Seeing all that, Horn was finally out of words.
She bit her lip, eyes still full of stubbornness.
Takumi let out a long sigh and said quietly, "Your intent to kill me was weak from the start, wasn't it? If you'd really wanted me dead, you wouldn't have used something this clumsy. At the very least, it would've been more carefully planned."
"..."
Horn said nothing. She neither admitted it nor denied it.
A faint gray light rose from her body, and she shifted back into the version of herself with her bangs covering half her face.
Drip. Drip.
Tears slid down from the corners of her eyes and splashed onto the ground.
Then she raised her head, revealing the right eye that had been hidden before.
Unlike her left eye, black as if night had been poured into it, the right one looked silver—almost pale gray.
"I don't know. I don't even know what I was thinking."
"I'm almost going crazy. I love you… the same way I love my goddess."
"If I'd met you first…"
"Before I ever met the goddess… I would've wrapped you tight in my arms…"
"If I… could have met you first… then I could've fallen for you as myself."
"But in the end, I still can't. I'm just a counterfeit."
Horn cried openly now. She reached toward Takumi with both hands, only to pull them back halfway, like she was afraid of touching him.
Watching her twist herself into knots like that, Takumi sighed again.
"Why torment yourself this much?"
He stepped forward and took her trembling hands in his.
"I've always been able to tell who you are, and who Freya is."
"You're Syr, but you're also Horn. And Syr is also Freya."
"In my eyes, there's no such thing as you being some counterfeit."
"Haven't you noticed? Since last night, I haven't called you Syr even once."
"Maybe my feelings for you aren't as deep and heavy as yours are for me—but I do like you, Horn."
He pulled Horn up from the ground and spoke softly, laying his thoughts bare.
His voice was like a door being opened, letting light spill into Horn's world.
Through tear-blurred eyes, she looked at him and asked in a trembling voice, "R-really, Takumi-san?"
"I'll resolve your situation, Horn."
As he stroked her back, Takumi looked toward the mouth of the alley.
A figure was standing there, watching everything without blinking.
Syr.
"Takumi-san~ So you're going to take Horn in too?"
Her voice was still sweet, but the next second it changed—deepening into something richer, more mature, more sensual.
"As long as it's her, I don't mind. But aside from Horn, I don't want to share you with anyone else."
As she walked closer, Syr's body changed with every step—taller, fuller, more imposing—until that sweet-faced waitress had become the breathtaking goddess herself.
Freya.
Chloe stared with her mouth open. "Black Fist… I think we just saw something we really, really weren't supposed to see, nya."
Lunoire said nothing.
At this point, the poor pair's hearts were pitch black with despair. They hadn't even wanted to get involved in divine business in the first place.
In Takumi's arms, Horn began to shake uncontrollably the moment Freya appeared.
Takumi wrapped an arm around her waist, giving her warmth and something solid to lean on.
Then he looked at Freya and let out a breath.
"Freya, I already told you. I'm not choosing. I'm taking all of you."
"But I don't want to share!"
Freya's eyes flashed with violet light.
That was the power of the Goddess of Beauty.
A crushing wave of charm rippled out in all directions and in the very next instant, another wave of the same kind of power surged up and crushed Freya's down.
In absolute disbelief, everyone turned to look at Takumi.
Both his eyes were glowing silver.
"How… That's my… Authority."
Freya looked like she'd just been struck by lightning.
A mortal had just used a god's power—her power.
Then, almost immediately, she understood why.
"I see. A skill like Zald's… something that can steal other people's power. Even a god's."
Her eyes narrowed. "What was the trigger? Don't tell me it was last night?"
Seeing Freya figure it out in a few seconds, Takumi covered his forehead.
"I like smart girls. But when they're too smart, it gets awkward."
He stepped closer and pinched Freya's flawless white chin between his fingers.
"Looks like not branding you last night was a mistake."
"I shouldn't have hoped love would dilute that yandere side of yours."
"I'm going to dig the girl named Syr out of your heart—not just leave behind the untouchable beauty goddess on her pedestal."
"Takumi~~"
Freya's voice trembled.
Then the Time-Space Realm dropped down and swallowed everyone present in one sweep.
The moment they landed inside it, Takumi set Horn back on her feet.
Then he looked at Freya and Horn and said quietly, "Just like you wanted, Freya. You naughty little cat—I'm going to discipline you properly."
"Mnn—Takumi-san!?"
At that moment, it felt like the girlish side buried inside Freya had been yanked straight out into the open.
Chloe and Lunoire, who should've been nothing but bystanders, were now panicking in the corner.
"What the hell is going on? We somehow became part of their play!?"
"Yeah, nya, but this is way too intense, nya!"
"Ah. I almost forgot about you two."
Takumi's lips curled as he looked at Chloe and Lunoire huddled in the corner.
Enjoying the main course while getting two extra desserts on the side—that was real living.
Then another voice cut in.
"Well, well—if it isn't the Goddess of Beauty!"
Kali, who'd gotten comfortable living here already, came wandering over and immediately spotted the action.
She clenched her little fists, eyes lighting up, and joined in without a second thought.
How could she possibly stay out of a savage, thrilling mess like this?
She'd been itching for it lately anyway, her whole body restless and unsatisfied.
Right now, what she wanted most was for Takumi to beat the hell out of her a few more times.
"Kali?!"
Freya never would've guessed Kali was here too.
The goddess of slaughter and conflict had also been taken by Takumi.
"Mmph… I didn't want to share you with anyone else."
Smack.
"Mnhhg~"
"Say that again."
"…Takumi-san, I was wrong."
Smack.
"Master~~ I won't think like that again."
Smack.
"?"
Seeing the confusion on Freya's face, Takumi answered without the slightest shame, "My hand moved out of habit."
At this point, Freya—already fused with a Servant Piece—had no complaints left to offer.
And as if she wanted to make sure Takumi stayed fully entertained, Kali even called over her own subordinates.
The arrival of the dark-skinned bombshells Argana and Bache made the whole situation even more intense.
As level 4 adventurers, Chloe and Lunoire could only swallow their suffering in silence.
That was life.
Chloe, at least, adjusted quickly.
After all, one thing was true.
Her "last wish" had been granted, at least.
...
For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.