After the commotion finally died down.
"All right, that should finish the treatment."
"Uuu, thanks..."
"Don't mention it."
I brought the flung-away Tiona back into the shop and gave her a proper treatment.
Fortunately, or perhaps as expected, Tiona hadn't been badly hurt.
Her skin and hair had been a little burned and singed, and she'd picked up some minor bruises and scrapes.
At this level, bandages soaked in potion would be more than enough.
Still, even though I'd fired it with a fair amount of mana and was confident I'd done a decent job of reproducing it, seeing that she'd actually been hurt so little was strangely nagging at me.
Hmm. Maybe this Magecraft still needed a bit more improvement.
"More importantly, Goddess, don't you have anything to say?"
"I-I'm sorry! It was all my fault! Please forgive me!"
When I turned my gaze back, there was our little goddess.
She was currently bound to a specially made magical restraint frame that I'd created to contain my anger and irritation, bawling her eyes out and begging me for forgiveness.
For the record, the frame's basic shape was a cross, and right now I'd set it up as an upside-down cross.
I hadn't given it any special function, but as an act of blasphemy, I figured it had its own meaning.
I really hoped this would make her come to her senses and show a little more godly dignity from now on.
"It's not really my place to say this, but... An, isn't that a little too rude?"
"It's fine, it's fine. Gods are sturdy, so something like that won't kill them. It won't even hurt them. Ordinary people can hold out for thirty minutes."
"I've been like this for an hour now, though!? Waaah, Bell-kuuuun!"
Unfortunately, the friend she kept singing about all the time, that Bell something-or-other, wasn't here, so she should give up quietly.
And so, together with Tiona, I cleaned up the shop, which had become a bit of a mess, repaired the door, and only after about two hours did I finally release the little goddess.
I absolutely was not working at a leisurely pace just to match the timing, so I hope nobody misunderstands that.
"Uuugh, I almost died. Honestly, I was nearly sent back to the heavens for a ridiculous reason. My head still hurts and I'm dizzy."
"Serves you right."
"Sob, if only Magus-kun had kept his promise properly in the first place, none of this would've..."
"I really was busy. And who told you to provoke me like that?"
"Hmph! Tch! Ptoo!"
"For someone who's several thousand years old, you..."
"Enough! Shut up! Hurry up and hand over that magic item for our Bell-kun already! You utterly rude heretic!"
Even if you say that.
The very nature of a Magus is heresy itself, so it doesn't really hit that hard.
But a promise is still a promise.
After a moment's thought, I changed my plan.
Instead of just making something that looked decent, I decided to make something that would truly last.
That way, this little goddess would bother me a little less, too.
Since things had come to this, it seemed like I'd need to meet that Bell something-or-other at least once.
"Is that Bell friend of yours heading into the Dungeon again today?"
"Hm? No, that's not it. We have something important to talk about today, so we agreed to meet at a café I know for a while."
"Then I'll go with you. I'll meet him and decide after that."
"Ghk! C-couldn't you just make it already? I was hoping to use it as a surprise gift and win Bell-kun's heart."
"Aren't you a little old to be after a boy young enough to be your grandson?"
"Watch your mouth, you little bratttt!"
"Even so, a debt-ridden goddess doesn't scare me at all. Ah, if you've got time, Tiona, want to come too? I actually had something I wanted to ask you as well."
"Hm? Something you want to ask me? I don't know what it is, but sure!"
"Loki's kid... Uuugh, is it really okay to show that girl Bell-kun?"
And so, after deciding on today's schedule, the three of us went together to some nameless café where we were supposed to meet Bell something-or-other.
The café had a suitably quiet atmosphere, making it a decent place for an important conversation.
Still, my mouth was getting a little lonely.
"What do you want to drink? I'll pay."
"Oh, um, I want orange juice!"
"I'd like to have this season-limited super special fruit parfait."
"Give me money. I'll go buy it."
"Pout, Magus-kun is such a cheapskate!"
"Before that, could you please act your age? Or at least carry yourself with some goddessly dignity."
"Waaah, Bell-kuuuun!"
While we were briefly refreshing ourselves with drinks on the café terrace,
"Ah, Goddess~! Hm? There are other people here too? Who are you?"
At last, the long-talked-about Bell something-or-other youth appeared before us.
But my gaze wasn't on him.
Instead, it was directed behind him.
At a girl with an even smaller build than the little goddess.
"Bell-sama, could you slow down a little... Hm? An-sama?"
"Li, Lili?!"
Splash
"Wah! What are you doing, Magus-kun! It's splashing this way, isn't it!"
I was so shocked that, without meaning to, my jaw lost all strength and dropped open.
Thanks to that, the coffee I'd been holding in my mouth spilled out and splattered all over the little goddess sitting beside me.
But I didn't have time to care about something so trivial right now.
I calmly closed my mouth again.
After roughly wiping around my mouth with the handkerchief I'd brought.
Then I took off the glasses I was wearing and carefully, thoroughly cleaned them with the cloth for wiping glasses.
Then I closed my eyes, took one calm breath, and opened them again.
It was the same.
The Lili before my eyes was the real Lili.
Thud!
"An?!"
"An-sama?!"
"Magus-kun?"
My body toppled backward on its own.
As a result, the area around us suddenly erupted into a commotion because of my bizarre behavior, but I couldn't say a word.
All I could do was cover my entire face with both hands and silently scream inside my head.
I'm so fucking embarrassed.
"What the hell was I even doing two days agoaaaaaa!"
It was something only I knew, anyway.
Still, no matter when it happens, updating your black history always feels like it's going to kill you from embarrassment.
Is this how the defeated gods at a naming ceremony feel?
I need a rat hole... no, I need a huge, thick shotgun.
Should I just blow a hole through my skull and die already?
"Still."
"I'm glad we met again alive."
"I'm really glad."
And just like that, I was able to reunite with Lili.
Thank you, Goddess.