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“Monogamy is so trivial!”

“……”

Love. Only more love.

That is why the Goddess of Love is the Goddess of Love.

In reality, Tina preached that as long as healthy love is involved, the form it takes doesn’t matter.

It embraces all kinds of love: species, gender, age, harem, reverse harem, one-night stands, and more.

A vast love that is entirely incomprehensible from the perspective of mere mortals.

Indeed, she is an extreme possibility junkie.

“Wow.”

I couldn’t help but admire how the continent has been maintained so well until now.

“Hmm. Anyway, if Tina likes it, I’m good with it too.”

“I’m the same.”

“……I’m sorry for Eve, who seems to be planning to just wait and see.”

“You don’t need to worry too much. After all, I can’t exist on the surface for long anyway.”

“Huh?”

As I asked what she meant, Tina gave a bittersweet smile and began to explain.

“Now that I’ve shared what has happened so far, it’s my turn to talk about what will happen next.”

Clearing her throat, the Goddess of Love revealed a shocking truth.

“I have fused with the labyrinth.”

“What’s that suppose to mean…?”

“It means exactly what it says. Reversing time is never an easy task.”

“But the Goddess of Love has monopolized faith in the continent for the past millennium.”

“That’s why it’s worth trying. Normally, even the gods can’t recklessly turn back time. The act of trying to change a predetermined future by reversing time carries a huge burden.”

When the gods summoned the original me, the world was already in the midst of destruction.

Only when the situation has hit rock bottom do the rules of the world loosen, allowing one to seize opportunities to… change the future… fate.

However, the continent during my endless loop wasn’t quite that dire.

In other words, even swapping the entire continent’s faith for a miracle wouldn’t be enough.

In truth, every time Logia brought me back, she permanently consumed her own divine power.

The radiant sanctuary’s temple gradually crumbled, and in the end, she was left sitting in an empty space, unable to even keep a chair, continuing to pray alone.

…That’s what I thought.

“In such a depleted situation, you keep putting yourself in danger and asking for help…”

“Ah.”

When it came time to do something important, when I had to overcome a foe I couldn’t possibly defeat with my current self.

That’s when I borrowed some luck and a few necessary skills and powers from the Goddess of Love.

After that, like paying the price for manipulation, I ended up pulling only 1-star cards a certain number of times.

A guaranteed 1-star. What a terrifying phrase that is.

It reminds one of the early gacha games where there’s no ceiling and no guarantees of even getting a rare every ten pulls.

…Indeed, this gacha system is probably due to the concept of gacha that I shared with the God of Games, right?

It must be a mark left from my wager with the God of Madness, as well as a blessing.

Although the Goddess of Love utilizes the gacha system, she doesn’t seem to own it.

“Uh. Wait. So you’re saying that even though there’s nothing more to squeeze out, you still squeezed it? Is that okay?”

“Regardless, I’m currently receiving immense faith, so now it’s fine. …I might have overdone it a bit, which is why my being is fused with the labyrinth.”

“……?”

I momentarily tilted my head, unable to catch the overly vivid metaphor.

Noticing my confusion, Tina explained a bit more clearly.

“Well, you know how if you grill meat too strongly, it sticks to the pan? It feels something like that.”

“That’s a pretty awful metaphor…”

I glanced down at the feet of the Goddess of Love out of concern. Thankfully, her feet were not sticking to the ground.

Tina, chuckling, extended her foot toward me. Her white, bare foot looks soft.

Squeeze.

It really is soft.

With Tina’s foot resting in my hand, she continued with a satisfied expression.

“Please think of it not as a physical union but as the entire space becoming a part of the labyrinth. And… it’s easy for a chef to remove the stuck meat, but the meat cannot just drop from the pan itself.”

“So, someone has to pry it off, right?”

“Yes. Someone who has accumulated levels of divinity and power close to that of a god.”

“In other words, you’re telling me to break through the labyrinth… and even then, it isn’t the end, right? You say you can’t stay on the surface for long.”

“That’s right. Part of me is still bound to the labyrinth, so that can’t be helped.”

“What’s the method?”

“Perform a miracle that takes a very long time to restore the strength I have exhausted… or…”

“Or?”

“Use a divine artifact?”

Saying that, Tina reached out her hand toward the goddess statue I had placed in my chest.

Woosh.

With a slight vibration, the goddess statue suddenly swelled, becoming the same size as the Goddess of Love.

Aside from the fact that it didn’t move at all, it looked exactly like Tina.

“After experiencing this and that, the divine artifact has accumulated some power, and with a little help from my past self a millennium ago, it has become possible. In the future, I can channel my consciousness for about an hour each day like this.”

“An hour… that’s a bit short.”

“If it’s the regular miniature version, it could last all day normally. It would only allow for conversations, though.”

“Well, as long as I can get out on the surface for a limited time and enjoy the world, that’s just fine.”

Although I still have to wait a long time, it’s certainly different from doing nothing but waiting dumbly.

“Hehe. By the way, if I don’t infuse my consciousness, I can maintain this size for about three or four hours.”

“Time is useless if there’s no consciousness, though.”

“But isn’t that enough time for you to love to your heart’s content?”

“Wh-What?”

Are you saying I can do whatever I want with the unresisting, expressionless, soft, warm Goddess of Love???

In an instant, I didn’t understand what I’d just heard, my eyes wide open, and I noticed Tina blushing.

“Don’t worry, my love. I will always be watching over you.”

“This is too much to handle….”

As I held my head in shock, Tina giggled and returned the miniature goddess statue to my embrace.

“Please think of me and cherish me a lot.”

“That sounds too meaningful….”

Still, well. I can definitely understand what the Goddess of Love is saying about what is to come.

Continue to conquer the labyrinth and free her. And stay together for a long, long time.

It won’t be easy, but compared to the time when I opposed the God of Madness… it’s significantly more feasible than my first attempt.

I smirked and shrugged.

“Got it. It won’t take too long, so wait for me.”

“I will do it joyfully.”

“Ah. Last thing, this is just a curious question.”

“Yes?”

“…Have you ever thought about wanting to die?”

“……”

Tina nodded silently. However, not long after, a clear smile bloomed on her lips.

“Long, long ago. Back when I didn’t know your soul was rebounded back to the continent.”

“I see.”

After sending away the original me, the Goddess of Love, who built the labyrinth to observe humanity alone.

Back then, she must have yearned for death, intending to pass everything onto whoever would break the labyrinth someday.

But she never expected that I would go back to Earth, and that an accident would send me back after a millennium.

I wonder what happened to the one who should have been the original protagonist.

Is he enjoying his otherworldly life possessing someone else’s body, or did he never even come to the continent after being reborn on Earth?

Perhaps he didn’t die at all. The absolute power I possess only works on the continent and doesn’t significantly affect Earth.

In any case, the Goddess of Love also originally desired her own death. At least until she reunited with me.

Ultimately, there’s nothing different from what I’ve done until now.

A bad ending was prepared, and I succeeded in changing it.

The only difference is that I don’t have memories of that time.

“Well. Now that all my curiosities are taken care of, I should head back.”

“……I will be looking forward to the day we meet again.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Tina eventually wore a smile filled with affection.

At the same time, I felt a powerful pull from behind, accompanied by a bit of noise. I glanced back, and it was the gate I had now grown familiar with.

As expected, crossing this path would lead me back to the time when Ellie, Lydia, Benny, and Eve exist.

Embracing the emotions of nostalgia and excitement, I took a step into the gate.

Feeling the sensation of being pulled somewhere against my will, I quickly turned around.

There stood Tina, her teary eyes waving me off.

Of course, in a moment like this, that’s all there would be.

I stretched out my finger toward the Goddess of Love and shouted.

“I will definitely come back for you someday! So, wait for me!”

With Tina’s astonished expression as my last image, my consciousness momentarily faded to darkness.

***

Feeling as if I was passing through a narrow, long passage, I finally arrived at a space full of fresh air.

“Whoa.”

Taking a deep breath, I looked up.

Behind me stood an enormous gate overflowing with divine power and a large goddess statue, and in front of me were countless devotees fervently praying.

Amidst their prayers, many familiar gazes turned up toward me in a daze.

Among them were faces I had longed to see: Ellie, Lydia, Benny, and Eve were blinking at me from the front row.

I had a lot of thoughts about what to say first, but after thinking about it, something simple seemed best.

Leaping off the pedestal of the goddess statue, I waved my hand.

“I’m back!”

And perhaps due to the impact of my landing, the unicorn dagger slipped from its loosened holster, which had been battered during the fierce battle.

Clatter.

Clatter.

“Huh?”

For some reason, the sound seemed a bit too loud.

Perhaps I wasn’t the only one thinking that, as the gazes of my excited companions shifted toward the fallen dagger.

There, only the two split daggers stained black remained.

“……”

“……”

“……”

“……”

An unbearable silence.

So, it’s really become this way, huh?

Looking at the unicorn dagger that had evolved into a viper dagger, I nodded.

“You observed everything, didn’t you?”

Before my regression.

 

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