• Chapter #8: [HOMEVISIT]

“KAEDE! OVER HERE!”, Hiro's cry reached my ears, making me twitch in annoyance. Why must he be so loud? Closing my eyes, I let out a sigh and stopped for a moment.

A second later, I resume walking towards them. Only did I see that they were on a train stop. Huh? Looks like we’re not going to his apartment, but rather, his household.

As usual, Hiro's face was full of brightness and cheeriness. Behind him, his harem of 7 different girls with varying beauty and personality stood, namely: Kurumi, Emiya, Emilia, Misa, Yumi, Yuki, and Ayumi. Aside from lucky and his harem, I also spotted the Mozu Brothers, Arima, Maki, and Soma, Alongside Koga and Carter. The two looked like they came from a certain shōjō manga, though I couldn’t remember what.

“It looks like I’m hanging out with you guys way too much for my liking.”, As soon as I arrived, my thoughts just voiced itself without thinking.

“E-ehehe… Err—yeah, forgive me about that. They’re also excited to come.”

I looked at the girls, noticing their glares made my eye twitch in annoyance for a bit. This is getting really irritating.

“I’ll go with the boys, since this is my first time going with you.”, I didn’t wait for his reply and headed towards where the others were at.

After seeing me heading towards them, the boys panicked for a bit, before they eventually settled down. Locking my eyes to Kogi, I teasingly say.

“Too bad, the only thing you could do is lay your eyes on Misa.”

Kogi had disbelief etched on his face, all while blushing furiously.

“E-Ehh?! You knew?!”

“I’m not rock dense like Hiro. Plus, you’re not the only one whose weaved in this ridiculous harem sh*t.” I nonchalantly answered.

Kogi looked at me in doubt, though if he knew, that look would be something else.

First, I had a childhood friend named Kurumi. Our parents were good friends and we spent our toddler years to middle school with each other. But Voila! Hiro comes in and she’s in love with him. Bam! Quick as lightning! I cried myself to sleep for several days during those times.

After that, comes in the attractive highschool president. At first, I convinced myself not to judge her by appearance. However, her beauty doesn’t end in her physical appearance, but goes within her personality. I thought of trying to confess, but then, Hiro comes in and bam! You know it.

They say third time’s a charm, so I tried my luck on Ayumi. She was a gentle and caring girl, so it was quite easy for me to fall in love with her. I eventually heard that she confessed to Hiro, breaking my heart to pieces.

Hah… How could that happen…? Three of the girls I love, fallen to one guy… It’s like cupid is toying with my love life.

“Guys! Please settle down, the train will arrive in 10 minutes.”, Hiro spoke. It was like a leader chiding his followers. Sometimes, I really envy this guy. Not just because of his harem, but his ability to easily attract followers.

Meanwhile, I’m here, a loner who’s companions are only ancient gods.

“Yeah… It’s good to see her happy…”, Kogi's voice trailed weakly beside me. I noticed him still looking at Misa, with said girl gazing at Hiro in admiration. It feels odd to see someone in my situation.

“Even I’m not that happy…”, He added, a small bitter smile forming on his face.

“Hmmm… People only realize how important things are when they lose them.”, I spoke out, acting as the human advisor that I was to the deities.

His looked at me and smiled lightly, his mood seemed to improve for a bit.

“Haahh… Thanks for that, but I hope this stays between us.”, He glared at me, as if daring me to refuse.

“No worries.”, I replied in nonchalance, unfazed by his threat in the slightest.

A few minutes of chit chat, the train had finally arrived and we walked in. Hiro and his harem first, of course. And as soon as I entered, I was speechless on how desperate the girls seem to be on who's sitting next to Hiro.

Sighing and shaking my head, I went to the seat at the back so I wouldn’t be involved in their mess.

“Hiro-kun~ You can sit next to me~”, Kurumi suggested, patting the seat beside her for emphasis.

“No! You sit beside me Hiro!”, The president said, all while pulling the boy’s arm towards her.

Panicking, Hiro thought on what to do. He set his gaze on me. That idiot! He wouldn’t dare!

“I’ll sit next to Kaede.”, And with that, he immediately went towards the unoccupied seat beside me.

Ahhh… Fuck. I felt the strong urge to facepalm. Seriously! Read the atmosphere dude!

Sighing, I noticed that the girls were now glaring at me. If looks could kill, the only thing left in my place would be a giant hole and smoke.

In response, I just wore a bored expression, as if mockingly ignoring them. It’s not my fault that your little contest had ended anyways.

[Plotter's Discernment: Active]

Ah, they’re conspiring or some shit again? What is it this time?

As they continue to glare at me, I had enough and sent them my own scowl and icy gaze, making them falter a bit. Heh, that’s right, I have been wearing that face far too long to for you brats to scare me. As I watched in satisfaction of the finding their own seats, I wasn’t aware that they weren’t the only ones who was thinking about me.

…

In front of Hiro, Hori Kaede is just a normal highschool teenager. Alright, maybe too much of being a loner. But somehow, he gained the blessing of an ancient god. A gift that allows one to easily adapt and comprehend everything. Despite his relatively harmless interaction with them, he’s still needed to be carefully looked at, if he’s really a good guy.

…

“We’re here!”, Hiro cheerfully says, quickly standing up from his seat. Noticing the faces of everyone, it seems that they’ve been on this place sometime in the past.

Stepping out, I was greeted by the view of a large countryside village. A large temple stood proudly in the middle, much higher than the others and appearing to be looking over the whole village.

A relatively good disguise, it would appear to other people as a village built around a temple of worship. However, in reality, the people living here are members of the Kazuto Clan, or at least affiliated with them.

“So, we’re heading to that temple?”, I asked Hiro, who was mesmerized by the sights. He must really miss his home a lot.

“Yeah! I really miss home!”, He mimicked my thoughts, his face showing an expression of nostalgia. Pointing at the temple, he said to me.

“I’ll introduce you to my grandfather and my other friends who came this year.”

Slowing my walk down a bit, I took a good look to the place again. It seemed that a lot of strong people live here. After a few minutes of walking, Kogi's face suddenly turned to a grim one, which I asked.

“What’s the matter?”

“Have you heard about the 'LiveStream Hero'?” He asked.

… Really? LiveStream Hero? Here I am, wondering on how many shitty ass names had they made on me.

“Ah, that? Yeah, saw it on the internet today. It seems to be real, so I was surprised.”

“Yeah… But seeing something like that is really unbelievable. We still shouldn’t believe easily on what we saw.”

Hmmm… Interesting, it appears that he’s trying to make me believe that it wasn’t real, but surprise, it’s real and it’s actually me. Also, don’t give me that shit, you guys also possess some big secrets, so don’t go poking around someone who wanted to reveal theirs.

“Yeah, sure.” I agreed. Seeing my disinterest in the topic, a brief look of relief washed over Kogi's face before he went to Hiro and the others. Hmmm… Really interesting.

“The LiveStream Hero isn’t fake.”, Kogi spoke seriously. Ah, I could still hear them.

“But is it really possible for someone to reveal themselves to the world?”, Misa asked, certainty lacing her voice.

“I don’t know… We have kept this tradition for thousands of years… And for him to defy it easily like that is…”, Hiro mulled over, a frown grazing his face.

Ridiculous. That tradition sounded like someone from a shady cult would do.

“Revealing yourself like that is like telling people your weakness. With the risk that he made, Karma will surely strike him.”, Emilia said gravely.

“Healing, flying, and you saw how he altered his surroundings right? Even the moon was bending to his will. And on how he healed the people just by playing an instrument, I’ll say that he’s an extremely powerful mage with high healing and magical capabilities.”, Emiya explained, her brows furrowing at the thought of someone with that amount of power.

As I continued to listen in, I couldn’t help but notice on what they said was 'Karma'. Opening my phone, it’s time to ask on what that thing was.

[Enigma: Hey guys, I just heard some people talk about karma. Apparently, it’s a power that keeps these kind of people from revealing anything to the world. Is it true?]

[Plotter: Ah, yes. Karma is a thing that was created by other deities in the past to prevent gifted humans from upsetting the world.]

[Enigma: I’m a bit troubled, since I just revealed my powers…]

[WarisLife: Do not worry, Karma is made by minor deities. We’re much higher than them, so it wouldn’t work on you. Plus, you’re not influenced by the tradition and your abilities come directly from us.]

[Enigma: Whew… That’s a relief…]

Idly chatting for a few minutes, our group had finally arrived at the temple entrance. Closing my phone off, I sigh as I prepare to enter the temple.

[•END•]

This is the revised version, written by BaNaeNae.