By the Grace of the Gods

Today, only one chapter is posted.

“Morning~”

“Mm…”

When I woke up, Korumi was floating right in front of me.

…Ah, that’s right… Yesterday, after returning to the Tree Sea, I spent the night chatting with Korumi about everything that happened since I left this base, so I just ended up sleeping in some random room.

I already knew from the very first greeting that Korumi had been eagerly waiting for my return. She had been pulling memories out and projecting them as illusions in the room, watching them like a movie.

Even summarizing a few weeks’ worth of stories is long… or rather, it was actually quick to finish by midnight?

“There’s water and breakfast ready~”

“Oh, how thoughtful. On the road, it’s mostly instant meals, so this is a nice change.”

From the door that opened by itself, a bucket filled with water and a plate with what looked like bacon and eggs flew in. The ingredients must have been what I left in the kitchen yesterday. Since both came at the same time, I hesitated for a moment about which to grab first, but I decided to eat the meal first before it got cold.

“Mm.”

“Not tasty?”

“No, it’s good enough.”

Though a bit burnt and salty, it was still edible. Considering it was the first dish made by a child, it was quite good. I don’t have a comparison from my previous life since I never had children… Now that I think about it, I wonder if Korumi can tell tastes or smells?

“If I read the memories of the person who ate it, I can know. But I can’t tell directly, so I can’t taste it myself. I just imitated today’s meal.”

“In that case, let’s cook together next time. Once you get used to it by doing it many times, you’ll understand the seasoning amounts and flavors better.”

“Okay!”

We finished breakfast and got ready while chatting, then continued from where we left off yesterday. Thankfully, we were able to cover everything up to my return yesterday, so now it’s time to discuss what comes next… First, about Korumi’s long-cherished wish to develop “cursed arts to interact with the outside.”

“I’m going straight to the main point: I’m thinking of preparing a house or room outside the Tree Sea, and treating that as a villa. This house, your main body, will be the main residence. I’ll cast the spell on the villa.”

“Having two houses is fine, but will that give a hint for the spell?”

“Not ‘will’ but ‘does’.”

Until now, my main thought was how to somehow “take out” Korumi to interact with the outside, or in other words, “do something” to Korumi. But at the same time, I was holding the conflicting thought of “if something goes wrong, it’s better not to meddle carelessly.”

But if I prepare a villa and cast the spell there, I can adjust it as much as I want. At least it’s lower risk than directly meddling with Korumi herself, and conceptually it fits neatly with the cursed arts.

“As for the hint or rather the answer, the image I have is the ‘household shrine’ I installed in the shop.”

When I saw Ms. Jane replacing the water in the household shrine as soon as I entered the laundry service, I got the idea. Originally, the place is a laundry service, which is now a chain with multiple branches — “different shops but the same shop” fits perfectly once you notice it.

“I’ll leave the details to your mind-reading… In other words, prepare a separate house from this one, and make it the substitute for the household shrine where Korumi can stay whenever she likes. Since it uses the entire building, it could be like a shrine. Anyway, Korumi will come and go between this house and the villa to interact with people outside.”

I always thought Korumi’s main body was the house and that the house couldn’t move, but it feels possible if the house’s contents are moved like a relocation. More than that, Korumi is now floating a “child’s body” in front of me to communicate. If only this body could be sent to the villa, that would be enough.