Chapter 394
Side Story: The Last Tale – 1
Just because Eclipse joined doesn’t mean anything drastically changed or anything special happened. After all, Eclipse wanted to be treated as just a woman, not a goddess.
The only thing that happened was that the apartment got a bit bigger with the addition of Eclipse’s room.
The knights commanders were snacking as usual, sneaking out to tease me, while Kaiquilia and Aurora were busy playing Brightest Darkness 5, and Minerva was engrossed in research.
Recently, it seemed Minerva was trying to magically implement a computer, searching for related spells. I thought she’d figure it out herself, so I just encouraged her to keep at it. That kind of thing wasn’t my area of expertise anyway.
Nix still spent all day cooped up in my bed, fiddling around, and Stella and Selene just followed the popes around, occasionally clinging to me to satisfy their desires before disappearing.
Just two people were different.
“Ugh… loser?”
“Weakling Delta?!”
“…….”
Except for Floretta and Luna, who suddenly started spouting such lines.
Eclipse, dressed in the translucent robe over the popes’ sacred robes, with her hand covering her mouth, made the most bewildering statement.
It was probably because of Eclipse. Both “loser” and “weakling” were terms she used to provoke me in bed.
‘They don’t even believe it themselves.’
Moreover, those saying it had looks of doubt on their faces. They knew well that I wouldn’t fall for such a pathetic provocation.
Thinking about whose fault it was that this happened, the mere fact they had that look of doubt meant Floretta and Luna couldn’t possibly comprehend it.
‘No way it could work.’
At that moment, I’d been half out of my mind with excitement from seeing Eclipse’s body, so it worked on me. But now, even if a goddess said such a thing, I was confident I wouldn’t fall for it.
When I looked at them like, “What are you doing?”, Floretta and Luna started fidgeting with their fingers, their cheeks turning pink. They seemed to find it embarrassing.
“It’s the goddess, right?”
ㅡgulp.
It was a somewhat incomplete sentence, but it got straight to the point. Floretta and Luna shivered as if they had been caught red-handed.
It was obvious. They probably boasted about pinning me down and showing off whether I was a loser or not, with proud faces while being under me.
“Back then, the situation was special; I let it slide, but not now.”
“……Yes. I’m sorry, Delta.”
“Huh, ugh… this is embarrassing…”
Floretta and Luna twisted their bodies. Such behavior was utterly unfit for those two. They could call me loser or weakling, but rather than angering me, it just made them cute.
Eclipse often displayed strange sides, so it was easy to overlook her weird actions, but Floretta and Luna were far removed from that.
‘The only ones who would fit would be… Lize or Nix.’
Especially if impudent Nix or Lize acted like that, it could fit quite well. Polite Nix or Floretta had a somewhat ambiguous demeanor.
As I entertained the thought of trying it later, I approached the popes. Floretta and Luna trembled like little hamsters, and when I kindly wrapped my arms around their shoulders, their expressions immediately relaxed.
I sat down on the sofa with the two of them. They wormed in at my sides, their upper arms engulfed between my meaty limbs.
I tickled Floretta and Luna’s faces while looking into space and spoke.
“I know you’re watching or listening, goddess. Come on out.”
“…….”
There was no response. It was quiet.
Well, I didn’t expect her to come out after just one call. I withdrew my arms and grabbed one side of each of Floretta and Luna’s chests. Sweet moans flowed from them.
“Unless you come out, all the goddess’s turns will go to Floretta and Luna?”
“Th-That can’t be!”
Hearing that I’d take away the goddess’s turns and give them to me startled Floretta and Luna, who were enjoying my touch, and from somewhere came an urgent shout.
A portal opened right above the sofa. From it, Eclipse dropped down and crashed onto the floor. I lifted Floretta and Luna with magic, bringing them together to sit them down.
They were at a loss about what to do, then clung tightly to each other, glancing nervously at me. Their chests pressed softly against each other, and their side breasts peeked out from beneath their armpits.
Could that be part of a ploy to seduce me? I averted my gaze from the side breasts peeking out from under their armpits and pressed Eclipse.
“Why the heck did you teach that? You’ve only been here a day!”
“E-Eclipse doesn’t really know?”
“Stop talking in the third person. You’re the culprit, aren’t you?”
I had no idea who taught her to refer to herself in the third person. Did anyone here actually express themselves that way?
“I can’t be called a culprit since I’m a goddess—”
“Do you want to play word games?”
Hiccup.
Eclipse hiccupped but didn’t care at all.
“So, what’s the answer?”
“……You asked me how you could mix bodies with me for a month, so I just shared the method I used. After doing that, you got excited and jumped me.”
As I expected, everything that happened that day had been spilled as soon as we got back to the apartment.
And I learned from Eclipse how long we’d been mixing bodies—about a little over a month. Had time flowed normally, I would have left it stagnant for a whole month.
But aside from me, no one else was surprised at that long stretch of time. It was natural since the goddess and I were combined, so of course, that much would happen.
I felt like the only abnormal one in the room.
“Is that really all you did?”
“…….”
“Seriously?”
“Actually… I taught just a tiny bit more… just a little bit more…”
I urged her to continue with my eyes. Eclipse hesitated and replied.
“……Um, how to use a collar during play—”
“Goddess.”
“……Yes?”
“Go stand facing the wall with your hands up.”
As I stepped into the Holy Kingdom, I looked around.
On the streets, where not a sound from humans could be heard, it felt like a ghost town. I’d heard ever since the Holy Kingdom changed into a true Holy Realm, it had been like this for three days.
Only three days? You might think, but there was a good reason. While Eclipse and I mixed bodies those months, time had been frozen outside.
Had it not been so, everyone would have awakened and been active long ago.
‘There’s no damage at all from this state lasting a week?’
According to prophecy, this state was expected to last a week. They said no one would suffer material or mental damage, so for now, I decided to leave them be, as the goddess said.
Honestly, if it were the old me, I would have scoffed and tried to wake them up. It was that desolate and eerie a vibe.
Women dressed almost naked were lined up sprawled on the streets, and the men wrapped up completely were no exception; some were even fainted, leaning against a window.
‘Is this because there’s no damage?’
The people’s bodies were enveloped in golden or silver divine power. According to Eclipse, this was a process of strengthening faith and divine power.
It seemed the reason they could sleep unbothered for a week was due to this.
Moreover, the entire Holy Kingdom was surrounded by a barrier of light, making it impossible for outsiders to invade. It was said that when news of the Holy Realm appearing on the ground reached people, their faith and divine power temporarily exploded.
Even now, they caused a ruckus just by seeing me, and it became quite a headache, and now that my presence increased their faith and divine power, I couldn’t imagine what would happen next.
‘Looks like I won’t be coming back to the Holy Kingdom for about a hundred years.’
Resolutely, I continued to walk forward. I stopped in front of the marble statue that had begun to appear a while ago.
Standing at over 120m, with its head still unfinished, it would take decades, or even a century or more, to complete it at this snail’s pace.
‘……It’s the same here.’
The central plaza was no different. Many people gathered to carve my statue were also fainted, in the same kneeling and bowed postures, without exception.
Their heads were all facing the same direction.
The spot where I had landed.
Being careful not to step on people, I approached the Inquisitors. They too were fainted in the same kneeling and bowed positions.
I sent out waves of divine power to awaken them. As the waves passed over them, they stood up like puppets given the order to rise.
And with dazed expressions, they stared at me.
“……Did the Holy One awaken us?”
“Yeah. What I need to say—”
“Th-That the Holy One would treat us like this…?”
Bubbling, white foam began to rise in their mouths as if they had been given some bubble bath. Thud, once again, the Inquisitor and the questioner fainted.
“…….”
Seeing that scene, I was momentarily at a loss for words, then tried again. But the second time was the same. The Inquisitor and the questioner fainted as soon as they realized what was going on.
Suddenly, Eclipse’s last words came to mind—the provocation of saying not to worry and to try waking them if I could.
Did she know all along?
