He who Protects the Transforming Heroines from The Shadows - Chapter 23 - The Gods’ Deliberation

“Ghh…!”

Somewhere in the world—wrapped in darkness—Reizeroll had returned. Sitting upon a stone throne, she gripped the shadowy sword impaled in her abdomen and wrenched it free.

The moment she pulled it out, red bl00d gushed forth without end. Her face contorted in pain, but even so, she poured her Darkness power into the wound.

The darkness, transmuted into healing force, rapidly closed both the gash in her abdomen and the long diagonal slash across her right side.

At last, all of Reizeroll’s wounds were completely mended.

“…You’ve done it now, Spriggan.”

Wiping away the bl00d on her clothes with a wave of darkness, Reizeroll spoke words of resentment.

But the toll was heavy. Using darkness to heal left her stamina nearly depleted. That was why, the moment Spriggan shattered the barrier completely, Reizeroll had chosen to retreat. Even had she healed herself on the spot, she knew she wouldn’t have been able to continue fighting.

(Still… what was that strength of his?)

Especially toward the end, Spriggan’s power had been abnormal, even by Reizeroll’s own judgment.

To transmute darkness into a multitude of different abilities was exceedingly difficult. In fact, Spriggan had originally used it only for creation abilities. Yet, by the end, he was wielding it at a level not unlike Reizeroll herself..

“…Did something happen to him?”

As she muttered, a mocking voice rang out from the darkness.

“My, my. I’ve been watching for a while now, and how pitiful you looked, Reizeroll.”

Stepping into view before her was a girl clad in lavish gothic attire.

She appeared perhaps fourteen or fifteen.

Her beautiful blond hair was loosely tied into twin-tails, and with a doll-like but warped smile, she sneered at Reizeroll.

“…What do you want, Sheldia?”
“Nothing in particular. I just happened to be around here, and when I saw a sword sticking out of your gut, I thought it looked amusing.”

Called by name with a scowl, Sheldia only grinned wider as she answered.

“Still, it’s rare to see you injured like that. Even if you’ve become weaker than me, you’re still fairly strong. I’m bored, so why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Her arrogant tone made Reizeroll’s voice sharpen ever so slightly with irritation.

“Hold your tongue, Sheldia. Do you want to be erased here and now?”

Murderous intent poured off her as Reizeroll glared at the being in front of her. Normally, she wouldn’t have been provoked by such words. But today was different.

She had succeeded in luring out her target with her trap. Yet, she had failed to accomplish her true objective—killing Spriggan. Worse still, she had been wounded and forced to withdraw.

Thus, the rare irritation. And Sheldia’s words only fanned it. In her icy eyes, emotions flickered like a storm.

“Well, isn’t this unusual. I haven’t seen you so emotional in ages. But tell me, in your state, could you really erase me? If you can, by all means—do it quickly.”

Sheldia giggled, utterly unbothered by Reizeroll’s killing intent, staring back into her eyes.

“…Tch. If I could, I wouldn’t be struggling.”

Realizing the exchange was futile, Reizeroll clicked her tongue in frustration and looked away.

“How honest of you. Now hurry up and tell me, Reizeroll. I have a feeling it’s going to be entertaining.”
“…”

Reizeroll considered whether or not to tell her the truth.

If she did, who knew what actions this insatiable seeker of curiosity might take? She couldn’t stop Sheldia’s whims, nor reprimand her. She was special, in many ways.

(Still… She won’t ever buy any lie I tell her.)

They had known each other for ages, and Reizeroll knew her personality all too well. From experience, concealing the truth from her almost always led to troublesome consequences.

“…Very well. I’ll tell you.”
“That’s more like it! So, what happened, what happened!?”

The instant she agreed, Sheldia’s arrogance melted away, replaced with childlike excitement. Eyes gleaming, she leaned in toward her.

(Some things about her never change…)

With a faint look of exasperation, Reizeroll recounted the entire incident.

Seated on an antique-style chair drawn from her own shadow, Sheldia listened through to the end, then broke into a satisfied smile.

“Oh, splendid! That was delightful! Spriggan, you say? A mysterious figure with power on par with yours… now that has piqued my interest!”
“…I figured you’d say that.”

As expected, her reaction drew a sigh from Reizeroll.

Once she grew interested, Sheldia would pursue Spriggan relentlessly—until she grew bored. That was the kind of being she was.

“Fufu… What a mystery, don’t you think? And mysteries are precious. Tell me, Reizeroll, would you say Spriggan is someone much like myself?”
“…Who knows. But if you yourself don’t know him, the chances are slim.”
“True enough. Ah, I can’t wait to meet him. Fufufu…fufufufufufu!!”

Sheldia laughed as if she’d discovered a new toy.

(…I almost pity him. Still, if she ends up erasing Spriggan, it saves me the trouble.)

Knowing well the trouble Sheldia’s attention brought, Reizeroll couldn’t help but feel a bit of sympathy for Spriggan. At the same time, she held a faint hope—only a hope—that Sheldia might erase him. She knew full well that thing wrapped in the body of a girl would never heed her orders.

In the darkness, the girl’s laughter echoed—her voice now set upon a new target: Spriggan.

♦

『――Next news. Last night, in the outskirts of Tokyo, a man wanted as a robbery-murder suspect was arrested. The man was found unconscious lying on the road, in what is being described as a strange situation――』

Crisp, with a bite of toasted bread, Eito absentmindedly watched the news.

On the TV, the wide street where he had fought Reizeroll the day before was being shown, with a reporter talking about it. Around the reporter, construction workers could be seen. Apparently, they were repairing the asphalt and buildings Eito had destroyed yesterday.

(…I’m really sorry.)

In his heart, as the one responsible for that destruction, Eito bowed his head to the workers. Even if it hadn’t been his own will, it was still his body that caused it. To say he felt no guilt would be a lie.

“Good thing today’s a day off…”

Muttering as he ate his slightly late breakfast, Eito thought that if today had been a school day, he definitely would have been late.

His only plan for today was to go to the divine realm and talk with Soleil. After that, he had firmly decided he’d just laze around.

(That said, I’ve still got some time, so I’ll just watch TV for now.)

When he’d had the telepathic conversation with Soleil yesterday, they had decided he would go to the divine realm shortly after noon. So, when the time came, Soleil would likely just transfer him there on her own.

『Next up, entertainment news! Everyone’s favorite—yes, the world’s diva—has announced she’ll be holding a concert in Japan this summer! And not only that! Just moments ago, the Catholic Church announced that the Saint of the Vatican will also be visiting Japan this summer! This is going to be something really exciting!』

The announcer’s voice changed to a cheerful tone from the television.

Sipping his hot green tea, Eito waited for the time to pass.

♦

“Uh, h-hi Soleil… you’re, um… beautiful today as well.”
“Oh my, that’s a lovely thing to say. Thank you, Ralva.”

Meanwhile, in the divine realm, Soleil had been summoned by Ralva and went to a Western-style gazebo in a garden overflowing with blooming flowers.

(As I thought, Soleil is as cute today as ever…)

Normally his speech wasn’t this awkward, but in front of the one he had long held feelings for, he always ended up like this. His words just now were Ralva’s clumsy attempt at appeal, but Soleil seemed to take it as flattery, replying only with a smile.

“Well then, what is it you wished to discuss today? If you went so far as to call me here, I assume it’s something important…”
“A-ah, I’m sorry! For wasting your precious time like this!”
“No, not at all, it’s nothing like that…”

Flustered as he was, Soleil shook her head. She hadn’t even been here for a full minute yet. She truly did not feel her time was being wasted.

(Ralva has always been like this…)

Ralva was, in human terms, something like a childhood friend. Yet whenever he was with her, he always seemed awkward. She didn’t know the reason, but assumed perhaps Ralva found her difficult to deal with. And since Ralva was kind, he simply never said so aloud.

“Ah, sorry… looks like I got a little carried away. Well then, let’s get straight to the main subject.”

Unaware of what Soleil was really thinking, Ralva hardened his expression. From here, he needed to speak seriously as the god of the Guardians.

“Soleil. I believe you also saw yesterday’s battle between Reizeroll and the one who called himself Spriggan, through the eyes of a Lightguide Princess.”
“Yes, I saw it as well. That was the first time I had confirmed the appearance of this Spriggan character.”

Soleil answered Ralva’s words.

“Right. The thing is, what I want to discuss is that very Spriggan. Soleil, what do you think of him?”

Ralva finally brought up the real reason he had invited Soleil here.

(So, the time has come…)

At that question, Soleil steeled herself inwardly.

Yes—yesterday’s battle, Ralva too had observed through the eyes of a Guardian. And Ralva had come to know Spriggan’s appearance and his power.

(Most likely, Ralva called me here to decide how to deal with Spriggan going forward.)

Yesterday’s battle had been the perfect chance to gauge Spriggan’s combat strength. After all, his opponent had been Reizeroll. And in the end, Spriggan had actually forced Reizeroll to retreat.

(Eito’s power yesterday was abnormal… And moreover, the wound he received from Reizeroll had somehow already healed, or so he himself said…)

She planned to discuss that matter directly with Eito later. For now, her priority was to consider how this discussion’s outcome might affect him.

Feigning a moment of thought, Soleil spoke.

“Well… My impression is that he is an enigmatic figure capable of fighting on equal terms with Reizeroll. His objective is still unclear, but since he helped not only the Lightguide Princesses, but ultimately a Guardian as well yesterday, I do not believe he is our enemy.”

Casually, Soleil stated her stance. If Eito were to be labeled as an enemy, it could mean ending up with him fighting both the Lightguide Princesses and Guardians. That was something she wanted to avoid at all costs.

However, it would also be a mistake to flatly declare him an ally. If Spriggan were simply revealed to have been on their side all along, it would defeat the point.

Thus Soleil presented the most convenient opinion for herself: that Spriggan was neither ally nor enemy.

“Yes, I think what you say makes sense, Soleil. After all, he’s helped the Lightguide Princesses several times, and he’s even saved one of our Guardians twice now. But the attack he unleashed when breaking the barrier yesterday was indiscriminate. We managed to teleport away in time, but otherwise it would have been extremely dangerous.”
“……Yes, you’re right about that.”

Indeed, just as Ralva said, that indiscriminate attack was Soleil’s one point of concern.

Why Eito had done such a thing was still unclear. Yesterday he had seemed exhausted, so she only checked his wounds and arranged a time to meet. She planned to hear the details from him later.

(This is a little troublesome… Ralva is cautious by nature. Even that single attack might be enough for him to label Spriggan an enemy. That would be very bad…)

“I don’t know what his intentions or reasoning were, but what he did was a clear act of hostility against us. That’s why I think we should recognize him as an enemy and inform every Lightguide Princess and Guardian around the world. What do you think, Soleil? Do you agree with me?”

Just as she had feared, Ralva had indeed classified Spriggan as an enemy. That much Soleil had expected. But what she hadn’t foreseen was Ralva’s suggestion that his existence be announced to all Lightguide Princesses and Guardians worldwide.

(That I did not see coming… And right now, spreading word of Eito’s existence across the world would be extremely bad.)

Having every Lightguide Princess and Guardian turn into an enemy would be one of the worst possible outcomes. If that happened, it would greatly hinder Eito’s activities as Spriggan. That was something she had to prevent.

“Isn’t that a bit of an overreach? At the very least, the Lightguide Princesses who were saved by Spriggan yesterday don’t seem to think of him as an enemy. If even those who were closest to him say so, then shouldn’t we observe a little longer before deciding?”

Soleil returned words that, while polite, carried an implicit rejection of Ralva’s proposal. Ralva nodded at her reply, but it was clear he wasn’t convinced.

“I get what you’re saying, but there could always come a time when it’s too late, right? If we hesitate and someone suffers an irreversible loss, that’s not acceptable. Still… if you and the Princesses feel that way, then how about this? Instead of labeling him outright, we at least notify all Lightguide Princesses and Guardians worldwide of Spriggan’s existence. For now he’s only appeared in Japan, but he might turn up in other countries too.”

Ralva offered that as a compromise.

But Soleil, who did not want Spriggan’s existence spread worldwide, firmly rejected the idea.

“I believe that is still premature. And how do you think the Lightguide Princesses and Guardians who only hear rumors of him will judge him? With so little information, most will assume he’s either an enemy or some unfathomable monster. I may not yet call him an ally or enemy myself, but yesterday the Princesses asked me to believe Spriggan is not a bad person. As their god, I will trust in their words. Therefore, I cannot yield here. Even as a god, I must maintain my honor.”

With a resolute expression, Soleil declared her stance. For her, this was a critical moment—one where she could not allow her judgment to be overturned.

Ralva was slightly taken aback. It was rare for the usually gentle Soleil to speak so firmly.

And inevitably, he found himself weak against this side of her.

“O-oh… I see. Then how about this: we limit the information to only the top ten Lightguide Princesses and Guardians in the rankings? Of course, only the facts we currently know. Beyond that, I can’t compromise…”

Ralva had softened. In truth, because he was in love with Soleil, he couldn’t press her too hard. It was his weakness as someone smitten.

Even so, Ralva was still the god of the Guardians. He could not yield on his absolute minimum condition.

(…Yes, this is the middle ground. Ralva won’t back down any further, and if I press too hard, suspicion might even turn on me.)

Seeing this as the limit, Soleil agreed to Ralva’s proposal.

“…Understood. That way, it won’t be a betrayal of the Princesses’ trust either.”
“Thank you, Soleil. Then we’ll settle it that way.”

And thus, the gods’ deliberation on Spriggan came to an end.