Chapter 83: God's Plaything

―Congratulations! You've defeated the "Cruel Spirit Master"! You may now "Seize" up to three of his skills!

―Congratulations! You've earned the achievement "A Step Toward the Divine Realm"!

―Congratulations! Your level has increased!

▼

I woke up on a bed in a room I'd never seen before.

Gazing blankly at my arm, I realized I was hooked up to an IV.

…….

………….

What happened after that?

Looking at the clock, it was past ten in the evening.

Only about two hours had passed since then.

My clothes were still the same.

That meant I was still wearing the clothes that had been torn to shreds by the explosion of the grenade.

My upper body is completely exposed, but.

I don't feel particularly embarrassed about it being a male body.

Then, noticing a slight discomfort, he touches his face with his hand.

I realized I had lost my "brave one's glasses" without even noticing.

Probably wandered off during the battle with the "Spirit Master." I didn't notice until now.

...Hmm

A brief moment of contemplation.

For now, I decide I can't stay here like this.

I roughly pull out the IV drip and stagger to my feet.

Yeah, my body's still heavy. It's like a car running out of gas.

Food.

Anything will do—just something to eat.

I wander around the room, searching for something nutritious.

But I find nothing.

Mmm.

Reluctantly, I pull a flower from the vase by my pillow and put it in my mouth.

It’s not tasty, but I chew it anyway.

Then,

"What are you doing, you idiot?"

My eyes meet with a look of disbelief.

Two familiar faces.

One is Mr. Oda.

The other is the maid girl, Zutori, who used to serve the "master of slaves."

I place the flower back into the vase, its stem now bare.

"...What... what are you talking about...?"

Seeing my confusion, Odai gave a wry smile.

"At least now I know you're not an all-knowing, all-powerful god."

No, I don't need that kind of sarcasm.

"What about Saia?"

"She's fine. She's receiving nutrition through an IV, so her magic should recover soon."

Sotatsu calmly explained.

"Why are you here?"

"My master's life. I noticed the situation had begun to unfold, so I came to offer whatever help I could. If I had arrived just a little earlier, I could have made it in time to fight the spirit user..."

With that, I sighed deeply and looked at Oda's face.

"Honestly, answer me."

"What?"

"How many died?"

"Eight."

"Any injuries?"

"Not one. Either they died instantly, or miraculously walked away unharmed. It's fortunate no one suffered."

He replied with a nonchalant tone.

"Is that so..."

"What's wrong? Feeling guilty?"

"A little."

"Then undo the curse I placed on you and Mato."

"That's impossible."

"Damn it."

Spitting out the words, Oda turns his head away.

"Just so you know, I only helped you because Akechi said so. I was against it."

"Wasn't that because you threatened to make me kill myself if I did anything harmful to you?"

"Well, yeah, but... you know..."

"You can't be trusted."

"Hmph."

Even Oda didn't seem interested in getting used to each other.

Well, maybe it's just about right for us to stay at this level of relationship.

"Anyway, it's fine. Detective Shinichi also told me not to worry about you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"To be honest, I was ready to kill you just a moment ago. But I've changed my mind a bit."

"Is that so."

"For a long time... I thought there was some 'god' type figure somewhere in this world, spreading zombies and monsters, laughing maniacally. We were just toys to that mysterious bastard."

"A god, huh."

I recall Mr. Hibiya Norio saying something similar once.

Indeed, given how the world has turned out, it's hard not to question the existence of such a being.

"I thought for sure you were one of those people... but it seems that's not quite right."

"What do you mean?"

"The toys of 'God' aren't us. It's you—(・)you—(・)you—(・)you."

Hmm.

That's certainly a possibility.

Oda turned his back as if that was all he wanted to say,

"……Oh, I almost forgot. This is a room for executives. And officially, you're a 'promising new recruit,' a 'superman,' and a 'guardian of humanity.' So feel free to use it however you like."

With a sarcastic expression, he said this and walked out of the room.