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Chapter 376: The Part that Grew Legs is the Upper Body

Pillar was sliced into half.

「Argh!! You bastard brother!! 」

The halved Mr. Pillar grew an upper body!
The halved Mr. Pillar grew a lower body!

The upper body is still fine, yeah, it’s still okay, but what am I supposed to do, the lower body growing out of a pillar is way too surreal….

Asas’s lower half that was still a pillar trembled as he cornered Stekar. The other half that has legs growing out of it kicked at Stekar.

「Fuhahahaha! You look great, Idiot Brother! 」
Stekar seemed giddy with joy.

Please stop fueling the chaos, will you.

「Asas may be a mighty ancient deity, but he’s currently divided into fifteen. Come along now, hurry up and form a contract with him and be done with it — Dear, come here. 」
Es grabbed the pillar with legs.

「Ack! Let me go!! 」
He started to kick and struggle.

Eh, that one!? Ah, I guess it makes sense if we consider the top and bottom parts of the pillar?

「Aahhhrrgggghhhh! Stop! Don’t carry my other half away!!! 」
Upper body Asas clattered as he shrieked.

Ah, this won’t do, it’s a total pandemonium.

「The remaining thirteen parts had also been swallowed and lost in the sand. This foolish older brother of mine would probably return to his former self when the circumstances are favorable. 」
Stekar commented, his tone now void with any of the mirth he earlier had.

Doggy* seemed to sulk. Yup, I really prefer calling him Doggy. I’m pretty sure Riche doesn’t approve of me having too many pets, so I won’t say anything to him.

「Just give up, Asas. Your chance of escaping this place is practically zero. 」
「It’s the land nestled in Es’s embrace, after all. 」

Skos and Neneth chimed in.

Come to think of it, we’re on a river island…

「Urk…! 」
Asas gritted his molars then nodded.

Hey, I didn’t even agree yet!!

「Can I give this to others as a gift? 」
「If it’s a man that needs it, then so be it. 」
「— Es, stop spouting vague stuff like that! 」
Es agreed to my request amidst Asas’s protests.

「Yeah, I’m giving this to a guy, but his lover spirits hang around him, is that alright? 」
I ignored the rattling Asas and confirmed the essentials with Es first ー whether I can give this to Khan or not.

「It’s fine. He’s sealed. 」
Ah, so the pillar part is sealed, huh.

Does that mean the lower body over there and this upper body will fuse together to become one if the seal is removed? So it’s kinda like Asas having a human form that looks like Stekar, but a kinder version?

Alright, I got Es’s guarantee.

「Asas, what do you wanna do? If you’re contracted to me then I’m taking you to the kingdom ruins from the Fire Era, and it’s currently right smack in the middle of a desert. 」
「I’m definitely gonna wilt there!! 」
Asas yelled.

I glanced at Es.

「The ruins of a kingdom from the era of fire, you say? Is that east? Or west? Well, either way, it’s still a place where I flowed before. The river course may have changed, but it can also return. I will visit the place where Asas is placed. He won’t grow unless I’m present, after all. Fufu… 」

Alright, I’m almost there in achieving my original goal!

「If Asas doesn’t have any objections, then — ah, no, if you’re willing to compromise then let’s make a contract. 」

Shake, shake, rattle, rattle, clunk, clunk — he was trembling, but we still did the contract.

「I did expect that you have a lot of mana given that the number of spirits you’ve been naming along the river isn’t few, but it’s surprising that you didn’t even flinch now. 」
Eh? Were you expecting me to get exhausted or something?

「Oh my~ it seems you’re not simply fine, you’re still in tip top shape. 」
Nenet exclaimed, seemingly impressed.

「This pillar may be only one out of his fifteen parts, but even so, he’s still a spirit who is far more ancient than the rest of us. For you to proceed with the contract with him without so much as a tremor… 」

「You guys, don’t tell me you were planning to abandon me in case the contract failed!? 」
「Hoho. That’s what it means to make a pact with a deity. 」
Goddess ‘S’ bewitchingly laughed.

Asas’s upper body had been stowed away into the pillar, which was now standing on the floor. The pillar became shorter.

「Oh well, he may be like this, but he’s still my older brother. Please take care of him. 」
Stekar averted his eyes while muttering those words.

Eh? Is he thinking about his older brother? That’s unexpected.

「Doggy can also come visit him from time to time, okay. 」
My inner thoughts spilled out.

「Doggy…? Eh, huh, what!? 」

Oh.

「 — Oops. Sorry. 」
It was an accident.

「You overwrote my idiot brother’s name!? 」
Asas’s expression was grave, but if you’re going to come out of that pillar then just do it properly, don’t just pop your face out like that, please.

「Goodness me, I can totally understand if you managed to name him because he willingly surrendered after being lured by the mana, and yet that’s not the case at all. Isn’t it supposed to be extremely hard to do if there’s no mutual consent, no matter how much mana you have to support the contract? 」
The pink cobra twisted her body in awe.

「Hoho, seems like Stekar wants to accompany his brother just like in the past. 」
「No, I don’t! 」
Stekar vehemently refuted Es’s words.

Uwah, smells like bro-con! Oh well, I guess it’s fine if they get along.

「You took quite the chunk of mana, huh. 」
It’s almost depleted, but not as much as that time with Bayliss and Shahira. I’m fine as long as I still have the energy to return and do the food crawl later.

「Don’t just gloss over it! He’s STEKAR! The ancient god of tempest and war!! 」
Asas was rattling. Oh, he’s actually a bro-con too…?

Heh, is it because there’d be no war if there’s no living things? His power (and existence) seems to have been reduced to half… Ah, the land turned into a desert, so sandstorms frequently happen, apparently.

「Anyway, I still have something to do so I’ll go now. Can I carry this guy home as is? 」
I said as I stared at Asas.

「Mm, you can put him anywhere you want. I’ll see you again soon, fascinating Human. 」
With a splash, Es transformed into water. The floor absorbed her completely and she disappeared without a trace of the ground being wet.

「D@mn! Summon me once our residence is decided! 」
Stekar immediately vanished.

「Seems like we’ll be in it for a long haul… See you again, Human. 」
「It’s very rare that a human can remain indifferent after being surrounded by deities~ Stay healthy until we meet again~」
Ah no, I was really shaken up, or should I say totally confused.

Skos and Nenet also disappeared.

Finally, it’s the sign that the chaos has ended.