“Gods, you are worse than a cockroach.”

Ddraig cursed, looking down on the little old me sprawled on the stone platform which floated on the lava lake. This object surprisingly survived the havic of our battle.

“Then you’re a thick-skinned lizard.”

My attempts to defeat her ended in this. I dodged her attacks with some effort and counterattacked with everything. Yet, her sturdy scales sheathed in her dragon aura resisted my full-powered punches. She was smugly boasting her aura-enhanced defense, but slowly, the frustration of not being able to defeat me sent her into a frenzy.

“You are the strongest human I have ever met.”

“Doesn’t mean anything if I can’t defeat you.”

“Only Albion was able to give me this big of a fight. Every other god was terrified of my flames. So feel proud of it.”

“...Okay.”

“I wonder where that old lizard’s soul is.”

“You have to ask God about that.”

“Hey, lad. Time’s up. Don’t sleep too long,” God’s voice rumbled in the sky.

That’s my cue to leave.

Ddraig snorted. “Come again. I’ll beat you to a pulp next time.”

“We’ll see that.”

The world faded into nothing.

I opened my eyes back in the pod. Raising my hand to open the pod, I noticed the red lines on my gauntlet. I climbed out of the pod and showed it to God.

“That’s new. The gear is evolving… or rather fusing with Ddraig’s soul,” he said, smiling ear to ear. “You even charmed a dragon… nothing less from you, lad.”

Seducing that thick-headed dragon—he was asking for impossible, wasn’t he?

“Now, time for our training.”

“Come at me, old man. I’m gonna show you the wildest fighting style.”

“Alright, lad. Let's move to the training ground.”

***

After our usual training, I took Chiaki from Gabriel’s room and returned to my room in Stardust Garden. It was mine in name only as all the girls shared it despite having a room for themselves. Strangely, the room was empty.

“Surprise!”

The cheerful voice almost made me jump. Maya appeared through Klyscha’s teleportation. She was dressed in a pale blue dress with a yellow ribbon around her waist. Her hair formed spirals along the edges, giving her strong ojou-sama vibes. Though, I had to admit the dazzling smile on her face was just heart melting.

“Don’t scare me like that.”

“Sorry. I was too excited.”

“It’s nothing,” I said and stroked her hair. The overpowered headpats made her melt like a jelly. “Break from school?”

“Weekend break~. Onii-sama was busy with Yuriko-sama’s store, so Klyscha-sama sent me here to see this city.”

Sunday break? Shizuka told me her school had extra classes to make up for the world war stuff. At the same time, I was with Yuriko to put the final touches on her shop. It was going to open in a day or two or so she said.

“Let’s have a date in Orario.”

“Sure~. I will empty Onii-sama’s wallet.”

I have too much valis for her to spend; not enough to buy the city, but enough for a normal girl to buy whatever she wants. Well, being an ojou-sama didn’t put her in the normal category.

Loud footsteps neared the room, belonging to none other than Alise. She raised her hand with a grin.

“Yo, junior. Wanna grab som—who is this new girl?!”

Maya slipped away and bowed before Alise. “I’m Maya Yotsuba. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Alise was at a loss of words at the polite greeting. She scratched the back of her head with a sheepish smile. “Another sister? Just how many do you have? Where do they pop up from anyway?”

“I’m Onii-sama’s woman,” Maya smugly declared. “Also, Onii-sama only has one blood-related Onee-san.”

“Who is she?” she asked. “I’m just curious. Nothing more, okay?”

Maya gently tugged at my sleeve. “Is she a tsundere like Saya Nee-san?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Onii-sama, going on offense is the best way to deal with her.”

“I know. I know. I’m not actively trying to seduce anyone here.”

“Okay.”

“Oi, what’re you two whispering?” Alise looked at us suspiciously. “Is she enchanted by my perfect figure?”

“Yes, Alise-sama. You’re very beautiful. Isn’t she, Onii-sama?”

“Yep. So many adventurers are jealous of me because Alise-sama is close to me…”

“Y-Yes. P-People adore me too much,” she fumbled with her words. “K-Kaguya is calling me. Goodbye!”

She scurried out of the room.

Maya grinned. “She is so easy to read.”

“I know right.”

“Enough about her Onii-sama. You must spoil me and only me today.”

We rarely spent more than a few minutes every day. Sometimes during breakfast, or at night—her time with me had shrunk considerably. Her magic studies kept her quite busy and exhausted. Since she was free today, I gotta let her enjoy this day.

“Gladly. What do you want to do?”

“Eat Onii-sama,” she said with a lighthearted chuckle. Despite the mischievous glint in her eyes, her tone was quite serious. She winked innocently. “I meant eating with Onii-sama. I’m starving after working out.”

Geez, this little devil. She was more of these matters than the thousands of years old Astraea. It was more than absurd.

“Okay. Let’s grab something outside real quick.”

“Yes—”

“Asahi, are you free?” Astraea’s voice arrived before she popped up at the door. She looked at Maya and tilted her head. “Who is this cute girl?”

“I’m Maya Yotsuba. You must be Astraea-sama.”

“Indeed. I am.”

Maya tried to bow but Astraea stopped her.

“You don’t need to do that. Asahi, let me know when you’re free. I want to discuss something with you and Loki.”

“Onii-sama can go—”

I shushed her with a rub on her head.

“I was about to go out with Maya. Astraea, can we talk with Loki later? I know it’s rude but Maya usually doesn't have time to meet me. I wanted to show her around Orario.”

Loki would perhaps want to talk about last night. After that huge botch, I’m sure Loki was sweating in her room. Because when it came to making a mess, nobody was better than Freya herself.

“Ah, no problem. I’ll send someone to tell Loki,” Astraea said with a smile. “If you lack funds, do not hesitate to ask me.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I don’t lack money.”

“Okay. Then see you later.”

Astraea walked out of the room.

“I thought a goddess would be more overbearing,” Maya said.

“Astraea isn’t like that. Well, most gods aren’t.”

“Still… Astraea, the Virgin Greek Goddess of Justice, Innocence, and Purity. Even she couldn’t resist Onii-sama’s charm. Onii-sama, aren’t you too overpowered?”

Hold on a second. Astraea is a virgin goddess?

Klyscha chuckled. (Yes, My Love. I’m sorry for not telling you. It was cute seeing you fuss over those little details.)

Can’t be mad at her no matter what she does. Honestly, Astraea being a virgin was so obvious. I only thought there were three virgin goddesses in Greek. To think there was another one in that f’d up world.

“Onii-sama?”

I pinched Maya’s cheeks. “I’m far from overpowered. I’m nowhere close to Klyscha’s level.”

“Onii-sama, can I join Familia and enter the dungeons? I want to support Onii-sama too like others.”

“Sure, you can. But I’ll decide when you can visit the dungeon. Is that okay with you?”

I can’t let her overexert herself. After all said and done, she was still twelve.

“Asahi-kun~, Maya-chan~.”

Shiori returned, sounding upbeat as always. The others also followed her into the room.

Nao plopped on the bed and sighed. “Shopping here is more tiring than I thought.”

Rika sat beside Nao and hugged my waist, rubbing her head against me. “Let me recharge some energy.”

Saeko shook her head at the two. “You two are just making a fuss.”

“We’re not!”

I smiled at Aimi staring at me with a soft expression in her eyes. “What did you guys buy?”

They carried no bags whatsoever, then the stuff would be in their rings.

“The woman makeup stuff you don’t wanna know,” Rika replied. “Don’t worry about Rini-chan and Grayfia-chan. They went to that side to help Shizuka.”

That’s nothing new.

“Okay. I wanted to take Maya around the city,” I said.

Saeko softly stroked Maya’s hair. “Please, do it. We were also going to have a small dive in the dungeon.”

I hadn’t progressed after stepping into the 38th floor. Hope they don’t go too far.