Subjectively, it has been roughly an hour since Susanoo-sama brought the woman to Ys and me.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No, what might you be referring to?”
[We know nothing of what you are talking about.]
“…Speaking of which, you are right. Yeah. Let’s proceed at once.”
“I am here to have a discussion with you, my guest.”
As Susanoo-sama settles into his seat, a woman who unquestionably ranks higher in terms of beauty among the Goddesses—who is reputed to be equally lovely regardless of gender—appears from behind the door and occupies the spot where Susanoo-sama had previously been sitting.
“Let me first introduce myself. My name is Amaterasu. I am the chief of the Gods here at Japoterasu, and I am the protector of humans. You have traveled a long way to be here today.”
“N-No! Thank you very much for inviting me!”
[I-I appreciate the time you have taken for a low-ranking God such as myself.]
The woman has long, stunning black hair and wears a simple yet clean and luxurious silk garment that even I, who am not familiar with clothes, can understand is of the highest quality. Her face is so well-developed that everyone would agree that her face is the pinnacle of refinement, and her voice sounds as though it might be able to penetrate the depths of your brain just by listening to it as she looks at me.
Ah, yeah. After all, that person earlier must have been a different person. There is no equal link between the two, no matter how I put this into perspective.
I mean, with or without any faith in Amaterasu-sama, who is here in front of me, I can’t help but bow my head to her.
“Don’t be so afraid. Is there something you want to talk to me about? Speak.”
“[Y-Yes!]”
In the midst of our tension, Ys and I share our conversation with Amaterasu-sama about what Susanoo-sama had just said.
And so the illusion of her being a magnificent entity ends here.
“That is why…”
“ZZZ.”
“…?”
“…(Susanoo-sama clenches his fist silently.)”
“Um…”
“Wake up, you idiot sister!”
“What!? You’re wrong, Susanoo-chan! This is by no means the case that after 200 hours of running a boss marathon across various MMOs I fell asleep or anything like that!?”
“You’re screwing this up, stupidddd!”
Amaterasu is made to sit upright by Susanoo-sama, who then rises and starts lecturing her so quickly that I can’t even make out what he’s saying.
Even I somehow noticed it during the course of our conversation. Yes. That this individual had been sleeping with her eyes open, not moving an inch. Yes, I was aware of it… but I didn’t want to acknowledge it…
However, that is still what one would anticipate from a God. Although there are some incomprehensible words mixed in, I can only say that being able to move without sleep or rest for 200 hours is just outstanding. The fact that Susanoo-sama is pissed off at her suggests that she’s not working, but playing…
At any rate, I now realize that flawless beauty does not exist.
“So, in the end, is it possible for that woman to unilaterally sever someone else’s faith?”
“If I had to say whether she could or not, I’d say yes. But I was with you for the 200 hours I just mentioned.”
“You know as well as I do that there is no proof of such a thing.”
“I know, right? In fact, even now, one of my fission is marathoning with her against Parasazebub in a certain MMO. What do you think? Can I call her and question her directly?”
“I’ve never met her in person, so I’d like to meet her and get an inkling of what she’s like.”
“[?]”
Both Ys and I tilt our heads at the words of Susanoo-sama and Amaterasu.
Since a while ago, there have been several words that I don’t understand, which makes it difficult for both of us to follow what they are talking about.
What do you mean by “fission,” specifically?
“Hmm. Oh, it’s impossible for that lizard-chan over there to do that, but for Gods like me and my sister’s level, it’s possible to split up our own bodies and have each one operate independently. Of course, the more you separate them, the less power you have in each body.”
“[Heh.]”
The explanation from Susanoo-sama leaves Ys and me awestruck.
As an ordinary human being, it is difficult for me to grasp the idea that there are several of my own bodies, all of which are operating under the same consciousness. The convenience of being able to perform multiple tasks at the same time is something that goes without saying.
While Ys and I are admiring this, Amaterasu speaks up.
“Right. In fact, there are various me’s other than my main body, the me here, the me with the girl, the me at work, the me carrying out detailed work, the me queuing up in line, and so on.”
You are reading story Outer World Story: Basilisk of Ice Sculpture at novel35.com
“Huh? Separate body and work?”
At any rate, there is something in those words that I can’t help but ask back.
No, well, perhaps that’s not strange given that the main body specializes in giving orders through to the conclusion, but I have the impression that Amaterasu’s description of her work differs from what I envision it to be.
“Um, my work is, you know…”
And here, Amaterasu fumbles with her chest, which should have less space than mine, and attempts to take out a book with a brightly colored cover and of little thickness…
“Don’t you dare bring that into this world!?”
“Oufu!?”
But before she can do so, Susanoo-sama kicks Amaterasu in the side of the head with all his might and blasts her away.
However, I inadvertently notice the book’s cover with my dynamic vision—which has been enhanced by signing a contract with Ys—as it is flung into the air from Amaterasu’s grasp.
On the cover of the book is a woman who looks like… Susanoo and a man with a beautiful face.
“Susanoo-sama? Ah! Eh!?”
“Fushu…”
At this point, Susanoo-sama picks up the book that is in the air and instantly obliterates it before seizing me by the head.
From his hand, a distinct sense of anger is transmitted.
“Akira, Ys… there are some things in this world you shouldn’t know. Do you understand?”
“Y-Yes…”
[I-I understand…]
Both I and Ys express our affirmation with all of our efforts by shaking our entire body in response to his words, which exerts pressure that precludes any space for argument.
Or rather, Susanoo-sama is frightening me! Too terrifying! In a different sense from the woman in the military uniform, he freaks me out!! If this is the case, it would be much better to lose consciousness!!
“All right, you just wait here for a little while. I’m going to go and finish her off.”
Susanoo-sama’s hand detaches from my head and advances towards Amaterasu in a form of indignation.
As for me, when it comes to this, my first priority is to protect myself. That’s why…
“Wait! Wait, Susanoo-chan! In the world, there is…”
[Akira…]
“…Yeah.”
“Don’t waste your breath!”
“[We don’t know anything, we haven’t heard anything, we haven’t seen anything.]”
Both Ys and I silently shut our eyes and cover our ears with our hands.
There are things in this world that we should not know. You said so yourself, Susanoo-sama. Hahahahaha…
In a sense, it’s probably a positive thing that my faith has been severed.
——————
A/N:
…I’m still a prudent author, so please forgive me.
The initial plot in my brain was even worse.
In Japanese mythology, Amaterasu-sama is a brave and powerful god who dressed as a man and attacked Susanoo-no-Mikoto-sama, and at the same time, she is a wonderful god who gives us blessings as a sun god.
She is definitely not a God who should be mocked as a “shut-in” God.
Thanks to the generosity of the Gods, we are able to create this kind of stories.
Please never forget that.
Oh, the book is an NL book about Kushinada (male) and Susanoo (female) with the genders reversed. Except for the gender, it’s official.
…
Please spare my life at least….>orz
T/N:
NL stands for neutral love in Japanese by the way. It means heterosexual romance. And the conversation between Amaterasu and Susanoo probably has something to do with the second Outer World Story since Parasazebub is a boss in that series