Volume 2Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – Micheline’s Happy Day

“Leon, the divine object is in that very palace! If you’d only touch it, we could talk…”

Oh, it’s so frustrating! I failed at reincarnating the soul I brought over from Japan, and ever since I’ve been peeking in on Leon now and then and turning over every way there might be to reach him, and not one good idea has come to me!

Sherifie told me to try an oracle, but when I thought it through properly, my divine power only runs to about one oracle inside the divine domain. Meaning I can only send an oracle into the worship room of the church in the central district of the country Leon’s in.

If the king of that country, or Leon, would only come inside it, everything would be perfect, but neither of them shows the least sign of coming. Honestly, have a little faith in me! Though it isn’t only the king and Leon; almost nobody shows a face in there at all… The only one who comes to pray devotedly, near enough every day, is a single young woman. Besides her there’s an old man now and then, and an old woman who doesn’t pray at all and only rests on a chair a while. That’s the whole of it.

Suppose I spent precious divine power on an oracle to one of them. That young woman, say. Suppose I gave her an oracle to hand Leon the divine object in the palace: if she passed that on to the people around her, would they believe her…? Probably not. Even I can see that much. The likeliest end of it is being brushed aside with something about how she’s prayed so hard every day that her mind has gone. Then the old man who comes now and then? He’d only be taken for senile, or for hearing things… Honestly, what am I supposed to do in a state like this!

“Leon, this is very good!”

“I’m glad. Your cooks really are skilled, aren’t they. It’s pretty close to the taste I remember.”

“Is it. So I am eating the food of Leon’s previous world at this moment. That makes me happy somehow.”

Oh, honestly! Leon, you’re actually inside the palace and this is no time to be making eyes at a princess! When the divine object is right there. A short walk on through the palace and it’s in the treasury. Though nothing’s been passed on to him, so it’s unreasonable of me. As things stand, the chance of Leon happening to pick up the divine object is as near nothing as makes no difference. And he only goes to the palace to teach this princess magic, apparently.

Still. That pasta looks extremely good. I want something to eat as well. But creating things costs divine power too, so no. It isn’t as though I have any trouble going without food. And yet I want some. I want something sweet.

Sweet things are my very favorite. I love them enough to live on them and nothing else! Which is why I was planning to have Leon make me all the sweets there are in Japan, and that’s out of reach too while I can’t reach Leon.

I’m a rather pitiable goddess. I work hard at all sorts of things and none of it’s rewarded. Perhaps one would be all right? I want to make those sweet pancakes Leon was making. But the divine power…

Oh, I can’t bear this! I stopped peeking at Leon eating delicious food. And decided to go to Sherifie’s instead. Sherifie did say I might come and visit again.

“Sherifie!”

“Micheline. Here again. What became of the soul you took from Earth?”

“Leon, you mean. It’s going nowhere at all. Not one good method comes to me… I peek in on Leon and there’s no sign of him touching the divine object, and peeking uses a little divine power too, you know? So I can’t keep watching forever either…”

“Nothing’s been passed on to Leon, has it. Then his touching the divine object would be a miracle… Still, he’s a soul you went all the way to Earth for, so keep at it and don’t give up.”

“I know that, but let me rest a moment, pleeease. My divine realm’s got nothing in it, and no attendants, and I’m simply bored!”

When I let that out, Sherifie put on the face of somebody at the end of her patience.

“Your divine realm is beyond bleak. And you’ve kept to none of the practices recommended to a god. Ordinarily you furnish your realm and make at least three attendants, so the mind doesn’t break. Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”

“Of course I knew… But divine power seemed too precious to spend, so I put it off, and before I noticed there wasn’t any of it left to spend on the realm.”

“Micheline, you truly have no forward planning.”

She may say so, but I did mean to make a human world like Earth in my first one! And before I noticed it had turned into a world of monsters with no hope of any culture developing…

“I’ve got planning. It’s only that I’ve got no luck… I think.”

“Indeed. Then you haven’t been using divine power on sweets? You keep telling me you’re short of it, so surely you haven’t been.”

“S-suuurely not. As if I’d spend it on any such thing. I very nearly made pancakes a moment ago and I held myself back and came here instead!”

“You held yourself back a moment ago. Which means the rest of the time you make them, doesn’t it?”

Sherifie fixed me with a long, steady look.

“I-I hardly eat any. About five a day. That’s about the same as the divine power that comes back in a day, so it hasn’t gone down.”

“Micheline! Then your divine power will never increase, will it!”

Sherifie’s thunder came down. She looks so gentle and she’s genuinely frightening when she’s angry.

“But there’s nothing I can do, and without some little pleasure…”

“I do understand that, but the humans of your world are close to dying out! If you don’t want it to go the way the last world went, then work at it!”

Of course I don’t want it to go the way the last world went. Honestly, why am I so hopeless? Nothing but mistakes, and everything turning the worse way. I was sinking under it when Sherifie leaned in with a worried face.

“Micheline? I said too much. I’m sorry. Let’s have a change of mood, then! My divine realm has places to play in and companions to play with, plenty of both.”

Earth’s divine realm has every kind of building and every kind of country set out across a range so wide that walking it at a human’s pace would take months. And Sherifie has hundreds of attendants. So it’s lively here whenever I come, and bright, and enjoyable. I’d like my own realm to be like this one day. Mine’s got one desk, one sofa and a few shelves. The gap is remarkable…

“Shall we view the blossom? Or the autumn leaves? There’s skiing as well. Sea-bathing would be pleasant too. And I built a new amusement park the other day. We might watch a film at the cinema. Today I’ll let Micheline decide what we do.”

“I get to decide?”

“You may. Today’s special.”

“Sherifie, thank you! Then blossom-viewing! With a great many sweets!”

“Micheline really does love sweet things. Then today, as a special case, I’ll make you up to ten kinds.”

Usually it’s three, because divine power’s too precious to spend. Sherifie’s generous today!

“Sherifie, I love you!”

I threw my arms around her, and Sherifie looked faintly put upon and hugged me back. I truly am glad Sherifie’s my friend. No, friend isn’t a word that covers it any longer. Family? Well, there’s no need to put a name to it!

“Then first the dango and the sakura mochi! And I want the dorayaki and the warabi mochi. And the sakura roll cake and the baumkuchen. The ones I had before were genuinely wonderful! And then the cheesecake and the cream puffs and the chocolate gateau. And the last one is… the strawberry daifuku!”

“It really is only Japanese sweets that Micheline knows anything about.”

“Naturally!”

Something this good, that makes you this happy: you couldn’t forget it if you tried!

“Then I’ll create them.”

Sherifie waved a hand and one sweet after another appeared on the desk. Wonderful… This place really is paradise.

“Ashina. Are you there?”

At Sherifie’s call a girl appeared who’d look about ten in human terms. Fluffy brown hair tied up in a ponytail, and large striking eyes. She’s Sherifie’s favorite and she’s often near her. Ashina loves Sherifie too, so she serves without a word of complaint. Or rather, an attendant loves her master without exception. Though looking at Sherifie’s attendants, their characters seem to be all over the place.

“Yes. I am here! Did you need something?”

“Would you pack these sweets into a basket? Micheline and I are going to view the blossom.”

“Certainly! Oh—Micheline, you have come to visit us!”

“Ashina. It’s been a while.”

“Yes! I am so glad to see you again!”

Ashina’s always kind to me too; she truly is a good child. Every time I see her I want an attendant of my own… I really do want more divine power. If I were worshipped more… which is a difficult matter.

“Ashina, will you come to the blossom-viewing as well?”

“May I come with you?”

“Of course. Then I’ll make the ohagi that Ashina likes too.”

“Really?! Thank you very much!”

Sherifie’s so soft on Ashina. She might be a little softer with me. All I get is scolding.

“Then let’s go. Flying would take an instant, but it’s quite near. Shall we walk?”

“Then let’s walk!”

Earth’s divine realm is enjoyable simply to walk through. Flying’s dull.

“Then off we go.”

We followed Sherifie out of the house we were in. The house is a building Sherifie’s particularly fond of; the Heian period, was it, and something from that age called a shinden-zukuri, apparently. It seems to be like an old Japanese building, and why she goes to the trouble of living in an old one is entirely beyond me. A god can create anything that’s existed even once in the past or present of the world they made, so ordinarily you’d make the newest thing, wouldn’t you? She says something about its having character. I don’t follow it.

“It really is a large building.”

This shinden-zukuri thing is large enough to make you wonder how many hundreds could live in it.

“It’s got a solemn air to it. Isn’t that fine? I was fond of Japan in this period.”

“It isn’t bad, certainly… How many live here?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but about ten of them should have rooms. Which reminds me, I made a new attendant the other day! That one is here as well.”

“You made another?”

“I did. This time I thought I wanted a sweet pet, so I made a large dog. There, that’s him over there.”

Where Sherifie pointed was a large brown-furred dog. The moment he caught sight of Sherifie he came racing over.

“He’s large.”

“He is adorable! Choco, come here!”

The dog she called Choco arrived at very nearly a flying leap and set about swinging his tail. This one doesn’t speak… Surely he isn’t simply a dog?

“Sherifie, can’t this one talk?”

“I made it take time for him to become able to take human form. One wants to enjoy this much sweetness for a good long while, doesn’t one?”

“Does one, though…?”

Well, he’s sweet enough, I suppose. I’m not that fond of animals myself.

“Micheline, may Choco come to the blossom-viewing as well?”

“I’ve no objection. Then let’s hurry!”

After that we talked cheerfully as we walked, and about ten minutes on we reached a plaza with dozens of cherry trees in full and riotous bloom. A stream runs through the plaza too, with cherry petals floating down it. Beautiful.

“Loooovely every time I see it. Exactly the color of sakura mochi.”

“Micheline, you’ve no sensibility whatever. Be more moved than that. By this splendid scene of Japan.”

“It truly is beautiful. I love this place!”

“Ashina understands it, as you’d expect. Micheline should learn from her.”

“Yeees. Now, let’s eat the sweets!”

“Honestly, you understand nothing at all. Well, never mind. I’ll spread a cloth, so let’s sit there and eat.”

So we spread a large cloth at about the middle of the plaza, and Ashina laid out the sweets she’d carried. What a magnificent view! Better than the cherry blossom; I could look at these sweets for the rest of my life!

“Can I eat?”

“You may. Then let’s all eat. I’ll have the mitarashi dango, I think.”

“Mitarashi dango’s a fine thing too! Will you trade me one for one of my three-color dango?”

“If I must. There you are.”

“Sherifie, thank you!”

Mm, the chewiness of the three-color dango and that faint sweetness: unfairly good. And the mitarashi dango with its sweetness and its saltiness together is wonderful! Happiness…

“Micheline, will you trade me the ohagi for the sakura mochi? I like sakura mochi too.”

“Of course I will! I like ohagi as well.”

“Which would you like, the kinako or the anko? This kinako one has no bean paste inside.”

That’s… not decidable. Which would be better. This is the hardest choice I’ve ever faced. I love the flavor of kinako, and the anko’s got its sweetness and the scent of the beans, and…

“Micheline?”

“One moment. I’m working on the greatest problem I’ve faced since I was born a god. Kinako, or anko…”

“Then why don’t you halve it and eat both?”

“Ashina! You’re a genius!”

“Oh! Then please take both.”

“Thank you. The sakura mochi’s yours.”

“Thank you very much!”

Ashina truly is a good child. I want to take her home to my realm. But a god can move between worlds and an attendant can’t…

“Here you are, Choco. The pudding you like.”

“Pudding! Choco, are you being given pudding?”

“Honestly, Micheline, you’ve got ten kinds. Don’t go after Choco’s as well.”

“I-I’m not going after it. I only thought the pudding looked good too…”

“Very well, there’s no helping you. A trade, then. Choco’s pudding for one of your sweets.”

“Truly? Sherifie, I love you! Choco can eat anything, can’t he?”

“He’s an attendant. Naturally he can.”

“Then I’ll give him half of this roll cake.”

The roll cake’s large, so half of it is no great loss. A bitter decision all the same…

“A trade, then. Here’s the pudding.”

“Thank you!”

Mmm! The pudding’s ridiculous as well. That strange texture and the sweetness are habit-forming. It melts in your mouth… If only these sweets existed in my own world. I really must find some way of reaching Leon.

“That reminds me, Micheline, let’s play table tennis. My losing by so narrow a margin last time was a mistake of some kind!”

Sherifie created a table and paddles and a ball. We fought it out at table tennis the other day and I won by a narrow margin! I’ve got good reflexes, you see.

“Of course! And I’ll win again.”

There are all sorts of things I have to think about, and enjoying this time now is surely allowed!

And so I enjoyed a happy blossom-viewing with Sherifie and the others, surrounded by delicious sweets. Genuinely enjoyable, and happy… I want to make a space as happy as this in my own world too.