kscans

Chapter 55 - Tears of the Death God

July 29th.

Three days had passed since returning from our short trip. Those who had challenged Satou Hideo that night, serving as sacrificial pawns... not a single one had returned.

(Well, that itself isn't surprising)

Satou Hideo's overwhelming power. They had set out determined to draw out even a fraction of it. All of them had been prepared to die when they departed. They had entered battle with the premise that they would never return alive. So what were they planning to do with the information gathered from the battle?

Had there been separate observers recording the battle? No.

To properly observe a battle, one would need to get reasonably close. Doing so would risk being detected by Satou Hideo, potentially ruining everything. That's why I too had completely behaved as a human during those three days, not even watching the battle from afar.

So what was the plan? Those who went into battle were supposed to be both recording and transmitting devices. Death was meant to be the trigger, sending all memories up to that moment to me, but...

(Why hasn't a single piece of information been shared with me?)

Not even a fragment of information had been sent to me. There are several possibilities to consider.

(That night, the presence of everyone, including Satou Hideo, suddenly vanished)

Though I wasn't watching, I somehow sensed it. They were probably isolated somewhere by some special barrier. They were killed there, but the barrier prevented their memories from reaching me.

(Another possibility is that Satou Hideo saw through our plan and interfered)

I think both are possible, but... something still bothers me. Among the attackers was a powerful deity, though not comparable to my father Hades. The foremost was Thanatos. He is a powerful death god.

One might think, "Using such a death god as a sacrificial pawn...?" I myself think so. But he himself insisted,

"Even Lord Hades couldn't defeat him. If we hold back, we'll achieve nothing."

That was Thanatos. While his death might have been inevitable, it doesn't make sense that it would end with just that.

From what I've heard about the battle between my father and Satou Hideo, Satou completely underestimates his opponents. I don't think that's a bad thing. With that much power, it's natural.

If he even looked down on Hades, the King of the Underworld, he'd treat his subordinates even more dismissively. Couldn't they have exploited that arrogance to land at least some small blow?

(It might be overestimating them, but still...)

As I was thinking about this,

"Hey, Sarna-san. Could you help me with this part?"

"Yes, where is it?"

My classmate Kana's voice pulled me out of my sea of thoughts. Today, Rika-san, Kana-san, and I are working on summer vacation homework at my place.

(Though Rika-san seems to be reaching her limit)

Drool dripping from the corner of her mouth, groaning "Ah, ah, ah" while staring into empty space, she's clearly done. According to Rika-san, "If I study for more than an hour, my head goes crazy."

"Here, if you do this like this..."

"Oh! I see~ Man, that really helps. Thanks!"

"You're welcome. ...Let's take a short break now."

I serve them cold barley tea.

"Phew! I'm alive again! Thank you, goddess!!"

"Idiot."

Well, she's not wrong... though I'm a death goddess, not a goddess of life.

"Still though..."

"What is it?"

"Sarna-chan, your chest is really amazing."

"You know, sexual harassment applies even between girls."

"But seriously, when you think about it, the sight of those substantial breasts resting on the table is pretty intense."

"Well, I guess..."

"When we went to the beach the other day, I had you rest them on my head once, and it was incredible."

"What were you doing?"

I did indeed do that. She begged me so persistently. She was trembling and saying incomprehensible things like "I want to be a desk."

"What do you eat to grow them that big? Does Greece have some special food that accelerates development?"

"It's not like that..."

This would be serious defamation against Greece... or maybe not. My appearance isn't fake but my true form. While I'm disguised to hide my non-human nature, I'm not concealing my appearance.

The one who made me look like this is my father Hades. You might think, "Is Hades a pervert?" but that's not it. I was designed with deliberately contradictory elements to master the powers of a death god.

I'm female because women symbolize life through their ability to give birth. My voluptuous figure adds elements of fertility. So it's not because Hades is a pervert.

(Though I can't deny that another perverted old man's intentions might have been involved)

Not Hades. A different perverted old man. Specifically, Zeus, the chief deity of Olympus. Zeus wasn't directly involved in my creation. He probably doesn't even know I exist. But he's not completely unrelated either.

(Apparently he used Zeus's stated preferences as reference for my appearance)

Zeus supposedly approached my father and, without being asked, went on about what types of women were hot by Zeus standards lately. He could have ignored him, but my father is a serious deity. He dutifully listened, thinking it would be disrespectful to ignore Zeus, the chief deity. I wonder if that's why people keep bothering him, but I kept that thought to myself.

"Actually, I envy slender figures like yours, Rika-san."

"Really? You do?"

"Yes, absolutely."

After that, we ended up chatting away, completely neglecting our homework.

"Take care on your way home."

"Yeah, see you later!"

"Thanks for today!"

After seeing Rika-san and Kana-san off in front of the apartment building, I return to my room... but stop midway.

"...Thanatos?"

In the silent, empty corridor. I sensed Thanatos's presence there. But something felt strange about it... As I stood there confused, a shadow wavered and revealed itself.

"...I apologize for the delay in reporting."

Completely covered from head to toe in a black cloak that hid their expression, but it was definitely Thanatos. However,

"Are you joking? What's with that voice?"

It sounded like those altered voices you often hear on TV shows.

"And if you're going to apologize, at least remove your cloak."

"Ah, wait... M-Miss! Please stop!!"

I summoned my scythe and slashed. Cutting through the cloak, I widened my eyes in shock at what emerged.

"Th-Thanatos...?"

Thanatos is male, and quite handsome at that. But what emerged from the cloak was a woman. A remarkably beautiful woman at that. That alone would be surprising enough, but...

"Why are you naked...?"

Well, not exactly. The private parts were concealed with ribbons. It's like... yes, that thing from erotic manga, the "I'm your present♪" scenario.

"Ngh...!!"

Wait, is she crying!?