I had to obtain consent after the fact, but I informed the other members about protecting Floria in the Management Layer.
Kousuke felt he was in the wrong for not getting their approval beforehand, but it was granted without any particular objections.
Come to think of it, when each member was brought in, he didn’t remember getting any specific agreement from them either.
Except for Shurein, the pattern with Silvia, Colette, and Peach was that Kousuke brought them, and they just stayed.
As for Peach, it’s a bit ambiguous whether that pattern applies since Shurein was involved.
In this way, the preparations to welcome Floria, albeit provisionally, were completed.
There was still time until the promised date, so they spent the interval with their usual activities.
Kousuke, having heard through Silvia that Floria’s preparations were complete, immediately headed to the Fifth Floor.
The members he brought this time were Kouhi and Silvia.
Kouhi came as Kousuke’s guard, and Silvia came because she, like Floria, possessed a *Blessing*.
Upon arriving on the Fifth Floor, Kousuke and his party headed to Alec’s mansion.
They were supposed to meet there.
Upon arriving at Alec’s mansion, Kousuke and his party were taken directly to the reception room.
Floria and Alec were already waiting there.
“Huh? Mr. Alec, you were here too?”
At Kousuke’s words, Alec’s face contorted into a bitter smile.
“There’s a chance I might never see my daughter again, so can’t I be with her for the last time?”
At those unexpected words, Kousuke was utterly speechless.
“….Huh!?”
Seeing Kousuke’s reaction, Floria and Alec looked bewildered.
“No, I heard that if Floria is permanently protected in the Management Layer, that sort of thing might happen?”
“No, no. Wait a moment. There’s no way we’d do something like that, is there? Who on earth told you such a thing… ah, I don’t even need to ask.”
Looking at Floria’s face, Kousuke sensed who the culprit was.
“…From what did you hear about the Spica (God)’s words?”
“First of all, it means that even here is not safe for me.”
“Mm.”
“If things continue like this, it will be a matter of life and death, so it’s best to be sheltered by Kousuke.”
“…And then?”
“Once you are sheltered, you might not be able to go out again, so be prepared.”
“……”
“On top of that, I also heard that a harsh life might be possible.”
“What kind of unscrupulous merchant is this!?”
Kousuke couldn’t help but retort.
At Kousuke’s words, Floria and Alec looked at him blankly.
Silvia, who had been listening to the conversation beside Kousuke, was desperately trying to hold back her laughter.
“…Ah… I’ll ask just in case, but who did you hear that from?”
“Of course, it was an oracle from Spica (God)?”
Kousuke thought, *What kind of “oracle” is that?*
Seeing Kousuke’s expression, Alec finally seemed to realize something.
“…Did we misunderstand something terribly?”
Kousuke nodded at Alec’s words.
“I don’t know how oracles are delivered, but there’s no way it would be like that, is there?”
“…Is that so?”
Floria looked at him with a puzzled expression, and Kousuke let out an ostentatious, big sigh.
“Well, it is possible that you might be exposed to danger even if you stay here, so I can’t visit frequently. But I don’t think you’ll never be able to see each other for the rest of your lives?”
At Kousuke’s words, Alec and Floria, who had been quite distressed until then, also let out big sighs.
Silvia, who had been listening to their conversation, warned Alec and Floria.
“While you may have taken the oracle from Spica (God) too seriously, that doesn’t mean you can let your guard down.”
Alec and Floria’s gazes turned towards Silvia.
“What do you mean?”
“Spica (God) said that you will definitely be exposed to danger if you stay here.”
“…That’s right.”
“That means that the party or organization that can endanger you even while you are here has the means to do so.”
Alec sighed, sensing what Silvia was trying to say.
“So, we can’t carelessly show ourselves, can we?”
“Exactly. That’s why we’re hiding you in the Management Layer, aren’t we? Only a limited number of people can come there.”
“…I suppose I can’t ask specifically who it is?”
Alec looked at Kousuke for confirmation.
“I’m sorry. It concerns my own safety as well. …However, I will just say that there aren’t that many.”
“…I see.”
Even Alec, as expected, didn’t try to extract any more information.
“Therefore, you will only be able to come here from the Management Layer when it is confirmed that it is absolutely safe.”
“So, the Spica (God)’s words are not entirely wrong, in a way.”
“No. It’s simply that your interpretation of the oracle is immature.”
“…What do you mean?”
Kousuke asked Silvia, looking puzzled.
“Oracles are not like the *Divine Union Tools* created by Mr. Kousuke, where you can hear the words of the gods directly. Imagine receiving a large block of words from a god all at once.”
Hearing this, Kousuke imagined receiving compressed data on a computer.
“Since it is humans who receive it, it is necessary to unravel it and convert it into words that humans can understand.”
Following the previous analogy, it’s like humans decompressing the compressed data.
“Ah, so at that stage, if the words get rewritten or omitted, like in a game of telephone?”
“It would be best to understand it that way.”
Nodding at Silvia’s explanation, Kousuke finally seemed convinced.
“Huh? But then, how were you able to understand correctly today without any mistakes about coming here?”
“No. The original plan might have been delayed. However, Spica (God) knows that, of course…”
“Ah, so they told us the plan, even though it was delayed.”
“Well, whether it was delayed or not, I don’t know since I didn’t receive the oracle myself.”
Kousuke and Silvia were conversing nonchalantly, but the two listening were far from it.
“…I feel like I heard something outrageous.”
“What a coincidence, Floria. I feel like I heard something I can’t overlook either.”
The mother and daughter exchanged glances, then turned back towards Kousuke and the others.
“Mr. Kousuke (creations) and the *Divine Union Tool*?”
At their words, Silvia casually showed them the *Divine Union Tool*.
“This is it. Using this, I can have a *Divine Union* directly with Elisamil (God).”
The mother and daughter were struck dumb by the casually revealed information.
Seeing this, Kousuke tilted his head and looked at Silvia.
“You just blurted that out so easily?”
“Regarding this *Divine Union Tool*, the Mikusen temple is aware of it, and they probably have some deductions about *Blessings* as well.”
“I see.”
Alec reacted to Silvia’s words.
“…Wait. The temple is aware of it, but they haven’t acted?”
At Alec’s words, Silvia and Kousuke shared a bitter smile.
“It’s not that they haven’t acted.”
“Rather, it feels like poking a snake out of its hole?”
At their subtle phrasing, Alec recalled Mitsuki.
“…No way…”
“Exactly. It was Kouhi that time. And we completely stepped on a tiger’s tail.”
Silvia said so casually, even though Kouhi was standing right there.
Floria and Alec involuntarily looked at Kouhi, but she showed no particular reaction.
Alec felt a pang of sympathy for the temple officials, but he suppressed it.
Unsurprisingly, Alec didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.
