Bluesy's tails swayed slowly as she landed on the dirt, the cat balanced on her shoulder.
"Where have you gone?" Akarum asked, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
"Restaurant!" Bluesy replied brightly, walking forward.
"Restaurant? What's that?" Asami tilted her head.
"It's a place where people eat food," Bluesy explained.
"In the modern world," the cat added, its tail flicking lazily through the air.
Akarum straightened. "I want to see it too."
Bluesy nodded without hesitation.
Two portals opened beneath them. One swallowed Bluesy. The other swallowed Akarum. They vanished.
Asami stared at the empty ground.
"This Divine… is different," she murmured.
They reappeared inside a restaurant.
No one reacted.
People sat peacefully in cushioned chairs, eating dishes Akarum had never seen before. Warm lights glowed from a halo-shaped chandelier above. Soft music hummed in the background.
"It's beautiful," Akarum whispered, looking around.
He turned slowly, studying the lights, plants, polished floors, the way strangers casually coexisted without fear.
"This really is another world…"
"But how will we buy food? They must use different currency."
Bluesy was already at the counter.
A black bag rested there.
She turned back toward him, her tails wagging rapidly.
Moments later they sat at a table. Even the cat had its own chair, sitting upright with detached superiority.
"What was in that bag?" Akarum asked.
"Gold," the cat replied. "A lot of it."
"Gold is their currency?"
"No. Gold is expensive here. She doesn't bother earning their money. She gives gold and eats until it runs out."
"Though sometimes they get greedy," Bluesy added innocently.
"You're attending Fate's prayer… today?" A man sitting in a nearby chair whispered to the woman beside him.
The waiter arrived and placed a cheeseburger in front of Akarum.
"What is this?" he asked cautiously.
"Cheeseburger. Miss Bluesy always orders it."
"Strange name," Akarum muttered.
He picked up the menu, scanning it carefully.
"So many things…"
His eyes stopped at a symbol.
"This must be their currency." He pointed at the money sign.
Bluesy looked at it thoughtfully, then nodded.
"I want… pizza."
The waiter left.
When it arrived, Akarum stared at it like it might explode.
"Pick a slice," the cat instructed.
"A slice…"
He lifted one carefully. Cheese stretched between the pan and his hand.
"What's this liquid thing?"
"It's cheese," the cat said flatly.
He took a bite.
"It's… decent."
Bluesy devoured her cheeseburger happily.
For a while, the three simply ate.
Akarum felt something unfamiliar. Normalcy. No Divine politics. No tension. Just food.
When they stood to leave, a portal formed beneath them.
"I'd like to explore this world more someday," he admitted quietly. "But Kashime would probably get angry if I stayed too long."
The portal swallowed them.
They landed in the courtyard of Heavenly Kaatoumo.
Kashime was already there, arms crossed.
Her expression was not playful.
"Where have you been?"
Akarum instinctively stepped behind Bluesy. Her tails drooped.
"I was… eating. With Bluesy."
"You told me to cook," Kashime said coldly. "And you went somewhere else to eat. Do you think I'm your servant?"
She stepped closer.
"S-sorry," he stammered.
She grabbed his ear.
"He wasn't doing anything bad," Bluesy tried to defend him.
"You can go wherever you want," Kashime replied without looking at her. "But you don't take him without my permission."
Her grip tightened slightly.
"It hurts!" He protested.
She ignored him and dragged him inside.
Bluesy stood frozen.
"We should go back to Nara," the cat said, climbing onto her shoulder.
"But… will he be fine? It's my fault, isn't it?"
"He'll live. She's angry because he wanders without thinking."
Bluesy nodded quietly.
A portal opened. They left.
At Light's Mansion,
Denu sat alone on the debris of the old stage, fingers pressed against his jaw.
Where did Mio go?
She had been there during the ritual with Belly.
Then she disappeared.
No one remembered her. Not even the Divines.
"It's not a coincidence," he muttered.
No pattern. No trace of ability usage. No distortion signatures.
"That kind of erasure shouldn't be possible…"
His hands pressed against the cold stone.
"How is this possible?"
His frustration rose sharply before he forced himself to breathe.
"I'll go to Fate's Domain."
He stood.
"Fate might know."
He hesitated.
Should I go alone?
No. Belly would worry.
He went inside and found her sitting on the stairs.
"Belly. We need to go somewhere."
She stood immediately and grabbed his hand.
"Where?"
"Fate's Domain."
Her brows knit together.
"Why?"
"Are you going to Fate's ritual today?" a man murmured quietly to another.
"Because I want to know… if Fate forgot Mio too," he replied deliberately.
"I don't want to go. You keep mentioning Mio. Mio. Who is she even?" Her voice was stubborn and was that jealousy?
"That's fine. I'll go alone then, I guess." His eyelids fluttered slowly.
"Fine. I'm coming. Let me wear something decent. Wait outside." She turned sharply and headed upstairs.
Afterward, Denu stepped outside Light's Mansion and stood at the gates, waiting for Belly.
A while later, she joined him. She wore a white skort with red shorts hidden beneath a flared red skirt lined in white. Golden leaves hung from a red belt threaded through a yellow chain. The chain was long enough for the leaves to brush against her thighs.
"We can go now." She brushed her black hair away from her face.
As they began walking, the guards closed the massive gates behind them.
Heavenly Kaatoumo.
Akarum sat on the grass while Kashime paced in front of him.
"You will stay away from the Divines if you want to live in Kaatoumo." She stopped and stared at him intensely.
"But… Bluesy isn't dangerous," he protested.
"You heard me. I said no. That means no." Her voice deepened.
"You're being too strict about this." He looked down at the grass instead of at her.
"You act like… my actual mother."