ALL NOVEL Chapter 322
One day, ‘gates’ opened all over the world.
A phenomenon transcending all human knowledge and wisdom.
And those who revealed themselves from the gates… were the fantasies of humankind.
★
“Finally, it’s my turn!”
“Are you really going? It seems like it’s going to be really tough; why not just stay here with me, sis?”
“I feel like Dad wants to oppose too. The thought of our daughter going down there and suffering already brings tears to my eyes!”
“Have a safe trip.”
No matter how I think about it, isn’t our home kind of special?
After all, it’s not every day that a daughter who had been holed up for thousands of years finally steps outside, yet the only one cheering her on is just one mom?
Usually, at times like this, it’s normal to show a heartfelt reaction like, “At last, our daughter has become a true deity…!”
“Ugh, I don’t know! Honestly, it got suddenly annoying, but…! Still, it’s a chance I’ve waited nearly 100 years for!”
“Only 100 years?”
Of course, for us, who live for eternity, 100 years is just a blink of an eye.
We’re the ones who feel even thousands of years are short; as my sister said, there’s no need to make a fuss over just waiting for a mere 100 years.
But still, this time, it can’t be helped.
Because this is my chance to get rid of the humiliating nickname of 【Hikikomori NEET Loli Huge Avatar】.
If someone who doesn’t know me hears that, they might really think I’m a socially awkward person stuck in my room!
I’m just a gamer who finds it more comfortable to play alone than meet other deities!
Anyway, it’s a once-in-a-hundred-year opportunity.
Backing down from this… Well, it’s okay, but not taking advantage of this opportunity is just not what I, as a deity, would do.
“Then, I’ll be off!”
“Wah… Have a safe trip, my daughter…”
“If it’s too hard, it’s okay to come back any time. I’ll be waiting.”
“Don’t worry about those two, just enjoy yourself.”
“Yes…!”
And so, I left home, putting my family’s farewells behind me.
Thinking about it, leaving home after thousands of years happens only a few times.
To be precise, I hadn’t left outside except for applying for the ‘Divine Descent.’
This was truly going out after thousands of years, in every sense of the word.
“Oh? Isn’t that 【Hikikomori】… no, it’s 【Water Avatar】?”
And those who witnessed my first outing in thousands of years looked at me with fascination and started talking to me.
“Who, who, who dares to use such a vulgar term…! I am 【Water Avatar】!”
Even though I protested against being called that, they just chuckled.
“Can’t believe you still haven’t fixed that communication impairment? Nothing has changed in thousands of years!”
Isn’t it because you guys keep teasing me with that nickname?!
I wanted to shout that out, but since I had already said a word, my communication stamina for today was at zero.
In the end, I gave up responding, blushing as I walked towards my destination.
At some point, the nickname 【Loli Huge Avatar】 had evolved into 【Hikikomori NEET Loli Huge Avatar】.
I was a victim! Why do I have to be the one getting teased?
It’s truly shameful that even a maiden deity isn’t spared from such comments!
As I was angrily venting my frustrations alone, I soon reached my destination, Bifrost.
There stood Heimdall with Gjallarhorn.
“Oh? 【Hikiko】… no, it’s 【Water Avatar】? …Come to think of it, today’s ‘Divine Descent’ was you?”
“Y-yes…”
“Are you really sure that personality of yours is okay? The lower realms are… tougher than you might think?”
“I’m fine! P-please just open the gate!”
“Yes, yes. Understood. We wouldn’t want to anger our 【Water Avatar】 and catch the attention of those folks.”
Heimdall chuckled as he said that.
He was making jokes knowing our family wouldn’t do that, and that made me feel kind of uncomfortable.
We aren’t particularly close, yet he had the audacity to crack jokes so casually…
“Lord Marduk, Lady Sarphanit, and Nabu… Ah, I won’t see you for a while. Anyway, I’ll pray for you to have a joyful journey.”
“Th-thank you…”
“Have a good trip, 【Hikikomori NEET Loli Huge Avatar】!”
“…Huh?”
I turned my head to argue with Heimdall after that last comment, but Bifrost’s dazzling light enveloped me.
“Cheh….”
Nothing. Not even myself could be seen in this pure white space.
But I was already aware that I was here.
So, I slowly reached out and opened the ‘gate.’
A world I had never seen before.
The ‘lower realms’ unfolded before my eyes.
This is where my lower realm life was going to begin!
Many children would surely praise and worship me, right?
Just thinking about it brings me so much joy…!
With such expectations, I stepped beyond the ‘gate’ and was met with…
“Ah, ah… The gate has opened. It seems to be a deity. Prepare yourselves.”
“Um… Are you a deity? Or perhaps an apparition? Please clarify your existence.”
“…Eh?”
It was a cruel reality.
★
I knew this.
In the lower realms, the ‘powers’ of deities, the ‘magic’ of apparitions, and the ‘sorcery’ of witches couldn’t be used.
To live in the lower realms means living as a ‘human.’
And the amount of ‘mystical beings’ that descended into the lower realms is countless.
But still…!
“I find it difficult to understand the difference between a normal deity and an avatar. Could you explain more clearly?”
“Well, th-that is…”
I thought I would show at least a minimal respect to a deity!
But this place is supposedly a country known as Japan even in the lower realms.
And I was being interrogated there, of all places.
I’m still a deity!
“If I were to use an analogy, the A that made this paper is the deity of paper, and the B that manages the paper is the avatar of paper…”
“Ah, so the deity is the one who created the concept initially, and the avatar is the one who manages that concept?”
“W-well, it can be seen that way.”
To be precise, the avatar is born from the concept itself created by the deity.
An avatar is one of the ‘unknowns’ that even a deity couldn’t predict.
If compared to the species of the lower realms, they’re treated as the same ‘deity’ but with some differences in classification, I guess?
Thus, if simply categorized by status, my mother, as the 【goddess of water】, is indeed far above me, the 【water avatar】.
But when it comes to the power related to that concept.
If it’s limited to the power over ‘water’, I surpass my mom.
Well, considering that I’m down in the lower realms, status and power mean nothing anyway.
“So, I think the information ~gathering~ is almost finished… and finally, we will give you the goddess three choices.”
“C-choices…?”
“Yes. As the number of beings arriving from beyond the gate has increased immensely worldwide, we are providing you with choices for easier management on our part.”
Management… such a word!
I’m still a deity, yet I’m going to be managed by humans?
“Ah, I might have worded that weirdly. We have a duty to ascertain just how many ‘mystical beings’ there are.”
“Oh, I see…”
“Yes. So, the first option is to live doing what you want. But, you will need to report to us every two months. You can do whatever you like, but that means there will be quite a few meetings with us.”
Immediate rejection.
Given my personality, if I had to come to such places often, it would surely lead to me being sent back to the heavenly realm from mental strain.
“The second option is to get a job at a company associated with the state. This way, your information will be sent to us by the company, so you wouldn’t have to meet us much at all, but there’s no guarantee that you can do what you want.”
“The second…!”
“Uh? Are you not interested in the third one?”
“Never mind, definitely the second….”
Children often misunderstand.
Deities, apparitions, fantasies.
In other words, ‘mystical beings’ descending to the lower realms will have some separate reasons.
But that’s not true.
The reason we descend into the lower realms is simply to see the ‘unknown.’
Even a simple daily company life, which is familiar to them, is an unknown to us.
So, there was no need for me to insist on the first option.
“Hmmm…. Then, do you have a specific role in mind?”
A role in mind… well.
There’s definitely one.
“Please make it so I can minimize interactions with unknown individuals…”
“Understood. Now, for the final question. Please tell us your true name and the name you will use while living here. You’re free to use your true name if you prefer.”
“Ah…. What if I have two true names?”
“Excuse me?”
“Literally, I have two true names….”
The first is the name I gained as the 【Water Avatar】.
And the second is the name my mom and dad gave me as family.
Both are true names to me….
“Just say whichever is more comfortable. You can tell us both if you want.”
“Hmm…. If I say it in Japanese, it’s ‘Mina.’ The surname is ‘Kayanoh,’ I believe.”
“Kayanoh Mina? That’s a lovely name.”
“Th-thank you, hehe….”
“Uh…. Oh, it’s nothing! So, you’ll use the true name Kayanoh Mina. Will you use a stage name?”
“Hmm.”
Since deciding to descend into the lower realms, I had diligently studied.
Sometimes, I heard from those who visited my home, “In the lower realms, there are times when you must use a different name instead of your real one.”
So, before descending into the lower realms, I studied the languages of all nations.
No matter where I descended, I wanted to use a name related to me.
And among the languages I studied, Japanese was certainly included.
Thus, I told her.
“Izumi… sounds good. Yeah.”
“Understood. Thank you for participating in our survey. The lower realm sincerely welcomes 【Water Avatar】 Izumi!”
And so, my lower realm life began.
★
“V-VTuber…?”
“Yes. I thought this role would suit you best, considering you wouldn’t have to meet people you want to avoid…”
The kid, who introduced herself as ‘Renka,’ smiled at me.
She radiated an aura of sheer sociability that I couldn’t even comprehend…
I wanted to flee immediately, but I had to hold on.
“It’s a job where you will interact with people, but since you won’t meet them directly, you can talk about only what you’d like.”
“Ooo…!”
I wouldn’t have to see their faces, and I could pour out my thoughts unilaterally.
This was a perfect job!
“But there is one thing you must do.”
“…Eh?”
“It’s your activity as a virtual idol….”
“A virtual? An idol? Can you explain what that is?”
“Hmm. It’s better to see it firsthand than to explain. Could you possibly spare some time tomorrow, Izumi?”
“Um. S-sure….”
After all, I wouldn’t have anything to do with not much left until my job was assigned, except hanging around in the place the kids designated.
And the next day.
“Th-there are so many people…”
“Don’t worry; you don’t have to be nervous. You won’t be directly interacting with them.”
…Not directly interacting, huh?
Before I could grasp the implication, I was hit with…
“Whoa-aaaahhhhhh!”
An enormous cheer pierced my ears.
And what appeared before me was—
[Are you all ready?! Let’s go full throttle today!]
A beautiful platinum-haired girl.
Her soul’s color was so vivid and bright that it was mesmerizing even for a goddess like me.
★
“How was it? If you accept, you will need to perform like that too, Izumi.”
“I will.”
There was no hesitation in my decision.
Having seen that girl’s stage, I was completely captivated.
That girl, who was just a human girl, made me admire and long for her.
As Renka had said, that girl was an idol, and in an instant, I became her fan.
But in front of this ‘unknown,’ I didn’t want to content myself with just being a fan.
“I want to stand on stage with her too….”
“…Understood. I will do my best to ensure you can stand alongside her—Natsune. So let’s work well together moving forward.”
Renka smilingly extended her hand at my words.
Though trembling inside, I grabbed her hand.
Thus, the first step toward the birth of the virtual idol ‘Izumi’ was set in motion.