Shiro-san had appeared right in the middle of my audience with the Goddess of Time, and the atmosphere in the room had become something truly surreal. It was only natural, really. Shiro-san was the Creator God—the pinnacle of the God Realm.
With such a being suddenly manifesting, the entire room had frozen over.
"Sh-Shallow Vernal-sama... Wh-Why have you suddenly graced the Human Realm with your presence?"
With her head bowed low, the Goddess of Time asked the question in a voice that trembled ever so slightly.
I’d heard that the God Realm was a strict hierarchy, and seeing the state of the Goddess of Time made that crystal clear. Even to her—the Supreme God who held the highest rank below the Creator God—Shiro-san was an entity in a completely different league.
As for Shiro-san herself... she didn’t seem to care in the slightest. She simply manifested a chair out of thin air, sat down, and started sipping black tea. She was completely ignoring her...
"U-Um, Shiro-sa—" "Insolent fool!!" "—!?"
Faced with Shiro-san’s casual behavior, I reflexively tried to interject as I always did, only to be cut off by the sharp, reprimanding voice of the Goddess of Time.
Crap... I completely messed up. I had spoken to her just as I had until moments ago, but she was the Creator God at the apex of the God Realm—someone I shouldn't even be allowed to address so familiarly.
Before I could even attempt to explain my blunder, the Goddess of Time fixed me with a piercing glare.
"You! By whose authority do you speak so familiarly to Shallow Vernal-sama!?"
"I-I'm sorr—" "I have permitted it. Is it necessary to seek permission from elsewhere?" "—Eh?"
"Wh-!? Shallow Vernal-sama!?"
My attempt to hurriedly apologize was, in turn, cut off by Shiro-san.
She directed her usual, completely expressionless face toward the stunned Goddess of Time, repeating herself in a voice utterly devoid of emotion.
"Is it necessary to seek permission from elsewhere?"
"N-No... My deepest apologies."
Receiving those words—which felt terrifyingly cold in that moment despite the lack of intonation—the Goddess of Time turned pale and bowed her head even deeper in apology.
Yeah, I understood the Goddess of Time's feelings all too well. When she repeats herself in that toneless voice, the sense of intimidation is incredible...
"It has been a long time, Shallow Vernal-sama."
"You were Kuro's attendant, aren't you? It has been a while."
At that moment, Ein-san also knelt with both knees on the ground, bowing her head deeply as she greeted Shiro-san.
It wasn't her usual maid's bow; it was the highest level of etiquette, the kind one would show a monarch. It made Shiro-san's overwhelming status even more apparent. To think even Ein-san would show that much reverence...
Perhaps sensing my thoughts, Ein-san moved away from Shiro-san after their brief greeting and whispered to me.
"...It is only natural. Shallow Vernal-sama is the being closest to the word 'Almighty' in this world. She is not an existence I could ever hope to oppose."
Apparently, Shiro-san really was a serious god. "Almost Almighty" was beyond the level of a cheat.
I finally understood why Kuro had burst out laughing when I told her about my previous conversation with Shiro-san. Basically, I had told an Almighty god, "That's impossible for you." Ignorance truly is a terrifying thing...
Then, I suddenly remembered something. There was one person who had been here the whole time but had remained silent.
"Lilia-sa... n?"
"..."
When I looked over, I found Lilia-san... foaming at the mouth and unconscious.
"Wait, Lilia-san!? Are you okay? Pull yourself together!"
"...Hah!? K-Kaito-san? I-I'm sorry... It seems I was having a strange dream. There's no way the Creator God would appear before my eyes..."
"Did I do something?"
"...Cr-Creator God-sama? It's not a dream?"
"No."
"A-Awa, awawawawa... m-m-my deepest apologies... I, um, p-p-p-please forgive my rudeness, uh, and... uugh..."
"Lilia-san!?"
Evidently, the situation had far exceeded her capacity for shock. The moment Shiro-san spoke to her, Lilia-san's eyes rolled back and she lost consciousness again. This was hopeless.
For now, I decided to leave Lilia-san be. Even if she woke up, she'd probably just faint again anyway. To restore some order to this tense situation, I decided to focus on Shiro-san first.
"Um, Shiro-sa... no, Shallow Vernal-sama."
"The name you used before is fine."
"No, I can't really do that now..."
"The name you used before is fine."
"B-But..."
"The name you used before is fine."
"A-Alright."
She wouldn't budge an inch. I'd wanted to correct my tone because the "Who on earth is this guy?" look the Goddess of Time was giving me was incredibly painful, but...
Anyway, I needed to explain. Or rather, it would be a huge help if Shiro-san explained things herself.
"Kaito-san is a human I have bestowed a Blessing upon. It was I who was speaking to Kaito-san earlier. I have manifested here to grant his wish to clear up a misunderstanding."
""—!?""
Thank you very much for that incredibly concise statement packed with bombshells. Both the Goddess of Time and Ein-san were frozen in shock.
However, being Kuro's maid, Ein-san seemed to grasp the situation after a moment and nodded as if things finally made sense.
The problem was the Goddess of Time. With a face that suggested she didn't understand a thing, she addressed Shiro-san in a panic.
"Sh-Shallow Vernal-sama gave a Blessing to a mere human!? Wh-What on earth is this Miyama?"
"Kaito-san is an Otherworlder."
"...No, I don't think that's what she's asking."
The fact that the Creator God had bestowed a Blessing on a human like me was a world-shattering event for the Goddess of Time. She was clearly asking if I was some kind of legendary existence... but as expected of this airhead Goddess, she didn't read between the lines at all.
Look, Shiro-san, she wants to know why you gave me a Blessing and what our relationship is.
If you just say you did it as a favor for Kuro, she'll understand. Then we can dump the rest of the responsibility on Kuro and finally bring this to a close...
I focused my thoughts, conveying the explanation I wanted her to give. Shiro-san understood and nodded once before turning back to the Goddess of Time.
"At first, I bestowed a Blessing as a favor for Kuro, but I eventually became interested in Kaito-san and reapplied it more seriously."
"Sh-Shallow Vernal-sama is interested!?"
"...Wait, Shiro-san?"
"After that, we drank tea together. Currently, we are in a relationship where my Affection Level fluctuates, and I am apparently Kaito-san's Capture Target."
"Huh? Um, Affection Level? Capture Target? Th-That is... exactly what kind of relationship is that?"
"It is a relationship where one accumulates Affection Levels through interaction, eventually developing a 'Physical Relationship'."
"Wha—!?"
"..."
What kind of nuclear bomb are you dropping, you idiot Goddess!! Instead of settling things, you’ve made everything ten times more complicated!
And as for the Affection Levels and Capture Target stuff, she skipped the entire context and went straight for the jugular! Wait, was that knowledge really from an Adult Game? Where on earth is this person getting her information!?
Relying on Shiro-san was a massive mistake. The Goddess of Time was frozen with the blank expression of a clay statue, and I could only clutch my head in despair.
After that, it took a long... a truly, painfully long time of desperate explanations to clear up the misunderstandings with both of them.
Dear Mother, Father—the chaos following Shiro-san's appearance has taken a massive toll on my heart. How should I put it... I'm truly exhausted.