Chapter 84: Dialogue
The cave was filled with the high-pitched voice of the crying Killing Machine . I spoke to the Killing Machine using the earth snake microphone .
「Hey . Can you hear me? 」
「Ugh, Agh…Ah, Ye…Yes! 」
「I am Listarte . You can call me Lista . Do you have a name? 」
「No, I don’t . 」
「Okay, let’s see…You sound like a girl . Then, what about “Kiriko”? I could call you “Kiri”!* It’s a good name!」
On this instant…
*cries aloud*
The crying was getting louder and louder by the minute .
「So…Sorry!! You dislike that name, right!? I just said “Kiriko” because it’s an easy way to remember since it’s an abbreviated form of Killing Machine!!」
「Ugh…That’s not it…! I…I am so happy…! 」
「Eh? 」
「Because I never thought I’d have a name for myself…! It feels like a dream…! 」
Tha…Thank goodness! “She” seemed to be pleased with the name!
I told Kiriko to rest assured because those earth snakes around her body were harmless .
「…Okay . I have to go now . 」
「Miss Lista . You’re leaving already? I’m so lonely…Ugh… 」
She was going to cry again!! Hmm…What should I do…
「Kiri! Wait a second! 」
When I left the cave, I opened the portal that led to the Flower Garden of the God’s realm .
—
The Goddess of Earth was wearing a straw hat under the beautiful sky without clouds…Mariya, the ONEE deity, was watering some flowers with a water pot .
「Ah, excuse me, Lady Mariya . Hello… 」
This was the first time I’ve met with Mariya since the incident where Seiya buried her in the muddy ground and stepped on her head .
「Oh my . Hello there . 」
Mariya greeted me with a robust male voice . It seemed that she didn’t care to hide her secret from me anymore . But, when I saw Mariya’s face, I became even more surprised . There was a blue beard growing on her face . It looked as if she didn’t take care of her skin lately .
Mariya laughed slightly when she saw how stunned my eyes were .
「Rumors about me have spread since then . The other gods found out that I was an ONEE deity . I didn’t tell them myself, but somehow, it feels kinda strange and refreshing that all of them know about me now . That’s why I don’t resent Seiya cutie anymore . 」
「Is…Is that so! I’m glad for you! 」
「Well, if I have the chance, I’d like to dig him from behind . 」
「Didn’t you just say that you don’t resent him anymore!?…By…By the way, Lady Mariya! I have a request to make…」
I pointed to the cute pink flowers that I spotted early on .
「Can I have those flowers? 」
「Oh my . That’s totally fine . I’ll put them on a beautiful and grand flowerpot so that it would be easy to carry them with pride . 」
「No, please…Just give them to me on a normal flowerpot…! 」
—
After I received the flowers from Mariya, I went back to the cave where Kiriko was isolated .
「…Ugh . Ugh . 」
I could hear her sobs from all over the cave .
「Kiri? 」
「Ah! Miss Lista! 」
I invoked the portal on the muddy wall to make a connection between my place and the cave where Kiriko was standing still . I just opened the portal’s door a little bit and…
「Here! 」
I closed the portal immediately after throwing the flowers I’ve got from the God’s realm .
「Ah . Excuse me . Miss Lista? But, did the flowers just fly here with a great speed…? 」
That’s right . This was the only way to give the flowers to Kiriko without going through the portal .
I spoke through the earth snake microphone .
「Kiri! Those flowers are for you! 」
「For…For me? 」
「Yes! They’re beautiful, aren’t they? 」
「Ye…Yes! Extremely beautiful! And…I felt relieved to speak to you again! 」
「Okay . So, you won’t cry anymore? 」
「Yes! I’ll do my best! 」
I heard Kiriko’s voice from afar when I tried to leave the cave with the earth snake microphone .
「Miss Lista…Will you come to see me again? 」
「Yeah! Of course! 」
I responded to Kiriko with a smile .
—
The next day .
After I saw the whole area of Tarmine full of golems, I asked Seiya the following .
「It seems that the scenery didn’t change that much from yesterdays . How many golems did you create so far?」
I waited for a while, but there was no reply .
「…Seiya? 」
This hero was always quiet and secretive . But, today, Seiya was quieter than usual . I stared closely at him and I noticed that he was staring at a single point in the distance . He looked like a firm statue as if he didn’t have a beating heart . It was obviously strange .
「Hey, Seiya! 」
I shook his shoulders . Still, he didn’t answer me .
「Hey!? Are you okay!? 」
I became increasingly worried . Therefore, I shook his shoulders violently .
*cracking sound*
…I heard a dry sound as if something broke . On this moment, Seiya’s lower arm came off from his shoulder!
「*screams* I…I got your arm!? I…I’m truly sorry!!!!!! 」
I heard Seiya’s voice from afar while I was apologizing non-stop for breaking his arm .
「…What are you doing? 」
「Ah, Seiya!! You know, Seiya, I just touched Seiya’s arm and it suddenly fell from your shoulder…What…Ehhhhhh!?」
I became utterly confused to see two Seiyas, one that looked at me with piercing eyes, and the other one that I broke the arm .
「That’s my Shadow Warrior** . I created a muddy doll with earth magic . 」
「Ah…Is that so . I see . But, a Shadow Warrior!? Why do you need such a thing!? 」
「I can’t have a peaceful mind just because I’m in Tarmine . There might be people lurking around waiting for an opportunity to slice my neck . 」
「Seiya, do you mean that the citizens of Tarmine might want to attack you!? The…There’s no way that…」
…“they’ll attack you . ” That’s what I wanted to say . But, I couldn’t . I’ve seen many times how people here had a grudge against Seiya for not saving this world before .
「My biggest enemy may not be the Demon King, but rather a human being . 」
「That’s a big overstatement you know…! 」
At that time, a merchant-looking man came from behind Seiya’s back with a smile . This man carried a huge luggage with him and held medicinal herbs on one of his hands .
Seiya, who noticed the shadowy presence, looked back at a tremendous speed, and grabbed that man’s chest .
「What!? 」
「Hey, you . Are you a thug? 」
「I…I’m not! I’m just a merchant! 」
「Who hired you? 」
「No…No one hired me! I just wondered if you’ll take these medicinal herbs… 」
It seemed that Seiya didn’t believe that man’s words at all . I tried to stand between them, and Seiya finally took his hand away from that man .
「Listen . Don’t sneak behind my back ever again . Next time…I’ll kill you . 」
「What kind of hero are you!! 」
I yelled at the hero who looked like a hitman . The merchant was just a mere merchant . Poor man, he immediately ran away while crying aloud .
After the outrage, Seiya walked away as if nothing happened at all .
「Hey, wait a moment! Where are you going? 」
「I’m going to a lookout tower . I originally wanted to go straightaway, but my time was delayed considerably because I’ve met you on the way there . 」
「Tower? Why…Ah…C’mon! Wait for me! 」
I followed Seiya, who headed for the lookout tower . The Queen and John Dae were at the top of tower .
「Why did you call us to come to this place? 」
John Dae asked that question with a suspicious look . Apparently, Seiya called them in advance .
However, without answering, Seiya held his hands to the sky in silence . Then, he muttered the following words .
「…Iron Dome . 」
Then, a huge roar coming from the earth was heard everywhere . The Great Iron Wall, that surrounded Tarmine, began to extend towards the sky! After stretching for a while, the wall bent inward and changed its shape! It covered Tarmine like an umbrella!
「*everybody shouts* Wha…Wha…Wha…What!! 」
John Dae and I were taken aback with amazement . The walls extended from all directions in the sky . Soon, the sunlight was completely blocked by this dome .
Seiya spoke amidst the dark space .
「The walls will transform into a dome during air raids . It consumes my MP, but this method can completely prevent attacks from the sky . 」
「You can’t do this without explaining to us first! It’s suddenly dark and the people are screaming!」
「That’s why I called you here . I want you to inform the people of Tarmine about this . They don’t need to panic when they see the dome during air raids . They can rest assured . 」
Eventually, a rumbling sound was heard from above . It seemed that the dome was reverting and we gradually saw the blue sky once again . The stretched wall gradually shrunk back and returned to its original position .
「I will revert it back like this once the danger is gone . 」
「We…We don’t even know if the enemy really has a flying type . Why prepare this much for an air raid that won’t happen…right?」
John Dae whispered in indignation . But, the Queen just smiled .
「Well, better something than nothing . At least, everyone in Tarmine will be safe, right?」
After the Queen professed those words, Seiya walked away and opened the door of the room in the lookout tower . This was the room where the Queen was held prisoner before . I noticed that several buckets of water were lined up inside .
「Se…Seiya . What now? 」
When Seiya snapped his finger, the water reflected different sceneries from the landscape .
「The images that my earth snakes see are usually projected to my eyes . However, I thought of a way of allowing everybody to see what’s going on through the various places of Tarmine . 」
Camera…The people on this world wouldn’t know about this . But, in fact, this was like a “surveillance camera” . With this, we were going to see the movement of the Imperial Machine Corps just like Seiya did once before .
…An iron wall that transformed into a dome during an air raid .
…Multiple surveillance cameras installed around the perimeter of Tarmine .
Tarmine became a high-tech fortress .
「Lista . Open the portal . I’m heading to Galvano right now . 」
「What are you going to do in Galvano? 」
「I expected that the second enemy would come here immediately . But, it seems that we still have some time . Therefore, I want to take advantage of the remaining free time to create in Galvano a similar degree of protection that I made in Tarmine…」
—
The following day .
Seiya went back and forth vigorously between Galvano and Tarmine to strengthen the defense mechanisms . At first, John Dae went to see the situation, but he got bored . So, he stopped accompanying Seiya on this quest . He remained by the Queen’s side in Tarmine afterwards .
I had free time to spend in Tarmine after I invoked the portal for Seiya to go to Galvano . I thought that he wouldn’t want me to tag along with him based on his mood . So, I didn’t go .
In my spare time, I spoke with the Queen . And then, I went to see how Kiriko was faring in the cave .
「*laughs*…The story of Mister Seiya is very interesting! 」
「You can laugh by hearing this story . But, you would get tired immediately if you were near him, you know?」
I spoke with Kiriko through the earth snake microphone . Even though she didn’t know who Seiya was, Kiriko laughed happily when she heard that Seiya made a dome to prepare against an attack from the sky .
Suddenly, I realized something and asked Kiriko the following .
「But, this talk sounds complicated for the both of us, right? After all, Kiri’s dad is the Machine Emperor Oxelio…」
「Ye…Yes . It would be ideal if my Father and Mister Hero were to become friends through some discussion . 」
It was obvious that a peaceful relationship between a hero and a monster would be impossible to achieve . I changed the topic because my feelings became messy somehow .
「So, how about the flowers? 」
「Well…you see, they’re not feeling very well . 」
Kiriko took the flowers from a small pot and showed them to me from the wall between our caves . The flowers were wilting and the soil was dry .
「Ah!! Water!! I forgot to give you some water!! 」
「Water…? Does that mean that they don’t have enough nutrition? Then, how about I give them some of my machine oil?」
「No! They will wither 100% with oil! Wait a second! I’ll bring you some water now! 」
I hurriedly went back to the surface and I pumped water out of a well in Tarmine . I put the water on a bucket and rushed to the cave . I invoked the portal and entered Kiriko’s cave . Then, I immediately poured some water on the flowerpot . The soil was thirsty for some water that it absorbed it in a blink of an eye .
「Whoa…! I feel relieved now! 」
Then, I heard Kiriko’s voice behind me .
「Miss…Lista… 」
And, I noticed what happened just now! I entered Kiriko’s cave even though Seiya forbid me to enter!
…I…I did it!! Oh my god!! Seiya told me not to enter!! But, I entered the cave by impulse!! I didn’t even realized it!
「I finally…meet you face to face…Miss…Lista… 」
「Ki…Kiri? It can’t be…! You’re kidding, right…? 」
However, it was not Kiriko’s usual voice . Kiriko approached me and stretched her robotic arm on my direction .
「Ple…Please…Don’t!! 」
I felt eminent danger, so I screamed extremely high . Nonetheless…Kiriko took my hand and waved up and down in a very exciting manner . She spoke with a vigorous voice .
「I meet Miss Lista for the first time! I am impressed! 」
「Eh… 」
「You’re wonderful! Your hair and face are so beautiful! I wished I could be like you! 」
「Is…Is that so? 」
Tha…Thank goodness! I knew that this child was not a bad monster!
「…But, it seems that the flowers aren’t energetic yet . 」
The flowers were still wilting even though I poured some water on them . I wondered if I were too late .
「Wait . I’ll try to save them myself . 」
I activated my healing powers to save the flowers . I tried to heal them by placing my hand on them as if I were curing an injured person .
Eventually…the dying flowers rose up and gained vitality .
「They’re fine now! 」
…But, actually, I did my best to cure mere wilted flowers . Seiya would call me a fool if he knew about this…
Although my heart was conflicted, Kiriko was excited that she even waved her arms repeatedly .
「It’s amazing! Miss Lista, it’s a miracle! 」
「No, well . You know, I’m a goddess after all . 」
「Goddesses are amazing! How delightful! It’s too great! 」
It’s has been a long time since I was praised this much . I felt like I was going to ascend to heaven myself .
「Yes! That’s right! I’m greater than Seiya, you know! 」
「Miss Lista! I respect you! 」
Ah…What a great feeling! Yes, that’s correct! I was a goddess that could perform miracles!
When I regained my dignity as a goddess…
*ringing phone*
The earth snake microphone that I put on my chest began to ring .
「Mi…Miss Lista!? What’s that!? 」
「Ah, this is an earth snake microphone . Kiri, be quiet for a moment . 」
I put the snakes’ tail to my ears and the head onto my mouth .
「Hello, Seiya? Are you in Galvano? Or did you return to Tarmine by now? 」
I heard a low voice from the earth snake microphone-turned phone .
『…Did you use the portal to enter the cave with the Killing Machine? 』
「Ehhhhh!? Ho…How do you know about that!? 」
『All of your actions are so predictable . 』
Seiya began to reprimand me without stopping . I kept bowing my head in apology .
「I’m really sorry…But, I wasn’t attacked…Ah…Yes…I know that’s not the problem here…I’m sorry…It’s just as you say…Yes…I’ll keep it in mind from now on…No, this time I really mean it…Eh…Yes…I’m sorry…You told me that before…Yes…I’m truly sorry…Yes…Okay…Excuse me…Yes…Bye…」
After the earth snake phone call was over…
「Mi…Miss Lista…Are you okay? 」
Somehow, I managed to show her thumbs up . However, my fingers were shaking, my face was pale white, and my magnificence of a goddess had completely disappeared .