Satou here . Though it's not limited to Tokusatsu genre, I think face offs with Four Guardians, generals and the likes before the main villain and the fierce battle that follows are just obligatory .

◇

『This is yummy . 』

The pink-haired little girl bit into the strawberry shortcake with beaming eyes .

"Yies~?"

"This Mont Blanc here is delish too nodesu . "

"Young organism, I recommend the pudding over here as well so I inform . "

Tama, Pochi, and Nana are entertaining the little girl with sweets .

Since the little girl is speaking in Age of G.o.ds language, I'm supporting their conversation with force magic, [Translate: Age of G.o.ds Language] .

We're in a newly created sub-s.p.a.ce on top of the great desert .

I took her here instead of Solitary Island Palace because it'd be bad if the little girl's guardian, Demon G.o.d, were to raid the place .

The sweets are lubricant to make the little girl more p.r.o.ne to spill things out .

Besides sweets towers on top of many tables, this area is filled with Arisdirected [Houses of Sweets], sweet aroma lingers in the air .

"And here comes Chocolate Fondue~"

"Wa~i, choco~?"

"Gureato nanodesu!"

When a maid robot--I mean a cooking-support living doll modeled after Lulu brought a magic tool that regulates the right temperature for chocolate with her, Tama and Pochi jumped out in joy .

Only me, and the aforementioned people above are here .

All other members are standing by in Solitary Island Palace for safety .

『Choco? It kinda looks like mud though . . . 』

"Young organism, chocolate is justice so I tell . "

Nana lectured the hesitant little girl how to chocolate fondue .

『It's so tasty!』

"Offu~ course~?"

The little girl who timidly bit chocolate-laden biscuit beamed, Tama who was sitting next to her nodded as-matter-of-factly .

"Dipping with fruits here is yummy too nodesuyo . "

'Chocolate banana is the strongest nanodesu', Pochi added .

--I think it's about time?

I talk to the little girl right as she's getting relaxed .

『Was it good?』

『Un!』

The little girl with sticky chocolate all over her mouth replied back .

The closer I see her, the more similar she looks to the picture of little girl at Rumooku Kingdom's Shadow Castle and the body that was inside the Cultivation Tube I found there .

Unfortunately, appraisal and AR readings of her only show UNKNOWN, and nothing more .

『Don't you get sweets at your place?』

『Nnn . We do get some, but only after meal and during afternoon snack time . 』

The little girl answered while holding a spoonful of ice cream .

『Who's making the sweets for you?』

『Mother!』

An image of a s.e.xy pink-haired beauty came up in my mind .

"What kind of person (human)~?"

『She's not a human! She's a demon with a ruby-like horn on her!』

The image on my mind transfigured at once .

Tama and Pochi were surprised when they heard the word demon, but since it would have complicated things, I swiftly went around, blocked their mouths and made a hand signal telling them to keep silent .

『Is mother-san the wife of your master?』

『Nope, she's Lord-sama's servant . She's like the strongest demon ever, that's what she said!』

The girl is talkative .

I pretend to be impressed, 『Hee, that's amazing』, and poured more sugared blue tea for her .

『Were you instructed by your lord to do the things you did in the towers?』

『Un--wrong! Forget I said that! It's a secret!』

The little girl who reflexively nodded to my question denied in panic .

『I see, can't be helped if it's a secret . 』

『Yep yep, can't be helped . 』

The little girl who kept nodding reached out a parfait with a long spoon as if she was trying to brush it over .

『So what's Demon G.o.d-sama trying to do anyway?』

『No clue . It's like something really amazing!』

I guess the vague stuff don't have to be kept a secret?

I purposely replaced [Lord-sama] to [Demon G.o.d-sama] in the question just now, and the little girl replied back without hesitation .

As expected, apparently these little girls were acting on behalf of Demon G.o.d .

"Nyu!"

Tama's ears stood up .

At the same time, a voice resounded in the sub-s.p.a.ce .

『Let me give you the answer you want . 』

◇

Purple cracks ran on the sub-s.p.a.ce boundaries, then a night-like deep dark purple silhouette showed up .

『Lord-sama!』

The pink-haired little girl said that cheerfully .

"Tama . "

"Aye . "

Tama took Pochi and Nana into the shadow .

Evacuation complete .

『This would be our first time meeting in this world, wouldn't it, Demon G.o.d-sama . 』

I talked to demon G.o.d who had a.s.sumed the form of a literal shadow .

Perhaps his 2-dimension-like solid-less figure comes from something similar to my masquerade mask .

Of course, appraisal results and AR readings show UNKNOWN .

『How carefree of you, unbefitting of a Sinner . 』

『Sinner?』

『Hmph, you abducted a familiar of G.o.d . Of course you are prepared to receive a fitting punishment, are you not?』

『Please don't say abduction, it's just a misunderstanding . 』

. . . What's this I wonder?

Something is bugging me as I talk to Demon G.o.d though I'm not sure what .

Is it because the way he talks is completely different than when I saw him in Realm of G.o.ds, could that be the reason?

『We received reports about someone instigating monsters toward explorers in the towers, hence we launched a capture operation but the moment we realized that we had captured someone from the managerial side, we served as much delicious food as she wanted as an apology . 』

I told demon G.o.d the excuse I had prepared beforehand with the help of Deception skill .

『Hmph, what a worthless excuse . 』

I can't tell his expression behind the shadow, but his aura is like he laughed scornfully .

Demon G.o.d raised one hand, then the purple crack behind him split apart, countless little girls jumped out of empty air .

Every single one of these little girls looks exactly the same as the first one .

『Aah! She's eating cake by herself!』

『So nice . Gimme some too!』

『Delish~』

All the little girls were armed with giant scythes and great swords, but the moment they saw cakes, they threw away their weapons and rushed toward the sweets on tables .

『Hey, ah, but that's mine!』

『Eeh, isn't it fine . 』

『Right right, monopoly is bad . 』

『Aah! All these small houses are made of sweets!』

『Eeh, that's so cool~!』

『Biscuit roofs . And jelly windows!』

『Delish~』

They look like normal children when I see them enjoying sweets fervently like this .

『--And?』

Demon G.o.d who was gazing at how the little girls were doing turned his line of sight at me and raised his chin .

『Don't you have something to ask?』

Looks like question time is still in effect .

Now then, from whence should I ask-- .

◇

『What are you trying to do with the towers?』

Might as well go with a straight one .

『An update to the world . 』

I'm glad that he's responding, but I still don't get what he means by 'update' here .

『What kind?』

『Exactly what it says . 』

Looks like he'll keep being evasive .

I guess I have to ask in more details . . .

『Is pitting explorers against stronger monsters a part of this update as well?』

I speak while looking at the little girls who are absorbed with eating sweets .

『Exactly . A certain level of tension is required for [Towers of Trials] . Those are no places for mindless fools to indulge in easy experience points . 』

His method is a bit too extreme even if that's the goal though .

『You think it's too extreme?』

Since he asked as if he had read my expression, I gave my affirmation .

『Monsters taken by those girls from other floors are bound by [Purple-Blue Chains], which limit their activity range . One can easily run away from them so long one throws everything away . You merely need to keep an eye on the surroundings and be ready to throw away everything before fleeing . 』

Which means explorers who are h.o.a.rding loots on easy floors for them will end up dead as long as they won't give up their greed huh . . .

『That dragon broke through that though . 』

『I mean, that thing bites, hmph . 』

『Those fangs are unfair . 』

My Attentive Ears skill picked up some of the little girls' conversation .

Looks like even this [Purple-Blue Chains] Demon G.o.d mentioned isn't perfect .

『Then what about the instability of priests' holy magic inside towers?』

『It's a bug . 』

--Bug?

『Even G.o.ds are not absolutely perfect . You can tell after seeing G.o.ds in their realm, can't you? There are flaws in the system that adjusts difficulty of faith in towers . Which in turn manifests into instability of holy magic . I will have it corrected soon, forgive me . 』

Demon G.o.d said so shamelessly .

I can't read his expressions under the shadow, so I can't tell whether he's just making excuses or it's the truth .

I'll risk incurring his wrath and push a bit further here .

『So it's not like it's making use of tower system to s.n.a.t.c.h the faith directed to G.o.d . 』

Demon G.o.d smiled profoundly when he heard me .

A red-purplish crescent-shaped smile formed on the purple-blue shadow .

『--That's some amusing thing you uttered . 』

A cold voice that gave off an illusion of rapidly lowering temperature in this sub-s.p.a.ce .

『Are you saying that I'm mimicking the Thief G.o.d whom G.o.ds despised?』

Oh right, one of the G.o.ds did say something like that .

『No, that's not what I mean . 』

『Then pray tell what you mean . 』

『After listening to testimonies of priests who had explored towers, I'm making a conjecture that perhaps someone is trying to steal faith in the towers . 』

The pressure coming off Demon G.o.d got even stronger .

I guess saying [s.n.a.t.c.hing faith away] again was a bad move .

Demon G.o.d swung his hand then a slate appeared in front of him .

I can't see it from here, but that slate seems to contain some sort of information, Demon G.o.d is operating the slate as if a tablet with one hand .

Looks like he's looking for something .

『d.a.m.n you Zaikuon . . . 』

Demon G.o.d muttered .

That G.o.d caused another trouble again huh .

『I give you my thanks for this bug report . 』

After saying that Demon G.o.d told the little girls, 『We're going back』 .

『Eeh, but we're still eating . 』

『Why not have some too Lord-sama?』

『It's good you know?』

The little girls raised an objection .

I could somehow tell an aura of being stumped coming from Demon G.o.d .

『Please feel free to take everything with you as a present . 』

『Oh really . 』

Demon G.o.d swung his arm, then shadow stretched out of him to form a web, swallowing sweets houses and sweets on top of tables whole .

『I shall overlook your sin this time as thanks for this hospitality and the report earlier . 』

After saying that, Demon G.o.d stepped toward the other side of the sub-s.p.a.ce along with the little girls .

Guess he's saying that he won't show any mercy the next time we make a move on those little girls .

『O Lesser Goods (Irregular) . I will give you one warning . 』

--Lesser Goods?

『G.o.ds who have excess faith on their hands shall do wrongs . Take heed of their movement . 』

『I'm ever so grateful for your advices . 』

I bowed to thank demon G.o.d for his advices .

By the time I raised my head, both demon G.o.d and the cracks on sub-s.p.a.ce had vanished .

◇

After shutting the sub-s.p.a.ce which had outlived its usefulness down, I came to the mansion in Blue Territory as a precaution against Demon G.o.d's tailing .

A gate Arisa created with s.p.a.ce magic opened right in front of me .

"Master, are you safe?"

Arisa crossed the gate along with other girls .

"Yea, of course I am . "

I conveyed my conversation with Demon G.o.d to the girls .

"Hmm [Update to the World] is it . . . That's deep . "

"Yeah . "

In the end, he was gone before I could ask what it meant .

"Then does it mean the one who has been stealing divinity in the towers is G.o.d Zaikuon, not Demon G.o.d?"

"That's if Demon G.o.d wasn't acting . "

We can't exclude the possibility that it was all an act to make me exterminate Zaikuon .

"Can't we put that on hold for now? More importantly, we should go inform all tower administrators about how the out-of-floor monsters being [Tower Specs] along with Demon G.o.d's advice . "

It's very like Hikaru to prioritize life-saving .

"You're right . Can I count on you to contact the king and Echigoya Firm?"

"Yes, just count on me . "

After saying that, Hikaru got into the gate that Arisa opened .

Looks like the other side of this gate is capital's mansion .

"It's safe to a.s.sume that there's a G.o.d who's trying to steal divinity then?"

"Most likely . "

We can't conclude whether it's really Zaikuon as Demon G.o.d said, or it's Demon G.o.d himself .

"Master, was Demon G.o.d really that strong?"

I'm not sure how to answer Liza here .

"At the very least, I couldn't fully grasp his real strength I think?"

"Eh really? Since 『Demon G.o.d Offshots』 were like that, I imagined he'd be even more fearsome--"

"--That's it!"

I realized what had been bugging me while I was meeting Demon G.o.d .

The three black thin stripes that were once summoned in the capital's sky--[Demon G.o.d Offshots], the soul-freezing dread I felt from it,

I could feel nothing like that from the Demon G.o.d himself I met today .

"What's the matter Master?"

I explained my suspicion to the girls who were surprised at me suddenly raising my voice .

"Which means, the demon G.o.d you met earlier wasn't the real body then?"

"Seems likely . Might be something similar to Dragon Blood Avatars Heavenly Dragon and Black Dragon used . "

I open the Map to check out Markers .

--Geh .

The marker that should have been on Demon G.o.d has disappeared .

Same with the little girls .

I really can't let my guard down against Demon G.o.d .

"Still, for him to go as far as to give warning, I really don't get what Demon G.o.d is trying to do . "

"He must be plotting something evil for sure . "

At the princess's remark, Sera said something a Tenion Miko would say .

"Master, is Demon G.o.d a bad person, or just, so I ask . "

"I can't say for sure at this point . "

Regrettably enough .

"Bad people should do what bad people do nodesu . "

"Uy uy~?"

Pochi and Tama spoke out in place of my inner thought .

"If he's going to harm people, then we just need to crush him with all our might desuwa . "

"That's a bit too violent though . "

"Nn, agreed . "

Zensan and Mia denied Lady Karina's aggresive remark .

"Master, I would like to take Pochi and the girls along in my training, would you allow us to?"

"Yeah, of course . "

Liza who had been keeping silent spoke .

Liza going on a drill is not unusual, but there's something a bit different about her just now . Looks like our discussion just now had an effect on her .

I sent Liza and the girls away with Unit Arrangement .

"Now then, guess I'll get back to the capital's mansion for now--"

I mean there's no sign of Demon G.o.d nor pink-haired little girls, should be fine if I go back for now .

"--Satou . "

Mia called me .

The surrounding trees are rustling noisily even though there's no wind .

『--h--lp--』

I could hear someone's voice from the rustling trees .

I strain my ears

『Satou, help . Aze, bad . 』

--Aze-san?!

Blue Territory trees repeatedly tells of the crisis that befalls Aze-san .

"Arisa, I'll leave the rest to you . "

Feeling impatient from even telling those brief words, I moved to Boruenan Forest with Unit Arrangement .

I'm coming for you, Aze-san!