Indra was fairly certain he had used up every drop of cold sweat allotted to him for the rest of his divine life, and it was all happening today.
Even when he had faced the most lawless of Demon Lords in ages past, he had at least been able to hold his chin up and play the part of the God-King — gesturing grandly, dispensing sage pronouncements from on high.
But now, seated across from him were two individuals he had absolutely no read on: one, a visitor from the "Land of Return" whose depths he couldn't fathom even with all his centuries of experience, and the other, a shrine maiden in service to one of the highest Outer Gods in existence.
And then there was Shiroyasha — standing off to the side with that unmistakable "I'm just here to watch the show" expression plastered across her face, looking every inch the insufferable old friend who had dragged you into a mess and was now thoroughly enjoying your suffering. It made Indra want to stuff the entire stack of documents on his desk directly into her mouth.
"My lord. This is what you were looking for."
With a slightly trembling hand, Indra reached into the folds of his robe and produced a small, vivid green leaf — the reluctance in his grip unmistakable.
Under the brilliant light of the divine hall, the leaf gave off a freshness utterly at odds with everything else in Little Garden — a breath of something clean and alive that simply didn't belong here.
Suke's eyes shifted almost imperceptibly.
He knew that scent. He knew it in his bones.
It was the breath of Stardew Valley — the smell of the forest, carrying the same nature as the green fields he had extended through the gate, the same living quality.
And the leaf itself looked exactly like the ones that sat atop a Junimo's head.
"This is definitely from them."
Suke took the leaf. The "barrier-breaking" ability granted by the Star Fruit analyzed it in an instant, and he knew immediately what message the Junimo had left behind.
It was a set of coordinates — a vague location somewhere at the boundary between Little Garden's upper and lower-tier Outer Gates.
"Lead the way, Your Eminence."
Suke rose to his feet and casually brushed a bit of dust from his farmer's jacket.
"Since this was in your hands, you must have met the little one at some point. How about taking me to where you encountered it?"
"That should be fine, I suppose..."
Indra grumbled his way upright with a sigh.
"But the thing is... haah. Shiroyasha, especially you — once I take you there, you are absolutely not allowed to tell anyone."
"That area is one of the few places where Gifts have no sway, and it's one of the only spots I can actually sneak off to and take a break..."
"So you've been using it as a hiding spot to slack off. That's why you've been so secretive about it."
Shiroyasha cut him down without a shred of mercy, snapping her folding fan against her palm with a sharp crack.
"Ahem, Shiroyasha — we're old friends, you don't have to put it so bluntly!"
——
The coordinates pointed to a stretch of land along the boundary of Little Garden's upper tiers.
This area had once been the ruins left behind after an ancient deity's passing. It had later become a resting place for the wandering sprites, and was now — under Indra's quiet directive — officially classified as a "protected zone" under the banner of "ecological preservation."
Whether that decision had been made for public or private reasons, it was anyone's guess. Most likely, he had simply wanted a secluded place to slack off in peace.
"It's just up ahead, in that small grove. The little one is rather shy — Shiroyasha, try to rein yourself in, would you?"
"Do I really strike you as the overbearing type?"
"No, no — I was just saying. Anyway, these two should be fine. If you really do come from the same place as it does."
Indra led the way forward, mumbling to himself as he walked.
The group stepped into the grove.
The vegetation here was absurdly lush — almost offensively so. Among the undergrowth, one could even spot leeks and wild wasabi that would have looked perfectly at home in Stardew Valley, almost certainly the product of a Junimo's lingering influence seeping into the soil.
"Here we are. This is the place."
Indra stopped and pointed toward a small, crude stone cottage a short distance ahead.
"Last time I was here, the little one was bouncing around right over there — it was actually quite fond of me... hm?"
His words died in his throat.
The cottage — where a Junimo should have been living — was empty. Completely empty.
No round little purple figure. No cheerful chirping.
Only a carpet of withered leaves covered the floor, carrying that eerie, hollow feeling of a place abandoned — as if the warmth had fled the moment its occupant had.
"...Huh?"
Indra froze. He rubbed his eyes. Then, abandoning all dignity entirely, he dropped to his hands and knees and sniffed at the ground.
"This isn't right. Why is it gone?"
"It told me it was going to stay here for a while — asked me to keep an eye on it..."
Indra muttered, and the awkward confusion on his face slowly gave way to something heavier.
In Little Garden, a promise made between divine beings carried real contractual weight — and this had been made to a three-digit God-King, no less.
"Wait. Something is wrong."
Shiroyasha's brow creased. With a sharp *snap*, her folding fan slammed shut in her hand — and she jerked her head upward, staring into the sky.
The canopy of Little Garden — that steady, eternal vault constructed from the interwoven Spirit Origins of countless gods — had begun to pulse with a deep, unsettling red.
Not the red of a glorious sunset. This was the dark, festering red of an infected wound.
*BOOM——!*
A wave of crushing, suffocating pressure detonated from the direction of the Greek Pantheon's territory — so distant it should have been unfelt, and yet Indra and Shiroyasha both went pale at precisely the same moment.
"That tremor... a Divine Fall?!"
Indra's voice cracked as he cried out. Every last trace of the weary corporate drone vanished in an instant, replaced by the full, undeniable gravity of a three-digit God-King.
"And the scale of it — unprecedented. That direction... that's Olympus. Don't tell me another four-digit deity has fallen?"
Shiroyasha closed her eyes. She seemed to be reaching out with the perception of a Stellar Spirit, casting her senses through the void in search of something.
A moment later, her eyes snapped open.
Her golden pupils were filled with pure, unmasked shock.
"This is bad!"
"A four-digit deity — forget that. It's that old maiden... this is a catastrophe!"
"And Alger — my lord, we need to move! Back to the lower tiers, now!"
Shiroyasha activated her Spirit Origin, preparing for a spatial displacement.
"Who?" Indra blinked beside her, his mind clearly not yet connecting the phrase "old maiden" to anyone in particular.
"*Athena!*"
____
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