Kousuke, having finished their usual party at Asura’s divine realm, was summoned by Asura.
“Kousuke, good work.”
“No, I’m not that tired.”
“Really? You’re finally getting used to it, aren’t you?”
Asura continued, saying that he had changed compared to the beginning, and Kousuke’s expression became grim.
After all, if you repeat the same thing for over twenty years, you get used to it whether you want to or not.
Moreover, Kousuke’s ability to get used to it was partly due to the goddesses being considerate, and unlike at first, they weren’t as greedy.
Seeing Kousuke’s expression, Asura suppressed her mouth and giggled.
“…If you called me here just to tease me, I’ll be heading back to my room now?”
“Oh my. You’re quite cold… Well, enough joking around–”
As Kousuke narrowed his eyes, Asura deliberately averted her gaze and changed the subject.
“I have something I’d like to ask of you, Kousuke, so I had you come here.”
“Something you want to ask of me?”
As Kousuke’s face turned slightly wary, Asura looked displeased.
“It makes me want to question why you’re making that face right here.”
“Eh!? Ah, no, this is, it’s not like…!?”
Kousuke’s stumbling replies to Asura’s pursuit lacked even the slightest credibility.
Asura, nodding with satisfaction at the familiar development, immediately stated her “request.”
“You made a tool a little while ago, didn’t you?”
“A tool? How long ago was that?”
There were countless tools Kousuke had newly created.
Depending on how far back “a little while ago” Asura was referring to, the tool he’d recall would change.
“Just recently. You made it using materials that Clara and Shurein cooperated to create, right?”
At this point, the tool Asura was referring to was narrowed down to two possibilities.
One was the orb, and the other was likely the cloud-like thing (name not set) that Sura was still occupying.
Kousuke tilted his head, wondering which one it was, but quickly came up with an answer.
“Uhm, the Sura toy one?”
Regarding the orb, Shurein had been making several of them for some time.
They already existed during his previous visit to the divine realm, so he reasoned it wasn’t something worth bringing up now.
And, as expected, Asura nodded at Kousuke’s words.
“Yes. That’s the one. That stone… it’s inconvenient that it has no name. That flying…–”
“Yes, stop. You can’t say any more than that!”
Asura tilted her head, not understanding what Kousuke was trying to convey, but quickly came up with another idea.
“Then, how about the Sky Stone?”
“Uhm. …I don’t think it’ll make much difference, but I guess it’s okay?”
Kousuke had made the item, but he wasn’t particularly attached to its name, so he easily agreed to Asura’s suggestion.
Satisfied that a name had been decided, Asura nodded once and continued.
“About that Sky Stone, can you make something even more high-performance than that?”
“High-performance… It depends on the power you want to amplify, but it’s not impossible, is it?”
Simply put, there were several possibilities, such as strengthening the lifting power or expanding the range of influence.
All of these would require incredibly expensive materials, but he didn’t dwell on that.
After all, the person in front of him was the prime goddess managing Asgard.
Asura’s expression became satisfied with Kousuke’s answer.
“I see. If that’s the case, you can use any of the goddesses, but there’s something I’d like to ask of you…”
“That’s fine… or rather, does it only feel to me like Asura’s requests are a little scary?”
Unfortunately, there was only Kousuke and Asura present, so no one could sympathize with Kousuke.
If Eris or someone similar were present, they would have certainly agreed inwardly even if they outwardly disagreed.
“It’s not like that. So, you see–”
Asura responded in a somewhat monotone voice and told Kousuke about a plan she had in mind using the Sky Stone.
Upon hearing the story, Kousuke, though initially surprised, eventually promised to cooperate.
***
“–And that’s why I won’t be able to show my face here for a while. Sorry.”
Kousuke bowed his head as he said this, and Silvia and Floria, who had been listening, shook their heads.
“No. Given the circumstances, it can’t be helped.”
“That’s right. Rather, we should prioritize that. After all, you’re participating in a divine plan.”
Although it was a grand statement, what Floria said was not wrong.
In fact, if this plan succeeded, it would undoubtedly be hailed as a “divine work.”
“Still, what kind of plan involves multiple, high-ranking gods?”
What Kousuke had told them earlier was only about participating in a divine plan; he hadn’t discussed the specific details.
Therefore, Floria, who was curious, asked the question, but Kousuke shook his head.
“Sorry. I can’t tell you that yet.”
“Ah, no, my apologies. I didn’t mean to trouble you, Kousuke. If you can’t say it, you can’t, and that’s fine.”
Floria naturally possessed the discretion not to press the issue further.
Rather, she didn’t want to do anything that might step on a tiger’s tail.
“Is that person also involved in the plan?”
Kousuke nodded at Silvia’s question.
“Yes. Of course. In fact, that’s who is leading it.”
Even within the management layer, neither Kousuke nor anyone else could carelessly mention Asura’s name.
While Kousuke had been told it was fine, he didn’t want to do anything that might create unnecessary flags.
Upon hearing Kousuke’s answer, Silvia’s expression became thoughtful.
“…I see. Then, perhaps, that person might exert their power directly on this world for the first time in a while?”
If that were to happen, it would be the first time since the era of myths.
Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, it would undoubtedly have a significant impact on the world of Asgard.
And Kousuke, who knew the details of the plan, knew that if it were realized, that would indeed be the case.
“Well, that is, if the plan proceeds smoothly.”
Kousuke answered cautiously, but Floria said with a slightly exasperated look.
“You know, Kousuke, do you think a plan involving gods would fail?”
“No. Not at all.”
If he had planned it by himself, he might say it could fail, but unfortunately, with multiple goddesses involved, he couldn’t foresee any possibility of failure.
In reality, Kousuke was the linchpin of the plan, and if his estimations were off, the plan would fail. However, that thought wasn’t on Kousuke’s mind at the moment.
More than that, he was overwhelmed with the immediate task of creating an elaborate mechanism that would have a significant impact on the world.
The result of this plan’s activation, and how Kousuke himself would affect the world, had completely slipped his mind.
And so, the planned operation using the Sky Stone, as announced, has been activated.
Since Asura is involved, it certainly won’t end on a small scale! lol
