Through one thing or another, Fate-san ended up staying for the day. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, she moved into my room, shifted from her floating cushion to my bed, and began lounging around.
"Ahhh, bliss... I want to stay like this forever."
"You're being way too lazy..."
"But I have to work seriously tomorrow, so I need to relax while I can."
"Tomorrow... So, if Shiro-san tells you to do something, it really does become the top priority?"
To be honest, it hadn't been long since we met, but I had a decent grasp of the kind of person Fate-san was. Even if it was a bit rude to think, she didn't seem like the type who would get any work done just because her boss scolded her a little.
However, judging by her current tone, Fate-san seemed to treat working seriously tomorrow as an absolute certainty. Wondering if that was indeed because the order came from Shiro-san, I asked. Fate-san, still lying down, only raised her head to look at me.
"That's right. To us, Shallow Vernal-sama is absolute. Her words take precedence over everything. If we failed to follow her words and ended up disappointing her... we would lose our very reason for existence."
"..."
"Shallow Vernal-sama is the supreme and absolute existence. If she told me to work for the rest of my life, I would discard my emotions and desires and keep working until my life ran out. Well, that’s just how it is."
Fate-san spoke with a serious expression, without a hint of hesitation. To the Gods, Shiro-san was an absolute being. I had known that in theory, but seeing it manifested like this was overwhelming.
Fate-san’s face remained solemn for only a moment before she collapsed back onto the bed in a heap.
"Well, it’s like this. To be blunt, as long as I’m serving Shallow Vernal-sama, I’m fine. I wouldn't even mind quitting my position as a Supreme God."
"Hah..."
"So, Kai-chan, support me!"
"Not that again..."
It seemed she was only serious when it came to Shiro-san and held no attachment whatsoever to her status as a Supreme God. Or rather, just as she had said, she had no desire to work unless Shiro-san explicitly commanded it.
"No, I really think you have the talent for it, Kai-chan! If you took care of me, I feel like I could live a very easy life... Wait, hold on..."
"Yes?"
While I was exasperated by Fate-san shamelessly asking me to support her in her usual tone, she suddenly fell into a deep, serious silence.
"...If I become close enough for Kai-chan to support me... that means Shallow Vernal-sama would also become my ally. That would make me invincible. I could just lounge around forever."
"...Um, Fate-san?"
"But it's difficult and time-consuming to slip past the God of Space-Time's Eyes to deepen our friendship... If I just create a fait accompli... Okay! Kai-chan! Let’s 'unite'!"
"Huh!?"
It seemed she had reached an extremely dangerous conclusion. Fate-san’s half-lidded eyes transformed into those of a beast stalking its prey as she looked at me.
Wait, hold on, this situation was bad, wasn't it?
"I'm a god, so I can't make babies or anything... but that's a trivial matter! Once we have a relationship, I’ve won! I'm sure Kai-chan won't abandon me then! You'll spoil me so much!"
"Wa-Wait, Fate-san! C-Calm down!"
"I am calm... I'm very cool... I've decided! I'm definitely going to have Kai-chan support me!"
"Your eyes are bloodshot, though!"
With a terrifying smile and whispering even more terrifying things, Fate-san slowly closed in on me.
Realizing this was truly dangerous, I turned toward the door to escape, but I heard the lock click into place. Even when I tried to turn it, the mechanism wouldn't budge an inch.
"Fufufu, how naive, Kai-chan. In this one-on-one situation, there's no way you can escape from me, a Supreme God."
"Wait, just a second..."
"Now, Kai-chan! To be honest, it's my first time too, but... let's do something fun!"
Despite her laziness, she was still a Supreme God, and she wasn't someone an ordinary human like me could escape.
As I watched Fate-san approach with that terrifying smile and realized I was trapped, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and grabbed her face in a crushing grip.
"Heh? Huh? Underworld King?"
"..."
"Eh? Kuro?"
Kuro had appeared out of nowhere. She gripped Fate-san’s face in silence and lifted her off the ground with one hand. Then, a sickening, creaking sound began to echo.
"Gyaaaaah! It hurts! It hurts, it hurts! Stop it, my head's gonna be crushed! It's gonna be crushed!"
"..."
"Gnyaaaaah! It's gonna pop! It's gonna burst like a ripe fruit—!"
"..."
It was, unmistakably, the Iron Claw.
Fate-san was a Supreme God, right? That meant her defense should have been unimaginably high, yet she was screaming like she was on the verge of death. Just how much strength was Kuro using?
Also, Kuro hadn't said a single word. Was she... incredibly angry?
Kuro maintained the Iron Claw in silence for a few moments before a swirling black vortex began to manifest beside her.
Immediately after, Kuro released her grip. Fate-san began to fall, only to be struck with the speed of a bullet mid-descent, hurtling directly into the black vortex.
Wait, what did she just do? Kuro’s hand was positioned like she had just followed through with a massive swing. Was that a slap? Did she just slap a Supreme God?
Fate-san had flown off at a terrifying speed. Was Kuro’s palm strike equivalent to a missile or something?
Once Fate-san had vanished into the black vortex, Kuro looked over at me with completely cold eyes and whispered.
"...I'm going to go discipline her for a bit."
"...A-Ah, okay."
With those words, Kuro stepped into the black vortex, and the swirling portal vanished as if it had never existed.
I couldn't help but wonder. Kuro had seemed angrier than I had ever seen her before.
"I'm zorry... I won't try to do anything weird while ignoring Kai-chan's wishes anymore..."
"Ah, yes. Please don't."
About thirty minutes after the black vortex vanished, Fate-san returned, looking like a ragged cloth as Kuro carried her back by the scruff of her neck.
She immediately dropped into a dogeza position and began apologizing to me through half-shed tears. She must have gone through something truly horrific. She looked like her life was hanging by a thread in every possible sense.
"Honestly! Fate-chan, you really can't be left alone for a second. If you ever do something like that again without Kaito-kun's consent... I'll 'grind you up,' okay?"
"Hieee! So scary! Eh? Wa-Wait... Where did your epithet, 'Benevolent Underworld King,' go? You have an Ogre-like face right now!"
"...Hmm?"
"Yes! I'm very sorry! I won't do it ever again!"
Kuro, whose anger hadn't quite subsided yet, gave Fate-san a sharp glare when she tried to crack a joke, causing the goddess to tremble and apologize like a newborn lamb.
Dear Mother, Father—Fate-san was a person truly faithful to her desires, and her reckless behavior nearly swallowed me whole. That aside, for her to be this frightened... Just what on earth happened inside that black vortex?