If she hadn't stubbornly accepted the Guild's commission and entered the Secret Realm within the Great Tree Sea to investigate the ruins—or if, as a deity unable to level up and forced to rely solely on instinct and experience, she simply hadn't been there—her Familia wouldn't have lost their blessings when she was swallowed, and she wouldn't have had to watch them die.
Several Familia exchanged glances.
In the past, teasing about men would have earned them a stern reprimand from Lady Artemis.
The Goddess Artemis was a heavenly virgin; she instinctively scorned and loathed gods who indulged their desires.
Even after descending to the Lower Realm, Artemis kept to her traditions.
Detesting contact with men, she decreed that only women could join her Familia and strictly forbade any 'impure' liaisons with males.
The girls said nothing, but their eyes asked, 'Did the deity take the wrong medicine?'
Artemis's behavior was so out of character that they almost wished she'd stand up and scold them.
Yet after recalling Andaris, her attitude had already shifted slightly.
At the very least, she'd begun to wonder whether she'd been too harsh on her Familia.
These girls were only in their teens or early twenties, in the prime of life, yet she'd robbed them of the right to associate with men—simply because she forbade it.
But any change would have to wait until this affair was over.
With that thought, Artemis looked at the girls; noticing their odd expressions, she asked, 'What are you doing?'
'N-nothing!'
'It's just… Lady Artemis rarely looks like this!'
The girls chattered all at once.
Though Artemis was usually serious, right now she was almost too serious.
'Focus. Next, we head into the Great Tree Sea, all the way to the ruins that Seal Andaris.'
After speaking, Artemis felt it wasn't enough and added one more line.
'If you meet any danger, don't try to be brave—retreat at once. Only by surviving… can there be a future.'
'Yes, ma'am!'
The girls answered in unison.
Elsewhere.
The others asked Artemis about her next move.
The Moon Goddess admitted their march would be extremely cautious; the moment anything seemed off, they would pull back to safety.
Rosen found nothing odd in that.
After all, anyone with sense would put safety first. If you knew disaster was coming yet still stumbled deep into the ruins like some cartoon idiot and got surrounded by monsters, you might as well admit your divine IQ had bottomed out.
After reminding them in the chat group, he temporarily left the chat group.
Artemis still hadn't opened travel permissions to her world, so Rosen—who was currently bound by a pile of Goddess contracts—couldn't go there and turned his attention back to reality.
October was almost over.
The air of Tokyo, on the verge of winter, carried a crisp chill.
Leaving the chat group, Rosen looked at the girls preparing dinner and smiled faintly.
Watching their happy faces, he believed an extreme-sounding theory.
Any misfortune happens only because the people involved lack the power to prevent it.
If you possessed the strength to flip the whole world upside down, how could danger ever touch you?
He didn't dwell on it, but seeing the busy girls reminded him of promises he'd made earlier.
No time like the present.
Since he happened to be free, he might as well grant these girls their wishes now.
As for who would be first…
Rosen's gaze soon settled on Mio.
She was earnestly watching a cooking video showing a blogger teaching ordinary people how to bake a delicious cake at home.
Rosen waited patiently; just as she finished and was about to try it herself, he asked, 'Mio, what's your wish?'
'Wish?'
Mio tilted her head, recalling what Rosen had said before.
But after thinking carefully for a while, she shook her head.
'I don't have a wish.'
'No wish?'
Rosen was taken aback. 'All right, let me put it differently: is there anything you want me to do?'
'No.'
'…'
'Eh? Mio doesn't want anything from the deity? Then let me have it—Yakumo will get two wishes!'
'Negative. If Yakumo may have two, then Yūka demands two as well!'
The Yayoi Sisters started bickering again.
Seeing a chance for double wishes, the other girls wanted in on the topic.
Rosen, however, wasn't that generous.
If he agreed, it would be no different from the meme: 'My last wish is for three more wishes.'
'Enough. This has nothing to do with you. Each person gets one wish, and wishes can't be transferred.'
Rosen's firm words cooled the girls' enthusiasm.
He looked at Mio again. 'Really nothing? If not, this chance is forfeited.'
Hearing that, Mio finally gave it some thought and said, "I want to stay with the God forever and never be apart—can I?"
"Ok, I promise."
Rosen knew that pressing further would only bring the same answer, so he simply stopped asking and agreed.
The moment Rosen agreed, two eager blushes bloomed on Mio's cheeks.
5.8 Yet the other girls felt it was a great pity.
After all, as Rosen's Familia they could never leave the God's side for the rest of their lives.
Since the person involved had spoken, they could voice no objection.
What's more, the speaker was the Primordial Spirit.
Strictly speaking, Mio was the mother of every spirit among the Kuru Rokuru (7)(8) II-8.
After that.
Rosen listened to the wishes of the other girls.
Honjo Tokiya was the least polite with Rosen.
The shut-in wanted Rosen to accompany her to a comic-con; Kagami Nanase, scarred by her birth family, longed for familial love and had grown deeply insecure.
Even after becoming a spirit she hadn't dared voice her wish, so Rosen probed her heart himself—only to find that Kagami Nanase merely wanted him to kiss her, to hold her…