ES - Chapter 57 (Patreon)

Chapter 57: The Potion that Changed Humanity

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"It's a bit more than the things you asked for, so I hope you'll like them," Sakuya-hime said with a bright smile.

And it really was more than what I had asked for. When asking for things as a gift, I usually push the boundaries and stretch it as much as I can, but I didn't do it this time since I didn't have a clear idea of what these Gods held in their treasury. And it was kind of a dick move to ask for too many things after saving the day like a knight in shining armor, so I had refrained from asking for too many things back then.

But now, seeing the things they gave me, I realized I had asked for too little. I should have tried my luck better.

First was the herbs and other alchemical ingredients that I had asked for. They had prepared 10x of what I wanted. Great.

That was just the start, of course.

“These look awesome,” Ai said, even though she was a normal human she could feel the magical aura of them.

There were bags each filled with high-grade talismans, powerful defensive artifacts, and strong magical seals which were all protective type gears. They won't be of much use for me, but I don't think it's supposed to be for me. If a normal human wore all of it, they might even survive a fall from Everest.

"It's for your mother," As if reading my mind, Bishamon replied. "And sister, too. But I doubt that girl will need it, from the mana I sense in the air. Quite a dangerous mage, that one."

Naturally, she could sense Ruby from here, who was in the house beside ours. She had also sensed the mana in the air, the one that came from Quasar Blast.

"I thought you didn't notice since you didn't bring it up," I said to her, crouched down near another bag that I was checking.

"We did," Sakuya replied. "We rushed here because we sensed it. But by the time we arrived, the situation was dealt with. I don't want this to sound like an interrogation, but why did she use such a strong attack in a civilian area? Luckily, nobody died… except for one."

Ah, so nobody died. That's good. "The one who died was her target. It's a maniac from the Christian church nearby, he tried to kill Ai, and Ruby pulverized him. She's not very used to fighting, so she cast whatever spell to her mind first."

"That's understandable," the Goddesses nodded, and Bishamon added. "Tell her to cast an [Instant Dungeon] spell next time. It will summon her and any other supernatural being in the vicinity inside a Middle Shore that is an exact replica of wherever she is. Magic isn't exactly forbidden to use in public, but for flashy ones and for fights, the world has an unwritten rule to cast that. That way, even if the surroundings are destroyed, it doesn't affect the real world."

"...I see," Naturally, I didn't know that, but I was familiar with the spell she mentioned so I didn't need to tell her that. "I'll make sure to remind her of that."

"Great," Bishamon smiled. "You are easy to work with, I like that. Unlike your Patron God."

"Amaterasu?" I titled my head and asked. Is she back talking to her Chief God? My suspicion grew stronger when I saw Sakuya look at her friend in worry, but Bishamon's explanation was very different from what I expected.

"No, she's the patron of your sister. But she still blessed you instead of your Patron God because that guy is going through a phase. Usually that would have been complicated, but since your blessing was just a passive one that ensured longevity, it was easy enough. Now that you two are introduced to the magical side of the world, though, if you require a blessing, you'll need to get that from your Patron God." She explained.

She clenched her teeth and continued. "I don't… like him. At all. But you deserve to know if you have plans to contact him for any kind of help in the future, and it'll be fun seeing him getting dragged into a mess since he has a responsibility over you if you ask him for help. So I'll tell you. He is the Moon God, Tsukuyomi, Lady Amaterasu's brother."

"…" I remembered a name. Since it was Bishamon I was talking to right now, who's from Noragami; then is my Patron… Yato? Hah, what a coincidence. My Patron God is the same as me, a bloodthirsty monster now playing the role of loving and normal.

"He goes by the name Delivery God, Yato, nowadays." Bishamon confirmed my guess.

"I'll keep that name in mind," I nodded to her and returned to the gift at hand. "Now, allow me to check the last bag."

"I feel so left out." Ai suddenly chimed in while I checked the bag. "Can we talk about something that normal people should be curious about? Like why did the Gods choose my children?"

The two Goddesses paused and exchanged glances. Sakuya smiled, "It's because they are fated to create waves around the world. So our great Goddess blessed them."

It wasn't entirely a lie—that was the 2nd reason after the pity one. The Gods felt pity for my doctor self and Ruby's past, and since Ai Hoshino happened to give birth to two dead children, they put our soul in there. At least, that's what I recall from my manga knowledge.

"Ah, that makes sense." Ai clasped her hands and smiled. "Naturally, who if not my children?"

The two Goddesses kept smiling.

After so many distractions, I ignored them and finally focused on the gift inside the last bag. It was a… shrine of Amaterasu with a chibi white-haired goddess sitting in the middle. I instantly realized what it could do.

"Sorry, I don't need this." I closed the bag and put it down. It would have been useful until a day earlier, but now it's not.

"Are you sure?" Bishamon frowned. "It's a very valuable item. As long as the shrine is in this house, nobody would be able to harm your family. It also has holy powers, as our Lady is a Sun Goddess, so any evil spirits and devils would be kept out of here."

"It stands out too much, and I don't really need something to keep devils away. I have devil friends, you see, even if you did see me kill some other devils. I don't hold any prejudice towards them."

"Hah," Bishamon sighed. "Oh well. Your loss." She shook her head.

Not exactly my loss when I received so many artifacts from them that would keep Ai personally safe. The entire house didn't need that kind of safety. Well, it did, but I had my own plans to protect this place, I had no use for a shrine in my house.

"Hey~ why not keep it? It looks good, and it's a shrine of Amaterasu!" Ai insisted. "Also, what do you mean you are friends with devils?"

"Damn, how are both you and your daughter racist? You know, Ruby got all weird when she met this Yokai, and now you are asking why I am friends with devils."

"Erm…"

"Keep a normal shrine if you want, none of these magical things," I warned her.

Ai sighed as her shoulders drooped while the Goddesses cleared their throat. "In that case, it's time we leave. This is the reward you wanted, and we gave you more. So I hope we'll keep a good relationship in the future."

Bishamon said with her arms crossed and then Sakuya-hime rushed to give me one last hug. "I wanna stay for a bit longer, but I need to return home and fix the damage that the fight caused. So see you later~ will you come visit me?"

I doubt that, but I have a polite nod saying I would. After that, she returned beside Bishamon and waved at me. The blonde Goddess took a long look at me before snapping her fingers, and they vanished.

Finally, peace returned to the room where artifacts scattered the floor.

* * *

"Keep it a secret from the girls about this," I advised Ai when I cleaned the floor by depositing the stuff in my [Void Storage]. "I will keep the artifacts to myself, there are too many for you to wear and walk around freely. I'll try to blend them into a single thing. Like a ring, I guess."

Ai was standing right beside me, as I turned to her. I brought out the strongest of the Talismans from the gifts and walked behind her. I pressed it on her back. "For now, this should be enough. It'll go invisible so you shouldn't worry about someone seeing it."

As I pressed it on her back, on the open skin above her clothes, the Talisman indeed went invisible. "There. Now, I should put some Qi into your lightning seal."

I walked around her, met her eyes, and sighed. "Um, can you raise your top? I need to touch your belly."

"..." Ai stared at me with a deep look. She had been silent since the Goddesses left, staring at me with a little frown.

‘Is she trying to intimidate me?’ I realized she was trying to live by her words when she said she’d show me hell when the guests left because I was rude. She’s so cute, let me distract her.

“I am waiting,” I said, checking out her cute black top and white skirt outfit. Who would believe she’s a mother of two?

“Ugh,” After a bit of silence, Ai grumbled and raised her black top just a little, enough for me to see the tattoo. The butterfly tattoo on her navel was barely visible now that all of its Qi was drained.

I crouched down and leaned into her navel. She flinched, but my lips touched the tattoo before she could back off and an electrifying pleasure traveled through her nerves.

"Aqua, what are you- Nghn~!" she clasped her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide, and her face red in embarrassment.

I closed my eyes, my arms wrapped around her waist, and pulled her close and held my lips against her skin. Her soft belly pressed against my face, my arms feeling her tight waist, as I got into work.

I had to concentrate on this – her sounds were a little distracting – since I was putting more than just my lightning Qi inside her this time. I was putting a whole technique inside, not just Qi. If this gets triggered, then the technique will launch and erase the enemy.

The [Fulmination of Cyclone] was the Underlord Storm Qi technique that I was putting inside her, causing my lips to buzz in harmony with her sounds. It was the technique that messed up and killed Jaguar Warrior, so it was strong enough to keep her safe, enough until I'd make her able to protect herself.

"A-aqua, haah~ a-are you done y-yet?" She moaned, trying her best not to, as I finished. I wanted to play with her, tease her a bit, but she might do something shameful if I didn't stop now, and then she'd not show me her tags for months. So I pulled back.

"Yeah, done," I let go of her and stood up. "Just touching would have worked, but it'd have been painful for you in that case. But using my mouth negated the pain." I wasn't lying; she's a normal human, after all, it'd hurt to store such a strong technique inside her if I didn't do it gently.

"Y-yeah," she cleared her throat, walking with tight legs. Just earlier she seemed to want to reprimand me for talking rudely, but now she was red and smoking from her head. "Then I- I will return to my room… I am tired, so I'll take a nap. B-bye."

She turned around and ran.

So cute.

* * *

Not long after that, the three girls returned from Tsubasa’s house and found me working on something in the kitchen. I waved them off, not wanting to talk, as they left me alone amidst the smoke and ventured off into the house.

How long passed after that? Hours passed as I maneuvered a bunch of herbs in a normal pot using my Soul Fire; I had to recharge my Soul Fire one time by sacrificing one of the treasures that was gifted to me, but it wasn’t a waste. The result would be worth it.

Soul Fire was what I needed to make what I was making, that’s the only reason I have waited this long to make this. There was a rune formation around the kitchen that helped me stabilize things further, and I mixed thousand-year-old Ginseng with Bloodflower and Fairywand with Saffron.

Everything needed a certain level of calculation, a precise mind, and a level-headed spirit to go through the process in one go. One mishap and it wouldn’t work. I had to try my best for this, my current mental limits and my concentration finally bore a fruit half a day later.

I started before noon, and now it was 1 AM. “Phew, mom! Come here!”

Finally, I was done. The Psyker Elixir was ready.

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