"Is it really...? Is it really you, Father?"
Garna was the one who asked, her voice trembling with trepidation.
"Oh? Ah, that presence... it is Garnalava, isn't it? What happened to you? Why are you in the form of a cat?"
The presumed God of Creation spoke, though he was still inhabiting the body of a fast-food clown. Regardless of his ridiculous appearance, Garna lunged at him.
"It really is Father! Oh, Father, I'm so glad... so glad!"
"My, my. You really are a spoiled child, aren't you?"
"I-I am not!"
Garna's way of speaking had returned to normal. It felt a bit strange to hear her without her usual affectations.
"F-Father?"
"Could it truly be him?"
The Spirit God and the Luck God asked in disbelief. In response, the God of Creation offered a gentle smile.
"Asterion and Lulaina. It has been a long time. I never expected to reunite with you like this."
"Then it really is you!"
"Welcome back, Father!"
"Welcome back!" a chorus of voices echoed.
Before I knew it, countless figures had surrounded us. I didn't recognize any of them, but their presence gave them away. They were all gods.
I see—so this is Divine Aura. Perhaps because the God of Creation's overwhelming power had been dispersed, the individual signals of the other gods were finally clear enough for me to feel.
One after another, the gods approached to greet their progenitor. It was a moving scene, though the center of all that divine reverence was a very familiar clown puppet.
"Ruto..."
Ren-kun looked at me with a begrudging pout.
"I know, I know," I said. "For those of us who know where that clown came from, the dissonance is incredible."
"I didn't think it would turn out quite like this," Ren sighed.
"Well, it seems like everyone else is too happy to care," I noted. The gods all looked genuinely overjoyed.
"Aren't you going to go over there, Ren-kun?"
"I don't actually have a personal relationship with him." Ren shrugged. That made sense, I suppose.
"Hey. This means Tort doesn't have to become a god anymore, right?"
Halfa, whom I was still carrying, poked my shoulder. Her face was a mixture of anxiety and hope. I believed the Divine Aura that had dwelled within me was completely gone, but she clearly needed the reassurance.
"It's okay. Right... wait, what?"
I turned to Ren-kun for agreement and realized the Divine Aura had vanished from him as well.
"Oh, this? It's the same as you, Ruto. It seems that business from earlier drained the divine power out of me, too."
"What?! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine! I just stopped being a god. There’s nothing wrong with my body." Ren waved his hand with a refreshing smile. He didn't seem to care about losing his godhood at all. Shiroru, however, was in a state of shock.
"Lord Lamuyadas... you aren't a god anymore?"
"That's right. Call me Ren from now on. I'm not a god anymore." Ren gave a little salute. Everyone was hesitant, but given the total lack of divine presence coming from him, the fact that he was "human" now was accepted surprisingly quickly.
"Then what happens to me? I am Lord Lamuyadas's Divine Beast!"
"Oh, right. You've basically been Tort's pet for so long I completely forgot."
"What?!" Shiroru froze at Ren's blunt words. Ren petted her head, murmuring "Sorry, sorry," before continuing.
"I'm kidding. Just stay as you are. You aren't a 'Divine Beast' anymore, but Shiroru is still Shiroru."
"O-Oh? I see! If I can stay as I am, then there's no problem!"
Shiroru didn't seem to mind the loss of status either. I suppose that was just how she was. We didn't keep her around because she was a Divine Beast; we wanted her around because she was Shiroru.
"Also, since I'm not a god anymore, I have nowhere to go. So, Ruto... put me in Tort's party. I'll probably be baggage for a while, but I'll train and get stronger."
"Really?! Of course, you're more than welcome!"
"Oh! Lord Lamuyadas is coming with us!"
"It's Ren! Just Ren!"
And just like that, Ren-kun joined the party.
I was genuinely happy. We had played together in our previous life, but back then, I was usually confined to a hospital bed. From now on, we could go on real adventures. We could travel the world and laugh together. I never dreamed this would be possible.
Everyone welcomed Ren's addition. Spira and Lowell already knew him from before, so there was no friction at all.
"It's going to get lively around here," Rei said with a slightly lonely smile.
He was the Acting Governor of Cygnil. Unlike us, he couldn't just wander off on a whim. Even so, we were comrades. That much I knew for sure.
"When you finally get a vacation, Rei, let's all go adventuring together."
"Yeah. Someday, for sure." Rei nodded firmly. Yes, someday for sure.
"By the way, how long do you plan on holding her?"
"Halfa-chan is certainly being a spoiled child today."
Mil and Sally pushed past Rei to tease us. Or rather, they were teasing Halfa. I expected her to jump away in embarrassment, but instead, she gripped my shirt tighter and clung to me.
"It's fine! Just for today!"
"Oh dear."
"Hehe, they're so close."
Well, I had given her a serious fright. If this was what she wanted, I didn't mind letting her stay there for a bit.
"I wonder what that light was..." Lowell mused suddenly.
Spira picked up the thought. "You mean the light from when the Pandora Gift opened? It wasn't as big as Tort-kun's, but... it came out of everyone's bodies, didn't it?"
Halfa, Rei, Mil, and Sally all nodded. It hadn't been an illusion.
"Those were likely fragments of the God of Creation's power," Ren speculated. He looked around at everyone. "Even if it was nowhere near as much as what Tort or I had, everyone here carried a tiny sliver of his essence. I suspect that power is what led us all to this point."
"Does that mean our meeting was determined by fate?" Spira asked, her expression complicated.
It's a bit unsettling to think your entire life is just following a predetermined script. I understood the feeling. But Ren laughed and shook his head.
"No. Fate is something you carve out yourself. We are the ones who make the choices. That power... it just gave us a little nudge in the right direction."
Ren smiled gently. Since the former God of Destiny said so, it had to be true.
Even if everything up until now had been fated, I was still grateful. It had allowed me to meet these wonderful friends. And besides, the light that guided us was gone now. Even if the past was fate, the future certainly wasn't.
Our adventure was only just beginning.
Somewhere in a peaceful forest, a party of adventurers traveled leisurely.
"Tort! There are so many prickly things on the ground! Can we eat these?"
"Ah, chestnuts! Where did you find them, Shiroru?"
"Oho, they are edible! Over there!"
"We have to gather a lot."
"I'll help you."
"Thanks, Halfa."
A fluffy white beast, a black-haired boy, and a Wingfolk girl were huddled together, distracted by the prospect of food. Watching them from a short distance behind were three others. The spirit girl among them shook her head in exasperation.
"Oh, honestly. I went to all the trouble of making sure those two were alone. Shiroru, really..."
The Forestfolk youth gave a wry chuckle. "So that's what you were up to."
The boy with the mysterious aura—the one who felt human but wasn't quite—nodded in agreement. "I wondered why you suddenly suggested we split into two groups."
"Well," the spirit girl protested, pouting her lips. "If we just leave them alone, who knows how many years it'll take them to get together?"
The Forestfolk youth and the mysterious boy exchanged a glance.
"They're both still young, Spira. There's no need to rush."
"That's just your Forestfolk sense of time talking, Big Brother! Humans and Wingfolk grow up in the blink of an eye!"
"Even so, there's no reason to hurry things."
"Hmph." As the Forestfolk youth patted her head, Spira let out a disgruntled groan.
The mysterious boy asked a question. "Do Tort and Halfa even intend to be lovers?"
"Halfa-chan definitely does! I'm not so sure about Tort-kun, though..."
"Tort definitely sees her as a younger sister," the mysterious boy said flatly.
"...Really?"
"Without a doubt."
The mysterious boy's confirmation made Spira's shoulders slump in defeat.
"How sad. Poor Halfa-chan..."
"I only said that's how it is for now. No one knows what the future holds."
"You're right!" Spira perked up instantly.
The mysterious boy nodded, looking a bit overwhelmed by her sudden energy. She pumped her fist with determination.
"In that case, you two have to help! We're starting a plan to make Tort-kun and Halfa-chan a couple!"
The two men were significantly less enthusiastic.
"Spira... isn't that what they call 'unwanted meddling'?" the Forestfolk youth asked.
"He's right," the mysterious boy added. "We shouldn't interfere. What if it gets messy?"
"But..."
Spira wanted her two favorite people to be happy. They were so perfect together; surely being a couple was the ultimate happiness for them.
The mysterious boy smiled gently. "It'll be fine. I mean, can you even imagine those two ever being apart?"
"Eh?"
Spira paused to think. When the Wingfolk girl was sad or troubled, the black-haired boy would always be there. He would smile and ask if she was okay. In her mind, the two were inseparable.
And it wasn't just them. Herself, the Forestfolk youth, the mysterious boy... they would all be there too, traveling and smiling together. No matter what happened, they could overcome it as long as they were a team. It wasn't hard to imagine such a future. After all, that was how they had always lived.
"See? It'll be fine."
"I guess you're right!" Spira nodded. Whatever form their relationship took, they would all be together.
"Spira-chan! Come pick chestnuts with us!" The Wingfolk girl was waving, calling out to her. Tort was standing beside her, smiling brightly.
Indeed, she couldn't imagine a future where they were apart.
"Look, they're calling you."
"Go on."
"Okay!"
Nudged forward by her friends, Spira ran toward them.
It was just a simple, everyday occurrence. But the accumulation of such moments is what people call happiness. They would surely continue their journey with smiles on their faces, overcoming the joys and the sorrows alike.
And they lived happily ever after.