Chương 18: Chapter 17
As she stood in front of us with a puzzled look, Rikka stared at Aqua as if seeing a good friend of her own kind, not to mention Aqua's strange style of speaking earlier made Rikka seem excited.
"Is that so? A goddess!" Rikka looked at Aqua, it was obvious that this girl was quite curious about Aqua claiming to be a goddess.
"You have good eyes, girl. For a mortal you can recognise a majestic figure like me" Aqua spoke arrogantly as she flicked her hair in an elegant manner.
Although I must admit that this girl was quite pretty if she kept quiet and didn't show her stupid side, but who has the right to make comments about others.
After all almost all the girls I've been friends with have brain problems, wait! Aoyama seems pretty normal for a girl I'm friends with.
Besides, I thought that when two weirdos meet each other they would form a solid community without much time.
Well, it's not that I have a problem with this, after all I have no right to regulate the circle of friends that Rikka forms, but one thing for sure is that I won't let Rikka become Aqua's follower.
It may sound quite protective, but in reality I just wanted a cute girl with second-class syndrome like Rikka not to be too bad at socialising.
"Don't believe this girl's nonsense, Rikka" I pulled Rikka away, shielding her behind my body from Aqua's influence.
It wouldn't be funny if Rikka suddenly became a follower of the Axis Cult after all.
"Hey! What are you doing? Let this girl see the majesty of this goddess even more!"
I shot Aqua a bored look. "I'm not sure what you mean by the majesty of the goddess, but I think I'd rather see Rikka stay sane."
Well even though Rikka had a little problem with Chuunibyou syndrome but she still had a sweet impression on her.
"Hiroto is right, this girl is not sane" even Origami who was standing next to me reignited as she looked at Aqua hatefully.
Aqua stared at Origami sharply, as if ready to accept the challenge of a duel at any time.
"Flat girl! I warned you to be quiet! Don't interfere with my efforts to gain followers!"
Was this girl really serious? She even said that without hesitation.
Aqua looked at us with exasperation, she snorted as if trying to maintain her long lost pride.
"What do you know about the majesty of a goddess?! There is no one greater than me! I am the symbol of glory, truth, and... and...!" She stared intently at the sky, as if searching for something beyond it.
Rikka looked more confused than ever, her eyes moving to follow every strange movement Aqua made.
"Eh, so... you really are a goddess?" she asked in confusion but I could see the enthusiasm in her eyes.
"Do I have to repeat myself? Yes, of course I'm a goddess! The Water Goddess of Axis!" Aqua snorted, puffing out her chest as if it was the greatest achievement of her life.
"Don't you believe me, mortal! I will show you how great my power is! I will summon the rain! I will bring water down on this barren land!"
Aqua raised her hands high, and a few seconds later there was only silence, not even a single drop of water fell from the sky only dust was scattered.
"Ugh, my eyes" Aqua coughed lightly as she closed her eyes.
Somehow that's quite cute for someone like Aqua, am I allowed to pinch her cheeks?
This girl was quite adorable when she coughed before.
"Eh? That's all?" I asked as I tilted my head.
And of course no rain fell. There wasn't even any change except for the scattered dust. Aqua just stood with her hands raised in the air, staring at us with a face that looked like it might cry at any moment.
"Wait... why isn't it raining?"
"Ah, the classic problem with goddesses who lose their powers because they've been in the human world for too long," I mocked her with a slight smile on my face.
Aqua could only stare at us with teary eyes. "I... I can do it! Trust me, I just need a little more time..."
"Hiroto, let's go, I'm hungry" Origami pulled my hand, trying to get me to leave while Rikka just followed me.
"Wait! I know why it's not raining! You just need to pray to me!"
Origami pulled my hand harder, but I couldn't help but turn my head towards Aqua who now looked panicked. She was jumping up and down in place like a child who didn't want to be left alone.
"Pray! Come on, you have to pray to me! How can it rain if there are no followers to support me?"
I let out a long sigh. This girl was really serious about her nonsense.
Rikka, on the other hand, seemed mesmerised. Her eyes sparkled like a child who had just found a new toy.
Rikka, don't be fooled!
"Pray...?" Rikka muttered under her breath, then moved closer to Aqua.
"How? I want to learn!"
Oh no, I think I'm too late.
"Rikka, don't be fooled!" I tried to pull her back, but Aqua was faster. She held Rikka's hand with the expression of a great mentor about to teach her secret knowledge.
"Ah, you're a smart girl! Look, fold your hands like this," Aqua practised hand gestures like someone about to pray,
"Then you close your eyes, and say, 'Oh, great Goddess Aqua, we ask for your mercy!'"
Rikka nodded vigorously, following exactly what Aqua was doing. Origami, on the other hand, was staring at the scene with a bored look, as if fed up with the whole thing.
"Hiroto, let's just leave them alone, I don't think you need to join the Club activities right now, let's eat at my house, I'll cook for you" Origami tried to persuade me, but how could I leave Rikka alone like this?
"Rikka, you don't need to do that. It'll just make her even more arrogant!" I said as I tried to grab Rikka.
"Shut up, you ignorant human!" Aqua shouted while looking at me sharply, but couldn't hide her face that was flushed with embarrassment.
"See? Even this little girl knows how to honour a great Goddess like me! And little girl hurry up and pray!"
"Lux-sama, it's fine, I'm quite curious after all"
The moment Rikka said that, Aqua stood confidently before us, assuring that this time she would show the majesty of a goddess without fail.
"Alright, pay attention everyone! I'm going to work wonders in front of you all with my new follower prayer!" she said, pointing confidently at Rikka.
I had a bad feeling about this.
Rikka looked excited, copied Aqua's movements, folded her hands, closed her eyes, and began to pray fervently.
"Oh, great Goddess Aqua, we ask for your mercy!"
Aqua nodded in satisfaction, then looked up at the sky, both hands raised in the air.
"Hear me, heavens! Send down rain at the request of my followers!" she cried.
Just then, the sky darkened, a strong wind enveloped the entire city, black clouds soaring in the sky.
"Haha... look at this! This goddess' Great Power!!!"
"Is this for real?" I stared at the sky curiously, after all the ability to manipulate the weather was quite strong, even I was incapable of doing that.
Even those dark clouds started to create a huge vortex with our location as the centre.
But wait! What is it? Is something falling from the sky?
As it slowly began to grow in size as it entered our line of sight, there wasn't just one rope, there were hundreds or maybe even thousands.
Wait a minute! Isn't that it!
"AAAAAHHHH! WHY FROGS?! I HATE FROGS!" Aqua jumped back suddenly, almost falling over, before reflexively hiding behind Rikka.
Aqua looked terrified, trembling behind Rikka's back. The frogs continued to fall from the sky, hopping around cheerfully as if celebrating their arrival in this world.
Meanwhile, Origami stared at the scene with a flat expression, only frowning slightly when a frog jumped too close to her before she stepped on it.
This girl was ruthless enough to kill a frog with a single step.
"Amazing," Rikka murmured, half in awe and half in confusion.
"Lux-sama, is this also the power of a goddess?" Rikka asked looking full of enthusiasm.
What was this girl thinking?
"Damn! Shit! Shit! This is disgusting! Hiroto do something! Use that strange power inside your body to get rid of all these disgusting frogs!!!" With a shrill cry, Aqua jumped backwards, fell to the ground, and started crawling away.
"Why me?" I asked as I threw away an approaching frog.
"Damn it! Do you have the heart to see a pretty girl like me suffer like this?!" She said in annoyance.
But, this girl suddenly froze in place for a moment before she screamed louder than before.
"AAHHH!!! TAKE THIS OFF MY HEAD!!!"
"Origami, take Rikka and Aqua away, I'll throw all those frogs into the river" I ordered Origami.
"Hm" Origami just nodded and started pulling the two girls away.
"Rikka, do you want to see something cool?" I asked briefly as I glanced at Rikka who was taken away by Origami.
"Something cool?!" Rikka nodded enthusiastically.
"In that case, watch me from the corner"
The sky that had been dark due to thick clouds was now slowly becoming jet black, as if night had come early. The temperature around us dropped drastically, the wind seemed to stop, and time seemed to slow down.
I stood in the centre of the circle of energy vortex that had just appeared under my feet. The magic circle glowed with red and purple light, depicting strange symbols that ordinary humans wouldn't understand.
"This... what kind of power is this?!" Aqua was stunned, her face turning pale. She took a few steps back, trembling at the sight of my transformation. Even Origami, who was usually calm, seemed to adopt a wary attitude, while Rikka was just transfixed, her eyes full of amazement.
"Hm... It's been a while since I've seen you in this appearance, Hiroto" Origami said quietly, but a small smile formed on her beautiful face.
It was as if she had been waiting for this to happen.
My body began to change. The blazer I was wearing before changed into an elegant black suit decorated with luminous silver patterns, like constellations at night.
My eyes shone with a golden colour, as if giving the impression that there was no human emotion left in me. My hair became longer, pitch-black, and fluttered without any wind.
From empty air, a pitch-black cube appeared that looked like an ancient artefact.
Its surface emitted a faint purple glow, and invisible gravitational energy seemed to twist the space around it. The cube hovered above my palm, rotating slowly as if waiting for my command.
"Listen to me, mortal," my voice echoed, yet it sounded heavier and deeper, like the voice of an entity that had crossed the boundary of life and death.
Damn! This is so cool!
"This frog rain is an unnecessary joke. Let me restore harmony to this world."
With a light movement of my finger, the gravity around me changed. The frogs that had been falling from the sky suddenly stopped in mid-air.
As if held back by an invisible hand.
"Return to where you came from," I whispered, and the black cube in my hand began to glow brighter. The gravitational field it created began to attract all the frogs floating in the air.
Within seconds, they gathered into one giant ball, floating above the calm current of the river.
"What the hell?!" Aqua shouted, her body shaking.
"That... that's the power of a high-level entity that can even compete with some ancient heroes! You're not even human anymore, Hiroto!" she said, not even noticing the frog problem before.
I turned my head towards Aqua, looking at her calmly, seemingly not caring at all.
With one decisive movement, I pointed my hand at the river.
"Gravitational Collapse." My voice echoed like a huge boom, and the frog ball was thrown into the river with incredible speed.
The moment it hit the water, a huge explosion occurred, creating waves that travelled all the way to the bank.
The river calmed down again, leaving only small ripples on its surface. The frogs disappeared completely, as if they had never existed.
I looked back at them. Rikka looked at me with a mixture of amazement and fear, while Origami just stared at me calmly. Aqua, on the other hand, looked close to tears.
"You... You're a monster..." she whispered softly.
I lifted my black cube, then dissipated it back into the darkness. My black suit and eyes returned to normal, returning my form to human form.
"I don't care what you think," I said, walking past them quietly.
"But one thing is for sure, I will not let destruction come to this world, even if it means showing my true self."
The sky was clear again, as if nothing had ever happened. I stepped away, staring at the blue sky looking bored
Damn! I've been wanting to do this in front of others for so long!
"Hiroto, your Chuunibyou Syndrome has returned" Origami said gently.
"Ugh!"
Damn it hurts, why is this girl stabbing me with a knife when I'm already building a complicated moment like this.
I turned to look at Origami with a mixed expression of frustration and embarrassment.
"Origami, you know how hard I worked to build up the atmosphere earlier, right? Did you have to ruin it with one simple sentence like that?"
Origami just shrugged, her face remaining as flat as ever.
"I was just stating a fact. You're overreacting, Hiroto. Even if you had that kind of power, there's no need for any extra drama."
"Overrated? I saved us all from a disgusting rain of frogs, and you call that exaggeration?" I leaned closer to him.
Somehow I felt betrayed.
"You know, it's not every day I get an epic moment like this!"
"I agree with Origami," Aqua replied while crossing her arms.
"As a goddess, I even feel like your whole performance was too much just for frog cleaning"
I rolled my eyes and let out a long breath as I stared at Aqua
"Damn tap goddess! Have you forgotten that you caused all this mess?" I said sharply.
"Ehem! I think I used the wrong spell before"
Did this girl mean what she said?
"Also! You guys don't know anything about building atmosphere. That's why you'll never be the protagonists of this world."
"Protagonist? This world?" Aqua looked at me with a confused look.
"Hiroto, are you also a Hiki Neet like Kazuma?"
"What do you think of me, I'm an earth Great Spirit after all!"
"I think he's starting to go into his delusional phase again," Origami interjected gently.
"Ugh!" I clutched my chest as if I'd been hit again.
"Origami, stop stabbing me with those deadly words! I am a Great Spirit! An entity that surpasses mortal existence!"
"Well, but you're still afraid of the knife I carry" Origami said that as she smiled.
The girl was really stating the facts bluntly.
Rikka, who had been silent, suddenly whispered softly while covering her mouth with her hand,
"That's cool, Lux-sama looked very much like a demon king earlier"
I immediately turned around and pointed at Rikka excitedly.
"See? There's at least one person who appreciates my performance art!" I tried to argue as I pointed at Rikka.
"Of course this girl would agree with you" Origami said, giving Rikka an understanding look.
"After all, she's a Chuunibyou just like you, Hiroto"
"I'm not a Chuunibyou! I'm a real witch!" Rikka protested while pointing at Origami.
I nodded confidently. "And that's why you and I understand each other, Rikka. We see the world through a lens that ordinary people like them don't understand!"
Rikka approached me with sparkling eyes. "Lux-sama you're right! Because of that, could you teach me how to use such power!"
I just smiled faintly while ruffling her hair. "You want to learn? If you really want to learn, wait for the future" I said softly.
After all, all of my current abilities came from Spirit power, and I had no idea how to teach Spirit arts to a human like Rikka.
"I think I'll go home, I want grandma to make me a snack" Aqua walked away as she looked tired.
This girl still didn't seem to care about morality, deceiving an old couple like that.
"Lux-sama, let's go to the practice ground" Rikka said as she pulled me away.
"Wait a minute! Origami, do you want to come?"
"No, I just remembered that I have some work to do"
"I see" With that, Rikka and I headed to the place where the other Club members went to practice.
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