Chapter 720: The Goddess's Insecurity and the Incomplete Venus!
The heavy, rhythmic sound of the grandfather clock in the hallway seemed to amplify the silence that followed.
The leather sofa, originally cold to the touch, was now warm, radiating the lingering heat of two bodies that had just been entangled.
Ren sat up slightly, his hand brushing aside the messy bangs sticking to Iwanaga Kotoko's forehead. He looked at the "God of Wisdom" who was now slumped against his chest, her breathing ragged and shallow.
With a click, he undid the imaginary restraints—the overwhelming pressure of his presence that had pinned her down during the "transaction."
He couldn't help but shake his head, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he scanned her petite, trembling figure.
This simple action, however, triggered a defensive reflex in the girl.
Iwanaga Kotoko, who had been biting her lip in a mix of lingering euphoria and shyness, suddenly widened her visible eye. Her cheeks, already flushed a deep crimson, puffed out in immediate offense.
"What was that?" she demanded, her voice raspy but sharp. "What do you mean by shaking your head just now? That was clearly a sigh of disappointment! I heard it!"
This was a tremendous insult to her dignity! She had given her all, offered up her "payment" with everything she had, and he dared to sigh?
"Hehe." Ren chuckled, his hand resting casually on her shoulder, his thumb tracing the line of her collarbone. "It seems even the great God of Wisdom, who mediates disputes between spirits and specters with absolute logic, has parts of her body she's dissatisfied with."
Ren didn't mind her glare. In fact, seeing the fiery spirit return to her single eye so quickly after being thoroughly conquered was refreshing.
At the very least, there was still plenty to play with here.
"Ugh!"
Iwanaga Kotoko gritted her teeth in anger. She wanted to refute him, to claim she was the epitome of perfection, but lying to a being who could rewrite reality was futile.
She took a deep breath and, with the surprising candor she was known for—a mix of shamelessness and brutal honesty—she generously admitted it.
"That's right! I do have parts of myself I'm dissatisfied with! Is that a crime?"
"Oh? Like what? Do tell." Ren teased, pulling her closer until their skin touched again.
Kotoko averted her gaze, her fingers tracing invisible patterns on his chest. She began to list her grievances with a resigned, almost sulking tone.
"Like the place you're touching now... my height is barely that of a junior high student. My curves are... modest, to say the least."
She paused, her face turning an even darker shade of red.
"And... my body hair. It is... unexpectedly excessive."
"Hmm?"
Ren paused. Excessive body hair?
He looked at her properly. Her skin was pale and porcelain-like, glowing in the dim light. The fine hair on her arms was barely visible, soft like peach fuzz, delicate and feminine.
He lifted her arm gently; her underarm was smooth, clearly maintained.
Then, his gaze traveled lower.
Ah. So that's what she meant.
Seeing Ren's strange expression—a mix of surprise and amusement—Iwanaga Kotoko let out a self-deprecating sneer.
"Heh, look at that face. Are you already disgusted? Is the reality of a biological female too much for the great dimensional traveler? You probably prefer those hairless, perfect dolls you keep in your castle."
"Wrong."
Ren interrupted her cynicism. His hand moved, his touch electric against her skin, making her gasp.
"I don't feel disgust, Kotoko. I feel... more excited. You should be able to feel it, can't you?"
Ren smiled, his eyes narrowing into crescents of predatory delight.
Iwanaga Kotoko froze. Pressed against him as she was, she could feel the undeniable proof of his words. The hardness against her thigh was no illusion; it was a testament to his desire.
"..."
A moment of silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken tension and the musk of intimacy.
Kotoko swallowed hard. The bravado she usually wore like armor began to crack. She looked up at him, her single eye searching his face for any sign of deception.
"You..." she started, her voice trembling slightly, shedding her "Goddess" persona to reveal the insecure girl underneath. "Will strange things really not happen again? The oddities... the world balance... is it really fixed?"
She was changing the subject, her mind unable to process the immediate intimacy. Or perhaps, she needed to know that her sacrifice—her payment—wasn't in vain.
"You still doubt me?"
Ren sighed, feigning exasperation. "Forget it. Words are cheap to a logician like you. I'll take you to see for yourself."
"See? See wha—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Ren placed two fingers on her forehead.
The world dissolved.
The villa, the sofa, the sensation of touch—everything vanished instantly.
Iwanaga Kotoko found herself floating. But not in the sky. She was drifting in the Sea of Origins, the Root itself.
"This is..."
Her mind, processed to handle the wisdom of thousands of yokai, nearly crashed.
She saw the birth of stars. She saw galaxies spinning like tops in the palm of a giant, invisible hand. She saw the fundamental laws of physics—gravity, time, entropy—woven together like strings of a complex instrument.
And at the center of it all, she felt Ren's presence. He wasn't just watching the universe; he was the one holding the strings. He was the Root. He was the Beginning and the End.
She saw the "Bug" that was the conflict between humanity and yokai. She saw Ren's hand simply... delete it. Just like dragging a file to the trash bin. The logic of the world was rewritten seamlessly.
Just as her mind began to fracture from the overload of Truth, the vision snapped.
She was back on the sofa. Gasping for air, sweat beading on her forehead.
Iwanaga Kotoko looked dazed, her pupil dilated.
"Do you believe me now?" Ren asked playfully, pinching her cheek to bring her back to reality.
"I believe you..."
Kotoko murmured, her voice hoarse.
She immediately hugged Ren's head to her chest, rubbing and swaying it tightly, burying his face in her modest cleavage.
"Such power... and you still say you're not a god?!" she cried out. "What else could someone with such power be if not a god? Cosmic rules, laws of physics... they're all just toys in your hands!"
Iwanaga Kotoko had imagined Ren's strength. She had analyzed the data. But seeing it? It was terrifying. And undeniably, intoxicatingly arousing.
She bit down. Hard. On his shoulder.
"Ugh! Wah!"
Ren let out a mock sound of pain.
Iwanaga Kotoko quickly let go, realizing what she had done in her hysteria.
Ren unhurriedly licked his lips before calmly saying: "You're too eager, little kitten."
Kotoko's face was flushed red. She had been too excited just now and forgot about this.
"Cough! Although I was overly excited just now, but... you bit too hard earlier too!"
Iwanaga Kotoko's eyes sparkled with defensive tears. She pointed an accusing finger at her own chest.
"Look! My right side is noticeably swollen compared to my left! There are tooth marks! You brute!"
Ren ignored her quiet complaints, placing his large hands on her cheeks, framing her face. The heat from his palms silenced her instantly.
"Kotoko."
His voice dropped an octave, serious and commanding.
"You've dealt with the source of the strangeness. You've carried the burden of the supernatural world on these small shoulders. You're no longer planning to just be the God of Wisdom for monsters."
He leaned in, his breath ghosting over her lips.
"You're ready to be my woman. You're serious, right?"
The playfulness vanished from Iwanaga Kotoko's face. The expression in her eye turned consistently serious.
"Yes."
However, she hesitated. Her hand trembled as she reached for her face.
"But the identity of the God of Wisdom... I don't know how to abandon it. I paid a price for it. A leg and an eye."
She looked down, her smile turning bitter and fragile.
"And, a perfectionist like you... you probably don't like an incomplete body, do you?"
She easily reached into her right eye socket—empty, as she hadn't put the glass eye back in yet—and gestured to the stump of her left leg.
Her dark, empty right eye socket stared at Ren.
Her visible left eye tried to discern an expression of dislike, disgust, or pity in his eyes. She braced herself for rejection. She was broken goods.
But she saw none of that.
Instead, she saw Ren reveal a satisfied, almost hungry smile.
"Very good. Then from today onwards, you are no longer the Yokai's God of Wisdom. You are my Iwanaga Kotoko."
"???"
Kotoko was stunned. Her jaw dropped slightly. "Are you... are you someone who accepts anyone? You find me acceptable in this state?"
Her mind immediately went to the gutter, trying to deflect the emotion with humor.
"Does it mean that for you, any hole will do?!" she shrieked, covering her empty eye socket in mock horror. "Are you that desperate?!"
However, despite her dramatic language and exaggerated movements, Ren knew this fellow was about to make some dirty jokes again to hide her embarrassment.
"Hehe. Always with the sharp tongue." Ren chuckled. "What if I told you that you can see with your right eye now? Would you believe me?"
"How could that be..."
Iwanaga Kotoko subconsciously wanted to scoff. That was the price she paid to the gods. It was a permanent transaction.
But the moment she released her hand from her face, she froze.
Darkness... was replaced by a blur. Then, light. Then, focus.
Her right eye saw... the texture of Ren's shirt.
"Eh?"
She touched her eye socket in shock. When her finger approached her right eye, it instinctively blinked.
Through her eyelid, she felt the roundness of a biological eyeball moving beneath her touch!
Her prosthetic eye was still on the coffee table where she left it, staring blindly at the ceiling.
So... this was real!
"My eye... it has recovered?"
Ren watched her reaction with a faint smile. "How about that? Consider it your first gift as my woman. A refund on your sacrifice."
"Now, you are free from that contract."
"..."
Iwanaga Kotoko's heart beat so fast she thought it might explode. The burden she had carried since childhood—the loss, the pain, the constant negotiation with spirits—was erased in a second.
But then, her brow furrowed. She wiggled her left leg.
It was still a stump.
She pouted, looking at him with confusion. "Since my eye has recovered, why didn't you help my leg recover too? Did your mana run out? Or is your medical license expired?"
"Hehe."
Ren's hand glided over her smooth thigh, tracing the scar tissue where her leg ended. His touch sent a shiver straight to her spine.
He licked the corner of his mouth, his eyes darkening with a specific, twisted intent.
"Sorry, Kotoko. Before I restore you completely, I want to experience the incomplete version first."
Ren leaned close, whispering directly into her ear.
"The Venus de Milo is famous because she has no arms. Perhaps... an incomplete Kotoko has a unique texture that I want to explore properly."
"Huh???"
As if hearing something incredible, Iwanaga Kotoko's eyes—both of them now—widened like brass bells.
Incomplete beauty? A fetish for the broken?
"Hiss!" She drew a sharp breath, her face a mixture of horror and excitement. "You... you pervert! You won't remove my limbs later just for fun, will you? You have a Daruma fetish?!"
"..."
Ren's forehead was full of black lines.
"I really want to see what's inside your head. It must be filled with pink sludge."
"What?"
Iwanaga Kotoko was addicted to being mischievous. Seeing that he accepted her, even desired her "broken" state, her courage skyrocketed. She exaggerated her fear to the extreme.
"Are you not even sparing my little head? Do you want to try the eye socket too?!"
"..."
Alright.
The conversation was getting a bit tiring. And dangerously close to crossing a line that shouldn't be crossed verbally.
"Regardless of your limbs and your little head, I haven't taken a liking to your eye sockets. Don't be gross."
Ren pinned her down, stopping her nonsense.
"It is still more convenient to act than to speak."
"Wait—!"
Whoosh!!!
A blush instantly rose from Iwanaga Kotoko's neck to the top of her head as she realized his intent was immediate.
Not long after, the villa was filled with sounds that required no translation.
Ren sighed contentedly against her skin.
"You're right, Kotoko. It's indeed... vigorous."
...
[Location: High Altitude - 10,000 Meters Above Japan]
Far away from the warm, intimate villa, the wind howled through the stratosphere, cold enough to freeze metal.
Two figures hovered in the sky, their silhouettes illuminated by the moonlight.
"Nymph... did we really exist before this?"
The speaker was a girl of breathtaking beauty. She had long, flowing golden hair and a voluptuous figure barely contained by her blue armor. A pair of magnificent, feathery wings unfurled behind her, keeping her aloft effortlessly.
Astrea, the close-combat Angeloid (Type Delta), looked down at the blue planet with complex, confused eyes.
She felt... unreal.
Since the moment of her "awakening" in this world, she knew there was a Master named Ren imprinted in her neural network. It was an absolute command, a fundamental truth of her programming.
Alongside that truth were two other signatures. Her friends. Her sisters.
"Who knows?"
Beside her, a smaller girl with transparent, moth-like wings glowing with cyan light hovered. Her blue hair was tied in twin tails, and a heavy electronic collar rested around her neck.
Nymph, the electronic warfare specialist (Type Beta).
She put her hands on her hips, her expression shifting between annoyance and hidden anxiety.
"Stop asking stupid questions, Delta. We'll find out the truth once we find Master, won't we? His signature is on this planet."
"Then do you know where Master is exactly?" Astrea asked, tilting her head, her processing power clearly struggling with the concept of hide-and-seek.
"Uh... I don't know."
Nymph's confidence faltered. She brought up a holographic map, typing furiously on invisible keyboards.
"His signal is... everywhere. It's like he is the world. Baka Master, making it this difficult..."
"..."
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