Good thing it was only a hologram. Her real body, that enchanting smell, and those unfair curves were surely a weakness for an idiot like me. Even standing this close, my thoughts kept trying to run in the wrong direction. Still, I managed to keep a straight, dead serious face.

  “Alright,” the goddess said. “I guess I need to explain everything from the start. And… you do deserve that much.” She hesitated, then glanced at Midori and Aoi. “How much do they know?”

  “Midori knows almost all,” I said in a flat voice. “Aoi doesn’t know much yet, but I’m not hiding anything from them. So go on.”

  “…Fine,” she said with a long sigh. “First, I’m really sorry for throwing you here like that. But when I suddenly heard the god of justice, I panicked. I had a forbidden book, an illegal hero summon, and no time to think. The last thing I wanted was to get caught with you right next to me…”

  I stared at her with empty eyes, my face flat and unreadable. She hesitated, lost her nerve for a moment, then pushed on anyway.

  “I know, I know. It’s not an excuse. You could’ve died,” she continued quickly. “I meant to help you right after, really. But that stubborn idiot just wouldn’t leave. He claimed he smelled a human, grabbed my arm, and dragged me straight to the High Court as a prime suspect. They questioned me for days and even searched the whole world, trying to find and erase you.”

  My eyes went wide the moment I heard that. So I’d been living all this time one bad divine mood away from getting erased? It took a while to sink. And when it did, my irritation turned into anger, all of it aimed straight at her.

  I took a deep breath and glanced at her from the corner of my eye. “So what?!” I snapped. “All of this mess happened because of you and your nonsense in the first place—”

  “Yes. You’re right,” she said fast. “I’m an idiot goddess. Desperate. One mistake after another...” She straightened, voice sharp. “But I haven’t given up on my world, not yet. And after everything it took to summon you… if you die, my world dies too. You didn’t really think I wanted you dead, did you?”

  “Oh, of course not,” I said dryly. “Being hurled from the clouds for a bird’s-eye view was super fine and safe. Really, nothing to complain about!”

  “Excuse me, but I think you two are missing something important here,” Midori said, her voice tense. “How did the gods fail to find Hayato? And if they’re still looking for him… that’s something we need to deal with.”

  “Oh, that’s not a problem anymore,” the goddess said, brushing it aside with her hand. “They searched the whole world. Twice. All they found was the old hero with my blessing.” She forced a tight, shaky smile. “I never blessed Hayato. Turns out, that mistake kept him safe.”

  “So,” Midori said thoughtfully, “how did you manage to find him then?”

  “I… ah, yes,” she said, rubbing her head like she had a headache. “I looked at the face of every man his age in the world, one by one, until I found him. It took a while, but I remembered his face immediately and—”

  “Yeah, sure, whatever,” I said, still hating her.

  “Oh, by the way,” she said, worry creeping onto her face. “The ancient book… they couldn’t find it either. What did you do with it? I’m sure you took it with you.”

  “T-that thing?” I stammered, suddenly nervous. “Uh… when the demon lord’s soul touched it, the thing just vanished and...”

  “Vanished?” She frowned. “I didn’t know that book had a feature like that... Still, I’m glad to hear that. At least you’re completely safe now.”

  “Uh-huh," I muttered, looking at the other side.

  “Fine,” the goddess said quickly. “Believe me or not, I’ve told you everything. I’m not lying, and I’m not asking for forgiveness. The thing is, I’m out of time, and we need to finish this fast. If we keep talking, someone might notice and start listening.”

  She stepped closer, then knelt in front of me as I sat on the bed. Her gaze met mine, foggy and almost begging. She placed her hand over mine. I felt nothing. Somehow, that made it even stranger.

  “There’s a problem, and I need your help,” she said. “And if you hear me out, I’m sure you’ll want to help,” she added, her eyes lighting up for a moment.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure,” I said, still trying to look grumpy. But then my eyes met hers, wet and shining, and just like that, my sharp tone vanished.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “Please forget what was between us,” she said, tense. “This isn’t about us anymore. It’s about the whole world. There’s a secret organization I’ve been tracking for a long time. They kidnap people. I don’t know what they do to them, but someone has to stop it. They’re targeting my believers, and if their numbers keep falling…”

  She paused, sniffed, then forced herself to keep talking. “…Remember I told you my world is falling apart? This world keeps going only because of them. If they disappear, my control loosens and the balance breaks, and if it goes on too long, everything will be gone. Even you. And everyone you care about.”

  The moment she said that, my eyes moved on their own. First to Midori. Then to Aoi. Then to the door, and beyond it, the old man, the general, the servant, and all the other demons over there. I paused. The anger faded, replaced by something heavier. Responsibility.

  “All right,” I said, sighed, “but I can’t just jump into this without knowing details. No, I’m not making that stupid mistake again—”

  “I’d explain it slowly if I could, but honestly,” she cut me off, “I’m running out of time. Please don’t interrupt. Just listen until the end. Then decide if you want to help.”

  Her deep worry and the fear in her eyes crushed what little reluctance I had left. Without even thinking, I nodded and motioned for her to go on.

  “You need to go to Celestia, the capital of the human lands, the Celestial Empire,” she said, already rising to her feet as if this was a done deal. “People are disappearing there,” she added. “Adventurers, mostly demi-humans who believe in me. They’re being targeted.”

  She turned to leave, then paused. “And about you… I don’t fully understand what happened, but it might be linked to the forbidden summoning. I’m not sure. Try the Royal Academy library in the same city. It’s the world’s brain, stuffed into books. You might find answers. I hope.”

  Before I could argue, complain, or even finish lifting my hand, her hologram blurred, faded, and vanished. I was left staring at Midori and Aoi, who looked just as tense and confused as I felt.

  For a while, I just stared blankly, my mind spinning over the task she dumped on me, trying to make sense of it. Her words about the library kept echoing in my head. I’d be lying if I said they didn’t hook me.

  “So… you are a hero sent by the goddess—”

  “Shh, quiet!” I cut Aoi off. “This must remain a secret.”

  “Alright,” Midori said, frowning at me, looking just as lost as I felt. “So what are you going to do… about this?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, flopping onto the bed, my legs hanging off the edge. Hands behind my head, I stared at the ceiling with empty eyes. “I’m tired, I’m hungry, and I’m going to sleep.”

  “After all that?” Aoi said, sitting on the bed without any shame. “At least we should talk about it. I have questions.”

  “Well,” Midori said, sitting on my other side, “so do I.”

  They sat down on either side of me, shoving me just enough to make room for their backsides, and stared straight ahead, lost in thought.

  “Move over, just… a bit,” I said, wriggling side to side like an eel dragged out of water.

  “Hey!” Midori yelled, barely stopping herself from falling off the bed. “This is my bed too!”

  “Ahahaha, wow, you really made me laugh,” Aoi said. “Since when do snails sleep on beds? Go find your lost shell and sleep in it. This bed is mine now…” She paused, dropped her voice into something dangerous, added just a touch too much charm, and stared right at me. “And my lord’s.”

  “Look at me,” Midori snapped, staring at Aoi with eyes on fire. A rock the size of my head already formed in her hand. “You're starting to get on my nerves!”

  “Huh?” Aoi snapped back, not backing down. A water ball formed in her hand, same size, spinning fast, driven by pure rage. “I’m just reminding you where you belong.”

  I sat up fast, grabbed both their wrists, and released my domain. Their mana started flowing into me, slow and careful, but steady enough to be a clear warning.

  “If you don’t stop this nonsense right now,” I said coldly, “I’ll drain you both so dry you won’t leave this bed for days.”

  They froze. The rock and water faded, and they just stared at each other, still shooting daggers and ignoring me. That was it. My nerves snapped. I grabbed both of them and yanked them in, way too close. Our heads nearly bumped.

  And of course, because the world hated me, it picked the worst moment. Just as Midori and Aoi were close enough to kiss my cheeks, there was a knock. Then the door opened right away.

  It was the servant, pushing the door open with her elbow while barely holding the tray. Her eyes landed on us for a split second, and her face instantly turned bright red. Then the tray slipped from her hands and crashed to the floor.

  

  “Ah, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” she cried, rushing to scoop the food back onto the tray, then bolting out at full speed. As she shut the door, she yelled, “I’ll bring a new one right away!”

  She came back a while later with a new tray. This time she nervously asked if she could come in after knocking. Somehow, that hurt my soul even more. We sat and ate, or tried to. Midori and Aoi kept firing questions nonstop. I barely had time to chew.

  “You’re a demon lord now,” Aoi said. “So... why are you still listening to that incompetent goddess?”

  “Because I signed a contract with her.”

  “I can teleport us near Celestia,” Midori added. “Just saying, I’ve been close to it before, if you want.”

  “Probably.”

  “Why did she summon you?” Aoi jumped in.

  “To beat the previous hero,” I said, mouth full and soul empty.

  “And this missing believers thing,” Midori said. “If it really affects the whole world, it’ll reach us sooner or later. Like what this overgrown worm did on the mountain—”

  “Hey, that wasn’t something I did on purpose—”

  “Enough,” I snapped, shooting Aoi a sharp look. “Please.”

  “Fine,” she said, calmer, just barely. “But the stupid snail is right.”

  A part of me knew she agreed just to insult her in return. But I ignored it, fast. Right now, I had bigger problems, ones I wasn’t sure I could handle or even wanted to deal with. When the servant came back and bent down to take the empty tray, I called out to her.

  “Ah, if you can, tell the old man and the general I want to see them tonight.”

  “Of course, my lord,” she said quickly.

  “So,” Midori whispered in my ear, “that means we’re going?”

  I said nothing, just staring ahead, blank and lost in thought. I wasn’t even sure I had decided yet. But after talking with the old man and the general, I figured everything would become clear.