Chapter 4: For Every God That Discards, There Is a God (?) Who Picks Up

Chapter 4: For Every God That Discards, There Is a God (?) Who Picks Up For Every God That Discards, There Is a God (?) Who Picks Up

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The place I was sucked into next was a stark contrast to the void, a completely white space.

Having gotten used to the pitch-dark void, the brightness was blinding!

“Oh... oh! You’ve made it here safely...!”

A cute female voice echoed inside my head (?) as I was dazzled by the brightness.

“With a soul so calm and unshaken even when cast into the void... truly remarkable.”

The voice praised me, sounding on the verge of tears. When I turned around, there was... a vague silhouette of a woman.

A beautiful, gently glowing mass of blue light.

She seemed far more divine than any of the gods who had been at the auction, at least to me.

Probably she’s also a god. A provisional god, let’s say. Somehow warm, and I felt a great sense of familiarity.

This provisional god.

Holding tongs in her right hand.

Fanning a charcoal grill with a fan in her left hand.T/his chapter is updat/ed by nov(ê(l)biin.c/o/m

...was grilling meat.

The fat dripped onto the heated charcoal, sizzling deliciously.

...What is this???

“Welcome, Runa Aihara. A soul reaped from another world. I am ‘The Vessel.’ ‘The Vessel of a Nameless God’... Created without power, merely an observer...”

Wait! Don’t flip the meat while introducing yourself in such a solemn voice!

What is this!? What are you doing!?

“...Hehe, as you see, it’s barbecue. Come, join me. You must be hungry, right?”

No, I get that it’s barbecue! But what’s the situation!?

What’s happening to me!? What have I gotten myself into!? Wait, can you hear my thoughts!? And, that meat looks really tasty, may I have some please!?

“You seem confused. I will explain the situation you’re in. As for your thoughts... they are quite easy for me to read, so I’ve taken the liberty of looking into them. The meat is meant for you to eat, so please, help yourself.”

Really? You’re giving me the meat!? Yay!

As my soul floated closer, this provisional god... ‘The Vessel’ switched the tongs for chopsticks to offer me the meat.

The meat was absorbed by my soul, and I was flooded with the taste and satisfaction of eating meat.

Oh... this meat is delicious!

So, you can eat in a soul state, huh!

“Ufufu. No, it doesn’t smell bad. I’m used to it. ...In fact, to me, it’s a very nice scent.”

Is that so?

“Yes. Those who said it was a dirty smell are rude and foolish. You shouldn’t worry about not being liked by such foolish gods. ...And so, what I saw when I peered into the venue was the scene of you being discarded into the void. ...Though I’ve been amused by the lives of reincarnated individuals myself, I felt that such cruelty should not be allowed. It’s one thing to reap souls without permission, but to irresponsibly discard them is unacceptable! That’s why I thought I had to help. Normally, souls sucked into the void disperse and vanish.”

So, that’s what the void is... a scary place...!

If I had been in the void longer, I might have vanished...?

“Eh, yes. That’s why I thought I had to rescue you quickly. This space... it’s my personal space, so I moved here in haste.”

Yes.

“To save you.”

Yes.

“And that’s why I started grilling meat.”

...Yes. That’s the part I don’t get...

“The void is an endless darkness, an infinite expanse between worlds.”

The “Vessel of the God,” glowing faintly blue, continued speaking while grilling meat.

“Once you fall into it, rescuing someone is extremely difficult. I needed you to somehow come close to the coordinates of my personal space.”

Uh... um, that sounds complicated, but basically...

“I grilled meat, letting its smell drift into the void, to signal the existence of this space to you. And as planned, you were drawn here by the smell of the grilled meat. ...Ah! Ah!! I’m so glad I could help! It was a gamble to try grilling meat, but I’m really glad I did...!!”

The “Vessel of the God” once again became emotional, making a gesture as if wiping her eyes.

What’s this, she’s quite sentimental.

...The act of grilling meat to rescue a soul from the void might seem hard to understand just from the words...

But it’s clear she did this thinking of me.

Thank you!

...But why did she go to such lengths for me?

“...”

The “Vessel of the God” stopped grilling meat and faced me directly.

“I simply wanted to help you. There’s no lie in that feeling. However, to be honest, there was also a calculation. If I could help you, there was something I wanted to ask of you.”

A request, you wanted to ask?

“Yes. Runa Aihara. Would you... with me...

...like to undergo a reincarnation?”