Eri, who had returned to being an angel, flapped her pure white wings with a loud flap.
Her silver hair, shining like the stars of the night sky, emitted a faint golden aura.
Eri now radiated a sacred pressure unlike when she was a Demon Lord.
"Haa… Seriously?" (Eri)
She drooped her shoulders in disappointment.
"Eri?" (Eugene)
"Eri-san?" (Sumire)
When Sumire and I asked what was wrong…
"I was planning to laze around in the mortal realm for quite a while longer…but now I have to go back to the Divine Realm. My Fallen Angel life where I could sleep about twenty hours a day without anyone waking me up is over… sniff…" (Eri)
"......"
Sumire and I looked at each other.
It didn't seem like a very serious problem.
But something still bothered me.
"Eri…if you return to the Divine Realm…does that mean we can't meet anymore?" (Eri)
Sumire's eyes widened at those words.
"Ah… well…" (Eri)
Eri scratched her cheek awkwardly.
Returning to the Divine Realm meant the same as my mother.
Which meant that with Sumire and me in the mortal realm…
— "There is no need to worry, Eugene Santafield. Eri-san will take on the role of administrator of the Zenith Tower." (Ilia)
A divine message came from the Destiny Goddess Ilia-sama, who had descended into Rita-san's body.
""""Eh?""""
The surprised voices came from Eri, me, Sumire, Anemoi, and…
— "W-Why!? Isn't Eri supposed to return to me, the Wood Goddess!? Ilia! What authority do you have to do something like that!? I will not allow it!"
Apparently the Wood Goddess Freyja-sama had descended into Mariel-san at some point and was panicking.
(They descend pretty casually…) (Eugene)
"T-Two goddesses descending at the same time…" (Sara)
Sara's eyes were wide.
"Is that rare?" (Eugene)
"T-That's impossible…" (Sara)
Sara answered when I quietly asked.
"So…does that mean I'll be working at the Zenith Tower? If that's the case I won't have to return to the Divine Realm, and the job seems easy, so I'd actually be grateful…but is it really okay for me not to return to Freyja-sama?" (Eri)
Eri still seemed confused.
— "No! I will not accept this! Eri will return to serve me, the Wood Goddess! Who decided such a thing on their ow—" (Freya)
— "It is the decision of the Sun Goddess, the elder sister Althena-sama." (Ilia)
— "......"
"......"
The Wood Goddess and Eri both fell silent at the same time.
"Hm, truly fascinating. To think even the name of the Sun Goddess has appeared. I wonder what Erinyes-dono's standing in the Divine Realm is like. If only we could observe the Divine Realm from here." (Uther)
From a short distance away I heard Principal Uther muttering after listening to the conversation.
He was clearly enjoying this.
"Hey Eri, becoming an administrator of the Tower means the same job as Rita-san, right?" (Eugene)
"Hm…it seems so. But the work here is mostly clerical, so I don't understand why a combat angel like me would be assigned here…" (Eri)
— "Eri-san will also make regular visits to the Deep Sea Temple in addition to the Zenith Tower. This is an instruction from Elder Sister." (Ilia)
"Eeh!?"
When Eri heard the Destiny Goddess's words, her face visibly turned pale.
"Eri, are you okay?" (Eugene)
I hurriedly supported her as she almost collapsed.
"Um… Ilia-chan…is the Sun Goddess angry? I mean, being sent to the Deep Sea Temple is a bit…" (Eri)
"Is the Deep Sea Temple really that bad?" (Eugene)
Eri, who always seemed fearless, was trembling.
"The Old God sealed in the Deep Sea Temple is the problem… I've only met her once, but she was truly… no, I'll stop there." (Eri)
"Is it that bad…?" (Eugene)
For Eri to fear something this much…
— "Eri-san, it will be fine. The Water Goddess Eir-oneesama is also at the Deep Sea Temple. Besides, we cannot send a new angel to deal with that Goddess…" (Ilia)
"......It's over." (Eri)
Eri collapsed to the ground on her hands.
For now, it seems we won't be separated from Eri.
But her level of despair was incredible.
While Sumire and I were wondering what to say to her…
— "Now then, Eugene Santafield and Claude Percival." (Ilia)
"Y-Yes!" (Claude)
"Yes." (Eugene)
The Destiny Goddess called our names.
— "Your battle with the Red Dragon earlier was magnificent. Without your strength, overcoming the Trial of the Gods would have been difficult. And…you have both received power from 'something,' have you not?" (Ilia)
(Oh, now the focus has shifted to us.) (Loki)
I heard the Demon God's muttering.
Claude and I looked at each other.
"Goddess-sama! There's a reason for that…!!" (Sara)
Sara raised her voice.
Claude worshipped the Demon God.
And I even became a Demon Lord.
It made sense that a Goddess couldn't simply ignore that.
(…What kind of punishment will we receive?) (Eugene)
I suddenly noticed Sumire and Airi looking at me worriedly.
Would we be imprisoned in the 7th Sealed Prison like Eri?
But Eri apparently entered that place voluntarily.
I'd have to ask about that later.
The Goddess continued while I was thinking about such things.
— "A contract with a forgotten Old God. Normally such a thing cannot be permitted. However, the matter of the Red Dragon was also due to an oversight on my part as the Destiny Goddess. Therefore, it shall be overlooked." (Ilia)
(Thank goodness!) (Eugene)
Looking around, Claude looked relieved.
Sumire, Sara, and Airi also wore expressions of relief.
However…
(Is there still more?) (Eugene)
Tension ran through us.
— "Those who have overcome such a trial should not leave empty-handed. Even if the achievement was accomplished with power gained from a contract with an Old God… Therefore, Eugene Santafield and Claude Percival: I grant both of you the title of Sword Saints. The priestesses of the Goddess Church will deliver the official divine message." (Ilia)
""Eh!?""
Claude and I spoke at the same time.
The conversation had jumped so far ahead that I couldn't keep up.
As I stood there confused, I heard the Demon God's voice.
(It seems the Goddesses are quite frustrated that I got to talented people like you first. They probably want to overwrite your contract with a Demon God using the Sword Saint title from the Goddess Church.) (Loki)
(Is it really okay for us to call ourselves Sword Saints because of that?) (Eugene)
The Sword Saint was supposed to be a symbol of peace who saved the world.
(Hahaha! You're serious, aren't you? A Goddess of the Holy Gods who rule this world has said it herself. Just accept it quietly. That's the adult way to handle things.) (Loki)
(I see…) (Eugene)
It felt a little unsettling, but I decided to quietly follow the Demon God's advice.
After that, the Goddess spoke to Principal Uther, Rosalie-san, President Media, and the First Knight.
Everyone who had fought the Red Dragon received words from the Goddess.
It seems they will also receive some form of divine blessing.
Sara declined her blessing, saying, "It is too great an honor!"
Sumire was unexpectedly offered the chance to "return to her original world once more" by the Goddess, but she said, "I'm fine! I'll stay in this world!" and refused.
Airi said, "Can I decide later?" and put it on hold.
She's quite sly.
As for me, I listened to everything with a somewhat absent mind.
"What's wrong? You're spacing out." (Eri)
Eri, who seemed to have recovered from her depression, poked my shoulder.
"So many things happened…my mind hasn't caught up." (Eugene)
Yesterday we time-traveled from the future together.
This morning the Red Dragon's Trial of the Gods began.
To win, I became a Demon Lord.
And just now the Goddess told me to call myself a Sword Saint.
My environment had changed this rapidly only once before…
During the Selection Exam at the Imperial Military School.
No, this was far more than that.
"You're still Eugene, aren't you? You're the man who made me fall, so hold yourself with confidence!" (Eri)
Smack! She slapped my back.
That made me feel a little clearer.
"Yeah…you're right." (Eugene)
It was finally starting to feel real.
We defeated the Red Dragon's trial.
The Dungeon City didn't collapse.
The war on the South Continent will surely be stopped.
That dark future had been avoided.
(I see… We did it.) (Eugene)
I tightly gripped the hilts of the God Katana and the White Sword that fought alongside me and looked up at the sky.