Chapter 3 – Ramia, the strange goddess

A young woman of eighteen entered energetically, opening:

"Nugi, let's play♪"

…Is it a friendly nickname?

Her orange hair was short and straight, with two strands sticking out at the front; her eyes, emerald color; ears like those of an elf; full lips; a long tail with a leaf at the tip and a green scarf tied in half.

She was wearing a short zip-up sweatshirt with a hood and red cat ears, short tan jeans, socks with cat prints, and gold sneakers.

She wore a flat yellow marble pendant with a dot carved in the center.

"Ramia! How did you get in!?"

"The main door was open~♪" she answered, approaching as if it were his house.

"Ah! I forgot to close it…"

"Be more careful, it's dangerous~♪"

"Yes, I'm sorry… Were you free today? I mean: ring the bell; the only dangerous one is you!" She clarified, annoyed, pointing at her agitatedly.

"Something like that~♪ Isn't A there?" She asked with an ominous laugh.

…Aren't you abbreviating a name too much?

"I was busy today."

She approached to hug her, but Nugu pushed her away with both hands as if it were customary; The girl gave up satisfied. She closed her eyes grabbing her pendant and a chair like mine appeared in which she sat:

"Is it Chiouri's soul?"

…Was Chi a nickname?…

I felt Ramia uncomfortable with my presence, as if she had been expecting someone else.

"Yes, he came to get information."

"I see" She sighed in relief. "Although he will surely decide to go to mine~♪"

"No, Chi has confided it to me! I won't let anyone else have it!"

They kept talking as if I were a pet.

I took out the list to remember and guess which goddess she was:

Maid coffee, I'd probably wear a maid outfit.

Without sound, I imagined a mime with the typical black and white striped suit.

Thermal baths, a man in a loincloth?

Lazy, it could be his, being here meant she was lazy.

Demon kings, it had to be a man, it was impossible to fail.

Amusement parks, it could also be because of its appearance.

Ramia saw me with the list and snatched it from me; to some extent I disliked her.

"Let me see; interesting! Why is mine crossed out!?" she showed her, surprised.

"It's normal for her to be angry, I would be too," she replied annoyed, looking away.

…After removing me from the list like that, I'm sure she's done worse things.

"But…" She felt unheard of.

"What she did?" I asked out of curiosity; Nugu answered me:

"Chi never transferred a soul, she loves them and strives to make them happy; but she forcibly took some humans to hers, and not by the resurrection method."

"But they were not satisfied, it is not good to force someone to live where they are not happy; and the boss allowed me to…" she replied, puffing out his cheeks.

"Whatever the excuse, I was against it!"

"I think Ramia is right, as the client that I am" I intervened; she liked that I agreed with her and she returned the list to me. "But Nugu has it too." At that moment, she tried to snatch it away from me again; I predicted it and I dodged it.

I smirked at her when she failed, being stunned.

"You played me, huh!" She responded with a challenging look.

"So what goddess are you?"

"It's the games, there everything is decided through them."

"You had that option and you crossed it out!? Oh Ramia, my goddess, I am sorry for belittling you and doubting you."

"Muahaha, that's it: prostrate before me~♪" She laughed with an air of grandeur.

"Have you ever lost?"

"Are you referring to that word you use when you don't win?~♪"

"That's because you haven't played against me," I joked to evaluate his ability.

"Are you challenging me? ♪" A bright, defiant thread came out of her eyes.

"Let's play heads or tails, see if luck is with you."

"Interesting, I accept the duel♪"

"Nugu will be the judge, cheating will count as a defeat."

"Eh!? U-Understood." She accepted her position nervously.

"I have no problem with that♪" She grabbed the pendant, closed his eyes and a coin appeared that she caught in the air.

"Leave it to me, I can't trust a god who can cheat against someone who can't even feel them."

"It's not nice that you call someone a cheater without proof♪" She threw the coin and I caught it.

I checked that the sides were different: one was a cat and the other a soul.

"Let's decide before launching, the beautiful girls first, I'll choose the counterpart," I flattered to lower his guard and have a better chance of winning.

"Well, with your permission, I choose the one with the cat♪" She directed a smile at Nugu and she felt a shiver.

"Well…, first of all, the loser will obey the winner. How about?"

She doubted my request, but confidently accepted:

"I accept, but only one♪"

"Perfect." I picked up the coin, bent down and let it fall without knocking the cat over. She turned alone, forcing her to win; Nugu and I stared at her in silence.

Playing dumb, she looked to the side, whistling as if she didn't know anything:

"I have won, today is my lucky day♪" She acted out his false victory.

"Judge, your verdict"

"Eh… Hum… Chi's soul is the winner."

"Is it strange that a soul does not have a name?"

"Only the gods carry one, because the time a soul spends with us is ephemeral♪" she explained to change the subject.

"I see. Don't forget our deal~. So is this the first time you've lost?" I reminded her maliciously.

"But you cheated, you don't know how to play, you have to flip the coin! In the air! It is logical!" She stressed desperately.

"I was testing if it fell without problem. Or did I at some point say let's get started? My victory was decided before starting. It is impossible that you always win in a game of chance."

Embarrassed, she fell on her butt to the ground:

"'I was determined before starting.' Ugh! You remind me of those cheating brothers…"

"Let's see what I'll do to you~" I said to scare her; she started to have chills with teary eyes and covered her chest.

"Nugu, help me," she begged, raising his arm toward her; Nugu, disappointed, pretended not to know anything.

"Calm down, I won't do anything to you, I don't even know what to ask for." I calmed her by stroking her head just like Nugu.

…You couldn't fulfill what I want either, I don't expect anything from you…

She was surprised without understanding my action; she calmed down and got up.

"Do you want me to make tea?" Nugu invited.

"Do you feel hungry and thirsty?"

"No, but we can taste what we digest without it affecting our body much. It's like a hobby."

"I will reject the offer, the purpose of my visit was because we have a meeting with the boss; You come too, soul of Chiouri ♪" she ordered, pointing at me.

"A-A meeting? I-I haven't had one in a while."

"I'm not a god, it shouldn't concern me."

"Well, well♪ You're not in a hurry to choose♪ Are you?" She remembered smiling.

She was not wrong, she would take the opportunity to see what the proclaimed gods were doing.

Before we left, Ramia's chair and coin vanished into whitish particles that returned to her.

The three of us left the house and went up the path I took with Chiouri.

"Are you going to take it with you?" I asked Nugu referring to the stuffed animal.

"Of course, how else would I use my powers?"

…Is it that powerful?

Ramia enjoyed holding back a laugh; Nugu noticed and got angry:

"I-I'm not carrying a stuffed animal because I'm a girl!"

…And the ones you had stacked?

I changed the subject before the looks they exchanged in front of me:

"If you are friends of Chiouri, are the rest too?"

"Not really, she doesn't get along with Ramia; but A, Gena…, Mugon and I are her friends," she mentioned thoughtfully.

"Hey, I consider she my friend even if it's not mutual♪"

"Then it was no coincidence that these were chosen for me." Five of the eight were his friends.

"Although Yuta is amazing, and my friend; Big Demon and Iko are difficult to deal with, but they are not bad." Nugu smiled an angelic smile.

…Even if you say their names, I don't know who you are referring to… Except Big Demon who looks like he is who I think he is.

"Why isn't this universe closed like Chiouri's?"

"T-This one is too, it's an invisible barrier," Nugu said with a strange performance.

"When Chiouri looked like this to me, she seemed surprised. I have monkeys in the face?"

"M-Monkeys??"

"The first time you shape a soul, it usually takes on the appearance of the person you most appreciated or remember♪"

…It may be understandable that she was scared to see a loved one after so long… But I'm sure she wanted to strangle me…

"Maybe he was her lover♪"

"R-Ramia!" Nugu intervened angrily at her comment.

"Sorry♪…"

They didn't want to talk much, so I didn't inquire. We reached the fog; Ramia closed her eyes and held the pendant.