Chapter Intermission That’s Why I Am Undefeated Gods’ Games We Play In the Ruin branch office of the Arcane Court—specifically, in the basement Dive Center—Miranda stood stock-still. “Ugh, I’m so tired. And my feet hurt…” She’d been standing that way for an hour already. Under any other circumstances, she would have flopped down onto the sofa behind her and leaned back to enjoy a nice, comfortable break while she watched the gods’ games play out. But not today. “And Fay and his friends don’t have a Godeye lens…” The Arcane Court wasn’t even getting footage of the game, thanks to an aberration that had been affecting the Divine Gates ever since Anubis’s little “force everyone to come to her labyrinth” trick. The whole point of today’s game had been to check whether the aberration had been corrected—the general public had never even been informed of the issue. If that had been the only factor at play, Miranda would have flopped right back onto that sofa—but it wasn’t. “Human!” “Y-yes, ma’am?!” the chief secretary squeaked, immediately straightening up again. This was the true reason Miranda couldn’t relax: Someone who outranked her was present. Someone who outranked her by an overwhelming, superlative, utterly unbridgeable gulf of an amount—none other than a god. “What might I do for you, Lady Uroboros?!” A silver-haired girl was perched cross-legged atop the Divine Gate. This was the spiritual body, the form that the Endless God Uroboros had adopted when coming to the human world. Her presence kept Miranda on her toes—and on her feet. “I’ve got something to say.” “Yes, ma’am?!” The girl broke into a broad grin. “This pizza sure is delicious!” She had been wordlessly wolfing down one slice of pizza after another the entire time. “Thin, fragrant, perfectly crisped pizza dough loaded with four kinds of cheese—wonderful. Even my undefeated self could nearly succumb to such a thing!” “Yes, ma’am, and you might be interested to know that this particular pizza is even better with a drizzle of honey on—” “What?!” Uroboros’s eyes went wide. She didn’t even wait for Miranda to finish. “You would put honey on pizza?!” “Yes, ma’am. It’s the perfect complement to the salty flavor of the cheese. Would you like to try it?” “I would!” “I’ll get some for you right away. Ahem… Incidentally, Lady Uroboros…” This was the perfect opportunity: While the god was enjoying delicious food and in a decent mood, Miranda spoke seriously, carefully. The last thing she wanted to do was upset this deity. “I know you investigated the abnormality with the Divine Gates, my lady. Did you happen to uncover any clues?” “………” Uroboros abruptly went silent. “Ack! I—I mean, not to rush you or anything! Er, ahh, you must, of course, investigate at your own pace!” “I already know.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Er… What?” “Heh heh! Do not forget, I am the mistress of a hugely popular game. Adorable, immensely popular, and beloved—that’s why I am undefeated!” “……………Right.” Miranda wasn’t quite clear what this declaration of her supposed “immense popularity” had to do with the results of Uroboros’s investigation. She managed to swallow the question moments before it left her mouth. “If you would be so kind, perhaps you could explain to me?” “Sure!” The silver-haired god bounded down from the divine statue, landing smack in front of Miranda. “There were two divine mechanisms in play. The Divine Gate…” Uroboros’s gaze dropped to Miranda’s hand, focusing on a small black device she was holding. “…and that thing.” “The Godeye lens?!” Miranda burst out. The lens was just a machine, distributed by Arcane Court headquarters to the branch offices for the apostles’ use. “I was kicked out earlier because there was some sort of mechanism affecting the Divine Gate. And then there was that thing you humans were all upset about because it was sucking everyone into a single game, right? That Lucemia situation.” “Y-yes, I remember…” “This thing was the mechanism.” Uroboros pointed to the Godeye lens again. “It’s like… Hmm. Like a collar with a chain attached. When a god pulls on the chain, they can pull the human wearing the collar right to them.” “You’re saying this is…a divine collar?!” The Godeye lens was a collar, and the apostles were voluntarily wearing it? And wait… A god could simply “pull” on this collar and draw all the apostles wearing one to a single place? Was that the truth behind the labyrinth, Lucemia? “You mean there was another god there besides you, Lady Uroboros?” “Uh-huh. Probably the same one that messed with me in the maze, I guess?” The deity turned on her heel. “The source of the power is right over there.” “Uh…that’s a wall.” “From that direction of the continent. Do you have a world map? Ah, here. It’s right around here.” Uroboros went over to a map of the world hanging on one wall, and with her small fingers, she pointed to… “The Myth City of Heckt-Scheherezade? Lady Uroboros, that’s…that’s where Arcane Court headquarters is located.” “Uh-huh.” Uroboros nodded. Apparently, she didn’t actually care that much about that fact, because she nonchalantly picked up the can of ginger ale she’d left on the floor. “There’s a god there. Several of them, actually.”