Now, to clean up

But first

"It's over, isn't it?"

Kuwajiri looked out the window to see the electricity in the western sky and the eddying clouds in the scorched atmosphere.

"Now I don't have to feel guilty about ordering a merry-go-round parfait."

"You eat a lot more than I would've thought!"

She was Norse, after all. She would regret eating so much later on, but she had bought some bananas on a good sale, so it would all work out in the end. Senpai-san was giving her an impressed look, but they probably had different digestive systems.

Still, she had her own thoughts about Senpai-san.

…How can she maintain that body when she eats so little?

She gave Senpai-san an impressed look and the girl tensed up.

"U-um, do you need something?"

"Not really. I was just realizing that j.a.pan has a lot of its own protein-rich foods like tofu and natto."'

"I like both of them."

She shook Senpai-san's hand and the idiot pulled a paper napkin from the dispenser on the table, bit it, and glared at her.

"How dare you hold a free Senpai handshaking event without asking my permission! You've gotta at least buy a CD for that privilege! Senpai, you've released a CD, haven't you!? You haven't!? Not even a single!? How can this be!? Something is severely wrong with the music industry! Anyway, Kuwajiri, how dare you do that with your hand! I'm so jealous!"

She had no idea what the idiot was talking about.

"Sumeragi-kun, do you want to shake my hand?"

"No, I mustn't! That is not allowed! I couldn't possibly hold a handshaking event without earning it with my faith in some way!"

"IIII bet I could get you to pay a toooon of money for indulgences."

Probably so. But then Senpai-san asked a question.

"Um, what happened with Raidou-san…or the entire Norse group, I guess?"

"We won, so a lot will change. And we'll have more trouble to deal with."

"Trouble?"

"Yes," confirmed Kuwajiri while glancing at the person looking outside from a position two seats away. That was s.h.i.+nto Representative Omokane.

"I mean politics. War G.o.d Thor can be seen as the Norse Representative and he just defeated a representative of the 5th Generation Mesopotamian group, even if that opponent was half-G.o.d, half-human."

Kuwajiri was not in charge of politics, but on the intellectual front, she understood what this battle result would mean.

"Fewer mythologies will think about messing with the terraforming of this planet. After all, we defeated a pretty major player even among the 5th Generation. However…"

This would lead to a concern as well. She called on her knowledge of a past example.

"First of all, anyone who does pick a fight with us will either be very powerful or use trickery."

"That does sound like troublllle."

agreed Balancer.

"Will they send a powerful G.o.d, will they send someone whose authority gives them an extreme compatibility advantage, or will they send in an army to win through pure numbers? Or will they make their attack through political or economic avenues?"

This is what it meant in the end.

"This means a lot for the s.h.i.+nto terraforming. As a later mythology, s.h.i.+nto never had much influence, but this gives them a spot right there with the other mythologies."

"Eh!? That's amazing! Then can we let Raidou-senpai and the others deal with everything while we think up some clever ideas if it's needed so that hard work and friends.h.i.+p carry us to victory in the end!?"

"S-sorry, but I was sort of wondering the same thing. Is there some major problem with that?"

"Norse mythology is not a monolith. The G.o.ds are just one faction and we have come here almost entirely on behalf of that faction. But…"

But…

"While we are working to hold them in check, we still all belong to Norse mythology. So if we help you here, the others are bound to demand payment from s.h.i.+nto."

"Ah."

It looked like she had caught on.

Their ultimate goal here was the terraforming. So…

"They might just ask that some of the planet's land be given to Norse mythology. Of course, we will ask for payment as well since we are not doing this as volunteers, but the more we fight for you, the more you will be obligated to provide, which will only bind you. Personally, I think you should give a military G.o.d or war G.o.d a real manifestation as soon as possible and then use us as reserve forces."

"Kuwajiri-kuuuun."

"What?"

"You shoulllld really stop announcing your deparrrrture in advance."

"Ah."

She had meant it as a warning or a knowledge-based decision, but she had taken it too far.

No, the fact that she felt like she had taken it too far was the proof that this decision was partially based on emotion.

"Sorry. I seem to have a tendency toward pessimism."

"Oh."

"Well, not as much as you do. You amaze even me there."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait."

It was even more amazing if she was not aware of it. However…

"Kuwajiri, keep one thing in mind."

"What is that?"

"I like having crazy fun with everyone and I want to keep doing it."

"You mean?"

"Yeah," said the idiot. "I mean, I don't want to see myself as some sad loner! I'm super-duper lucky to have Senpai with me, but I can't intrude on her everyday life just to wors.h.i.+p her! All my wors.h.i.+p juices would squirt out of my believer hole if I was able to be a part of her everyday life, but to preserve the value of my wors.h.i.+p, she needs to be someone beautiful, not someone desperate for attention! And she is someone beautiful, even if she seems to hand out rewards a little too readily! So…what was I talking about again? Probably about Senpai given what I got sidetracked on."

"Was it your respect for Senpai-san?"

"U-um, thank you very much?"

"I-I am unworthy of your thanks! I, Sumeragi Izumi, will endlessly respect you even if you give me a colder response like, 'You'd better praise me more than that, you pig'! Long live, Senpai! Long live, Senpai!! …Really though, Kuwajiri, what were we talking about?"

"What you wanted from your relations.h.i.+p with us."

"Eh!? You want a relations.h.i.+p with me!? Well, you're out of luck! I'm running straight for Senpai without taking any detours! My path is as straight as National Route 1! Straight as can be!"

"This is about nuance, not facts! Why don't you get that!? What do you think, Kuwajiri!?"

"I think I might be able to calm you down if I mess with some of the settings during the next rollback."

"A psychological castration!? That's new!"

She really was annoying.

But the worst part was how obvious it was that idiot was trying to be considerate.

…Showing off my negative side was a mistake.

What good was sympathy from the likes of a human?

But for now…

"You say you don't want to be lonely, but the result of this battle means all the mythologies seeking out a suitable phase on this planet might just gather here and have some 'crazy fun' fighting over the land."

This was going to be a pain. But on the other hand…

"We don't want this to lead to conflict either, but that is another reason why our peaceful days here might be over."

"Kuwajiri-san."

"What?"

"You don't have to make yourself into a villain. That is only possible for people with the absolute conviction and pride to believe nothing at all can bring them down."

"I was merely las.h.i.+ng out based on the anxiety and other things I carry with me."

Just as she said that, several voices arrived at the restaurant entrance.

"Ohhhh."

Kuwajiri could tell why Yomoji had looked up.

"Hey. We've brought the other two. They're joining us."

"Is this a ground beef and pork mixture? We can't exactly eat that."

Ki finally let herself sigh while viewing the menu.

It had finally hit him that the time for fighting was over.

…It had been a while since we fought.

They had just completed the post-battle process.

"It is very convenient that we are warped back to where the battle started once it is over."

However, none of that took very long. Plus, Balancer handled everything for their surroundings.

They ended up in front of the bathhouse, so Balancer guided them to this restaurant.

They took the seats across from the Norse pair who were ordering tons of meat.

The table across the aisle from there was filled with Norse and s.h.i.+nto G.o.ds.

"I never imagined the human would have turned into a girl for no reason."

"Caught me by surprise too! This was apparently a first for my rollbacks, so I ran to the bathroom to check on some things during the terraforming!"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," replied Ki. "There are some things you've gotta check out once you get a female body."

"Right!? I gave myself a look and was all 'way to go, me!'. But why did you make the change, Busty Girl?"

"I had a number of reasons, but personally…well, you know. If I was going to be 'receiving' Bil, I figured having more receptacles would mean more variety."

"This conversation is going places fast."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!"

"Anyway," said Ki with a light wave of her hand. "There are actually a few different versions of our mythology depending on which civilization was in charge, but the further back you go, the deeper my love for Bil is depicted to be. And when you keep hearing that, it makes you want to go for it, right?"

"Yeah, that happens when you keep getting praised for something."

"Exactly. And since there were other reasons for it too, I figured it was worth doing."

Everyone gave fairly solemn nods, but then Bilgamesh took a gulp of water and spoke up.

"I had no problem with the male body either, though."

"And we're going places again."

"Oh, but s.h.i.+nto is perfectly okay with that."

That was s.h.i.+nto for you. Nice and lax.

But their partners had already begun exchanging opinions next to them.

Raidou spoke his mind.

"Man, that was pretty fun."

"Winning is always fun. It feels great, doesn't it?"

"Was it fun for you?"

After a pause, Bilgamesh nodded.

"I feel better now. Because I managed to decide what it is we should do."

"Politics, huh?"

"Yes, politics. We can discuss this later. Right now, I want to reach an understanding about that battle."

"So you feel better, but you still don't like it, huh? Kind of confusing."

"Do you enjoy it even when you lose?"

s.h.i.+fu glanced over at him when she heard that question. Bilgamesh's partner, Kidou, did not look their way and continued speaking with the undercla.s.smen.

Kidou's reaction was the unnatural one.

Does she have her reasons? wondered Raidou as he answered the question.

"I do. Because I can think about why I lost."

"Explain."

"Sure," he agreed.

This is what he meant.

"Once I understand why I lost, I can be certain of one thing: I will win next time. Once that happens, my loss doesn't end with just a loss. I can be certain that I grew stronger in the process. And that means…"

This is how he viewed it.

"Maybe losing was actually better than winning. At that point, I just have to look forward to the rematch. Because I can win the next time. I will win the next time. Bring it on, you SOB. Stuff like that."

Bilgamesh silently held out his hand, so Raidou shook it.

"You are right. Defeat only makes you stronger next time if you can accept it. But…"

"Yeah."

They both knew this.

"Losing but stopping there is the absolute worst."

He had experienced that when the world of the G.o.ds was destroyed.

The other guy had experienced that when he had lost his partner.

So how had these two made it this far?

He could make some guesses here, but politics was not his domain. The only one here who could do politics was Omokane at the other table, but she had too much of an ulterior motive.

"Kuwajiri," he sent via Revelation Board.

"Miru-senpai is asleep right now. I would wait until tomorrow for anything politics related."

"I see," he replied before holding out a flat hand to pause the conversation with Bilgamesh.

"Sumeragi! Let's have a party at your room tonight. With everyone here."

"Eh!? Senpai in my room!? Kyun! Oh, that was the sound my heart made! And I'm not sick! It was the sound of my heart's flitter-flutter b.u.t.ton being pressed! Flitter-flutter pus.h.!.+ Kyun! One more time! Kyun! What's with the 'you're ruining my meal' look, Kuwajiri!? I'm like a delicious spice, aren't I!? But anyway, how about it, Senpai!? Oh, but I'm not talking to the male Senpai or the carnivorous Senpai! I'm talking to the real Senpai!"

"Don't think I'm forgetting this."

"Thank you! Thank you so much! Criticism from a busty G.o.ddess is the ultimate reward!"

"Is this what humans are like nowadays?"

"No, she is a special case! Or I hope she is!"

Bilgamesh noticed Balancer had appeared next to him.

Hearing that, he looked to the boy across from him.

Raidou nodded as if to say Balancer was correct.

"It's true. Balancer wouldn't tell us anything about you."

"You have my thanks. But…"

He turned toward the noisy human and saw Ki looking his way. However…

"Oh, sorry."

She had not done anything wrong, so why did she reflexively apologize?

He had known his partner a long time, but there was still a lot he did not understand about her.

…How cute.

Figure it out, boy, s.h.i.+fu added, but that was probably just how those two were.

En was apparently having some trouble with Bilgamesh's "loss" brought up in the previous conversation. That was probably something from their mythological age.

But right now, Bilgamesh had met Tooru who had experienced a similar loss. En must have found some peace in the fact that the two boys had come to a consensus on what that loss meant.

…I'd better cheer them on.

She felt like she was becoming more and more like a mom, but that was fine.

It was fun.

Bilgamesh asked a direct question.

"Why do you think I lost?"

"To be blunt, because of everything."

"That doesn't tell me anything."

"Then," said the other boy while spreading his hands. "Because everything was an away game for you. Does that help you understand?"

"What do you mean by everything?"

"The battlefield, the partic.i.p.ants, the time, the land, the tactics, and everything else."

The other boy responded with a toothy grin and Bilgamesh did feel like he sort of understood.

"In other words, this was a standard tactic for you."

"Yeah. And an abuse of the rules. I mean, you two had a poor position here to start with. The barrier created around the battlefield would disappear if we cut off the ether supply both sides were providing, but doing that at this point would have politically hurt you two since you were the ones with a reason to pick a fight. So you had to defeat us no matter what. Meanwhile, we could run away to change our positions…and to lure you into position."

Also…

"We knew the area and the lay of the land. Nature G.o.ds are crazy powerful when they can take advantage of the local terrain, but I think you let your guard down when it came to that."

"I'll admit I didn't expect thunder since it was a cloudless night."

"Are you saying we were too impatient?"

"Yeah," agreed the other boy. "That's the short of it. I don't know what burden you're carrying, but it was weighing you down from the start."

"I thought we had prepared well enough to make up for that."

Ki nodded and spoke to the couple in front of them.

"It's been a while since I've seen Bil have so much fun building and forging new equipment."

"I was not having fun."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It's that kinda thing, isn't it?"

He felt like that interpretation had been forced onto him.

What a troublesome girl, he thought from the bottom of his heart.

Meanwhile, the thunder G.o.d tilted his head.

"Was that your best equipment?"

"No, we left the Hyper versions at home. We modified the base-level equipment and brought that with us this time."

"They were originally bronze, but we made them out of steel this time."

"Excuse me for interrupting, but you were going for defense while aware that would increase electrical conductivity, weren't you?"

She understood it well. Since she was a G.o.d of knowledge, she was clearly an excellent G.o.d.

"We knew a thunder G.o.d was in charge of the fighting here. Bronze has low conductivity, so it would be effective as a defense against lightning attacks."

"Really? I know bronze is made from copper and isn't copper used in electronics? I remember doing stuff with that in elementary school, but I guess that memory is fabricated."

"Well, my gold functions on special rules designed to match Tooru, so you could say I'm made to be penetrated by his attacks."

"Did your explanation have to sound so dirty? Well, did it?"

"Eh? Um, uh, don't machines use gold plating for the electric contact points?"

"Gold corrodes far slower than silver or copper, so using gold plating is ultimately cheaper even though it comes at the cost of some conductivity. Also, if we again view copper's conductivity as a 10, then bronze's would be between 1 and a little above 1, although it depends on how it was made."

"Well, the electricity isn't the part of a lightning strike that does direct damage. It can burn through stuff, but it grows weaker while it pa.s.ses through the target. And if the target is touching the ground, it can pa.s.s right through them as long as there isn't any resistance. If anything, the impact from the shockwave is the more powerful part."

"That is true," agreed Bilgamesh. "There are two ways to defend against lightning strikes. The first is to use a poor conductor that does not allow the lightning to pa.s.s through and deflects it outwards. The electric attack that doesn't reach you will become an external impact, so solid materials are preferred. But bronze is too brittle for that. Even if it could prevent a thunder G.o.d's attack from reaching me, we concluded the impact would break through. So we went with the other method: allow the electricity through to soften the external impact."

Hence steel.

"Steel has fairly high conductivity and a solid surface, so it seemed like the best choice. We decided I could defend against the thunder G.o.d's attack with my s.h.i.+eld and, if that did not work, let it pa.s.s through me and into the ground. However…"

He had encountered an unexpected ambush.

"I did not expect you to use the harvest G.o.d like that."

His equipment had been pierced up from the ground.

When it happened, he had thought it was no more than some blades. However…

"Those blades were part of the 'harvest land' phase, weren't they?"

"Oh, you actually figured it out?"

Of course he had. It had bested him in combat.

"So in the very end when that pierced my weapon, my failure was in using my momentum to destroy it."

Because…

"It was growing up from the ground below as 'harvest land'. Even after breaking it, the remnants remained pierced through my equipment and they had been 'cut off from the land'. I rejected the very ground on which I stood. Thus, the lightning strike could not escape into the ground and instead exploded within."

But that was not all.

"s.h.i.+fu, your hair is gold, isn't it?"

"It is. Gold's conductivity comes in third after silver and copper. And like I said, mine is special gold made to match Tooru. So once my blades had pierced through, Tooru had what he needed to get his power through and control it."

So to sum up…

"We overlooked your mutually complementary relations.h.i.+p where together you control the earth and the heavens. We tried to battle a couple as if they were unrelated individuals."

"Like I said. It was all an away game for you."

"We will not lose next time."

"I'm game any time. Remember, legit duels aren't the only way to compete in this world and you take things way too seriously for a proper duel. So how about we play some video games and take it easy?"

Now.

"We can discuss the heart of the issue in that idiot's room. But give us a quick taste now, 5th Generation."

Bilgamesh glanced over at Ki.

She was looking back at him. She did not try to run away or avert her gaze, but she also did not try to act tough.

She was ready for this.

That was wonderful.

She truly was his partner. So he placed his hand on hers when he asked the question.

"Is that human's room safe?"

"Balancer set it up. It exists as a phase s.p.a.ce, so we can use a barrier to cut it off until tomorrow morning. We could do that at the bathhouse too, but you don't have an official s.h.i.+nto connection quite yet."

"I see." Bilgamesh nodded. "Then why bother saying anything here?"

"Don't be dumb. Think about it. We're students and it's summer break."

"That's right," said s.h.i.+fu with a grin. "If it looks like a serious issue, we need to buy some drinks and prepare for a long talk. If not, we can buy mostly snacks and have a party. So which should it be?"

"Our troubles are not some summer vacation distraction."

They are not taking this seriously, he thought, but he had lost to them. Also…

"Fine, then."

It seemed strange to him, but when in Rome.

The previous battle had taught him what it meant to learn new things.

So he told them what they first needed to do concerning the problem they faced.

"s.h.i.+nto? We wish to defect to your side. The decision is yours."

"Way too much stuff here uses a ground beef and pork mixture."

"Balancer, they have Bikkuri Fries and Bikkuri Pizza here, don't they!?"