Maple Village.
Perhaps due to the abundance of youkai in this era, or the lack of entertainment, as night fell and covered the land, people entered their dreams, and the world became deep and quiet.
However, at this time, 'youkai' became the masters of the night.
It was time for them to go out and be active.
A remote corner on the edge of the village.
— Crackle!
A burning bonfire dispelled the surrounding darkness.
Baal sat on a rock beside it, occasionally throwing a piece of firewood into the fire, the spreading light reflecting on her moving delicate body, revealing a kind of loneliness that made people's hearts ache.
It couldn't help but make people want to embrace the purple-haired girl and comfort her.
"Lord Baal, why… did you come out again?"
A tender, childish voice suddenly came.
Baal looked towards the source of the sound and saw a little loli with long black hair walking over, sitting beside her as if she were familiar with her.
This little loli's name was Maple, and she was also Kikyo's younger sister.
"It's nothing, I just couldn't sleep."
She gently shook her head, explaining to Maple.
However, this was a lie. She didn't come out because she couldn't sleep; it was just because Kikyo's house was too small, and there were no extra rooms to rest in. If she stayed, she would achieve the 'sleeping in the same bed' achievement.
This made the girl, who had never even been in a relationship in her previous life, feel a little uncomfortable, so she temporarily chose to run away.
That's right, the girl cowardly chickened out.
Even if she used to talk big online, pretending to be a love saint with countless romantic experiences, helping netizens come up with ideas to bring couples together.
In essence, the girl was a shut-in who had lived at home for a long time without any social activities. When she really had to get close to a beautiful girl.
She felt at a loss instead.
Although she was also a beautiful girl now, even if they slept in the same bed, it wouldn't be considered taking advantage.
However, the girl was not used to sleeping in the same bed with someone she had only known for a short time.
In short, the girl was somewhat socially anxious.
If it was just ordinary communication, it wouldn't be a problem, but too much intimacy made the girl feel uncomfortable.
She subconsciously wanted to avoid it.
"Staying up late… is not good for your health."
Maple said earnestly to the girl, like a little adult, "Moreover, the night is the world of youkai, and going out is very dangerous."
"But, I am a youkai."
The girl twitched the corner of her mouth, raising her hand and pointing at herself, "The night is originally the time for activity."
"Uh… I guess that's right."
Little Maple was slightly stunned, then shook her head again, "Lord Baal will be the deity of Maple Village from now on, not a youkai causing trouble."
Regarding Baal's identity, Kikyo had already introduced and announced it to everyone when she returned to the village.
From now on, the deity enshrined in Maple Village would be the beautiful Lord Baal beside them.
Because everyone had a high degree of trust in Kikyo, they accepted it without any objections.
Of course, perhaps this was also because Lord Baal was good-looking.
Although Lord Baal used to be a youkai, the boundaries between youkai and deities were not very clear.
No, more accurately, the division between youkai and deities was more practical.
If a youkai was useful to humans, for example, a Zashiki Warashi who could bring good luck, they would be enshrined as a deity.
Or if a youkai was too strong and people had no way to resist, they would also enshrine it as a deity.
In short, as long as they met the above conditions… they could all become deities.
"Speaking of which, Maple… what changes will there be when I become a deity?"
Baal seemed to have thought of something, asking curiously, "After being enshrined, will my youkai power transform into divine power or something like that?"
"… I don't know."
Little Maple hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand and scratched her cheek, "However, even if you want to change, with the people in our village, it will probably take a long time."
"… How long?"
Baal was a little curious.
The demon god residue obtained from the system lottery not only granted the power to control lightning, but also the ability to receive power from people's faith.
In other words, the more people who believed in her… the stronger she would become.
"Um… probably at least forty or fifty years."
Maple said somewhat uncertainly, then added unconfidently, "Of course, with Lord Baal's powerful strength, it might take hundreds of years to complete the transformation."
"… That's too long."
Baal sighed, not feeling too disappointed that she couldn't become a deity and possess divine power, this kind of high-end power.
In the end, youkai power was not necessarily worse than divine power.
"Don't worry, it doesn't necessarily have to be that long."
Maple thought that the girl was very disappointed, and quickly comforted her, "If you expand your followers in the future, you will be able to speed up becoming a deity."
"It's okay, I don't necessarily want to become a deity."
A gentle smile appeared on Baal's delicate face, "For me, it's enough to just live a good life now."
"… …"
Maple looked at the girl's gentle smile, feeling as if her heart was melting, and her cheeks became a little hot.
"Is… is… that so."
She looked away somewhat embarrassed, also having some of her own understanding of Lord Baal, whom Kikyo brought back.
That was that Lord Baal must be a very gentle person.
"Maple, your face is a little red?"
Baal noticed Maple's flushed cheeks, and touched Maple's forehead with some concern, finding that the temperature was obviously abnormal.
"It's so hot, do you have a fever?"
"No, that… um."
Maple hesitated for a while, then nodded lightly, "It seems like I have a bit of a fever, probably because I was caught in the rain today."
She was too embarrassed to answer the reason for her flushed cheeks, and could only admit that she had a fever.
"Then it's not good to stay outside."
Baal's delicate face showed a serious expression, pulling the hot-cheeked Maple up and walking towards Kikyo's house.
"Since you have a fever… you should rest well."
"No, actually…"
Maple opened her mouth hesitantly, then lowered her head with tears in her eyes, wondering why things had developed like this, but it could be considered completing Kikyo's task of having her take Lord Baal back.
Not long after the two left.
Kikyo's figure walked out of the shadows, her watery black eyes watching the two walking away.
Then, she picked up a wooden stick and scattered the bonfire, then covered the embers with soil to prevent accidental fires.
After doing all this, she walked towards her home.
Originally, she was a little worried when she saw that Maple hadn't brought Baal back for so long, so she came out to check.
Unexpectedly, she found that Baal and Maple were getting along well.
In that case, Baal's affinity… should be good.
She didn't have to worry about Baal having too many conflicts with the people in the village.
… …
… …