After Kouhi and Mitsuki left, saying, “Wait until Asura is ready,” Kousuke was not left waiting in vain, but was instead having a conversation with the goddesses.
While it was more of a conversation, he was simply answering their questions one by one.
Perhaps they had coordinated beforehand, as there were no overlapping questions.
He wondered where they found the time for all this, but decided not to pursue it, as it was something the goddesses did.
Of course, he wasn’t answering every single question.
He stated clearly that he couldn’t answer some of them.
Nevertheless, the barrage of questions continued without them batting an eye.
Kousuke finally began to show signs of fatigue, and the questioning finally stopped.
No one specifically initiated it, but it was a remarkably well-timed retreat.
“…I’m… tired.”
Kousuke collapsed onto the table at the seat he had been given.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Jal, who had been by his side, approached Kousuke.
“Ah, Jal… Is it over?”
Jal offered a bitter smile to Kousuke, who was whining.
“Everyone still seems to want to ask more?”
“…Please spare me.”
“Th-that’s what they say. Everyone, please be considerate now.”
As Jal spoke, the goddesses around them nodded.
“It’s also Kousuke’s fault. You responded so earnestly, they lost their restraint.”
“…Geez… Was that it…?”
Kousuke, with his mindset as a newcomer, had been convinced that he had to respond properly.
No one had told him to do so, though.
“Well, it’s probably because you’re Kousuke that everyone is drawn to you.”
Once again, the goddesses all nodded in unison.
“Drawn to me… because of something like that?”
“Precisely because of something like that.”
From Kousuke’s perspective, he had simply responded with ordinary common sense, but it seemed to have been received in a favorable light.
As they were chatting like this, drawing the attention of those around them, Eris approached.
“It seems it was worth your time. …Asura-sama appears to be ready, so could you come now?”
At Eris’s words, a collective sigh inexplicably emanated from the surroundings.
“It’s alright. I’ll be properly preparing a dinner party afterward.”
Upon hearing something he couldn’t ignore, Kousuke was about to ask for clarification, but before he could, applause erupted from the surroundings, and he missed his chance.
For now, Kousuke decided to follow Eris, who had asked him to come along.
Away from the venue, he asked Eris about what had just happened.
“……What dinner party?”
“We’ll be holding a dinner party after Asura-sama’s business is concluded. It will be in the form of a standing buffet, though.”
“……I wasn’t told about that…”
At his words, Eris stopped dead in her tracks.
“……What did you say? ……Again?”
Eris’s face, as she turned around, was terrifying.
She was, after all, a great beauty, and such an expression made her truly fearsome.
By the way, it was Jal, who had accompanied them, who reacted to this.
“Ah… Huh? ……I didn’t tell you? W-wait, wait, Eris-nee-sama!”
“…I don’t have time now. You’ll remember this later.”
With Eris’s declaration, Jal’s eyes welled up with tears.
He looked pleadingly towards Kousuke, but unfortunately, Kousuke could do nothing.
Ideally, Kousuke also wanted to avoid Eris in this state.
Arriving at their destination, Eris stopped in front of a door and knocked.
“You may enter.”
Asura’s voice came from inside.
Eris opened the door and entered, with Kousuke following behind.
“Oh? Jal, what’s wrong?”
Asura, noticing Jal’s demeanor, still dwelling on the previous matter, asked in surprise.
“Please don’t mind her. …It’s usual for her.”
With Eris’s curt reply, Asura simply sighed “Oh my.”
“…Well, keep it in moderation. …However that may be, let’s get down to business.”
Saying that, Asura looked at Kousuke.
“Uh, um… What is it?”
Kousuke tilted his head, seeing an expression on Asura he had never seen before.
“You want companions, Kousuke. So, let’s resolve that?”
“No, resolve it how?”
The reason he had come here in the first place was because of that problem.
She had stated it so easily, but he hadn’t asked how it would be resolved at all.
To his question, Asura replied with a radiant smile.
“Let’s make a child together…!!”
Kousuke’s consciousness had apparently gone blank for a full minute.
When he came to, Kousuke hesitantly asked,
“Um… What did you just say?”
“I said, let’s make a child together, Kousuke.”
The words he had heard before losing consciousness were indeed not mistaken.
As Kousuke felt his consciousness about to slip away again, Asura wore a slightly sulky expression.
“What’s wrong? …Do you dislike creating a child with me that much?”
“Setting aside whether I dislike it or not, how did you arrive at that conclusion?”
Kousuke managed to voice his question.
“…Because I want to?”
“Why are you asking in a question?”
“In the first place, Kousuke wanted new companions… Ah! Ah!!”
Asura nodded as if suddenly understanding, and the other members tilted their heads.
“Kousuke, I think you’re misunderstanding, but I’m not saying we should engage in that kind of act, you know?”
“……Huh!?”
Kousuke, realizing his misunderstanding, blushed scarlet.
Well, it was also Asura’s fault for using such a confusing phrase.
Incidentally, Kousuke didn’t realize that Asura was intentionally using confusing language.
“Simply put, I’m saying let’s combine my power and Kousuke’s power to create a new power or soul.”
“Um… and what happens to the soul created that way?”
“Of course, we’ll prepare a suitable vessel and have it ‘born’?”
Kousuke understood what Asura meant.
The created individual would become Kousuke’s new member, presumably.
“N-no. …Is that really okay?”
His own power aside, mixing it with Asura’s power would result in considerable strength.
However, Asura replied nonchalantly.
“It’s fine. Rather, it’s something I’d like to ask.”
Kousuke understood that Asura had her own reasons for suggesting this.
“May I ask why?”
“There’s no need to hide it, so it’s fine. As things stand now, I cannot directly involve myself in that world, so I want an existence that can directly involve itself.”
It was explained that a being created by mixing his power with Kousuke’s would allow for that.
“…Is that okay?”
Kousuke asked, feeling anxious in many ways.
“What’s wrong? It sounds like I’m doing something dangerous. …I’m only saying this because there’s no problem. If it weren’t okay, I wouldn’t have said anything from the start.”
“I see.”
“There are only benefits for both me and Kousuke. What do you say?”
Asura asked him, and Kousuke pondered.
It didn’t seem problematic… but he felt like there was a hidden pitfall somewhere.
He felt a sense of frustration not knowing what it was.
“………Hmm. …Ah, I see. The child that’s created, can I take them with me?”
Taking them as a companion implied such a thing.
“It’s fine. In fact, Kouhi and Mitsuki, who are by your side, are like daughters to me? Well, there are various other things mixed in too.”
“Eh!? Was that so?”
This was a shocking new fact for Kousuke.
Well, considering Asura’s power was involved, it did make sense for their abilities.
“So, you mean creating beings like Kouhi and Mitsuki?”
“With your and my power. Don’t you want to see what kind of being will be created?”
“………Ugh…”
When put that way, a sense of curiosity to see it arose.
Ultimately, that curiosity became the deciding factor, and Kousuke accepted Asura’s offer.
While explained as creating beings like Kouhi and Mitsuki, it is not strictly the same.
Therefore, Asura cannot do anything through Kouhi and Mitsuki.
It is because the created being is with Kousuke that Asura can interfere.
The reason is that Kousuke is a “man.”
