Chapter 13 — We’ve Seen All Sorts of Gods and Dark Gods, So One or Two More Doesn’t Change Much
Carol, Ryouko, and Risley headed back to the city to secure a method of transportation. Hanakawa, after agonizing over the issue for a while, decided staying with Yogiri was the safest option. As evidenced by Luu being sliced in two, staying by Yogiri’s side was no guarantee of safety, but it did give him the highest chance of survival.
That left six of them within the forest: Tomochika, Yogiri, Mokomoko, Hanakawa, Luu, and the mysterious woman who had just appeared. They were all sitting in a circle.
“First of all, why are you calling Ma ‘Luu’ in the first place?” the woman who had claimed Luu to be her mother asked.
“She didn’t know anything about herself, so we just gave her a name. If she has a real one, we can use that.”
“Ma’s name? Her name is—”
“Don’t say it! I’m Luu! That’s the name daddy gave me!”
“‘Daddy’? This guy? What’re ya talking about? You’re gonna make this kid into my granddad.”
“I guess it’s kind of like imprinting? I was the first human she saw after gaining consciousness, I guess.”
“If that’s what Ma wants, then fine. I guess I need to introduce myself too. I’m Hiruko. I’m a god.”
“I see...” Tomochika sighed. Not another one.
“What’s with you?! You act like that with a god right in front of you?!”
“Well, we’ve seen all sorts of gods and Dark Gods, so one or two more doesn’t change much.”
“Just who d’you think you are?! Just ’cause you’re taking care of Ma doesn’t mean you can talk to me like that!”
“Can we keep going?” Yogiri interrupted.
“Huh?”
“With the introductions.” Despite Hiruko’s threatening attitude, Yogiri was unfazed.
“Ah. I guess we were in the middle of that.”
“I’m Yogiri Takatou. We were summoned to this world. I don’t know what’s going on here, so I don’t know anything about Luu either.”
“I’m Tomochika Dannoura. I’m in the same situation as Takatou.”
“I am Mokomoko Dannoura. In truth, I am Tomochika’s guardian spirit, but as you can see, I am currently controlling this puppet. As an aside, would the name ‘Hiruko’ perhaps be related to the Japanese mythology of our world?”
“Doubt it. I came from another world, but you guys don’t look like you’re from mine. I guess maybe some people could have noticed me and started worshiping me without me knowing, though.”
“So, who is Luu and why are you here? And who was that guy you fought earlier?”
“One at a time, jeez. Ma’s a super important god. She went out once and never came home, so I’ve been looking around for her and finally found her here. No idea what that thing I fought was, but it looks like it was going around fighting anyone who looked like a god. Judging by the way it acted, it seems like it was after Ma as well.”
“And she answered them all at once anyway...” Tomochika commented.
Hiruko had fought that bladed monster somewhere else, but it had suddenly run off. That was likely because it had noticed Luu’s presence.
“Then allow me to introduce myself...”
“He’s Hanakawa,” Yogiri interrupted, giving as short an introduction as possible.
“Is that all the introduction I deserve?!”
“You were going to give a super-long introduction, right?” Tomochika said. “Filled with all sorts of creepy and gross laughs.”
“Your prejudice wounds me, Tomochika! No true otaku would speak in such a strange manner!”
“I feel like the way you speak is strange enough...”
“That is different! That is simply a way for someone as featureless as myself to distinguish himself!”
“You seem to have enough of an impact already. I don’t think you need more distinguishing.”
“Your words are so harsh, Tomochika. It is no wonder people say you would be so beautiful if knocked unconscious.”
“So you’re the one who started that?!” Though she hadn’t known about it until she’d gotten to this world, among her classmates she was famous for being “gravure-class in looks alone,” or “phenomenally beautiful if she just stopped talking,” or “above average even overseas if you knocked her out.”
“So, now that Hiruko is here, do we need to change our plans?” Yogiri asked.
Tomochika and Yogiri’s goal was to get back to their own world. They needed Philosopher’s Stones for that, so they were searching for Sages, but getting off the island was proving difficult. If they could use the teleportation device Lain had set up, they could easily make it to another continent where a Sage lived, so they were searching for Euphemia in hopes she could help them use it. She was currently missing, so they were heading to the area around the capital to look for her. But given their current situation, Yogiri wondered if they needed to rethink their plan.
“Do you have any idea how we could get home, Hiruko?”
“Go ask the guy who summoned ya.”
“We did. She told us she didn’t set it up so we could go back.”
“I guess with the way this world is positioned, summoning people is easy but sending them back is pretty tough,” Hiruko said.
“Are you still connected to your home world?” Yogiri asked. Those who came to this world on their own often seemed to have a connection to their home that allowed them to travel back.
“’Course. I can’t just go traveling with no way back.”
“So how were you planning on taking Luu with you?”
“Oh...” Apparently, she hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Uhh...I was gonna figure that out once I found her. I had no idea what state Ma would be in, you see.”
“Well, she’s like this.”
“Err...this is just a bit of you, right, Ma? Where’s the rest of ya?”
“I don’t know.” Luu casually answered.
Luu basically knew nothing at this point, so Yogiri gave a rough explanation of her current situation.
“So those Sages each got a piece of Ma? And when you killed ’em, Ma got more pieces of herself back. I guess we’ll figure it out when she’s totally back to normal, then.”
“Is Luu that impressive?”
“She’s totally amazing! She’s the greatest god and rules over the whole sea! She ain’t someone who the likes of you could ever talk to!”
“If she’s so strong, how did she end up like this?” Yogiri looked at Luu. She looked like an ordinary three-year-old, so it was hard to imagine she was some kind of super being.
“How should I know? I’m the one who wants to ask that!”
“So in short, Hiruko’s story doesn’t change anything...”
“Hmm. But you’re a powerful god too, right?” Yogiri asked Hiruko.
“’Course I am! You won’t see many like me around.”
“In that case, why don’t we leave Luu with her, and get her to collect all the Philosopher’s Stones?” he suggested to Tomochika. “And once Luu is back to normal, she can send us home.”
“Wait, then what would we do in the meantime?!” Tomochika asked.
“It’s better if we don’t need to do anything, right? We’ll be attacked by Malnarilna’s followers anywhere we go.”
“I guess so. I suppose it would be best if we just kicked back...”
“Are you two sure about leaving such an important matter to a stranger?” asked Mokomoko.
“I also would like to ask you two to act more like protagonists. How can you leave such crucial matters in the hands of another?!” Hanakawa demanded.
Yogiri supposed there was no proof Hiruko could get Luu back to normal, and even if she did, there was no guarantee Luu would help them once that happened. They didn’t even know if getting Luu back to her original form was the right thing to do.
“I’m definitely getting Ma back to normal. But those Philosopher’s Stones or whatever? I have no idea where they are.”
“If you’re a god, can’t you figure that out?”
“If this was my own world, then sure. But I can’t use my power freely in someone else’s world.”
“Which means?”
“It means, you know, if you’re gonna get Ma back together anyway, that makes things easier for me, yeah?”
“What is going on here?! For an event as important as the reunification of the scattered fragments of a god, all related persons seem to be treating it as nothing more than an irritating chore!”
“Then why don’t we work together? Once Luu is back to normal, we want her to send us home. If you help us, getting the Philosopher’s Stones should be easy enough, right?”
“Doesn’t sound bad to me. I don’t know anything about this place. You guys should know a bit more. And besides, Ma seems to like you, so I can’t really say no.”
“But what can Hiruko do to help us?”
“Good question. For now, we need to get to the continent in the east. Can you get us there?”
“Piece of cake.”
“I suppose a god like you would be capable of instant teleportation? That Jet Black Witch woman I met earlier teleported around like it was nothing.” Hanakawa must have been talking about one of the assassins sent to kill Yogiri. She had come at the request of a god, so she had been allowed to teleport around.
“Nah, I can’t teleport. I forced my way into this world, so I don’t have the right permissions. If I was on my own, then maybe. But either way, I can float us there no problem.”
“So how do Lain’s teleportation devices work?”
“No idea what they are, but if they were made by someone in this world, they probably use the world’s own system to teleport,” Hiruko guessed.
“Hmm. If Hiruko can take us to the mainland, we’ll have no need to find Euphemia, will we?” Mokomoko said.
She was right. If they weren’t going to use the teleportation devices, they didn’t need Euphemia.
“But we did promise Risley we’d look for her, so we can’t just change our mind because we found another way.”
“Ohhh...I thought you would instantly choose to abandon them again once you found a way to your destination, Sir Takatou!”
“What sort of person do you think I am, Hanakawa?”
“An instant death cheating bastard?”
“You’re really something else...” Tomochika murmured.
“No, he is just convinced that power will never be turned against him,” Mokomoko added.
“Euphemia, is it? No idea who that is, but we can’t go ’til we find her, yeah? Let’s get moving, then.” As Hiruko finished speaking, the six of them floated up into the air. Her ability seemed much stronger than Luu’s. They felt totally stable despite being in the air.
“Okay then, take us to the capital.”
“You’re pretty blunt for dealing with a god here! Normally you’d be shuddering in fear at the thought of asking me for something, you know?!”
The six of them immediately lifted up above the trees and started heading in the direction Yogiri indicated.
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