Nekomimi Maid Gigachad Triumphs and the Divine Summons Arrives

Nekomimi Maid Gigachad had successfully thwarted the first doomsday. Thanks to that, I could enjoy some leisurely hobbies of my own—like tossing gold coins to Canaria and watching her perform tricks.

"The puppy impression's getting a bit stale. Got any new tricks?"

"...Do you perhaps prefer cats over dogs, Your Grace?"

"Cats are pretty cute."

Canaria's face ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fell like a golden retriever rejected from a walk. She whimpered softly, peeking at me from the corner of her eye—it seemed the revelation that I was Team Cat had hit her hard. Wait, why was she empathizing with the dog? You're a person. A human. Not a damn puppy.

"Canaria."

"Yes."

"Repeat after me: I am not a puppy; I am a person."

"I am a puppy."

Perfect. Her brain was thoroughly fried. Maybe a side effect of the telepathy magic. No choice but to deploy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Gigachad.

"I've realized it now. My limits are decided solely by myself. If infinite potential exists within me, then surely the potential of a puppy does too, right? I was fated to become Your Grace's loyal puppy. No—I forged that fate myself."

Hmm. It was so logical I couldn't even counter it. Even Gigachad was stunned by Canaria's overwhelming madness. Making a Gigachad (Ver. Puppy-Eared Maid) later might be fun. It'd be effective against mental attacks.

"Your Grace, that's disgusting. Get rid of the hallucination."

"Oh. Sorry. I just pictured it for a second."

The maid outfit on a petite frame made his massive pecs obscenely prominent, and those puppy ears on his head were utterly grotesque. I switched the puppy ears to cat ears.

Better. Much ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠better. Cats really are cuter than dogs.

"Are you actually gay?"

Canaria straight-up said in my head, 'Are you really gay?' ...No, she said it out loud?

"Aren't you getting too comfortable lately?"

"Do something about that monstrosity. It's making me nauseous."

"A shame you can't appreciate the aesthetics in this Gigachad design."

I swallowed my regret and deleted the hallucination. I'd have to seal away Gigachad (Ver. Nekomimi Maid) for later use.

"Please seal it away forever."

"Can you read minds now too?"

"I've been sharing Your Grace's telepathy for months now. I can guess roughly."

"Really?"

Fine then. Time to plan something so outrageous Canaria couldn't even guess it. You've bruised my pride.

All nobles in this world were bloodlines chosen by the gods. This wasn't a metaphor. The gods actively intervened in the world through heroes and shrine maidens, personally bestowing Divine Names on those who achieved great feats. Family names like Nosferatu or Proheden were all directly granted by the gods.

I'd delegated all official duties to my vassals, but I was still a Nosferatu. My authority was upheld solely by divine endorsement.

"Your Grace, a letter has arrived from the temple."

"Oh?"

That meant if the temple summoned me, I had to go running. Canaria handed me the letter. A plain white envelope with no adornments, sealed with an opulent gold stamp melted down for the wax. The gold seal permitted only to the imperial family or temples.

To sum up the letter's contents:

A simple threat. Of course, it was just a threat—they wouldn't actually revoke a Divine Name granted directly by the gods. A mere priest couldn't arbitrarily strip it away. Still, antagonizing the temple was unwise. It would give other nobles and lords an excuse, and even my own vassals might start doubting my legitimacy.

"What a hassle. Going to the temple in person feels like sticking my head in a tiger's mouth."

"Shall I go in your stead?"

"Replacing you with an illusion would be even more trouble, so no."

I could manipulate everyone's perceptions at the destination to send Canaria as a stand-in. But no matter how I thought about it, that sounded more annoying. Better to just wrap up the succession ceremony cleanly and come back. It wouldn't take long anyway.

"The Temple of the Scales and Contracts, right?"

"Yes."

At least it was the Temple of the Scales and Contracts, the most moderate among this world's temples. If it had been the meddlesome Justice or overbearing Compassion, I'd have considered abandoning the family outright. A Nosferatu blessed by such gods wouldn't have earned grim nicknames like "assassination dynasty" in the first place.

"They say they'll send escorts to the temple if needed."

"Tell them to send them. The strongest heroes they've got."

"Pardon? Shall I really reply like that? The Nosferatu have plenty of knights."

In truth, offering escorts was just rhetorical flourish to block excuses like "it was too dangerous so we couldn't go." A house like Nosferatu wouldn't lack knights. For face-conscious nobles, requesting escorts from a temple was a blow to prestige.

But I didn't need to care about face. It was the Nosferatu's prestige at stake, not mine.

"Why waste our knights' stamina? They're bossing us around arbitrarily, so it pisses me off. We should milk every service we can get."

"...Understood."

Canaria nodded and took the letter to the steward. She'd handle the wording perfectly. With that, I naively enjoyed some rare downtime—and finally, people from the temple arrived.

"An honor to meet Duke Nosferatu. I am the hero Heinrich Royce, assigned to escort you to the temple. I humbly serve the God of the Scales and Contracts. This is my squire, Priscilla."

"Greetings. Priscilla here."

Wow, the temple sent a hilariously perfect lineup. A shrine maiden playing hero, and a former witch. They might as well have known my identity. Probably some "entity" pulled strings. I glanced at the sky for a moment. Clear and cloudless.

'Ah, yes. Sorry for impersonating a revelation. But she's talent you'd like, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right?'

Among heroes of the Scales and Contracts, many were disabled. Blind, deaf, one-armed, crippled legs—the works. This stemmed from the unique nature of the Scales' power. The greater the loss or innate lack—"what was given up" or "what was never had"—the stronger the power granted.

To one who couldn't walk due to missing legs, it gave free-flying wings. To the sightless, wisdom that pierced without eyes. Sacrifice one thing to gain another—that was the Scales' authority.

And Priscilla had forsaken everything she'd built in life. Witch powers, eternal life, familial love... even her own life. The moment she received formal baptism, she'd become a hero greater than any other.

'I'll finish the succession ceremony and donate generously to the temple.'

With that self-justification and a bit of bribery tossed into my prayer, we struck a deal. I accepted the greeting from the hero-actress shrine maiden.

"The honor is mine to receive the temple's invitation. This is my exclusive maid, Canaria."

"An honor to meet a hero."

There were female heroes in the temples too, but this shrine maiden was cross-dressing for some reason. Must have some shady tastes she couldn't share with others.

"...No."

"Pardon?"

"I know what you're thinking, but no."

Huh?

"Ah."

She was the deaf one.

"......"

"......"

The Scales were equal and just. For every sacrifice, it promised equal—or greater—reward. But some devotees were a bit more equal. Those especially beloved by the gods were called shrine maidens. They received powers stronger than any hero.

The Scales' shrine maiden was no exception. If she gouged out her own eyes, she'd foresee the future. Sever her legs, and she'd fly the skies. Thrust an awl into her ears to go deaf—

We could read each other's thoughts. The Nosferatu heir and the Scales' shrine maiden began conversing in our minds.

They'd permit using shrine maidens. Meaning I could impersonate "revelations" as much as I wanted. I'd expected the Scales to overlook my fake revelations—they respected human ways and rarely interfered directly even with their chosen maidens.

But I hadn't anticipated nasty gods like Justice or Compassion backing me too. The gods didn't want the world to end either, apparently. This massively expanded my options. I might even meddle with the "imperial family," which I'd left alone so far.

And so, my secret pact with the gods to save the world was sealed.