落とし穴番外：女神が新たる道へと踏み出す (Part1)
**Pitfall Side Story: The Goddess Takes a New Path**
**Side: Comet**
"Waaaaah...!"
A thunderous roar of cheering echoes through the stadium.
Amidst the clamor, the surface of my heart remains as calm as a mirror.
No, that’s not quite right.
Deep within me, there is a soul on the verge of igniting. It feels as if my heart is pounding in sync with that soul, a rhythmic roar of passion that I can almost hear.
I want to let these emotions explode right now.
But I am holding back.
Yes, I am desperately suppressing it, and perhaps the sheer shock of the surrounding cheers has caused everything to cancel out, leaving my heart at a perfect zero.
Or maybe, I’ve simply overflowed my capacity to feel, and now I’m numb to it all.
As I analyze myself in such a way...
"Challenger Comet. Please proceed to the center of the stadium."
The staff member’s voice calls out to me.
"The Champion is waiting."
At those words, I finally remember why I am here.
"Understood. I'm going."
I reply, and with a dignified stride, I take my first step forward.
"Waaaaah...!!"
The roar, which was already deafening, grows even louder.
And rightly so. Because what is about to begin is...
"Having fought through the tournament and successfully resolved countless troubles, the battle everyone has been waiting for is finally here! Now, entering the arena is the challenger, Comet!"
"Waaaaah...!!"
The massive wave of sound vibrates through my body.
But this sensation only fuels my excitement.
Because... I am here to challenge the Champion.
I cast a glance at my partners attached to my waist.
Though they are hidden from view, I know.
*We can fight. Let’s aim for the Championship together.*
Their resolve reaches me clearly.
These are the partners I’ve adventured with all this way.
I am going to become the Champion with them.
Renewing my determination, I step onto the stage of the final battle.
The storm of cheers surrounds me, yet for some reason, they sound incredibly distant.
I suppose it’s because all my nerves are focused on the Champion standing before me, but it’s strange to be able to observe this sensation so objectively.
"Now, welcoming the challenger is the invincible Champion, Dan—"
*CRACK!!*
"Ouch!?"
My head was suddenly struck. No, I was hit!
"Hey, I was at the best part!!"
I turned around, complaining, only to see Hifi standing there with her hands on her hips, wearing an apron.
She wasn't in her usual revealing holy maiden attire, but in an apron that made her look like any ordinary housewife.
*Tch, is being a newlywed supposed to make you so high and mighty?*
"I can hear you, you know."
"Hmph. Someone as happy as you wouldn't understand my feelings. Besides, I was at a crucial moment! Don't get in my way."
That’s right. After a long, long journey, I am finally challenging the Champion of this Galar region alongside my friends from ancient times (the eternal friends I brought over from my previous work)!
There’s no doubt I’ll shut them out completely!
With that in mind, I reached out to resume the game when—
"I said, it’s time for dinner! Stop playing games!"
Hifi reached out her demonic hand toward my Switch.
"Whoa, don't touch that! You tech-illiterate fool! You'll erase the save data!"
I screamed, genuinely furious.
This Hifi, despite calling herself a goddess, is nothing more than a primitive who can't adapt to machine civilization at all.
Turning off the game without warning is her daily routine. To make matters worse, she occasionally causes data loss.
Well, the data loss this morning was just an experiment, so the damage was... limited to the disappearance of my partners at the time.
The greatest tragedy brought about by this demonic goddess was when she erased a rare, differently-colored creature that had finally appeared before me after a long journey—a cruel act that wiped out my joy in an instant.
That is why I scream with such seriousness.
What she is holding right now is the device containing the partners who have traveled with me for so long.
If, by any chance, they were to be erased, I would not hesitate to take action against her, friend or not.
If she dared to say, "It's just a game, just data," I don't think I could ever forgive her.
"Y-you don't have to be so harsh, do you?"
Perhaps realizing the intensity of my glare and the cruelty of her repeated actions, Hifi flinched.
In that instant, she dropped the game from her hands.
"Hiyah!!"
With a desperate shout, I lunged into the air and managed to catch it.
If I hadn't, it would have landed in the cup full of water below. It would have either suffered a hole-in-one, been soaked and broken, or been crushed under Hifi’s panicked feet. Either way, my partners would have vanished in an instant.
I cannot accept such a future.
That is why I put my body on the line to protect them.
"Honestly... what do you mean, 'don't be so harsh'? You say that, and then you go and drop it immediately."
"Ugh... B-but, dinner is ready, and you wouldn't come to the table, Comet! It's your fault!"
"Alright, alright... just don't come any closer."
"Mmph..."
If I resist any further, I’ll lose my partners' lives.
I’m confident I’d go insane if that happened.
So, I have no choice. I’ll quietly do as Hifi says.
After that little scuffle, when I arrived at the dinner table, Taizo-san was already sitting quietly, waiting for us.
"Sorry about that. I showed you something embarrassing."
"Don't worry about it. Though, the two of you are always so close, aren't you?"
"Taizo-san. That was clearly Comet's fault, wasn't it...?"
"Hahaha. It might be difficult for you to understand, Hifi-san, but I know the feelings of a gamer. That desire to not let go, to stay focused—I understand that feeling well."
*Nod, nod.*
Taizo-san is truly a wonderful man.
He’s too good for Hifi.
He can play games and has deep knowledge of both science and magic.
"Muuu..."
The person in question, perhaps frustrated that she didn't get the support of her husband, Taizo-san, puffed out her cheeks with a "muuu."