Bonus Short Stories
The Water Goddess’s Questions
◇ Goddess Eir’s Perspective ◇
“Mako’s gone back a thousand years,” I said.
“He has,” Noah replied.
“My, don’t you seem cool with it? Aren’t you worried about your one and only believer?”
“My Makoto will be fine.”
Sophie’s lover Mako had set out on a journey a thousand years into the past, meaning that the Wicked Deity Noah currently had no disciples. Despite that, she didn’t seem bothered in the slightest—she was just lounging around in the Seafloor Temple like always.
On the other hand...
“Why?! Why can’t I find him?! It’s absurd! Don’t run away from my Past Sight!”
The youngest goddess, Irrie, was ranting and raving. Despite all her abilities, she couldn’t take things easy.
“What’s up?” I asked her. “He arrived safe and sound, didn’t he?”
“He did! So why can’t I find him?!”
Apparently, she wanted to offer him some support in the past, but Mako was a zealot of the Titanea. Because of his adherence to another faith, we Sacred Deities couldn’t give him much help. Even so, Irrie was the Goddess of Fate, so she should be able to detect him by following the slight warping of history.
And yet, she couldn’t.
“Wh-What do I do?! If he’s dropped dead, then...” She was in a full-on panic, her face pale.
I wasn’t that far gone, but I was, admittedly, still worried. The monsters back then were strong, and there were many demon lords. Mako was strong too, but accidents could happen.
“Phwah...” Noah yawned, lying back.
“Hey, Noah, why are you so calm?” I asked. Though we always spoke casually, she was realistically a much higher-ranking goddess than me. As punishment for siding with the demons a millennium ago, she had been stripped of her power and sealed away, and I’d been chosen as her warden. Ever since, I had been with her. At least she was easy to talk to—I thought of her as a friend.
“She’ll find him sooner or later.” Noah chuckled. “You don’t need to worry.”
Honestly, even I was envious of how beautiful that little laugh made her look. Others said that she was the most gorgeous in the heavens, and even after all these years, her beauty was alive and thriving.
“Are you...planning something?”
“Me, scheming?” she asked with an exasperated sigh. “I’m sealed and have no power, remember? How could I do anything?”
This was a topic we’d discussed many times, and I still had no idea what she was thinking. Since the talk with Noah wasn’t going anywhere, I decided to shift the conversation back to Irrie. “Found him, yet?”
“No, I haven’t!” she shouted, her voice lacking any of Noah’s composure. “I’ve looked in every nook and cranny of the area where Roses’s territory should be, but I can’t find him!”
Hmm, if she couldn’t find him after looking that thoroughly, then maybe...
“Perhaps he’s somewhere else?” I suggested.
“But...he’s the Hero of Roses, isn’t he? He’s spent the most time active in that country.”
“That is true...”
The pair of us tilted our heads in consideration.
Then, Noah butted in. “Check near Springrogue.”
“Springrogue? Mako’s barely spent any time there, though.”
“There’s a strong link between him and the Undead King, along with the demon lord’s subordinates.”
“Oh.” Irrie and I said in unison. Despite the small amount of time he’d been there, his stay had been rather meaningful.
“Ah! This might be it!” Irrie cried out. “There’re traces of water elementals being used here!”
Seems like we’ll find him sooner than we thought.
I turned to Noah. “You really know him, huh?”
“Of course I do,” she replied.
She then lay back to nap again, a slight smile gracing her lips.
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