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V7 Story III – Part 04

“Um, Mayu-san…?” I called out to her, but she didn’t respond. “Mayu—”

“There’s something on my back, Odagiri-kun!” she screamed.

“Yes, I can see that,” I replied, studying the gods.

The gods appeared to like Mayuzumi’s back; they started marching in a line, even puffing their chests out.

“They’re walking! They’re walking, Odagiri-kun!”

“Indeed, they are.”

Apparently, the gods warmed up to those scared by them. They spun and twirled on top of Mayuzumi.

“They’re dancing, Odagiri-kun!” Mayuzumi’s voice grew more frantic. “They’re dancing!”

“Indeed, they are. Wait, how can you even tell what’s happening on your back?!”

Maybe she wasn’t actually that scared. I continued my observation.

“Get them off quickly!” Mayuzumi demanded. “If you don’t, your salary will go below zero!”

“You want me to pay reparations?”

I wouldn’t want that. I rushed over to her and gathered all the careless gods. Then at Mayuzumi’s command, we scoured the bedroom again, inspecting every piece of junk to ensure that there were no more gods lurking about.

Mayuzumi then summoned us once more, and we knelt before her as she sat on the couch, hugging her knees. She still believed there could be gods under.

She stared down at us with an icy glare. “So, what’s going on? Explain it to me.”

“When I returned to my apartment, I found that the god had split apart,” I began.

“Birth, regeneration, and proliferation,” Yusuke added.

Yusuke and I recounted the whole incident to Mayuzumi, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Yusuke’s explanation was unnecessary.

Mayuzumi was uncharacteristically silent, stroking her lips. “Proliferation, huh?” she spoke gravely. “The aggregate amount hasn’t changed, but the number has. Creatures created by supernatural abilities cannot reproduce. If you’ve surpassed that limitation, Yukihito-kun, you may be a prodigy. Either that, or this thing is an extremely powerless product miraculously born from your complete inability to control your powers.”

Yukihito didn’t know how to react to the two completely different evaluations.

Next to him came a steady thumping sound.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.

Mayuzumi was tirelessly knocking me on the head with her parasol. She sighed. “So, Odagiri-kun? Where else did you release these gods?”

“I don’t think there are any places left where you would go,” I replied. “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t go to a lot of places. Even if there were still other gods out there, she would never come across them.

Mayuzumi pursed her crimson lips. She hit me faster.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.

“I sure hope so,” she said. “I don’t want to see such creatures wandering the world. And as long as the clan head doesn’t find out about this, it’s all good. She’s gone, so…”

Suddenly, Mayuzumi fell silent, and an ominous hush descended upon the room.

I swallowed hard. A terrible sense of foreboding gripped me.

“I forgot something,” Mayuzumi said.

“Wh-What is it?” I asked, pushing the parasol away from my head.

Mayuzumi shrugged. “Well, you see, Odagiri-kun, before the clan head went to the inn, she wanted to stop by somewhere. She quickly corrected herself, but since her official business is done, she can spend her time however she wants. Given her character, she was probably heading there anyway.”

I had an inkling where. Sweat started to run down my forehead again.

“Odagiri is sweating a lot,” Hirugao remarked.

“Ssh! Don’t look!”

I decided to punch Yusuke later.

Steeling myself, I asked, “Where did she want to go?”

Mayuzumi threw a chocolate into her mouth and munched on the red, heart-shaped candy.

“There’s only one place she would want to go,” she answered.

I knew it.

In a sense, it was the worst possible answer.

“It’s your apartment.”

I got off the bus and sprinted at full speed, crossing the park in the blink of an eye and bounding up the incline.

I could hear labored breathing coming from behind me. Yukihito seemed to be on the brink of death.

But we didn’t have time to worry about him. Although it was highly likely that it was already too late, we hurried at full speed. Yusuke, carrying Hirugao on his back, was running ahead of me.

“Odagiri-san! Didn’t you lock the door?” Yusuke asked. “And you shouldn’t be lagging behind me!”

“If Aya’s there, she might be able to borrow a spare key from Nanami. Also, I… I know I need to get there first, but I can… only run… so fast…”

Just speaking a few words made me breathless. I forced my trembling legs to move, racing along the embankment by the road, until I finally reached the apartment. Aya had finished cleaning and was nowhere to be seen. The knot in my gut twisted harder.

We darted up the stairs. No matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn’t think of any good excuse to say to Shirayuki if she was there. I grabbed the doorknob; it was unlocked.

I swallowed and opened the door. “Shirayuki-san… Huh?”

There was no one inside. Through some sheer miracle, we made it just in time.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and breathed a sigh of relief. Yukihito collapsed behind me.

I apparently forgot to lock the door. That was a close call.

On the windowsill lay the dying god and a rattling dustpan. Yusuke also sighed and laid Hirugao on the tatami mat. She was sleeping despite all the commotion.

Yusuke cracked his neck. He opened the closet and reached for the futon on the top shelf.

“Since we made it in time, I’m gonna borrow your futon for Hirugao,” he said.

“Sure, go ahead. Knock yourself out.”

I approached the dying god with a sense of relief. I lifted it up, and it remained motionless. A mysterious solemness emanated from its silent form. Meanwhile, the dustpan continued to rattle.

As I pondered over what to do, a sudden interruption jolted me out of my thoughts.

There was a click, and the door opened.

“Hey, Odagiri! Shirayuki-san is here!” Aya said. Her gaze went to Yukihito. “Wait, you’re that guy from before.”

The two had met before when Yukihito came to pick up Shirayuki after the Ugoshi incident last month. There was also the cooking disturbance, the memory of which terrified me. Yet the current situation was even more dangerous.

She couldn’t have come at a worse time. There was no place to hide the dustpan and the god.

I frantically looked around, and my eyes fell upon the empty closet. Yusuke had already taken down the futon, but he was still standing in front of it, leaving no time to move.

“Odagiri-san, wh-what are you doing?! Aaah!”

I jumped into the closet, pulling Yusuke with me. It was too small for two men. Squeezing into position, I hugged the rattling dustpan tight, took off my suit, and wrapped it around the dustpan to secure it. Although the dying god posed no threat, the dustpan needed to be held.

“Odagiri-san, what’s gotten into—”

“Shh, be quiet!” I whispered.

I could hear Aya outside. Unfortunately, Yukihito had failed to stop her, and she entered the room.

“Um, is Odagiri not here? It felt like he was here. Wait, who’s this girl? Yukihito-kun, do you know her?” Aya asked.

I could see Aya and Shirayuki through the gap on the sliding door. Shirayuki was bent down, stroking Hirugao’s hair. Hirugao purred like a kitten.

“What, your sister? Really?” Aya mumbled. “You don’t look alike. Or is it normal for siblings not to resemble each other? I can’t really trust my own knowledge.”

Aya’s gaze swept the room, and she noticed the folded futon on the floor. Together with Shirayuki, she laid it out for Hirugao to sleep on.

“Yukihito-kun, you can’t just neglect your sister!” Aya scolded.

She sat down with Shirayuki to watch over Hirugao, their backs turned to us. Aya stretched herself a little and let her shoulders slump. She peered at Hirugao’s face.

“Look at her sleep,” Aya said. “Yukihito-kun, why don’t you come over here?”

Yukihito trotted over nervously and sat across Shirayuki and Aya. Our eyes met, and he put on a miserable smile.

“If only he could lie better,” I mumbled.

“I don’t think you’re one to talk,” Yusuke said. “You’re like the model of Japanese people who can’t say no.”

Aya looked around again, her ponytail swaying with each movement.

“Hmm… I wonder when Odagiri’s coming back. Maybe we should have waited at Nanami-san’s place. Sorry about that. Hmm?”

Shirayuki opened her fan, wrote something, and showed it to Aya. I was just barely able to make out the words.