Chapter 10
“Mm~ really. Gently. It just melts.”
At that moment, the leaves of a nearby shrub twitched slightly. Seeing this, Raphaella let out a quiet snicker and continued her stiff, exaggerated acting.
“The fruit on top, too. So fragrant. Absolutely delicious.”
Once again, the leaves shook more noticeably, and a single blue wing poked out between the branches. At the sight, Raphaella had to bite her lip for a moment to suppress her laughter.
Barely holding it in, she poured her heart into the performance and delivered the final line with dramatic flair.
“Oh my! It’s so tasty that I might just end up eating it all!”
“N-no, don’t!”
Only then did Perri, who had been hiding in the shrub, flutter out.
“G-give some to Perri too! Cake!”
Raphaella lightly caught the hem of Perri’s clothes as he rushed toward the plate.
“You little brat. You disappear for days without staying by your master’s side, and now you show up talking about cake?”
“Waaah! I’m sorry! Perri was wrong! Please give me cake!”
Perri struggled to pull free, wailing as he did. Raphaella pretended to scold him, but when she saw Perri fluttering over at the mere mention of cake, she couldn’t help but laugh.
“Honestly, you’d probably eat poison too if it were sweet.”
“Huh? Master, did you put poison in this?”
“I didn’t.”
“Then hurry up and give it to me!”
Raphaella deliberately waved the plate in front of Perri’s eyes and asked meaningfully,
“But in exchange—Perri, once you eat this, you’ll do me a favor, right?”
“Yes, yes! I’ll do anything!”
With a light laugh, Raphaella released the finger holding Perri. He immediately climbed onto the plate and began stuffing the cake into his mouth with both hands.
“Waaah! It’s sweet—so sweet!”
Raphaella watched fondly as Perri ate the cake in bliss, his face smeared with cream. Whenever she looked at the childlike spirit—quick to sulk but just as easy to placate—his innocence brought her a sense of calm.
“Is it that good?”
“Yes! Perri is the happiest ever right now!”
“I’ll let you have it often from now on.”
“Really? How often?”
“Once or twice a week, for starters. Once I’m settled, I’ll buy you even more delicious things than cake.”
“G-goodness… Perri belongs to Master forever now. Eternal loyalty!”
“You were already mine. Enough chatter—eat up. You’ve got somewhere to go.”
In the end, only after Perri finished a cake nearly as big as himself did he finally seem satisfied. Rubbing his round belly, he flopped down flat on the plate.
Raphaella dampened a handkerchief with water and wiped the cream from Perri’s face and hands as she spoke.
“Perri. We’ve come to the human realm for the first time in a while, right? Do you remember what I used to do every time I came down?”
Perri answered immediately, as if there were no need to think.
“In places with lots of people, you’d make cards go sharrrk and dice go whoosh. And you drank bitter, nasty water.”
“That’s called alcohol. When you grow up, you’ll probably crave alcohol more than sweets.”
Perri shook his head vigorously, making a face like he’d bitten into a bug.
“I wouldn’t drink it even if you gave it to me. Perri likes sweet things better!”
“Anyway, this time I’m thinking of trying something different.”
“Something different? Is it fun?”
“Kind of like a treasure hunt. It’ll be pretty fun. But for that, there’s something you need to do first.”
“?”
Raphaella spoke meaningfully to the head-tilting Perri.
“Go to your dad and get some spirit powder.”
“What?!”
Perri gasped, startled. He folded his wings in around himself and trembled.
“I got in huge trouble last time I stole it! When Dad gets mad, he’s scary.”
“You were scolded because you stole it then. This time, you’ll be getting it properly, so it’s fine. Show him my letter and he’ll give it to you willingly. While you’re at it, break off a branch too.”
“A branch too? Are you sure Perri really won’t get in trouble?”
“Of course, of course. Here—take this with you and there’s no way that’ll happen. You trust me, right?”
Raphaella handed Perri a letter she had written earlier, folded down to the length of a finger. Hugging the letter tightly to his chest, Perri still looked doubtful as he replied,
“Okay. I’ll go and come back.”
With those final words, Perri vanished in an instant in a small flash of light.
After Perri crossed over to the spirit realm, Raphaella sat down on the edge of the bed. She soon pulled out the map Gilliphus had given her and unfolded it.
“Ah… I was planning to take my time and enjoy myself a bit more.”
Up until yesterday, the thirteen dots had clearly been scattered across different locations. But when she checked that morning, three of the dots had gathered in one place.
“What on earth is this now?”
At first, Raphaella thought of the chief god Taratius. Perhaps he had sent his messengers to collect the fragments. But if that were the case, he wouldn’t have given her the task of restoring the mirror herself.
“Then who could it be? Could Gilliphus be collecting the fragments to help me?”
“That can’t be it. The guy who gave me this map wouldn’t do something like that.”
The unexpected variable made her head start to ache.
“I’ll have to talk to him directly.”
Raphaella lit the candle by her bedside and drew the symbol representing Gilliphus beneath it. Then she plucked a single strand of hair and burned it in the flame.
Whoosh—
The candle flame flared up, rising as if it might reach the ceiling. Within the large blaze, Gilliphus’s face appeared. He smiled faintly and spoke.
“What’s the occasion? For you to call me first—how admirable.”
“I’ve got something to ask you.”
Raphaella paused to gather her thoughts. Gilliphus tilted his head, surprised by her uncharacteristically serious demeanor.
“What is it that’s got you so tense?”
“Gilliphus, be honest with me. Is it the old chief god, or is it you—are you collecting the mirror fragments?”
“What are you talking about?”
Raphaella held the map up toward the flame where Gilliphus’s face hovered and continued.
“Three fragments suddenly gathered in one place this morning. Someone is collecting the mirror pieces.”
“Ah… damn.”
Gilliphus’s expression turned grave. Seeing his face, Raphaella tensed as well.
“Actually, the four male gods who were being punished have gone missing.”
“What?”
Raphaella couldn’t help but be shocked.
Never before had a god escaped from the chief god’s punishment. That was precisely why even she—once known as the divine realm’s troublemaking goddess—was bound like this.
“How is that even possible? Wasn’t the chief god having that snake oversee and monitor them?”
“…That snake is on the brink of annihilation right now. The chief god barely managed to salvage his soul—he was injured that badly.”
“That strong bastard? Just what in the world is happening up there?”
A rapidly rising sense of foreboding made Raphaella leap to her feet. Of the chief god’s five great messengers, the snake was the most twisted of them all. For someone like that to be so badly wounded…
As Raphaella stood there in confusion, Gilliphus replied with a troubled expression.
“Raphaella, listen carefully. What’s happening right now isn’t in the divine realm—it’s in the human realm.”
“What did you say?”
“The chief god suspects that the escaped male gods harbor a grudge against you and are plotting revenge.”
“What nonsense. Who’s holding a grudge against whom? I’m the one who should be seeking revenge—who do they think they are!”
“It’s not certain yet. The messengers are being sent out to investigate. I’ll likely be descending to the human realm soon as well.”
Raphaella slammed her fist down onto her knee. Being so powerless in a situation like this made her seethe with frustration.
“I told Perri to bring back some spirit powder and a branch, but that won’t even come close to being enough to deal with four of them. Damn it.”
“I’m already continuously asking the chief god to at least partially unseal your powers, so just wait a little longer.”
“Hah! As if that old geezer would ever agree.”
Watching Raphaella fume, Gilliphus briefly lifted one corner of his mouth before quickly lowering it again. Her fiery temperament suited his tastes all too well.
Putting on a serious expression once more, Gilliphus continued,
“Raphaella. It would be best to hurry and collect the fragments.”
“…Damn it.”
“We don’t know who is moving or for what purpose, but one thing’s certain—they’re an obstacle to you.”
“Tch. I was planning on it anyway.”
“Good. I’ll help as much as I can.”
This time, Raphaella found she couldn’t bring herself to refuse as she had before.
As events twisted in increasingly strange directions, she didn’t even have enough strength to protect herself. In a state where she would have gladly accepted even a cat’s paw for help, it was only natural that she couldn’t reject Gilliphus’s goodwill—and that, more than anything, bruised her pride.
Avoiding his gaze with an awkward expression, Raphaella answered hesitantly.
