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Chapter 404: Goddess in Seclusion

「I already told you that I can’t See. Anything related to the Spirit Realm is just that; it doesn’t have anything to do with me. 」
Dinosso and Hauron had been pressing him for an answer, so he countered by saying that.

He did repeatedly mention it, alright. Hmm, will he change a bit if he were made to See? Like in the temple or something, and it’s just temporary since he can only See while he is on the magic circle.

「Retze can See Doggo and Riche, right!? 」
Dinosso drew closer to Retze again.

「Well… they are in a totally different league, so I simply gave up on making heads and tails of it. There’s nothing I can do about them, so might as well just accept it. 」
Dinosso was too close for comfort, so Retze turned his head away and responded with half-lidded eyes.

「How can you take such a philosophical view on it!? You gave up way too fast…!! 」
Dinosso sprawled himself on the desk.

「Let’s end this with that wol ー Kyah! What the heck are you doing!! 」
With a cutesy squeal uncharacteristic of his rough voice, Hauron turned his upper body and knocked the thing that flew towards him with the hem of his robe.

A fork fell on the carpet.

It was Butler. I couldn’t help but wonder why on earth did he use a fork, and marvel at Hauron’s martial arts ー oh, I guess it’d be weird if he can’t do that given his physique, huh.

I saw Butler throw the fork, but I had a hard time dealing with the nasty imaginations that kept on swirling in my mind. Maybe this is what they mean when saying one has the ability but nowhere to use it, huh.

「It’s Jean-sama’s puppy, if you may. 」
Butler beamed at Hauron.

「…Right, sorry about that. 」
Hauron apologized. He picked up the fork and returned it to Butler, who then tucked it back into his sleeve.

So he’s really hiding weapons in that sleeve of his?

「He is forevermore an adorable puppy in Jean-sama’s eyes. 」
Butler turned to me and gave a slight bow.

「Riche is always cute, you know. So, what’s that about ending or something? 」
I asked Hauron.

「 ー Let’s end this talk for now. Oh, right, do you have any idea what to do with Sk ー Doggy-sama’s throne？ I’ll help you look for ebony, okay?」
Hauron’s back to his feet! It’s rare for him to recover faster than Dinosso.

「Oh, I already got my hands on the ebony, so it’s fine. Can I consult you about the design of the kennel instead? 」
「Don’t call it kennel!! 」
He yelled again.

「Where did you get the ebony? Weren’t we just talking about it yesterday? 」
Retze tilted his head, puzzled.

「Ahh, there’s a lake in the northern continent ー 」
「Hold up. I don’t feel good about this. 」
Hauron held a hand up and stopped me.

「It’s fine, I only made a contract with the clay figure spirit. 」
I sipped my wine.

Hauron started trembling all over like jelly, his entire body all tensed up.

「It’s NOT okay! Northern Continent ー Lake ー Clay Figure ー you’re definitely talking about the Lost Goddess! Just stop it! Why the heck would you make a contract with a Goddess that hid herself from the world of humans!! 」
Hauron was on the verge of tears again.

「 Lost Goddess? In hiding? 」
「 She’s a Goddess who used to have a big impact on people’s lives, but then she got fed up with humans and decided to live in seclusion! Only the Earthkins can summon her, but even then, they can only do it during the Summer Solstice! So, seriously, how on earth did you manage to do it?! 」
Ah, right, the Earthkins did mention something along the lines of holding a ceremony to ask for wood.

「 Actually, I visited her in the lake instead of calling her out. 」
「 In that frozen lake? Are you talking about that lake with the surface all frozen because of the environment, yet its depths still unfathomable? 」
Hauron, don’t you think it’s time for you to calm down already?

Well, I’m also worried about Dinosso, who was sprawled all over the table, but at least Hauron can be like him, or like Khan, who was quietly guzzling his drinks, or Retze, who was snacking on the finger foods, or Butler, who was wordlessly wiping the knife with a cloth.

Eh, wait a sec, isn’t that last part weird? Huh? Butler seems to be behaving oddly, right? But that’s a hidden weapon, right? The type you throw at people? It’s just your regular knife, though.

「I’m not really sure, but I don’t think there are any other lakes over there, so I guess you’re spot on? 」
I answered as chaotic thoughts ran through my mind.

「At any rate, I was given some of the ebony growing in the bottom of the lake, so the materials are all good. 」
「It’s not good, it’s not good at all… 」
Hauron was now splayed over the table too.

Two burly guys now occupied the table meant for playing games.

「Anyway, we’re making the kennel for Khan’s kingdom, so isn’t it better to consult him about the design? 」
I turned to Khan ー he was silently staring at me, the wine glass still on his lips.

Uh, loading much?

「… I’m fine cooperating with you if it means fulfilling Stekar-sama’s expectations. 」
A few seconds passed and Khan slowly set his wine glass down and replied.

Oh, he’s booted.

「Should we make the kennel flashy to match the design of Asas’s pedestal? We should consider the overall harmony and balance too. I should’ve taken a closer look at the design of the entrance. 」
Actually, anything works, but I can’t help but worry about the details the most.

「If you don’t refute this ‘kennel’ thing, you’re really gonna end up with one, you know? 」
Retze told Khan.