"Nonsense! How could something this Goddess picked out possibly be a weapon?!"
Aqua shouted indignantly, casually grabbing an apple from the table and stuffing it into Sylphy's mouth.
"Look how happily she's eating! What kind of weapon eats apples? Wiz, that masked bastard definitely tricked you. He's just jealous that this Goddess found such an adorable goddaughter!"
"No... Aqua-sama, this child's magical fluctuations really are getting stronger."
Chris moved closer to Kōichi with a grave expression. As the Goddess's avatar, she understood better than anyone what that aura meant.
"Kōichi-san, Wiz is right. We need to get to Wiz's shop as soon as possible. Vanir has a powerful Barrier set up there that can temporarily suppress Sylphy's aura. And... I also want to confirm whether this child really is a descendant of that clan."
Darkness, who was sitting nearby, suddenly let out a heavy breath. She covered her burning cheeks with both hands, her body trembling slightly.
"The key to the Heavenly Ruins... a cursed bloodline... and countless pursuers about to descend on us... Ah, Kōichi! Not only have you made me a stepmother, but now you're going to make me protect you and this child while the entire world hunts us down, until I'm eventually captured, thrown into some dark dungeon, and subjected to every kind of torture imaginable?! Th-this love is so unbearably heavy I can hardly breathe... Please, let me bear it together with you!"
"Darkness, calm down. Nobody is going to lock you in a dungeon."
Kōichi rubbed his temples, then looked down at Sylphy, who was smiling sweetly up at him from his arms. His feelings were a complete mess.
"Daddy, go play?"
Sylphy asked in her childish little voice.
Kōichi took a deep breath and stood up.
"Okay, we'll go play. Wiz, lead the way. We're going to your shop. Kazuma, Aqua, you two grab your gear too. If we really do run into anything nasty on the way, we'll be counting on you."
When the group pushed open the battered wooden door with its ever-present sign reading "Open for Business (Even Though There Are No Customers)," Wiz's Magic Item Shop was not nearly as deserted as they had expected.
The air was filled with a strange mixture of dry ice fog and some kind of cheap fragrance. Vanir, the Devil in a black-and-white mask and flamboyant cape, was leaning against the counter in an impossibly elegant yet infuriating pose, casually swirling a glass of liquid that gave off an eerie purple glow.
"Oh my, oh my. If it isn't the junior who picked up a source of trouble capable of destroying the world. Welcome to this shabby little shop of mine, filled with dreams and crippling deficits."
A deep, teasing laugh came from beneath Vanir's mask. His crimson eyes swept over Sylphy, then he dramatically clutched his chest.
"My, what a dazzlingly sacred aura. It is enough to make one sick. Had I not prepared in advance, I would probably be sprawled across the floor like a salted fish left to dry in the sun."
"Cut the crap, you masked bastard!"
Kazuma guarded his wallet with a wary expression.
"Wiz said you can hide this kid's aura, so hurry up and do it. If some Demon King's General shows up because of this, you'll be the first one I sell out!"
Vanir burst into a loud "Kuhahaha!" and stepped aside, revealing a dim staircase leading down into the cellar.
"Do not be so impatient, greedy boy. I have already placed a Void Barrier in the cellar, personally carved by yours truly. As long as this child remains inside for an hour, the coordinates created by her presence will be temporarily scrambled. However..."
He suddenly teleported in front of Kōichi, his bizarre mask stopping just short of Kōichi's nose. His voice took on an enticing tone.
"As a Duke of Hell, I never conduct business at a loss. If you wish to use that room, Kōichi-kun, you will have to pay a small price. I have no need for money. Wiz has already lost more than enough of that vulgar stuff. What I require is... interesting negative emotions."
"Negative emotions?"
Kōichi frowned and instinctively tightened his hold on Sylphy.
"Precisely! For example..."
Vanir idly traced a finger through the air before finally pointing at Darkness, who was staring expectantly at Kōichi.
"For example, the overwhelming humiliation of having a deeply beloved partner standing right there, yet being forced to make an utterly shameless and perverted confession to another woman in front of everyone, one so embarrassing you wish the ground would swallow you whole. Or perhaps the despair of having to put on that pink gothic loli outfit Wiz keeps buried at the bottom of her wardrobe and dance through the streets in order to save your daughter... What do you say? Give me enough delicious negative emotions for a satisfying meal, and not only will I conceal the child's aura, I will even throw in a little secret concerning her origins."
"Wh-what?! A shameless confession to another woman?!"
Darkness shot to her feet as if electrocuted. Her breathing immediately grew ragged as she clutched Kōichi's sleeve with both hands, her eyes gleaming with feverish excitement.
"Kōichi! Could it be... you're finally going to reveal, right in front of me, the vilest and most perverted side hidden beneath that gentle exterior?! Declaring your love to another woman right in front of your lover... The humiliation of being completely trampled on and discarded like a filthy rag... Ah! Please, choose me! No, wait, please choose Chris or Aqua! Let me watch you betray me with my own eyes!"
"Hey! Don't drag me into this!"
Chris and Aqua screamed in horror at the same time. Chris in particular had already begun instinctively covering her collar and backing away.
Sylphy tilted her little head as she watched the strange adults around her. Then, imitating Vanir, she let out a childish laugh.
"Kuhaha! Daddy, change!"
Kōichi looked at Vanir's mask, which practically screamed that he wanted to watch the show, then glanced at Darkness, who was already teetering on the verge of self-destruction.
He had stumbled into the greatest crisis of his life.
Kōichi took a deep breath, feeling Sylphy's soft little weight in his arms. Then he looked at Vanir's sunflower-shaped mask, which Sylphy had transformed moments earlier, and finally seemed to make an extraordinarily painful decision.
Slowly, he turned his head and fixed his gaze on Chris, who was huddled in a corner beside the counter, desperately trying to make herself invisible.
"C-Chris..."
Kōichi's voice was slightly hoarse, filled with the grim resolve of a warrior prepared to sacrifice an arm.
"Huh? W-wait! Kōichi-san, why did your eyes suddenly get so scary?!"
Chris looked like a frightened rabbit. Her back pressed tightly against the cold wall as she held both hands protectively over her chest, her short silver hair trembling slightly with nerves.
"You're not seriously going to listen to that Devil, are you?! We're partners who've been through life-and-death situations together! H-hey, don't come any closer!"
Kōichi did not stop.
He advanced one step at a time, his expression swinging wildly between unbearable embarrassment and reckless determination, until it finally settled into a disturbingly perverted look.
Then he abruptly thrust out one hand and slammed it against the wall beside Chris, pinning her in place with a solid kabedon.
The loud bang echoed through the silent shop.