After checking Shia-san’s schedule, I headed to the God Realm's Middle Level. This was the residential area for the High-ranking Gods—a place I rarely had the chance to visit.
While the area had served as a venue for the White God Festival, I usually spent my time in the Upper Level or the Sanctuary, so I didn't come here often. Given the vastness of the Middle Level and the relatively small number of High-ranking Gods who lived there, they were able to use the land quite luxuriously, building their temples wherever they pleased.
As a High-ranking God directly under Fate-san, Shia-san was entitled to build her temple in the Upper Level like the others, but she apparently preferred the Middle Level.
I had registered the Upper Level as my teleportation point, so we agreed to meet there. When I arrived, she was already waiting.
"Hello, Shia-san," I said.
"Hmm? Ah... glad you could make it," she replied.
Things had progressed lately—mostly thanks to Fate-san’s improved work ethic—and Shia-san had stopped clicking her tongue every time we met. Her opinion of me was clearly improving.
In fact, ever since Fate-san started actually doing her job, Shia-san’s attitude had softened considerably. I could feel her affection for me growing. Looking back, Fate-san must have really put her through the wringer. Even though she’d known it wasn’t my fault, she’d clearly been resentful of the extra workload I represented.
"As I mentioned via Hummingbird, I have the samples from Kuro's trading company."
"I appreciate you coming all this way. Thank you. Well, there’s no sense in standing around talking. Shall we head to my place?"
"Sure. Your house is in the Middle Level, right?"
"My temple is in the Upper Level, but I really only use that for work," she explained. "I built a private space for breaks here in the Middle Level. Since I’m a goddess, I don’t need to sleep, so it isn’t really a home in the traditional sense. I didn’t use it much before... or rather, I never had the time."
In the past, Fate-san slacked off so much that Shia-san was almost constantly buried in work. To make matters worse, after I arrived, Fate-san began ditching her duties even more frequently under the guise of coming to see me. The entire burden had fallen on Shia-san’s shoulders. It was no wonder she wanted to give me a piece of her mind when we first met.
"Thinking about it that way, it sounds like you have quite a bit more free time now," I remarked.
"Oh, absolutely. Having the God of Fate-sama work on a regular basis makes a world of difference. Lately, I’ve had so much free time that I’ve been buying furniture and redesigning the interior. Honestly, it’s all thanks to you. You have my sincere gratitude."
"It makes me wonder just how bad things were before... But I’m glad to hear they’ve improved."
She really must have struggled. The sheer degree to which she had softened toward me made her past hardships painfully obvious.
We used her teleportation magic to reach her home. It was a small house. While it was large enough for one person, it seemed tiny given her status. However, since she had a separate temple for work, perhaps this was all she needed for her private life.
"The atmosphere here is so different from the rest of the God Realm," I noted. "It's made of wood."
Most buildings in the God Realm were made of stone or white marble—the kind of majestic structures that immediately come to mind when you hear the word 'temple.' By contrast, Shia-san's house was timber-framed and had a cozy, lived-in feel. It was a rarity for the area. Then again, the only other places I’d seen in the God Realm were the Sanctuary and the Supreme God’s temple.
"Well, I'm something of an eccentric among my kind," Shia-san said. "Nowadays, the gods visit the Human and Demon Realms fairly often, but before, I was practically the only one. In time, maybe others will start building houses like this."
"I see. Even the God Realm is changing..."
Shia-san looked almost happy as she spoke. It seemed she genuinely enjoyed seeing her fellow gods evolve.
Serious-senpai: "Her attitude toward Kaito really has softened. I can practically see the 'Affection Meter' rising."