Though I had reconfirmed my decision to live together with Reina, that didn’t mean that anything had changed. We did the same things as always; when it was time to eat, Luna and Tailtiu would come visit, we’d wait with bated breath for Reina to finish cooking, and we’d occasionally boast about the prey we’d hunted. If I had to point to a change, it was the one in my heart—I enjoyed this daily routine, and I wished that it could go on forever.
“To think that I asked the god to live by myself...”
Before I realized it, I was hardly ever alone, and there was always someone by my side. And someone was always smiling. Unlike in my previous life full of cold relationships, I felt lucky to be enjoying this wonderful everyday life.
I heard a familiar voice from outside the tent calling my name.
“Arata, are you ready?”
“Oh, Reina? Yeah, I’m ready.”
“Jeez, you took way too much time,” she said.
I went outside and looked at her.
“Wh-What is it? You’re staring at me so intently.”
Reina Mistral—the first person I’d met on this island, an irreplaceable friend, and someone I had always been able to count on. It would be no exaggeration to say that it was thanks to her that my life here was so abundant.
“I was just thinking that I’m glad I met you,” I said.
Reina silently averted her eyes. Her ears were tinged with scarlet from apparent embarrassment. She was normally cool and composed, but I thought this side of her was cute.
“Umm, Arata... Just so you know, if you go around saying that to just anyone, one day you’ll get stabbed.”
“Huh? What do you mean? That’s scary.”
“If you’re scared, then be a bit more careful.”
With that, she broke into a brisk walk, and I followed after her. We advanced through the untouched forest until what looked like a traditional Japanese village came into view. It was the village of the Divine Beastfolk, where some of the friends I’d made on this island—like Luna and Elga—lived. Today, we were here on their chief Suzaku’s invitation.
“Oh, Miss Reina and Mister Arata! Over heeere!” said Luna.
The moment she noticed us, she called out in a lively voice and came over from the entrance to the village. She must have been waiting for us.
From her perked-up fox ears to the tail coming out from her shrine maiden-style outfit, it was immediately clear that she was not exactly human, but that didn’t mean she was any different from us; she just was a bright, cheerful girl. She had been friendly with us since we had first met her, and it was thanks to her that we had met all sorts of other people. From that perspective, we owed our rich lives mainly to her.
“Grandma said she’ll show you guys something amazing today!” Luna said.
“Oh, really? That’s exciting,” Reina said.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Eheh heh heh, that’s a secret!” Luna smiled as bright as the sun, bringing a smile to both of our faces. It was amusing watching her hold back, despite how much she surely wanted to tell us all about it.
Luna guided us from there not to Suzaku’s mansion but to the main square of the village where the feast had been held. All the Divine Beastfolk—as well as the Beastfolk—were already there, standing at the ready and looking vaguely restless.
“Hey, guys! You’re finally here!”
“There’s nothing ‘finally’ about it! We still have plenty of time. You went and brought us all together despite that... What a waste of time.”
“Hah, didn’t I say that in this village, my word is law?! That means that I decide when we meet up!”
“Yeah, as if!”
The woman with an arrogant smirk in the middle of the group was Phoenix, also known as Suzaku, the leader of the Divine Beastfolk and the only original Divine Beast remaining on the island. Next to her was the Divine Beastfolk warrior Elga, whose Ancestor was the Divine Beast Fenrir; he was getting angry at her, but I could tell that he was just messing around. Beside them were the descendants of Behemoth, Leviathan, and others that were known as powerful beings even in my world, and they were smiling as they watched Elga and Suzaku’s exchange. It looked like everyone was having fun.
Suzaku spoke to me. “Anyway, ignoring this fussy guy—”
“Why, you!” Elga said, interrupting her.
“I called you here today because I want to give you a reward,” she went on. “Go ahead and shed tears of gratitude!”
She laughed heartily. Though she was a woman, she was a man’s man. However, it was hard to feel gratitude when I didn’t know what I was getting yet, so I was at a loss as to how to respond.
“Wait, a reward?” I asked.
“That’s right! After you beat Gaius, didn’t I say I’d do anything for you within my power?”
“Oh...”
“Even though I, the great Divine Beast Suzaku, made such a wonderful offer, you never asked me for anything.”
She sounded somewhat peeved, probably because she had lost a rare opportunity to show off her power. I had originally considered asking her to tell me a way to return Reina to the continent from where she came, but as that was no longer necessary, I had completely forgotten.
“Oh, yeah, well...”
“And so! With no other choice, I came up with a great idea myself!”
The moment Suzaku finished speaking, a beautiful set of dark crimson wings sprouted from her back. They contained a scorching hot energy, like that of the sun, and I could sense a deep, powerful strength within them that I’d never felt before. Yet at the same time, there was also an all-enveloping warmth, and I didn’t feel a trace of fear.
Standing next to me, Reina gazed at the wings of fire, simply transfixed. “Pretty...”
I couldn’t tear my eyes off of them either. And the surrounding Beastfolk beheld Suzaku as though she was a god.
“Well now, it won’t do for you all to be surprised by only this much!” Suzaku tightly wrapped her wings of fire around her body, hiding herself from view. Then, the cluster of flames gradually grew in size, becoming a towering pillar that pierced the heavens, and...
“A bird of flame?” I said.
“Amazing...” Reina said. “I’ve never felt power like this from the monsters on the continent, and I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
A dark crimson bird freely flew about the vast, far-off sky. It was comparable in size to the Emperor Boar, and it gave off an incredible power. It was stronger than anything else I’d seen here on this island, at the very least. I had been given this new life by a genuine god, and I’d never yet felt fear in the face of any of the power I’d been up against. But now, even if only slightly, I felt that Suzaku’s power might be frightening.
As we watched, fascinated, Suzaku called out to us from up in the sky.
“How about that! Is this godly form impressive enough for you all?!”
There was nothing different about her tone of voice, which assured me that this was the same Suzaku as always.
She then leisurely alighted upon the ground; contrary to her power, she didn’t give off any pressure, and she simply stood there.
“All right now, why don’t you all take a ride on my back? I’ll give you the privilege of looking down on this island from the sky!”
“Huh?” I exclaimed.
“This can’t be real...” Reina said.