Chapter 4 – Gathering of Gods

"It's intuition, but do you use powers to travel through this tunnel?"

"Yes♪ You can imagine a computer desktop where each folder is a universe, we travel from folder to folder or return to the desktop♪"

"Shouldn't you have been a teacher instead of a goddess?"

"If the opportunity presents itself, I will do it♪"

When crossing the fog, the tunnel had no walls or ceiling: it was like being in space with bluish glows; the ground was a luminescent purple; dice and stuffed cats floated out of reach.

"It's different from the one I crossed with Chiouri."

"This space is called TIS: Tunnels Individual Singularized. In other words: a personal tunnel that we customize. Don't worry, you can't fall and they're not dangerous, they all have the same dimensions," Ramia explained; walking, she slid her index finger to an invisible wall, revealing the boundaries by bluish particles where she did so. I tried to play and it was just as she said.

Upon crossing, there was a castle hallway with its red carpet that seemed to lead to the throne where the ruler would be in his typical royal chair.

It was illuminated by natural light from three large hollow windows ending in an arch on each side; from the landscape I saw, we were above the clouds.

Ramia put her finger in front of her lip to keep Nugu quiet.

We went to the large door of pure gold with engravings of someone covered from head to toe in bandages and, as we approached, it opened.

It was dark inside, I felt a kind of déjà vu. In the center was a sofa throne and a low glass table with a laptop on.

Without realizing it, a black cat was rubbing on my feet: its left eye was orange and the other purple. Instinctively, I bent down to pet him when he exposed his belly. In one of my past lives I took care of quite a few, so I knew how to pet them.

Nugu, envying him, stood next to him on three legs hugging his hedgehog so that she would do the same to him. Even though she was half human, her feline instincts took over. She looked at me intensely, she wanted me to do it at all costs, she was so cute that I agreed to her request; I used the left on her sparingly so she wouldn't purr.

Ramia also got on all fours, I felt like she was making fun of me, so I played along. She bumped her head against Nugu's and Nugu, like a cat fight, hit her on the head in anger.

I stroked his chin as if it were a cat.

"Good girl, then I'll let you drink my special milk," I joked as revenge to scare Ramia.

…The skin and bone hardness of both are equal to that of a human…

"S-Special milk!? I also want!" Nugu demanded with emotion and innocence.

"You wouldn't want to…"

Ramia understood and walked away; she affected more than planned. I partly understood her, not even I was used to vulgar jokes, I promised myself not to repeat it:

"I don't know how to react to the different ways in which you take a joke… I'll lower the level."

The lights turned on and the cat disappeared.

The architecture was reminiscent of a church in the shape of a cross, with a presbytery behind some steps.

More than a throne, it was a geek's room: full of shelves with cases, mangas and novels in the transept.

Seven more people appeared around us: three boys and four girls, among them Chiouri; one resembled a human, with a facial feature similar to that of someone I met as if she were the spitting image of her older sister.

Sitting on the throne was that cat, transforming into a girl more mature than Ramia, she must have been around twenty-five: her hair was black with a white gradient with touches of pink; her eyes were the same as the cat's; her left pupil was a spiked ball and the other was a snowflake.

She wore golden bandages that wrapped his wrists, his chest and another that served as shorts; the detached tips turned cyan blue. She exposed her skin and curves: her body was, without a doubt, that of a goddess. Her nails were painted yellow.

"Muahaha, I wouldn't mind drinking it," she commented from his throne.

I hoped she knew what a joke was.

"On second thought, it would be illegal to give it to such young and beautiful girls."

Nugu was embarrassed with an awkward smile, although it was ironic.

"Being a goddess and being so old, I don't think there is illegality, muahaha."

…I don't even want to imagine it, but I guess she's the boss.

"Indeed, muahaha."

…Can you read minds?

"Indeed, muahaha."

…It seems unreal… If you really can, remove the cloth from your chest.

She lifted it from the middle and stopped halfway.

"Did you think I would? Muahaha."

…It wouldn't be new to see a naked woman, even goddesses can be immature.

"Until I take it off, you won't be happy!? Is that!?" She picked her up again, whimpering, as if she were a teenager playing god.

"You won't prove anything either… Didn't you have a meeting?"

She cleared his throat and began:

"I have brought you together to talk about you." She looked at me with an unpleasant look.

"Have I done something wrong? Apart from annoying and making Nugu feel good until she is exhausted, winning Ramia on the condition of fulfilling one of my whims and offering them my special milk?" Everyone looked at me in silence. "It was a joke," I clarified, "or not entirely…"

…I don't know your humor.

"I let myself win on purpose… On purpose♪" she stressed with an awkward smile.

"Promises must be kept."

The supreme goddess, serious, continued:

"You treat them like children, you don't believe in gods: you hate them, because they don't fulfill your dreams. How do I know? I am god, I know every drop!" She exclaimed, extending his arms with an air of grandeur. At that moment, a notification was heard on his laptop. "Excuse me… A new chapter, I wonder what will happen after that, ah! I want to see it now!"

I was speechless, the rest of the room laughed discreetly at such stupidity.

…This is what is considered a god?… And you laugh at that!!?

The supreme goddess, embarrassed, continued as if nothing had happened:

"Your effort was in vain, because it did not depend only on you, which is why it would never be fulfilled. Not even that of resting eternally, which is why you hate and despise them."

The girl I was comparing looked surprised; thinking, she lowered her head. The goddess took one look at her and she was stunned.

"And it's the truth, right? Even though I hate you, it doesn't mean I'm going to do something bad, there's no point in discussing the inevitable. I don't care what speech you have prepared, I won't change my ideals," I said with a mixture of feelings: helplessness, melancholy and tiredness.

"Yes, I do not deny that, even if I am God, I cannot do everything: I have my limitations. Ramia, what do you think of him after the mission?"

…A god with limitations is a farce… Did she really lose on purpose? Why ask if she can hear thoughts?

"It's exhausting and a headache to read several people, muahaha."

"It's not as bad as it seems, it's been fun to play with it as I wanted~♪"

…Why do they have to give their opinion about me? I was also entertained, although I'm not interested in them.

"Muahaha. Nugu and Chiouri?"

"H-His caresses are soft and warm… He can't be a bad person!"

…That makes no sense, Nugu; although in your case: it has no tail or ears…

"I wanted to leave my universe… Even though it's full of hate…, it may be justified… I don't think it's bad…" Chiouri justified, like a mother who cannot criticize or belittle her son; despite my goddess's words, she avoided eye contact with me.

…Hating without reason would be absurd. What do they want to achieve? If I'm bad, will they lock me up?

"Muahaha, Chiouri never transferred a soul. Who wouldn't want to meet you?" She crossed her legs and, with her palm up, she pointed at me diligently, up to no good.

"And what was the need for them to come?" I indicated towards my goddess's group.

"They are the representatives in charge of the universes on your list."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"In fact, we don't know the reason either," one of them clarified kindly.

He was a respectable man of thirty with short, disheveled hair, a sparsely groomed beard, and black eyes. He wore a reddish-lined tuxedo vest; below him, a striped blue t-shirt along with a blood-colored tie; red pants and black sneakers. Hooked with a chain to his pants, he was carrying a pocket watch.

The goddess lay down with her back to us and scratched her butt under her cloth, supporting her head with her right hand.

I couldn't stop thinking about how unbelievable what I was witnessing was.

She stopped and raised his hand, moving it from side to side as if she were going to say something unimportant:

"He's your new partner, treat him accordingly."

I was stunned, I felt my heart freeze.

"Eh!" those present exclaimed in surprise, except for a girl asleep on top of a giant stuffed turtle and that girl who I didn't recognize.

"Wait! Wait! That!?"

"It means that you will be a god; better said: you already are."

My physical appearance changed, and I maintained my height.

"Eh! But… Eh!!" Desperate, the words didn't come out. "I'm not interested in playing god, I don't want your job, I want the opposite!" Depressed and tired, I dropped to all fours. I still wore my goddess's shackle on my wrist. "This is hell? No, it would be much better! There at least they would kindly pulverize my soul. Is this what you call desperation?" I lay down completely on the floor. "I'd be happier lying here for the rest of my life."

"Muahaha, don't be so negative, I won't force you to work; if you wish, you can stay at the Chiouri, Ramia, Nugu or even Mugon ranch."

I knelt before Nugu and held her hand as if I were asking her to marry me.

"Nugu, please, I'm counting on you; I want to be with you."

My new priority was to avoid living with my goddess and freezing to death.

Nugu looked at the ground embarrassedly, her bangs covered her eyes and her cheeks turned red.

"I-If you promise to caress me every day…, I-I wouldn't mind…" she demanded with a soft voice, raised his head and looked at me with pure innocence.

"Of course, I'm counting on you!" I hugged her as if she were my goddess of salvation, and she caressed her head with her tiny hand.

"Then it's decided," she declared with a warm smile.

I got up and looked at the ruler:

"And what god am I?"

"I don't know, the lolicon title is free in case you're interested, muahaha. It is not something that is decided overnight."

…My jokes are better…

"And my name?"

"Are you a baby who doesn't choose for himself? I would like you to get along with the rest, to be taught the basics: the powers, the rules, the customs and all that. Finally, I gave you a gift, muahaha."

…Rules never bring anything good.

"Thanks to someone, I'm not in the mood to choose it now… What gift?"

…No one expects to be God from one day to the next, it is normal not to have anything prepared.

"Muahaha, you'll find out soon. And if you don't mind, I would like to see the new episode; I don't have time to keep an eye on you." She finished, fanning her hand.

…If this is heaven, it was worse than I imagined.

The supreme goddess looked at me and made a superior smile.

…It wasn't a compliment, and stop reading me.

The nine gods and I were in the hall to introduce ourselves.

A large stuffed animal was moved by the girl who slept on it: she seemed to be the same age as Nugu; her wavy violet hair reached her hips; She was wearing a pair of pajamas with a ruffled skirt and long brown sleeves, with white openings and wavy lines near them, also with a button and a green bow tie; She was wearing mismatched socks: a short white one and a long black one.

Ramia disappeared a while ago.

"You'll be tired, I haven't seen her excited in a while," that kind man revealed. "Let me introduce myself: I am Yuta, also known as the god of amusement parks; nice to meet you. You can always stop by my universe to have fun." He shook my hand.

…Moved? Rather heavy and annoying.

"The pleasure is mine." I humored her and shook her. I had nothing to comment, I was not prepared and did not know how to act.

The girl who looked most like a human approached. She looked in her early twenties; Like her eyes, his short, wavy, tousled dark brown hair reached to her chin; on her right cheek she had a sticker of a children's penguin.

She wore a black neck warmer with orange accents; with a cute black sleeveless high-neck dress; the skirt of her dress had openings with orange prints of different animals and, thanks to these, a skirt of the same color could be seen underneath.

She wore long black and orange striped stockings that gave her a sexy touch on her thighs; and some black boots.

Unlike what I had seen so far, her bust was small but firmer than Ramia's.

Her smile was warm, she signed as if she were mute: she pointed at me and then at herself, then she grabbed her hands, but I didn't understand sign language.

She noticed and took a small notebook out of his pocket, wrote and showed it happily:

«My name is Mugon, goddess of soundlessness, I would love for us to get along, a pleasure★»

She made an angelic smile, it made me sad that someone like that didn't have the ability to speak.

I didn't want her to notice and, without thinking, I stroked her head.

"The pleasure is mine, I hope we get along well."

…Although it bothers me that she looks like a human…

I wasn't expecting anything from any present, I forced a smile and looked out the window.

At that moment I remembered these words: "You treat them like children."

Mugon slowly broke his smile. I was surprised when I pulled my hand away and saw that she was crying.

"Are you ok? It was not my intention…"

«It's not that, I'm happy. I'm glad to meet you, I didn't expect you to receive me so well.» She showed with difficulty.

"Don't talk nonsense, you're cute and kind, why would I treat you badly?" I flattered to reassure her.

…Did you expect her to receive it badly? She looks human, but she is not to blame for her physical appearance…

Nugu approached and hugged Mugon; she did the same, her height difference forcing her to crouch down.

"If it hurts you, you can tell me: that's what friends are for."

She nodded her head.

This time a demon man in his twenties with short bluish hair and red eyes approached; he had two black horns on his head, one was broken in half; There was a horizontal scar on his nose. He was wearing a long black trench coat with a high collar; an aquamarine t-shirt; Charcoal pants and boots.

"It's my turn! Listen well! I am Big Demon, god of demon kings! Everyone fears me, I'm at the top of…!"

Nugu approached me, I crouched down and whispered in my ear:

"See? But he doesn't do it with bad intentions…"

"Are you sure?" I questioned her quietly.

"What are you whispering!? If you want me to treat you equally, you better kneel before me!"

"Who said I want to be your friend?" I insinuated without scruple.

"I didn't mean that… I-It doesn't matter if you don't kneel…" He changed to a timid attitude.

…How annoying, he talks with superiority and is tsundere, now I understand Nugu.

"Well… I wouldn't mind being one," I responded with false hopes to get him to stop talking.

"I don't need friends, only slaves! This world would be rotten without me…!" He continued spouting nonsense alone.

Another with red bandages who must have been around the same age hid behind Chiouri. Her well-groomed pure red hair was straight and fine, covered one of her eyes and reached before her chest; She had a braid falling in an arc on the upper right part with an elastic band of a bat biting a star; and her eyes were like pure gold.

His neck was bandaged; she was wearing a loose short-sleeved t-shirt of a double perpendicular color: up to the chest it was white with the design of little red stars, and the bottom was red with the same but white; white shorts; some bandages served as stockings and whitish slippers.

Her hands and forearms were bandaged and she turned her arm around nervously. She looked at me without saying a word, her eyes were hypnotizing, once you looked at them she seemed to absorb you.

"It's Gena…, the goddess of the maid café; she is shy...…, and my friend," Chiouri explained; Gena nodded.

…One who speaks with many pauses and another who is shy: the perfect combo.

The strange thing was that she wasn't dressed as a maid.

"I hope we get along well."

She reaffirmed; I smiled, happy that the conversation ended so quickly and she looked at me annoyed.

Finally, someone half-naked in his early twenties approached: he had long hair; blue eyes and ears like those of Nugu; some short brown linen jeans and some flip flops. He had long scars all over his body: one on his left shoulder, two on his chest, one on his belly and two on his right leg.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and rubbed his hair:

"Iko, thermal baths." He marched to the exit, raised her bangs and disappeared.

"Forgive him, when he's dry he can't stay still," Yuta clarified as if they were friends.

…I feel like I'm getting dizzy.

"At the end of the day he accepted me into his universe. Wasn't there someone else?"

"Yes, Sleeping Beauty," Yuta mentioned.

"A is missing, the goddess wanders. She's gone, I think she didn't know what happened. Since I made her that stuffed animal she has been asleep longer," Nugu replied repentantly with an awkward smile.

"No problem. I would like to lie down and think clearly, we should go back."

Nugu stated, we both said goodbye and left; I didn't even want to imagine what they would think of me.

Nugu's TIS was simple: an elegant hallway with built-in shelves filled with stuffed animals.

"Is there also a day and night cycle?" I asked, contemplating the dusk already on the road.

"Yes, the soul of our bodies needs to sleep and rest. Once inside, I will teach you the absolute rules."

"She could have shown them to me, while we were there."

I felt strange: tired and dizzy.

Once at home, barely holding on and upon entering his room, I lost consciousness. My mind went blank, my thoughts and senses ceased to exist. As if it were a white T-shirt, a blue stain fell on me, devouring my existence.