“Well, of course. I’m a god, after all.”
“Right. Yes, of course. I understand that, but still,” I said.
Eldrid shook me frantically as she said, “H-Hey! Akira, don’t talk to Lord Ameithys like that!”
“Huh? Oh, well, this is how we usually talk,” I replied.
“No, no, no! Show some respect! This is blasphemy! Blasphemy!”
“O-Okay...”
She was clearly upset. Scrael had a similar reaction last time too. Everyone was crazy reverent of him, though they were probably the normal ones.
“Akira is Japanese, so I don’t really blame him,” said God. “They think of gods and Buddha as familiar beings.”
“I do put my hands together in worship at household kamidana shrines, at Buddhist altars, and toward my oshis. Should I change my attitude?” I asked.
“Nah, don’t worry about it. Just be yourself,” he said.
“Thank you.”
I put my hands together as a show of respect, Japanese style. It was a gesture that originated in Asia—India, to be more specific. God was pretty open-minded about the method of prayer we wanted to use.
Eldrid walked up to me and whispered into my ear, “So...what’s going on here?”
“The thing is, I’m actually from another world. I’ve been visiting your world by passing through God’s place here,” I explained.
“R-Really? I mean, it isn’t that I don’t believe you, seeing how we’re in the presence of Lord Ameithys himself. So that’s why you have his blessing— Wait, that means—”
“Oh, Eldrid, let’s not talk about that, okay?” interrupted Ameithys.
“As you wish,” replied Eldrid. She then seemed to have remembered something and knelt before the god again, her expression grave. “P-Pardon me! There’s something I’d like to ask of you!”
“I know what this is about,” he said.
“You...do? Well, of course you do. So—”
“Sorry to say, but I can’t help you on that one.”
“B-But why?!” asked Eldrid.
“That’s the rule,” replied God. “We’ve decided long ago to not intervene more than necessary.”
“Is there no way you’ll reconsider?” insisted Eldrid.
“No. Your dad asked me too, but I simply can’t get involved.”
They seemed to be talking about something important.
Eldrid fell silent and looked at God pleadingly, but he only shook his head.
So Eldrid’s dad has met God before?
I’d heard it was pretty common for other races to meet their gods, but considering Eldrid was a Tail, I would’ve assumed her dad would’ve been visiting his own god. I wondered what the backstory was there.
“Anyway, keep your chin up,” said God. “It might be against the rules for me to say something like this, but it isn’t as if your issue won’t be resolved.”
“Is that true?!” asked Eldrid, perking up.
“Yup, so don’t worry about it too much. I’m sure someone will help you.”
“Yes... Yes, Lord Ameithys!”
Eldrid seemed to be going through something rough, but God’s words had reignited her fighting spirit.
“What are you guys talking about, El? What did you ask of him?” I asked, not able to help my curiosity.
“Well, it’s, uh...complicated,” said Eldrid.
“Yeah. I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything from my end,” said Ameithys.
So even God isn’t gonna tell me. Well, I guess it’s a private matter. I get that.
God smiled gently at Eldrid. “Anyway, go have fun today.”
“Y-Yes, I will,” she said.
“Oh! There’s something I need to talk to you about,” I said to God.
“Ah, right. You mean her clothes, ears, and tail, right? I’ll take care of them,” he said as he cast a spell.
“Huh? Whoa!” said Eldrid. Her ears and tail turned invisible (or so I assumed), and her clothes changed into a high-neck knit top and a pair of denim pants. Her tail stuck out from above her butt, so I figured there was a hole there.
“There isn’t anyone in Akira’s world who looks like Tails, so— Huh?” said God as he noticed Eldrid’s reaction.
“M-My ears and tail...” she said with tears in her eyes as she dropped to her knees.
It was the quintessential pose of despair. Her features seemed to have disappeared to her, though they were still faintly visible to me. The people of Do-Melta really were proud of their race’s distinct characteristics. She looked absolutely devastated just like last time with Scrael. God seemed a bit taken aback too.
“Th-This is a trial for me to overcome! I can do it!” she said to herself.
Huh? Trial?
“The clothes are a gift from me. Yeah!” said God as he made a peace sign with his fingers. He was quirky as usual.
“Okay, let’s get going then,” I said.
“All right, bring it on! I’ll beat anyone who stands in our way!” said Eldrid.
“No, El. We’re just gonna hang out and have fun.”
“I know. I’ll beat them up while having fun.”
Eldrid was acting weird now that her ears and tail were invisible to her, and I was starting to get worried. Was she panicking because her precious pride and joy were gone?
“Take care. Oh, and don’t forget to bring something back for me,” said God.
“Sure. We’ll see you later!” I said.
I mentally prepared a list of gifts for God as I teleported into my own world with Eldrid.
§
It took no time before we arrived in modern Japan in my room, which looked like any other typical high school boy’s room. My parents weren’t home, so we didn’t have to worry about them—not that anything would’ve been different if they were around.
Meanwhile, Eldrid seemed to have recovered from the confusion of losing her ears and tail. She seemed interested in my room and its furniture, and she spent some time looking around curiously. She kept herself busy poking things and picking them up as she wandered around.
“This world really is completely different from ours,” she noted as she stared at my room’s walls. There, she found a home appliance that could be considered a modern essential. “What’s that?” she asked.
“That’s the AC,” I said.
“A-C? What’s that?”
“It’s for adjusting the temperature in the room,” I explained.
“Really? That sounds useful for hot summer days.”
Tails, like Eldrid, had fluffy ears and tails, so summer heat must’ve been especially hard on them. I’d seen cats and dogs with long fur get summer haircuts because of this. Though, Tails only had fur on their ears and tails.
I closed the curtains and turned the lights on and off, and even that seemed to impress Eldrid.
“Wow! I wonder if my world will become this convenient too as technology advances,” she wondered aloud.
“Probably,” I said.
“The bed sure looks soft,” she said, then sat her butt on it and bounced a few times. She had a childish side that reared its head every once in a while.
I picked up the TV remote and said to myself, “Let’s see if the weather forecast is on.”
I turned on the TV and changed the channel, which happened to have the weather report on. The forecaster confidently assured us it would be sunny all throughout the week, which meant we wouldn’t have to worry about any sudden rain. The weather would be perfect for going out.
Eldrid stopped bouncing on my bed and looked at the TV with a puzzled expression. “What’s that?”
“It shows other locations with the power of technology,” I explained.
“Huh. I wonder how it works?”
“Let’s not sweat the details. That was the weather forecast.”
“Weather forecast? They know what the weather is gonna be beforehand?” asked Eldrid.
“Yup. They’re usually spot-on too.”
“That sounds nice. I don’t like getting wet, so knowing what the weather is gonna be would be really helpful.”
She seemed quite impressed. Weather forecasting wasn’t a thing in her world, and I’d heard their weather changed based on the will of the gods, so things like weather maps would be useless over there. It’d probably be more likely for them to have a program that went like “Here’s the report on the moods of the gods today,” though the complete disregard for privacy might be a problem.