[387] : Yahweh's Change of Heart—The Confined Bed Expands!

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This rendered "planet-busting" a meaningless metric for power.

In a world that consisted of only a single planet, destroying that planet meant destroying the world itself—a feat even transcendent creator Gods would find difficult.

In truth, using destructive capability to rank the strong was only meaningful within a single power system.

Different systems couldn't be compared by such simple terms.

————

"I see..." After listening to Mika's explanation, Alfia had a moment of enlightenment.

Many of the questions that had puzzled her were answered. Having followed Mika, she had learned about many different power systems, and with her own talent, she had achieved a respectable level of proficiency in each.

But when she tried to find the common thread, to fuse them into a single, unified whole, she always failed—Yet, before she had ever left her own world, she had experienced something similar.

She realized it was because all that knowledge had originated from the same world. Now, the knowledge came from different universes.

"So that's what you were trying to do," Mika couldn't help but chuckle. Even he had only managed to use Cosmo to drive his other abilities, and to do that, he had to modify their fundamental logic.

He had never even considered truly fusing them.

——————

"Please stop laughing."

Seeing the three of them erupt in laughter, Alfia's face gradually turned red.

If any of the members of the Hera Familia saw her now, they would surely be terrified. It was a sight they couldn't even imagine—the proud Alfia, blushing.

But that was the old Alfia.

As the strongest genius of her time, she had been expected to be proud. Her strength and the speed of her progress were unmatched, which made her lonely.

She was fortunate to have grown up in the Hera Familia, where there were still warriors stronger than her, which kept her loneliness at bay.

But she had been diagnosed with a terminal illness early on and knew when she would die. This forced her to mature quickly. It seemed there was nothing that could break her composure; she faced everything with a calm acceptance.

But now, in this new and strange environment, surrounded by unknowns, and accompanied by geniuses who were her equal or Gods with immense power, her pride had long since vanished. What remained was the purest emotion of a human being.

Faced with Alfia's shy glare, the three of them gradually suppressed their smiles.

"It's time for bed. Yahweh, Alfia, come back," Mika said, dusting off his pants and standing up. Alfia also stood up, but before she could even think of returning to Mika's body, Yahweh grabbed her hand, stopping her.

"No, I refuse. I'm sleeping here tonight."

Yahweh sat back down, pulling Alfia onto the bed with her.

And so, the three of them—Yahweh, Alfia, and Athena—were squeezed onto the small bed. Although Couronne had considered that her small bed might not fit both Mika and Athena and had somehow procured another one to put them together, it was still only big enough for two.

Three was a crowd. Four was impossible.

Mika could have just given them the bed and slept on the floor, but he was puzzled by Yahweh's sudden change of heart and decided to probe a little.

"But this bed is only big enough for two," He said, spreading his hands with an innocent look.

That's why I'm refusing to go back!

Yahweh screamed in her heart.

After her recent interaction with Mika after the forging of the God Cloth, Yahweh had suddenly realized her feelings had changed.

Her love had... soured.

When Gods descended to the mortal realm and established Familias, their relationship with their members was mostly akin to that of a parent and child. That was how Yahweh had initially seen Mika.

But now, that love had changed. It was no longer maternal, but romantic.

After realizing this, Yahweh re-examined her heart and found her answer. Though the change was significant, it wasn't unacceptable.

Why? Because it wasn't uncommon. Why were most relationships between Gods and their Familia members like that of parent and child?

Because when the Gods first descended, they still saw themselves as all-powerful beings. Under the respectful attitudes of their "children," that dynamic naturally formed. From the perspective of a God, falling in love with a mortal—a being of a completely different life form and lifespan—was nearly impossible.

But from a human perspective, it was possible.

As they spent more time on earth, experiencing their own powerlessness without their divine abilities, many Gods' perspectives shifted from that of a God to that of a human. And with that shift, love between a God and a mortal became a possibility. Such things were not rare in the original story of Danmachi.

Therefore, after confirming her feelings, Yahweh's attitude towards Mika changed dramatically. Previously, when Mellie had been pushing Mika to start a harem, Yahweh hadn't objected at all.

In fact, she had fully approved.

Watching the drama unfold was, after all, a favorite pastime of the Gods. She had been greatly looking forward to the dramatic showdowns Mika might face.

But now, looking back, she was horrified. She wanted to go back in time and give her past self a good slap.

So stupid.

As a being who was supposed to be nigh-omniscient, not foreseeing the day her own feelings would change was just pathetic.

Though she was angry at her past self, after some adjustment, her mindset had stabilized.

Mika's personality, shaped by Mellie's encouragement and her own indulgence, was already set. There was no changing it now.

She didn't want to become like Hera from the Greek myths she had seen in other worlds, constantly living in suspicion of Zeus. The thought of that kind of life was painful.

So, Yahweh decided not to interfere with Mika in that regard. But she had her own bottom line.

She had to be the first among the Goddesses.

She was well aware of the little thoughts her "best friends" had. She wouldn't compare herself to those mortals, but among the Goddesses, as Mika's patron Goddess, she had to be number one.

Therefore, Athena, who was most likely to get ahead of her, was someone she had to guard against. She had seen Mika and Athena bathing together during the day.

If she hadn't wanted to hide her own intentions, she would have jumped out to stop them from being in the same room.

As for why she wanted to hide her feelings? Yahweh had her pride.

Mika had always treated her with respect.

For her to suddenly jump out and say her feelings had changed and she wanted to be his wife... the thought of how awkward that would be was terrifying.

So, she planned to change their relationship through subtle means.

But she had never expected Mika and Athena's relationship to progress so quickly.

To protect her bottom line, Yahweh decided to intervene, to prevent them from getting any further. They had already bathed together. If they slept in the same bed, who knew what would happen.

She had to stop it.

————

"Fine. You can all sleep here, then."

Though Mika didn't fully grasp Yahweh's intentions, he respected her choice. If she didn't want to return to his body, then they would all sleep together. The room was small and the bed was cramped, but a problem like that was hardly a challenge for him.

With a sudden snap of his fingers, the room began to change. Its interior dimensions expanded outwards, the walls receding as if melting into a new reality.

In the blink of an eye, the cramped chamber transformed into a spacious suite.

"Spatial folding," Mika explained with a light laugh.

"A useful little trick for situations like these." He had used similar techniques frequently when constructing his Familia's home base back in Orario, but now, he wielded the power with far greater ease.

As for the bed? That was an even simpler fix.

Since the bed Couronne had prepared was unsuitable for four, he would simply replace it.

His power had grown with each world he visited, and so had his preparations for travel. His storage artifacts contained a vast collection of items for any conceivable situation, including contingency plans for landing in desolate, apocalyptic worlds.

Among those items was, of course, a bed.

If one were to explore the depths of his inventory, they could probably find just about anything.

————

Night had fallen.

In Couronne's now-spacious room, the lights were out, and the four of them lay together on the large, comfortable bed Mika had summoned.

Mika was in the center.

On either side of him were Yahweh and Alfia. Athena lay on the other side of Alfia, at the edge of the bed.

Though their eyes were closed, feigning sleep, none of them were actually sleeping. For beings of their stature, sleep was no longer a necessity.

It was a human habit, a mortal comfort. And among the four of them, only Mika still possessed a human body.

The other three had long since transcended that state.

They had no need for sleep.

And tonight, they had no desire for it either...

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