Chapter 18: God, the Saint, and the Demon Lord

“Mm. Welcome ba— Eight-dono!? What happened to you!?”

When Raphiel and I returned home after finishing the harvest work at the fields, Grana—who had been practicing sword swings in the yard—froze in shock and shouted the moment she saw me.

Well, her reaction was understandable.

At the moment, my entire body was absolutely drenched in bluish-green slime.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s just Imo-modoki blood.”

“I-Imo-modoki?”

“Watching Eight calmly crush Imo-modoki one after another was both reassuring… and deeply terrifying.”

“I’ll wash up in the bath and start making dinner right away. The village chief gave us a ton of potatoes, so tonight’s an all-potato party.”

“I-I see…”

In an unusually cheerful mood, I headed toward the men’s bath.

First, I rinsed off the sticky slime under the shower and washed my hair.

Then, while lathering soap onto a body towel to clean the rest of myself—

『Your back.』

“WAH!? J-Jeez, you scared me…! God, I told you not to appear out of nowhere like that!!”

『…My apologies.』

The one who had suddenly materialized behind me was the familiar black shadow.

I still couldn’t tell whether this god was male or female—the voice sounded like countless male and female voices layered together into one eerie chorus.

Ever since the incident with the Inquisition Knights, the deity had started appearing from time to time like this, occasionally cleaning my room or even helping with cooking.

The problem was—

They never made a sound when appearing.

No footsteps.

No presence.

Nothing.

It was unbelievably bad for my heart.

“Uh… anyway, what about my back?”

『Allow me to wash it.』

“Eh? Ah… thanks.”

Apparently today the god intended to wash my back.

Honestly, letting a literal god scrub my back felt wildly sacrilegious…

But they were the one offering, so hopefully it was fine.

More importantly—

There was another issue entirely.

This god only ever appeared when no one else was around, but whenever we were alone together, I had absolutely no idea what to talk about.

Crap.

I needed conversation.

Anything.

“Um… does God have a name or something? Feels kinda late to ask that now.”

『…I possess many. Why ask?』

“Well, if you have one, I figured maybe I should call you by that instead of just ‘God.’”

『Ōmagatsuhinokami. That is the closest name to my current self.』

“Ō… magatsu… hinokami?”

I mean, I asked, but wow.

That was way longer than expected.

Hard to say, too.

『You think it is too long.』

“EH!? N-No I don’t!!”

『…Call me however you wish, Eight.』

Even if you say that…

Ōmagatsuhinokami…

Ōmaga… Hino…kami…

Wait.

“How about… Ōmaga Hinoka? Like, Ōmaga as the family name and Hinoka as the given name?”

『Ōmaga… Hinoka…』

“Huh? Actually, wait, do gods even need family names? Maybe not? Hm?”

『…A fine name.』

And then—

It happened.

The black shadow that formed the god’s body suddenly writhed and shifted violently.

Its form crumbled apart and reshaped itself entirely.

Eh!?

W-Wait, what!?

“G-God!? Ōmaga-san!? What’s happening!?”

“—There is no problem.”

A young girl’s voice echoed softly.

The black shadow had vanished.

In its place stood a beautiful girl with glossy black hair and striking violet eyes.

She looked perhaps twelve or thirteen years old.

A slender figure.

Small chest.

Narrow waist.

Delicate hips.

An overwhelmingly beautiful girl whose fragile, almost ephemeral expression only made her beauty even more captivating.

Honestly, in terms of sheer beauty, she rivaled Raphiel.

“My existence, once ambiguous, has now been defined. That is all.”

“Eh… w-wait, are you really God?”

“No. I am Ōmaga Hinoka.”

Ehhh!? Seriously!?

What was even happening anymore—

No, think later!!

“F-First of all, please cover yourself with a towel!!”

“Why?”

“Because girls aren’t supposed to let men see them naked!!”

“It matters not. I do not mind if Eight sees me.”

“But I mind!!”

At that, Hinoka tilted her head adorably.

“I see. You dislike this body, then. In that case, I shall make myself taller… and enlarge my chest.”

“…Huh?”

I couldn’t even process what happened.

Hinoka’s body suddenly grew taller—instantly surpassing my own height.

At the same time, her chest swelled dramatically.

“W-W-Wha—”

“Would this body satisfy you, Eight?”

“Eh— Ah— No— I mean—”

“…Even this body is insufficient? Could it be that Eight prefers men? If you desire it, I can grow male genitalia as well, though… Eight?”

My mental capacity had officially reached its limit.

First the black shadow transformed into a beautiful girl rivaling Raphiel.

Now it had transformed again into a stunning mature beauty who approached me while her ample chest swayed before my eyes.

When I bathed with Grana before, we at least wore minimal cloth coverings.

But now—

Both of us were completely naked.

The scene was so unreal that my heart pounded painfully in my chest—

“Ahbyun.”

“…Eight?”

And just like that, I collapsed on the spot with a nosebleed and lost consciousness.

◇ ◆ ◇

“Mn… where am I…?”

“You’re awake, Eight.”

“Eh? Ah, Raphiel-san…”

When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying in my own futon inside my room.

“You seemed to be having quite the nightmare. Did you see something unpleasant?”

“Ah, no, not unpleasant exactly… More like a dream where our household god suddenly transformed into beautiful girls and gorgeous women and came onto me—”

“Eight. It was not a dream.”

“…Eh?”

Suddenly, a voice came from inside the futon beside me.

Startled, I yanked the blanket upward.

There, dressed in a kimono, was Hinoka in her young girl form.

“…Why are you in my futon?”

“It is a wife’s duty to share a sleeping husband’s bed and keep him warm.”

“Eight was married?”

“Eh!? N-No, that’s not—”

“Incorrect. Eight and I promised long ago that he would become my husband and I his wife. Though Eight was still very young, so it is understandable that he does not remember.”

!?

“A promise one party does not remember should be invalid, should it not?”

“Saintess from another world… are you jealous? I remember it clearly, therefore Eight forgetting changes nothing. Eight and I are bound by our souls.”

“…”

“…”

Raphiel and Hinoka stared silently at each other.

An unbearably awkward silence filled the room.

Uh…

What exactly was I supposed to do about this atmosphere!?

Finally, Raphiel sighed.

“…Well, we can discuss the details later.”

“Agreed. At present, we should deal with the impure presence approaching this place.”

“I concur.”

And then—

At that exact moment—

A deafening explosion erupted outside the house, like a meteor crashing into the earth.

“What now!?” I shouted, rushing to the window.

Outside, a massive crater had formed in the ground.

Standing calmly at its center was a beautiful girl with striking two-toned hair split evenly into black and white.

She had a nicely proportioned figure and wore what looked essentially like an absurdly revealing black micro-bikini, making it extremely difficult to know where to look.

Then the girl suddenly looked up.

Our eyes met perfectly.

“Ah! It’s that mister from before!! Hey hey, mister!! Give me delicious food too!!”

“Eh? Um… and you are?”

“I’m Eve!! The Demon Lord!!”

The Demon Lord.

…Huh?

THE DEMON LORD!?