Coffee Galette Chofu ~Pursued by Awkward Gods~
Translator: AdCaelum
Editor: Millinia
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 4-2: The Gods’ Fight to the Death
“A caffé mocha is 440 yen with tax, so your change for 10,000 yen is…”
When Uta took the money from the register and looked forward, Sukunabikona was no longer there.
“Eh? Sukunabikona-san?”
Just when he thought that the small god must have vanished like mist, he heard the doorbell ring.
He spotted someone wearing a blazer leaving the store.
“Wait, your change…!”
Uta grabbed the bills and coins and ran after the small god.
“Leave him be. He probably wants you to dote on him.”
Haraedo rested his chin against the elbow he propped against the counter.
“Nevertheless, I have to give him his change…”
“Don’t fret over something trivial like money.”
Says the man who normally never pays.
“Then, let’s make the caffé mocha cost ten thousand yen! Limited only to Sukunabikona-san, of course.”
Sungmin gleefully gushed.
“No, we can’t do that. You know it… I’ll be right back. Take care of the store!”
Uta rushed out of the store a beat later.
Then, he entered the shopping district and spotted the small god leaving the street.
“Ah, Sukunabikona-san…?!”
The god stopped, turned around, and smiled.
“Oh? Being chased after by you is novel.”
“You forgot your change.”
Uta jogged up to the god and handed over the money in his hand.
“You could have kept the change. But, thanks.”
“Truthfully, I didn’t come just for that. I thought that you might know something about Housou-san.”
“Me…?”
Sukunabikona looked like he was clueless.
“Why do you think that?”
“Sukunabikona-san, you’re the chief god of the Fuda shrine, right?”
“Yeah…”
“Plus, it looks like there’s something between you and Housou-san.”
“About that…”
The god finally became pensive.
“If you’re concerned about that, follow me.”
“Follow you? To where?”
Sukunabikona already began walking off.
Although worried about the store, Uta followed.
“I said before that Housou-no-kami was once on the verge of disappearing after coming in contact with my exalted wrath, right?”
“Yeah…”
The two walked side by side on the main street, enveloped in the afternoon glow.
“Back in the Edo period, he wielded immense power. He was even terrible during the Meiji era… Many people died. It was a huge disaster. It was enough to even affect my work.”
“Your work?”
“To have humanity prosper. Because of that, I had to crush the one causing the sickness. The reason he’s still here even after losing his power was, in a sense, an act of kindness from me.”
“Oh, I see…”
Uta nodded, realizing their antagonistic relationship.
“Still, he’s living now like someone with both arms ripped out, so it might be easier if I erased him from the world. I can do that, but it’s hard when he runs away all the time.”
As Sukunabikona uttered those words, he made a slightly fiendish face.
Uta had thought that the gods sitting together at the counter drinking looked peaceful, but that was merely just one side to them. Without humanity ever knowing or participating, the gods probably repeatedly fought to the death with power outside of human comprehension. This was what Uta felt.
“But…”
Sukunabikona continued.
“I’m not related to the reason why he didn’t show up in your dreams. If I had known beforehand, I would have prevented him, but I didn’t know anything about it yesterday.”
“…True.”
In that case, was it pointless for Uta to ask the god? Uta’s shoulders dropped.
“Then, I guess I have to ask Housou-san directly.”
“About that…”
Sukunabikona glanced over at Uta.
“…Eh, what?”
“You might not be able to meet him.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll know once you see.”
(He did say to follow him if I was concerned about this…)
Uta obediently followed behind the god.
He sent a message on his phone to Sungmin, alerting him that he would be late.
Sukunabikona continued walking as usual and headed for the Fuda shrine.
Passing through the torii, they walked along the shrine path bathed in the light filtering through the leaves.
“Don’t be shocked when you see it.”
Sukunabikona warned Uta.
“Shocked… What do you mean?”
The god only returned an ambiguous smile to Uta’s question. He didn’t head for the inner sanctuary but rather the smaller shrines which housed the other gods.
Then, he pointed to the small one that enshrined Housou-no-kami.
(Eh…?!)
Uta stood still in that spot, speechless.
The stone shrine that should have been there was smashed into pieces, no longer recognizable—
Wаnt mоrе сhарtеrѕ оf Соffее Gаlеttе? Іt’ѕ bееn аddеd tо thе lіѕt оf рrојесtѕ уоu саn gеt еаrlу ассеѕѕ tо оn WWЅD’ѕ Раtrеоn. Gо сhесk іt оut аnd ѕuрроrt thе trаnѕlаtоr!
Man, can’t believe this story has got me feeling bad for smallpox.