第６１２堀：大・降・臨！！ (Part1)
Chapter 612: The Grand Descent!!
The Grand Descent!!
Side: Yuki
"Ah, you've come. I've heard the story from Mizu."
The one who greeted us with those words was Sota-san, one of the founders of this academy and a fellow Japanese person.
He’s a ghost, though.
Well, that’s beside the point.
Up until now, we’ve always had extras tagging along, which limited what we could discuss. But for today’s visit, it was only the members of Weed.
Because of that, we decided to have him answer everything we wanted to know.
What happened 500 years ago? And how should we deal with the mana-related problems in this new continent?
I had asked Mizu to relay the gist of these topics beforehand, knowing that if I brought them up out of the blue, he wouldn't be able to answer.
Duke Kamishiro and Kagura know that we came to this world—or rather, were abducted—due to mana depletion, but they don’t know the specifics of what we’re doing about it.
To be honest, I don’t really know either. For now, we’re just using the dungeon to gather mana and installing filtration and circulation devices in various locations.
It really makes me realize how small human efforts are when faced with the grand scale of nature.
"Now, I’d like to get into the discussion, but before that, I think you should grasp the problems currently occurring at the academy—or rather, in Heiden."
"Hm? I thought the current problems were for the younger generation to handle..."
"This isn't a situation that can wait. The circumstances changed drastically yesterday."
"Mizu, what do you mean?"
If it were just a matter of conflict between nations, it would be one thing, but when I informed him of the possibility that academy students were being used as sacrifices, his smiling face turned expressionless.
"...I see. So they were securing mana through sacrifices. And using students from our academy, no less."
"It’s a bit late to mention this, but mana consumption isn't that high when using magic here. However, summoning is a different story. Moving or transferring living beings without causing injury or loss of life requires an immense amount of mana. You can see that from the pendants of the Three Houses that Kagura and Princess Carrie possessed. Well, those were for summoning beings like us from other worlds, so the mana consumption was incomparable to standard magic."
"So, the summoning of these monsters, and the war 500 years ago—you’re saying they were forcibly summoning them by taking lives in the same way?"
"I’d like to say yes, but I don’t know anything about what happened 500 years ago, so I can’t say for sure. I thought that if we were to find the cause of the mana depletion here, we should know about the events of 500 years ago that are thought to have triggered it. By the way, do you know anything about the dungeons?"
"Dungeons, huh? I was surprised when I heard you were using that power, but since we’ve already met and talked, and I’ve been nagged by Mizu about it, I’ve come to terms with it."
"Judging by that reaction, it seems the war 500 years ago was indeed..."
"Yes. The dungeons were involved as well. It’s a rather complicated story, though. But that aside, I heard there’s a god who told you about what happened 500 years ago..."
"...Yes. Based on what that god said, we narrowed down the cause of the mana depletion here to that era."
Damn it, it was impossible to avoid bringing that up, wasn't it?
"Does that mean you could say that god is the cause of the conflict 500 years ago?"
"No, I haven't heard any detailed stories. In fact, the person in question says they are hands-off regarding this matter."
According to that useless goddess, it was just one of her "failed experiments" that she deemed too troublesome, so she put it on the back burner.
"Hmm. It sounds like she might know the behind-the-scenes story. Could I meet and talk with her too?"
"I suppose you could talk to her, but she really doesn't know anything. If she did, I wouldn't be asking you here."
To be honest, the "behind-the-scenes" story is more like the "behind-the-behind," and it has nothing to do with the war 500 years ago—it’s just the ramblings of those idiots, the gods of Aulorito.
"Well, I suppose so. Mizu says she’s Amaterasu Omikami, right? As the son of a shrine, I’d love to meet the supreme deity of Japanese mythology, the Sun Goddess herself... would that be impossible?"
It’s possible.
It’s precisely because it’s so easy to meet her that I don’t want them to.
Along with the desire not to crush Sota-san’s hopes, my biggest worry is whether he’ll actually believe she is Amaterasu Omikami once he sees her.
If things go poorly, the trust I’ve built with Sota-san might crumble instantly because of that useless goddess.
To me, she is nothing but a walking bomb.
...What should I do? Should I say we can’t meet? Should I insist she isn't here?
But if it’s discovered later that I kept them apart, my credibility could hit rock bottom.
In that case, should I persuade that useless goddess to at least dress the part?
No, if she were the type to listen to people like that, I wouldn’t have had such a hard time from the start.
*SLAM!!*
As I was trapped in this maze of thoughts, Sota-san and Mizu’s gazes suddenly shifted from me to the door.
Ah, did someone come in? Before I could turn my head toward the door...
"I have arrived upon being called!! Amaterasu Omikami, the Grand Descent!!"
I froze.
I froze, and the blood drained from my face.
A familiar voice.
Unfortunately, my ears and the brain that remembered them told me it wasn't my wife, nor anyone related to Heiden.
Without a doubt, it was her—the idiot had arrived without even being called.
The die was cast.
...I had to steel myself and explain.
When I turned my face toward the door, there she was—the fallen, useless goddess, wearing her usual office suit with zero dignity, striking the transformation pose of Japan’s first Tokusatsu hero.
"Um... why is a foreigner doing a Kamen R*der pose?"
Sota-san’s question was the most logical reaction possible.
"Huh? Why are you surprised for a different reason?"
"Don't throw this on me. And if you’re going to come in, just come in normally, normally!!"
"Eh? But Japanese people these days have more skepticism than faith, right? They wouldn't believe me even if I wore some suspicious, see-through robes. Besides, this suit is cooler and more functional, and it’s not like I have a penchant for exposure."
"Couldn't you at least have some divine light shining or something!?"
"That’s just blinding, isn't it? It’s not something you do when you’re about to introduce yourself and have a long talk."
"I’m not saying do it forever! Just at the start, for the sake of persuasion! Persuasion!! How could anyone look at a blonde, odd-eyed woman in an OL suit and think, 'Ah, that’s Amaterasu Omikami'!? Anyway, stop that pose and get in here already."
"Yes, yes. You’re so impatient, this man."
*You’re* the one causing all this chaos!!
I started to say it, but swallowed the words.
Don’t get sucked into her pace.
"...Um, judging by the situation, there’s no mistake that she is Amaterasu Omikami, right?"
"...Yes. That god doesn't really have a fixed appearance, and that clothing is clearly from Earth. I don't think such clothes exist in this world."
"...Well, I suppose so. Plus, she did that Kamen R*der pose, so there’s no doubt she knows Japan. And she appeared right in front of the door out of nowhere."
"Indeed. To be able to teleport to this location instantly... she must possess immense power."