At that moment, Princess Sita was seated gracefully on a cushion, a peerless young woman who looked as if she had stepped out of a Heian picture scroll.
She lived up to the title of princess. She wore an elaborate, magnificent twelve-layered kimono, its many overlapping hems flowing in vivid hues like molten gold and cherry-pink mist. Beneath the dim light of the Netherworld, the fabric shimmered with a soft halo.
Her long flaxen hair fell smoothly down her back, making her small, delicate face appear all the more translucent. Her skin seemed carved from the finest ivory, smooth, fine, and without the slightest flaw.
Most breathtaking of all were her eyes. They were as clear as the purest glass, reflecting the faint light of the Netherworld, yet they seemed to pierce through time and space itself, carrying an ethereal, distant quality that was not quite human.
With her gaze slightly lowered, her long lashes cast faint shadows across her ivory cheeks. Beneath the heavy hem of her twelve-layered kimono, her dainty feet, wrapped in pure white tabi, appeared and vanished from view. Her toes turned inward slightly, lending her posture a quiet, composed elegance. Perhaps sensing their gazes, her toes curled almost imperceptibly inside the tabi, then relaxed again.
Princess Sita's beauty transcended region and race. It was a masterpiece of the gods, carrying an eternal purity untouched by dust.
The next second, the princess with the air of a world-toppling beauty slowly parted her red lips.
"Lord Monk, I understand your meaning. Your concerns are not without reason. Given Akuto's strength, he may indeed disturb the balance of this place."
Sita's voice rang out like clear spring water dripping onto jade, ethereal and calm.
"However, in my view, what matters most is Akuto's own uniqueness. He seems to have severed all bonds, placing himself within a realm untouched by all laws, such that even the highest shrine maidens and goddesses cannot glimpse his truth."
"Old Lord, Lord Monk, do you understand what this means?"
She slowly lifted those glass-colored eyes. Her gaze moved across Susanoo and Monk Tenkai's faces before finally settling on the empty space ahead, as though she were staring at threads of fate no ordinary person could see.
"You cannot see him through spirit vision?"
Susanoo's frown deepened. His fingers tightened faintly around his wine cup.
Monk Tenkai's fingers also paused for an instant as he turned his prayer beads.
As a Divine Ancestress with powerful spirit vision, or rather, as a former goddess, Princess Sita possessed formidable spiritual sight. Yet even she could not "see" Akuto's existence?
"Yes." Sita gave a light nod, her flaxen hair swaying gently with the motion.
"His existence and the trajectory of his fate are as if shrouded in dense fog. Or perhaps like a stone cast into a deep pool, where the ripples it raises are instantly swallowed by a far greater current. He cannot be traced, and he cannot be predicted."
She paused. A faint look, so slight it was almost imperceptible, flickered through her glass-colored eyes. It carried both doubt and expectation.
"That alone is a revelation. It means he possesses the power to shake the fixed current of fate. He is an anomaly capable of changing the course of the gods and the world."
At this point, Sita tilted her head slightly. Her gaze seemed to pierce through the walls of the Netherworld, looking toward some farther place.
"Perhaps... we should not view him only as a threat. Rather than exhausting our strength to expel him, or even making an enemy of him, perhaps we should... try trusting him? Entrust the matter of the Last King to him."
...
"Entrust it to him?!"
Monk Tenkai's voice abruptly rose, sharp and grave with disbelief.
"Your Highness! Do you understand what you are saying? The Last King is a world-ending calamity! His power is sufficient to sweep away every Campione in the mortal world! To place such a burden on an unknown variable whose attributes clash so severely with ours and cannot be controlled? That is far too great a risk! It is practically treating the fate of the entire world as a game!"
"Furthermore, the number of Campione has now reached an unprecedented eight. If the seal on the Last King is undone without first reducing the number of Campione, the consequences will be unimaginable!"
Monk Tenkai's withered hand clenched tightly around his prayer beads, his knuckles turning white. Clearly, he did not agree with Princess Sita's proposal.
Susanoo remained silent, his expression shifting uneasily between light and shadow.
He understood the monk's concerns. Centuries of guardianship had long since accustomed them to keeping everything in their own hands, or at the very least, within a controllable range.
Akuto? Too strong. Too uncontrollable. His nature clashed too severely with theirs. No matter how one looked at it, he was a ticking time bomb.
But Sita's words were like a seed, quietly planted in his heart. An "anomaly" capable of stirring even fate itself might truly be able to break the destiny that decreed Campione would be slain by the Last King.
"A game, is it...?"
Princess Sita softly repeated the word. Her glass-colored eyes remained calm and unruffled, as though Monk Tenkai's fierce reaction had not stirred the slightest ripple in her heart.
"Perhaps. But Lord Monk, Lord Susanoo, we have guarded the seal for centuries. Have we ever truly 'solved' the problem? We have only delayed it, postponing the day of reckoning that is bound to come."
She lightly lifted one slender foot wrapped in tabi and elegantly adjusted her kneeling posture. The heavy layers of her twelve-layered kimono brushed together with a faint rustle.
"Akuto's appearance is itself a massive variable in the current of fate. He has successively defeated several chief-god-class deities, and in a short span of time, he also crushed Takemikazuchi's terrifying power. That proves he has the qualifications to participate in this final battle."
"Qualifications?" Susanoo snorted coldly and drained the remaining wine in his cup.
"Princess, you think too highly of him. The terror of the Last King cannot be imagined by those who have not experienced it firsthand. Even if he has some strength, for him to face Rama directly? Hmph!"
"I believe the monk is correct. Even if someone is to resolve the matter of the Last King once and for all, it will not be so simple. Necessary trials and preparations are indispensable."
"At the very least, he must first prove that he is qualified to stand before the Last King. And the method of proving it..."
At this point, Susanoo's gaze sharpened.
"Is to defeat the Heretic Sun Wukong, that 'false Last King' who can wield a portion of the Great Ritual of the Covenant's power! If he cannot even get past that monkey, how can he speak of facing the true Lord of Salvation?"
Hearing this, Monk Tenkai's tense expression eased slightly, and he nodded.
"Indeed. Heretic Sun Wukong is a threshold, a trial. Only one who crosses that barrier is qualified to glimpse the final truth."
The next second, the monk looked toward Sita and said, "Your Highness, this is the prudent path. Let Akuto meet that monkey first. No matter the result, it will be beneficial and harmless to us."
Their gazes once again focused on Sita, carrying scrutiny and a faint, almost undetectable pressure.
The air of the Netherworld seemed to congeal once more. Princess Sita sat there quietly, like the most perfect sculpture. Her glass-colored eyes slowly swept across Susanoo and Monk Tenkai's faces, taking in their stubbornness, their worry, and the deeply buried fear of losing control hidden within their eyes.
Time seemed to grow viscous around her. After a long while, she let out a sigh so soft it was barely audible. It was as light as a feather touching the ground, yet it carried a trace of indescribable melancholy.
She did not directly refute them, nor did she voice agreement. Her slender waist exerted the slightest force, and the heavy twelve-layered kimono flowed and piled around her like rippling water, giving off the faint, distinctive rustle of silk.
She rose elegantly. Her pure white tabi stepped onto the cold floor of the Netherworld without a sound.
"Perhaps... you are right. Trials are always necessary." Sita's voice remained ethereal, revealing little emotion.
"However, from what I can see, Akuto is not someone who will permit others to scheme against him. I hope... you will not regret today's choice."
With that, she no longer looked at either man. She turned slightly, the magnificent twelve-layered kimono trailing behind her as its vivid colors gradually faded in the faint light of the Netherworld.
In the end, her ivory figure melted into the deep darkness, leaving behind two men with very different thoughts.
Susanoo stared in the direction where Sita had vanished, his brow tightly furrowed. His fingers tapped unconsciously against the empty wine cup, producing dull, hollow knocks.
Monk Tenkai slowly closed his eyes. His withered fingers once again turned his prayer beads as he silently chanted sutras, as though soothing the turmoil in his own heart.
...
Elsewhere, on Akuto's side.
Shizuka was sitting close before Akuto, gazing at him with her whole heart.
"Akuto-nii, I love you the most~"
As she spoke those words of confession, Shizuka leaned toward Akuto and kissed him of her own accord. Feeling Akuto gently respond, she drew closer and entrusted herself to him.
The room fell into a quiet warmth, and the two of them spent an intimate moment together, leaving the rest unspoken.
[Ding!~]
[Congratulations, Host. Fortune seizure complete.]
[Fortune source: Kusanagi Shizuka.]
[Blank Initial Ability Slot +1. Current total number of blank Initial Ability Slots: 18.]
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host. Previous-life objective complete: Become Kusanagi Shizuka's beloved older boyfriend (Gold).]
[Congratulations, Host. Reward obtained: God's Finger / Golden Finger (Gold).]
[God's Finger / Golden Finger: A god-level skill of the culinary world. No matter what ingredient or dish it is, touching it with your hand allows you to analyze its composition, automatically learn all related cooking skills, and even restore it to its most delicious state.]
"No matter what ingredient, huh?" Akuto suddenly thought of an excellent idea.
He had always been a man of action. So the very next second, Akuto activated the power of Golden Finger.
"Woom~"
A golden ripple spread outward. The ability of God's Finger could bring ingredients and other substances into their perfect state. This power also worked on the human body, restoring vitality and condition to an ideal balance.
Akuto carefully used the ability on Shizuka, and her entire body entered a brand-new state.
"Shizuka, I love you too."
Shizuka bit her red lip lightly and hugged him tightly. Akuto held her tenderly in return. Looking at the satisfied blush on her sleeping face, his eyes were filled with affection.
(End of Chapter)
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