Golden Goddess

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

“–I wonder if it’s really fine. The childish love of a child is also beautiful.”

The voice echoing in Itadori’s head said this in a somewhat admiring tone. In the pitch-black room, a shimmering golden color snatched the edge of her vision.

“W-who…?”

Itadori let out a frightened voice. For some reason, the adults who had been there earlier were nowhere to be seen or heard. As she shivered, wondering what the hell was going on, a mysterious voice spoke softly to her.

“I am the God of love, death, and fertility. Yes, I shall call myself ‘Volva’ here.”

Then the thing that called itself Volva appeared in front of Itadori in the shape of a golden sphere. The fluffy, baseball-sized sphere swayed as it spun its words.

“Your wish, I will grant it. No need to hold back. I am in a very good mood.”

“Really?”

Itadori said as if she was about to be bitten by this suspicious proposal. The golden God replied, swaying vertically, “Yeah.”

“But there is a condition.”

“Condition?”

“I’ll only ask you to do me one favor. Fufu, you don’t have to be so self-conscious about it. I will only ask you to do something simple that even a young child can do.”

Itadori was a little suspicious of this extraordinarily gentle voice, but this divine proposal was even more appealing.

But that was understandable. When you want to cling to a straw and someone offers you a hand, anyone would grab it. –No matter how dirty that hand may be.

If Hitsugi and Tsugumi had been with her at this time, they would have desperately stopped Itadori, who was about to make a contact, because it was all so suspicious. But even if they talked about what-if situations, there was nothing she could do about this now. Because she had made her choice.

“…Will you really help Nadeshiko-chan? Will you heal all her wounds too?”

“Of course. Come on, you can reach out your hand this way.”

Saying that, the gold gently approached Itadori.

–Nadeshiko-chan would be saved. She didn’t want her dear friend to die. If her life could be guaranteed, she could do anything no matter how painful it was. Because she had already made up her mind.

Itadori lowered her eyes and squeezed Yumeji’s white hand. Then she looked up and slowly extended her own right hand toward the gold with determination. Just as she was about to touch the light, Itadori shouted out.

“I accept the conditions! So, please save Nadeshiko-chan!”

“Yeah, let’s make a promise to ‘each other’.”

The smoldering uneasiness hadn’t disappeared, but she still had no regrets. It was a decision she had made herself. But for some reason, she felt the sphere, which should have had no mouth, was roaring.

–And at the same time as Itadori’s declaration, Yumeji also took the golden God’s hand. No matter what unreasonable demands were made upon her, she convinced herself that it was better than dying.

Thus, the contract was made.

The girl who wished to live and the girl who wanted to save her friend no matter what. Their pure and sincere wishes were certainly received. –But in order to gain something, a price was required. Especially if it was the price of a miracle.

The golden sphere – Volva – began to drop golden powder while spinning around Itadori.

Then, Yumeji’s breathing, which had begun to stop, slowly returned to normal. And her pale face turned a healthy shade of red.

“Nadeshiko-chan?”

When Itadori gently touched Yumeji’s wrist, she could clearly see that her pulse was beating strongly.

“I’m glad… I’m really glad…!”

–Ah, she’s alive.

Seeing Yumeji sleeping peacefully, Itadori sighed, deeply relieved. Perhaps because she had loosened up, fatigue suddenly attacked her whole body.

As Itadori leaned against the bed, Volva softly approached her right to her face.

“Don’t be so anxious. She will wake up tomorrow. –Now, about my request…”

“Yes. Um, what should I do…?”

–God’s wish. What kind of things will she say? The moment Itadori prepared herself, her body suddenly stopped moving, as if she had been paralyzed.

She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but only faint air came out and she couldn’t make a sound. Itadori looked up at Volva, asking for help, but the golden sphere was smiling.

A straight groove appeared in the sphere, and it was laughing with both ends raised up like a mouth. As if it were mocking a foolish insect.

Volva approached Itadori and said in a whisper.

“Well, it’s simple. –Lend me your body.”

With that, Volva shrunk herself to the size of a marble and jumped into Itadori’s mouth.

“–Hmm, ah!?”

Unable to avoid it, she swallowed the golden sphere. The sphere that had entered Itadori’s body slowly heated up, and eventually cut off Itadori’s consciousness.

At the same time, the electricity in the room was restored and the doctors, who had been standing unconscious, began to move. Apparently, they had no memory of the time the power was out. The doctors, who had been in a daze due to the sudden blankness of consciousness, began to make a fuss when they saw Yumeji had completely recovered.

While the doctors were puzzled, Itadori, who had fallen on the bed as if she had fainted, yawned and sat up silently.

Then she raised her hands in front of her eyes, opened and closed them several times, and muttered.

“Hm… –Not bad.”

Saying this, Itadori – the God that had entered her – grinned.

It hurt her heart to trick a young child, but it was the child’s fault for not checking the terms of the contract first. Well, I won’t make you do anything bad, God chuckled.

“Considering the strength of the vessel, the maximum time of activity would be about three hours a day, but it’s not a problem. This is going to be fun.”

–The God continued to whisper as she looked at the sleeping Yumeji, “Amaterasu won’t be able to make a bad move now that I have a convenient hostage.”

She made Itadori pay with her body and Yumeji with her life. If Amaterasu tried to eliminate the God – the being who called herself Volva – in violation of the regulations, Yumeji, whose fate of death had been twisted by Volva, would also lose her life. God laughed, saying it would be a heavy burden for the dim-witted Goddess who ostensibly pretended to be pure and innocent.

“I have been holding out until the contract is over, but I think it’s time to move on. I’ve done my duty, so I’ll let you go first. –Besides, it’s just tactless. I wonder whose ‘love’ will prevail. I’ll be there to witness it with my physical body.”

Just as the whimsical God got up to go and get something to eat in this world, someone rushed into the room. Apparently, she had sensed the strange atmosphere that filled the room. The person who rushed into the room – Hitsugi Airi – stared at the thing in the form of Itadori and shouted.

“Kanae-chan! –What did you do to those girls?!”

“…Oh dear, more trouble.”

Looking at Hitsugi, who looked like she was going to grab her, Volva let out a big sigh, thinking it would be a long time before she could go out to play.

“Calm down, Hariti’s miko. I have no intention of harming these children. Or do you need an explanation?”

“Do you expect me to believe your one-sided explanation? Don’t make me laugh.”

“Then this conversation is over. It doesn’t hurt to be harassed by a miko who has lost her powers.”

“Kuh, that’s…”

Hitsugi flinched as the thing looked at her as if she had lost interest.

–If this wasn’t a hospital, she would have been able to contact the government on the spot, but since the power was turned off, she couldn’t do that either.

She knew it would be better to turn on the power and contact the government right here, even at the risk of taking some risks, but she couldn’t give up the possibility that the thing might escape with Itadori’s body while she wasn’t paying attention. Thinking so, Hitsugi sat down on a nearby chair reluctantly while hesitating.

Laughing at the complicated expression on Hitsugi’s face, Volva began to talk cheerfully.

“Now, where should I begin–”

◆ ◆ ◆

Volva then explained the circumstances to Hitsugi straightforwardly.

Yumeji had run out of strength and was about to die. Volva made a contract with them with good intentions after seeing Itadori grieving. She explained that she had to receive something that matched the price of the miracle, and so on, mixing lies with impunity to suit herself. She didn’t think she needed to tell the truth.

Hitsugi, who didn’t know such a thing, doubted Volva’s words, but seeing Yumeji sleeping soundly, she began to believe that maybe “this person is telling the truth”.

Then, after a few exchanges, Hitsugi made a difficult face and said, “I’m going to cool my head a little. I don’t trust you, but I understand that you are sincere. Please don’t ever move from here until the treatment is decided.” and left the room. He probably realized that this matter was beyond her discretion and went to ask the government about it.

Volva looked up with a troubled look as she watched her back and muttered in amazement, “Oh dear, it’s tough being a pet dog, isn’t it?”

“My excitement is dampened. I’m going to rest until that baby bird comes…”

Volva muttered and closed her eyes, relaxing. –With this contract, I can interfere at any time. With that thought, Volva dove deep into Itadori’s mind and dissolved, vanishing.

Then, Itadori, who had regained control of her body, opened her eyes and looked around in a daze.

“What am I doing…? I am sure God…”

Holding her blurry head, Itadori groaned painfully. –She couldn’t remember anything from the time the golden light loomed in front of her. She called out to ask, “God,” but there was no response, and she couldn’t sense her presence.

Wondering, Itadori gently touched Yumeji’s hand in front of her.

“…Warm.”

Feeling relief at her temperature, Itadori slowly laid her head down on the bed. She didn’t know why, but she felt helplessly exhausted. Silently, she closed her eyes and let out a small sigh.

–Was it a dream? But long as Nadeshiko-chan is safe, anything is fine.

Thinking about this in a daze, Itadori drifted off to sleep. –A few dozen more minutes until Hitsugi asked for more details and a breathless Tsugumi rushed into the hospital room. It was the beginning of a small moment of peace.