Dana walked through town with a slightly improved mood compared to that morning.
The fortune told by the town’s best fortuneteller was: “Good fortune awaits those who wait.”
She didn’t know if this meant her water mirror would be returned.
However, whether it returned or not, she could now accept that it would be a good outcome for her.
Of course, she hadn’t given up on the water mirror.
It was unlikely she would ever find another tool that fit her so well.
For Dana, who had decided to live as a fortuneteller, it was an item of immense value.
That was why she had felt such a profound sense of loss when she learned it had been taken from the room next to hers.
Before returning to her room, Dana stopped by the shop she rented. There, a fellow fortuneteller called out to her.
“Oh, isn’t that Dana? Are you alright now?”
Since the shop was closed for the day, the fortuneteller likely already knew about the situation. Dana bowed her head to the worried fortuneteller.
“I can’t say I’m completely alright, but I think I can open the shop tomorrow.”
“Oh, really? That’s good. …No, that wouldn’t be good, would it? What about your tool?”
The female fortuneteller continued, “I haven’t heard that your stolen water mirror has been returned.” Dana offered a wry smile in response.
“I can still tell fortunes even without the water mirror. I apologize to my anticipated customers.”
“I see, I see. Well, either way, it’s good that you can open the shop.”
The other person said this with a smile, and Dana found herself smiling back.
“Yes, it is.”
While she couldn’t say she was fully recovered, at least she felt capable of doing readings for her customers.
She had closed for the day, so business would resume the following day.
To ensure the water mirror incident wouldn’t affect her readings, Dana spent the day trying to distract herself.
***
While a small part of Mixen was bustling with news of the theft.
In the Amamiya Tower Management Layer, the women were gathered for a discussion.
Kousuke was out on patrol with Kouhi.
It wasn’t unusual for discussions to take place without Kousuke. In fact, most of the time, when Kousuke was either on patrol or developing magic tools, the women would converse amongst themselves.
The members present were the three who had heard about the incident from Kousuke that morning, plus Colette.
Colette had left the twins with their wet nurse for a change of pace and had come to the Management Layer to relax.
While sipping the drinks Mitsuki had prepared, Floria’s expression suddenly became reminiscent.
“Regarding this incident, don’t you think Kousuke seems unusually passive? Or is it just me?”
As Floria said, Kousuke usually got involved in any incident (?) and escalated things before resolving them. This time, however, he seemed to be actively avoiding involvement, almost as if he were trying to sidestep it.
“Is that so? It seems quite like Kousuke to me?” Shurein countered, tilting her head.
From Shurein’s perspective, Kousuke generally seemed like a homebody (?) who avoided interacting with many people. In that sense, this situation could be seen as typical Kousuke behavior.
Watching the two, Silvia then offered an opinion from a different angle.
“I think you’re both right, but I believe he’s acting as he always has?”
“Hmm. What do you mean?”
“Kousuke has always tried to stay out of matters involving gods as much as possible.”
“That’s right. Ever since he himself became an avatar, he’s been actively avoiding appearing as a god.”
Colette nodded in agreement with Silvia’s words.
“…”
Shurein and Floria exchanged glances, their realization dawning simultaneously.
Even before becoming an avatar, Kousuke had a tendency to be passive regarding matters involving gods. Of course, this wasn’t true in all cases, but the difference was particularly noticeable when compared to matters concerning magic tools. While Schmidt was involved with magic tools, Kousuke was constantly coming up with new ideas and actual items. However, when it came to his actions as an avatar, he became instantly passive – that was Silvia’s impression from observing Kousuke by his side for so long.
“…Certainly, I never considered it separately before, but come to think of it, that’s true.”
“…Indeed.”
Shurein and Floria both drooped simultaneously. After more than twenty years of acquaintance, they couldn’t help but feel a bit silly for not realizing this sooner.
Colette said to them with a laugh, “You don’t need to feel so down. I didn’t realize it myself until Silvia mentioned it just now.”
Everyone present had noticed that Kousuke sometimes acted aggressively and sometimes passively. However, it was only Silvia who realized that his passivity was linked to matters involving gods. Of course, there was one other person who had realized this.
“That’s right. However, I suspect Peach has probably realized it.”
“Ah. Indeed, if it were her, that might be the case.”
Her personality could be elusive, yet she always grasped the important points. That was the other members’ assessment of Peach. She had always had a sharp intuition, which seemed to have become even more pronounced since her deification (?). However, this applied not only to Peach but also, to varying degrees, to all the other members.
“We’re getting off track. Shurein, that’s not all you wanted to say, is it?”
“Mm. Well, that’s about it.”
Shurein and Floria understood each other and nodded.
“What do you mean?” Colette tilted her head, not understanding.
“It’s simple. Shurein means to say: If Kousuke isn’t going to act, perhaps we should?” Floria’s words left Colette looking taken aback.
“Eh? Is that okay?”
“That…” While Colette was merely surprised, Silvia clearly expressed her refusal. As Kousuke’s shrine maiden, Silvia could not simply ignore his will.
Of course, both Shurein and Floria knew this when they spoke. Shurein continued with a wry smile, “Well, Floria’s statement is a bit too direct. Perhaps it’s better to rephrase it as: since Kousuke cannot act as a god, shouldn’t we act on his behalf?” Kousuke seems to extremely limit or avoid acting as a god. If necessary, he would likely not hesitate to use that position, but he generally does not utilize his position as an avatar. If he is unable to act because of this, Shurein and Floria believe it is acceptable for those around him to act.
Sensing their intention, Colette and Silvia exchanged glances. They thought it was a valid perspective.
“Indeed, if that’s the case… no, that’s not quite right. We should originally be doing that. However…” Silvia nodded in understanding but was about to say something negative when Floria stopped her.
“Wait, let me finish. We should properly confirm Kousuke’s intentions, right?” This time, they were acting on a request from a goddess in the divine realm. They needed to confirm with Kousuke before there was a possibility of divine intervention.
“Well, in that case, we’ll need a justification that Kousuke will simply agree to.” Shurein said this with an expression that seemed to be enjoying herself. And the other members felt the same way.
Thus began the discussion among the women to deceive… no, to persuade Kousuke.
It’s very different to be unable to act versus choosing not to act. This time, the “wives’ group” theorized that Kousuke wasn’t choosing not to act, but rather was unable to. How they will come up with a justification to convince Kousuke will be revealed next time.
