A passionate embrace from a beautiful woman. Described in words, it sounds like a wonderful thing—but for someone who actually fainted from the experience, it was nothing short of traumatic.
Since coming to this world, I’ve been traumatized by Baby Castella and traumatized by a beautiful woman's hug. I’m starting to feel a bit pathetic.
Still, after seeing Lilia-san apologize over and over while half-sobbing—to the point where I actually started to feel bad for her—I didn't really have any choice but to forgive her.
Regardless, I’ve somehow ended up having to attend the audience with the Goddess of Time. The mere thought of it gave me a stomachache, but nothing would move forward until the Goddess of Time herself sent word regarding the schedule.
There was a high probability I’d be dragged along, but for now, we were just waiting for contact regarding the date and time of the meeting.
Perhaps because so much had happened during the day, the evening was remarkably peaceful. After finishing dinner and having a light chat with Kusunoki-san and the others, I took a bath and returned to my room.
"Welcome back~"
"..."
Oh, right. Come to think of it, there was a Lump of Absurdity who liked to manifest in my room at night.
As frustrating as it was, I couldn't deny the sense of relief I felt seeing her usual bright smile. Maybe I was just getting used to it, or maybe Kuro’s smile was just plain unfair.
"You went to see Shiro today, didn't you? How wa—huh?"
"Yeah?"
Kuro started to speak with her usual cheerful grin, but she suddenly cut herself off and stared at me intently. After a moment, her expression shifted into something rare—no, it was the first time I had ever seen her look so genuinely surprised.
"Kuro?"
"...Kaito-kun. Did something happen with Shiro?"
"Eh?"
"Well, I’m sure you heard it from her, but I was the one who asked Shiro to give you a Blessing. It’s just... this is different from what I expected. I thought that even a half-hearted Blessing from Shiro would be safer than one from some low-ranking God, even if she just phoned it in... but she gave you such a thorough Blessing? That Shiro did?"
It seemed Kuro’s shock stemmed from the specific Blessing Shiro-san had bestowed upon me.
Her original expectation was that Shiro-san would bless me with minimal effort, and she had requested it only because even a lazy effort from a Supreme God would be superior to anything else.
In truth, Shiro-san had blessed me half-heartedly at first. She had admitted as much herself, but then she had canceled it and blessed me again in earnest.
When I explained the day’s events and the details of our conversation to Kuro, her eyes widened even further.
"...He-he-he..."
"Hmm?"
"Ahahahaha!"
"Eh?"
Suddenly, she burst into a fit of genuine, heartfelt laughter.
"Kaito-kun, you actually said that to her? Ahaha! I bet Shiro never imagined a human would ever tell her, 'That’s impossible for you.'"
"Um... was it really that strange?"
"It’s not just strange, it’s incredible! You should be proud! It isn’t often that Shiro takes an interest in someone."
With a smile that looked genuinely happy, Kuro praised me profusely.
Had I really done something that monumental? When I thought about it carefully, I realized that my comments to a Goddess might have been incredibly disrespectful.
After laughing her fill, Kuro began to explain things to me while I stood there, still mostly confused.
"Shiro is... well, an extreme believer in Egalitarianism, I guess? It feels a bit odd for me to be the one saying it, but she’s very peculiar."
"She certainly had a mysterious air about her..."
"For example, normally people have a preference between things they like and things they hate, right? Take me—I like sweet, delicious snacks more than gross ones. If someone asks which I prefer, I’ll obviously say the delicious ones."
"Right."
"But Shiro isn't like that. To Shiro, gross snacks and delicious snacks... and not just food, but lives and landscapes as well... almost everything in the world has the exact 'same value.' She doesn't rank things as superior or inferior. In one sense, she is a supreme Philanthropism; in another, she is a cold Indifferentism. She views the vast majority of the world on the same level, looking at everything with the same eyes. That is the Goddess known as Shallow Vernal."
As I listened to Kuro’s explanation, my mind went back to those murderously bad Baby Castella. I remembered Shiro-san describing the flavor as terrible while continuing to eat them as a tea snack as if it didn't bother her in the slightest.
Then there were those eyes that had made me shudder—the ones where I couldn't tell if she was looking at me or the scenery. To Shiro-san, I had been of the same value as the landscape—just like the flowers and grass blooming in the Hanging Garden. To her, that was a perfectly natural perspective.
"But even so, Shiro told you that she 'became interested' in you. That is a much bigger deal than you think, Kaito-kun. It means Shiro has acknowledged your existence. She has placed you clearly above all the other things she views as having equal value."
"U-Um..."
"It’s almost unheard of for Shiro to take an interest in an individual. I think you could count the number of such people on one hand."
I felt like the scale of this situation was ballooning out of control.
Listening to Kuro's words, my mind fell into a state of total confusion. More than that, the realization that Shiro-san—a Supreme Goddess—was such a staggering existence made me finally understand why Lilia-san and the others had been so horrified that I had received tea from her. A sense of profound anxiety began to well up from within me.
Honestly, rather than feeling like I had accomplished something amazing, I was far more worried about what the future held.
"So, what you won for yourself is truly special... however..."
"...Eh?"
Just as I was about to sink into a whirlpool of dark thoughts, Kuro spoke in a soothing tone and suddenly took my hand.
Because of our height difference, I was pulled downward. Still dazed and confused, I couldn't offer any real resistance and collapsed forward, only to be caught in Kuro's embrace and met with a soft sensation.
My face pressed against her chest. Through the thin layer of fabric, I felt her warmth and softness. A sweet scent filled my senses, reaching all the way to my brain, and as an indescribable comfort washed over me, her gentle voice echoed in my ears.
"More than all of that... I’m much happier that you thought about what you wanted, Kaito-kun, and were able to say it in your own words."
"!?"
"...You really worked hard today. You were very cool, Kaito-kun."
Seriously, she was unfair.
The confusion, the anxiety—every negative emotion I’d been feeling just moments ago vanished from my mind with that single sentence. She gave me a warmth and a sense of security that felt like it would overflow. It was as if she knew exactly what I needed to hear most.
I was supposed to be exhausted from the mental strain of the day, yet somehow, I felt like I could keep moving forward.
Physically, the situation was a bit embarrassing—being hugged and having my head patted by a young girl—but I was past caring. The moment I realized I wanted to indulge in this comforting sense of security for just a little longer, I knew I had already lost.
I had managed to voice my opinion to a Goddess. I had managed to stand my ground against pushy nobles. I had even resolved myself to attend a meeting that would surely give me an ulcer.
But resisting this... that was impossible. In fact, I couldn't even bring myself to try. My trauma regarding hugs had been wiped clean away.
It was a simple, perhaps even childish thought, but I felt that this embrace was the greatest reward I had received all day.
Dear Mom, Dad—Today was a whirlwind that made my head spin. But as I thought... I just can't compete with Kuro.
A little girl with such a big heart is truly the best.