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In times long past, on the side of the milky way, there lived a good (played by Shuu’s father this time).

Said god had a son, Shuu, who was also nicknamed Hikoboshi. He was academically and athletically gifted, and some said that he even surpassed human limits. His handsome features naturally caused beautiful girls to gather around him. To onlookers, he seemed popular and possessed of perfect qualities.

He had four childhood friends that could be described as peerless beauties, but sadly they were already in love with each other, so he couldn’t lay hands on them. Furthermore, two of them were male. Heedless of that fact, Shuu kept an amicable relationship with them as he steeled his muscles, trained his skills, and studied hard in order to join the carrier group of the cosmic guardians.

The god, unable to overlook this any further, spoke with his son.

“Shuu. You are already of age, so won’t you find a woman or two?”
“Well, I’m good right now. Maybe after I found a job…”
“That’s an option, but your mother and I were your age when we met. I never had another romantic encounter after joining the cosmic guardians, you see?”
“I understand, Father. In that case, what should I do…?”
“Well, that doesn’t mean you have to rush things. You have time to find someone from now until you graduate from university.”
“Right.”

It was a holiday, and the father and son were walking through the city.

“Woof… matches… won’t anyone buy my matches?”

A girl about the same age as Shuu, who was wearing a suffocating-looking outfit consisting of a red hood, long sleeved jacket, and long pants, even though it was the middle of summer, was walking around, trying to sell the matches her basket was stuffed full of. However, from how many there were left, she apparently hadn’t sold any.

“She’s wearin’ all that in this insane heat… and she’s sellin’ matches?”
“She must be extremely sensitive to the cold. And it doesn’t look like anyone’s buying.”
“Looks like it… Still, I feel like I know her from somewhere…”

It happened while the two were talking.

“Matches… ah… woof…”

The young girl collapsed into a heap.

“Look, that’s what happens if you dress up like that!”
“There’s probably another reason.”

The two of them rushed to the girl.

“She’s not sweating, her pulse is racing, and her skin has turned pink. It’s a severe case of heatstroke… Shuu.”
“Right.”

While the god contacted a hospital, Shuu picked up the girl and carried her to some nearby shade. In the process, the hood fell from her head.

“…What the hell?”
“Yes, I’m calling because of a girl with heatstroke… Is something wrong, Shuu?”
“This girl… she has horrible scars…”
“What!?”

_____
___
_

Things moved quickly afterwards.

At the hospital, it turned out the girl was covered in numerous hideous both new and old wounds, and the god who held a high position in the cosmic guardians determined that she had been ordered under the threat of punishment to go around selling matches in the middle of summer. Ultimately, the married couple who had taken her in were arrested for various crimes.

“…What’s your name?”
“I am called… Rir, though some also call me Orihime. Uhm… thank you… for saving me.”
“Nah, doin’ that was natural.”

The girl Rir, who had only woken up three days after she collapsed with heatstroke, was talking with Shuu for the first time. Before that, the god had come to her and explained what happened.

“…U-Uhm.”
“What’s up?”
“I-It feels… like you saved me once before. Last year…”
“Oh, I know! You’re that girl who was about to fall from the bridge, right?”
“Yes, that was me! Thank you so much for rescuing me several times.”
“Don’t mention it.”

As they were talking, the god entered the room.

“…Miss Rir.”
“Ah… you’re the one who freed me from those people… I am grateful to you, but… what am I supposed to do now…?”
“Why not join our family?”
“Woof!?”
“Father!?”

Both the son and the girl seemed stunned at the sudden suggestion.

“Our family only has one child. Why not add another? Besides…”

The god looked at both Shuu and Rir. He could already see some connection between them.

“The two of you know each other, don’t you?”
“I-I guess?”
“I-I suppose that’s true.”
“Moreover…”

The god got closer to Rir and whispered something to her. She seemed flabbergasted.

“Y-You think so…!? But I’m covered in scars!”
“He’s not someone who is bothered by such a thing. Right, Shuu? You think she’s cute, even with all those scars, don’t you?
“Sure, she’s super cute… Hang on, what the hell are you makin’ me say, Dad!?”
“Woof!?”

The two of them, just as the god predicted, later started a relationship and got married a few years down the line. Their anniversary was the seventh of July; a date that would become a holiday.

TL notes:
We end volume 19 with another weird side story that begins like side story 6 but then veers off to a version of the little match girl but in the middle of summer instead of the dead of winter and with heatstroke instead of freezing to death. At least the girl survives here.

Anyway, volume 19 was, as feared at the start, not super riveting, but at least an improvement over volume 18 in my opinion. It remains to be seen how the guide arc will develop, through with the author, once more, giving away a surprise in advance, I’m somewhat doubtful. Only time will tell.

There will be a week-long pause between volume 19 and 20, mainly for me to finally go over older chapters and fix the formatting issues.

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