Asura was clapping, and Kousuke watched with a subtle feeling, his expression unreadable as he continued, “Ah, uhh. I understand the meaning of the words, but I don’t understand why Asura was depressed?”
The moment Kousuke said that, Asura stopped clapping and let out a grand sigh.
“As expected, Kousuke, you haven’t changed.”
“Uhh…? Sorry?” Hearing the same words as before, but with a completely different nuance, Kousuke’s forehead broke out in a sweat.
Watching Kousuke, Asura chuckled softly as if self-deprecating, then shook her head left and right.
“Kousuke, you don’t need to apologize. It’s partly me taking it out on you.”
Kousuke, told this by Asura, remained silent, unsure how to reply. Asura, perhaps not expecting a reply from Kousuke, continued, “—Hey. Kousuke, do you remember when you first came to the divine realm?”
“Of course.” Kousuke replied with only those words, conveying that he could never forget the shock he received then
Whether she noticed Kousuke’s feelings or not, Asura looked straight ahead without looking at him. “Did I say then that I didn’t understand why you were here?”
“You did, indeed.” Kousuke had received several reports from Asura about the reason for his arrival in this world, including the first time. The answer was always “cause unknown.”
“Let me say this first, it’s not that the answer was a lie?”
“Ah, I see.” Kousuke, who had briefly considered that possibility, looked away from Asura, feeling awkward. Asura glared at Kousuke for a moment, then sighed again and continued.
“But, it’s not a lie, yet it could also be said that it’s not the truth.”
“….What do you mean?” Kousuke tilted his head slightly at Asura’s slightly roundabout explanation.
“At that time, I was wondering if it might have been my fault. Although it turned out not to be.”
“Uhh…?” Seeing Kousuke’s confused expression as she answered, Asura smiled faintly. “Before Kousuke came to this world, I was seeking someone who could stand beside me. Perhaps you came in response to that desire… I thought that might be the case.”
“Uhh… But, in the end, it wasn’t, right?” Kousuke said, conveying that his arrival in this world was an accident and not Asura’s fault. Asura sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time. “Even after all this, you still don’t understand? Do you think ‘the one who stands beside me’ simply means someone of equal ability?”
Seeing Asura say this with a slightly teasing expression, Kousuke’s thoughts, which he had been trying to avoid, finally surfaced. “Ah, uhh… so, it’s that kind of thing, then?” Kousuke, finally realizing the meaning of ‘love,’ looked at Asura with a slightly flushed face.
Seeing Kousuke’s expression, Asura nodded earnestly. “You’re probably not wrong. However, I think the nuance is slightly different.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we have lives that are almost eternal. Besides, unlike Kousuke, I am not as bound by a physical body right now, so it’s different from the ‘ordinary’ you know.” Asura stated that the love and affection of gods were different from those of ordinary people. It seemed she no longer intended to hide how she felt about Kousuke.
Asura continued without worrying about Kousuke’s slightly flustered appearance. “That’s not important right now. More importantly, the reason I was feeling down; I was a little scared thinking about how you would react if you knew I might have summoned you here.” These were uncharacteristically weak words from Asura, something Kousuke had rarely seen since he came to this world. However, Kousuke wasn’t surprised to hear them. Even as a god, Asura was a person. He had already understood from their interactions that she had her own emotional ups and downs.
With that in mind, Kousuke put on an intentionally angry expression and said, “Did you really think I would get angry over something like that now?”
“To be precise, it was partly due to that, and other things, too.” Seeing Asura reveal her complex emotions, Kousuke let out a big sigh. “Honestly. Why would you worry alone about something like that… I want to say that, but I guess that happens sometimes.” When Kousuke replied, Asura looked a little surprised.
Seeing her expression, Kousuke continued with a slight smile, “Asura, didn’t you say I was the one who stood by your side? If that’s the case, don’t you think you can show me that kind of face sometimes?”
As Kousuke said this, Asura’s expression crumpled. “Honestly… Really, Kousuke, you haven’t changed.” With her voice slightly hoarse, Asura said, then moved closer to Kousuke, who was sitting right beside her, and finally buried her face in his chest. Kousuke accepted it without doing anything, just silently. And that moment continued for a while.
♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦
As Asura calmed down, Kousuke suddenly remembered and checked his status. He noticed that the parts that had been displayed as [????] until then were now properly displayed. “Ah, so that’s what it was.” Kousuke muttered, and Asura looked at him with a puzzled face. Kousuke replied that it was nothing and reconfirmed the display. Clearly, it read [Beloved].
…By the way, it also displayed [Beloved by Eris (Heavenly Maiden)], but Kousuke would inform the person concerned about that much later. And so, this concludes the epilogue. I am not kidding when I say that the main story of “Let’s Try Managing the Tower” ends here. I would like to express my gratitude to all of you who have supported us for such a long time, for 1357 chapters (1358 if you include the first bonus chapter).
It may be sudden for all of you, but I have actually been thinking about ending it for about three months. The story of Igirid was a foreshadowing for writing the epilogue. The reason for ending it is that all the wife’s group now have children, and from here on, it would likely become similar to the previous stories, just watching the children grow (and their descendants?) and Kousuke and the others traveling in Asgard’s world. I thought it would just bore everyone, so I decided to end it. (I’m sure many readers are already bored and have left). The main story ends here, but with the ebook release tomorrow and the serialization of the manga, I intend to continue updating the neglected “Let’s Try Managing the Tower” SS Collection. However, updates to the SS Collection will be very irregular, unlike before. (Perhaps 1-few chapters per month, or some months with no updates?) Well then, this will truly be the last update here. Thank you all very much for your support of “Let’s Try Managing the Tower” up to this point. m(__)m
Addendum: I will also announce this in the Activity Report today or tomorrow.
