Takumi had just closed his eyes when he heard footsteps approaching.
"?"
To his mild surprise, "Syr" came back into the room.
"..."
"Horn?"
Takumi sensed the difference immediately. The face was the same, but the person wasn't—this was Horn wearing Syr's body.
But to Horn, Syr was the real her.
It had been a long time since Horn had used this body. She looked at Takumi lying on the bed with his eyes closed.
The man who'd dragged a goddess down into the mortal world.
Horn's heart twisted—love and hate tangled together.
The thick scent in the air made her body shiver faintly, her pale-gray eyes misting over.
"At least let tonight… be my last memory."
She murmured, undoing her tied hair. Pale-gray strands spilled down, covering the line of her waist.
A smile bloomed on her face—beautiful, and somehow unreal.
Takumi's brows lifted. Something about this was clearly not simple.
Then Horn stepped forward—no warning—and kissed him softly.
"Hm?"
Takumi opened his eyes and met her gaze.
Compared to Syr—Freya's version—Horn didn't carry that intoxicating, predatory allure.
She felt clear. Pure. Like a quiet spring.
This was what "Syr" was at the core.
"You…"
"Don't talk," Horn whispered, cutting him off. "Just… give me one beautiful night, Takumi-san."
She poured out everything she'd been holding back—longing, affection, attachment—like she wanted to engrave it into her bones.
Because Horn knew what she intended to do after this… would betray all of it.
Watching her, Takumi honestly couldn't tell if she wanted to kill him, sleep with him, or both.
But she'd walked right into his arms.
There was no way he was stopping her.
And as another cherry blossom bloomed in the rain, his system updated.
[Ding! Horn affection threshold reached. Defeat-copy Trait: God-Shift Magic (Blue)]
[God-Shift Magic (Blue): You can transform into another god's appearance. You don't gain their divinity, but a god's visage alone is power.]
Takumi examined it carefully.
Not very useful… but potentially handy in weird situations.
Like Horn—using it to take Freya's form.
No divinity, but Freya's beauty alone could mesmerize crowds. Horn could borrow that presence, just weaker than the original.
"This might actually be a path to simulating—learning—other gods' Authorities," Takumi thought.
He saw the potential immediately.
But to reach that point, he'd have to push it to purple quality at minimum.
And with his progress already around seven thousand, he didn't bother spending it.
Copying Authorities this way would still be too slow.
Honestly, assassination was faster.
"And I'm not turning into a guy like Apollo," Takumi thought, disgust flashing in his eyes like he'd just seen a cockroach.
Turning into a goddess felt… off.
Turning into a male god felt like prison.
Either way, he'd rather defeat-copy traits directly.
Takumi sighed and pulled the warm softness in his arms closer.
Horn's behavior was starting to make sense.
It was basically a breakup night.
But the two plum-blossom stains on the sheets—yeah, that was rough.
Like… you really think he didn't notice?
Or maybe Horn wanted him to notice.
Maybe some part of her hoped her assassination plan would slip… that she'd fail.
"Women…" Takumi muttered. "Their hearts are like the sea."
"You want to drown me, yet you keep pulling me back to shore.."
For someone this emotional, there was only one solution: Break through the heart first.
Once that channel opened, everything got easier.
With that thought, Takumi finally drifted into sleep.
…
Morning came fast.
When he opened his eyes again, Horn was there, gathering her pale-gray hair.
The elegant line of her collarbones and bare shoulders looked even more tempting beneath that shimmering curtain of hair.
Horn turned and smiled.
"Takumi-san. You're awake."
"Yeah." Takumi smiled back. "Want breakfast?"
He pulled a full plated meal into existence with an alchemy formation like a magic trick.
Horn's eyes widened in awe.
"Wow… Takumi-san, you can do that too?"
"Simple construction magic," Takumi said casually. "As long as you can control atoms and molecules, you can make basic things."
As he spoke, he picked up a bite and fed it to her.
Horn opened her lips obediently and swallowed, looking ridiculously happy.
After that warm little moment passed, a shadow slipped into her eyes.
But she forced herself to smile anyway.
She took a breath, like she'd made up her mind, and bit her lip.
"Takumi-san… please come with me."
"Hm? Where to?"
"I want to leave this place… no—there's somewhere I want to go."
Horn tightened her grip on his hand and tried to pull him along.
As if to justify it, she lowered her voice.
"Yesterday, you took me to a place you wanted to see. So today… let me take you somewhere I want to go."
"Oh?"
Takumi smiled and glanced up at the sky beyond the window.
Dark clouds were gathering.
"Looks like it's going to rain. We should hurry."
"Y-Yeah."
Horn nodded and pulled him forward.
…
Elsewhere, Hestia's group—after searching for ages—looked completely miserable.
"AAAH! That Syr-whatever… she made Takumi spend the night with her!!"
"Ugh… I'm jealous," Alise sighed, her face full of longing.
Crouched in a corner, Ryuu whispered in disbelief.
"We can't find Syr or Takumi anywhere… they didn't go home… so they spent the night together?"
"Until morning?"
"No… that can't be…"
"They're not even married…"
The "pure" elf simply couldn't process what had probably happened.
Then Anya suddenly popped up.
"Good news, nya~! Anya found Takumi's scent, nya~!"
"Seriously?!" Hestia snapped upright. "Anya, if you're right, you're a hero!"
The girls instantly came alive again, crowding Anya and demanding she lead the way.
Kaguya started to follow… then glanced back at Ryuu, still crouched and muttering to herself.
"They haven't even gone to the forest to swear love… and even if not the forest, they should've sworn before the gods…"
Kaguya stared at her, speechless. "…You're hopeless."