Gods descended in various parts of the Central Continent, and gods also descended on the island where Kousuke performed the ritual.
“That was quite a flashy entrance.”
At this point, Kousuke had already noticed that gods were descending in various places and delivering divine oracles.
Kousuke said this with a slightly exasperated expression, and Jal, one of the Three Great Gods, replied with a laugh.
“What are you talking about? After making such a grand spectacle.”
Jal said that their own descent was nothing compared to the ritual Kousuke had performed, and Spica, standing beside her, nodded in agreement.
“Unprecedented.”
“Ugh.”
When they said that, Kousuke had no comeback.
Never before had the entire continent been turned into a sacred realm, so there was no denying it.
As Kousuke was at a loss for words, Eris let out a soft chuckle.
“We’re not blaming you, you know. Besides, there’s a good reason why we descended.”
“Ah, I see.”
At Eris’s words, Kousuke recalled the matter of the goddesses’ circumstances and looked convinced.
He understood that the goddesses had descended to seek a connection with Asgard, seeing it as a fortunate opportunity.
Kousuke was not so reckless as to voice such thoughts aloud at this gathering.
“Putting that aside, is there anything you wish to convey to the people?”
“Hmm? No, not really. If it’s necessary, they can just broadcast it through Towa or Kokoro.”
Eris hesitated for a moment after Kousuke casually said this, then replied.
“…Will that be alright?”
“Who knows? Regardless, it’s still a divine oracle. If they distort the message, the people of this world should understand what will happen, don’t you think?”
He said this with full knowledge that people, especially those in the temples, sometimes interpreted divine oracles to suit their own organizations.
Kousuke’s words conveyed implicitly that he had no intention of accepting such distorted faith.
“I see. Well, I’ll leave that matter to you, Kousuke-sama.”
Eris sensed this and stopped at that reply.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Eris turned her gaze to those other than Kousuke and said.
“With this, the entire Central Continent has become Kousuke-sama’s divine realm. How you will accept and use it is the responsibility of you who dwell on this land. Do you understand, Towa?”
“…Yes!”
Towa, directly named by Eris, responded with a single word, offering the highest form of respect.
Eris nodded with satisfaction at this and turned her gaze back to Kousuke.
“Well then, we will depart. Kousuke-sama, we await you in the divine realm.”
“See you again.”
“Bye now~”
After Eris, Spica and Jal followed suit, and in the next moment, the three gods had vanished.
Upon confirming this, everyone (except Kousuke, Kouhi, and Mitsuki) let out a sigh of relief.
Observing the clear difference in their attitude towards him compared to the others, Kousuke teased Towa with his gaze.
“Even though you are the same god, your attitude is quite different.”
Towa, asked this, thought for a moment about how to answer, then quickly came up with a line.
“If necessary, I will show you the same respect. Avatar.”
“Ah, never mind. Let’s not do that.”
Although Towa’s words were somewhat theatrical, Kousuke immediately frowned and waved his right hand left and right.
It was awkward enough when strangers treated him with such reverence, but it felt strange to be treated as a god by his own son.
Kousuke never got used to being excessively respected by others.
Towa smiled faintly at Kousuke and then turned her gaze to Silvia.
“May I ask you a question?”
“What is it?”
“Even though you are all gods, why is the pressure you exert different between the Avatar and the descended gods?”
Sylvia noticed that the other members of Razek Amamiya were listening intently to Towa’s question; it was a question they all shared.
“That’s a simple matter. King Towa.”
Sylvia, aware of the other eyes on her in addition to her family’s, addressed Towa, the king, differently from usual.
“And that is?”
“The Avatar possesses a human body to exist in this world, but the descended gods do not. The difference lies in whether they have a vessel to suppress their power or not.”
Simply put, it’s like the difference between a sword in its scabbard and a sword drawn.
A drawn sword gives people the impression of direct destructive power, but a sword in its scabbard does not.
While one can see that a sword in its scabbard is still a tool for cutting, the impression received when comparing the two is vastly different.
In Kousuke’s case, because he has a human body, the divine power he feels is suppressed to a significantly lesser degree.
Towa, who had looked convinced, suddenly changed his expression to a serious one.
“…In other words, if Father were to lose his physical body…?”
“It would depend on the circumstances of his loss, but at best, he might cause the loss of a city’s worth of people due to the pressure of his divine power, and at worst, he might go berserk.”
In the current situation, Kousuke losing his physical body could only happen if he were caught off guard and sustained damage that he couldn’t recover from.
Considering that, what Silvia was talking about was not an exaggeration.
Towa understood this and nodded with a very serious expression.
“I see. I understand very well.”
Having listened to Silvia’s explanation so far, Towa resolved to thoroughly educate everyone about the Avatar once more.
While Towa was making his quiet resolution, Kousuke was leisurely conversing with Shurein and the others.
“Is this the end?”
“Mm-hmm. It’s the end. Thank you for your hard work.”
Kousuke’s words included the hardships of their journey so far, but Shurein, to whom they were addressed, shook his head.
“No, while I am indeed tired from continuing the journey, I enjoyed it even more!”
“That’s right. I never expected the children to participate.”
Reflecting on their journey so far, Floria said with a laugh.
Kousuke had not anticipated the children joining them on such a long journey.
He didn’t mean that the journey would have been less enjoyable without the children, but it certainly wouldn’t have been as lively.
In that sense, the children’s participation in the journey provided a good stimulus to Kousuke and his group.
Shurein, reminiscing about the journey from its beginning to the present, gave a wry smile to Kousuke and Floria, who had similar expressions.
“Oh dear, it’s too early to be sentimental. The journey isn’t truly over yet.”
For now, only the ritual was over; returning to the Amamiya Tower Management Layer marked the end of their journey.
After being sent by ship and returning through the teleport gate, there was little else for Kousuke and his group to do, but it was still a part of their journey.
“That is true as well.”
“Indeed. I agree.”
Kousuke and Floria agreed with Shurein’s words.
Kousuke resolved to remain vigilant so that nothing would go wrong at the very end of their journey.
Eris and the others also descended properly.
Now, all that remains is to return to the Amamiya Tower Management Layer and conclude the journey.
