Journey to Godhood Begins in Frieren

"Th-That's an alien?" Yui Kotegawa asked uncertainly.

"Yep," Shichen nodded with a grin.

"No way! Aliens are supposed to look like... like Lala, right?" Yui glanced between Lala and the giant octopus, struggling to accept the situation.

"Don't let Lala define your image of aliens," Shichen said, patting her on the butt.

"Y-You…!" Yui puffed out her cheeks and glared at him, blushing in embarrassment.

Shichen ignored it completely and added, "The universe is massive. Life comes in all forms. Honestly, aliens that look human—like Lala and her kind—are the weird exceptions."

"Is that true?" Yui looked toward Lala.

"Huh?" Lala tilted her head. "Yeah, kind of. Most species out there don't look like us."

"I see…"

"Um… guys?" Momioka Risa's voice suddenly cut in.

Everyone turned—and saw that Risa and Sawada Mio were both being lifted off the ground by a giant octopus tentacle.

"Principal… help…" Mio pleaded pitifully.

"When did you two even get caught?" Shichen asked, amused.

From his angle, he had a full view under their skirts. No safety shorts—one was pale yellow, the other light blue. Soft cotton. He could even make out the faint outline of—

"…While you were explaining aliens to us…" one of them muttered.

"Principal! Can you stop staring and just save us already? This thing's sticky and gross!"

"Alright, alright… Yami, can you slice off that tentacle? No need to hold back."

"I—I can't…" Yami stepped back behind him.

"Huh?" Shichen looked at her, confused.

"I… I really can't deal with slimy, slippery things…" Yami said with a disgusted expression, eyes turned away from the octopus.

"Oh… right." Shichen remembered. Yami had a serious aversion to gooey stuff.

…Wait. If he ever did that kind of thing to her… No! Now's not the time to think about that!

"Fine, I'll do it myself."

He gently set Yui down, but her knees buckled, and she leaned into him, clinging tightly.

"Yui?"

"I can't… my legs…"

"Okay, okay."

Letting her lean on him, Shichen raised his hand. Golden flames began to gather in his palm.

"Lala, come over here."

"Okay!"

"Wait—Principal, what are you doing? You're not gonna burn us too, right?!"

"Yeah, please don't!"

"Relax. You'll be fine."

Shichen smiled and threw the flame at the octopus.

"Heh… what's that tiny fire supposed to do?" the octopus suddenly spoke.

"Did… did it just talk?!" Yui gasped.

"Told you—it's an alien. Of course it can talk."

"But it's speaking Japanese!"

"Means it's been here a while."

"I see…"

"You've got time to chat? That fire can't possibly hurt—AAAH!"

The moment the flame touched the octopus, it exploded into a massive blaze, engulfing the whole creature—and Risa and Mio too.

But the girls weren't harmed at all.

The octopus let out shrieks and flailed its limbs, dropping the girls as it tried desperately to put the flames out—but the fire didn't fade.

"NOOO! HELP! IT BURNS!"

"OW OW OW!"

"What kind of fire is this?! Why didn't it hurt us?"

Risa and Mio scrambled to their feet and ran to Shichen's side.

"It's called 'Friendly Fire'—flames that only harm my enemies. Powerful and gentle at the same time. Ever watched Ultraman?"

The girls just stared blankly at him. Even Yami looked confused.

"…Never mind." Shichen sighed. "Anyway, it only burns whoever I consider an enemy."

"Oh, why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Risa said.

"Yeah! Stop with the weird references."

"…You two. I just saved you."

"But didn't you sneak a peek at us too?" Risa teased with a wink.

"You noticed that?!"

"Hmph~ Us girls are very perceptive."

"Haha~ Busted," Lala laughed without a care.

"Shichen, why are you still thinking about stuff like that at a time like this?" Yami sighed, shaking her head.

"Shichen…" Yui gave him a silent, disappointed look.

"Hey! It wasn't on purpose, okay? They were hanging right in front of me—it was unavoidable!"

"Let's just say it was," Risa said, patting his shoulder. "Anyway, I'm not that bothered."

"M-Me neither…" Mio added shyly.

"Don't 'let's just say it was' me! It really was an accident!"

"Aww, stop fussing over the details."

"Y-You guys—!"

Shichen was about to keep arguing when a new sound interrupted him. It wasn't the octopus.

He looked past it, toward the deeper part of the room—and saw a large group of shadows moving in the firelight.

The figures looked like something out of a nightmare—green-skinned cyclopses, fishmen, bear-like humanoids, even mummies and monstrous shapes. All of them… definitely non-human.

"Waaah!" Yui shrieked and hugged Shichen again.

"M-Monsters?!" Risa and Mio clung to each other in terror.

"Why are there so many monsters?" Lala asked, curious.

"They're not monsters," Yami corrected. "They're alien visitors."

"Really?"

"Yes…" one of the creatures replied timidly.

"So… what do you guys want?" Shichen asked.

"C-Could you let our friend go?" one of the aliens motioned to the still-burning octopus.

"Sure." Shichen raised his hand and recalled the flames.

He wasn't planning to destroy the octopus anyway—he still had plans for it.

"We're… we're safe…" The octopus collapsed, completely unharmed—no burn marks at all.

"Yay! He's okay!" the aliens cheered.

"So… mind telling me what you're doing here?" Shichen asked.

"O-Of course," the octopus replied. "Actually… we were laid off from our home planets. We've been drifting through space and ended up here."

"Laid off?" Yui raised an eyebrow.

"So you faked a haunted location to scare people away?"

"Y-Yeah. But we never harmed anyone on this planet!"

"Relax. I'm not blaming you. Actually… I could use your help."

"Help?"

"Don't worry about it for now. I'll get you all some jobs. Just show up when I call you."

"Jobs?! Really?"

"Would I lie to you? Right, Mikado-san?" Shichen turned and looked behind them.

"Oh my, you caught me~" Ryoko Mikado appeared in her lab coat, smiling.

"Huh? Mikado-san?" Yui's eyes widened. "Wait… don't tell me—you're an alien too?!"

"Surprised?" she giggled. "Yep, totally am."

"…Honestly, not anymore," Yui sighed.

"Alright, let's get down to business," Mikado said as she turned to the aliens. "I have a friend who runs a theme park. You guys can work at the haunted house attraction."

"Really?!"

"Don't worry, it's legit. And you probably don't realize this, but the Princess of Deviluke and Golden Darkness are both here too." She gestured at Lala and Yami.

"W-We didn't mean any harm! Please don't hurt us!"

"Relax~ I think you're hilarious!" Lala grinned.

"Really?"

"Whew… that's a relief."

"They're all yours then, Mikado-san," Shichen said.

"Gladly. Though, don't you owe me a favor now?" she teased.

"A favor? You already planned to recruit them. But fine, I'll owe you one."

"Thanks, Principal~"

"…So is it over now?" Yui asked.

"Aww, but I was just getting into it!" Lala pouted.

"Lala! Lunch break's almost over!"

"Ehhh—fine…"

"…Actually," Shichen interrupted with a smile. "Maybe not quite yet."

"Huh?"

"Look over there."

Everyone turned toward the deeper part of the room—and froze.

There, floating in the air, was a woman in a kimono, glowing faintly with a soft aura. Whispered voices echoed around her.

She looked exactly like… a ghost.

"Thank you all," the ghostly woman said gently. "Now I can finally return to a peaceful life."

No one responded. Yui, Risa, and Mio were frozen in place, stunned.

"Oh! I forgot to introduce myself," the woman said sweetly. "I'm Oshizu. I died here about 400 years ago. Nice to meet you."

She tilted her head and smiled.

But to Yui, Risa, and Mio… that smile was anything but comforting.

~~~

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