"Well now, three honorable Goddesses."
It was around the time that an unprecedented event occurred—the Three Goddesses manifesting right inside Rampage's own home—that Rampage began frequenting the altar of the Three Goddesses' statue. She had occasionally stopped by to show her face before, but today was different.
She placed what looked like a tiered lacquer lunchbox before the statue, pressed her hands together in prayer, and in an instant, the box vanished into thin air. In its place, a voice echoed inside her head.
"Oho! And here I wondered who it might be—if it isn't my little lamb! My, your cooking is as delicious as ever."
"Who else would it even be, I wonder…"
"Ahaha!! Oh, what does it matter!"
It was Darley Arabian, one of the Three Goddesses.
For reasons unknown, Rampage had found herself in this Goddess's good graces. Rampage harbored a sneaking suspicion that she might actually belong to her bloodline, but the truth remained a mystery. Probing deeper seemed like a pain, and delving too close to the abyss felt dangerous, so she opted to leave well enough alone.
"Still, is it really fine for the high-and-mighty Three Goddesses to be responding to a cheap, commercially sold idol owned by a random individual?"
"Of course it is, since it's you, my little lamb! ♪ Oh, my! This tonkatsu has a completely different flavor profile from before, doesn't it?!"
"Yeah, yeah… well, it's pork belly cutlet, after all."
Up until recently, she had dutifully offered her prayers at the Tracen Academy statue. However, Darley Arabian herself had told her:
"It must be quite a chore coming all the way here to pray every time, right? Praying to a miniature Goddess statue off the shelf will reach me just as well, my little lamb. Besides, it makes hand-offs so much easier, wouldn't you say?"
Taking her advice, Rampage purchased a mass-market statue of the Three Goddesses and set up her daily prayers in her bedroom at home. Then, reasoning that a prayer to the divine warranted an offering, she set down some steamed buns—only for them to vanish before her very eyes. As she stood there lost for words, a divine revelation descended upon her: "That was yummy~ Though I'd be even happier with actual meals!"
"By the way, is it really just you, Lady Darley? Are Lady Turk and Lady Godolphin not around?"
"Mmm~ adding mustard to this makes it simply divine!!"
"Listen to me, you useless Goddess. Next time, instead of pork belly, I'm sending you oilfish to ruin your stomach."
"Turk is far too serious, you see~ She's constantly watching over every corner of the world through the statues, though she does occasionally reward a hardworking girl. Godolphin's the same—though unlike Turk, she prefers to just quietly observe."
"And what about you?"
"Well, aren't I taking care of your location, my little lamb?"
She had no idea what had made the Goddess take such a liking to her, but she figured having the divine protection of a beautiful Goddess wasn't the worst thing in the world.
"Won't Lady Turk get mad at you if she finds out?"
"Hahaha, do I really look that foolish to you?"
"At the very least, you look like a useless Goddess. Still, the fact that you can command high demand purely because you're pretty makes me realize—yep, this is definitely Japan."
"How harsh~ Tell me, my little lamb, do you find me in high demand as well?"
"Well, purely speaking in terms of looks, you're definitely my type. If I were still a guy, I wouldn't have left you alone."
"Hahaha! That makes me genuinely happy."
As they continued their utterly trivial chatter, the Goddess abruptly changed the subject. Finding it unusual, Rampage perked up her ears and listened closely.
"For such a beloved little lamb, allow me to grant you a proper divine oracle—fitting for a deity, no?"
"Oh wow, amazing~ Though up until now, all your 'oracles' have just been grocery requests."
"Fufufu… I assure you, this time it is a dead-serious oracle."
She lacked credibility. If this were Turk or Godolphin, Rampage might actually brace herself to take it seriously, but…
"Little lamb, you mentioned before that you intended to bear children, didn't you?"
"I don't recall ever telling you that."
"Don't tease me. You've said it before, haven't you?"
"Well… yeah, I guess."
Where was she going with this? Was the Goddess implying she'd never be able to get married? That would be a bit troubling… Though staying single for life sounded entertaining enough, having a woman's body had naturally piqued her interest in that direction.
"Rest assured, you will marry a wonderful partner."
"Well, if all else fails, I'll just settle for Minami-chan."
"Calling your own partner a compromise? Though, I suppose I can see Minamisaka-shi accepting it without much fuss."
Even the Goddess saw right through Minamisaka. That was just how well Rampage and Minamisaka understood each other—they weren't merely compatible; their minds were practically synced. What would actually happen if Rampage were to propose to him…?
"Achoo!"
"Oh? What's wrong, Minamisaka? Catch a cold?"
"I suspect Rampage-san was poking fun at me just now… No, she was definitely making fun of me."
"How are you guys so in sync…? Just get married already, you two."
"That actually sounds reasonable."
"Eh!!?"
"Just kidding."
(Your jokes are the hardest ones to read…!!!)
"So, what's this oracle actually about?"
"Right. Exactly one hour from now, go to the Three Goddesses' statue at Tracen Academy. That is all."
"Huh?"
Of all the things she could have said, an instruction to go to Tracen Academy's statue…? What on earth is she planning? Rampage tilted her head in confusion. That statue was an object of prayer for the safety of Tracen Academy and the fulfillment of the horse girls' racing wishes, so it was supposed to be meticulously maintained at regular intervals… And setting a specific time, no less.
"Well then, that concludes the oracle."
"Wait, are you seriously telling me that's it?! For a god, you sure lack communication skills, hey!!"
"Gods are naturally like that. It's standard practice not to meddle in the mortal realm more than necessary."
"Yeah, right. That boomerang hit you so hard you could perform seppuku with it."
"Anyway, that's that~"
Click!!
With a sound mimicking a disconnected phone line, Darley Arabian's voice cut out completely. What was with that deity's sheer worldly trashiness? In more ways than one, wasn't she a little too attuned to modern Japan?
"One hour from now, huh… It'll be around 10 AM, right in the middle of class. To think the Chairman telling me I was overworking myself would actually pay off like this…"
She had prayed at home precisely because the Chairman had told her to take it easy today after being swamped for the past few years… She never expected things to turn out like this.
"Well, whatever. I've got no choice but to go check it out…"
She changed into her usual racing silk. By now, it had practically become her everyday casual wear. She didn't wear any of her other outfits at all—which earned her a fair share of bitter complaints from a certain mother figure, but that was beside the point.
"Alright, Fine, I'm heading out for a bit. Cooked food's ready, snacks are in the fridge."
"Okay~!!"
"Relying on you too, Leader. Make sure to lock up when you leave."
"Understood. Have a safe trip."
After saying goodbye to the two, she set off for Tracen Academy. Wondering what was waiting for her, she arrived at the Goddess statue slightly ahead of schedule, having adjusted her pace to make sure she wasn't late.
What on earth is going to happen?
As she waited idly, the appointed time finally arrived. Just as she wondered what was about to occur—the statue modeled after Darley Arabian, one of the Three Goddesses, burst into a radiant red glow.
"Huh? What, is an Inheritance Factor transfer about to start or something?"
Come to think of it, she recalled she hadn't done one herself. Wait, if that's the case, why didn't you do it while I was still active?! Just as she was about to shout that retort, a swirling vortex of red light materialized.
"Hah?"
Then, a chorus of voices echoed from within the red vortex. The voices grew louder and louder until a dark shadow began to take shape. Once it expanded to roughly human size, it tumbled straight out.
"Waaaaah!? Ouch, ouch, ouch… Jeez, what is even going on~?!"
"How should I know… More importantly, you're heavy~!!"
"Waaah! I'm so sorry!? Are you okay, Tsukuyomi?!"
"N-Never mind that, just get off of me already~…"
"""Waaah~ sorry, sorry!!?"""
Four horse girls had suddenly appeared.
There was a lively-looking girl with dazzling golden hair fluttering behind her; a girl with pitch-black hair that seemed to absorb the light and a somewhat sharp gaze; a timid-looking girl with dapple-gray hair tinged with pale purple; and the smallest of the four, who possessed the most energetic, high-pitched voice of them all. Was this the true meaning of the oracle?
"Wait, huh? Don't the two of you look… kind of younger?"
"What? What's that supposed to mean?!"
"I mean, you know… both of you kind of look like bratty little mesugaki."
""WE DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM YOU OF ALL PEOPLE!!!""
"WHY?!"
"Piiieee!!"
Startled by the loud shouting, one of the girls leaped backward, accidentally tumbling straight into Rampage's chest.
"Pyaaah!? I-I-I'm so sor, ry…?"
"Ah… how's it going?"
Completely bewildered by the situation, Rampage greeted her anyway. The girl who had bumped into her blinked rapidly, her ears spinning like windmills as she stared up at Rampage's face. Slowly, her eyes welled up with tears until, finally—
"Waaaaaaah! Moooothhhheeeerrr~!!!"
"SAY WHAT?!"
She burst out crying at the top of her lungs. Rampage stood there utterly flabbergasted by the sudden turn of events, but hearing that cry, the other three who had been bickering turned their heads in her direction.
"Ah! It really is Mom~!!"
"Mother?! Wait, what?! Why are you wearing your racing silk?!"
"I mean… isn't Mama ridiculously young right now?! WHY?! WHAT IS HAPPENING?! I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS!!"
"Moooothhhheeeerrr~!!"
Clinging to her, losing control in the confusion, sobbing in her embrace—facing such wildly different reactions from each of them, even Rampage was on the verge of losing her mind. But then, she remembered Darley Arabian's words.
Come to think of it, she had mentioned something about children. And these girls were calling her "Mother."
Which meant these girls were—
"…DARLEY ARABIAN, DON'T YOU DARE KIDNAP OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN, YOU DAMN GODDESS!!!"
Indeed. These horse girls were Rampage's future daughters: Mejiro Amaterasu, Mejiro Tsukuyomi, Mejiro Ford, and Mejiro Lord. Realizing this, Rampage instinctively roared a furious complaint toward the sky at the deity who had undoubtedly engineered this chaos.
Then—she wrapped her arms tightly around the trembling daughter in her chest.
"I don't know what kind of mess this is, but you guys are my daughters, right? I know you're shocked by all this, but that makes two of us… Crying continuously like that won't do, you know. You'll ruin that pretty face of yours."
"Mother, Moooothhhheeeerrr…!!"
"Aww~ Ford, that's not fair! Mom, hug me too~!!"
"Wait, does this mean you're Mom from when she was young?! Woah, won't you run a race for us?!"
"Young Mama?! Amazing~!!"
First things first, I'd better take these overly energetic kids somewhere private… Man, things have gotten seriously out of hand…
Rampage sighed softly, staring up at the open sky.
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