Chapter 75
Ch 75 -- The Companion Goddesses (Part 1)
Before Sui and I returned to to our room Fer reminded me, "Shouldn't you be making an offering to Ninril-sama sometime soon?"
His reminder was a surprise. It's not been a week since the previous offering but I had completely forgotten about it. Again. It might help, shameless goddess if you sent me an oracle from time to time to remind me... Saying that though she can get a bit shrill when she starts complaining to me telepathically about me being late with the offerings.
I opened up the Net Super and started rummaging through the menus to choose what I'd offer up this time.
"Western confectionery and Japanese sweets seem to be to her taste, so what would be good this time around...?"
This world doesn't have chocolate or other such sweets from my world. I also need to think about choosing snacks that will keep for a while. That disappointing goddess will have to wait a week after this offering before I make the next one after all.
I decided to put American chocolate-chip cookies in the Net Super's shopping cart, about twenty packs or so. I thought that would satisfy her for a time but when I went to buy them that shrill voice which had become distressingly familiar recently echoed in my head.
"Insufficient. I want more." Twenty packs of chocolate-chip cookies, and you still want more?
"How much sugary food can you eat?" I enquired, a vision of a fat goddess appearing in my mind. The deplorable megami-sama was silent, for once.
OK then, what else do you want?
"Hufufufu, I was waiting for you to ask. Some of those Western-style cakes and puddings and daifuku and sweet bean jelly and, oh I absolutely must get some dorayaki and..." I held up my hand, hold on hold on. That's quite a big order to keep track of. I ticked them off on my finger. Cake and pudding, daifuku, youkan jelly and plenty of dorayaki? That's it...
Right then, cake? I chose Mont Blanc and chocolate cake and added them to the cart. Pudding, the same custard pudding and pudding a la mode as before. Daifuku, I bought two bean daifuku and two strawberry daifuku and followed up with a complete box of youkan jelly. Oh, and 'absolutely' dorayaki, three off. Will that do?
"Fine, fine. Just hurry it up." Don't rush me, disappointing goddess.
"Wow, no, no, no, why are you here?" The goddess said in a squeaky voice.
"Nice to meet you, other-world-guy-kun." A different female voice sounded in my head.
"The same, other-world-guy." Yet another female voice chimed in, gruffer than the previous one.
"........................" Yet another voice? Huh? What? Who?
"I saw what was going on the other day, Ninril-chan receiving delicious sweets from a different world. She was keeping it a secret from her fellow gods and goddesses to monopolise the source. Sneaky, huh? So I told everyone what she was doing, eating delicious sweets all by herself."
Oh, they are companions of the goddess. So the secret is out, finally.
"Don't hide yourself away, Ninril-chan. If you are eating delicious things, please let us know."
"That's right. It's not fair if it's only you who gets to eat such sweets."
"... ..." (A silent voice nodded in my head)
"Sh- sh- Shut up! Th- th- this guy, I- I gave him my blessing, it's the only reason I get offerings and prayers from him! Th- th- that's why it doesn't concern you lot." The deplorable goddess was panicking now.
"Ohhh, so that's how it works? Then I will give my blessing to this other-world guy and receive offerings and prayers from him too." came the first voice.
"If it means I'll get to eat something delicious then I'll do that too." came the second voice.
"……Me too." came the silent voice. How did that work? I wondered. It's silent but I can hear it somehow...
"Y- y- you can't, you can't you can't you know---" Panicking, definitely.
"Oh, it's not up to you to decide such things, Ninril-chan."
"Ho ho ho, true that."
"............"
These strange voices echo in my head, just what was going on in the world of the gods?
"I am the Earth Goddess Kishar." the first voice explained. "Hello again. Well, I guess you overheard our discussion just now? The Fire Goddess Agni and Water Goddess Rusalka are with me."
"Hello there." the second voice said. Fire Goddess Agni, I presume.
"......" Water Goddess Rusalka-sama?
"So we will give you the blessing of three Goddesses if you would please give us sweets too?"
Eh? The goddess of water, the goddess of fire and the goddess of earth? I've already got the divine blessings of Wind Goddess Ninril right now so do I really need their protection too? I'm safe from abnormal status effects already, or so I think.
"Oh no, if you think about it, Ninril-chan's blessing is (small). She's a bit stingy in that regard, and besides it can't be said that status abnormality invalidation is perfect protection." the goddess continued. "And you've got no aptitude for wind magic. Ninril-chan's blessing (small) doesn't help you out in that regard. You'd be better off with the blessing of goddesses whose magic you can use right now. Like me. See?"
Thinking about it, I have earth magic and fire magic powers. If I received the blessing of Earth Goddess Kishar and Fire Goddess Agni would I get any other benefits?
"I hear what you're thinking, kiddo. I'm Fire Goddess Agni. Since you've already got fire magic you'd be unbeatable with my divine blessing. You'd be able to use high-powered fire magic with only a little magical power."
Well ~ That's amazing.
"A-, Agni, what are you saying? We can't afford to give him all sorts of blessings. If we hand out divine blessings willy-nilly, we'll be scolded. That's why I only gave him my divine blessings (small)." Deplorable goddess-sama was panicking even more now.
"Well, there's some truth in what you say Ninril-chan, but it shouldn't cause problems if we just give other-world-guy-kun our divine blessings (small) too. Besides, if he's got an aptitude for fire and earth magic then getting divine blessings from Kishar and me is better for him, wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah. Ninril-chan's divine blessings (small) doesn't allow other-world guy to use wind magic at all."
"Yes that's right. Even if we only give you our divine blessings (small) your magical energy consumption will go down but your magical power will go up and you'll be able to use higher types of fire and earth magic. After we give you our divine protections (small), try your magics out and see what you can do. Do you understand?"
"Kishar said it all, nothing for me to add." Fire Goddess Agni chimed in. So Fire Goddess Agni and Earth Goddess Kishar have decided I'm going to receive their divine blessings whether I want them or not. Don't I get a say in this?
"Hey, did you just think you don't want our blessings? You might wanna reconsider blowing us off so lightly, kiddo." Fire Goddess Agni has a short temper, it seems.
"That's right, listen to what I'm telling you. You only want my blessing, isn't that the case?" A certain deplorable Wind Goddess' intervention wasn't going to help.
Ah, that is not that I do not want the blessings, but anyone with the protection of several gods and goddesses is going to considered a bit strange, aren't they? I want a quiet life, really.
"Well other-world-guy-kun, I do remember hearing about a famous Hero in the past who had two divine blessings but I don't recall anyone ever having more than that." Earth Goddess Kishar explained.
So having three of them would be considered strange, then? Even though hardly anyone else could Appraise my status and see all the blessings, I'd know they were there and that's bad enough. Besides I've got one goddess' blessing already and that will do me fine, thank you.
"C'mon, man up you wimp! Here you go, blessings of Fire Goddess Agni (small)!"
"Hey don't jump the queue, Agni... My turn now. Earth Goddess Kishar's blessing (small)."
"Aaaah-, you shouldn't have done that, you know?!" Deplorable goddess chimed in, ineffectual as usual.
"Uhufu, make offerings to us too from now on."
"I will expect delicious things from you."
Ah, I seem to have acquired two more divine proble- uh, protectors.
Maybe it's not really a big issue but I am worried if anyone else catches sight of my Status even by accident. Well I've always got Fer and Sui to rely on if it turns into an emergency situation.
"………………I? " The creepy silent voice was back. What did she want?
"A- Ah, R- Ruka-chan..."
"The other-world-guy's got no aptitude for water magic." Earth Goddess Kishar explained.
"Well, uh, hey ... ...."
"Since he's already got Ninril-chan's blessing it doesn't make much sense to give him yours as well."
Huh? What do you mean?
"You don't have any aptitude for wind magic and water magic and you already have Wind Goddess Ninril's blessing (small). That means even if Ruka-chan here gave you her blessing (small) it won't add anything more to your status change invalidation powers. It's better for you to have blessings from Goddesses whose magic you can use already like us two. Receiving Ruka-chan's blessing as well won't make any difference to you." Agni-sama explained.
Well, that's something I suppose. Three blessings are bad enough, but four?
"............If I don't give him my blessing I'd be the only one who can't get sweets. I'd have to share everyone else's offerings." Water Goddess Rusalka's quiet voice trembled.
"Hey hey, don't cry, Ruka-chan. You, other-world-guy, think of something!" Fire Goddess Agni's voice crackled with anger.
"Yes. It's your responsibility after all." Earth Goddess Kishar agreed.
Er, what the heck is that about? It's my fault and it's my job to figure out what to do? Really?