「Dad!」
Just when Iris wondered what to do with Gashe, Roshe appeared on the scene.
「What are you doing here, Roshe?」
「I’ve sensed father’s power so I came rushing here. What happened here anyway…..? First, there was lightning, then sudden nightfall, then it was day again, and now my father is seeing stars…..」
Too many things happened in a short span of time leaving Roshe confused.
That’s why Iris and the rest explained things in order.
Well, Roshe already knew he used radiant magic stones to ascend.
He wanted for Iris and the rest do disappear to prevent the records about his deeds from appearing.
The lightning was Gashe’s offensive magic and nightfall happened due to Eclipse’s ability.
In the end, Gashe was beaten into unconsciousness.
「…….Power and fame. When did my father become such a person?」
Roshe looked at her father in disbelief as she stood on Jessica’s back.
「This Mistress feels the same…..Gashe wasn’t a person too attached to those. There must be a reason」
Muriel thought with a serious face.
For those who knew Gashe in the past, his current state seemed hardly acceptable.
「….If I may. As far as I know, your mother, Plutofina-sama, ascended to Heaven too. Did she ascend with radiant magic stones too?」
Katie voiced her doubts.
「Gashe’s wife, huh. If the memory serves me right, Plutofina was a Guardian Deity of another land and she ascended soon after giving birth to Roshe. This Mistress hasn’t had an opportunity to meet her……Roshe. So what is it?」
「I don’t know…….mother ascended when I was five, even before, father was the one who brought me up as I couldn’t meet mother often. However, according to the records, mother……performed well a Guardian Deity」
As Roshe told her story, Gashe opened his eyes once again.
「Yes, you’re right. Plutofina was outstanding. Unlike me!」
In a blink of an eye, the orb shone with lightning.
Iris enveloped everyone in a protective barrier.
However, Gashe immediately fled to the sky using that opening.
「Ah, I see. I’ve sucked out his magic but there is still some in the orb」
Eclipse said in disappointment.
Come to think of it, every time he used magic, it came from his orb instead of himself.
In other words, his fighting style heavily relied on radiant magic stones.
Unless you can do something about that stone, you won’t be able to defeat Gashe.
「Father!」
「Roshe, my daughter. I didn’t wish for you to see me like this」
「Then stop! Why did you…..」
「Why? The answer is simple, Roshe. You mother, Plutofina, has always been overwhelmingly stronger than me. Strong enough to use her divine power without any faith. After giving birth to you she went ahead and became a god of Heaven. I was left behind by the woman I love. I wasn’t capable enough to follow after her. All my hard work took me nowhere. I couldn’t gather enough faith with a city of this scale. I was on the verge of giving up. At that moment, the viscount of that time pleaded with me. To destroy Silverlight Barony’s apples. But Silverlight Barony was under Muriel. There was a need to seal her power before I could affect her land. I didn’t have that kind of power. Therefore, I ordered the viscount to collect radiant magic stones. And then it came to me. Perhaps I can follow after Plutofina to Heaven if I can gather enough of them. In the end, it worked out. For the viscount as well as for myself. The end, or so I thought. You just happened to suddenly revive, haha….」1
Gashe looked at Muriel in sorrow.
「So that’s what it was. This Mistress thought of you as a serious god……who was seriously blinded by love instead. However, Gashe. Isn’t it fine letting This Mistress revive? Even if your prestige down below suffers a blow, isn’t it fine as long as you get to spend time with Plutofina?」
「If I could remain in Heaven then sure. However, the gods of Heaven observe the world below. With my infamy growing, it’s only a matter of time before they find out that I’m not worthy of staying there……」
「Fumu. So you’ve tried to make us disappear before that happens…..however, aren’t they watching even this very moment? If so, erasing us has no meaning」
「Perhaps. But the probability is rather low. After all, the surface world is big. It’s hard to imagine they conveniently happened to observe me right this moment. However, the probability grows the longer I stay here. That’s why I have to bring this to an end as soon as possible!」2
The moment he hollered.
A black crack appeared in the sky.
A voice was heard.
「No, I’ve seen everything. Ah, how stupid. You were worried about that all along. Did you really think Creator-sama and I didn’t know about you radiant magic stones?」
A beautiful woman walked out of the crack as she casually bound Gashe’s body with the whip she held in her hand.
「Mother!?」
「Plutofina!」
Roshe and Gashe simultaneously screamed.
「Oh, it’s been a while, Roshe. I’ve been observing you from time to time. You are properly fulfilling your duties, which is very admirable. You aren’t any worse at it than your father was. Compared to you…..Gashe. You are such a bad boy. Punishment is in order」
Plutofina smiled bewitchingly as she licked Gashe’s cheek.
「S-Stop……not here….our daughter is watching!」
「Shush~!」
Having said so, she pulled another whip out of empty space and hit Gashe in the back.
「Au!」
Gashe’s face distorted in pain……yet there was a tinge of pleasure in his voice.
「T-This is bad for your education, Eclipse! Don’t you dare look!」
「Eh, why~?」
「Because I say so!」
Iris covered her little sister’s eyes with her hands.
This way, Eclipse won’t see something she’s not supposed to.
However, Iris herself was less than one year old.
She falls in the same category too.
「Someone! Cover my eyes! It’s bad for my education!」
「I-I’m on it!」
Sheryl came to the rescue.
Problem solved.
「Punini?」
「Can’t you simply close your eyes?」he asked.
However, although Iris knew she shouldn’t look, she was still curious.
She would definitely try to peek.
There was no other choice but to use someone else’s hands for that.
「It’s bad for Katie’s education too」
「I’m fifteen so I’m alright!」
「Barely passable…….This Mistress shall remove your glasses just in case」
「Ah, I can’t see anything! Please return them」
Apparently, her raw eyesight was way below expected.
She waved her hands like a drowning person even with Muriel right before her eyes.
「Marion, you shouldn’t watch that too」
「I’m not a kid!」
「Just close your eyes」
「O-Okay…..」
While the party was busy solving educational problems, they heard strange sounds mixed with sweet screams coming from above.
「Good grief. You sure made humans run around a lot to collect radiant magic stones for you, Gashe. Going wild for some small bits of fame. You’re in for a scolding from Creator-sama and another punishment. Anyway, it seems I’ve troubled you, Roshe」
「Wait, Mother. Father made quite a mess and you are simply going to take him away…..?」
「Quite a mess? Doesn’t seem that big of a deal to me. How many thousands died? Did a volcano erupt?」
「He didn’t go that far……」
Plutofina’s words easily silenced Roshe.
She thought on a much greater scale.
And she wasn’t trying to tell a joke.
She was definitely serious.
Plutofina truly didn’t think much of Gashe’s deeds.
「A-As expected of a Heavenly God……the scale is just too different……!」
Katie spoke to the sky above her.
However, she couldn’t tell where Plutofina was, so she looked somewhere else entirely.
「Plutofina. This Mistress suffered a lot because of your husband. Aren’t there any reparations?」
「None. Alter all, you lost to Gashe, got yourself sealed, and lost all your faith. And now, Gashe lost to Iris and Eclipse here and got himself caught by me. Isn’t this how it works between us gods?」
Sure.
However, Iris was a demon and couldn’t relate.
Even Muriel had a difficult expression on her face.
Only one person, Katie, fiercely nodded.
「Gods have been fighting each other since time immemorial. Of course, there were also those who cooperated with each other. The history of gods is an interesting subject!」
「Are you affiliated with Great Temple of Divine Will? Thank you for keeping records about us. Actually, we peek at your records from time to time. That’s a great timesaver. Keep up the good work. Goodbye then」
Plutofina entered the crack in the sky with Gashe in tow.
「That said, Gashe, you’ve always tried to show off before me even despite the circumstances……when you chased after me all the way to Heaven, you really send my heart aflutter. I’m going to spoil you lots……」
There was a voice that could badly influence someone’s education coming from the crack.
As the voice faded, the crack malted into its surroundings leaving everyone with a sight of the blue sky.
「…..She came suddenly, she left suddenly」
Having finally relaxed, Iris fell on Punigami.
「Sorry, everyone……my mother can be unreasonable sometimes……」
「That’s not something you should apologize for……can we finally consider the matter closed?」
「I guess so….」
Sheryl sat on Punigami as she said so.
「I’m tired. I want some chocolate~」
「Here you go」
「Yay」
「Chocolate is a good conclusion for everything for you…..I definitely need more than one day of rest」
Marion’s shoulders drooped and Jessica felt the same as her.
「Me too. That Plutofina was dangerous. How should I put it…..unlike Iris-chan, I couldn’t even see a chance for resistance. I’d be dead in a second」
As she listened to Jessica, Iris finally understood why she felt so tired.
Iris fought multiple times against someone.
She won every single time.
However, she didn’t fight to kill.
She was proactively avoiding that.
But that Plutofina won’t hesitate to take a life.
Iris barely knew a thing about her, but she could tell from looking into her eyes.
She was a scary god.
But she wasn’t evil.
She just existed literally above the clouds, her common sense from the surface world underwent some changes.
Those eyes were the eyes of a true god.
A step up from your normal down to earth gods.
「Punipuni」
「Mn? Yes, let’s go back. I’m missing my bed. Spending this much time on your legs takes its toll」
