Genichi returned from the Colosseum with a face as black as thunder.
Demeter was holding a teacup when she saw his dark expression, and her heart skipped a beat.
She knew Genichi far too well.
Normally, no matter how serious the situation was, hardly any emotion ever showed on his face.
He was like a pool of stagnant water, its surface forever calm, with only the occasional ripple disturbing it.
But right now, his brows were knotted tightly together, his lips pressed into a thin line, and his eyes were filled with irritation and disgust. He looked like he'd swallowed a fly and couldn't decide whether to choke it down or spit it back out.
"What happened?"
Demeter set down her teacup, stood up, and walked over to him.
Her voice was soft, carrying both concern and a trace of caution.
Astraea looked up from her book and frowned slightly at Genichi's grim expression.
Artemis turned away from the window, her emerald-green eyes filled with confusion.
Hephaestus leaned against the wall, narrowing her single eye.
Hestia was sitting on the sofa with a pastry still in her hand, her cheeks stuffed so full she looked like a hamster. When she saw Genichi's expression, she even forgot to chew.
They had all sensed it.
For a brief instant, Genichi had disappeared.
It was a strange sensation. He hadn't gone into hiding or turned invisible. It was as if his entire existence had vanished from the world, to the point that even the presence of his soul could no longer be sensed.
Through the connection created by their Schrift, they could vaguely sense Genichi's existence no matter where he hid or how deeply he concealed himself.
But for that single instant, the connection had seemed to be severed by something.
Then, just as quickly, it returned.
"I ran into another version of myself again."
Genichi walked over to the sofa and dropped heavily onto it, sinking into the soft cushions.
He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. The chandelier's light danced in his eyes like countless restless fireflies.
His fingers tapped rhythmically against the armrest, betraying the agitation he was trying to suppress.
Demeter sat down beside him, while Astraea closed her book and took a seat across from them.
Artemis left the window and sat on Genichi's other side.
Hephaestus came over and leaned against the arm of the sofa.
Hestia swallowed the pastry in her mouth, licked the crumbs from her fingers, and hurried over as well.
The goddesses gathered around him in a circle like children waiting to hear a story, their eyes full of curiosity.
Genichi took a deep breath, then told them everything about the version of himself from that ancient female-oriented romance world.
He told them about the Genichi who had transmigrated as an abandoned infant, been adopted by foster parents, lost everything during a famine, been rescued by a general, and eventually became that general's personal guard, only to be stabbed to death by the very same general after trying to stop her from throwing her life away.
His voice remained calm, as though he were telling a story that had nothing to do with him, but deep disgust and helplessness lurked in his eyes.
The living room fell silent.
Demeter's fingers slowly rubbed against her knee.
Astraea's frown grew deeper and deeper.
Artemis's emerald-green eyes were filled with disbelief.
A complicated light flashed through Hephaestus's single eye.
Hestia's mouth hung wide open, as if she'd even forgotten how to breathe.
"That whole... female-oriented romance thing you mentioned..."
Hestia was the first to speak. Her voice carried confusion, absurdity, and a sense of disbelief she couldn't quite put into words.
"Why do I feel like nobody in those worlds has a normal brain?"
Genichi looked at her and nodded firmly.
"Because they're female-oriented romance worlds. In those places, so-called love is more important than everything else."
His tone was as flat as if he were describing today's weather, but every goddess present could hear the contempt behind his words.
Female-oriented romance worlds.
Places he could never understand, never adapt to, and would forever consider utterly absurd.
In those worlds, love stood above everything. For love, people could betray their country, betray their families, and even betray themselves.
In those worlds, logic was a luxury, rationality was a rare commodity, and normal people were an endangered species.
In those worlds, any random brain-dead decision could move the bystanders to tears while Genichi could only watch his blood pressure skyrocket.
Genichi snapped his fingers.
A black shadow emerged from beneath his feet and silently floated toward the coffee table.
It carried a towering stack of books, thick and heavy, with colorful covers depicting all kinds of handsome men and beautiful women.
The shadow placed the books on the table, then silently sank back into the darkness.
"You can use these as reference material."
Genichi's voice was quiet, carrying a faint sense of exhausted resignation that practically said, See for yourselves.
Hestia's eyes instantly lit up.
She was the first to reach out, grab a book, and flip to the first page.
Demeter took one as well.
Then Astraea.
Artemis.
Even Hephaestus leaned over and picked one up.
The room grew quiet again, filled only by the sound of turning pages.
Rustle, rustle.
Page after page.
Chapter after chapter.
At first, the goddesses' expressions were relatively normal.
Curious.
Expectant.
Interested.
But as they continued reading, their expressions gradually began to change.
Hestia's brows furrowed, her lips pressed into a thin line, and her eyes filled with confusion.
The corner of Demeter's mouth twitched. Her fingers froze on the page as though she'd just encountered something utterly incomprehensible.
Astraea still looked relatively calm, but her breathing had become faster, and she was flipping through the pages more and more quickly.
Artemis's emerald-green eyes widened until they were almost perfectly round. Her lips parted slightly, as though she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
A ridiculous look flashed through Hephaestus's single eye, and the corner of her mouth twitched.
A few minutes later, every goddess had spirals in her eyes.
Hestia put down her book, leaned back against the sofa, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Demeter rubbed her temples and let out a long breath.
Astraea closed her eyes, as though trying to digest something her mind simply refused to process.
Artemis tossed her book onto the coffee table, crossed her arms, and looked distinctly displeased.
Hephaestus remained leaning against the sofa arm, her single eye half-lidded as she contemplated what she had just read.
"No, seriously..."
Hestia finally spoke, sounding like she was on the verge of breaking down.
"Are none of the protagonists in these novels normal?"
Genichi looked at her and gave a quiet chuckle.
There was something deeply relieved in that laugh, as though saying, Now you finally understand.
And perhaps a hint of, Now you know why I was losing my mind.
He spoke calmly, enunciating every word clearly.
"Do I look like I've been meeting normal people?"
The living room fell silent once again.
The goddesses exchanged glances, each seeing the same complicated expression reflected in the others' eyes.
They remembered the stories Genichi had told them before.
The modern romance-world Genichi whose wife and parents had joined forces to put him on an operating table and harvest his kidney.
The ancient romance-world Genichi who had been stabbed to death for trying to stop a general from throwing her life away.
Every story was absurd.
Every story made their blood pressure rise.
Every story challenged the limits of what they could accept as reality.
In a certain sense, Genichi really hadn't encountered normal people.
No.
Not merely "in a certain sense."
It was quite literally true.
The people in those female-oriented romance worlds, from protagonists to side characters, from good people to villains, from the intelligent to the stupid, couldn't be described as normal.
Their logic, values, and emotional patterns were completely incompatible with any normal world.
"So what are you planning to do?"
Demeter's voice broke the silence, her eyes filled with concern.
Genichi narrowed his eyes slightly.
A trace of killing intent flashed through them.
It wasn't anger.
It wasn't hatred.
It was something deeper and colder.
The unwavering conviction that debts had to be repaid, and that murder demanded retribution.
"I may have been thoroughly disgusted by the whole thing, but that grudge still has to be settled."
His voice was quiet, but the determination within it left no room for argument.
He was going back to that ancient female-oriented romance world.
He would avenge the Genichi who had been stabbed to death.
Not for that other Genichi.
For himself.
He couldn't tolerate such absurd injustice.
He couldn't tolerate such idiotic betrayal.
And he couldn't tolerate an ending where a good person received nothing but misery for doing the right thing.
That general.
Her precious white moonlight.
And everyone who had used him, betrayed him, or killed him.
Not a single one of them would escape.
Demeter watched him, a complicated light passing through her eyes.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, only to realize she had no idea what she could say.
She knew that once Genichi said he would do something, he would do it.
She couldn't stop him.
Nor did she want to.
She was simply worried.
Worried that world might be too dangerous.
Worried that he might not be able to handle everything alone.
Worried that, just like those other versions of himself, he might die for some utterly absurd reason.
"When are you planning to go?"
Astraea's voice came from beside him.
Genichi thought for a moment and was just about to answer.
Suddenly, his vision blurred.
The sensation was far too familiar.
So familiar that his body reacted before his mind did.
Dizziness.
Weightlessness.
The feeling of his soul being forcibly dragged away.
The Colosseum was summoning him again.
(End of Chapter)
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