"Is there anything else?"
Lin looked at Sakuragawa Rikka.
Iwanaga Kotoko remained silent, acting as a spectator at this moment.
"I..."
Sakuragawa Rikka hesitated, stopping herself just as she was about to speak.
Her hands clenched tightly into fists.
From her expression, the internal conflict she was experiencing was evident.
About ten seconds passed.
"If there's nothing else, we're leaving."
Just as Lin deliberately showed a hint of impatience, Sakuragawa Rikka took a deep breath and spoke out:
"I am willing to become the Shrine Maiden who serves you, Lord God."
As her voice fell, the Codex of All Things transmitted a notification that it had lit up.
Hearing Sakuragawa Rikka's words, Iwanaga Kotoko pursed her small lips slightly; sure enough, once targeted by Lin, there was no running away.
Lin, however, raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at her. "Are you sure?"
One had to know that after becoming a Shrine Maiden, the wish Sakuragawa Rikka had always wanted to realize would become impossible to achieve.
So why was she doing this?
Seeming to see through Lin's confusion, Sakuragawa Rikka calmly said:
"I am sure."
"However, I hope, Lord God, that you can completely remove all the abilities I obtained by devouring yokai."
"..."
Hearing this, Lin couldn't help but exchange a glance with Iwanaga Kotoko.
Subsequently, Lin smiled and said:
"No problem."
Ordinary immortality and the ability to briefly predict the future at the cost of death were, in truth, not particularly good things.
In any case, the Codex was already lit up.
Even if the abilities were removed now, it would not affect the Codex's level.
"How do we do it?"
Hearing Lin agree to her request, Sakuragawa Rikka's eyes brightened, and she revealed a happy, faint smile for the first time.
"Don't resist."
Lin smiled and approached her.
Sakuragawa Rikka's gaze flickered slightly, and her heartbeat involuntarily sped up a little.
She stood in place without making any move.
Arriving in front of Sakuragawa Rikka, Lin reached out and lifted her chin.
"!!!"
Sakuragawa Rikka's body tensed instantly.
She opened her eyes slightly wider, looking at Lin.
On her pale cheeks, devoid of healthy color, a blush appeared for the first time due to shyness.
Lin lowered his head and captured her red lips.
Sakuragawa Rikka's pupils contracted, and her eyes widened a bit more.
Her first kiss was gone just like that.
From childhood to adulthood, this was her first time having intimate contact with the opposite sex.
When her teeth were gently pried open by Lin.
Too late to feel shy about it, she felt an invisible and powerful force flowing into her body.
It instantly diffused throughout her whole body.
It made her feel as if her body was a parched land meeting prolonged rain; an unprecedented sense of fulfillment echoed in every part.
Finally, it gathered in her lower abdomen.
Iwanaga Kotoko watched her man kissing another girl right in front of her, and her eyes couldn't help but widen a little.
Although she felt a bit jealous in her heart.
But she did not turn away.
Instead, she focused her attention, staring straight at the two of them kissing, admiring the scene.
At this moment, Lin was multitasking.
While kissing Sakuragawa Rikka.
He was forming a clansman contract, bestowing upon the other party the power of the Green Kingship authority.
At the same time, he used the power of the concept of separation.
He separated the abilities Sakuragawa Rikka had produced from devouring the meat of mermaids and kappas from her, along with the poison that was specialized against yokai.
Five or six minutes later.
Lin and Sakuragawa Rikka separated.
His hands held her shoulders.
Sakuragawa Rikka, who had closed her eyes during the process, slowly opened them. Seeing Lin in front of her, a flash of shyness appeared in her eyes.
Scattered blushes remained on her face.
Although she was not a normal person in certain matters due to her experiences, essentially, she was no different from a normal girl.
However, she quickly regained her composure.
Ignoring her accelerated heartbeat and the inexplicable throbbing deep in her heart, she focused on sensing the changes in herself.
"It's really gone..."
As she lost the immortality and the death precognition abilities, she faintly perceived the change in her heart.
Her eyes reddened, something that hadn't happened in a long time.
There was an impulse to shed tears.
One had to know that when killing herself time and time again, she could do it without batting an eyelid, yet now she couldn't help but want to cry.
Although the culprit who caused her to have such tragic experiences had already been killed by her, these two abilities had still remained.
To her, they were a burden of sin.
Now, the burden of sin that had been weighing on her heart had finally disappeared.
It was as if a large stone in her heart had been moved away.
"Start trying to live a new life from now on, Rikka."
"Although this world inevitably has much darkness, it has never lacked beautiful scenery."
"You have me by your side from now on."
Seeing this, Lin reached out and pulled her into his embrace, gently patting her back and comforting her in a soft tone.
"...Mhm."
Being pulled into Lin's arms and listening to his comfort, Sakuragawa Rikka was stunned for a moment, ripples of water shimmering in her eyes.
With a soft hum of agreement.
Tears wet Lin's chest.
Sakuragawa Rikka's hands hugged Lin's waist for the first time.
She rested her head against his chest.
She let the tears slide from the corners of her eyes.
Seeing this, Iwanaga Kotoko's gaze flickered slightly. She didn't feel jealous.
Instead, she felt a bit of heartache for Sakuragawa Rikka.
Although she couldn't fully empathize, having a rough understanding of the other party's experiences, she could imagine what kind of torture it had been.
Average people found it hard to bear even a little injury.
Let alone using a knife to kill oneself again and again.
She found it somewhat hard to imagine how many times Sakuragawa Rikka had actually died to be able to do it without changing her expression.
If it were her, she probably would have collapsed long ago.
Time flowed slowly.
About five minutes later.
"I'm alright now..."
Sakuragawa Rikka, who had basically adjusted her emotions, lifted her head from Lin's embrace; tear stains could still be faintly seen on her face.
Her complexion was now rosy and lustrous.
The power of the clansman contract and Aura was nourishing her body.
Hearing this, Lin let go of her.
Then he smiled and said, "Next, we should get to know each other formally. Let's sit down and continue chatting."
The three sat back in their seats.
Lin spoke first: "My name is Lin, and my surface identity is a first-year high school student at Private United High School in Tokyo."
"I have many other identities, such as God. You can treat me as the God who Governs All Phenomena."
After simply introducing himself, Lin looked at Iwanaga Kotoko.
Seeing this, Iwanaga Kotoko looked at Sakuragawa Rikka and said with a smile:
"Hello, my name is Iwanaga Kotoko. I am also Lin's Shrine Maiden."
"Hello..."
Sakuragawa Rikka's gaze flickered slightly upon hearing this.
Then, with a look of calm curiosity, she asked, "Didn't Lin say before that you were both Gods?"
Since they were both Gods, why was Iwanaga Kotoko the same as her?
Iwanaga Kotoko smiled at this:
"Because one of my identities is the God of Wisdom for yokai."
"I was taken from my home by yokai when I was eleven years old, and they requested that I become their God of Wisdom."
"I agreed to them."
"The price was my right eye and left leg."
Hearing this, Sakuragawa Rikka's line of sight couldn't help but shift slightly.
Looking at it, it didn't look like a prosthetic.
Iwanaga Kotoko continued, "However, after meeting Lin, he helped me heal my lost eye and leg."
A look of realization flashed through Sakuragawa Rikka's eyes, and then she introduced herself:
"My name is Sakuragawa Rikka, twenty-six years old this year. As for my origins, you already know them."
Time passed through the fingers like the wind.
Unknowingly, the second day arrived.
Sakuragawa Rikka and Iwanaga Kotoko remained temporarily in Nagano Prefecture, while Lin returned to his residence and began heading toward the Yokai Realm.
________________________________________
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