Chapter 131: A Summons from the Goddesses

“U-Umm, are they causing a huge uproar down in the lower world because I suddenly disappeared?”

『Little master, do not worry. Only your consciousness has been summoned. Time in the lower world is not moving. There is no problem.』

Before I knew it, Kohaku-san was beside me, and he answered my question.

“It has been a while, Kohaku. Are you enjoying the lower world?”

『Yes. I am stretching my wings and relaxing for the first time in a while.』

Stretching your wings…? Kohaku-san, you’re my guard, right? Does descending to the lower world feel completely like a vacation to you…?

“Umm, so why was I called here this time…?”

“Oh, just because you came to the church, so we thought we’d say hello. It seems you’re working hard in various ways.”

Well, of course I’m working hard. It involves my own ruin, after all…

“We’ve been watching from above, and it seems you’ve gotten wrapped up in something strange again.”

“Karma will inevitably come around… Do your best, Sakura-chan.”

Leanbelte-sama was looking at me with amusement, while Linzeveil-sama looked concerned.

“Something strange”—does that mean Jeremy-sensei’s route? Wait, you’ve been watching from above?

As if reading my mind, Yuminaria-sama opened her mouth with a wry smile.

“It’s basically because of our mistake that you came to this world, after all. The least we can do is watch over you…”

“Besides, your actions are totally unpredictable and entertaining. Grabbing that capture target teacher by the collar and picking a fight with him was the best.”

“Please forget about that!”

Sakuracleria-sama’s words brought back the embarrassment of that moment. No, you see, I just went out of control because the shock was too great!?

“Does the phrase ‘invasion of privacy’ not exist in the world of the Gods…?”

“It’s not that it doesn’t exist, but it only applies between fellow gods, you see.”

Sutiara-sama answered with a laugh as I slumped down on all fours in dismay. Damn it, you higher beings.

I’m working so hard in various ways to save Pamela-sensei… wait.

“U-Umm! Could you possibly tell me what causes Pamela-sensei’s death…!”

“Um… I’m sorry. If we do that, it would completely become an Oracle, and Sakura-chan would be placed onto the rails of fate as the ‘Shrine Maiden of the Nine Goddesses.’ If that happens, changing your fate from there would become even more difficult…”

Linzeveil-sama answered with an apologetic look on her face. ‘Shrine Maiden of the Nine Goddesses’? Does that mean I’d be certified as a [Saint]…?

I’d like to avoid that if possible. If I mess up, I might be taken away to the Gospel Kingdom…

“It means you cannot cheat. If you wish to change fate, you must change it with your own hands. Have you not done so up until now? Believe, and the path shall open.”

“That’s so strict…”

Argh, fine, I’ll do it! I’ll get it done! As long as I do it, it’s fine, right!? Don’t complain about it later!

“I wonder why she’s throwing a reverse-tantrum… Well, if you watch over her carefully, I think you’ll notice some kind of abnormality. The rest depends on your efforts.”

Leanbelte-sama dropped something that sounded like a hint. By “watch over her,” she means Pamela-sensei, right? Some abnormality will occur with Pamela-sensei or her surroundings. It’s not something that will take her life immediately; there will be some amount of leeway. And if we make it in time, Pamela-sensei will be saved… is that what she means?

“A piece of advice from me as well.”

“Ah, yes.”

Sakuracleria-sama, with a serious face, raised a single finger with a snap. Is she going to give me another hint? I straightened my back with a snap of my own and waited for her gracious words.

“You should practice the guitar a bit more. Also, although the people of this world won’t understand the meaning, I think you should sing the song properly too.”

“That’s what it is!?”

It wasn’t about the route to Pamela-sensei’s survival. Well, I guess from the perspective of the Goddess of Music and Song, it’s something she can’t ignore!

But singing… I don’t think I’m that bad at it, but that’s a song sung by a man. If a young girl like me sings it, I feel like it might come off feeling a bit light…

“That’s not true. It all depends on how you sing it.”

“Why don’t you let her hear it?”

“Mm.”

Prompted by Leanbelte-sama’s words, Sakuracleria-sama stood up and took a step forward. Eh? You’re going to sing?

An expansive, beautiful singing voice, sung acapella by Sakuracleria-sama, jumped into my eardrums.

It was the kind of singing that evoked various emotions—incredibly heart-rending, yet simultaneously filled with hope…

I don’t know how to express this feeling. I don’t know, but it resonates deeply in my heart.

I want you to stand by me. That earnest wish, that prayer, struck my heart.

Hearing that singing voice, tears naturally began to spill from my eyes, drip, drop.

“────Like this.”

When Sakuracleria-sama finished singing, I was unconsciously clapping my hands as hard as I could. Bravo! Amazing! As expected of a Goddess. She wasn’t just a laid-back, my-pace Goddess who only eats sweets. Her stock is skyrocketing in my book.

“That’s casually rude.”

“I-I’m sorry!”

I instinctively bowed my head under Sakuracleria-sama’s half-lidded stare. Oops, she read my mind!

“Laid-back Goddess, hmm. Isn’t that rather hitting the mark?”

“It is. She’s basically lazy and usually just lounges around, after all.”

“Jeez, both of you. You’re taking it too far!”

As Sutiara-sama and Leanbelte-sama laughed together, Yuminaria-sama scolded them with a sharp ‘No!’.

But it was an amazing song. This is the first time I’ve been so moved by a song.

“It’s just that it was so amazing, I don’t think I could ever imitate it…”

“You don’t need to imitate it. You just need to fully understand the meaning of the lyrics and sing with emotion. It’s important to properly use dynamics, pitch, and intonation.”

Sakuracleria-sama gave me that advice. Sing with emotion, huh. I see…

While I was lost in thought by myself, my vision began to blur hazily.

『Little master. It seems it is time.』

“Oops, before you go back, I must bestow my protection as well. Unlike Sister Yumina’s, this one is actually useful. Be grateful.”

“Wha!? The Stamp Card is useful too!”

As my consciousness faded, I realized Yuminaria-sama and Sutiara-sama were sisters. No wonder I thought they looked alike… I pondered such trivial matters as I drifted away.

◇ ◇ ◇

『Little master. We have returned.』

“Hah.”

When I opened my eyes at Kohaku-san’s voice, I was back in the chapel before I knew it. Or rather, I hadn’t returned; I had been here the whole time.

For a moment, the doubt crossed my mind that perhaps it had just been a dream, but Kohaku-san was aware of it too, and more importantly, I clearly felt the protection Sutiara-sama had bestowed upon me within myself.

[Inventory Storage]… This is that thing, an Item Box. Something similar to the four-dimensional pochette I have.

My pochette can’t hold anything larger than its opening, but apparently, this [Inventory Storage] can store large objects too. What’s more, it can sort things within its separate dimension. It seems you can store the rubble of a collapsed building and have it separated into stone, wood, glass, and so on. This is certainly convenient.

Furthermore, the time of stored items stops, so they won’t rot, get cold, or melt. This is useful. Thank you very much, Sutiara-sama!

Though as expected, it seems I can’t store living creatures or the kitchen car I summon.

With this, the protections I’ve received from the Goddesses are now five: [Entry Ban], [In-store BGM], [Business Extension], [Stamp Card], and [Inventory Storage].

I wonder if I’ll receive them from the remaining four Goddesses too? If this gets found out, I’m definitely heading straight for the Saint route…

That’s probably why the Goddesses made them protections that could easily be passed off as secondary effects of my ‘Gift’.

On the way back from the church, when I told Father and Mother about the [Inventory Storage] in the carriage, they were surprised, as expected.

“This is basically like receiving a second ‘Gift’.”

Actually, it seems there is a fair number of people with storage-type ‘Gifts’. However, whether time stops or not, and whether the capacity is large or small, apparently varies widely from person to person.

There’s also a ‘Gift’ that doesn’t allow the user to store things themselves, but allows them to create magic tools capable of storing things. My pochette is apparently something made by someone with that kind of ‘Gift’.

I wonder how much capacity my [Inventory Storage] has? The pochette was about the size of a single six-mat room (approx. 10 square meters).

I checked when I got back, and it was about ten times that size. Hmm, judging by the name, I was expecting something the size of a massive warehouse, but I guess it’s about the size of a normal warehouse.

Even so, it’s useful for storing a few products from my store. After all, I can’t summon my store depending on the location.

Interestingly, it seems the volume is compressed when stored. For example, if I store an empty cardboard box, it seems to only use the volume of the crushed cardboard, not the volume of the box itself. It means empty space doesn’t take up capacity.

Therefore, I can store more things than I thought.

However, if I just throw everything willy-nilly in there, it’ll exceed its capacity in no time, so I have to choose carefully. I feel like I don’t really need to store plastic models or plushies.

But if I do that, it seems it’ll just end up being full of food…

Well, even with food, it’s debatable whether I really need to keep it stored. I have to make sure I don’t end up in a situation where I can’t store something important because it’s packed full of food! It might be better to leave about half of it empty. It’s a convenient power, but I won’t know for sure until I test it out a bit more.