Pantheon Reconstruction System

"Ow!"

The high school girl with long, straight black hair sat on the white fabric sofa, hissing in pain.

She lifted her right foot, its black stocking removed, her creamy white toes curling unnaturally from the pain.

In front of her, Luo Shu crouched on the floor with a cotton swab dipped in red antiseptic, applying it to Utaha Kasumigaoka's sole as he spoke:

"You know... letting a man you've known for less than half an hour into your home? There's a limit to how careless you should be."

"That's true..." Utaha Kasumigaoka frowned, her feet curling awkwardly where she had scraped them while running away. "But that assumes you're human!"

Hearing that, Luo Shu stopped applying the antiseptic and said with an odd expression:

"Should I take that as an insult?"

"Don't be so sensitive about descriptive terms, Mr. Deity."

Utaha Kasumigaoka looked utterly exasperated, as if to say, Is there any point in keeping up this act?

"The divine servant assisting you has already told me everything I'm allowed to know."

Utaha Kasumigaoka stressed the words "allowed to know," as if trying to emphasize something.

"Divine servant?" Luo Shu was completely bewildered. "Hold on."

System?

[Your divine servant stands ready to welcome your arrival at all times~~ finger hearts.jpg]

Wait a minute. Since when did you become my divine servant? Luo Shu was baffled, unable to make sense of the situation.

This system, the mastermind that couldn't solve the problem from the start, had forced him to find some protagonist, then manipulated monsters into forcing that protagonist to accept his terms, was now calling itself his divine servant?

What kind of servant acts like that?

[This kind, dear.]

[As for what happened earlier, please rest assured. Even if you had accidentally died despite the 99.99% safety rate, your loyal divine servant had a reincarnation system ready to ensure your return eighteen years later.]

[As for your first familiar, Utaha Kasumigaoka, her understanding is, in fact, correct.]

[This system's full name is the 'Pantheon Reconstruction System.' Its ultimate objective is to establish your mythological universe and build a 'mythology' with you at the center of its Divine Group.]

[Miss Utaha Kasumigaoka's description does not conflict with this system's mission. Please be advised.]

You're intelligent? Luo Shu's face twitched as he listened.

[This system's intelligence derives from your subconscious, so please rest assured regarding its safety~ finger hearts.jpg]

Although Luo Shu still wasn't reassured, he understood that, under the circumstances, he had no choice but to trust this reckless system.

While Luo Shu was thinking, a snowy-white foot waved back and forth before his eyes.

Unable to resist, Luo Shu reached out and caught the moving foot, then gave it a hard swipe with the antiseptic-soaked cotton swab, leaving a thin red line across its sole.

"Ow!!"

Utaha Kasumigaoka sharply sucked in a breath, tears even welling at the corners of her eyes. It took her a long while to recover before she looked at Luo Shu with reddened eyes and said:

"Are you really that eager to bully your own 'familiar,' Mr. Nameless Deity?"

"Luo Shu. You can call me that."

Luo Shu sighed, picked up the girl's other foot, then dipped a fresh cotton swab in the antiseptic and began applying it more gently:

"So how much do you know now?"

"Do you mean the part where you're an ancient deity who has just awakened, unexpectedly discovered that not a shred of faith in you has survived into the modern age, and decided to rebuild your Divine Group, only to find that your powers have all but vanished from the loss of faith, leaving you no choice but to work part-time at a bookstore?"

Utaha Kasumigaoka smiled at Luo Shu, then added:

"Incidentally, the bookstore you work at is the one I frequent, and I know the manager, too. I've held two book signings there, after all. Perhaps next time, you'll have the chance to address me as Ms. Kasumi Utako."

Luo Shu continued applying the antiseptic unhurriedly, raised his eyes to glance at the smiling Utaha Kasumigaoka, then said calmly:

"Forms of address, huh... very well. Here's a question, then: Utaha Kasumigaoka of Class 2-B, how should you address a third-year upperclassman?"

Utaha Kasumigaoka's expression froze. She hurriedly took a closer look at Luo Shu, then recalled:

"Luo Shu... Luo... the Chinese exchange student in Class 3-A at Private Toyosaki Academy? That upperclassman Luo? The violent transfer student who beat up a third-year as soon as he enrolled?"

"Looks like you remembered."

Having finished applying the antiseptic, Luo Shu tossed the cotton swab into the nearby trash can, capped the bottle, then stood up from the floor and pulled over a chair to sit on.

"Care to greet me?"

Seeing him act like this, Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't help muttering, "This island nation's despicable seniority culture."

After that muttered complaint, Utaha Kasumigaoka lowered her head to Luo Shu and said helplessly:

"Hello, senpai. Thank you for your hard work!"

"By the way, senpai, how did it feel to stroke a beautiful girl's toes?"

"Nothing special," Luo Shu replied, looking at Utaha Kasumigaoka with mild surprise. "Even if you've become my Familia or whatever, this attitude of yours... are we really that close?"

Luo Shu looked puzzled. As for whether their relationship was close

? A deity and his Familia certainly had a close bond, but both of them knew they had actually known each other for less than an hour.

In that short time, Utaha Kasumigaoka had invited him home and let him apply medicine to her bare feet. Was this really... all right?

Utaha Kasumigaoka paused at his words, then gave Luo Shu a particularly strange look:

"Senpai, didn't your divine servant tell you that a Familia has to stay with her patron deity for life?"

That's part of it, too? Taken aback, Luo Shu couldn't help asking the system. Once he received confirmation, his expression turned odd. "Seriously, how did you accept something like that so quickly?"

Hearing that, Utaha Kasumigaoka raised her left foot, which had already begun to heal, and examined its skin. Unlike before, it now looked finer and smoother than even a layer of powder could have made it:

"If a contract offered a lifespan of three hundred years, the option to remain young for life, and even special abilities, then even if the condition was 'become senpai's Familia,' I imagine the line would stretch from my house to the Pacific Ocean, wouldn't it?"

"Not to mention that if I help you ascend to your divine throne, even something as outrageous as immortality becomes possible."

"That's something ancient emperors and nobles dreamed of. It's only natural that I'm no exception, isn't it?"

Though I certainly never expected to experience a hero rescuing a damsel in distress, let alone become the heroine myself...

Utaha Kasumigaoka murmured that inwardly, but she couldn't say it to Luo Shu. On one hand, she worried that the patron deity she was destined to be tied to for life might read too much into it. On the other, it was simply a young girl's reserve.

Is this really Utaha Kasumigaoka? She's subtly different from how I imagined her back in the Three-Dimensional World...

With that thought, Luo Shu leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.

"All right. Let's say that reason holds up."

"So, now that I've finished applying the medicine, and you seem to be fine, I should head back..."

Before Luo Shu could finish, Utaha Kasumigaoka widened her eyes and said:

"So it's time to discuss how to rebuild your Divine Group, then?"

Luo Shu's expression immediately turned very strange. Why do I feel like you're more eager than I am?

Was this what they meant by the eunuch fretting while the emperor remained calm? He had learned something new...