Eldritch

 

"Oh my goddess, my mistress! Please, forgive your unworthy followers for being so useless! We were just in every way too stunned by your entrance to contribute to your cause!" (Nanako)

 

Okay, I honestly don't know what to say anymore at this point.
After all the special effects I pulled out to convince the wonders, I should've known that the occultism club wouldn't take it much better than the literal murder ghosts.

 

"Please, leave it at this. It truly was only a show for the wonders. You don't need to be concerned." (I)

 

This might not sound all too believable after the horror show I just pulled off, but it's not like it would've been convincing if I settled for any less.

 

"A-absolutely. Naturally, you are right! Isn't that so?" (N)

"S-sure." (S)

"Of course." (J)

"You're aware how ridiculous you are?" (Y)

 

Seems like Yoko is currently a bit moody again.
I just hope she was better when she was with Hanako

And yes... Yes, I am.
Nothing to do about it.

 

"Sigh. Okay, first of all, each of you, report. I want to know how things went with the wonders before." (I)

 

The reason is mostly to determine if they were in any danger so I can decide if it's fine to outsource figuring the new rumors out to them.

 

"That nurse tried to mess with my mind. I'm not sure for what purpose, but probably nothing that would've ended on a nice note for me. Yet thanks to your boon I was able to see through what happened and could withstand it. Once I told her I'm with you, she became much more docile. It might be that her rumor doesn't involve people who are already claimed by another entity. I could even engage in a reasonable conversation with her. She was quite adamant about not wanting to change. Something about the jealousy being all she has left, but at least she stopped trying to cut off my face. On the other hand, I'm sure after what just happened, she should be easier to convince now." (N)

"The running boy was pretty chill. We had a fun race against each other. It was a draw, but I seemingly have earned his respect. All in all, I think he was open to the idea. At least after I dodged all the stones he threw at me at high speed." (S)

 

Seriously, did all the ghosts try to kill them?!

 

"Did the rest of you face similar problems?" (I)

"Well, Hanako was..." (J)

 

Yes?

 

"Honestly terrified once she noticed our badges. We were talking the whole time through the toilet door, which she refused to open. Also, she didn't like the part about changing her rumor. Felt a bit like we were bullying her. So hard in fact, that she started crying and refused to answer in the end." (Y)

"Ahem, but I wouldn't say that there we had any problems dealing with her." (J)

 

Sigh.
And my reputation, based on unfounded fear, just spreads further.
To be honest, Hanako is a classic, so it might be a bit difficult to reinterpret it without influencing all of Japan.
This leaves Chiaki.

 

"Kyumi was no problem. We're friends now and she listened to everything I had to tell her once I got into her room!" (C)

 

At this Zika interjects.

 

"Just so I get this right: You got into her space? Without permission?" (Z)

"Uhh, I might have blasted some kind of gateway. It was weird. I kinda got a hunch about what to do, and well... did it." (C)

 

Yeah, not the slightest bit concerning in a multitude of ways.
However, at least they all made it back without having fallen prey to their respective killer ghosts.

 

"Well, it's good to hear that none of you got hurt. I guess with this we can call it quits for today. I'm sure you're all already quite late to get home on time. Since I don't want to take responsibility for that, I say that for now everything's concluded.

"As you wish, my dark lady." (N)

 

Damn, I wish she would stop that.
At least, this reputation makes it so that none of them bothers me anymore.
This leaves Zika, Chiaki, and me.

 

"I need to say, today was great! Hanging out with those guys is really fun!" (C)

"Sigh. I kinda wish they wouldn't always act like that towards me." (I)

"You mean, treating you like the goddess you are? You literally consumed this room with your nightmares and can still honestly believe that they'd simply overlook that?" (Z)

"It's not like I want to. I mean, I came to terms with having those crazy powers, but this doesn't mean I'm interested in becoming a goddess. You know, with religious fanatics, temples, rituals, and all that stuff. I can really live without this." (I)

"Oh, damn, let me correct myself. You are no goddess. You're so many times worse. Seriously, at your power scale, it's impossible not to create waves. It's bound to happen that someone will notice you. By the way, what happened to the god you created last time?" (Z)

 

At this, I remember my deity problems.

 

"I was kinda able to convince him to just do the administrating in my world. I think he agreed. Not like he had much of a choice. On that note, Chiaki, how are things with Soraja?" (I)

"Oh, well, she's still kinda stubborn. She thinks that accepting your offer would corrupt her, no matter how many times I tell her how nice you are. Ridiculous, right? On the other side, she's not outright rejecting the idea anymore but rather makes arguments. So I might be able to whittle her down if I keep pushing!" (C)

 

Poor Soraja.
If Chiaki has one talent that would be it.

 

"Who and what are you talking about?" (Z)

"That deity who helped us last time on the roof. She's struggling with having no believers, so I thought, maybe we could establish her in my world. I think she would take good care of the people there and well, stop dying. That sounded like a win-win to me." (I)

 

Despite all the issues I have with Soraja, her haughtiness, fanatic hate for demons, or that tendency to force her way, in the end, she got Chiaki's approval.
That's good enough for me to trust in her character.
One wouldn't believe so, but Chiaki always had a bit of an instinct regarding whom to put her trust in.
Some kind of sense that goes beyond my soulsight.
Though, it might just be her guts and a paranormal high number of times of being right at random.

 

"Okay, I've heard enough. I'm out for today. Dying one time was enough, and right now I get the urge to bash my head somewhere at all this ridiculousness. But sure, just go around catching gods like Pokemon!" (Z)

 

That sounds slightly insulting.
As if I wouldn't be a responsible member of society.
At the very least, I'm doing what I can.

However, before I really can come up with a retort, Zika already vanished in her usual flame circle.
I let a bit of my crawling mess spread over the area, to get it back into pristine condition.

 

"Wow! That looks really handy! Can I call you over to clean my room next time?" (C)

"I just don't want the poor cleaning staff getting into a panic when they start their shift! That being said, we should as well, be on our way. Do you need a direct shortcut?" (I)

"You mean with you taking me apart and putting together in front of my home? No, I'm good. I called mum before. She thinks we're shopping." (C)

 

Now I involuntarily start to think that maybe Chiaki herself is the very bad influence her intuition tells her to avoid.
However, both of us manage to sneak out of school without another encounter with the staff and manage to get a good bus to our respective homes.
Now that I think about it, Chiaki always had good fortune.
In some way, I think it might be fine to think that being fate's chosen is rather unfair.
Though, I think I lost my right to complain at this point.

Well, let's get back home and enjoy my well-deserved pastime.