Chapter 155 : Chapter 155
Chapter 155: Double the Fun (2)
The 'Trickster' could learn various 'deceiving' skills befitting its name.
「Disguise」 was also one of them.
It was the skill Luce used before to hide his identity in front of us.
"Ta-da─"
Of course, this time I didn't need to become a completely 'different person' like back then.
Why change?
I'm already more beautiful than any elf praised as a race of beauty.
So, I changed just a little.
First, pale white skin like a Northern Elf, bright hair color that looked bleached instead of my usual black hair, and green eyes like Rine.
On top of that, pointed ears as a finishing touch.
Except for adding a moderate amount of elven traits, the rest of the base was all me.
So it was just a difference of... cosplay, roughly dyeing hair, wearing colored lenses, and attaching pointed ears.
However, thanks to my already outstanding beauty, I came to look like a Northern Elf to anyone's eyes.
"How is it?"
My companions blinked and stared blankly at me, who became a Northern Elf through such a perfect 「Disguise」.
"You, you really look like an elf...!"
At Miki's very fascinated reaction, I chuckled, "Heh," and fluttered my long loose hair once.
"My elf appearance isn't bad either, right?"
Miki nodded vigorously.
"No, this is really fascinating..."
Meanwhile, Evie strode to my side and started fiddling with my pointed ears.
"Looks real..."
Judging by her unhesitating touch or such muttering, it seemed she thought my ears were just fake ears for cosplay as I said earlier.
"Because they are real?"
But those pointed ears were not 'attached ears', but unmistakably 'my ears'.
So feeling the sensation of her touch was no different from before the 「Disguise」.
...No.
Actually, it was a little different.
"...Hey, Evie?"
Whether it was because the shape of the ears became pointed... or because they grew larger, I don't know, but somehow, it felt a bit more... sensitive to touch than usual.
"That... it tickles..."
"Huh?"
But perhaps because I spoke too carefully, Evie didn't stop her fiddling hand as if treating a fascinating toy.
At first, I felt like I succeeded in a magic show so I just let her be fascinated, but keeping her touching while my ears were already sensitive was also, a bit...
"Hng...!"
"──!?"
For a moment, a sound leaked out without my realizing it, and I hurriedly covered my mouth.
But the water was already spilled.
Sure enough, Evie was startled and not only took her hand off my ear but also stepped back just like that.
"Wh, wh-wha, what is it...?!"
She looked as flustered as I was.
"Why, why are you suddenly making a weird sound!?"
"No, that is..."
I couldn't bear to look at Evie's gaze as she questioned me with a blushing face, so I turned my head slightly.
"E, ears are a weak point..."
"...?! Wh, what are you── what the hell are you talking about suddenly!?"
"It, it's because you kept touching them weirdly...!"
Honestly, I was a bit embarrassed and also felt slightly aggrieved, so when I argued like this, Evie immediately retorted shouting.
"Wh-wh, when did I, you crazy bastard...!?"
But arguing about who was more at wrong here would only end up as a fight of passing the buck anyway.
So instead of arguing further, I turned my head as if fleeing toward Lily who had been silent since earlier, and.
"......!"
The moment our eyes met, I saw her flinch and shrink her body just like Evie did a moment ago.
Even with such a greatly flustered reaction, Lily couldn't turn away her completely red face and was staring piercingly at me.
Gulp, while swallowing her saliva.
"Ah..."
...Was the elf appearance perhaps more her type?
"Seriously, die."
"Ah, wait a minute! Ah! My hair!"
In the meantime, Evie, who had returned behind me, gathered my loose hair like a rope, grabbed it, and started pulling it around my neck.
"Again? You couldn't wait that short moment? You're seducing again?!"
"Wh, what did I..."
"Do you have no integrity, you bastard!?"
"Keuk──"
Honestly, I didn't do it on purpose knowing it, and I felt very aggrieved but... as expected, in a situation where I was being strangled, I couldn't voice any protest.
***
Anyway, as long as the 「Disguise」 skill existed, at least there wouldn't be an occasion where Morgana would turn me away at the door for the reason that I was 'not an elf'.
Of course, that would be a matter to deal with after meeting her first.
Perhaps because the small commotion(?) that happened for a moment ended and the future direction was sorted out, everyone looked somewhat more comfortable than at first.
However, in the midst of that, Rine was still sleeping soundly as if time had stopped, so we couldn't completely shake off our worries.
"Sister Rine..."
Especially Lily, who sat politely on her knees in front of the motionless Rine, put her hands together and started offering a prayer just like that.
It wasn't a prayer of 「Healing」, but.
"Lady Sistina... please look after Sister Rine..."
It was unchanged that it was a prayer offering sincere concern for Rine.
Then, Evie, who was quietly watching Lily's appearance, nudged my arm while sitting next to me and said.
"That 'Beginning' or whatever inside you... you said that red-headed guy said so? That she used the power of a god?"
"Yeah, he did."
"...So in the end, are you saying she's not like a fake god but like a real god?"
Seeing her take a big bite of beef jerky in her hand and chewing it, it was an attitude that she didn't really care whatever my answer to this question was.
"...Ha."
She just asked out of curiosity, as if nothing would change for her whether that girl was a 'real god' or a 'fake god'.
"I did roughly notice she wasn't an ordinary guy, though."
To her, she was just 'Rine', the mage companion of our party.
"She was a huge big shot."
Evie chuckled, "Pfft," finding it dumbfounding.
"A god. ...The story is way too big."
Naturally, in her muttering voice, no awe for the existence called god was felt, and only absurdity about a 'friend' who was hiding an identity she couldn't even imagine was smeared.
"Well... I think it's complicated."
"Complicated? What is?"
Regarding whether Rine was Shurine herself or not, as mentioned before, there was room for it to vary somewhat depending on the interpretation.
"I investigated the history of Shurina."
For example, let's assume Sistina, whom Lily praying in front of her serves, is a 'real god' people usually think of.
Meaning, an existence who listens to believers' prayers from the sky and sometimes lends power.
"You saw the statue of Shurine at the Pantheon a while ago, right? That was the '1st Shurine'."
On the other hand, Rine over there could be called a 'clone' of Shurine who left leaving her agent behind for liberation from that 'troublesome work', instead of choosing to go up to the sky and look down 'below' to care for her believers.
"That's the '2nd Shurine'. The existence that the faction currently in power drove out calling a 'fake god'."
Simply put, it means she is an existence that realized the delusion everyone has at least once.
The delusion that it would be nice to create a clone like oneself to entrust all troublesome or hard work to, while one plays or sleeps to their heart's content.
The '2nd Shurine' was the side left in the human world to offload that very troublesome or hard work.
Don't bother me by constantly praying and filing 'complaints' to me who went to the sky, just take care of yourself and serve this kid like me; she was a part of herself separated for that.
To be blunt, she was a 'Complaint Center' set up so people wouldn't call the direct line.
"...So, you mean she was in charge of shit-handling?"
"I have to see it... as so. Yeah."
Although it was a direct expression, it couldn't be denied that it was an accurate summary piercing the core.
"So it becomes a correct statement to say she is the same existence as the 1st Shurine, and also a correct statement to say she is not the same existence."
"...Fu*k."
At my words, Evie snorted once more.
"Bullshi*ting, really."
Then in her voice muttering curses like this, clear anger was felt.
Actually, Evie couldn't calm her anger and tore the beef jerky in her hand with her mouth very roughly as if venting her anger.
"Anyway. All those bastards called gods."
What Evie hated were the 'real gods' above the sky who didn't even pretend to listen no matter how much one prayed.
And since the '1st Shurine' was an existence that fit that perfectly, naturally, she had no choice but to be angry.
"......Tragic, that girl too."
Especially since she found out that Rine, her companion and friend, was like a victim of that damned 'real god'.
Naturally, as she is a clone, she can use (1st) Shurine's power── 'Time Magic' (created by the God of Time Shurine) represented by 「Time Stop」, but she cannot use the power as much as the real person herself.
That is the reason why, even if Rine reaches 'max level', the standard for regaining all the power she lost along with her ego, she eventually hits the limit as a mortal── level 20.
The levels after that are the realm of 'god', and Rine could not reach there.
"Fu*k really..."
As if her anger didn't subside well no matter how roughly she chewed the beef jerky, Evie, muttering curses again, this time looked back at Toric and asked argumentatively.
"So? Why did that legendary Kaper or whatever go crazy for that girl like that again?"
Then Toric let out a long breath like a sigh through his nose and shook his head side to side.
"...I do not know either. At least the appearance of Mr. Pariah I remember was definitely not like that."
"He came back to life like some zombie bastard even if his neck was cut or arm was cut, do you know nothing about that too?"
Toric nodded this time.
"I was surprised to see it too."
However, that was brief, and Toric stroked his beard lightly as if lost in thought.
"......No. Thinking about it, I have never seen him getting a serious injury."
This, until now, I had thought was possible because Pariah possessed that much outstanding skill, but.
"Don't tell me... that was because of that ability..."
Since I saw with my own two eyes the sight of him being fine and 'restored' even if his neck was cut or arm was cut, naturally such doubts had to arise.
"Anyway, about his motivation... I am sorry but I know nothing at all either. As I said earlier, his withdrawal was something completely unexpected for us too."
"We will find out about that part soon anyway."
We were bound to run into Pariah again anyway.
"Like it or not, as long as we go to Shurina, we have no choice but to meet again."
Because he will try to find Rine again and kill her no matter what happens.
"...I agree with Bin's opinion."
And I, and we, had absolutely no intention of handing Rine over to him quietly.
So a clash was inevitable.
Anyway, we had no choice but to go to Shurina, and Pariah wasn't a fool who wouldn't know we had only that option.
But well, that is a matter for then.
We couldn't not go to Shurina just because we were afraid of him.
"──Wait, Rine."
So I looked at the sleeping Rine and muttered quietly as if pledging that will to myself.
"I will definitely wake you up."