"Nanami!"
Hozuki Nozomi moved swiftly, catching Aoyama Nanami before she could hit the pavement. He shifted her weight easily, supporting her limp form.
Beside him, Yusa Emi—still in her exhausted, civilian state—panicked. "Nanami! What's wrong?"
Checking the girl's pale complexion and weak pulse, Nozomi quickly assessed the situation. "It's not serious. She just fainted from exhaustion and hunger. Let's get her back to Sakura Dormitory."
In one smooth motion, he scooped Nanami up into his arms, cradling her securely. From his pocket, he produced a small vial of Life Potion, gently tipping a few restorative drops past her lips. With Yusa Emi following worriedly behind, he set off at a brisk pace for home.
As he walked, a series of notifications chimed in his mind.
[Ding! The divine artifact [Eternal Corridor] has been successfully deciphered and recorded!]
[Congratulations, Player, for successfully recording a divine artifact left in the human world by the Goddess. Reward: One Skill Entry or Item Draw. Reward issued.]
[Congratulations, Player, for receiving the fixed reward: 100,000 yen.]
[Ding! Reward draw completed.]
[Ding! Congratulations, Player, for obtaining the special Skill Entry: Hand of God!]
[Hand of God: Possessing this skill grants the Player absolute authority and perfect mastery over all divine artifacts.]
…
Nozomi had been genuinely puzzled about the method of "deciphering" the Eternal Corridor. The Game Life System had provided a cryptic explanation earlier:
[The Eternal Corridor was once employed to entrap a Goddess. The so-called 'Eternal Corridor' is itself a potent curse. The inherently pure Goddess utilized her own Pure Water to decipher the Corridor, thereby imprinting a critical flaw upon it.]
[As long as an individual within the Eternal Corridor stops at the ninth streetlamp and follows the trail left by the Goddess, they may escape, thus deciphering the Corridor.]
This had only deepened his curiosity. "Pure Water"? What exactly is that?
[Goddesses possess bodies of ultimate purity. The waters produced by a Goddess's form are Pure Water.]
"Uh… So, the 'trail' the Goddess left to create the flaw… was it sweat? Or perhaps saliva?" Nozomi had mused.
The system, in its usual blunt manner, satisfied his curiosity.
[Urine.]
Hozuki Nozomi: "!!!"
He was rendered momentarily speechless.
The Goddess's method of breaking an inescapable divine artifact was… urine?
What kind of Goddess was this?! He could almost picture it: a dignified, celestial being, trapped in an endless loop, finally resorting to… that. No wonder the artifact had been discarded. It was probably the Goddess's most embarrassing black history, something she never wanted to see again.
Shaking his head at the bizarre image, he had nonetheless used this very "flaw" to guide Nanami and Yusa Emi to safety. The scent of "fresh bread and flowers" Nanami detected was likely the system's user-friendly translation of the ancient, divine… residue.
Now, back in the present, they arrived at Sakura Dormitory. The smell of dinner—something warm and savory cooking in the kitchen—finally roused Aoyama Nanami. Her eyelids fluttered open to find Yusa Emi leaning over her, concern etched on her face.
"Nanami! You're awake! How do you feel? Any pain or dizziness?"
"Uh… Emi-san, I'm okay, just a little weak. But… are we really back?" She recognized the familiar ceiling of her own room. A wave of relief, mixed with lingering surrealism, washed over her.
"Yes. You fainted and gave us quite a scare. Nozomi carried you all the way back," Yusa Emi explained. "He said you were completely drained and hadn't eaten for too long. Here, you should eat something." She gestured to a tray of simple, comforting food beside the bed.
"Okay." Hunger gnawed at her, overriding other concerns. Aoyama Nanami sat up and began to eat with a quiet focus.
Though a whirlwind of questions about Hozuki Nozomi and Yusa Emi's true natures swirled in her mind, she held her tongue for now. After she finished, it was Yusa Emi who broke the silence. With a solemn air, she confessed everything: her true identity as the Hero Amelia Justina, her summoning from another world, and her quest to defeat the Demon King.
Aoyama Nanami listened, her spoon pausing mid-air. It took a long moment for the fantastic story to settle. Finally, she nodded slowly. "I… I understand. I promise I'll keep your secret, Emi-san."
Looking at the red-haired Hero—now just her friend and coworker again—Nanami gathered her courage. "Since you're a Hero, Emi-san… what about Nozomi-kun? Does he… also have some hidden identity?"
Yusa Emi sighed, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I'm not entirely sure. But Frieren and Fern are both incredibly powerful mages from my world. The fact that Hozuki Nozomi has earned their trust and companionship means he is far from ordinary."
"Is that so…" Aoyama Nanami's emotions grew more complex. He saved me again. He's not an ordinary person at all. This revelation somehow made sense of the seemingly impossible harem surrounding him. Maybe he's from another world too. Perhaps in his world, having multiple partners is a normal, accepted practice…
The thought sent an unexpected heat to her cheeks. "N-No, that's ridiculous!" she muttered to herself, shaking her head vigorously as if to dislodge the embarrassing notion.
Seeing that Nanami had mostly recovered her color and spirits, Yusa Emi finally relaxed. She urged Nanami to rest properly before excusing herself to return to her own room. She was utterly spent; her holy power was completely depleted with no easy way to replenish it in this world. The most frustrating part was that her grand efforts had been entirely useless against the Corridor. She wondered, not for the first time, how Frieren and Fern managed their magical reserves so effortlessly. They practiced daily as if magic was an infinite resource.
…
Alone in her room, her belly full and her body resting, Aoyama Nanami's mind grew active again. She hugged her beloved Torajiro plushie close, bringing it to face her.
In a soft, murmuring voice, she began a one-sided conversation. "Torajiro… Mr. Nozomi saved me again. And this time, it was a real life-saving grace."
She then pinched her own voice, pitching it slightly higher to impersonate the stuffed toy. "Mm-hmm! Then you have to offer yourself to him! There's an old saying from that ancient kingdom: 'For a grace as profound as saving a life, the only proper repayment is the offering of oneself!' Nanami is so cute, Hozuki Nozomi would definitely be happy to accept!"
"How could that be possible?!" Nanami retorted to the plushie, her face flushing. "I'm just a completely ordinary girl. I can't compare to Mahiru-san's grace or Yukinoshita-san's stunning beauty at all. Torajiro, don't talk nonsense. Besides… Mr. Nozomi doesn't necessarily like me. He's just… just being kind."
She switched back to the squeaky Torajiro voice. "Silly Nanami! If he didn't like you, why wouldn't he just call an ambulance? Why did he carry you back himself? Think about it! Once, twice… this is the third time! Every single time you've fainted, who was it that carried you home?"
"Ahhh! That doesn't prove anything!" Aoyama Nanami buried her face in the plushie, her ears burning. "Even if that's true, it doesn't mean Mr. Nozomi has those kinds of feelings for me!"
Unbeknownst to her, as she was engaged in this fervent, self-conscious dialogue with her stuffed animal, Hozuki Nozomi had approached her door to check on her. Hearing the muffled, passionate back-and-forth, his hand paused mid-knock.
Should I… come back later?
After a brief moment of hesitation, concern won out. He gently rapped his knuckles against the wood. "Nanami? Are you awake? May I come in?"
"Eeek!" A sharp, embarrassed squeak came from inside the room. "Wh-what's wrong? Why are you screaming? Are you feeling unwell?" Nozomi asked, his voice laced with genuine worry.
"N-no! It's nothing!" came the flustered reply. "P-please, come in, Nozomi-kun!"
Pushing the door open, Hozuki Nozomi found Aoyama Nanami sitting upright on her bed, her face a charming shade of pink. She was clutching the Torajiro plushie to her chest like a shield.
"Nanami, are you really alright now?" he asked softly, taking a step into the room. "You're sure you're not feeling sick or dizzy anywhere?"
"I'm really fine now. Thank you for your concern," she mumbled, her gaze dropping shyly to the plushie in her arms. Her fingers tightened around it, betraying a hint of nervous tension she couldn't quite hide.