I pulled a ring out of my inner breast pocket and tried to slip it onto her left ring finger. Unfortunately, Liese wasn’t the only one trembling; my hands were shaking too much to put the ring on properly.
Ah, gods. I’m so uncool.
“I’ve wanted to do this for quite some time. I’ve already spoken with both of our parents. I also discussed it with my father’s closest royal aides, who helped me plan. Believe me, it really wasn’t meant to be at a place or time like this...”
I’d already lost the air of composure, so I went ahead and laid everything bare. Liese suddenly turned to her father, as if to confirm what I’d said.
“It’s the truth,” Marquis Riefenstahl said. He was smiling, but there was something melancholic about the way he held back his tears. “His Highness wanted to propose sometime before graduation and hold the wedding by next fall, but...I suppose we can have things ready by the spring. In fact, that’s our only choice.”
Father and daughter locked eyes with gazes full of meaning. The extent of sentiment exchanged between the two pairs of damp amethyst gems was lost on me.
Eventually, Marquis Riefenstahl averted his eyes with a quiet nod. As Liese also turned away, I could hear her breath catch in her throat. Slowly, she faced me once again.
“...May I?” I’d finally steadied my hands and was ready to put the ring on her.
“I’m...so happy...” Liese placed her other hand on mine, and together, we pushed the ring to the base of her finger.
Fzzt!
Out of nowhere, Lirenna blasted out a ray of light.
“I-I’m sorry! It’s just, well, like I said, my soul is linked to Lady Lieselotte’s in a lot of ways, and, um... Thank you for the wonderful emotions? Gods like me happen to shine when we receive potent doses of power, and, uh, I didn’t mean to...”
As she rapidly made excuse after excuse, Lirenna bent her knees and returned to her default position.
“Read. The. Room.”
Lady Kobayashee spoke with a low tone so steeped in fury that Lirenna once again vigorously smashed her head against the ground. Unbearable silence followed, and I had to be the one to break it.
“There are still things we need to learn from this goddess,” I said. “Liese, would you do me the honor of a more put together proposal at a later date?”
Although my fiancée looked incredibly disappointed, she nodded all the same. To begin with, this was all Lirenna’s fault: if she could stay on track for more than a few sentences, none of this would have happened. I wanted to hurry up and be done with her explanations.
“And? What is this ‘Magikoi’ that you keep referencing? If Kuon is trying to use it to harm Fiene, then how did Lord Endoh and Lady Kobayashee come to use it to help us?”
I ended up coming off rather harshly despite speaking to a deity. Still, Lirenna didn’t even budge from her groveling position and answered right away.
“Kuon made a game called Magikoi, and essentially spread Fiene’s story to as many people as he could in the other world. As more people in that realm think of her and pray for her, the connection between the two worlds grows stronger. Specifically, there’s a route connecting Fiene in particular to the universe abroad.”
The goddess’s explanation painted a picture in my mind. First came a lone person walking in the snow. Then, another followed in their footsteps. Another, and another still, treading the same pockets of snowless ground, until there was a full-fledged path through the white powder of winter.
“That connection was meant to be a direct avenue to Kuon, since his long years of stalking Fiene’s soul gives them a lot of history together. Then, he’d turn the emotions of all the young girls who played the game across the globe into his own power. In fact, I suspect he prepared a story that’s similar to that.”
“The God Route,” Lady Kobayashee spat in rage.
“That’s it,” Lirenna said, lifting her head just enough to nod. “However, what Kuon didn’t account for was the possibility that his ties of fate to Fiene would lose to someone else’s affinity to the game. Basically... Wait, am I allowed to say this?”
Lirenna cocked her head with a puzzled expression. She looked my way, and when we met eyes, I mirrored her confusion. I didn’t know why she’d stopped, but I figured it didn’t hurt to nod her along.
“Basically, Kuon and Fiene’s bond was weaker than Lady Kobayashi and Lord Endo’s bond to Lady Lieselotte. I can only speculate as to why their bond is so strong, but my best guess is that these youthful gods might have empathized with her passionate, purehearted, and one-sided love. Then, they just happened to slot into the position Kuon had made for himself as the Voices of the Gods.”
One...sided...love? Whether Lirenna was talking about Lord Endoh or Lady Kobayashee, that was not something that ought to be revealed so frivolously. It had absolutely hurt to nod her along. A cold sweat ran down my spine and Liese looked like she was ready to strike the goddess down where she laid.
“But there are other possibilities! Maybe one of them has the exact same personality as someone here! Or maybe their souls are really similar to the people of this kingdom! Who knows, maybe they’re perfectly suited to wielding power that comes from the hearts of young girls! They might just happen to care more about this world than anyone else! I only made my first guess because it seemed like their attachment revolved around Lady Lieselotte, and—”
“You’re getting off track again, you useless goddess.” Lord Endoh sighed in a way that made his irritation clear.
“Erk!” Lirenna croaked. “Anyway, I’m sure the reason you two wonderful gods ended up like this is that Kuon mistakenly let his pathway to this world slip to your location. Your powers are a result of all the purehearted prayers that make up the pathway in the first place—which, come to think of it, explains why it didn’t go to Kuon. He’s the furthest thing from pure of heart...”
“You’re going off on another tangent,” Lady Kobayashee said. “Whatever, can you tell us how we ended up ‘blessing’ Liese-tan and Bal?”
“Oh, divine favor comes from a god’s love and power. In most cases, the god shares a part of their magical energy through a...prayer? I guess? Whenever a god prays for a mortal from the bottom of their heart, it just kind of happens. It’s a quirk of divinity, just like that ray of light from earlier.”
“Oh, I remember that...” Lady Kobayashee said.
Lirenna’s head had been off the ground for quite a while now, but the memory of her past mistake caused it to slowly return to earth.
“I’m so sorry! Oh, but since you two are only technically gods in this world when you’re playing Magikoi, you shouldn’t have to worry about sparkling on accident or anything! The two instances of divine favor you used were both a part of the wishes accumulated from the game’s playerbase. From my perspective, it looks like Lady Lieselotte and Baldur are being enveloped in the warm love of all the young ladies who want nothing more than for them to live.”
“That sounds like a pretty common hope for all Magikoi players, all right,” Lord Endoh said. “Still, I’m impressed that you know so much about all this.”
“With almost all of my powers restored, I’m close to being omnipotent. That’s why I can hear your voices. At this point, I have the power to peel Kuon’s soul off of the human Kirise that he’s attached to.” Lirenna stood up with her head held high and looked up at the heavens. “Lady Kobayashi, Lord Endo. I ask of you, please accept my love.”
Suddenly, a beam of golden light shot into the night sky. The holy ray soared higher and higher, further than the stars themselves. Eventually, it made its way to the gods beyond.
“Huh?”
“Whoa, what?!”
“With this, I have blessed the two of you with my divine favor. Should you confront Kuon again, I will be able to tear him off of his poor victim. Then, I can seal him away so that Fiene can live her life without worry. After all that, this awful ‘game’ that Kuon designed can end.” Lirenna flowed like water into her usual pose and begged the two gods. “I know this is an incredible burden, but please, won’t you go and speak with Kuon on my behalf?”
“Sure,” Lady Kobayashee said. Her tone was completely casual. “I mean, you already blessed us and everything, so... Plus, I feel bad for Kuon Kirise.”
“Sounds good to me,” Lord Endoh said. “There is one thing bugging me, though. Since magic doesn’t exist in our world, what point is there to this blessing? Is it just a foothold for you to capture Kuon with?”
“That isn’t all!” Lirenna hopped up and puffed her chest with pride. “The effects are harder to feel without magic, but you two—wait for it—are now extremely lucky!”
Lirenna went as far as to place her hands on her hips and cock her head toward the heavens. Her prideful demeanor got Art to applaud, but no one else followed suit. Perhaps it was all the dirt on every part of her body that killed her attempt at dignity.
“We’re...lucky? What does that even mean?” Lady Kobayashee asked, unexcited.
“You won’t be winning the lottery or anything, but getting a prize at a small raffle will be easy peasy! Oh, and the two of you are students, right? Hitting closer to home, my power will help you on your exams. When you sit down to take a test...all of the things you studied will show up!”
“But we still have to study?” The disappointment in Lord Endoh’s voice was palpable.
“Of course. If you could get full marks without studying, that would surpass the bounds of luck. This blessing is more of a ‘Oh, nice,’ kind of thing. But you’re going to be kind of lucky for the rest of your lives! You’re going to be a teensy bit luckier no matter what you do! Isn’t that amazing? Aren’t I amazing?!”
“Wow.” Lady Kobayashee was more devoid of emotion than anyone or anything I’d ever heard before. “Amazing.”