“But, well...do you mind that I fell in love at first listen?”
“At first listen?” Aoto asked, cocking his head. He didn’t know what that meant, or why Shihono needed to feel sorry for it.
“Yup, love at first listen,” she said, nodding over and over. “It was in April last year, around the time we first entered high school. I happened to hear a really nice voice and when I looked over, I was all, ‘Oh no, he’s my type too.’”
“Didn’t I have a complete buzz cut back then?” Aoto found it strange that he’d be anyone’s type with zero hair, and teasingly pointed this out.
“Yup.” However, Shihono’s response was exceedingly flat. “Your head has a really nice shape, Endo.”
“Th-Thanks?” Aoto didn’t know how to respond to serious praise about weird things. Still, he started considering shaving his head again in the back of his mind.
“Later on,” Shihono continued, “I’d watch you during baseball practice, and seeing you work so hard made me think you were a good person too. So, um...what I’m trying to say is that I had nothing but ulterior motives when I invited you to the club. I don’t think you should call me an angel or whatever, and honestly I feel pretty bad about it... But, um, is that fine?”
“I mean, all I can think of right now is that it’s super cute how honest you are. I’ll take care of you for the rest of my life.”
Moved by Shihono’s openness, Aoto pulled her close and hugged her like he was cradling the most precious thing in the world.
“Th-Thanks,” Shihono said, shyly wrapping her arms behind him.
Unfortunately, there was one person present that did not take kindly to the young couple’s heartwarming moment.
“Hey. Brats.” Kuon’s voice was practically jumping out of his throat to crawl on the floor. Seeing the two of them tied together before his very eyes was too much for the unpopular god. He glared at them with muddy hatred.
“Oh, shoot. I totally forgot. Er, sorry, I guess.”
The boy’s awkward apology as he let go of his new girlfriend only served to infuriate Kuon further.
“So you two get to enjoy your love too, huh?” the god said. “Humanity should just end already.”
Aoto reflexively moved to shield Shihono from the hateful god. However, the invincible lovestruck maiden went out of her way to scoff, stepping forward to taunt the pitiful mass of rage.
“Unlike you,” Shihono said, “I never killed my rivals, and I would never hurt Endo or anyone around him to win his love. Instead, I put in a lot of honest effort: I spent so much time thinking about clothes, hair, my body, and conversation topics, all so he’d think I’m cute. And after a year and a half of perseverance, we’ve finally grown close enough to date!”
Kuon could do nothing but angrily stare at the ground. With his immaturity on full display, he looked like a babbling child.
“And when Kobayashi did try and get in someone’s way,” Aoto said, “it was always so minor that it was more cute than mean. Kuon, you don’t have a shred of devotion, innocence, or cuteness; you’re sinister, violent, and self-centered. Have you even thought about what would make the girl you like happy? It doesn’t matter how handsome or powerful you are. No one will love someone like you.”
“Just so,” Lieselotte said, chuckling at her own memory. “Fiene confided in me that Baldur won her heart neither through looks nor power. His nearly idiotic level of candid affection, and the calloused hands he earned through years of diligent training broke down her walls. In fact, my sister wouldn’t stop bragging about him when she came to notify me of their official engagement.”
“Wait, they’re finally together?” Shihono asked with a beaming smile. “Yay! Did Sieg’s proposal inspire Bal to follow suit or something?”
“No, I’ve heard that Fiene announced that she was willing to marry him and inherit the Riefenstahl estate. For his part, Baldur said that he was going to do his utmost to keep her from regretting her decision by... Let me say that I have my reservations about his wording, but he is prepared to ‘tame’ her stomach, as it were. Apparently, he plans to treat her to a happy life full of delicious home cooking.”
“Bal already reeled in his catch, but he’s still preparing more bait!” Shihono squealed with joy. “Oh my gosh, he’s so precious.”
“Straightforward, loyal, and always thinking about what’ll make Fiene happy. That’s Baldur for you,” Aoto said. “Kuon, you were doomed to fail the instant you tried to cheat on Lirenna.”
“Lirenna is my other half!” Kuon said with an annoyed glare. “That thing loving me is a given. Isn’t it obvious that I wouldn’t be satisfied with that?”
“You’re terrible.” Shihono eyed him coldly, then turned to the sky. “Lirenna, you should forget about Kuon already and find someone else to love.”
“Ha,” Kuon laughed with scorn. “Lirenna can only love those that are her equal. As worthless as she is to me, she’s still a goddess. There isn’t anyone else that can possibly take my place in her heart.”
“Yeesh, what year is your info from?” Shihono asked. “They have an entire new generation of gods over there. Lirenna isn’t the only deity.”
“...What?” Kuon asked in shock.
“Why are you confused?” Lirenna asked her other half. “When we crossed fists with all our might, the remnants of our power flew out to every corner of the world to be absorbed by humanity. What do you think the magical spells they use are?”
Having developed Magikoi, Kuon clearly had some means of peeking at the possible futures of his original world. Thus, Lirenna had assumed that he knew about magic and the new age of gods, but she’d been wrong. He was completely lost.
“Uh... I... I just thought that they sure did evolve a lot in the time I wasn’t looking.”
“What? The way they bend the world to their wills is so obviously our power. And if a mortal soul manages to gather enough of it, then they’re the same as us. They’re gods, aren’t they? I managed to regain most of my strength, but there’s more than a few young ones that I might not be able to beat.”
Lirenna seemed somewhat proud as she delivered the news. As the Mother Goddess, she boasted about her children like a proud parent. Kuon shut up as the color drained from his face, but Shihono had no intentions of letting him slide.
“See?” she said, smirking. “There are other gods. Lirenna, aren’t there any that you might be interested in?”
“Uh, um, well... There are a few who celebrated my return to glory. And when they told me, ‘I rose to divinity because I felt your pain as the Witch of Yore and wanted to soothe your weary soul,’ my heart skipped a beat or two. But in the end, Kuon is my—”
“Give up on this cheater already.”
Shihono wouldn’t even let Lirenna finish her muttering. Aoto piled on yet another fact to push the goddess away from Kuon.
“Didn’t Artur’s ancestors receive divine favor from gods? Besides, as gross as it is, Kuon fell in love with Eve, right? I feel like Lirenna’s options aren’t as limited as Kuon makes them out to be.”
“But...humans are below her,” Kuon said.
“We keep telling you that the humans you made can become gods,” Shihono said. “Hold on, do we even know for sure that she loved you because you two were equals? I feel like romantic tastes change over time anyway.”
Now at a total loss for words, Kuon merely stood silent. He looked like his soul had left his body, prompting Aoto to whisper a question to the goddess.
“Hey, do you think you can capture him now?”
After a brief moment of silent epiphany, Lirenna shouted, “Gotcha!”
The instant the goddess’s excited voice rang out, Kirise’s body lost all strength. Aoto rushed over to catch him before he fell.
“Hgh...” Suddenly, Kirise gasped for air. “Wh-Whoa. Kuon’s gone...”
The young man blinked a handful of times in a state of awe. Still a bit unsteady, he pushed himself up from Aoto’s arms and raised both of his hands to wave lazily toward the sky. Once again the master of his own body, he shouted up at the heavens.
“Goodbye, Kuon! Make sure to listen to your wife when she scolds you! And thanks for everything!”
“You’re thanking him?” Aoto asked. “Wait, I thought Kuon was using your body for himself six days a week?”
“Oh,” Kirise said, turning around. “Despite everything, Kuon saved my life, you see. When I was in elementary school, I was a sickly, star-crossed, and incredibly pretty boy with only a few years to live.”
“Don’t say that about yourself,” Aoto said.
Kirise smiled.
Despite Aoto’s quip, he could see how a grin like this would necessarily come from a very pretty boy. The high schooler wasn’t wholly satisfied with how Kirise had said it himself, but the conversation moved along when Shihono joined in.
“So Kuon healed you, huh? Still, that doesn’t mean he can use your body however he wants. Lirenna, you better retrain him from scratch!”
“Yes, ma’am! You bet!” Lirenna was full of cheer and energy. “Don’t worry. I know I’m not the brightest goddess, so I’ll make sure to have my wonderful children help me. I’m not absolute anymore, but I’m not alone either!”
At that moment, something told Aoto that they were due for a happy ending. The original pair of gods and their relationship had been warped by their loneliness, yet now they would one day return to their original splendor. The boy held this belief close as Lirenna’s voice slowly drifted away.
“Oh, it looks like dawn is just about to break. Lady Lieselotte will awaken soon, and I have to hurry and seal Kuon’s soul away. I think this is it...”
Knowing that the end was close, Shihono rushed to unclip her Lieselotte key-chain from her backpack and stared intently at the noble girl inside.
“Please,” Lieselotte said in a bittersweet tone. “Don’t cry.”
Large beads of water bubbled up in Shihono’s eyes. “But I finally have a chance to speak to you, and you’re already leaving...”
“I’m sure this farewell will not be everlasting. Sieg and I will offer our thanks to you in the form of prayer, every day. Somehow, someday, I’m certain that we will meet again. After all, I have your blessing, don’t I?”
Shihono swallowed back her tears and nodded. Far, far away, she heard Lirenna’s voice come down from the heavens.
“Thank you for all that you’ve done! Lady Kobayashi, Lord Endo, I wish you the best!”
“Liese-tan, Lirenna, stay safe!” It took everything Shihono had to wring out her choked words with a smile. “Take care of everyone else, and...goodbye!”
Seeing Shihono grow emotional finally made it set in for Aoto that this was the end.
“I hope all of you can remain true to yourselves and stay happy! Goodbye!”
Whether the pair’s goodbyes reached the world beyond, they had no idea. The silent heavens offered no answer, but the two continued to wave regardless.