V4Ch5: Black’s Baton

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Shion came home.

This was completely unexpected.

We all fell silent at the sudden turn of events. We weren't doing anything wrong, but since Shion's return wasn't part of the plan, nobody spoke.

…Calm down.

There's no reason to be shaken. It should be as simple as saying that I have friends over. Shion is a sensible girl, so she wouldn't just barge into my room. Besides, she wouldn't even know who was here.

“Eh? These shoes… Onee-sama!?”

A voice called out from the entrance.

Shion regularly meets Kuromine. Apparently, she recognized her just by the shoes. The fact that she could tell from just that was a little unsettling, but—

“I bought those shoes with Shion-chan a little while ago.”

Kuromine muttered softly.

“I thought you preferred shopping alone?”

“She insisted afterward, saying she absolutely had to come with me.”

“…Seriously?”

If they bought them together, it made sense that Shion could recognize them.

That didn't really matter right now.

The issue was that Shion was now heading up the stairs. At this rate, she was definitely going to come to my room.

How should I explain this in a way that doesn't raise any suspicions? Saying that this particular group was just casually hanging out together would be too strange.

“Leave this to me.”

“…Renji?”

“I can tell just by looking at your face. You don't want her to know about the past, and you don't have a good excuse for why we're all here. I've got an idea—just follow my lead.”

He must have understood Kuromine's situation from our earlier conversation.

But it was best to keep Shion in the dark about it. Her reaction was unpredictable, and I didn't want to risk damaging our good relationship with unnecessary information.

I wasn't confident I could pull this off myself, so I had no choice but to go along with Renji's plan.

“…Alright. I haven't told Shion anything about the past, so keep that in mind.”

Renji gave a confident thumbs-up.

“Got it. Kuromine, you go along with it too.”

“…Understood.”

Kuromine nodded slightly and put her glasses into her bag. Just as she did, the sound of hurried footsteps came up the stairs. Then, after briefly entering her own room, Shion knocked on mine.

I started to get up, but Renji stopped me and opened the door himself.

“Onii-cha—”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Ah—Inuyama-senpai!?”

Renji and Shion were meeting for the first time.

She clearly knew who he was—after all, he was the reigning “Male God”—but seeing him coming out of my room left her completely stunned.

Shion froze on the spot, her brain seemingly unable to process the situation.

“You seem to know who I am, but let's do this properly. I'm Renji Inuyama, a second-year.”

“Uh… I'm Shion Nijitani, a first-year.”

They exchanged introductions.

“Um… Why is Inuyama-senpai here?”

Afterward, Shion peeked into the room and spotted Kuromine. Then, her eyes landed on me, and she let out a relieved sigh.

She must have felt reassured after confirming that it really was my room.

“Shion-chan. I get that you're confused, but hear me out.”

“Y-Yes?”

“The truth is, we're having a strategy meeting today.”

“A strategy meeting?”

“Yes. We're discussing how to make Shota the next Male God.”

…Eh?

What the hell was he saying?

I was completely caught off guard, but Shion seemed even more confused.

“O-Onii-chan… as the Male god…?”

She muttered, her mouth slightly agape as if repeating the words would help her comprehend them.

That was understandable. She came home to find the current Male and Female god(dess) in her brother's room, and now they were talking about making him the next Male Deity. It made no sense at all.

“Wait… Inuyama-senpai, you're friends with Onii-chan?”

“We're best friends.”

“Best friends!?”

Technically, he wasn't wrong.

He wasn't wrong, but he could have just said “friends.” “Best friends” was a bit much, considering how recently we met. It made the whole thing feel even more surreal.

Didn't I just tell him not to bring up the past?

“I had no idea… Onii-chan is close with Inuyama-senpai…”

With no choice, I nodded firmly.

“Where did you two even meet?”

“Well, we were both the final runners in the relay during the sports festival, remember? That gave us the chance to talk, and we just clicked. After that, we became close instantly.”

That was a stretch. Even I knew that sounded incredibly forced. The timeline was way too fast. But there wasn't really a better excuse.

“…I see. So Onii-chan earned your recognition.”

I wasn't sure what she meant, but she seemed to accept it.

“I get why Inuyama-senpai is here, but why is Onee-sama in Onii-chan's room?”

Her next question was, of course, about Kuromine.

That was fair.

Now, how do we explain this?

“…To help out.”

Before I could respond, Kuromine spoke.

“You're helping Onii-chan?”

“Half right.”

“Half?”

“I was just waiting here for you to come home. I do support Shota becoming the Male God, but more than that, I want to help you.”

“…Help me?”

“You remember what we talked about before, right? I think you're suited to be the Female goddess. That's why I want to aim for the first-ever sibling god pair.”

…Come on, not you too, Kuromine.

“When you became a Female goddess candidate, you came to me for advice, remember? Back then, you didn't seem entirely against the idea.”

“W-Well… I do admire Onee-sama's position…”

After Shion said that,

“Well, um… it would be a lie to say I have no interest in the title of ‘Goddess' at all. It feels like I'm being acknowledged, and it's satisfying to hear people say I'm cute.”

It felt a little different from when she spoke to me earlier, but this was probably her true feelings.

Of course, it was natural to have some interest.

Anyone would be happy to be chosen. Even if there were feelings of annoyance, jealousy, or concerns about dealing with others' expectations, there was no way being chosen wouldn't feel good. It fulfilled a desire for recognition, and there was a sense of superiority as well.

“You probably already know, but I have no intention of continuing as the Goddess.”

“…Yes.”

“I'm not suited for it, nor am I worthy.”

“That's not true! There are students who enrolled at Tenka Academy because they admired you, Onee-sama. Even I did!”

Shion said that with an impassioned voice.

“Thank you. Hearing that makes me glad I became the Goddess. But I still think suitability matters. I'm just not cut out for it. Besides, it was such a hassle that I never want to do it again. That's why I declined, and I have no intention of taking it back.”

“……”

Kuromine stated her decision firmly.

“Among everyone I've seen, Shion is the most fitting to be the Goddess. You were amazing during the sports festival too. The Purple Team had high morale, and the atmosphere was great until the very end.”

“That was—”

“Shion, your smile makes people happy. That's why I want to recommend you as the next Goddess. I have no lingering attachment to the title, but I would hate for the successor to be someone unworthy. In that sense, if you were to become the next Goddess, I could be at ease. This is just my selfish wish, and you're completely free to decline.”

Kuromine looked straight into Shion's eyes.

“I want you to succeed me as the Goddess.”

There was a brief pause.

Shion seemed to gather her thoughts, then took a deep breath and nodded.

“I understand. I, Shion Nijitani, will take the baton from you, Onee-sama!”

“…Baton?”

“You know how people often say they ‘pass the baton' or ‘connect the baton' in situations like this? Like in a relay race during the sports festival.”

Hearing that, Kuromine chuckled.

“I'm bad at sports, so I've never done a relay before. This will be my first baton pass.”

“Leave it to me! I will definitely become the sibling deity!”

Fired up, Shion was bursting with enthusiasm.

“Well, well… things have taken an interesting turn. I was using this opportunity to push Shota toward becoming the male god, but Kuromine played her own hand well. This culture festival is going to be fun. Personally, I wanted Momoka and Shota to be the god, but let's see how things unfold.”

Renji smirked, clearly enjoying himself.

Wait… did he just say he was “using this opportunity”? I'd have to hit him with a wrestling move later.

The conversation had progressed without my input, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

“So, let's do our best together, Onii-chan!”

“U-uh…”

Against my will, I had somehow been swept into aiming to become a god.