Journey to Godhood Begins in Frieren

A beam of light shot down from the spaceship and lit up the entire alley. Inside that pillar of light, a small green figure slowly floated to the ground.

His skin was green—goblin‑green. His lavish clothes were green as well, topped off with a green hat shaped like a crown.

One could fairly call him a goblin child.

"Ta‑daaa! Lacospo-sama has arrived!"

"Lacospo!" Lala stared at him gravely.

"Is that Lacospo?" Shichen frowned; he barely remembered the name at all.

"Yes, that's him!"

"Hmph‑hmph! That's right—it's me. Lala, I've come to fetch you. Hurry up and come home with me so we can get married." Lacospo completely ignored Shichen.

"Ugh—keep dreaming!" Disgust was written plainly on Lala's face.

"What?"

"She said keep dreaming—can't you understand?" Shichen repeated while holding Lala around the waist; she naturally leaned against him.

"You… you're Shichen, aren't you?" Lacospo snarled.

"You hire assassins to kill me and then claim you don't know who I am?" Shichen shot back.

"Hmph! Why should I know you? If you hadn't been stalking Lala, none of this would concern me. It's all your fault!" Lacospo shamelessly put the blame on him.

"Oh? In that case I guess I don't have to hold back."

"Hold back? Don't flatter yourself! Speaking of which, where's Golden Darkness? And why are you completely unharmed?"

"She's right here." Shichen turned Yami around so she faced Lacospo.

"Golden Darkness? What are you doing?" Lacospo froze.

"None of your business," Yami replied, expressionless.

"None of my business? Are you kidding? I hired you—this is how you do the job?"

"Really? Then answer me: why did you give me false intel? I told you—if you commission me, don't ever feed me bad information." Yami's eyes turned icy.

"Ah—"

Startled, Lacospo still blustered, "Enough chatter! You're the one who botched the job. Looks like I'll have to handle it myself. Come out—Gama-tan!"

With a wave of his hand, a gigantic red frog dropped from the spaceship, filling the alley. Lacospo leapt onto its head.

"Now you're in for it!"

"It's the Lusty Frog!" Peke—the device perched on Lala's head—suddenly exclaimed.

"You know it, Peke?" Lala asked.

"Yes. I saw it in the Interstellar Bestiary," Peke said gravely. "It's basically my natural enemy."

"Natural enemy?"

Before Peke could explain, Lacospo barked an order.

"Gama-tan—show them your power!"

"Meow‑‑‑"

The huge frog spat a stream of pink slime.

"Wait—did that sound like a cat?"

"Now's not the time to worry about that."

Holding Yami with one arm and Lala with the other, Shichen vaulted high, dodging the attack. The pink goo splattered onto the ground, thick and revolting.

Shichen didn't know what it did, but some of it splashed onto Yami—

—and her clothes began to dissolve. A small hole opened at her waist, revealing pale skin.

"My clothes?!" Yami noticed immediately.

"Ohh, so that frog has this kind of ability," Lala said in sudden realization.

"Exactly why I said it's my nemesis," Peke added.

"Can't you just generate new outfits, Peke?"

"There's always a brief gap, and it costs energy… Shichen-sama wouldn't want Lala-sama exposed in front of strangers."

"Right, we have to be careful."

"Don't worry," Shichen said as he kept an arm around Lala to reassure her. "I just didn't know its power before."

"Really? Then you have to protect me, Shichen~"

"Of course—"

"Flirting in front of me? Unforgivable! Gama-tan, melt all their clothes!"

"Meow!"

The frog spat again.

Shichen planted his feet and raised a transparent barrier. The slime splashed against it, slid down, and could not stick.

"What is that? Gama-tan, try harder!"

"Meow!"

"Shichen—let me go," Yami interjected.

"What—trying to run?"

"No, you can't fight properly like this."

"Relax. It's just an oversized frog," Shichen said casually. It wasn't as big—or as cute—as the giant frogs from Souna's world. Still, its ability intrigued him; he wanted to see if he could absorb it.

"…That's not what I meant," Yami muttered, suddenly uneasy.

"Oh? Then what?"

"M‑My clothes…"

"Clothes? Ah." Shichen glanced at the sliver of skin at her waist and understood.

"D‑Don't look! I hate perverts!"

"Not my fault."

"Still—don't look!"

"Please. You're my prisoner now; you don't get to make demands. Keep it up and I'll punish you in front of everyone," Shichen said with a teasing threat.

Yami went rigid. Compared with being publicly spanked, having a tear in her clothes seemed the lesser evil.

"That's better." Shichen nodded approvingly.

"Shichen, how will you deal with that big frog?" Lala finally asked.

"Simple."

Shichen drew a deep breath and exhaled a jet of golden fire. The flame pierced the barrier and engulfed the frog.

"What?!" Lacospo yelped, leaping clear—but the frog had nowhere to run. In seconds it was wrapped in golden fire.

"Meow—!" The frog shrieked, rolling and slamming into the walls. Shichen threw up barriers on both sides so it could thrash all it liked.

Its struggle was useless. Moments later it burned to nothing—scarcely even ash. If one looked closely, something seemed to be sealed inside the golden flame, but Lala and the others couldn't see it.

Shichen opened his mouth again, drew the flame back in, and swallowed it—hoping his magic could absorb that power for himself.

"What was that?" Yami finally asked, face tense.

"Impressed? I was just toying with you earlier."

"Shichen, you're amazing!" Lala hugged him tight, thrilled.

"Right? And that's just one of many tricks."

"What other tricks?" Lala's big eyes sparkled.

"You'll find out tonight."

"Mm…" Lala blushed.

"You're still flirting?! My poor Gama! I'll never forgive you!"

Desperate for attention, Lacospo dashed beneath the spaceship, rose into it, and the craft shot skyward.

"He's trying to escape!"

"Relax—he won't get away. Perfect chance to let it out for a bit of fresh air."

Smiling, Shichen released a torrent of magic. Power surged upward, coalescing into an enormous rainbow‑plumed bird—a divine phoenix.

"What is that?" Even Yami's eyes widened.

"Ho‑Oh, take it down," Shichen commanded.

"Caw!"

The seven‑colored divine bird cried out, became a rainbow streak, and shot toward Lacospo's ship. They could no longer see the battle, but a multicolored flame slashed across the sky, followed by an explosion—

Boom!

A firework bloomed overhead.

Moments later, Ho‑Oh glided back and dissolved into magic that flowed into Shichen's body.

"All done," Shichen told Lala.

"That's your power, too? That bird was beautiful!" Lala's eyes shone.

"Glad you like it. I'll show you again next time."

"You promise!" She bounced up, flung her arms around his neck, and pecked his cheek.

"Heh‑heh—don't get impatient. We still have one more problem to settle." Shichen ruffled her hair, then looked down at the still‑stunned Yami.

"…Kill me or whatever—you decide," Yami said, completely resigned.

"Relax; I'm not going to kill you. But I'm not letting you go, either."

"What do you intend to do?"

"Simple: take you home first—then we'll talk."

"?"

~~~

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