Raize slowly stood up to face the god before him and, after a brief silence, admitted it outright.
Should he explain that the kiss last time was beyond his control?
There was no need. He had already chosen to take a step forward in his relationship with Eu. Any explanation now would be meaningless.
Hearing his answer, the gentle warmth vanished from Sei's golden eyes. For the first time ever, a flicker of anger appeared in her beautiful gaze.
"…Do you like her?"
The softness and familiarity in her voice disappeared, replaced by the increasingly heavy authority of a god.
Looking at this unfamiliar Sei, Raize's heart sank slightly.
So this… is what you're like as the God of Bible?
But as for liking—
His feelings for Eu? There was no confusion about them at all.
I won't lose again! I won't be taken away again—nor will I allow anyone to destroy all of this. I will never accept an ending of loss!
The oath he had sworn before Eu resurfaced clearly in his mind. He remembered how he had started with nothing but Nep, his family taken away from him.
He could not bear that feeling. Even more, he could not bear losing Eu, whom he had already grown accustomed to.
"I don't want her to leave my sight. I don't want her to leave this home. I don't want her to leave my side. I…"
As he spoke, Raize's heart inexplicably grew firmer. He stared straight into the imposing eyes of the God of Bible, unaware that deep within his cerulean pupils, the embryonic phantom of twin serpents entwined flashed by.
Sei did not see it, but she froze for a moment upon meeting his gaze. Some kind of illusion seemed to overlap with the boy before her.
Even Raize's voice seemed to be overlaid by an echo of another voice.
{Sei… I've heard enough about protecting the world. That isn't my desire. What I want is simply…}
Those were words Sei would never forget, buried deep within her most precious memories.
{To protect you.}
"I want to protect her!"
With unwavering resolve, Raize looked directly at the stunned Sei. His words sounded in her ears as though they truly overlapped with that long-ago presence.
But the cruel reality was that the person he wanted to protect was not her.
In an instant, the beautiful girl before him reddened at the eyes. Already full of grievance and anger, she could no longer suppress her emotions upon hearing his words.
No! That's not right!
It should be me! It was supposed to be me!
"Then what about me!? What feelings do you have toward me, Aize!?"
Overwhelmed by agitation and grief, Sei stepped forward, their noses almost touching as she stared intensely into his resolute eyes.
She desperately wanted to know how the current Raize truly felt about her.
Raize looked at Sei, who had lost all her authority and now looked as if she were on the verge of tears, her eyes shimmering. After a brief silence, instead of answering directly, he asked:
"Then what do you feel toward me?"
As for his feelings toward Sei—she was an extremely important existence.
Even without fully understanding why she sought him out and formed a contract with him, he still regarded her as an indispensable part of his life.
But as for deeper feelings—even if he harbored inappropriate thoughts, he buried them deep in his heart.
Because he didn't know how Sei truly viewed him. Even though she was gentle and affectionate with him at home, he never allowed himself to be intoxicated by it.
God loved all beings. From Raize's human perspective, Sei was a good god who devoted herself wholeheartedly to the world.
But to him personally, she felt too distant.
There was no inferiority complex—only the clear understanding that he was not yet qualified to take things further.
Would a god love me? It sounded almost absurd.
Such self-mocking, delusional thoughts often suppressed that hazy affection in his heart, locking it away where it could neither advance nor change.
"Aize, you…"
That complex emotion Raize held toward Sei was sensed, to some extent, by the goddess bound to him by a deep soul contract.
The God of Bible could hear the prayers of her believers and, if she wished, even the hearts of the angels under her command. But kind and gentle as she was, she would never do such a thing.
Compared to angels, Raize was far more deeply connected to her.
Although she couldn't read his thoughts directly, she could still sense some of the intense emotions he held toward her.
Catching that complex and grounded perspective Raize had of her, Sei's own emotions became equally complicated, and much of her anger and grievance faded.
She herself had no real experience with romance. Aside from the Raize before her—who had not yet become a god—she was exceedingly pure in matters of love.
Both of them hid things from each other. Sei did, and so did Raize.
Though Raize harbored feelings for her, his complex life experiences made him very realistic.
There was no such thing as a beautiful girl suddenly falling from the sky and falling in love with an otaku.
The breathtaking woman before him was the God of Bible—the god of this world. Raize was not so self-absorbed as to believe such a thing.
Unless they lived together day after day, Raize genuinely had no desire to pursue so-called two-dimensional beauties anymore.
And Sei, setting aside her heavy identity, was also a pure goddess in matters of romance, hardly more experienced than Mashiro.
Did God have dating experience?
If those words were spoken aloud, her angels Gabriel and Michael would probably draw their light spears on the spot and purge such blasphemy instantly!
In their hearts, their Lord was forever so lofty and dignified. What being could ever be worthy of standing beside her?
In daily life, her occasional initiative was already her limit. Viewing Raize unilaterally as her possession, she naïvely believed this would bind him tightly to her.
She overlooked Raize's current, very realistic mindset—leading to the present outburst of anger.
After roughly understanding Raize's inner thoughts and the situation at hand, Sei's golden eyes gradually regained their former brightness.
"After all this… it turns out I brought this upon myself."
With a self-mocking murmur, the beautiful and holy goddess once again gently raised her hands to cup Raize's cheeks.
Under Raize's stunned gaze, a pink tenderness welled up in her golden eyes as she spoke softly:
"What do I feel toward you? I'll let you understand right now."
With that, her moist, alluring lips pressed directly against his. Suppressing the shyness in her heart, she pushed herself to go even further.
Raize's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the dazzling golden pupils at such close range and the fair face flushed crimson. His mouth was already filled with a rich fragrance.
That emotion he had buried deep within his heart seemed to be torn free by a radiant beam of light, piercing through the darkness.
In that moment of shock, although Sei was intensely shy, the thought that the boy before her had used this very mouth to kiss another girl hardened her resolve.
In the brief instant before Raize could react, the goddess's breathing grew rapid. Using clumsy and inexperienced movements, she awkwardly pried open his teeth and proactively entwined her tongue with his, which still carried the sweet taste of pudding.
The immense power Eu had stored within Raize's body began to stir restlessly as his emotions spiraled.
Just as a trace of pain appeared in Raize's eyes and a hint of magic leaked from his body—
Sei snorted coldly in her heart.
How could she allow such interference?