Chapter 7 - Arrival of the Winter FestivalPart 1The oval of light possessed a radiant glow.After entering inside this oval, the very first thing he experienced was abright golden light that overwhelmed the eyes.There was a hard to describe floating feeling. Then all of a sudden, therewas a sense of falling. These experiences seemed to be cycling throughhim. After repeatedly undergoing this state of mind, G.o.dou"s vision wasrestored."What the h.e.l.l? Where is this?"What laid in front him was actually a wheat field glinting in golden light.There was a b.u.mper harvest with piles and piles of wheat heads, as if themagnificent brightness of treasure had been brought onto the farmland.The boundless farmland went as far as the eye could see.It wasn"t really an unlimited expansive universe, but rather it was simply anendless wheat field.Furthermore, a reddish-hue from the sunset could be seen by looking upinto the sky. The setting sun over the golden wheat field dyed everythingorange, making the coloring increasingly luminous.To him, who viewed the Tokyo night sky not too long ago, there was anexcessive feeling of uneasiness."This place is within the coffin right?""I"m afraid this place is the inside of that divine artifact, the Crown ofSaturnalia, and was probably created through some kind of curse or thepower of a G.o.d was used to construct this s.p.a.ce."Right by his side, Liliana appeared to be surveying this wheat field with aninvestigative look."I sense the aura of a sacred domain within this s.p.a.ce. However, I"m notcompletely certain that this is the shrine.""It can be anywhere for all I care. Anyway, we probably barged into thatgrey b.a.s.t.a.r.d"s abdomen."Indeed they were located at the core of the opposition. It was impossible tocall this a safe place.Tm sorry for dragging you into this kind of place.""I don"t mind. Didn"t we already go over this before? We are king andknight. A relationship like lovebirds, like conjugated branches, or one equalto that of an affectionate couple"s covenant."Liliana pledged with the expression of a stern female knight."And besides, I feel like this is definitely my duty.""Duty?""To stay by Kusanagi G.o.dou"s side and never stray."Liliana looked directly in G.o.dou"s eyes, speaking as if she was making avow."When overcome with difficulties, you are someone who would select tocharge right into the enemy ranks first. Furthermore, even with yourordinary lifestyle, you possess this exceptional talent of already beingcaught in danger before you know it.""T-That counts as talent?""If the position was a butler or a maid, most likely anyone could fill thatspot. However, frequently accompanying you, becoming your sword andshield to support you, there is probably no one other than me that couldundertake this duty."She spoke in a calm manner that projected her ego and beliefs.The art of fighting, magic, knowledge, she was adept in each of theseaspects. She even possessed the spirit vision ability, allowing her tocorrespond to every situation. Furthermore, she also possessed thephysical strength and agility to keep up with G.o.dou. Because she was awitch who was proficient in understanding natural and supernaturalphenomenons, no matter what the situation was, she had this quality ofalways playing a significant role.Her statement was perhaps in the form of a testimony.Or maybe she really does have the highest qualification to become thepersonal adjutant for a guy like Kusanagi G.o.dou.In this light, Erica, Yuri, and Ena definitely did not.Kusanagi G.o.dou was appreciative of Liliana"s generosity, but at the sametime, he tried to cover up his embarra.s.sment and said:"Even so, I"m old enough that I don"t need to be protected to this degree.""If that"s the case, then let"s call it monitoring personnel instead. In thisinstance, I stepped aside just for a bit and now look, you were alreadycaught in this kind of disturbance."Liliana joked around with a smile and then took out her cellphone.Attached to the top was the female bear strap they had won in Odaibasome time ago."However, there have been quite a lot of annoying events occurring. Theopportunity to do that kind of thing with you will probably be limited to justthat one occasion.""S-So it"s like that ?"After Liliana abruptly said that, G.o.dou could not help but becomespeechless.After recalling their interactions at Odaiba from this conversation, he felt adifferent kind of awkwardness. He involuntarily tilted his head. Liliana, whofor some reason had a very jubilant expression as she narrowed her eyes,gazed towards him.It was getting increasingly awkward. G.o.dou, wanting to conceal theembarra.s.sment, surveyed the surrounding wheat field."We should probably start heading out. Where should we go?""Let me do a quick investigation."Liliana closed her eyes. She seemed to have used witchcraft to transferher vision into the air. After a few minutes, she reported back to G.o.dou."There"s a building in that direction. It appears to be an abandoned shrine."The direction Liliana pointed to was straight north. It just so happened tobe in the opposite direction of the setting sun.Well, who knows if the sun in this realm also sets towards the westIn short, the two of them began moving north. However, this place was stillthe enemy"s headquarters. Soon after, a person appeared to block theirpath.It was the same guy that was previously seen a couple of minutes ago, thesailcloth enwrapped divine spirit."G.o.dslayer, you"ve actually entered here "The Grey One"s manner of speaking consisted of half praise and halfamazement."It is time for me to stop wandering in a corner of the stage. Quickly returnto the surface. Go battle the newly-sprouted divine Saturnus that I havebred.""No, what happens on the surface no longer matters because we are goingto settle things here."G.o.dou calmly spoke.Back at Rinkai Park where they had their reunion, in his mind he held backthe impatience of wanting to confront the Grey One.However, right now he no longer has that state of mind. Even he could notfathom why. On the contrary, at the moment he was still able to calmlyengage in what will probably be the last bit of conversation between thehim and the divine spirit."I"ll get straight to the point and ask, do you have any intention on giving upreviving the G.o.d? If you have this sort of motive, we can discuss thequestion of where you can take shelter after taking care of thisdisturbance.""You ask too much. I am a shadow that only strives for the revival ofSaturnus, the G.o.d of bountiful harvests."As the Grey One twisted his body substantially, he muttered:"I don"t know what you are conspiring by trespa.s.sing on my sacred domain,but for the time being I shall use whatever strength is left in this body toobstruct your path. This is because my sprout is close to becoming anactual G.o.d!"Multiple black colored crosses emerged from the golden wheat fieldbasking in the sunset.Each cross had a length of around two meters and there wereapproximately more than fifty in quant.i.ty.Relatively speaking, these crosses were being overly produced at a rapidspeed compared to the crops in this sacred field.Moreover, these crosses then floated up into the skies overlookingKusanagi G.o.dou"s position and then rapidly descended with lightningspeed."And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses."Following Liliana"s chant of the knightly holy spell words, she fired an arrowof blue light.The magic sword she wielded, II Maestro, also transformed into a silverlongbow. The fired arrow was infused with the sacred privilege ofextermination.Right after the arrow left her hand, it immediately split into ten separatearrows.These arrows pierced through all of the crosses which numbered over fifty,instantly vanquishing them. Following that, Liliana immediately kicked theground and sprinted towards the Grey One. Her movements captured thegracefulness of a swallow as she closed in on him while changing theshape of the silver longbow into a sabre.In a flash, Liliana"s sword elegantly sliced the Grey One"s body.Following that, the divine spirit"s body dissipated into black sand.However ."Hahahaha, do you really think an attack of this degree would ever destroyme? I am immortal. I"ll continue accompanying you guys."The intermittent laughter of the Grey One echoed from the black sand.Even though there was no wind at the wheat field, the scattered sandbegan floating up on its own and a.s.sembled into a human-like shape. Atthe same time, there were black crosses continuously emerging from theground."There won"t be an end in sight if this keeps up."Liliana muttered this line and then sent an eye signal to G.o.dou.Realizing her intentions, G.o.dou converged by her side. Subsequently, thegirl who was a personal knight and witch used her well-adept flight magic,escorting G.o.dou into the air with her.Liliana used her flight magic to send G.o.dou inside a certain building.It was probably the building that was previously described as anabandoned shrine. However, G.o.dou was unsure whether or not Liliana"sidea was the correct one.This was because all the walls of this building were sprawling withmysteriously planted creeper plants and th.o.r.n.y undergrowth. The foliagewas even spread across the entire floor and all of the pillars, making itdifficult to clearly distinguish the building"s overall structure. Through thesmall crack within the intertwining vegetation, a white stone surface couldbe seen.Furthermore, since the creeper plants and th.o.r.n.y undergrowth werespread all over the place, it was impossible to find the building"s entrance."For the time being we should try to clear these... The seeds of greenwhich manifests these grounds, pay tribute to the witch descendants."Liliana muttered and proceeded to touch the creeper plants in front herwith her hand.As a result, the green creeper plants, th.o.r.n.y undergrowth, and vines thatwere blocking the shape of the building gradually diminished, finallyretreating back into the ground. It was pretty much like a video recording ofthe vegetation"s growth reversed.With this, the shape of this building could be clearly ascertained.It was a white stone-made building. The structure had few walls and wass.p.a.cious, with round and thick rock pillars neatly arranged.After entering the building with Liliana, they arrived at a vast courtyard.At the center of this place, there appeared to be the white colored pedestalto an alter. G.o.dou examined the emblem carved on top." It sort of resembles the shape of a bird."The inscribed design on there appeared to be a bird with its wings spreadout."Speaking of which, the Crown of Saturnalia also had a similar shape."Compared to the Crown, the bird form was more noticeable in the stoneobject"s design.G.o.dou felt suspicious. He had this gut feeling that he had already seen thissame design somewhere before.At this time, Liliana, who was by his side, suddenly shouted:"The marking of the sun which reigns the heavens! Plus it is the icon thatsymbolizes Ahura Mazda [1] . Could it be Mithra [2] !?"Ah I see, so it was Mithra. As a result of Liliana"s statement, G.o.douremembered.This was the design he had seen before in Napoli. Perseus also hadan insignia that was the same symbol as the divine Roman hero, Mithra."Could this be Perseus" shrine?""That is a possibility. Except, if we were to consider this design the symbolof a sun G.o.d, it would be widely known throughout the East. The samecould be said about the Roman Empire worshiping Saturnus.""It looks roughly like a sun G.o.d"s symbol."During his discussion with Liliana, the silver-haired witch squinted, unableto take her eyes off the inner part of the shrine."The setting sun leaving traces of sunlight ?""Did you see something!?"She was perhaps inquired due to being bestowed with a spirit vision.Towards this, Liliana nodded."Yes, let"s go. The reason why the divine tree sprout of Saturnusrevived I think I already figured it out. Basically, the answer should liewithin the inside of the shrine"Part 2Before continuing onwards inside the shrine, Liliana once again utilized herwitchcraft.She intentionally retracted the creeper plants to cover up the shrine againwith their green stalks and foliage."If the grey divine spirit comes here, then we will let these kiddies blockhim. Incidentally I have also implemented barrier magic. Even though itisn"t as st.u.r.dy as Erica"s senatus consultum ultimum, if it"s just for buying acouple minutes it can still play a substantial role."G.o.dou should be able to guess his counterpart"s intentions based on thisexplanation.While wandering around within the shrine, Liliana delved more specificallyinto what she mentioned before."For the divine artifact that cult leader Luo Hao termed as the Crown ofSaturnalia 1 believe its origins lies not in Saturnus but a different G.o.dinstead."After walking along a corridor that was surrounded by stone from all sides,they encountered a staircase that led underground.Of course they would head downwards from here. Like the setting sunchanging its spot of radiance over the ground during dusk, theunderground pa.s.sage did not get any illumination. Through the use ofmagic, Liliana lit up the path ahead by summoning forth blue coloredwisps."In fact, my familiar didn"t sniff out the earth"s aura from the Crown ofSaturnalia and Saturnus is clearly the G.o.d of earth"s bountiful harvests."Speaking of which, he had previously witnessed this. G.o.dou recalled theboat excursion from before."Kusanagi G.o.dou, the immortality you are probably most familiar with arethe divine traits of the Snake G.o.ddesses. Well, besides those, what othertypes of G.o.ds do you think utilize immortality?"" Surely they must be sun G.o.ds?"With the emblem they saw in the courtyard and the direction this inquirywas headed, making this kind of connection was henceforth guided andshould have been obvious."That"s right. Despite the sun disappearing after sunset, in the morning itwill reappear across the eastern skies. Although weakening during thetimes of winter, its strength will gradually recover following the approachingspring. The Sun and Snake both possess the divine attribute ofimmortality.""In other words, that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Perseus still exists somewhere at themoment?"G.o.dou felt his previous suspicions have been answered. At the time, hedid defeat Perseus at Napoli. However, having not gained any authoritiesafterwards, he believed the reason was Perseus was definitely still alive."If only that grandiose guy didn"t bring trouble upon humans "Even though he always gave people problems, how could anyone holdeverlasting hate towards the handsome divine hero.Towards G.o.dou, who recalled Perseus"s sumptuous words and actions,Liliana said:"The name of the G.o.d of agriculture originated from the appreciation of theyear"s bountiful harvests and the festivals praying for bountiful harvests thefollowing year. The festival would be held at the end of the current year,using the winter solstice as the set date."" Going back to that, why does Saturnus get revived during the wintersolstice?"G.o.dou spoke of the suspicions he harbored before."The current calendar and the calendar of ancient Rome"s are differentright?""Yes, in the wake of change in both the country and time period, thecalendar utilized will also change. However Kusanagi G.o.dou, the wintersolstice is actually not influenced by that kind of behavior. The so-calledwinter solstice occurs when the night is at its longest during the year orwhen the day is at its shortest. In other words, it"s the day when thedistance of the sun is furthest from the earth.""I see. What"s important isn"t the calendar but rather the position betweenthe earth and the sun."As the two of them were conversing, they had already reached the bottomof the stairs. They finally arrived at their destination.This expansive bas.e.m.e.nt made out of stone was most likely used as achapel.At the center there was a black wooden coffin resting flat on the ground.An unusually intense magical power trickled out from the interior. Sensingthis, G.o.dou casted an eye signal towards Liliana.After his partner nodded her head in confirmation, G.o.dou placed his handon the coffin"s cover.He hastily lifted up the cover. Inside was a human body that resembled amale at the prime of his life. On his face was a mask made out of gold witha distinctive lion design on it.Furthermore, there was tattered yellow clothing on the body. In the past, itprobably would have been a golden color.He tried squeezing the clothing. Underneath was the physique of a robustmale body.After briefly coming in contact with the body, he could feel the bodytemperature transfer to his hands. Next, he checked for a pulse but wasunable to confirm if there was a pulse for life. He then tried placing hishand by the heart. However, the beating ceased in this aspect as well.He wanted to get the mask off but this was not an easy task. The maskseemed to be tightly bonded to the face."What the heck? Is this guy still alive?""No, it"s a dead corpse the corpse of a sun G.o.d from the past."Liliana responded with her judgment using a serious tone.It wasn"t just her tone of voice, she even revealed a rarely seen distantgaze. It was obvious the spirit vision revelation was the result of her beingaffected by the magical powers released by the corpse."Furthermore, this is considered to be the main body of the divine artifact,the Crown of Saturnalia In the past, the master who heretic Saturnusserved ""Witch, do not speak any further!"Suddenly, a voice came from above."Don"t break down my fall from grace again! It"s humiliating. It"s a history ofdefeat. My former defeats must be sunk in the abyss of darkness forever."The ground rumbled as it swayed, the walls shook, and the cries of thebirds could be heard above the ceiling.It was basically like an earthquake. Perhaps the cause of this was thearrival of the Grey One. If the bas.e.m.e.nt collapsed from this, would the twoof them be buried alive? G.o.dou swiftly said:"We better quickly escape. However, how do we deal with this thing?"G.o.dou contemplated as he looked down at the coffin lying there whichheld the sun G.o.d"s corpse.On the surface, the coffin would appear to be extremely heavy if they triedto carry it and it was uncertain if there was any value in doing so. However,leaving it here unattended seems improper as well .On the other hand, with a dissatisfied expression towards G.o.dou who wasdeep in thought, Liliana said:"Did you forget about the barrier I deployed not too long ago? Didn"t I saythat it could hold out for a couple of minutes? If the barrier isn"t destroyed,the most that divine spirit can do is convulse the ground to this extent."After being told this, he recalled. Liliana must have known something likethis would happen in advance.Towards the nodding G.o.dou, the faithful knight went a step further andsaid:"Kusanagi G.o.dou, although the opponent is a divine spirit, it should beable to withstand for a few minutes.""What I mean is, for the time being we should be fine!"â–¡liana"s face was entirely flushed as she shouted. What point was shetrying to get across?G.o.dou reflected over this and then immediately figured it out. In short, shewas referring to the action they had performed many times up till now.G.o.dou could not help but attentively watch the shuddering Liliana whoselips appeared to want to say something.Noticing G.o.dou"s line of sight, she suddenly hung her head down.However, she quickly gazed back up, seemingly to try and peek atG.o.dou"s facial expression. Liliana displayed a rarely seen prying glance asshe looked upwards.Seeing her seldom used expression, G.o.dou"s chest started to beatintensely."C-Can this place hold out for the time being ""Y-Yes, since I figured this kind of situation would occur, I was deliberatelyattentive "Because G.o.dou was timorous with what he should say, he simply inquireda meaningless verification.For Liliana, despite it being a meaningless verification, she offered aresponse while still shyly peeking up at G.o.dou.G.o.dou took a deep breath. What should he say during times likethese?Even until this day it remains unclear as to why whenever such momentsarise, everyone becomes restless. However, not saying what needs to besaid during such instances is unacceptable and thus he has to formulate aplan for this. Afterwards, he made up his mind.He essentially had to muster up even more courage than when battling aG.o.d in order to say it."Although it always turns out this way, this time I really do requirea.s.sistance. So please help me."Well, to one"s surprise he was unable to even state his request. Even hefelt no progress was madeDespite this, after steeling her determination, Liliana deeply nodded."My answer to that would be the same even today. For the sake ofcompleting the task of forging the Sword, I will never decline regardlesswhen it occurs. This time, please allow me to battle together with you."Murmuring those words, she calmly closed her eyes.G.o.dou realized that the resulting embarra.s.sment was probably becausethey were on the verge of performing that action, or perhaps it wasantic.i.p.ation that caused Liliana"s body to slightly tremble.Those extremely adorable rigid movements and sincerity of hers pushedG.o.dou over the limit.G.o.dou vehemently held Liliana"s lavish figure and planted a kiss on herlips."Ah "The supposedly stern and imposing knight nevertheless percolated a faintsigh from her lips.However, she and G.o.dou both had the goal of forging the Sword. Sheimmediately spread open her lips, accepting the lips of G.o.dou.Merging together, the pair of lips were tightly bonded as they shared thesensation of each other"s lips.Following that, Liliana began speaking quietly."This corpse I"m not sure if this was someone giving the final send-offfor the everlasting sun. Rather than being a G.o.d of that same category,perhaps it is related to an ancient G.o.dslayer "The bas.e.m.e.nt still rumbled from the non-stop shaking. However, G.o.douand Liliana paid no heed. The two of them exchanged kisses whilesavoring each other"s heart and knowledge."Except, once dead, his corpse didn"t actually perish and still remained onthe surface. Thus, it became a divine artifact with immortal divinequalities "Liliana utilized Instruction magic. Due to the efficacy it has, vast amounts ofknowledge and mental images started to transfer over. The Crown ofSaturnalia, G.o.dou and the others have seen this divine artifact before butonly the outside of it. The concealed coffin existed within the interior.The corpse laying there was the actual divine artifact !"In the distant past, the soul lodged within this corpse turned lackl.u.s.terover the course of many years, eventually transforming into the grey divinespirit Therefore, it was probably able to move due to the divine artifact"swill and spirit."Her cute, quiet murmurs and gasps for air poured into his mouth.As G.o.dou was receiving all of this while kissing Liliana"s lips, he extendedhis tongue in. Her tongue initially recoiled from surprise but then proceededto grasp the thrusting tongue of G.o.dou. Their tongues intertwined over thecourse of this tongue lapping as they shared each other"s sensation.From this point onwards, the degree of intimacy between them surgedgreatly. Their heart-to-heart connection also became much moreprofound .This sequence replayed in his mind numerous times in the past.However, G.o.dou noticed he clearly wanted to implore his feelings andinteract even more intimately. His counterpart did not respond in kindthough. Her tongue movements became clumsy and overall her lipsbecame stiff.Perhaps that was the reason why the transfer of knowledge was somewhatslow and the information quant.i.ty was less compared to usual.Liliana appeared to have something holding her back.Was it because she was bothered by the grey divine spirit"s meddling?"Are you concerned about the situation on the outside?""Ah, yeah. Everyone on the surface obviously Erica and the girls areengaged in battle, but I"m the only one who is letting these thoughts affectme I"m very sorry "Liliana casted her gaze downwards and quietly muttered those words."I figured I would have to compete over meritorious services to monopolizeyou but to be kissing you like this is "This was what s.n.a.t.c.hed the determination from Liliana"s heart.The cause of this appeared to be a sense of sinning rather than vigilance.Even G.o.dou"s heart was pressed with a heavy burden after hearingLiliana. He felt it was cruel to conduct this sort of act with Liliana in alocation where no one else was around and it was eating at him like thepressure felt prior to a compet.i.tion.But instead, G.o.dou shook his head.The person who must bear through this was him, Kusanagi G.o.dou.After G.o.dou gave Liliana a gentle kiss, he then immediately tilted his facedownwards and proceeded to slowly slide his lips down to suck on herslender neck."Uhn ah!"Due to his sudden incursion, Liliana"s body trembled slightly.G.o.dou disregarded this while he sucked on her neck. He let his tongueslide upwards as he kissed her once again on the lips. Furthermore, heplanted a kiss on her rose flushed cheeks. Closing in cheek-to-cheek, hekissed Liliana"s ear and then clamped her earlobe with his lips. Next to herear, he finally whispered:"The one who entrusted you with this duty is me, so you don"t have toworry about it. At the very least, just try not to think about anything rightnow.""But ah!"Because Liliana appeared to want to say something, G.o.dou gently bit herearlobe.He nibbled on it as if he was amusing himself. However, her fairy-like bodyonce again shuddered for a moment and tilted backwards significantly.Also, her lithe body ma.s.s was completely entrusted to G.o.dou as she tightlyhugged him.While being hugged, G.o.dou re-embarked on kissing Liliana.Compared to before, she was already much more relaxed while acceptinghim. Liliana opened her lips and stuck her tongue into G.o.dou"s mouth. As ifwanting to moisten his lips, she attentively licked the lips of the man sheconsidered as her master."W-Was that your command? As a king no, as my master?""Y-Yes.""Since it is like that then I guess there is no other choice."It was obvious that Liliana"s words did not contain any intention of givingup.These were the words of someone intending to ignore a guilty conscience,implying premeditated criminal intent. Afterwards her gaze dulled, shereinforced the strength applied to G.o.dou"s arms in their embrace."In reality whenever I"m by your side I"ve always wanted to do this.However, I"m Kusanagi G.o.dou"s knight. These matters are not permitted.That is why "With their faces near each other, Liliana"s face playfully rubbed againstG.o.dou"s face."That is why only now, only during these times are there exceptions.However, you don"t mind right? Liliana Kranjcar is the knight whofrequently accompanies you, someone who will never leave your side.Starting today, no matter how many times these opportunities arise, I willalways "Compared to any random love proclamation, this knight presented a moresincere, a more serious oath.G.o.dou denied her the chance to finish speaking by blocking her mouthwith a kiss. Liliana boldly opened her mouth and latched on to G.o.dou"sentire lips as she took them in.Then all of a sudden, Liliana forcefully thrusted in her tongue in search ofG.o.dou"s tongue."The grand celebration of the winter solstice within the agricultural domainoccurs on the day when the night is at its longest. In other words, startingon that day, the days will gradually become longer, gradually approachspring "She gently pecked at G.o.dou"s lips and tongue. Licking everywhere, shesavored the taste as she spoke. At the same time, a tremendous amountof knowledge rushed into G.o.dou"s mind through this contact."As a result, the so-called winter solstice is actually the beginning of theend of winter. It has become the celebratory time for the arrival of spring. Inshort, another way of putting it would be ""The day of resurrection for the everlasting sun. This is the daycommemorating the return of its strength after weakening during thewintertime."Liliana"s lips squirmed as she replied. G.o.dou also l.u.s.ted for her lips.Their lips intermingled with the two of them seemingly competing for whohas the more pa.s.sionate kiss."Yes. There is also another thing. Saturnus was imprisoned by the mainRoman G.o.d Jupiter^. Due to a life of suppression, Saturnus lost his mindwhich caused Jupiter to imprison him in the depths of this shrine. Therewere only seven days during the year where he would set him free. Thislegend has precisely become the key to Saturnus"s connection to corpse ofthe sun G.o.d !"They completed the magical ritual for conferring knowledge through thelink between their hearts.With this result, they finally achieved what they wanted. Just as the swordthat can slice through divinity appeared from G.o.dou"s body .Crack! There was a sound like shattered gla.s.s.It was the collapse of the barrier Liliana constructed, serving as an alarmindicating the intrusion of the Grey One.Part 3Erica was a specialist in steel-based magic.The forged steel transformed into a blade. With the weight it had, it couldeven be used as a blunt instrument to crush people. If heat were to beadded, the blade would dissolve and anything that came into contact with itwould all melt into the molten metal solution. Furthermore, ever sinceancient times the st.u.r.diness of steel had been utilized in a warrior"s armor.By saying she was adept at utilizing steel, it meant that she was also adeptat offense and defense.On the other side, Ena, who wields the Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi,heavily favors offense over defense.She was basically someone who could scramble all over the place, like achild of nature who possessed the movements of an agile monkey. Similarto how one engages defensively by bunkering down somewhere, she wasmore suited to shifting around indefinitely, using tireless movements toinitiate an a.s.sault or guerrilla warfare.On the ground at Kasai Rinkai Park.Erica, who was fighting with the ent demiG.o.d, unwittingly displayed fluidsynchronicity in combination with Ena"s battle style as they foughtside-by-side.Through the course of battling against the Great Sage Equaling Heavenand divine ancestor Guinevere, she had become exceptionally compatiblewith the Miko of the Sword when attacking in unison.ooooooooaaaaaaAAAAAAN NNnnnNNNNN !The ent demiG.o.d roared and raised its two-p.r.o.nged weapon.From the tip the double p.r.o.ngs, spheres of green light were being emitted.It was the same thing that previously attacked G.o.dou and Liliana in thesky. Once it ruptured, it would generate a shock wave blast.Upon seeing dozens of these spheres of light heading towards her, Ericachanted her spell words."By the rank of Legatus Legionis, I hereby command!"Following that, she retrieved the Cuore di Leone from the sky.Immediately after, the barbed lance that had transformed from the magicallion sword instantly multiplied. Like copying and pasting, the appearancewas exactly the same as the lances continuously materialized in the air. Itwasn"t just one or two additional lances, there were eighty-one in total."Gather here, the Phalanx! Construct a bed of iron and steel, hold out andpersevere!"The legion of spears responded to Erica"s spell words and began dartingaround as they moved in an orderly fashion.Following that, a nine by nine dense square grid was produced. Ericaarranged this grid in front of herself and Ena.The spheres of light created by the ent demiG.o.d flocked towards them.Before the spheres of light arrived in close proximity to Erica and Ena, thelances that were awaiting at that location pierced through all of them,causing them to rupture. The green spheres of light exploded in rapidsuccession, resulting in violent Shockwaves."Guah !"Erica prevented the impact from this attack by implementing protectionmagic to guard herself and Ena.The Shockwaves were dispersed from where they were standing as theyblocked the attack gracefully. At around the same time, Ena also made hermove.Lowering her body, which at the same time lowered her center of gravity,she rushed towards the ent demiG.o.d.With wind-like speeds, she pa.s.sed through the grid of spears that wascreated. During this time she did not even slow down one bit as shedashed along the ground like a scurrying wolf.Moreover, in one breath she was already in close proximity to the ent"slegs!There to impede her were the large vines that bore from the ground.These vines were eliminated by Ena not too long ago as though she waskilling weeds with the Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi at the time. Theywere previously exterminated, however they have all once again beenrevived.The group of vines, like snakes, lunged out in a whip-like attack.Ena easily evaded the attack, but in addition to that, she even used thevine as a springboard to gracefully leap out of the way. She exhibited thenimbleness of an acrobatics master.However, she only avoided the attack and did not engage in acounterattack.As to why, it was because the pitch black divine blade was actually not inthe hands of the Miko of the Sword at the moment ."Make haste and manifest upon here the semblance of Chihaya"s power ofmetal destruction!"Ena jumped from place to place while chanting spell words.Responding to the spell words, the Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi that washovering in the air descended quickly.Before charging in, she first tossed the Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi intothe air, the pitch black divine blade stayed in the air floating, waiting for achance to attack.ooooooooaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAN NNNNNnnnNNNNN !Sensing the incoming attack, the ent demiG.o.d once again intended onraising his two-p.r.o.nged weapon.However, Erica had already prepared countermeasures to this."Oh hammer of steel, rout thy enemy!"Nine of the lances from the lance grid flew up, thrusting towards thetwo-p.r.o.nged weapon that was raised. The weapon was pierced, shattered,and penetrated through by the multiple lances. In a split second, it wasdisposed of.Following that, the Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi descended towards theent"s head from the sky like lightning .If one were to describe it, it followed a straight path through the body of theent demiG.o.d. From the head to the throat, then esophagus, all the waythrough the b.u.m.Unable to bear the attack, the thirty meter tall ent body split in half.The full force of the blade was like a hatchet cleaving through firewood.Even though the opponent was an ent, a divine beast, under normalcirc.u.mstances that strike would be enough to obtain victory.However, after clearly being punctured by the Ama no Murak.u.mo noTsurugi, the ent"s body began to regenerate. The two sliced up halves ofthe ent once again tightly fastened together like the north and south polesof a magnet.Furthermore, the recently a.s.sembled ent spat out some sort of object fromits mouth-like slit.It appeared to be a poisonous fine powder.This powder scattered around the ent, resembling yellow sand or theproliferation of pollen.Naturally, Erica and Ena instantly leaped away from this."Be careful! This powder gives off a nasty smelling odor. It is probablypoisonous!"Due to the smell carried by the wind, Ena probably deduced this fact andstated her warning.As expected of her extraordinary sense of smell. This child of nature hadan acuteness that was incomparable to the norm. Moreover, she chantedher spell words right away."It is by its breath / That autumn"s leaves of trees and gra.s.s / Are wastedand driven... So they call this mountain wind / The wild one, thedestroyer." [4]Gusts of powerful winds gathered around Ena"s body.The miko of the G.o.d of storms, Susanoo, was also very adept inmanipulating wind-based magic power. The poisonous yellow powder waswhisked away by the strong winds and dispersed over the ocean."Under these conditions where our offensive force is unable to overcomethe enemy"s power of revival, we will have no way of ending this."Just as Erica acknowledged the battle"s bleak outlook.The radiant golden oval located far above them had been deemed by Yurias the coffin"s existence. Hovering around the quaint object in the winternight sky, one could see the familiar-looking ray of light gradually glintingbrighter."During December, the festive ritual of the winter solstice would be held inancient Europe. It was a festival meant to congratulate the harvests ofthose years and to pray for a b.u.mper harvest in the coming years."Whenever G.o.dou softly chanted the spell words for the Sword, there wouldbe blades of the Sword emerging from his surroundings.In the center of the vast bas.e.m.e.nt, G.o.dou was under Liliana"s watch as hechanted away. Becoming Verethragna"s final incarnation, the Warrior, hepulled out the G.o.d slaying blade."The winter solstice is a grand festival commemorating the revival of thesun. Within agriculturally rich nations and colonies, it is the ceremonialholiday of winter and spring, a commemorative festival where the peoplewould indulge in raucousness and merriment making.""Oh! These rays of light, these spell words, do you plan on elaborating myhistory!?"The voice of the Grey One came from above.Following that, the entire bas.e.m.e.nt shook, the ground jolted intensely. Ifcompared to the Richter scale, the level of shaking could be consideredabove a category five earthquake. G.o.dou lost his balance and fell down.However, Liliana promptly rushed over.The silver-haired girl put her hand on G.o.dou"s back and caught him as hefell. She then helped him get back up."There were many sun G.o.ds in ancient Rome. The most representingwould be the sun G.o.d Sol^. There was also Apollo, also known as Apin Greece. Arriving from the east is the hero Mithra."Liliana"s body was slender and lightweight. Her limbs were like that of anelegant fairy.However, during this turbulence, she actually became the crutch steadilysupporting G.o.dou.G.o.dou thought about the unexpected role reversal of relying on herdelicate body while diverting his attention onto his partner.Ena, who was still in battle on the surface, wielded the Ama no Murak.u.mono Tsurugi .Located far below at Rinkai Park, he called upon the divine blade"sstrength."You should be one of the aforementioned G.o.ds, an ancient Roman sunG.o.d who reigns the skies. Before the loss to a certain opponent, in theolden days you were a magnificent radiant G.o.d of light."G.o.dou briefly mentioned this towards the Grey One.He was chanting out the habitually used divinity slicing sword as well asthe power of the Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi. In the past, he had usedthis blade during the battle against Athena. Fusing the two swords, thesewere the spell words of the divinity sealing artifact."It isn"t certain which sun G.o.d you are. However, having been majesticallyworshipped during the winter solstice grand festival of the sun, youprobably also confer blessings to the Roman citizens.""Alas! Desist, Kusanagi G.o.dou!"The Grey One had already ceased his begging, instead his words wereexpressed in a pleading tone."Tearing my soul apart, these spell words are meant to seal my existence!This kind of conduct is truly intolerable!"He had never heard a punitive voice like this before coming from the mouthof any G.o.d.So it"s like that. G.o.dou understood. Over 1500 years ago, he had lost hisdivinity as G.o.d. There is the fear that he was the same as those divineancestors existences like Guinevere.An ascended being who reigns above humanity. However, the kind ofpower and spirit it possessed was incomparable to a G.o.d.He was a degraded soul who lost his greatness and strength in the past."The corpse from when you were a sun G.o.d transformed into a divineartifact used in the recreation of the winter solstice festival. The divineartifact also serves to revive Saturnus, the G.o.d of the grand festival ofbountiful harvests. As a result of this, while Saturnus was the G.o.d of earth,he was also a servant to a sun G.o.d a slave G.o.d in servitude."G.o.dou"s spell words, which gave rise to the Sword, was in the process ofgradually building up.Without knowing it, the entire bas.e.m.e.nt was already at its limits. Thecountless number of golden light rays, which flickered like the glint oftreasure, illuminated the insides, extending towards the walls, floor, andceiling.First order of business was to slash apart the vast bas.e.m.e.nt.This was to rip apart the divine artifact known as the Crown of Saturnusfrom the inside, thus sealing it.G.o.dou had not ceased chanting as he further weaved his spell words."Saturnus was an imprisoned G.o.d. Locked in the abyss of a shrine by themain Roman G.o.d Jupiter, only once every year would he be grantedfreedom for just a week."The countless number of swords turned into a vortex of light, slashing theentire bas.e.m.e.nt apart.Moreover, the stone material vanished after being cut.Since he had already wielded the fused Sword and Ama no Murak.u.mo noTsurugi, the divine artifact sealing blade, it was expected to be capable ofextinguishing the building."Those seven days are the week of the winter solstice. Even thoughSaturnus is considered a G.o.d of earth, he is also a G.o.d with no freedom atall and is only released during the start of the celebratory festival for therevival of the sun. With respect to this aspect, Saturnus has become thepeople"s subordinate sun G.o.d!"Every time the golden Sword sped off towards sky, the domain of a certainplace would be exterminated.It took basically around ten seconds for the swords and the blades of lightto go from the bas.e.m.e.nt to atop the flight of stairs. Furthermore, itmarvelously vanquished the shrine located at the top.In addition, even the forever boundless golden wheat field and the reddyed dusk sky perished.Having returned to a normal state, G.o.dou and Liliana found themselvesalready located in the sky. They were standing on the bird shaped emblemrooted in the Kasai Sea. The two of them firmly stood atop the stone-madebird.The ground was no longer shaking. However, Liliana was still supportingG.o.dou"s body.Furthermore, the one who stood right in front of them was the alreadyfamiliarized Grey One.The royal corpse he was carrying was the ancient sun G.o.d wearing goldenclothes and a gold mask from back when he was a deity ."Kusanagi G.o.dou! Although I"m already a divine-less G.o.d, i still haveaspirations to face off against a G.o.dslayer! How about it, battle againstSaturnus !""I"m sorry, I no longer wish to accompany you in your mischief."Last month G.o.dou had previously fought against Lancelot, the hero G.o.d ofwar.Nevertheless, he actually wanted to decline this spirit"s request. He wantedto avoid engulfing Tokyo in a crisis at all cost. That was more importantthan any of his desires.After only slightly reminiscencing over this point, he felt his prior impatienceboiling within him.Once he had confirmed again with himself that he did not want to displaythe above mentioned leniency towards the culprit for this event, G.o.dousought out the swords hovering around him.It appears there were still over a hundred of those radiant golden spheresof light.In one breath, the group of swords shining even brighter than the twinklingstars found everyday in the night sky started to speed up due to G.o.dou"scommand."I am the strongest, holding all victory in my hands. Man and devil all enemies, all who harbor enmity will be vanquished!"Responding to the holy words of Verethragna, the grid of radiating swordsof light endlessly darted around.Afterwards, the Grey One along with the corpse of the sun G.o.d he wascarrying were completely slashed apart, torn into pieces, and finallyvanquished.The only object that remained intact at their location was the mask thatwas modeled after a lion.At the same time, the stone constructed bird that was previously theirfoothold was also eliminated.Their bodies naturally started to plummet. G.o.dou immediately hollered."Liliana!""Got it!"This sort of brief exchange was already more than enough for the two ofthem.Liliana utilized flight magic while still holding onto G.o.dou. The two of themtook off as they were enveloped by a blue light. They intended on landingat the surface of Rinkai Park. However before touching down, theygradually approached the leftover golden mask suspending in the air.Fearing this mask was the Crown of Saturnalia, the actual immortal divineartifact itself, it was imperative that they retrieve it and hand it over to hissworn elder sister later .G.o.dou extended his right hand as he grabbed it.Afterwards, their attention was focused downwards since they wereapproaching the ground. Getting an overview of Kasai Rinkai Park like thiswas a very rare opportunity.One could see the broad green gra.s.s fields, forests, parterres, the ma.s.siveFerris wheel^, the park"s central jogging trail, the aquarium, etc.In addition, the ent demiG.o.d was currently wielding its two p.r.o.ngedweapon in the gra.s.s fields. The mess over here had to be cleaned up aswell.In order to finally put an end to everything, he chanted the following spellwords."For victory, hasten forth before me O Immortal Sun, I beseech thee togrant radiance to the stallion. O Stallion that moveth G.o.dlike with wondrousgrace, bringest forth the halo of thy master ."Serving the Grey One was the subordinate G.o.d Saturnus.150 years ago, he brought disturbances upon the earth as a heretic G.o.d.Having led the people into a frenzy, it was expected that he had fulfilled theprerequisites.The offender had caused havoc to the ma.s.ses, fulfilling the requirementsof the White Stallion .After witnessing the signs of daybreak displayed from the east, it could besaid that everything went directly according to plan.Without discussing anything, Erica and Ena both nodded and quicklyinitiated a retreat.Daybreak was definitely still many hours away. However, a rosy hueddawn emerging from the sky could already be seen and at the same timethe ent demiG.o.d unleashed a ferocious roar.Following that, a spear of white light, equivalent to that of a solar flare,headed towards the seaside park.This ray of light Verethragna"s third incarnation, the White Stallion,easily engulfed the ent. It was completely incinerated, disallowing anypossibility of a revival as the ent evaporated.In addition, before the target had been eliminated, the colossal Ferriswheel got caught in the line of fire from the beam of the WhiteStallion the so-called Kasai Rinkai Park was synonymous with theenormous recreational facility, which had also been engulfed andannihilated"Well, even though G.o.dou wanted to battle, the result still turned out likethis."Erica shrugged as she stated this once everything within the park hadalready settled down.The abnormally timed daybreak had already vanished and the winter nightonce again stretched across the sky above. The shining resplendentgolden oval that was previously hovering over Tokyo Bay also disappearedat the same time.In the end, peace had once again returned to Tokyo Bay and to KusanagiG.o.dou"s surroundings.Of course, that is if he were to disregard the complicated post-processingissue involved"Hey, is that His Majesty and Liliana-san?"Ena pointed to the sky where there was a blue colored meteor streak.The orbiting blue body in the sky descended to the ground. There wasnothing else it could have been besides the radiance emitted from Liliana"sflight magic.At the same time, the sisters of the Mariya household also came over.With her state of mind having pretty much returned to normal, Yuri lookedup and noticed Erica and Ena"s line of sight. Her little sister Hikari happilylaughed, br.i.m.m.i.n.g with vigor as she waved her hand in their direction."Looks like we"ve finally resolved this situation. Get Yuri over here as wellso we can discuss the next line of business.""Yes, you are referring to the Christmas party right?"A laugh escaped out of Erica upon hearing Ena say this. She shook herhead in response.The demoness smile, as it was commonly referred to by G.o.dou andLiliana, formed at corners of her mouth. It was a gorgeous smile but it wasalso a trademark of Erica Blandelli that carried nefarious intent."Nope, we have to discuss how we are going to tease G.o.dou and Lilianaonce they return.""T-Tease!?""Yes, although I had predicted things would turn out like this the momentthey took off into the skies, who knew it would be exactly as I expected. It"sfine if we deliberately make things awkward for them.""Ah, they must have went through the preparations for the Sword."Ena also noticed the issue and regretfully muttered."With that said, should Ena also take part in making things hard on HisMajesty?""Yes, it"s just ever so slightly while not overstepping a lady"s preferences.""I suppose you"re right. Since it would be beneficial, it can"t be viewed as adetestable matter."Erica suggested with a smile that could be described as no way inferior tothat of a court lady offering counsel to the king.On the other hand, Ena also revealed an audacious and mischievoussmile."Well they should be back here any moment. Let"s quickly get ready.""Understood. Hey Yuri, Hikari! Hurry over here. We have some matters todiscuss!"For now the world was at peace. Kusanagi G.o.dou"s surroundings seemedto have returned back to its usual smooth sailing and dispute filled lifestyle.Part 4Previously they had to deal with the sun G.o.d"s divine spirit and the divinetree that practically transformed into a heretic G.o.d.After the two of them had been killed, Kusanagi G.o.dou"s surroundingsswiftly returned to normal. They say Sayanomiya Kaoru and AmakasuTouma, those involved that possess strong magical powers, were able tomaintain their memories regarding their time under the curse"s influence."As expected, these G.o.d related incidents contain all sorts of troubles."Amakasu commented as such before bidding farewell to G.o.dou.However, only after this incident"s occurrence was he able to do hisbusiness with a lethargic att.i.tude, something which rarely happens. Theinformation cover-up done by the History Compilation Committee did notrequire much work this time.On the eve of the winter solstice there were numerous wisps hovering overTokyo Bay.There was also the battle engagement with G.o.dou and the others at KasaiRinkai Park.Those nearby who witnessed these scenes had forgotten everythingrelated to these strange phenomenons.Due to Saturnus"s memory manipulation curse, it had a wondrous use indealing with the situation. It could be said this was an unexpectedby-product? That was the opinion of the History Compilation Committee.Of course, Kasai Rinkai Park showed clear traces indicating a battle,hence it had already been sealed off."Perhaps this was a gift sent from heaven as an early Christmas present."Towards the wryly smiling Kaoru, G.o.dou felt very apologetic.Many times while dealing with a situation"s aftermath they would be busynonstop because of the G.o.dslayer residing in Tokyo. Hence, he naturallylowered his head.On the other hand, normal people with no knowledge of wizardry lost theirmemories with regards to the succession of disturbances.The strange phenomenon with Santa Clauses turning grey was forgottenas well. Because of this, Kusanagi G.o.dou"s close friends had alreadyforgotten about the disruptive matters he was involved in.Well, he noticed there was a strange rumor being subtly pa.s.sed aroundTokyo regarding the mysteriously obtained grey Santa Claus outfitsInitially, Liliana, who acted as the organizer, offered this proposal.Speaking of matters involving him, the Kusanagi household was going tobe the gathering place for the Christmas party."Right now it would be very hard to arrange it at an establishment, howabout we just hold it at my place?""My apartment could also work. However, I plan on having Arianna take avacation from the 24th till New Years. Then again we can"t just count onher."Erica suggested this but G.o.dou then replied as follows."Since my grandpa isn"t home for the time being and my parents shouldn"tbe back any time before Christmas, let"s just gather at my house. Shizukaalso said she would be at home that day.""Shizuka-san will be home?"Yuri asked and G.o.dou nodded in response."Uh huh, although she originally said she was going to hang out with herfriends from cla.s.s."After hearing G.o.dou mutter "since no one will be home, I"ll have everyonecome here", Shizuka canceled her own plans from before."Since it"s that kind of gathering, then I"ll be home on the eve of theholidays as well. I must prevent onii-chan from messing around in ourhouse!"Shizuka, what kind of person do you take me for?G.o.dou contemplated whether or not to confirm with Shizuka at this latepoint in time. No matter what, the location of the party was already decidedon. He also sent an email notification to Ena who returned to her parent"shouse at Chichibu after the battle at Kasai."Understood. Ena can bring all kinds of food."He received a concise reply from her.And as such, December 24th, Christmas Eve, had arrived at last.At 2 o"clock in the afternoon on the 24th, G.o.dou received three emails fromNanami, Takagi, and Sorimachi.All of the emails were briefly written. Nanami"s email didn"t even containany words, just a sole picture attachment."We just began scaling this dangerously steep slope"-Sorimachi"Without an understanding of love, you won"t be able to understand thissorrow"-TakagiThere was also the photo attachment by Nanami.The scene he saw in the photo was Nanami, Takagi, and Sorimachi cuttingup a Christmas cake and preparing a barbecue with the camping tools atsome unknown park. There wasn"t anyone else in the photo besides them.It seems like a gathering with just the three of them.By the way, the three of them all expressed a look of complete discontent.Instead, there was a sense of solemnity wafting around as they stared atthe food with a challenging expression.G.o.dou unwittingly looked up towards the sky. It was an abnormally clearday, the atmosphere of a snowy Christmas did not seem to be in sight.However, not only was there fierce winds today, it was also very chilly.Today seems quite unsuitable for an outdoor barbecue...While emotionally staring at the picture of the three idiots, G.o.dou felt a bitdoleful. What intense emotional disturbance occurred to cause somethingto this extent?"Is there something wrong onii-sama?""Umm, yeah. It"s the email I got from my friends from cla.s.s. Although Iplanned on inviting them to attend today"s gathering, however for somereason my invitation was declined."Because of the winter solstice incident that led to G.o.dou"s surroundingsbeing turned into a mess, the three idiots gave off the impression that theyhave seen through everything. However, how come after everythingreturned to normal, these guys are even more depressed than before theincident"s occurrence?"Well, I guess they"re pretty happy this way so whatever."G.o.dou muttered to himself as he walked with Hikari along the streets ofAkasaka. They were going to pick up the cake they ordered for today"sparty. The two of them met up in the morning and embarked on the bakeryafter eating lunch.Afterwards, they were currently on their way back. G.o.dou was carrying abag that contained a square box."There"s going to be many people attending. It should be quite exciting."G.o.dou and Hikari, who cheerfully spoke, were heading towards the station.By the way.The reason why he was with Hikari was actually because of the requestErica brought up after the battle at Kasai. Like a n.o.blewoman at the time,she firmly stated:"Hey G.o.dou, lovers in j.a.pan all go on a date just between the two of themon Christmas Eve right? Since it"s like that, would it be alright if we did thesame as well?""Eh?""Well, however, there are other girls besides me, Erica Blandelli, present.So for that reason I"m willing to grant you the privilege of selecting whoeveryou want.""W-What? It was hard enough taking care of these various situations, don"tstart with this strange nonsense!"That"s right Erica, right now the most pressing matter to discuss should bethe issue regarding the crisis aftermath..."G.o.dou was panic stricken. Liliana, who was by his side, intended onmaking an excuse.However, Erica calmly revealed a demoness smile towards all this."Since for some reason you guys are so mindful towards what I"m saying,then let me ask you two a question first. When you guys were up therebattling, how did you guys forge the sword?""Huh?!" "What!?"G.o.dou and Liliana were completely speechless towards the blissfullysmiling Erica."Speaking of which G.o.dou, you can"t say it was forced upon you due to thesituation... Or anything along those lines. Liliana, despite your persistentadherence to the ways of a knight, you still preemptively went in withoutany hesitation. So who are you going to pick out of us?""She"s right, even if you occasionally perform such actions, it still isn"tworthy of a punishment."Ena nodded towards what Erica had stated."Originally I had wanted Yuri and Ena accompany Your Majestysomewhere together, however today I kind of want Your Majesty to onlyselect Ena.""A-Actually."Lastly, even Yuri shyly spoke up in a firm tone."Perhaps G.o.dou-san goes beyond just occasionally in initiating thesematters."Afterwards, the girls all fixated their gaze at G.o.dou.They all showed a wordless expression that urged him to promptly make aselection. No matter who he selected, it would definitely result incontroversy. Being instinctively aware of this aspect, G.o.dou yelled out:"H-Hikari! Then I"ll go with Hikari. We had already arranged this before!"Being the older one, the option of looking over the youngest child was ofcourse the proper and unpunishable one.That night, G.o.dou was fortunate to have Hikari present as they walkedalong the road to the meeting place of the Christmas party. The twelveyear-old girl by his side was cheerfully smiling."Hey onii-sama, I don"t mind if you have to rely on me during times likethese."She cheerfully spoke with a tone of reliability that also seemed to makehim feel his future was bleak.Within the living room of the Kusanagi household, his sister Shizuka spokewhile holding back her rage."All the way up until this year, I had always monitored onii-chan veryclosely so he doesn"t stray to the path of evil.""Turn evil? G.o.doh-kun is a proper and well-behaved kid."Revealing a warm smile, the person who joyously spoke was KoudzukiSakura.It could be said that she was the equivalent of a relative to G.o.dou andShizuka."Only the aspect of a proper child holds true. However, onii-chan isdefinitely not a well-behaved child! Throughout the many generations ofmen in the Kusanagi family, the only one who showed any capabilities wasgrandpa. That person took care of onii-chan ever since he was inkindergarten. Furthermore, the misbehaving bloodline that wasn"t evencured during any of the generations had been inherited from father!""Hehehe, grandpa and Genzou-san are both outgoing people."Towards Shizuka who was getting more and more agitated as she spoke,Sakura calmly nodded along the entire time."If you just mean outgoing then that"s fine, but those two are definitelyindecent people. Despite onii-chan being an honest and decent person, hegives people the impression that he is firmly on the path of going rogue.Jeez, how come all the men within the family are so troublesome...""I see, looks like there"s a steady trend of people being born like this."Upon hearing Shizuka despairingly comment, the girl by her side who wasattentively listening acted as if she was well-versed in these matters."That"s totally like Goro-san, no wait, really this is typical of G.o.dou-san"sfamily lineage!""Oh, Sakura"s friend is here. Do you know onii-chan?"After being inquired from Shizuka, the young girl No, Renjou Fuyuhimelowered her head while having three fingers resting on the tatami.From the looks of it, compared to Shizuka who was in her third year atmiddle school, Fuyuhime clearly looked much younger even though shewas in her first year of college."I"m the heir to the Renjou family, Fuyuhime. I believe that in the future Iwill have some serious "business-like" dealings with your onii-sama. I"ll bein your care.""Eh? Business-like?""Yes, if it is specifically a "contractual marriage" or even just a "shammarriage", I wouldn"t mind at all. I just want to climb higher, attain a higherposition. I must achieve an even higher rank than my childhood friendKaoru!""Eh?""Ha ha, Fuyuhime-chan has recently been going on and on about that. Ifher relation with G.o.dou-kun gets bett