Kousuke, who spent one night in the Evergreen Garden, returned the next day after spending time with the goddesses as promised. He recalled hearing something about it being bad to spend extended periods in the Evergreen Garden while in a physical body, so he asked Eris about it.
“It’s no problem for you at your current state,” she replied casually.
It seemed that his divine energy as an Avatar and his physical body had adapted well, allowing him to spend a considerable amount of time in the divine realm, the Evergreen Garden, without issue. Well, even if there were problems, Asura would likely handle them, so he wasn’t too worried. If it were impossible, Asura would have stopped him from the start. With that in mind, he finished his planned interactions with the goddesses and returned to the tower as is.
This time, he was seen off by the goddesses. Kousuke, who was seen off by more goddesses than he expected, managed to activate the transfer array to the tower without any mishaps and returned safely.
Seeing Kousuke disappear easily from the transfer array, one of the goddesses who saw him off muttered, “…When will he come next?”
“Don’t say anything too unreasonable. It’s precisely because he’s over there that we can receive these blessings,” another replied.
“That’s so true.”
Similar conversations were overheard in various places. As if to blow away such an atmosphere, Eris’s voice resonated.
“Alright, alright. This meeting is adjourned. I know you’re sad, but please return to your usual work.”
With those words, the goddesses dispersed. Only the three great god sisters and Asura remained.
“I know you’re sad, but…” Asura said, grinning at Eris.
“W-what is it?”
“Oh, nothing. No-”
Eris almost retorted to Asura’s attitude but held back. She felt that poking further might stir up trouble.
“Is that so? Well then, let’s head back too.” Eris nudged Spica and Jal, who had been observing their exchange.
“Yes.”
“Yeees.”
Spica and Jal knew they were being used to change the subject, but they complied obediently. They knew that teasing Eris at times like these wouldn’t end well for them. And so, the three sisters departed, leaving only Asura behind.
“…When will she come next…”
Asura’s muttered words vanished into the wind, unheard by anyone.
***
Kousuke returned to the Amamiya Tower Management Layer, but he immediately left the tower with Kouhi and Mitsuki. The location was where Kousuke had first met Kouhi and Mitsuki. Kousuke didn’t remember the exact spot, but Kouhi remembered it clearly.
“It’s the place where I met Master. There’s no way I could forget it,” she replied when Kousuke asked if she remembered it well.
At any rate, he teleported them to that location. The objective, of course, was to retrieve a new member. The member was found immediately. Something that shouldn’t have been there was majestically present. The Black Bear, a bitter experience for Kousuke, didn’t even dare to approach upon seeing its form.
“…Is this unexpected… or should I say, expected…” he muttered. Mitsuki laughed and said to him, “Well, they are the ones who created us. It should have been expected, right?” They had already explained to her why they were there.
“Does the fact that it wasn’t of the same species as us have any significance?” Kouhi asked. Indeed, the companion before Kousuke and the others did not have wings like Kouhi or Mitsuki. Well, it had reptile-like scales rather than wings, but before the three of them stood a dragon. Its appearance was not like the typical Eastern dragon with feet and scales, but a true Western dragon. Dragons were commonplace in the upper levels of Amamiya Tower, so it wasn’t a surprise, but this one looked clearly superior to those dragons. The dragon stared intently at Kousuke. While one would normally cower in such a situation, Kousuke strangely felt no such emotion. Although it hadn’t been a long time in actual time, it felt like a long period FOR Kousuke. Suddenly, the dragon moved. In an instant, its massive body glowed, and then a woman lunged at Kousuke.
“Father…!!” Kousuke accepted it as it happened, thinking, “I don’t remember having such a big daughter…” Kouhi and Mitsuki, knowing its true identity, didn’t do anything.
“Uh… um, is it okay to say you’re our new companion?”
“Yes! …Ah! Please give me a name!” she said before Kousuke could even ask.
While being hugged, Kousuke pondered for a while. In the end, he couldn’t think of anything good and gave her the name based on her white hair.
“Then your name is Haku.” Incidentally, the scales of the dragon form were also white.
“Haku… Haku… Haku…” He repeated it a few times in his mouth, and as if she liked it, the strength of her embrace increased.
“Father, thank you!”
“Haku, that’s enough. You’ll fall off if you keep going like that,” Kouhi interjected, which was unusual. Incidentally, Mitsuki was holding her stomach, trying to suppress her laughter.
“Kyaa! Sorry, Father!” Kousuke thought, his consciousness fading, that he had to get Haku to stop calling him Father before they returned to the Management Layer.
***
Ultimately, Haku couldn’t be persuaded to stop calling him Father before they returned to the Management Layer. He tried to change it somehow, but she insisted, “Father is Father!” and Kousuke relented. They returned to the Management Layer via the Lily Shrine, using the Teleport Gate. Haku initially looked around the Management Layer with curiosity but then loudly greeted Silvia, who happened to be coming out of the management area of the Southeast Tower.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Haku, Kousuke’s Father’s daughter!”
Silvia, who was about to politely return the greeting with a smile, froze mid-smile.
“K-Kousuke-san, Kousuke-sama! W-what, a daughter, Father, what is happening!!” Hearing Silvia’s scream-like voice, those from their respective management areas gathered.
“What did you say!? What’s going on?”
“Who? Whose child?”
“It’s not me~”
“It’s not me either!”
Kousuke inwardly wrung his hands at the suddenly chaotic Management Layer.
“Everyone, calm down a little. If you had such a big daughter, you’d surely notice, right?” Kousuke’s attempt at damage control was mostly in vain.
” ” ” ” “Yes, it’s plausible for Kousuke (sir)!” ” ” ” ”
With everyone’s unanimous answer, Mitsuki finally burst into uncontrollable laughter. Even Kouhi wore an expression of suppressed amusement.
“No, it’s not! That’s not happening!”
In the end, they had to explain everything from scratch over a long period. During this time, Haku, as if unfazed by the commotion she had caused, looked around the Management Layer. After a complete explanation, everyone finally seemed to be convinced.
“However, is it not incorrect to call her a daughter?” To Floria’s question, Kousuke had no answer. He realized that based on Haku’s attitude and the circumstances, an answer stating there was no blood (physical) connection was meaningless.
Haku appears! …This member was not supposed to appear. The members of the tower management will not increase any further. …Or so it should be. Haku, who should have been erased, was brought in due to various circumstances. What? You said it was the end with Floria before? That’s an illusion.
