A few days passed after the Divine Union with Asura had finished.
Kokoro had come to the Management Layer.
However, upon meeting Kousuke, Kokoro’s eyes widened considerably.
“Father, what on earth happened?!”
Kousuke exchanged a glance with Silvia, who was next to him, and then gave a wry smile at Kokoro’s sudden question.
“My, oh my. So it’s leaking out that clearly, is it?”
Hearing Kousuke say that, Silvia understood that Kousuke had already noticed the change occurring within himself.
For now, she had been taking considerable care to pretend not to have noticed anything about Kousuke, but it seemed to have become meaningless.
However, it wasn’t entirely a waste, as Kousuke had gained time to think about various things without concern for his surroundings.
The consideration they had for each other, Kousuke and the women, was also the reason they could continue their lives as before.
Although a month had passed since the sanctuary was established on the Central Continent, Kousuke’s habit of napping (?) continued.
With so many changes occurring, some minor problems were bound to arise.
The most prominent of these was Kokoro’s reaction just now.
Silvia, judging from Kousuke’s words, decided there was no point in hiding it any longer and nodded as she answered Kousuke’s question.
“That’s right. It’s not to the extent of ‘leaking,’ but if a cleric were to approach, they would certainly feel it.”
What Kokoro and Silvia felt from Kousuke was the Divine Power emanating from Kousuke himself, who was manifesting as an Avatar.
Before the physical discomfort began, he had been trying to suppress it so he could move around in public easily, but with the sudden changes, that adjustment had become difficult.
Once the changes finished and stabilized, he would likely be able to conceal his Divine Power completely again, as he had before. However, with his Divine Power growing daily, that was proving difficult now.
When Kousuke first noticed, he had been making adjustments properly, but they became meaningless within a few hours.
He could make adjustments frequently, but doing so every few hours had become a hassle, so now he was suppressing his Divine Power once a day.
Silvia’s words brought a thoughtful expression to Kousuke’s face.
“Hmm. I thought it would be fine as long as I lived in the Management Layer, but if Kokoro can feel it this clearly, perhaps I should reconsider?”
Kousuke grimaced at the hassle of having to make adjustments every few hours, but Silvia shook her head.
“I believe it would be better not to. Forcing yourself to suppress your Divine Power now might instead invite ill health. This is purely my conjecture, of course.”
“Even when I suppressed it once a day, I didn’t feel any ill effects, so I think it’s fine,” Kousuke replied, moving his body as if to confirm. Silvia looked thoughtful.
“I’ve heard that for gods, Divine Power is like breathing for us. When stable, it’s one thing, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to forcefully suppress it in an unstable state.”
“Breathing? That might be a bit of an exaggeration… or perhaps not?”
Silvia’s analogy wasn’t about the necessity of breathing for a living organism to function, but about doing it naturally without conscious thought.
Holding your breath is one thing, but unless you’ve undergone special training, consciously slowing or quickening your breathing will tire you out.
If your body is healthy, it’s one thing, but Silvia’s point was that if you did that while undergoing rapid changes like now, you wouldn’t know what might happen.
Of course, Silvia herself is not a god, so her knowledge comes from the hearsay and knowledge passed down from the gods of the past, and Kousuke himself doesn’t have a detailed understanding of his own Divine Power.
He couldn’t lightly dismiss the idea and say it was fine.
“…I suppose. Maybe I should ask Eris or someone?”
“I believe that would be for the best,” Silvia replied, nodding with a relieved expression at Kousuke’s words.
Ultimately, if you want to know about gods, it’s best to ask a god. Or rather, you have no choice but to ask them.
Kokoro, having somewhat understood the situation from Kousuke and Silvia’s conversation, tilted her head and asked.
“Since it was fine once a day until now, isn’t there any need to change it now?”
Kousuke sighed and replied to her plausible question.
“That’s true. If you could guarantee that no one would come to the Management Layer until these current changes stabilize, then yes.”
“That… is impossible,” Kokoro replied, shaking her head at Kousuke’s words.
Kokoro had come to the Management Layer in the first place because there were people she wanted to introduce to Kousuke.
Although that intention had disappeared upon learning of the current situation, there was nothing that could be helped about this.
Silvia then turned to Kokoro, who was contemplating this.
“So, Kokoro-chan, what did you come here for? You had something you wanted to ask Kousuke-sama about, right?”
“That’s right, but after hearing our current conversation, I thought it might be better to postpone it.”
Silvia’s expression became one of “I knew it” at Kokoro’s answer.
Considering Kokoro’s past actions and timing, she had a general idea of why she had come. But with this answer, she understood completely.
“Postpone it? Was there something?”
Kousuke, on the other hand, tilted his head, utterly confused.
To the confused Kousuke, Silvia said just one sentence.
“It’s about the Lily Shinto Shrine. I suspect the selection of the shrine maidens for each shrine has been completed, hasn’t it?”
“Yes. We’ve narrowed it down to a few candidates, so I thought we could have you, Father… no, the Avatar, make the final decision.”
“Ah, I see.”
Kousuke recalled that such matters were indeed in progress and nodded in understanding.
“But, meeting you in this state would be problematic, wouldn’t it?”
Kousuke said this, concerned that meeting him in his current state of leaking Divine Power would intimidate the other person. However, for some reason, Silvia shook her head.
“No. Rather, this might be just perfect.”
“Silvia?” “Mother?”
Kousuke and Kokoro tilted their heads simultaneously at Silvia’s unexpected words.
“The shrine maidens who will be coming this time are those who will be permanently stationed at each shrine. Since we have this opportunity, I believe it would be best for them to directly experience Kousuke-sama’s Divine Power.”
At Silvia’s words as a “Shrine Maiden,” Kousuke’s expression became thoughtful, while Kokoro looked convinced.
“Hmm. I understand what you’re saying, but is it really necessary?”
“Yes. The Avatar is, after all, a god. To ensure they don’t forget that principle, I believe it is necessary.”
What Silvia was worried about was that the shrine maidens, who only knew Kousuke in his normal state, might make some grave mistake.
Kousuke, when not emitting Divine Power, could easily be mistaken for just a mere Human, and there was a possibility of such misunderstandings.
Silvia did not want a tragedy like the one that had occurred in the Tower in the past to be repeated.
The wrath of the gods could occur, even if Kousuke himself forgave, it could come from another god. Such examples were plentiful in the literature of each temple.
To prevent such a mistake, the best approach was indeed for them to directly experience Kousuke’s Divine Power.
When Silvia forcefully explained her reasoning to Kousuke, he reluctantly agreed to meet them in his current state.
Kousuke, who would prefer to avoid being deified as a god, had no choice but to agree when it was framed as being for the future of the Tower.
It was fitting that Silvia, knowing Kousuke would ultimately have to act if the Tower was mentioned, had used that point. Kousuke did not realize, until the end, that Kokoro was inwardly impressed by Silvia’s actions.
Conversation between mother and child after Kousuke left.
Kokoro: “Is that not considered ‘leaking’ by definition?”
Silvia: “That’s right. It probably means that it’s not for nothing that the gods recognize him.”
Kokoro: “Haa… I don’t know… In many ways, um… he’s rather dense, isn’t he?”
Silvia: “What are you saying? That’s precisely what’s good about him?”
Kokoro: “…Please don’t start being sentimental all of a sudden.”
