The Path to Becoming a God
The woman who appeared to be the eldest had an air of profound maturity about her. It was not merely a matter of her outward appearance — the very atmosphere she carried was the most adult of the three. Among the women, she possessed the most elegant and gentle presence.
The second seemed strongly intellectual. Though her expression put on a show of strength, her limbs trembled ever so slightly. Why, he could not quite say.
The third — he was less certain, but she struck him as something of a tomboy. Spirited and overflowing with curiosity, yet she carried the purest impression of them all. She also looked the youngest. And the glimpses of skin visible through the tears in her clothes stirred the sage in ways he found curiously unsettling. The faint scent of a woman drifting from her was intensely provocative.
"Another woman?"
Inanna flying into a rage whenever some unfamiliar woman approached Sunya was a sight so familiar it had become routine. Enki had long since learned to let it wash over him.
"They're rather pretty ones, though."
What caught Enki's eye more than Inanna's outburst were the three women who had appeared so suddenly. Even to a rake of a god with discriminating tastes, the three women's looks were exceptionally striking.
"Honestly! Grandpa Enki completely loses his head the second he sees a woman!"
"Why are you picking a fight now?"
"Because the way you act is just so damn irritating, that's why!!"
As always, the two of them launched straight into bickering. But for all his outward manner, Enki's mind was filled with thoughts of Sunya.
Just what are you, Sunya?
Sunya's past was something no one could predict even an inch ahead. It was hardly the time to say so, but if he was being honest, at some point he had started watching it all with a certain fascinated enjoyment.
Judging by how he looked now, he had almost certainly become a god — and if that was the case, things grew considerably more complicated. A human who had become a god by his own power. Ironically, a being like him would come to threaten the safety of humanity itself. No longer would humankind be regarded as "pitiful, helpless creatures in need of care," but as "potential rivals who might stab you in the back and steal your seat at any moment."
Even the gods of this place, who go so far as to lend out their own authority through something called "Astra" just to gather faith, would never simply leave Sunya alone.
They would surely take measures. Why they had abandoned humanity and left the earth in the first place remained a mystery — but given that Sunya had already encountered a god once, it did not seem as though gods were entirely absent from this world.
"…Ahem. Rest here as long as you like, then be on your way."
The sage cleared his throat and stepped out of the cave.
"It's raining right now — you're going out in weather like this?"
"We're fine, truly. Please stay. We may be guests, but we are not so lacking in manners as to drive the master of the house from his own home."
The sisters assumed the sage was being considerate of them. At that, he tilted his head.
"Why would I?"
"Well… because it's raining outside…"
"A few days of rain hardly bothers me."
"Then why are you leaving the cave?"
"Because staying here makes me uncomfortable."
"Why?"
"Looking at the three of you stirs up carnal desire, and that interferes with my training."
The sisters froze at such blunt honesty.
"I… do people normally say that out loud?"
The eldest asked. Even she, for all her experience, had never encountered a situation quite like this.
"It's the truth. If I hid it and it led to some misunderstanding later, that would only be a headache, wouldn't it?"
"Tsk. You looked like some lofty immortal hermit living out here — but getting lustful thoughts about women you've just met? Aren't you just a fraud and a charlatan?"
This time it was the second sister. As sharp-tongued as her appearance suggested.
"Why are you angry? Shouldn't you be relieved that a strange man you've only just met is voluntarily clearing out and giving you the space?"
"Th-that's…"
At that moment, the eldest pinched her younger sister's arm.
"Little sister, be quiet. That is no way to speak to our benefactor."
"Nngh! Y-yes, Sister…"
"Come now, apologize to him. Tell him you're sorry for reacting so sensitively."
"I-I'm sorry."
"As long as you understand."
The sage spoke dryly and took his leave. The three sisters could only stare blankly at his retreating back. Once they judged he had vanished from sight, the eldest fixed the second with a murderous glare.
"Arati? Did I or did I not tell you to fix that temper of yours?"
"It's not my fault — that man just had to go and make things complicated…"
"Do you still not understand men, Sister? A man grows wary of any woman who throws herself at him."
"Would you shut up? You're the scrawniest one here."
"Heh. Even so, I've taken twice as many men as you have, Sister Arati. Don't play the big sister when you don't even have the skills to back it up, will you?"
"What did you just say? Say that again, Raga."
"I said stop playing big sister when all you've got going for you is age. What, have your ears gone bad too?"
"You little brat!!"
"Nyah-nyah-nyah!"
Watching her younger sisters snarl at each other, the eldest let out a long sigh.
"Girls, could we at least not fight while we're working?"
"But Sister Tana! This little—"
"Is it wrong to call the incompetent incompetent?"
"Will the two of you just stop already!!!"
Tana finally exploded, raising her voice. At their eldest sister's fury, the younger two clamped their mouths shut like scolded children.
"I don't care if you two tear into each other. But you need to keep business and personal separate. You know perfectly well what will happen if we fail the task Father assigned us. Don't you?"
"…"
"…"
"Please. At least until the mission is complete, let's not cross that line. All right?"
"Fine, Sister."
"…Okay."
Tana clapped her hands, as if to clear the air.
"Right, then. Let's make up."
"Huh?"
"Sister, that's a bit…"
"Tsk!"
"A-all right!"
"Just do it already."
Under Tana's insistence, Arati and Raga had no choice but to reconcile. Looking as though they were handling something filthy, they gritted their teeth under Tana's glare and forced themselves into an embrace.
"Th-this is ridiculous — we should get to work!"
"She's not wrong."
"So who's going out first?"
The sisters eyed one another for a moment. Then Tana was the first to raise her hand.
"As the eldest, I suppose the vanguard falls to me."
Even after the rain stopped, the sisters did not leave at once.
"The truth is, we have our reasons. Would it be all right if we stayed here a little while longer?"
Having no particular reason to refuse, the sage did not bother driving them out. Neither did he ask after their circumstances. He simply relocated his dwelling.
"…Do you dislike us that much?"
At last the eldest came to him and asked outright. The sage answered without a moment's hesitation.
"It's not that I dislike you. It's just… uncomfortable."
"Ah… because it interferes with your training?"
"Mm."
Not a single crack in his armor. But Tana did not give up.
"Master — well… what should I call you?"
"Call me whatever you like. If you truly need something, 'Sage' is fine. That's what others call me."
"Then I'll call you Sage. Thank you, Sage."
Tana offered a bright, easy smile. It was as warm as sunlight and as soft as the fragrance of flowers.
"You're pushing us away to put us at ease, aren't you?"
"Not particularly."
"Yes, yes. I'll take it that way, then."
Tana edged a little closer and sat beside him.
"Sage, why do you live out here all alone?"
"When I'm training, this is the most comfortable way. There's no other reason beyond that."
"What kind of training are you doing?"
"Training to become a higher being."
"Why do that kind of training?"
"Because I enjoy it."
"What do you enjoy about it?"
"Combat against the strong. Fighting those stronger than myself and growing from it — that is the joy of my life. This training is merely the process toward that end."
"…You hold some rather dangerous thoughts, Sage."
For an instant Tana's face hardened, but once again the sage paid it no mind.
"Sage, are you married?"
"I was. In practice, though, I divorced."
"Why?"
"Because I didn't want to be bound. I had no desire to take on responsibilities and spend what remained of my life on things I did not wish to do. I would rather die fighting a powerful enemy than grow old and wither buried under duty and obligation."
"Ahh…"
Even as she made the appropriate sounds of interest, Tana was inwardly unsettled.
Is this even working?
When seducing someone, Tana preferred an emotional approach. She would take her time, carefully dismantling psychological barriers until the target fell into her arms and could not climb back out. To that end, she paid meticulous attention to every detail — the gestures of her hands, the rise and fall of her voice, even her scent.
But the sage spoke freely of his own past while giving her no ground whatsoever. It was not something one could tell from the content of the conversation alone. His tone, his manner, the look in his eyes — all of it said, I have absolutely no interest in you. Even the answers he gave now were only enough to satisfy her curiosity just far enough that she would stop asking. As though he were drawing a line: I've told you this much. That should be enough, yes?
"Sage… why is it that you ask us nothing about ourselves?"