In the temple of the God of Life, Life, located within the God Realm, Chronoa entered while carrying a piece of "luggage" tucked under her arm.
"God of Life, are you here? I need to..."
"Hey, God of Space-Time..."
"What?"
"Why am I being carried like this? Also, can I just go home?"
"No."
Fate, who was currently being hauled under Chronoa’s arm, raised her voice in protest. Chronoa ignored her entirely, walking toward Life as she continued.
"I have an extremely critical mission for you."
"Ugh, please stop... Just hearing words like 'mission' or 'duty' gives me a fever. Ahh, what a drag."
"Stop talking nonsense and listen! God of Life, you too..."
"...Zzz..."
"Wake up!!"
Feeling a vein throb at Fate’s laziness, Chronoa turned toward Life, only to find the goddess sound asleep. Her shout echoed through the room, but Life showed no signs of stirring.
"It’s no use, God of Space-Time. Once the God of Life falls asleep, she doesn't wake up easily... So, can we go home? I’ve already decided to go visit Kai-chan today and bring him a souvenir."
"What about your work?"
"Did you honestly think I was doing any?"
"Don't sound so proud of it!"
Both Life and Fate were acting exactly as they always did. Chronoa desperately fought the urge to clutch her head in her hands. After a moment of thought, she shook her head and set Fate down on the floor.
"Fine. She’ll find her motivation soon enough... Even the God of Life will wake up once she hears the news."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"I told you, it is an extremely critical mission. Listen well. On the 6th of the Month of Wood... Shallow Vernal-sama shall descend to the Human Realm."
The air in the temple froze the moment Chronoa spoke those words with a grave expression.
"...Therefore, each of us must—"
"I need detailed information! The location? The time? The purpose? My countermeasures will change depending on the specifics!"
"Y-Yes, well, quite."
Just as Chronoa had predicted, Life woke up in an instant and crowded her with incredible momentum. Her eyes, which were usually half-closed with sleep, were wide open, radiating an intensity that suited the emergency.
"If it involves Shallow Vernal-sama, we won’t have enough hands. God of Life, once we finish our briefing, summon the other gods. I will use my powers to cover the gaps in their duties while they are deployed."
"Understood. I shall act swiftly... Now, God of Space-Time. Continue your explanation."
"You two change your tune far too quickly."
"Forget about that! Hurry up and talk!"
"Yes, even a slight delay could be fatal!"
Seeing Fate and Life's personalities do a complete 180, Chronoa muttered a complaint under her breath. To the other two, however, her annoyance was a trivial matter they didn't care about in the slightest. Feeling pushed back by their collective heat, Chronoa took a step back.
"So, God of Space-Time. For what purpose is Shallow Vernal-sama going to the Human Realm?"
"T-That is... It's a... a..."
"Eh? What is it?"
"...A date."
A heavy, bewildered silence filled the room as the two goddesses froze, their expressions indicating they couldn't process what they had just heard. Finally, her face pale with shock, Life opened her mouth.
"U-Um... God of Space-Time? I’m confirming this because I assume I must have misheard, but did you just say 'date'?"
"Yes, I did."
"S-So you can tell jokes too... Shallow Vernal-sama, on a d-date..."
"How I wish it were a joke..."
In response to Life’s stunned disbelief, Chronoa muttered with an expression that bordered on sorrowful. Realizing that Chronoa was being entirely serious, Life’s jaw dropped as she stood there, paralyzed.
"Hey, God of Space-Time. Does that mean it’s with Kai-chan?"
"Indeed."
"He’s really something, Kai-chan. Going on a date with Shallow Vernal-sama is unprecedented..."
"I-If my memory serves me... is that the person you rescued the other day?"
Recalling Kaito through Fate’s use of his nickname, Life asked with a look of lingering disbelief. Chronoa nodded, and for some reason, Fate’s cheeks flushed slightly.
"Yes. He is the Otherworlder that Shallow Vernal-sama took an interest in and bestowed her Blessing upon."
"And more importantly, he’s my future husband!"
"You haven't given up on that yet?"
"Of course not! I'm definitely going to have Kai-chan support me! That's why I even prepared a souvenir today... though things have turned out so I can't go anymore."
"A souvenir? Ah, now that you mention it, you said something about that earlier. What did you get?"
Leaving Life aside, who was still speechless, Chronoa asked about Fate’s gift. Fate pulled a small parcel out of thin air.
"They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right? So, I had Shaltan tell me what Kai-chan likes."
"You and the Phantasm King certainly are close."
"Yeah. Shaltan is my soul friend, after all. Anyway, I prepared Kai-chan's favorite food!"
"Did you make it yourself?"
"Do you honestly think I’d do something as troublesome as cooking?"
"I suppose not."
It seemed Fate had prepared Kaito’s favorite food after hearing about it, but naturally, she hadn't made it herself.
"I used my authority as a Supreme God to make the God of Harvest make it—Ouch!?"
"Do not abuse your authority, you fool!!"
Chronoa’s fist came down on Fate’s head. As Chronoa clutched her own forehead in frustration, Life finally snapped out of her trance, muttering with a terrified expression.
"Shallow Vernal-sama’s Blessing? The God of Fate's future husband? ...Is he a monster?"
"I won’t deny it."
"By the way, he knows all of the Six Kings. He’s even on good terms with the Death King."
"With that Reaper?"
When Isis's name came up, Life’s expression soured instantly. While Fate and Shaltier were close enough to listen to each other's complaints, Life and Isis were like oil and water. They were natural enemies, to the point where they called each other "Reaper" and "Useless Meat."
"You are as on bad terms with the Death King as ever."
"You and Ein are much the same... But enough idle chatter. We shall make every possible preparation by the 6th of the Month of Wood! Is that clear!?"
"Understood!!"
On the 6th of the Month of Wood, I woke up early, quickly finished breakfast, and got dressed. Today was the day of my date with Shiro-san. Since I didn't want to keep her waiting, I planned to head out ahead of schedule.
However, a date with Shiro-san... In a different way than with Kuro, I felt incredibly anxious. I had a feeling something major was going to happen, but I hoped I was just overthinking it.
With those thoughts in mind, I walked to the entrance hall, opened the front door... and immediately closed it.
Wait. What? I felt like I just saw something impossible. Specifically, it looked like there was a staggering number of people standing in Lilia-san’s garden. Maybe I just opened the door the wrong way. I decided to try again, much more slowly this time.
"Listen well! This time, not a single moment of negligence shall be permitted! On the path where Shallow Vernal-sama walks, not even a single speck of dust shall exist!"
Why was Chronoa-san giving a military-style speech in Lilia-san’s garden? And those people lined up in ritual robes... were those all Gods? Why were they here?
"Listen, okay? I’m going to put up barriers around the city to make it subconsciously difficult for people to approach... but it’s not foolproof. Some might wander in anyway. If anyone does, kill them immediately."
Was that Fate-san? She was saying something incredibly dangerous! Kill anyone who wanders in? What was this place, a war zone? And the people lined up behind her... were they really Gods? They had eyes like a cold-blooded execution squad.
"There is no need to hesitate. I shall resurrect them later. Without considering the intruders' intentions or actions at all, please kill them instantly."
What was she even saying? That green-haired lady... saying it was fine to kill people because she'd just bring them back later—what kind of insane logic was that? Judging by her position, she had to be the final Supreme God, the God of Life, but she looked like a demon out for blood.
"God of Space-Time-sama! All units are in position! The city’s shops and stalls have all been secured by our divine personnel!"
"Good. I shall convey my thanks to the King of Sinfonia later. Everyone! All preparations are complete. From this moment on, cast aside all mercy! If Shallow Vernal-sama is made to feel even a moment of discomfort, realize that the heads of every person here will not be enough to compensate for it!"
I wanted to confirm something. I was supposed to be going on a date, right? I wasn't being deployed to a conflict zone or dropped into the middle of a tactical strike, was I?
Wait, seriously... what on earth was happening?
Dear Mother, Father—The day for my date with Shiro-san finally arrived. I tried to head out with a mix of excitement and nerves, but when I opened the front door, a crowd of Gods had gathered for some reason, and they were saying nothing but terrifying things. Um—is a war about to start?