— — — — — —
"This was your doing, wasn't it?"
The moment Shiroyasha said that, Ryo froze for a second.
Did the forum's concealment fail?
Did Shiroyasha return as a two-digit being?
Or maybe the twin goddesses, or that Buddha, checked in personally?
…No, that doesn't make sense. The forum even fooled the Little Garden's core system once. How could it slip up here?
Shiroyasha let out a mildly exasperated sigh. "So it was you. I knew it."
Ryo's eyelid twitched hard.
Only then did he realize—he'd taken more than two seconds to respond. And that was all the time Shiroyasha needed to confirm it.
So she was baiting him just now.
Realizing this, his expression stiffened and he snapped, "Isn't it a bit much to actually trick your own subordinate god?"
Shiroyasha just made a smug little "hmhm" sound, crossing her arms while smiling with squinty eyes. "You still need training. How did you get fooled so easily? Run into those old monsters like this, and sooner or later you'll get eaten alive."
Do you not see me doing everything I can to avoid those old monsters? Even when I do run into them, I make sure it's when we've got a massive information gap between us, okay? Ryo complained internally.
Shiroyasha, meanwhile, was silently grumbling to herself.
"World War II, Sun Authorities, and now even the King of End that the Boss is watching closely. This kid has had his power for what? Half a month at best? Even accounting for time dilation between worlds, his age isn't even thirty."
"Tsk. Thinking about it that way, this kid is basically a walking natural disaster factory…" She clicked her tongue inwardly, then leaned back in her chair, arms crossed.
"So. Who's the King of End?"
She paused there, worried Ryo might try to talk around it, and said bluntly. "Let me put it upfront—this is an investigation order straight from the Boss. You get what that means, right?"
As she said that, she shot him a meaningful look.
For a split second, Ryo could almost see golden characters appear behind her: Do it the easy way, or we do it the hard way!
He blinked, and the illusion vanished. He stared at her with a strange look. "A mental illusion? Isn't that a bit much? And with that style too…"
"Be grateful I didn't beat you right now," Shiroyasha muttered.
Ryo fell silent for a moment, then frowned. "…Has human history not undergone a major shift?"
Did the forum's concealment malfunction?
No… unlikely. It's probably because the King of End's spiritual status affects too many domains.
Since the King of End's information is concealed, and the scope of influence is too large, the Little Garden's core system can't secure enough evidence, so human history hasn't updated yet?
…Ugh, why am I even using words like "secure enough evidence"? Damn it, those eight words she used made me start thinking like I'm a criminal on trial… Ryo's mouth twitched.
Shiroyasha, however, raised a brow at his question, looking surprised. "Oh-ho? From how you said that, we're talking about something big enough to shake even human history?"
She grinned. "Come on, I've got a strong heart. Tell me—who's getting roped into this?"
Ryo looked over at Black Rabbit, his gaze turning deep. "Black Rabbit, check if anyone's outside."
"It's just the shop staff outside?"
Black Rabbit blinked, then suddenly realized—he wanted her to leave.
At the same time, Shiroyasha glanced at her ears, raising a brow. "I suspect Athena might still be lurking nearby. Black Rabbit, go confirm that for me."
She knew well that the Moon Rabbits' ears are linked to the Little Garden's core—part of their authority as judges of Gift Games.
So Ryo asking her to leave… meant he even wanted to block out the core system itself.
Two-digit level matters? Shiroyasha couldn't help thinking that.
Black Rabbit muttered, "You two really don't need to be this roundabout…" But still obediently left the room.
Once she closed the door, Shiroyasha turned back, her expression complicated. "It's not just the Cross pantheon, right? How many are involved?"
"You should be asking—who isn't involved." Ryo spread his hands with a small sigh.
"Tch—!"
Shiroyasha sucked in a sharp breath.
That implied… all the Little Garden gods got dragged into this?
Ryo thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Maybe… only the Star Spirits are unaffected?"
"Oh?"
Shiroyasha's heart pounded even harder. "Don't tell me you're about to say that I'm not on the list of victims."
"…Probably." Ryo didn't sound very confident.
He couldn't say for certain whether Shiroyasha was exempt. Still, probably yes.
"Heh. You might as well have just dragged me in with the rest."
Shiroyasha rolled her eyes. Out of all the affected, she's the lone outlier.
Like a husky dropped into a pack of wolves. Way too conspicuous.
Ryo rolled his eyes right back. "Do you even have a relation with human history?"
"…Okay, fair point." She nodded thoughtfully.
But then, she frowned, tapping her finger on the table. "Wait, if this affects the whole of human history, why does it seem like nothing changed? Aside from Athena getting whacked by some God-Kings, everything else looks the same as before."
"Impossible."
Ryo rejected that immediately.
"For example—Zeus and Baal will definitely start overlapping into a dual identity. Indra, Heracles, and Bahram will merge into one origin. And the Celtic goddess Artio will end up as the Mother Goddess of the Cross religion."
"...The hell?!"
Shiroyasha exploded with a curse, jumping to her feet in shock. "Are you messing with me?!"
Ryo blinked, confused.
Shiroyasha slammed back into her seat, fingers digging through her hair like she was about to tear it out. "Zeus mixed with Baal means Zeus becomes the greatest enemy of that one from the Cross faith. Indra mixed with Heracles? That old pervert definitely won't stay quiet."
"And most importantly—the Celtic goddess taking the Virgin Mother slot?! This—"
"Such a mess."
She trailed off, suddenly realizing just how terrifying the undercurrents beneath Little Garden's apparent calm really were.
All the gods involved… their divine status would be altered.
Some of them might even develop powerful, unfinished divine identities.
That's enough to fuel hope for many gods who've been stuck at a bottleneck for ages.
Normally, Little Garden would've exploded into chaos by now.
Yet Thousand Eyes hasn't received a single report of abnormal activity.
What are they planning? What are they all trying to do?
The more she thought, the more a chill crawled up her spine.
After a long moment, she looked at Ryo, opened her mouth, hesitated, then sighed. "…Come with me."
"Where?" Ryo asked.
"Where? Where else?"
Shiroyasha's eyelid twitched, and she said irritably. "To meet the Boss."
.
.
.