Kousuke visited Asura’s divine realm as usual and found himself face to face with Asura, who wore a meaningful smile.
“Uhh… what is it?”
Kousuke tilted his head back, his body recoiling from the smile. Asura shook his head left and right.
“No, it’s nothing. I was just thinking you made something quite interesting.”
Seeing Asura’s expression, which clearly indicated it was not “nothing,” Kousuke decided to raise the white flag early.
“Uhh, sorry. What are you referring to?”
Just by Kousuke’s own thoughts, there were two things: the Lily Shinto Shrine and his divine realm.
Unsure which of the two “interesting things” Asura was referring to, Kousuke decided to ask directly.
As Kousuke wore a troubled expression, Asura let out a small laugh.
“Oh? I wasn’t intending to scold you, you know?”
“I know, so it’s alright.”
“Is that so? Then that’s good. The answer to your question is both.”
Both the Lily Shinto Shrine and the divine realm created by Kousuke were extremely interesting to Asura.
The Lily Shinto Shrine could be said to be similar to regions like Mikusen, which housed multiple temples, but there was one critical difference.
That difference was the existence of Yuri, a being born from the combined powers of Kousuke, an Avatar, and Asura.
Places with just multiple temples were not non-existent, as Silvia had originally thought.
However, places that housed multiple temples (in this case, shrines) based on the power of fairies like Yuri were limited in number.
That alone was enough to qualify as a divine realm, but Yuri herself was a special existence within Asgard.
After all, she was created from the mingling of Asura’s and Kousuke’s powers.
Her uniqueness was extremely high compared to other fairies.
In terms of power, she probably wouldn’t make it into the top ten, as there existed beings like the fairies of the World Tree that had accumulated their power over long years. However, in terms of rarity, she would easily rank at the top.
The Lily Shinto Shrine, created by Yuri, was a focal point for the gods.
After hearing Asura’s explanation, Kousuke’s face paled slightly.
“…Isn’t calling it a divine realm a bit of an exaggeration?”
“Indeed. It’s entirely different from what I or Kousuke created. However, in the sense of a divine realm created on the ground for people to deepen their faith, it certainly fits, doesn’t it?”
Apart from divine realms where gods actually resided, there were places called divine realms in other senses, such as places connected to the gods or places imbued with their power.
In that sense, it could undoubtedly be called a divine realm without objection.
“Ah, now that you mention it, you’re right. Besides, Silvia probably made it in that sense.”
“Undoubtedly. So? Once Yuri’s power has settled, will you summon Eris and the others?”
Asura asked if he would perform a Divine Power Summoning like he did for the temple on the fifth floor. Kousuke tilted his head.
“Is it necessary?”
“Who knows? If you don’t think it’s necessary, then it likely isn’t. However, in that case, you’ll probably face various demands later.”
At those words, Kousuke understood what Asura was trying to say and sighed.
“…Understood. I’ll ask Eris and the others to summon them.”
Kousuke, who visited Asura’s divine realm for his regular check-in, had a meal with the goddesses awaiting him. Asura’s advice was to use Eris and the others as an excuse to refuse any demands that would inevitably come up, as he would definitely be pressured to get involved in various matters.
If it was evident from the beginning that a large number of goddesses would be involved, it would be better to bring in Eris and the others from the start.
Convinced by this reasoning, Kousuke decided to perform the Divine Power Summoning of Eris and the others, just as Asura had advised.
Of course, he didn’t intend to do it in a place with many onlookers like he did on the fifth floor. He planned to do it with the minimum necessary number of people, just with Sarasa and the others present.
Asura smiled at Kousuke’s resigned expression and nodded slightly.
“That would be for the best. That should hold them off for a while.”
“…For a while?”
Kousuke’s expression froze at Asura’s ominous words.
Seeing Kousuke’s face, Asura’s eyes widened slightly.
“Surely you didn’t think summoning Eris and the others would be the end of it? That would only last for a few years at most.”
Asura continued, saying it was predictable that they would make similar requests, just like when he allowed them to grant blessings to Kousuke’s familiars.
Furthermore, Asura turned to Kousuke with a meaningful expression.
“If Kousuke can hold them back, that’s fine… but I certainly can’t.”
Kousuke quickly concluded that if he couldn’t handle it, there was no way he could. His face took on an expression of utter resignation.
“…Understood. I’ll prepare for it.”
“That’s for the best.”
Asura nodded with a serious expression at Kousuke’s decision.
Once the decision was made, everything proceeded quickly.
Kousuke thought about calling Eris and the others immediately, but Asura stopped him.
“Before that, I think it would be better to talk about the divine realm you created?”
“Really?”
Kousuke, who thought it was nothing compared to the Lily Shinto Shrine, tilted his head, unable to comprehend the meaning.
“I understand what Kousuke is thinking. Indeed, it might not be a big deal right now… but who knows what will happen in the future?”
“…Which is to say?”
“Well, knowing Kousuke, you’ll undoubtedly expand that divine realm.”
“Guh…!? Th-that’s not…?”
Seeing Kousuke’s eyes dart around as he almost denied it, Asura chuckled.
“Is that so? Then that’s good.”
“…It’s not exactly that, so please let me know if anything comes up.”
Feeling a sense of anxiety at being somewhat pushed away, Kousuke bowed his head.
Asura gave another small chuckle at Kousuke’s words.
“Right now, it’s truly not a big deal. But if you were to bring in many familiars in the future, that divine realm would undoubtedly become a place that could be called a world.”
“Well, yes… that’s true.”
“You don’t seem to realize it, but that’s the same as Kousuke becoming the god of that divine realm.”
Hearing Asura’s words, Kousuke’s face turned grim.
Silvia had said something similar when she saw the divine realm, but hearing it directly from Asura, who was truly a god, carried a completely different weight.
“The more you expand that world, the greater Kousuke’s significance as its creator will become. Moreover, beings similar to what you call Heavenly Maidens might also be born there.”
“T-to that extent?”
“Oh, but when you run a world, you inevitably need beings to manage it, don’t you? The larger it gets.”
At Asura’s final remark, Kousuke renewed his resolve.
The divine realm was solely for Kuro and the others, and he decided not to expand it any further.
Seeing Kousuke’s expression, Asura spoke as if she had seen through his determination.
“Yes. If nothing happens from here on out, it will remain as it is.”
“Don’t say something that sounds like a flag!”
Kousuke exclaimed involuntarily, to which Asura replied with a face that didn’t seem to be sorry at all, “Oh, my apologies.”
This was about the Lily Shinto Shrine and the divine realm.
Kousuke currently has no intention of expanding the divine realm.
If he says no, then it’s no.
