Who would’ve thought?
Iris and Eclipse both thought it was an earthquake, but it was only their bed shaking.
Those living below the hill had no way to know.

「Why did you shake the bed? Don’t be a bully」

Eclipse poked at Muriel’s cheeks as she muttered so.

「I-It’s not bullying! This church belongs to This Mistress, the Guardian Deity is This Mistress. But when I regained my consciousness…….Iris is worshipped as the Guardian Deity, the altar was replaced with a bed……uu……..it’s horrible……….」

「Hahah, I see. In other words, you want to drive us out to become the Guardian Deity once again」

「Of course! This Mistress won’t be able to manifest herself unless someone worships her! 」

「You materialized through my magical power, though?」

「Oh? Oh! Indeed! Y-You’re amazing! 」

「You’re welcome. So there is no more need to drive us out, right? 」

「Muu……However, This Mistress in the true Guardian Deity. No matter how outstanding…….aren’t you a demon, Iris?!」

「That might be true……but everyone just worships me on their own……」

「How enviable. This Mistress wants to be worshipped too」

Muriel let out a miserable voice as she rolled all over the bed.

「Big Sister Iris. Let’s do something. She’s too pitiful」

「Let’s see…….we can’t really make people worship her by ourselves, perhaps it’s better to consult with Sheryl…..」

Just as Iris thought that, the Lord, Sheryl, coincidentally came to the church.

「Good morning! It’s morning, please wake up…….wait, Iris-sama is awake even before I came to wake her up?!」[¹]

Seeing Iris’ face, Sheryl faltered, went outside, and looked at the sky.

「Ah, yes. Properly in the morning. There is a little something that required me to wake up in the morning」

「Haa, is that so……..that being said, even though you are awake in the morning, you aren’t even drowsy…….」

「Sheryl. I’m not oversleeping because I’m tired. I’m sleeping because I want to. That’s why waking up in the morning is not a big deal」

「A puny human like myself can’t possibly fathom your sense of values……..」

Sheryl muttered with a slightly dull expression.
She was definitely restraining herself from saying「this sloth」out loud.
Iris herself was aware of being a sloth, so she decided not to think too deeply about it.
However, no matter who and what thought as such, she had no intentions to quit being a NEET.

「By the way. Who could that person that keeps rolling on the bed be? 」

When Sheryl looked on top of the bed, Muriel, hearing herself becoming the topic of the conversation, wiggled in joy.

「You are the current lord, right? It’s great that the Silverlight bloodline still continues. Now then, worship This Mistress like you ancestor did! 」

「Eh…….what’s wrong with this person? Immediately asking to worship when we’ve just met…….」

Sheryl retreated with a pale face.
It wasn’t hard to understand.
Muriel’s speech and manners were that of a weirdo unless you were aware of the circumstances.
No, even Iris, who knew the circumstances, couldn’t see her as anything but a weirdo, as for Sheryl, she probably wanted to run away right this moment.

「Did you know? Long long time ago, Muriel was the Guardian Deity of this land」

「The Guardian Deity of a long long time ago? What do you mean? 」

「Oh, so you’ve listened. Three hundred years ago –」

And Muriel repeated her story once again.
Having heard this, Sheryl sat on the floor and bowed towards Muriel.

「For me to not recognize the Guardian Deity, who watch over this land from my ancestor’s generation……I was incredibly rude. Please forgive my conduct」

「Umu. You are quite devoted. Since This Mistress wasn’t angry in the first place, you can raise your head. While at it, This Mistress will appreciate if you remove this blanket」

「Understood. Ei, Ei…….I can’t get it off! 」

「Ah, this blanket is bound by my magical power, it’s impossible for Sheryl」

「Iris-sama, please unbind her! Muriel-sama could be said to be Iris-sama’s senior! 」

「I don’t know about any seniors……but I guess I have no reason to keep her restrained anymore」

When Iris undid the magical string, Muriel rolled out of the blanket as it unwinded.
And for some reason, she sat on top of Punigami.

「Punini?」

「This Mistress likes it here. It’s quite comfortable」

「Puni」

Punigami wasn’t against being praised, so 「then you can sit for a while」he said.

「Anyway, Sheryl. Muriel wants to be worshipped by everyone in the village, do something」

「I see. Then let’s introduce her to everyone! The more Guardian Deities there are the better it should be! Iris-sama, together with Eclipse-chan and Muriel-sama are invincible! 」

「Sounds sketchy………but, perhaps, there might be some sense to it」

「Am I a Guardian Deity too?」

Eclipse tilted her head in wonder.

「That’s right. Since you are Iris-sama’s little sister, it’s a matter of course. In the first place, Eclipse-chan’s cuteness is god-class. You being a Guardian Deity is decided! 」

「So that’s how it is. Then I’ll be a Guardian Deity so give me chocolate」

「Yes」

Sheryl took out chocolate from a pocket on her skirt and handed it over to Eclipse.

「Waai」

Munch munch.
Eclipse’s adorable face was graced with an even more adorable smile.

「Wait a minute. Having three Guardian Deities is still passable. However, there is a need to decide for is the greatest! 」

「Eh, who cares about that」

「Munch munch.  Since I’m the little sister, Big Sister Iris is superior. Chocolate is tasty」

「In that case, Iris. It’s a showdown! 」

Muriel pointed at Iris with her finger.
What a bother, she thought, before deciding to display her strong side, or there was a chance she won’t return Punigami.
For the sake of good night’s sleep, Iris decided to accept the duel.

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「No ja, no ja」

「Punipuni」

The Self-proclaimed Guardian Deity Muriel seemed to like Punigami, she buried her face in him with a smile on it.
However, Punigami was Iris and Eclipse’s hugging pillow. It would be extremely troubling is she doesn’t return him.

「Hey, you there. Don’t just suddenly appear and occupy the bed and Punigami. Who are you anyway? 」

「This is mine and Big Sister Iris’ bed. Are you going to sleep with us? 」

Having heard her, Muriel withdrew from Punigami and jumped off the bed.

「I can’t! That slime was too good, so This Mistress almost lost herself! What an elaborate trap! That’s cheating! 」

「I do admit that Punigami’s pleasantness is rather addictive, but it’s not really a trap for you. Spare me from your accusations」

「Let’s forget about that, I’m sleepy…….let’s all go to sleep, okay? 」

Eclipse let out a big yawn.

「That’s not what This Mistress is talking about! This church belongs to This Mistress! Don’t just live here at your own convenience! 」

「I can hear you out in detail tomorrow, for now, let’s just drop it. See this cute little girl, she can’t sleep because of you. Don’t your heart hurt because you force her to stay awake? 」

Said Iris to Muriel as she patted Eclipse’s head.
Even now, Eclipse stood there with a spaced-out sleepy expression as she rubbed her eyes.
It was so cute, you’d want to immediately hug her. It was amazing precisely because it was her natural cuteness without any intention to be that way.

「Mumu……she’s cute indeed. Certainly, it would be rather cruel to force her to stay awake. Alright, today we shall sleep」

「Aren’t you understanding」

In that way, the three decided to go to sleep with Punigami as a pillow.
Next day, in the morning.
Iris opened her eyes hearing「No ja, no ja」voice.

「…….What? Isn’t it still morning? 」

「You should wake up because it’s morning!」

「…..? Isn’t morning the best part of sleep? 」

「Ei, don’t joke with This Mistress! There are limits to laziness. This Mistress can’t leave this land to you! Punishment! 」

Having said that, Muriel delivered a chop at Iris’ forehead.

「Ata! Did you think I would get up from something like this? I’m not going to lose! 」

Iris crawled inside her futon and thrust her face in Eclipse’s stomach, who was still sleeping at the moment. Absolute defense………or so she thought before the enemy invaded.
The futon was thrown off and she was peeled off Eclipse.

「Ah, my futon. My Eclipse. Since it came to that, Punigami……」

「This slime shall be taken away too!」

Muriel picked Punigami and threw him on the floor.

「P-Punini!?」

Having been suddenly woken up and thrown, Punigami let out a voice of surprise from the floor.

「You’ve made the first move……you are quite amazing. I admit it. You are number one」

「Mufufu. You are quite a handful yourself」

「Anyway, good night」

Iris admitted her defeat and went for a second nap.

「Hey, hey! What did This Mistress work hard for?!」

「Then would you sleep too?」

「Where did this option come from?! You wake up because it’s morning! And you’re going to have a conversation with This Mistress! 」

Muriel pulled as hard as she could on Iris’ pajamas trying to get her up.
However.

「Guu……..」

「Asleep!? How did you even fall asleep in this situation, what kind of nerves do you have!?」

Muriel’s voice was on the verge of crying.
In reality, Iris was only pretending to be asleep, but she couldn’t see through this act.
Since Muriel, who was freaking out, was rather amusing, she decided to pretend for a while longer.

However, while she was『pretending』, she became sleepy again.
There was no other way but to go for a second round.

「…….Un, so noisy…..why are you so loud in the morning? 」

Just a moment before falling asleep, Iris heard Eclipse’s cute voice.
Thanks to that, she was able to barely keep a trace of consciousness.

「This one doesn’t wake up. Isn’t she your big sister? Do something」

「Big Sister Iris. She’s too pitiful. Let’s hear what Muriel has to say to us」

「………Can’t help it. If Eclipse says so, I’ll listen to you」

Iris accepted the proposal and rose her upper body.

「S-So you were awake. What a terrible personality you have」

「It’s not terrible. I’m just bad at waking up」

「It’s not something to be proud of! Well, anyway, since you are awake, listen to what This Mistress has to say! 」

Having screamed so, Muriel clung to Iris.

「So annoying……I’ll hear you out, so you don’t need to cling to me! 」

「I’m grateful……..wait, why does This Mistress have to feel gratitude towards you?!」

「How should I know? Come on, if you have something to say then say it」

「V-Very well. Let’s start with an introduction. This Mistress is Muriel, this land’s Guardian Deity! The god worshipped in this church! 」

「Eeh, so that’s how it is」

「Your reaction is too mild」

「Well, you did call yourself the Guardian Deity yesterday」

「T-That’s true…….In other words, this church belongs to This Mistress」

「If you are indeed the Guardian Deity, that might be true」

「Umu, it’s true indeed. You are living her without This Mistress’ permission. Moreover, people worship you as the Guardian Deity instead of This Mistress…….unacceptable! Thus, it’s time for you to get out! 」

「Don’t wanna」

Instantly replied Iris.

「No jaaaa! In that case, I’m taking this slime called Punigami hostage! 」

Muriel squinted and pounced on Punigami, who was still on the floor.
She plastered onto him with her whole body and clung to him with both her hands and feet.

「Nowaaa, what a pleasant sensation. I was intending to take him hostage but was taken hostage instead! Another trap! 」

「Puni?」

「There is no trap. You are just clinging on your own」

「However, this sensation can’t be resisted」

Muriel, still on top of Punigami, let’s out a voice of either joy or anger.
Having seen this, Eclipse pulled at Iris’ sleeve and muttered.

「Big Sister Iris. Could it be that Muriel is even more of a weirdo than Sheryl? 」

「That might be true……..」

「Why do weird people gather around here, I wonder?」

「Who knows……perhaps it’s better to call Sheryl here. It’s said that people of the same mind can understand each other better」

「Punini」

「You’re plenty weird too and probably attracted Sheryl yourself」Punigami inserted a rude comment.
It’s not as if she was completely unaware of it, so she decided to ignore Punigami’s opinion and turn her attention to the problem named Muriel.

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Starting from the next chapter, it will maintain a pace of one chapter per four days. [¹]

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The gods have their own ranking.

The highest of them all is the Creator of the world.

The Creator made the land and sowed the seeds of life.
Then he created Heaven for himself to live in and watched as all kind of creatures were being born in the world below.

The Guardian Gods of various lands are the most familiar to humans.
Humans worship them in the churches and, by changing people’s belief into power, they bestow their grace upon the land.

A Guardian God, who, for some reason, lost all of his believers, loses his power.
On the other hand, those, who managed to gather people’s faith on themselves while not being a god, won’t become one.
It’s easier for a tree, rock, or a king of the forest to become an object of worship.
There are also times when an immaterial phenomenon or a creature of fantasies materializes as a god through the means of faith.

The previous Goddess of the Silverlight territory was an example of that.
She was loved by the citizens and worked to create the best environment in return.
However, on a certain day, she suddenly lost her godly powers.
It wasn’t like the believers lost their faith.
Despite that, she couldn’t summon the rain and couldn’t protect the land from gradually drying out.

Shortly, the Silverlight Barony became uninhabitable and the people went away.

Without people, there was no faith.
In the end, she couldn’t even materialize herself anymore and her consciousness dimmed.
The Silverlight Barony became just a name on the map.

However, two hundred years later.
A single juvenile demon settled in the church and made the time flow again –.

△

The midnight church didn’t have much light except for the moonlight seeping through the stained glass.
However, only one place illuminated by the moonlight showed signs of activity.

The place where there was the altar once.
A big bed with a canopy occupied its place instead.

「Supi……supi…….」
「Funyu…….funyu……..」

On that bad, there were two cute little girls calmly sleeping as they used a big slime as their hugging pillow.
Both of them had long silver hair and white skin.
Their beautiful bodies reflected the moonlight as they shined brightly in the dark.

The two resembled each other greatly but that’s how it was supposed to be.
After all, they were sisters.
Biological weapons created from the Great Demon King’s genes.
They were called Iris and Eclipse.

Despite their lovely appearance, they had almost inexhaustible amounts of magical power and, if they wished to do so, could easily destroy humanity.
That being said, they won’t get anything from doing that and it’s not as if they had a violent personality.
Instead of that, they were devoted to sleeping and filling their stomachs with tasty things.

However, there was something in that place that frequently interfered with their peaceful sleep.
An earthquake.

「Funyu…….it’s another earthquake, Big Sister Iris」

「Punii……」

「……Just what is it everyday and everyday?………No matter how good I’m at sleeping even I will wake up when the ground shakes beneath me」

Iris rose her body, pursed her lips, and complained towards the ground.
Eclipse languidly rubbed her eyes saying to『Shaking, bad』 the ground.
Then, the big slime『Punigami』wobbled in discontent.

Most likely not because of them, the earthquake immediately stopped. That being said, it was an everyday occurrence.
When they sleep at night, it shakes hard enough to blow the bed away then quickly stops.

Mysteriously, the shaking didn’t spread beyond this church.
When it was brought up with Sheryl and the rest, they said there was no such thing.
Even more, 「You were probably dreaming」Marion made fun of her.
Not only she couldn’t sleep but also was made fun of, she reached the limit of her tolerance.

Iris decided that it was about time to unravel the reason for all the earthquakes.

「The ground shakes, which means there is something beneath. Magical power search! 」

Iris released her magical power towards the ground. It was detection magic. In the past, when Iris just arrived at the hill, she discovered an underground water source.
Detection magic should quickly reveal the reason.
Or so she thought…….

「Un……there is nothing abnormal……..」

「I’ve used detection magic too but found nothing」

Eclipse muttered in puzzlement.

「Punini」

「Eh? What if the source isn’t in the ground but above it? It can’t be」

「Puni!」

Punigami bellowed in anger.
It seems he couldn’t bear his idea being rejected without even trying.

「………..But isn’t it weird for the cause to be above ground? 」

「Punipuni!」

「Big Sister Iris. We should at least try examining it. After all, there was nothing underground」

「If even Eclipse says so…….」

She had no reason to reject Punigami and Eclipse, so she expanded the scope of her detection magic above the ground.
It won’t be of use anyway, she thought.
However, Iris’ intuition was off the mark.

「There is someone inside the church!」

The villagers are strictly prohibited from approaching this church.
In the first place, it was in the middle of the night.
Even Sheryl and the rest had no reason to come here.
Despite that, besides Punigami, Iris, and Eclipse, there was an aura of 『someone』else.

「Ah, it’s true. There is someone」

Eclipse, who did the same thing, said in an easygoing voice.
However, Iris wasn’t so carefree.
After all, she was a NEET. Shut-in. With a social phobia.
Is there were someone else in the church, she would hide behind Eclipse and Punigami and tremble.

「It’s alright, Big Sister Iris. It’s not a human」

「I-It seems so……not only that, it doesn’t even have substance. A being of conscience? It’s here, this much I can understand but I can neither see it nor talk to it…….」

「Heey. Why does it seem so weak? It can disappear anytime. Won’t it be possible to see it if we share some magical power? 」

「Un…..it does have such an aura. Let’s try it」

Iris headed the aura and poured some magical power into it.
Then, its silhouette really appeared.
It had an appearance of a person.
It wasn’t that big.
Of course, it was bigger than Iris and Eclipse but not big enough to be an adult.
14-year-old girl by human standards.

Before long, the blurry silhouette became clear and even colored.

In that way, the girl completely materialized.
Long pink hair. Long water-colored dress. A well-built figure.
Seeing the girl suddenly appearing in the moonlight, Iris and Eclipse had their gazes stolen.
The scene was straight out of fantasy.

However, as the girl lifted her eyelids and spoke, the fantastical atmosphere was immediately blown away.

「Hey, you lot! Who do you think you are to replace my altar with a bed! You even deceived the villagers…….the Guardian Deity of the Silverlight Barony is me, Muriel! 」[¹]

The girl, who introduced herself as the Guardian Deity, shouted so and pounced on the bed.
When Iris and Eclipse casually dodged sideways, Muriel dived headfirst into Punigami.

「Nowa, what is this slime? It feels good」

「Puni?」

Muriel clung to Punigami as shed swung her legs around on top of the bed.
Her identity was unknown.
She probably had some circumstances since she lost her substance.
However, whoever she is, she doesn’t look particularly smart — such was Iris’ first impression of Muriel.

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• 31 No Ja
• 32 The Guardian Deity Muriel
• 33 For Good Night’s Sleep
• 34 Is it Afternoon?
• 35 Rock Paper Scissors!
• 36 Everyone is Welcome Except Villains
• 37 Snowball Warfare
• 38 Inquisition
• 39 Red Dragons Are Bad With Cold
• 40 Suspicions Cleared
• 41 Runny Nose
• 42 Let’s Make a Snowman
• 43 Came to an Unknown City
• 44 The Guardian Deity of the Neighboring Town
• 45 Apple Pie
• 46 Solving Water Shortage
• 47 Flying South
• 48 Wawawa!
• 49 Udon, is it?
• 50 A Place to Store the Snowballs
• 51 This is Udon!
• 52 Licking Festival
• 53 Muriel’s Seal
• 54 Cunningham Viscounty Once Again
• 55 Come Out, Come Out
• 56 Radiant Magic Stone
• 57 Godly Power, Restored
• 58 Battle of the Gods
• 59 For Now, It’s Settled
• 60 Great Demon King First Time in a While

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The black monster noticed Iris and the rest and turned its heads towards them.
Then, it opened its mouths and spat three beams.
Even one of those rays had enough magical power to obliterate the village.

「Eclipse, let’s send it back」

「Un. I understand」

Iris and Eclipse put a reflective barrier and intercepted the beams.
It didn’t only reflect them but even managed to send them back to the black monster.
There was a big explosion and the black monster’s figure was shrouded in flames.
The shockwave reached all the way to the village but was also diverted by Iris and Eclipse.

「Mother, let’s attack too!」

「Yes, yes」

The two dragons simultaneously released their dragon breath.
The already burning monster released an anguished howl after being exposed towards even more heat.

「Un, it’s still in one piece. It’s strong indeed」

「Ah, it’s running here while burning. You can’t go to the village, ei! 」

Eclipse invoked supergravity and made the monster sink into the ground.
With this, its movement stopped.
However, even after that, the monster’s body remained intact.
Even though a little roughed up.

「Amazing. It’s still trying to stand up」

「Eclipse. Maybe you should apply gravity to its insides instead of its feet」

「Insides? Inside its stomach? 」

「Yes, yes. It’s difficult when it moves but it’s still now. Even that thing should die if pressured from the inside」

「Big Sister Iris, so smart」

「A-Am I? Thanks…….then let’s do this together」

「Un, together. Let’s crush the monster」

Iris and Eclipse hand each other hands and joined their magical power.
Then, they made a black sphere capable of applying thousand times the gravity inside its body.

「GUOOOOOOOOOOOON!」

The monster screamed. For the last time.
It collapsed as it splattered the blood around but, even that blood, ended up being sucked inside.
Bones and meat mixed together and it turned into something indistinguishable.
Soon enough, after it was compressed to the limit, it turned into a giant dense dumpling floating in the air.

「Such magical power………the sisters together defy common sense……」

Said Marion in frustration.

「Ufufu, That how demons should be. Pledging allegiance was worth it」

「Mother! You can’t do something like pledging allegiance! 」

The mother-daughter pair has completely relaxed.
However, they couldn’t leave that dumpling near the village.
That said, they couldn’t eat it either. It didn’t look very healthy.

「Alright. Let’s kick it into space and dump it there」

「I’m kicking!」

「Is this even alright?」

「It’s alright, teya!」

Eclipse accelerated towards the dumpling.
Utilizing the momentum, she gave it an adorable kick.
The dumpling soared towards the sky.
It didn’t stop until it became a star.

「Amazing, Eclipse. You can blow it all the way to space by yourself」

「Something like that is easy」

「I see. As expected of my little sister. Pat pat」

「Eeh, I’m being patted」

As Iris patted Eclipse, she heard a shout from below.
The moment she heard that, she looked down and saw Sheryl riding on Punigami.

「Iris-sama! Patting Eclipse-chan where I can’t reach is cheating! If the fight is over, please come down and share Eclipse-chan with me! While at it, let me pat Iris-sama too! 」

「Big Sister Iris, Sheryl is getting lonely」

「I guess. Let’s return. Marion, Jessica-san, let’s go」

「It’s not like I wanted to pat you myself!」

「Ara, Marion. Then I’ll pat for both of us」

「Eh, that’s unfair!」

Actually, that monster had enough power to destroy the world but no one cared anymore.
Instead of that, they were busy being carefree.

※

「……Great Demon King-sama. Apparently, it lost. But be at ease. This time, it didn’t switch sides. It properly died! 」

「Oh, it’s a step forward! I’m counting on you for the next one………don’t be happy that it died! Make the one that can actually win! 」

「Please, don’t be unreasonable. It the first place, I don’t even know myself why Iris-sama turned out to be that strong. It accidentally want well……it’s hard to exceed that」

「Damn it, are there no smarter demons around here!?」

「Even if I’m like that, others often call me the brain of the Kurifot continent」[¹]

「Demons’ lack of personnel is too depressing!」

The Great Demon King held his head as he sat on the throne.
However, worrying about it was useless, so he had a drink and went to sleep.

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It would be a while before I’ll be able to resume writing it [²]

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On a certain day, a month after Eclipse came to the village.
The usual members gathered at Sheryl’s house to eat a hotcake.

「Wai, this hotcake thing is tasty. Amazing. I want more」

Eclipse emptied one plate in a blink of an eye and demanded more.

「Yes. I thought it would be like that so I left one more especially for Eclipse-chan」

「Yay! I like Sheryl! 」

Seeing the hotcake on the table receiving reinforcements, Eclipse praised Sheryl.

On a side note, Sheryl baked this hotcake.
That being said, flour, eggs, sugar, and butter were brought from the capital.
Although there was wheat planted in this village, the harvest would only begin in spring.
Despite the absence of snow, it was currently winter.
Most of the products still had to be imported.
Even still, the village was able to produce enough pork, beef, and milk for its own consumption. It could be considered an achievement for the village that was only around for half a year.

「Hey Sheryl. Don’t bait my little sister with food. Who do you think you are? 」

「I’m a Baroness though!」

Not minding Iris’ objection, Sheryl puffed her chest and raised her nose high.
Since that was the truth, she had no choice but repeatedly pierce the hotcake with her fork in frustration.
It was delicious. Which was even more frustrating.

「Punipuni」

「Childish」said Punigami as he digested the hotcake inside of his body. His body assuming the color of the hotcake in the process.

「Wa, Punigami looks tasty!」

Eclipse stared at Punigami with sparkling eyes. In her hand, there was a shining fork.

「Punini!?」

Punigami escaped all the way to the corner of the room in fright.

「Ahaha, I’m kidding. I won’t eat a friend」

「Punii…….」

Letting out a voice of relief, Punigami returned to Iris’ side.

「Ufufu. I won’t get tired of watching you」

「Mother, why are you being so nonchalant? You were completely poisoned by humans……….we are dragons, you know!?」

「Even if you say that, you are still eagerly eating the hotcake」

「This is…….I fell into Sheryl’s sinister trap! Sheryl, even if you can tempt my body, my heart won’t be swayed! 」

「You look completely swayed, though」

Hearing her pointing this out, Marion wiggled on her seat.

「Uu…….If it goes like this…….need to defeat Iris fast……..dragon’s pride……」

「Ah, you still haven’t forgotten about your goal of defeating me」

「Of course, I haven’t! I’ll also bring mother back to the village of dragons! 」

Recently Marion completely assimilated in the village by collecting firewood for the winter and turning pigs into sausages or salting them.
She got along well with the villagers, to the extent that it was easy to forget that she was a dragon if not for the horns and tail.

「Hey, Sheryl. Hotcake, one more! 」

「Aah, did you finish yours already? If Eclipse-chan likes them, it was worth making them. But sorry, this is the last one. And it’s mine」

「Eh, eeh」

「Sulking Eclipse-chan is also cute……..! But you can’t! 」

「Muu…….can’t help it. Sheryl needs to eat too to stay energetic」

「Yes, Eclipse-chan is a good kid」

「Eeeh」

Being praised, Eclipse’s cheeks turned red as she smiled.
Her cuteness overflowing, she gathered the stares of not only Iris but also everyone else on her.
However, it seemed that Eclipse lacked awareness regarding herself and just tilted her head without losing her smile.

「Aah, so cute…….my little sister makes my heart well up with pride………I was the one who brought Eclipse up! 」

「Is that so?」

Sheryl too tilted her head.

「I don’t really understand but I like Big Sister Iris」

「What about me, Eclipse-chan!」

「I like Sheryl too」

「Ara, then how about me?」

「I shall ask what you think of me too, for formalities’ sake」

「I like Jessica and Marion too. I like everyone」

「Puni!」

「Of course, I like Punigami too」

「Punininii!」

This kid is an angel.
The treasure of Silverlight Barony.
Even if the demon were to come for her, I definitely won’t hand her over!
I’ll protect her with all my power.

The moment Iris established her determination.

Dooooooooooon, there was a giant bang from outside the house.

Of the members present, everyone except Sheryl could make such a sound.
However, everyone was present and eating the hotcake.
In other words, the perpetrator was someone else.

「Waaa! Something big and round fell onto the grassland! What on earth is this!?」

Sheryl looked out the window and raised a scream.
What is it, what is it? Iris and the rest gathered around the window.

Then, just as Sheryl said, they saw a strange object in the grassland.

If someone were to describe it with one word, this word would be big.
Much larger than Jessica in her dragon form.
The color was black.
As if refusing to reflect the light, it was bleak all over.

「What is this mysterious object doing in my territory?」

「I don’t know what it is…….but it’s clearly dangerous」

Iris calmly answered to the confused Sheryl.

「Why are you so calm, Iris-sama!?」

「Well…….there is me in this village. Eclipse is here. Marion and Jessica too. Everything should be fine」

「A…….aah, I see! It seems rather okay! 」

Sheryl clapped her hands with a convinced expression.

The contents of that egg-like object were unknown but this village had enough firepower to casually destroy the world.
Supposedly enough to repel any invasion.
Especially if they are after Eclipse, in that case, Iris will send them back with her Fist of Fury!

「Look here. There is a crack on that black egg」

As Eclipse pointed out, there was a crack running across the surface of the black egg.
And then it popped open.
The shell of the egg broke apart and fell on the grass.
Some of it fell on the villagers’ houses but Iris erected a defensive barrier in time and repelled it.

Of course, it wasn’t an attack.
Just an act of being『born』.
The egg disappeared and its contents stood on the grassland.

「GUOOOOOOOOOOOOON!」

I was an extremely eerie creature.

Three heads.
There was a lion, wolf, and crocodile head.

Four legs and wings.
Two front legs and wings were eagle’s. [¹]

The long tail was a snake itself. There was a face attached to its end.

The color of its body, like that of the egg, was black. [²] The largest building in this village was the church but even it couldn’t compare to it in size.
Or more like, it would be able to stomp on the church.

It’s strong because it’s gigantic.
Anyone could understand that just by looking, a simple matter.
However, that creature didn’t only have a giant body but also an overwhelming amount of magical power.

Yes.
Even from Iris’ standpoint, it was a lot.

It wasn’t very likely to win one-on-one.
For Iris of a few months ago that is —

「Ah, it should be fine. It would’ve been very lame if it were an unbeatable opponent after I bragged so much. I should be able to somehow deal with it by myself. Just wait here」

After all, Iris wasn’t even one year old.
Yet, by eating and sleeping all the time, she gradually became stronger.
Compared to the time she first came to the church, her magical power nearly doubled.

Thus, she didn’t feel like losing.

Full of confidence, Iris tried to go out through the window.
However, Eclipse pulled on the edge of her robe.

「Big Sister Iris, doing everything yourself is unfair!」

Eclipse puffed her cheeks as she complained.

「Unfair……then should we go together? 」

「Let’s go! Seems fun」

「Fufu, then I’ll join you」

「If Mother goes then I’ll go too」

「Then Punigami-sama and I will watch the house. Take care」

「Punini」

After being seen off by Sheryl, who was waving her hand, and Punigami, the rest flew out the window towards the black monster.
The villagers raised a commotion as they pointed at the monster.
However, it was the first time something of this magnitude happened.
It felt almost like a regular event, so there was no real panic.

「Oh, Iris-sama and the rest. We’ll leave the rest to you」

She ended up being addressed by some villagers.
Of course, since Iris was embarrassed, she didn’t answer. She used flight magic to ascend and ran away.
Eclipse followed right behind her.
Marion and Jessica turned into dragons and walked producing tremors.

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「It’s been a month since Eclipse headed towards Iris’ place」

Said the Great Demon King in irritation as he sat on his throne.

「Yes, Great Demon King-sama. It seems so」

The development chief answered unperturbed.

「……Why? You’ve been so confident about her. That’s why I believed you and sent her out. Nevertheless…….is there a report of her whereabouts? 」

「Yes. There is a report from one of our spies. It seems that Eclipse-sama had a fierce fight with Iris-sama in the air above the said village」 [¹]

「Ho!」

There was finally some relevant information.
After all, they haven’t fought before.
Until now, there were only saddening news about the biological weapon, who had the hopes of all demons on her, becoming a NEET and shut-in.

No matter the result, at least Eclipse showed some motivation.
There was a need for a strict evaluation.

「So? Did Eclipse win? 」

「……Apparently not」

「I see……so Eclipse is already……」

「No. After being defeated by Iris-sama, Eclipse-sama was tamed by chocolate and lived with the villagers」

「Ha? Haaaaaaaah!?」

Having heard the conclusion, the Great Demon King exclaimed disregarding shame and dignity.

「How did that happen, how the hell did that happen!? You, being tamed with chocolate is even worse than Iris! She will definitely listen to any command given a piece of chocolate! What are we going to do if she attacks the Kurifot continent? 」

「Yes, indeed……that was a miscalculation」

「Calculate properly! Our side only has sugar lumps! She will obviously switch sides if someone gives her something better! 」

「But didn’t the Great Demon King-sama fail to point it out?」

That, being a sound argument, made the Great Demon King swallow his words.

「A-About that……..you know. I believed you had a countermeasure prepared! 」

「Is that so?」

「I-It is………」

Of course, it was a lie.
As a matter of fact, he hasn’t thought of that possibility either.
However, if he were to admit that, it would hurt the Great Demon King’s prestige.
That being as it is, he had no choice but to lie.

「Haa, I see. As expected of Great Demon King-sama. I apologize for betraying your trust」

Coolly said the development chief as he gazed at him with contempt.
He’d definitely seen through that lie.
Might have just said the truth.
But it was already too late.

「Ah, un…..that settles it. Aren’t we actually in deep trouble? Not only Iris, even Eclipse joined humans. To be honest, any one of them can easily destroy the Kurifot continent」

「Fortunately, humans don’t attach even the slightest bit of value to the Kurifot continent, so the possibility of invasion is quite low」

「This is just sad!」

However, the Kurifot continent was truly desolate.
In the first place, since the sea was so violent around here, no ships could easily approach it.
Only those who could use flight magic could freely leave.
Who would want such land?
Even though demon called it a continent, it was listed as an island of the humans’ maps.
But even that was a matter of the past, currently, it was covered in uncertain rumors and humans didn’t even know its proper location and shape.
To summarize, humans cared neither about the Kurifot continent nor about demons.

That’s why there was a need to show them the real deal! Make them afraid!

「Great Demon King-sama. It’s too early to give up. I’m working on biological weapon even stronger than Iris-sama and Eclipse-sama」

「Fuun…….」

「Don’t sigh right away. This one is truly strong! 」

「Even if you say that, your behavior is incredibly suspicious」

「My heart is about to break but I’m going to do my best!」

「Alright, alright. I can hear you out. There is no harm in listening」

Hearing the development chief’s confidence, the Great Demon King decided to give him a chance. However, since it didn’t spark much interest in him, he only intended to listen halfheartedly.

「Acknowledged, Great Demon King-sama. The biological weapons from before such as Iris-sama and Eclipse-sama were created from the Great Demon King-sama’s genes」

「Indeed. I’m the strongest demon at the moment」

「I was thinking that it might be the problem」

「Oi! You lack respect! I’m still the Great Demon King! I’m amazing, okay!?」

「Please calm down. I’m definitely not trying to insult you. But using you as the base of the biological weapons whose sole purpose is to eradicate humans is a bit……no, it’s quite unreliable」

「Can I cry in the corner until my throat is sore?」

「You can’t. That would be supremely annoying」

「Oooh」[²]

The Great Demon King cried.
Nevertheless, the development chief ignored him and proceeded with the explanation.

「At that point, I decided to mix the genes of various demons and monsters」

「……So how did it go? Did it become a NEET or a sweet addict again? 」

「No no. This time was a success. The strongest one」

「Bing the strongest is good but will it obey the orders?」

「No, there is no problem whatsoever. If it were to be allowed to communicate, it might switch sides again. Once released, it will destroy everything in its sight! The ultimate biological weapon indeed! 」[³]

「It’ll be the death of us first!」

「Of course, we won’t release it where there are demons. We’ll first bring it to the village where Iris-sama and the rest are staying and then unleash it」

「Un……you won’t be able to retrieve Iris and Eclipse that way」

「Can’t help it. Doesn’t matter. As long as humans are destroyed, that’s fine in the end」

「There is just one problem. You’ve said that your latest biological weapon is the strongest capable of defeating Iris and Eclipse and destroying humans, right? 」

「Yes, what’s the problem?」

「What would happen after it does all of that? If such a dangerous being remain then we won’t be able to use the land for ourselves anyway」

「About that…….」

Hearing this, the development chief crossed his arms and assumed a troubled look.
Apparently, he didn’t think about this problem before.

「Let’s make an even stronger biological weapon and defeat it!」

「And that even stronger biological weapon would be able to communicate and obey?」

「I’ll do my best」

「Just, stop, it, already!」

「Then should we postpone the usage of the newest biological weapon?」

The Great Demon King hesitantly answered after a brief pause.

「…..No, we’ll use it」

「So despite all of that you still can’t do anything without my biological weapons」

The development chief let out a faint victorious laugh as he said that.

「But, you know? There will be another enemy on the level of Iris and Eclipse, you know? Humans are multiplying every year, you know? The Kurifot Continent is small and the land is desolate, you know? I just want to blow everything away, you know? 」

Said the Great Demon King in desperation.
Since his every plan failed, might as well destroy the world itself.

「What a violent Idea! The incarnate of destruction! An idea worthy of the Great Demon King! 」

The development chief seemed to be deeply impressed.
Seeing this, the Great Demon King nodded in approval.

「I-Is it? I knew it all along. That’s why you are to send your new biological weapon to Iris and Eclipse’s village! Let’s start with defeating the traitors. Let the world burn in flames! Wahahahaha! 」

「Nuhahahahaha!」

The Great Demon King and development chief laughed together in joy.

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The Lord, Sheryl, gathered the villagers.
Then, she explained that the fight a while ago was between Iris and her little sister, who came with a sudden visit.
Their slightly intense fight was a type of skinship, Eclipse had no intentions to harm the village. It’s just that Eclipse’s mood turns bad when she doesn’t get to eat sweets, so she needs to be repeatedly spoiled — the lies were mixed with truth.
In this way, the confusion should mostly die down. It’s not like it was a complete lie.

Any normal village won’t be convinced by something like that.
However, since there was the case with Marion and Jessica before, people grew much more tolerant.
Hearing Sheryl’s words, they「I see, so that’s what it was」nodded in understanding.

「Everyone, I’m sorry for the inconvenience」

Eclipse stood before the villagers and bowed.
When a girl younger than even Iris does something like this, you can’t help but forgive her.

「Keep yourself in check from now on」

Said Sheryl as she patted her head.

「Yes」

Eclipse answered with a smile, which made the villagers smile in return.

Iris watched over the state of the village from the top of the hill.

As a matter of course, Iris, being a shut-in, didn’t have the guts to go down the hill and explain herself.
The Guardian Deity should just quietly watch from a distance.

「Punipuni, puni」

The little sister is so sociable, why is the big sister like this, said Punigami.

「How should I know? On the contrary, Eclipse is a bit too sociable」

「Punii?」

「That’s right!」

While Punigami and Iris were engaged in an unproductive dispute, Eclipse ran up the hill.

「Big Sister Iris!」

Iris became happy just by looking at her.
Even while being a shut-in, she approached Eclipse on her own and gave her a hug.

「Welcome back, Eclipse! You’ve apologized before everyone, how admirable」

「I did cause a commotion……..but everyone is kind. They forgave me」

「Yes, yes. This village is filled with good people. Eclipse should live here forever」

「I will」

Having said that, Eclipse gave Iris a tight hug.
Iris nearly had a deadly overdose of cuteness.

At that time, Sheryl, Jessica, and Marion caught up with her.
And Marion poured a bucket of cold water over Iris’ happiness.

「You don’t even come in contact with the villagers, how can you possibly know that they are all good people?」

「……Well, you know. I always watch over them from the top of the hill! 」

「Mmm……knowing so much, as expected of the Guardian Deity」

Marion narrowed her eyes and stared with a face full of suspicion.
Actually, Iris just said the first thing that came to her mind.
If she were to continue this conversation, the truth will definitely come out, so there was a need to urgently change the topic.

「E-Eclipse. Today, of course, you are going to stay in the church, right? 」

「Un……Big Sister Iris, do you have more chocolate? 」

「……..Punigami, have any? 」

「Puni」

「……We are out of stock……」

「Eeh…….then I’ll stay with Sheryl」

Eclipse ruthlessly turned her down.

「Yes, yes. There are plenty of sweets in my house」

「Waai」

「W-Wait a second. There are indeed to sweets here at the moment……but I’ll gather some elixir grass here, sell it in the town, and exchange it for sweets! 」

「Arara. You are all over your little sister, Iris-chan」

「Of course! I’ll do anything for Eclipse! 」

「No no, Iris-sama. Exchanging elixir grass for sweets, just how much are you going to buy? I can share some of my own, so you don’t need to go that far. That’s why leave Eclipse-chan with me for today♪」

「Don’t wanna!」

「Eeh……just for a day…….then let’s do this. Iris-sama should just stay at my house too. Like that, everyone will be satisfied」

Sheryl swiftly came up with another option.
Instead of everyone trying to get custody of Eclipse, everyone should just stay together.
I see, like that, there is no need to fight.
However…….

「Isn’t Sheryl’s house below the hill? Going down there…..scary」

「…….Iris-sama. There is a limit to being a shut-in. I’m not telling you to interact with the villagers or anything」

「But…..what if they start a conversation first?!」[¹]

「Haa…….then I’m taking Eclipse-chan with me」

「T-This……you can’t! 」

Iris shook her head with great intensity.
Suddenly, Eclipse pulled her hand.

「It’s alright, Big Sister Iris. Eclipse is with you, so won’t be scared」

What a lovely little sister.
Such overflowing compassion.
Iris couldn’t live without Eclipse anymore.

「Yes, yes! Thank you, Eclipse. Big Sister will do her best to go down the hill! 」

Iris shed tears as she hugged her little sister.
As usual, Marion tried to make fool out of her, but this time her happiness didn’t waver.

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When Iris took the unconscious Eclipse to the top of the hill, she saw Sheryl resting on the grass. With Punigami as a pillow.
She didn’t wake up even after that intense fight, she was indeed an extraordinary person.
Could she be dead, thought Iris for a moment but, in that case, the rest would have raised a commotion already.

「Ara, welcome back, Iris-chan. It was an amazing fight. It’s no wonder Marion and I can’t win against you」

「……..So frustrating………..I’ll definitely win eventually…..」

The dragon’s reaction to Iris’ display of power was contrary to each other.
The difference in their personalities could be easily seen from that.
However, it wasn’t a right time to worry about that.

「What’s wrong with Sheryl? Is she still not waking up? Does she breathe? Is she hurt? 」

「Calm down, Iris-chan. She is uninjured and there are no signs of magic on her. She’s probably fine」

「Probably!? Sheryl, Sheryl…..she doesn’t wake up. Hey, Eclipse. What did you do to Sheryl!?」

Iris slapped Eclipse and forcible woken her up.

「I-It hurts! What’s going on? If you want to kill me then do it! 」

Said Eclipse having given up.

「Who cares about that!? Instead of that, give me Sheryl back! You must have done something to her! 」

「What are you talking about…….? I just restrained her with binding magic. It’s not there now anyway. Besides that, I didn’t do anything」

「You’re lying! Why doesn’t she wake up then –」

Just as Iris screamed that with tears in her eyes.

「Fuaaaa, I’ve had a good night……….mm? Why am I outside? Good morning, everyone. Did something happen? 」

Same as always, Sheryl greeted everyone with an idiotic face and a carefree voice.
She indeed looked like she just woke up.
However, there was no way for it to be true.
Not after such an explosive fight.
In fact, the villages went outside their houses to look at the sky long ago.

「Sheryl! You were sleeping until now! 」

「Ah, yes. I can understand this much even if you don’t tell me, Iris-sama. Even if I’m an idiot, you don’t need to tell me such obvious things so loudly! 」

Sheryl puffed her cheeks and voiced a complaint.

「No. No, no. I mean, it’s true but it’s not about that. Although I had a very intense fight with Eclipse and used some flashy magic, you didn’t even wake up! 」

「Ah, so it was like that. Well, I’m used to falling asleep at the fixed time and waking up at the fixed time. Ahaha. By the way, why did Iris-sama fought Eclipse-chan? Did you quarrel? You shouldn’t fight each other. Sisters should get along」

Lectured Sheryl.
Since she got irritated, Iris delivered a chop on Sheryl’s forehead.

「Atata! What are you doing, Iris-sama? 」

「Your carefree attitude is supremely irritating! Just how much do you think I was worried about you!?」

「Etto……..I don’t really understand but I’m sorry…….? 」

Even while apologizing, Sheryl’s face failed to indicate her understanding of the matter.
Still angry, Iris stomped on the ground.
Jessica and Marion looked over such Iris with the faces full of frustration.

「Puni」

Iris is an idiot on par with Sheryl, rudely said Punigami.

「Aah, you’re so annoying! All of this is Eclipse’s fault! It’s time for a punishment! 」

「Time for a punishment? Don’t screw with me! Just kill me already! 」

「Keep quiet!」

Iris flipped Eclipse’s body and spanked her on the butt.

「What’s with this embarrassing position……!? Why do I have to go through this humiliation!?」

「You lack reflection! Big Sister doesn’t remember raising you this way! 」

「I don’t remember being raised!」

「If you are going to be like this, I won’t give you chocolate anymore!」

「C-Chocolate!? Stop, don’t say this word in my presence! 」

Eclipse suddenly panicked.
For reasons unknown, chocolate seemed to be a forbidden word for her.

「Hey, does someone have any chocolate?」

「Punini」

「Eh, there is still some in the church? Can you bring it here? 」

「Puni」

After a while, Punigami brought chocolate from somewhere.

「Look, Eclipse. This is your favorite chocolate! 」

「Ah, stop! Don’t show it to me……kuh, kill me! 」

「Punigami, put this chocolate right into her mouth!」

「Puni!」

A part of Punigami’s body deformed and brought chocolate close to Eclipse’s mouth.
However, Eclipse tightly shut her mouth with no intentions to open it.

「Marion, Jessica san, can you pry her mouth open?」

「If you insist…….」

「Here, Eclipse-chan. Let’s open your mouth」

「Gugigigi……stop, stop it……crunch crunch」

Eclipse did her best but, being exhausted after the fight with Iris, she couldn’t overcome the power of two dragons. She wasn’t capable of resisting.

「Puniii!」

Now! Punigami stuffed chocolate into her mouth.
And then, what happened?
Eclipse’s stiff facial expression turned mellow as she enjoyed eating chocolate that she hated so much.

「Tasty! Chocolate is tasty! I want more! 」

「Punii……?」

Punigami was greatly confused at her sudden change of expression.

「…….Punigami. For now, just give her the rest」

「Puni」

「Wai, I love you, Big Sister Iris!」

This Eclipse was Eclipse of yesterday.
She wasn’t acting, no matter how one looked at her.
The person in question honestly wanted to eat chocolate and had no ill will towards Iris.
She was just a kid that wanted to eat sweets in front of her eyes.
However, until a while ago, she was seriously fighting against Iris.
Which one is the real her? Or are they both real?
In other to determine that, she was fed chocolate.

「Sweet! But not only sweet like a sugar lump! Tasty, tasty! More, more! 」

「Sorry. This was the last one」

「Eh, why?! I still want more」

「I don’t have any, but Sheryl right there might have some」

「I still have some at home」

Sheryl swung her hands as she tried to make an appeal.

「Wai, I like Sheryl!」

Eclipse, while still being held by Iris, flapped her limbs in joy.

「But Eclipse. You took this very same Sheryl hostage. Don’t you think it was awful? 」

「I’m awful! I did something bad…….I’m sorry…….! 」

Unexpectedly, Eclipse immediately admitted her fault and apologized.
Everyone present tilted their heads. It’s unknown where Punigami’s neck is located but his behavior hinted the same.

「…….Etto…….so you understand you did bad…….then why did you do it? Just yesterday, you’ve said that you would be fine as long as you have chocolate」

「Un. It’s still the same for me. But I’ll turn weird if I don’t eat chocolate……」

「Turn weird?」

「I start to think that I must obey the orders of the Great Demon King. In truth, I’m fine as long as I have sweets to eat. But I without sweets think of this me as weird. Weird, right? 」

Spoke Eclipse in amusement.

「In other words, split personality?」

「Don’t know. Our memories are properly connected. We think completely differently, though」

Iris too didn’t understand.
But she did understand that it wasn’t appropriate to push the sins of the previous Eclipse on her.
No, there was one more thing.
As long as she’s given sweets, Eclipse would always stay cute.

「Alright. Then let’s do this. Sheryl, as the Lord, you should prepare some sweets. Various kinds, so Eclipse doesn’t get bored」

「Understood! I have a stash full of chocolate and cookies at my house. Let’s also order a lot from the capital. Also, we’ve planted wheat next to potatoes, so next year we would be able to make our own sweets. Right, we are also going to make some profit next year」

「As expected of Baroness Silverlight! In case Eclipse goes wild again, she is going to live with me in the church, so I could stop her at any moment」

「Eh, Do you want to monopolize Eclipse all to yourself, Iris-sama? How horrible」

「What are you saying? Eclipse is my little sister. Of course, we are going to live together. Hey, Eclipse. You do want to live with your big sister, right? Punigami is here too」

「Puni」

「Un. I like Big Sister Iris. I want to live with you」

「Yay!」

Iris rejoiced as she patted her head.
However–.

「But I like Sheryl too. I want to live in Sheryl’s house too! 」

「Yay!」

Sheryl danced in joy.

「Wait, Eclipse. Are you planning to split in two? You can’t live in two places」

「Un……I’ll decide where to stay depending on my mood at that day」

Said Eclipse in a carefree manner.
She was much more free that Iris the Shut-in.

「Ara. Then come and stay at our house too」

As Jessica suggested so, Eclipse happily nodded.

「Okay. Then give me sweets」

「Fufu, how cute. I’ll give you lots」

「Don’t just advance the conversation at your convenience……well, it’s okay, I guess」

And Marion seemed to welcome Eclipse to her own house too.
No one could contend with Eclipse cuteness after she ate sweets.
She might just be the strongest biological weapon.

---

---

　

Nope, none.

---

---

As always, Iris spent her night embracing Punigami on a fluffy futon.
The time she’d wake up was hard to determine.
Sometimes, she would wake up early only to look at the sunlight, say「Aah, still too early」, and fall asleep again.
From time to time, when she woke up for the second time, she fell asleep for the third time. In such cases, she could easily sleep until the next day.

Just by sleeping, she made the crops grow with her leaking magical power and everyone was happy, so she didn’t feel any guilt.
In the first place, something like guilt because of sleeping and not working doesn’t suit a NEET.
In that way, those, who have a different opinion, are free to work as much as they want.
— Only those with godly willpower can become a NEET, they are regal existences –.

Just when Iris gave this speech to Punigami in her dream, she heard a noisy voice.
Half-awake, she thought it to be a continuation of her dream but, apparently, it was quite real.

「U-un…….isn’t it still too dark?………Who is yelling so late in the night……..?」

「Punii………」

Even Punigami was still sleepy.
She thought to ignore it but, since she was the Guardian Deity, she unwillingly went outside the church.
Then, she saw a small silhouette floating above the village.

Silver hair, white clothes.
It was Eclipse, no doubt.
However, she felt completely different from yesterday.
There was no sign of her previous smile, she was cold as ice — she gazed at the church with bloodthirsty eyes.
And more surprising than anything was the fact that she held Sheryl with one of her hands.

「Can you hear me, Iris Crisis!? As you see, I took Sheryl hostage! If you want her safely returned, come to the Kurifot continent. If you won’t come, her survival won’t be guaranteed 」

Iris had no idea what was going on.
Just yesterday, Eclipse said that having chocolate was enough for her.
She didn’t seem to lie, however you look at it.
Of course, since she didn’t know Eclipse for too long, she couldn’t judge her personality with certainty.
Even so, she truly enjoyed eating chocolate in the church.

「Eclipse! Stop with this joke! 」

「Me of yesterday was a joke! This me is the real me! 」

She returned a ruthless answer.
Her voice was sharp enough to pierce through all of Iris’ illusions.

Her yesterday’s self was a joke–.
Iris was shocked at such words.
Even though she was happy to have a little sister.
It was a joke, she said.

「Iris-chan, Iris-chan. What should we do about this? Somehow, it suddenly escalated beyond any jokes」

Said Jessica in a rather rare nervous voice as she climbed on top of the hill.

「That’s right! I don’t know how that happened but, since she has a hostage, we can’t make a move! 」

And the usually impatient Marion’s voice turned even more impatient.
Even though it turned into a great commotion, Sheryl didn’t even twitch.
Just what Eclipse did to Sheryl?

「This is unforgivable, Eclipse!」

For the first time in her life, Iris felt『anger』.
Someone acted against Sheryl. Sheryl thought that Eclipse would be able to join the village, only to be betrayed by her.
Two kinds of anger simultaneously welled up inside of her.

Thus, Iris grew black wings from her back and flew towards Eclipse.
Normally, she would take Punigami with her but now, she was alone.
Jessica and Marion were left behind too.
In the first place, they couldn’t follow due to the impossible speed.
Eclipse was surprised by it more than anyone.

「So fast!?」

Same as Iris, she was a biological weapon made from the Great Demon King’s genes.
Even so, Iris’ flying speed was off the charts.
She stood petrified with a look of surprise on her face.
Using that opening, Iris took Sheryl away.

「Ah!」

Eclipse stretched her hand in a hurry to retrieve Sheryl back but was too slow.
Iris put Sheryl on her back and took some distance.

「Someone, take care of Sheryl!」

Having said that, Iris threw Sheryl in the church’s direction as she hoped someone would react.
And Marion, having turned into a dragon, caught her mid-air.

「Leave Sheryl to me! Make sure to educate your little sister properly! 」

「Thank you, Marion! Prepare yourself, Eclipse. Your big sister shall teach you the ways of the world! 」

「Stop right now, you NEET! You, who abandoned her mission and lives a life of sleeping and eating, have no qualifications to teach me anything! 」

「Y-You have too big of a mouth for a little sister!」

Having no room to refute, Iris answered with emotion, not reason.
And at the same time, she made her move.
She manifested more than a hundred light spears. Each one longer than her body.
All of them were simultaneously launched at Eclipse.
Attacking because her little sister got the best of her was rather childish but Iris had an excuse in「My friend was taken hostage」.
It would be alright no matter what she does.

「What an amount of magical power……but naive! 」

A wave spread from Eclipse.
At that moment, the morning sky dimmed as if it was the night.
All of Iris’ light spears disappeared too.

「Magic nullification…..!?」

「Yeah, that’s right. This is my ability. This is my domain. Within the range of my “Eclipse” all kinds of magic dissipate to be absorbed by me instead. No matter how gigantic your magical power is, it will only make me stronger! 」

Declared Eclipse with pride.
I see, what an amazing ability.
However, Iris didn’t feel her magical power diminishing at all.
Most likely Eclipse only affected magical power in the atmosphere.
In other words, as long as one doesn’t discharge his magical power outside his own body, there is no danger of absorption.

「The world is not so easy for you to win with only your natural talent!」

Iris accelerated and approached Eclipse head-on.
She squeezed all of her body’s power and delivered a sound slap on Eclipse’s cheek.
And then there was a bang like that of a falling boulder.

「Bubeeee!」

Eclipse let out a voice of a crushed frog.
But nothing else.
If she were a human, she would have been crushed into red fog leaving nothing behind.
Even dragons such as Marion and Jessica would have their heads rotating around their axis for at least three times.

Despite that, Eclipse only had some trace amounts of blood on the edge of her mouth.
Without falling, without retracting Eclipse, she launched a counterattack. [¹]

A sharp chop was approaching Iris neck.
Yet, it was a feint.
The real strike went for the stomach.
Eclipse lightly touched Iris with her fingertip and she felt her magical power rapidly dissipating.
No, it started flowing towards Eclipse.

「Chi!」

With a click of her tongue, Iris kicked off Eclipse and took some distance.
Even while being blown away, Eclipse firmly kept her eyes on Iris.
The she launched a bolt of lightning at Iris from her hand.
The amount of magical power involved was enormous. If Iris were to take a direct hit, even she won’t be able to remain unscathed.
However, she managed to deploy a defensive barrier just in time.
The bolt, released by Eclipse, collided with the barrier creating sparks — and easily passed through it.

Iris reflexively dodged sideways but the hem of her pajamas ended up charred.
Iris’ barrier didn’t lose to Eclipse’s electric strike.
It should have been able to easily block it.
However, the surrounding were still dark. She was within Eclipse’s range.
Thus, magical power used in the barrier’s construction was dissipated and absorbed by Eclipse.

At the same time, she learned that even when she circulates magical power within her body without letting it out, Eclipse could still absorb it through touch.

And the most troublesome was the fact that Eclipse could use her own magical power without any restraint.
My magical power is gradually diminishing yet Eclipse is getting stronger and uses her magic without any penalties.
It’s absolutely cheating.
Forget about winning or losing, it’s not even a fair fight.

However, during their short exchange, Iris figured out Eclipse’s weakness. [²] Most likely it was only possible for Iris to notice it, to put it in simple words, a limit.
It won’t be exposed against any other opponent. It couldn’t even be called a weakness.
In other words –.

「Your Eclipse has an upper limit on amount of magical power absorbed in one go!」

Yes.
Being able to fly even though Eclipse sucked her magical power once was an immediate proof.

「If I used magical power above your limit, even a simple missile would do!」

It was hard to call it a great idea.
Coming up with your own strategy against the opponent’s strategy is considered the norm.
But Iris didn’t see the need.
The reason being, the difference between Iris and Eclipse’s magical power was too big.
She could just brute force her way through.
A lion doesn’t used strategy to hunt a rabbit. He just does his best.

In the first place.
Iris doesn’t like to bother.
She doesn’t want to think about complicated things.

Such is a NEET’s way.
Thus, like pulling out a tangled string by force, she decided to overwhelm Eclipse with her magical power.

「Are you a moron!? Where does all this magical power……….even though I’m the new model, why are you stronger than me!?」

Eclipse stared at the rainbow-colored light released by Iris with a terrified face.
It was about twice the height of Iris in diameter.
There were no attributes like fire or lightning, just a mass of Iris’ magical power.

Iris could concentrate on making it precisely because of its simplicity.
And then, launch.

The air trembled as the rainbow-colored light sphere approached Eclipse.

「Hii!」

She screamed as she tried to evade.
But it was a wasted effort.
Following Iris’ will, the light sphere homed in on its target.
As long as Eclipse was in Iris’ sight, she couldn’t escape.
Of course, Iris was aware of all three dimensions around her through use of detection magic.
Therefore, all evasive maneuvers were rendered useless.

After a several dozen seconds long chase, the light sphere hit Eclipse straight in her back.

With an explosive shockwave, the village experienced a sudden squall.
The released magical power painted the World of Eclipse in rainbow colors.

After the rainbow-colored light disappeared, the darkness was no more.
As a matter of course, the morning sun was slowly rising up in the sky.

And in the blue sky, you could spot Eclipse falling head down.
Her consciousness wasn’t present.
If you leave her alone, she would collide with the ground.
Due to her being a biological weapon, she would probably survive.
But falling down without any defensive measures will lead to severe injuries.

Having seen this, Iris reflexively approached and caught her.
Because she was an enemy, there was no need to save her.
However, while being an enemy, she was also Iris’ little sister.
In the end, no actual damage was done.
In addition, she truly enjoyed the time they ate chocolate together.

Taking Sheryl hostage was unforgivable but Iris had a hard time resenting her completely.
That’s why she wanted to talk.

Why did she change so much overnight?
What was yesterday all about?
Which one is the real Eclipse?

She needed to hear it firsthand.

---

---

　

---

---

「In there no more chocolate? If there isn’t, I’m going back」

Eclipse asked for more chocolate as she swung her arms.
Iris and the rest looked at her charming lovely appearance with a smile.

「There is still more. If anything, we can always bring more from the capital. There are other sweets besides chocolate too. Let’s try making an apple pie some other time」

「I don’t really understand but it sounds tasty! Make me an adopted child of Sheryl’s household! 」

「Eh, my household……? Fufu, then I’ll take Eclipse-chan back with me! 」

Sheryl gave Eclipse a tight hug.

「Wait, wait, wait. She’s my little sister. She’s going to live with me in the church」

Seeing her newfound little sister being taken away before her eyes, Iris protested in a hurry.
But the person in question stuck close to Sheryl………or more like a person, who promised her sweets.

「Will Big Sister Iris give me lots of sweets?」

「Emm……I don’t have any…….」

「Then what do you have?」

「……Nothing in particular」

「Then I’ll go to Sheryl’s after all」

She said as she pushed her face into the Baroness-sama’s chest.

「Gununu………Sheryl led my little sister astray with sweets…….」

「I apologize, Iris-sama. Please lend me Eclipse-chan for today. I’ll bring lots of chocolate to the church tomorrow. Eclipse-chan, will you live together with Iris-sama is there is chocolate in the church? 」

「Un. If there is chocolate then it’s okay」

Iris was rather sad that she was worth less than chocolate.
However, she herself chose to be a NEET.
Even if the outside sees it as worthless.
Were she to try learning how to make sweets at this point, her identity might collapse.
The Way of NEET is tough that way.

「Arara. I won’t work, even for the sake of my own sister, is written all over your face」

「She’s a hardcore sloth…….」

Said Jessica and Marion in frustration.
Iris didn’t want to listen any longer and buried herself in her futon.
I don’t want to work.

△

In that way, Eclipse was introduced to Sheryl’s home.
It was made of wood, same as the other houses, but it was the only one with two stories.
It was also much more spacious.

She expected to see some servants but Sheryl lived here all by herself.

「I plan to hire a maid someday but for now, I’m persevering」

In that way, the two ate bread, baked by Sheryl, with molten chocolate on it for dinner. After that, the two took a bath and fell asleep on the same bed together.

「Good night」

「Yes. Good night」

The day was over without anything happening.
However, on the next day, right before the dawn.
Eclipse woke up first.

(What am I doing!? I was led astray by chocolate……called Iris big sister, and even made friends with this human!)

As she slept, the effect of chocolate wore off and the reason came back to her.
She was a completely different person compared to her after chocolate.
That said, she had the memories of that time.
Therefore, her cheeks turned red. She almost died of shame.
With that behavior, the villagers must have thought of her as a kid, most definitely.
She did indeed look child, and her age was even lower. She only left her capsule three days ago.
However, that wasn’t a problem.
Eclipse’s pride, that’s what was important. Her pride as a full-fledged demon and the ultimate biological weapon was deeply deeply hurt.

「Munyamunya……..Eclipse-chan, so cute……..hard to decide which one is better……..guhehe」 [¹]

「Stop with guhehe, you moron. I’m not cute! 」

Sheryl revealed an embarrassing expression as she drooled and clung to Eclipse in her sleep.
Since Eclipse didn’t want to be drooled upon, she struggled off Sheryl’s embrace and rolled off the bed trying to run away.
But Sheryl didn’t even wake up.
There was only a sound of her peaceful breath.

If I stay beside this fellow, I’ll turn into an idiot myself, thought Eclipse as she headed towards the church.
But just as she was about to jump out of the window, she came up with a good idea.

(This one seemed to be quite friendly with Iris. If I take her as a hostage, I might be able to easily bring her back to the Kurifot continent……)

Yes, let’s do that, Eclipse nodded to herself.
Of course, she didn’t see herself losing even in a head-on fight.
However, if there were a more reliable method, she would take it.
There was no need for an honorable fight.

「I apologize but I shall use you」

Eclipse reached towards the sleeping Sheryl with her hand.
However, for some reason, there was hesitation in her heart.
The image of chocolate flickered deep inside her mind.
No, it was the image of Sheryl’s smile as she gave her that chocolate.

「…….What am I thinking? I’m a biological weapon. Set to ultimately destroy humans. I should not give in to emotions. And the memories of the time I was under chocolate’s influence………! 」

Eclipse threw away her hesitation.
She bound Sheryl with restraining magic and dashed out of the window with her in tow.

---

---

　

---

---

「So, emm……..Eclipse, was it? Are you a biological weapon, same as me? 」

Upon hearing Iris’ inquiry, Eclipse cheerfully answered as she nibbled on her chocolate.
According to human standards, Eclipse looked about two years younger than even Iris.
Her smile and gestures, both were cute.

「That’s right. Iris is Mark 1 and I’m Mark 2. Does that make you my big sister? Eeeh, Iris is the big sister」

With pieces of chocolate around her mouth, Eclipse showed Iris a smile a bright as the sun. [¹]

「I’m the big sister…….I-I see」

There was no one beside Iris, who was smaller than her. Leaving Punigami’s height aside, his sheer volume was overwhelming.
However, Eclipse was even smaller than her.
Such a girl called her as the big sister.

「Mn, it didn’t sink that well but are you two really demons? Do you have some sort of proof? 」

Sheryl struck a pose and glared intently.
Speaking of a proof, since they didn’t have any noticeable features like dragons it was rather problematic. That’s why Sheryl treated Iris as the Goddess despite her claiming otherwise.

「Horn, I guess? My horn might be small but it’s still present around this place」

「Which place exactly?」

「Here, on top of my head. It’s covered by the hair but you can feel it if you touch」

「Then I shall do as such. Ruffle ruffle……..ah, there is indeed a horn-like protrusion! 」

「Not -like but a real horn」

「I have that too, touch me」

Eclipse too took Sheryl’s hand and petted her own head.

「Eclipse-chan has one too……..it seems you might truly be demons. Even so, both of your hair is so smooth! What a wonderful feeling! 」

Sheryl didn’t stop touching Iris and Eclipse’s heads as she said so.
And then, Marion squinted and her face hardened.

「Hey, Sheryl? Aren’t you forgetting yourself? Since you’ve confirmed they are demons you can let go of them」

「However, the two don’t seem to mind. Ah, could it be that Marion-san wants to touch herself? By all means. I’ve had my fill」

「I-It’s not like I want to touch it or anything!」

Marion’s face turned red.

「Arara. Even though being honest would make things so much easier, Marion. Well, anyway, what do you want with Eclipse-chan? She’s here to bring Iris-chan back but she doesn’t seem that motivated. Should we let her stay? 」

Suggested Jessica in her usual nonchalant voice.

「I approve. There is a certain attraction for a person of the same origin. Besides……..she calls me big sister…….! 」

Stated Iris as she felt her face getting hot.
She started hitting Punigami with her fist to conceal her embarrassment.

「Puni, punini!」

Embarrassment doesn’t justify slime abuse, he said in anger.

「As for me, a cute girl like Eclipse-chan is always welcome. As the lord. I shall permit her living in this village! Ah, by the way, I’m Baroness Sheryl Silverlight. I’m the lord of this whole area! Ehem! 」

Sheryl puffed her chest and introduced herself with a smug expression.
She didn’t seem to mind Iris and Eclipse being demons that much.
Sheryl wasn’t special in this regard, most likely, humans don’t associate demons with the word『threat』anymore.

「Lord? Ahaha, I don’t see any! 」

Having heard Eclipse say that, Sheryl’s pose immediately deflated as if someone poured a bucket of cold water on her head and her shoulders slumped.

「It’s my turn to introduce myself. I’m known as Jessica. Right now, I’m using magic to maintain this human form but I’m actually a dragon」

「I know about dragons. Those big roaring fellows with wings」

「Yes yes. Gaooon」

「Ahaha, that’s so weak」

Even when Jessica roars in her human form, she does so nonchalantly.

「Mother. You’ve been underestimated. Dragons shouldn’t be like that! 」

The other dragon, Marion, scolded her mother as her tail swung left and right.

「Are you a dragon too?」[²]

「That’s right. I’m Marion. Daughter of Jessica! And I shall demonstrate you dragon’s dignity! Gaoooon! 」

Marion roared on behalf of her mother.
However, it wasn’t that different after all.
On the contrary, her effort made it sound even cuter.

「Dragons of the Kurifot continent were amazing but these ones are much cuter」

「Gununu…….I’m amazing too without any disguise! You just wait! I’m going to show you! 」

Marion pulled Eclipse by the hand and went outside the church.
Iris, being worried, chased after them mounted on Punigami. The others too followed close behind.

In the church’s garden, Marion turned into a dragon.
Then she roared「Guoooooooooon! 」making the air tremble and spat flames in the air in a grandiose manner.

「How about that! That’s the dragon’s noble visage! 」

Marion boasted to Eclipse.

「Amazing, amazing! But I’m stronger. There」

Having said so, Eclipse kicked off the ground and jumped up high.
Then, she gave Marion a lightning speed headbutt in the throat.

「Guhe!」

Marion let out a weird scream as she spun around.
Iris watched over her with a smile as she hoped for the church to remain undamaged.
If Marion’s huge body rolls in the church’s direction, she would have to kick her away.
She didn’t want to do something like this to her friend. But the dwelling must be protected at all costs!
Fortunately, Iris staunch determination wasn’t realized.
Marion rolled down the hill, turned into her human form at the base of it, and came running back.

「I-I thought I was going to die…….」

「Marion is amazing but I’m more amazing」

Innocently said Eclipse as she looked at Marion’s exhausted face.

「R-Right…….you are amazing…….」

Even Marion didn’t want to take another hit like that and admitted defeat right away.
Eclipse, despite her childish conduct, doesn’t pull her punches. Of course, if she were serious, Marion’s head would have been separated from the rest of her body already, so she held back. However, she didn’t have any qualms about using her strength.
And while she said she was stronger, she had no idea exactly how much.

Because of that, Marion became afraid of Eclipse and hid behind Iris and Punigami.

「You don’t need to hide like that, she is a normal girl if you don’t do anything weird」

「Punini」

Even with Iris and Punigami saying so, Marion remained hidden.

「I don’t see anything normal about this girl, which scares me! That strike wasn’t a laughing matter! 」

「Well……perhaps」

Iris hurt Marion thrice in the past but she always properly restrained herself.
She didn’t hit her respiratory organs with a smile.
If you think like that, Eclipse was indeed dangerous.
Releasing her into the world might bring a disaster, so there was a need for proper education.

「Alright……I’ll take my responsibility as big sister and raise her to blend in the human world」

The moment she declared so

「Punipuni?」

Can Iris as a shut-in teach anyone to blend in the human world? or so Punigami retorted.
Having failed to produce a comeback, Iris pretended not to hear him.

---

I’ve been answering your impression until now but I’m not able to keep it up anymore.
For a while, I’m going to take a break from responding to your impressions.
Have mercy. [³]

---

---

　

---

---

Eclipse was proud of herself for being a calm and composed demon.
Without asking anything unnecessary, she aims to faithfully complete her mission.
This was her reason for existence as well as pride.
Yes. Even without development chief’s training and only technological aspect of her capsule, she was a complete biological weapon.

However, the development chief came up with his『let’s bait her with sugar』 idea, which led Eclipse’s heart astray.

Even when she tried to achieve her calm state, there was an image of sugar flickering in a remote corner of her mind.
When presented with an actual thing, it completely takes over her mind until she can’t think of anything but eating sugar.
Her voice and behavior undergo a significant change turning her into a completely different person.

Eclipse didn’t think of her sugar-loving self as her real self. Just a result of the development chief’s mistake.
She couldn’t stand herself as she behaved like a noisy child, who was given a candy.

(This isn’t me!)

Having displayed her embarrassing side in the throne room, she headed towards Iris’ village as ordered.

According to the development chief’s and the Great Demon King’s information, Iris could often be spotted lazing in a certain church on top of a hill.

She would bring Iris back to the Kurifot continent and receive sugar as a reward — no, wrong. Even without sugar, Eclipse will fulfill her mission.
On the contrary, her concentration fell sharply as she thought about sugar.
What did that development chief think when he fed Eclipse sugar?
Feeding a biological weapon of his own creation sugar without assessing her attitude about the mission, what a great oversight.

Her father on the genetics’ side, the Great Demon King, didn’t seem that intelligent either, could it be that the demon race is just one big group of idiots? — such suspicions appeared in Eclipse’s heart.

Pridefully considering herself different from the rest, Eclipse flew above the grassland.
Afraid of being prematurely discovered by Iris, she flew at a low altitude.
On top of that, she used recognition interference magic to keep herself unnoticed.
With this magic, even if she walks before someone’s eyes, he won’t be able to notice unless he is especially vigilant.

After all, despite Iris’s lack of motivation to complete her task, she was still a biological weapon produced in the same way as Eclipse.
As a new model, Eclipse considered herself to be stronger, but to be on the side of caution was Eclipse’ way.

(The villagers are planting something in the field……it doesn’t seem to have any relation to sweets)

If the village were to be full of sweet things, Eclipse wouldn’t have been able to operate calmly.
She would become a creature that eats sweets all day long.
Same as Iris, who abandoned her mission.
Eclipse definitely won’t do something so irresponsible.
Determined to avoid the sweets on her way, she reached the top of the hill without being noticed by anyone intent on catching Iris off guard with restraining magic and bringing her back.

(Even with recognition interference magic, entering through the front door is too risky………)

Eclipse discovered a back door and quietly peered inside.
At that time, she caught a whiff of a sweet smell.

(Mn!?)

Besides Iris, there was one blonde human and two red-haired humans.
No, the red-haired ones weren’t humans. Dragons, judging by the aura.
Why are there two dragons at such a place?
Of course, dragons weren’t a threat for Eclipse. She could easily win against both of them.
However, if those dragons are Iris’ allies, that would be rather annoying.
Their cooperation might be problematic.

Also, there is a big squishy slime……it’s probably okay to disregard him.

However, those important matters weren’t relevant anymore.
There was a sweet smell after all.
And the people inside the church were in the middle of eating the source of it.
A very tasty-looking dark brown plate.
The moment she saw it, Eclipse’s reason melted.

「What’s that, it looks tasty! I want some too! 」

She successfully came this close unnoticed yet let out a loud voice at her own volition.
No amount of recognition interference magic would be of any help.
Everyone, including Iris, turned to look at her.
However, at that moment, Eclipse couldn’t think of anything but sweets anymore and trotted inside the church.

「Gimme, Gimme!」

Eclipse jumped around in agitation.

「…….Sorry? Who is this child and where did she come from? I don’t remember seeing her in the village」

Said the blonde girl as she tilted her head.

「Maybe you forgot you people’s faces since you are an idiot?」

The red-haired girl let out a sharp remark.

「Y-You’re terrible! There’s no way I’d forget such a cute and small girl! Even so…….she resembles Iris-sama somewhat. Her hair is silver too……..」

「That’s right. Could she be Iris-chan’s family?……..Ara? Where did Iris-chan go? 」

Said another adult red-haired woman as she looked around.

Yes.
Iris hid behind the slime the moment she heard Eclipse’s voice.
Perhaps she noticed that Eclipse came here to bring her back.
Is that is so, she has a frightening intuition.

Even though all thoughts of her mission vanished from Eclipse’s head the moment she entered the church.

「Iris-sama. Why are you hiding there? 」

「B-But an unknown person suddenly appeared……..and she is……not a human」

「Apparently so. From her aura, she seems to be a demon, same as Iris-chan」

「Eh? What are you saying, Jessica-san? Iris-sama is the Goddess and the Guardian Deity of this village」

Asked the blonde girl with a stupid look on her face.
However, Iris wasn’t the Goddess but a biological weapon produced from the genes of the Great Demon King.

「As I said many times before. I’m a demon from the Kurifot continent. But you’ve never believed me」

「Eh!? Wasn’t that a joke? Demons is a legend from a thousand years ago. Are there still those who survived? 」

「There are. Could it be that humans think that demons were completely obliterated? 」

Iris asked the blonde girl from behind the slime.

「No…….I didn’t think about demons too deeply before. As a child, I’ve heard about demons being driven to the Kurifot island after their lost the war with the human race…….I didn’t have any contact with the actual thing」

「Enough about that, gimme that tasty-looking thing」

Eclipse stood before the silver-haired girl and held out her hands.

「Do you want to eat chocolate? You can have mine if you want」

「Wai! Chocolate! 」

She immediately put that so-called chocolate in her mouth.
It was hard. Looked like a plank. But it crumbled easily.
Crunch crunch……..

「W-What is this!? This is the first time I ate something so delicious! 」

Delighted in the chocolate’s taste, Eclipse jumped around.
She ate the rest while she was at it.
Just jumping around wasn’t enough to express her joy, so she started spinning.

「Wa, amazing. What an energetic child. What’s your name? 」

Asked the blonde girl as she patted Eclipse’s head.

「Eclipse」

「So it’s Eclipse-chan. Is Eclipse-chan a demon? 」

「Un, that’s right. Same as Iris, I’m a biological weapon created from the Great Demon King’s genes. I was made to eradicate the human race」

「I see, eradicate the human race…….eh!?」

「But it’s okay. Today I’m only here to bring Iris back」

「S-So it’s like that…….that’s a relief…….no, you can’t! You can’t take Iris-sama away with you! 」

Having said that, the blonde girl grabbed Eclipse by the cheeks and pulled.

「Whafareurdoin~」

「It’s a punishment for you kidnapping declaration!」

「It’s not a kidnapping. Iris came from the Kurifot continent in the first place, I’ll just bring her home」

「Even if she’s a demon, right now Iris-chan is the Guardian Deity. She’s going to stay inside this church forever! That’s why Eclipse-chan should restrain herself.  I’ll give you some chocolate for it! 」

「Okay. If you give me chocolate, I’ll give up on Iris」

「Kuh, as expected, chocolate alone isn’t enough……n? 」

「Gimme chocolate, gimme!」

「…….Here」

The blonde girl took out more chocolate from her basket.

「Wai, tasty! As long as there is chocolate, I don’t need anything! Even Iris! 」

Eclipse was greatly satisfied with additional chocolate.
She honestly thought nothing of her mission at the moment.
Her usual calm self was nowhere to be found. There was only a creature exceptionally fond of chocolate.

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