( -)?
She sat up, reaching out to touch her forehead.
It seemed like the fever was gone.
Wasn't this supposed to be the final flicker before death? She had never heard of a death flashback lasting this long.
Gradually, Shijo Maki realized something.
Her cheeks burned like a cloud of fire, instantly turning bright red.
( — )
If the fever had already subsided... then what exactly had she just done!?
Just recalling even a little bit of what had happened
Shijo Maki crouched down, holding her head.
Shijo Maki: Someone kill me! Free me from this embarrassment! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
;
(`Д)
A major life memory was now rapidly transforming into social death.
At this moment, Shijo Maki truly wanted to die.
...
Shinomiya Kaguya returned, carrying two unidentified sea fish along with several sea urchins.
The moment she stepped inside, she saw the girl two generations younger than her curled up on the ground.
"Maki-san? Are you okay?"
Shinomiya Kaguya looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"I'm fine!"
Shijo Maki responded without even lifting her head.
Today, she really didn't have the face to see anyone anymore.
Shinomiya Kaguya: ( _ ) ?
Did something happen?
...
Elsewhere.
Yukima Azuma wandered around the central area of the deserted island.
Then, at the back of the island, he found a natural path.
The vegetation on this path was relatively sparse, and the incline was low, making it easy to climb.
Following this path, Yukima Azuma began his ascent up the mountain.
Chapter 250: The God Who Holds Love and Fate
Following the trail, Yukima Azuma realized that everything was going unusually smoothly.
Even though there were no signs of human presence.
Yet, this path seemed to have been made for people to walk through.
There were hardly any obstacles requiring effort to overcome, nor dense trees blocking the way.
Before long, Yukima Azuma reached the peak of the mountain on this deserted island.
Upon reaching the summit, he observed his surroundings.
Everything within sight consisted of wild-growing trees.
The sky remained a dull, overcast gray.
Yukima Azuma's gaze swept across the scenery before finally stopping at one particular spot.
On one side of the mountain peak, there was an area entirely different from the rest.
For some reason, even though the mountain was covered in forest, that particular spot was completely barren.
As if a piece of a cake had been carved out.
He moved toward it.
As he approached, Yukima Azuma witnessed an unbelievable sight.
That place was completely empty.
Except for one thing at its centera smooth, flat stone platform.
It looked man-made, yet it seamlessly blended with the mountain, appearing entirely natural.
Seeing this stone platform, Yukima Azuma unconsciously recalled the stone shrine in the mountains of Itomori.
The shrine of the Itomori god also seemed to be one with the mountain.
And the reason why the sight before him was so incredible...
Was because
On that stone platform, a twin-flower was growing.
It was a species Yukima Azuma had never seen before, with two blossoms sharing a single stem.
One was crimson like blood, the other a pale violet.
Rooted firmly into the stone platform.
Gently swaying in the mountain breeze.
Stepping up to the platform, Yukima Azuma reached out, intending to pluck the twin-flower.
"You mustn't!"
A voice as clear as silver bells rang directly in Yukima Azuma's mind.
It was exactly the same as how he once communicated with the Itomori god after swapping.
An ordinary person would likely be startled at this moment.
At the very least, they would stop moving for a second.
After all, this was a supernatural phenomenon.
Yet, Yukima Azuma's movements didn't halt in the slightest.
As his fingers touched the twin-flower
The girl's voice rang out again, this time with a hint of panic.
"Wait, don't! Um, we can talk this out!"
()
Yukima Azuma's expression darkened slightly.
But he temporarily stopped, no longer reaching for the twin-flower.
"Do you have a physical form? I don't make a habit of talking to empty air."
At the same time as he spoke
Two strange lights fell from the flower's petals.
Upon landing on the stone platform, they quickly transformed into two tiny girls, each only the size of a palm.
Yukima Azuma glanced at them and almost laughed out loud in amusement.
The girl emerging from the crimson flower had the exact appearance of Shinomiya Kaguya.
While the one from the pale violet flower looked just like Shijo Maki.
()()
"Young man who carries miracles, greetings. It's a pleasure to meet you."
()
Smol-Shinomiya Kaguya waved her hand, trying to appear cute.
"Cut the nonsense. The tsunamiit was your doing, wasn't it?"
"And the abnormalities in Shinomiya Kaguya and Shijo Maki's emotionsthat was your influence as well."
Yukima Azuma frowned as he spoke.
Ever since arriving in Hawaii, he had felt something was off.
Unlikely occurrences, like "perverted lucky" moments, kept happening.
The way the two girls interacted with him was more dramatic than usual.
At times, Shinomiya Kaguya and Shijo Maki would lose their composure to an extreme degree.
Like just now, with Shijo Maki's sudden forceful kiss.
Her reasoning made sense, but something about it was still strange.
That was why, when he realized the sweet scent wasn't actually Shijo Maki's natural fragrance
Yukima Azuma immediately became aware that something was wrong.
Just like last time with the Itomori god.
All three of them were being affected by some supernatural force.
And the source, clearly, was the two tiny beings before him.
Faced with Yukima Azuma's interrogation
The two miniature copies became visibly nervous, avoiding his gaze.
"How could that be? We can't possibly do such things!"
(,,,,)
Hearing that, Yukima Azuma said nothing and directly grabbed the twin-flower, ready to pluck it.
The two tiny copies immediately panicked, flailing their arms and legs in protest.
"Wait! I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Smol-Kaguya frantically waved her hands.
"We really can't control tsunamis or people."
"We can only influence the probability of certain small events."
"And we can amplify emotions that already exist in people's hearts."
"Those two girls genuinely like you. We only helped a little!"
."®()®".
Hearing this, Yukima Azuma frowned slightly.
Although he didn't fully trust these two strangers,
their words aligned with what he knew.
Up until now, the supernatural entities Yukima Azuma had encountered
even a god like the Itomori god
could only interfere with the world within a certain scope.
Otherwise, the Itomori god wouldn't have needed Yukima Azuma's help.
These two were likely another kind of deity.
The Itomori god's power was time-transcending swaps.
And their power was probability manipulation and desire amplification?
But what was the purpose of these two wild gods bringing him, Kaguya, and Maki to this deserted island?
Were they trying to bring them together?
If so, why hadn't they just led the three of them up the mountain earlier?
Yukima Azuma couldn't think of a reasonable explanation.
So, he asked directly:
"What is your goal?"
Hearing this, Smol-Kaguya simply put on an innocent face.
"We just want to help you all get together, no other motives at all!"
( )
Smol-Maki, who had been silent until now, also spoke up:
"We are gods who govern love and fate. Helping people find happiness is our responsibility."
(*)*.
Compared to Smol-Kaguya's playful nature
this deity's tone was calmer.
Like a laid-back girl, unconcerned with the world.
Love and fate?
Yukima Azuma pondered these words.
"If those two girls miss their chance to love you, they will never find happiness."
"Their fates can only shine brightly if they are bound to you. Otherwise, they will wither away."
( — )
Smol-Kaguya added.
This wasn't hard to guess.
Shijo Maki's case didn't even need to be mentioned.
If Yukima Azuma hadn't appeared
this Losing Heroine Oujou-sama might have continued suffering indefinitely.
As for Shinomiya Kaguya
Without Yukima Azuma
Her fate was already setto become a caged canary within the Shinomiya family.
In the future
She would either be traded away like a rare treasure.
Or crushed in political struggles.
Just like her name suggested.
Kaguya, Kaguya
One day, Princess Kaguya would have to return to the moon.
After hearing their explanation, Yukima Azuma believed them about fifty percent.
But even if he believed them halfway
he still felt irritated.
The feeling of being manipulatedwas truly unpleasant.
"So, what happens if I pluck this flower?"
()
Yukima Azuma asked, a playful smile forming at the corner of his lips.
"Don't do that! This flower is our soul vesselif it's plucked, we won't have a home to return to!"
(®® )
Smol-Kaguya panicked.
"You two must be bored stuck on this deserted island. Why not come with me instead?"
Yukima Azuma prepared to pack these two up and take them with him.
Once he returned to the Itomori mountains
the Itomori god still owed him a favor.
He would use that favor to have the Itomori god properly discipline these two troublemakers.
No matter how much they claimed to be harmless gods
who could say for sure if they were truly benevolent?
"Eh?" Smol-Kaguya glanced at Smol-Maki, as if considering it.
But at that moment, Yukima Azuma applied force with his fingertips.
By conventional means, it was nearly impossible to pluck the twin-flower from the stone platform.
However, Yukima Azuma activated his supernatural ability, which came as a side effect of his cooking skills.
In his special vision, he effortlessly plucked the twin-flower.
( )
Chapter 251: Shinomiya Kaguya Takes Action Too!
"Uwaa! We didn't even agree yet!"
."®()®".
Smol-Kaguya burst into tears the moment she saw Yukima Azuma pluck the twin-flower.
In his palm
A sweet fragrance, like a little cake, wafted from the twin-flower.
Yukima Azuma nodded.
As expected, it was this scent.
"Do you two have names?"
Ignoring their protests, Yukima Azuma asked.
"Hic, call me Star, and call her Lumine."
"We're not famous deities, we don't have any grand myths, so really, it doesn't matter what we're called."
(ЇЇ)
Smol-Kaguya answered.
The corner of Yukima Azuma's mouth twitched.
What's with these gacha game heroine names?
...
Stowing away the twin-flower, Yukima Azuma began descending the mountain.
Star and Lumine had no choice but to follow.
On the way down, Yukima Azuma casually fished for more information.
"When will the rescue team arrive?"
"Not sure, but there's a very high probability they'll come tomorrow or the day after."
"What happens if you leave your soul vessel?"
"It'd be like being a homeless wanderer. We wouldn't die right away, but it'd be miserable. Mostly, it'd be hard to gather spiritual energy."
"Spiritual energy?"
"Umu, a few months ago, spiritual energy suddenly started recovering, though very slowly. It's our only food source."
()
Hearing that, Yukima Azuma raised an eyebrow.
A few months ago
No matter how he thought about it, it had to be because of the Charlotte comet crash, right?
"If it fully recovers, how strong can you get?"
"Strong? Hard to say. Our power isn't meant for combat."
"Could you survive a nuclear bomb?"
"Definitely dead!"
"
"You're that weak?"
"Gods have lives too, you know!"
Yukima Azuma let out an "Oh."
It seemed that despite calling themselves gods, Star, Lumine, and even the Itomori god
were just supernatural beings with slightly special traits.
Their existence was indeed strange,
but that was all there was to it.
If someone wanted to stage a grand spiritual revival, overthrow modern society
and have gods trample over humanity
that was clearly impossible.
Even if they were immune to physical attacks
they could still be taken down with energy-based saturation strikes.
As always, the ultimate question remained:
If you're a god, how many nuclear warheads can you withstand?
(®® )
Bringing the twin-flower with him, Yukima Azuma returned to the cave.
Star and Lumine immediately retreated into the flower.
When Yukima Azuma arrived, he saw Shinomiya Kaguya waiting at the cave entrance.
Meanwhile, Shijo Maki was curled up in a corner, face buried against the wallshe looked like she was having an existential crisis.
; ()
"Azuma-kun, you're back! Where did you go just now?"
( `)
Shinomiya Kaguya greeted him with a bright smile, then curiously asked.
She had already noticed the pile of coconuts outside the cave.
Yukima Azuma had already gathered enough, so why had he gone out again?
"I climbed to the peak to survey the terrain a bit."
Yukima Azuma gave a half-truth.
The matter regarding Star and Lumine couldn't be shared with Shinomiya Kaguya or Shijo Maki.
Looking at the smile Shinomiya Kaguya gave him upon his return
Yukima Azuma felt something indescribable.
Her feelings for him were undoubtedly sincere.
It was just that the process leading to those feelings had involved some unusual coincidences.
Thinking about it carefully, doubting that Shinomiya Kaguya had truly fallen for him would actually hurt her.
"What's wrong?" Shinomiya Kaguya keenly sensed Yukima Azuma's emotions.
( -)?
She asked, a little puzzled.
He shook his head, pushing aside his complicated thoughts.
"It's nothing." Yukima Azuma smiled. "The sky looks clearer. Maybe the rescue team will arrive tomorrow."
Hearing Yukima Azuma's confident prediction
Shinomiya Kaguya only smiled.
"Umu, if that's the case, then that's great."
Her words carried a hint of insincerity, yet at the same time, they came from the depths of her heart.
Compared to the lavish grandeur of the Shinomiya family
Shinomiya Kaguya realized that this cave somehow made her feel more at ease.
She even felt a slight reluctance to return.
Once she went back, she would once again become the Ojou-sama of the Shinomiya household.
She would once again become Princess Kaguya, the one destined to return to the moon.
