“It’s hereeeeeee!!” my classmates all whispered to each other excitedly.
A small girl had followed Mr. Soleil back into the classroom.
Her silver-white hair that must have been beautiful once upon a time was horribly damaged, and a mix of old and fresh bruises decorated the rest of her pale body.
I instantly recognised she wasn’t human.
She was way too beautiful to be called a human.
Her crimson eyes swept over all of us, followed by her small mouth making a pained smile. “Hello… everyone. And nice to meet you. I am a nameless god. –– A stray god, if you will,” she said.
Her voice echoed throughout the classroom like the sound of a bell.
The classroom had fallen completely silent, the total opposite of the bustle from earlier.
But, that also only lasted a moment. My classmates looked at each other and began making fun of her in whispers.
“This god is quite famous in a sense of the word, so many of you have probably already heard of her. She will now warn you regarding contracts with gods herself. Pay attention, because you don’t get an opportunity like this very often,” Mr. Soleil said, then looked at the crimson-eyed girl – I mean the stray god.
That was when I had a bad premonition.
And I was completely right.
“Everyone, have you heard of beings like me… of stray gods before…?”
“Yees~! I have! You’re nameless, weak gods!” said Maro, and my classmates grinned along with him. I didn’t.
“That’s right. We are nameless gods. You won’t get many, if any, blessings when making a contract with one of us. So, in order for you not to be tricked by stray gods like me, I will teach you the rules we operate under,” the nameless god told us with a fleeting smile.
Apparently, gods had rules, things they absolutely couldn’t go against.
One of which was, that if asked for their name, they had to answer.
“So, please make sure to ask a god their name before making a contract with them. You’ll be able to avoid any unwanted contracts like that.”
“I have a question! What is your name?”
“…I do not have a name.”
That was the moment when my classmates all burst out laughing, starting with Maro.
There was quite a lot of scorn packed in all that laughing.
“…That was… a good example. We stray gods can’t tell you our names, because we don’t have one. So, everyone… please don’t forget what I told you,” she concluded with a sad smile.
…What the hell.
What the hell did I just witness?
“’Scuse meee! I have a question! I heard that if you make a contract with a stray god, you can name them whatever you want. Is that true?” Maro asked, still grinning.
“Yes. That is correct.”
Hearing that, Maro’s grin turned several degrees more evil.
“Then, I’ll let you make a contract with me,” Maro said, walking up to her.
–It was a lie. Everyone present knew that.
However, the god’s reaction differed.
“Eh? R-really…?”
Her crimson eyes glittered. They were willed with too much expectation to even be called hope.
Stop it, Maro. Please.
I couldn’t move. It was obvious what was going to happen.
The other option was less likely to happen than a miracle.
“Of course. So, how do I make a contract?”
“R-right! Y-you go down on one knee and… kiss my hand.”
Her face had turned red and she was beginning to tear up.
“I have to kneel down… right?” Maro said as if reluctant to do so, but went down on one knee all the same. He resembled a knight in the presence of the king.
“U-um, are you sure about this…? I don’t have a name, and the blessings you will receive are next to none as well…” she said, looking at Maro with eyes overflowing with hope.
And then Maro’s face twisted into a vicious smile.
“What are you talking about? You do have a name.”
“…Eh?”
“– The useless god. Isn’t that your name? You’re quite famous, you know. Hmm, now that I think about it, since you already have such a wonderful name, there is no reason for me to go to the trouble of giving you a new one, is there?” Maro said laughing, standing back up.
Her hopes were shattered.
Her shining eyes went out.
“However, that worked well as practice. Thanks to Useless-God-Sama, my real contract will go perfectly.”
– She should have been angry. It was something to get angry over.
She might not have had a name, but she was still a god.
“…You’re welcome…”
She said with a sad smile.
I clenched my fists.
What the hell. How can a mere human go around insulting a god–?
“Hey, you guys should also come practise. Even if only in name, she’s still a god, so it’ll be good practice,” said Maro, and a number of others went to the front, grins on their faces.
Mr. Soleil didn’t move a muscle. He simply looked on as things unfolded with a poker face.
The best academy my ass. Did only people like them exist?
…No, a closer inspection of the classroom showed me that Alice (of course) and a number of others were looking away with uncomfortable looks on their faces.
But, they didn’t move either. Why?
Why were they staying silent when something like that was happening right in front of them?
Having steeled myself, I stood up, but the instant I was about to walk out front, Alice held out her arm to stop me.
“What are you doing?”
“Did you know about this?”
She gave a small nod in response to my question.
“She’s famous here. She’s known as the stray god who wasn’t able to form a contract with anyone in the past twelve years.”
Twelve years… she had been here since when we were born.
“Just ignore it…”
“What the hell.”
“I won’t be able to cover for you this time. I told you, didn’t I. That if you manage to enrol here and make a contract with a famous god, it’d be as if you were reborn. She’s not that god. So, don’t sympathise with her. The only thing we can do for her is stay silent and not do anything.”
…Yep, that’s Alice for you. Knows me almost as well as I do myself.
So that’s why she said it would be better if I didn’t see this.
“Thanks Alice. You’re the only one who stayed my friend no matter how incompetent I may be.”
“Of course I would! …Please, Yuno… don’t go. I l–”
– I walked away.
I shoved away the idiots crowding around the god.
“Hey, you! Don’t skip ahead, there is a queue y’kno–”
Oh, they noticed it was me. Fine by me. They just had to watch out not to make me any more angry.
They had been standing in a line originally. That line split up to either side, forming a pathway down the middle.
And I walked down that pathway.
However, they weren’t idiotic enough to just stand back and watch.
“Ohohoho what’s this? Watcha so angry about to get so serious, Yuno? It’s just practice. She even allowed me to? Or what? You feel compassion for your fellow incompetent?” Maro said, laughing, but no one followed his lead.
“…Scram.”
“…Huh? What did you just say to me? Did you just te–”
I punched him in the guts.
“U-gh…”
He collapsed, drool dribbling from the corners of his mouth.
Then, I resumed walking towards the god.
“Eh? U-umm…”
I went down on one knee.
“…Eh?”
She was surprised. But then again, who wouldn’t be.
But she must have felt something was fundamentally different to before.
I looked up at her, my eyes filled with resolve.
“Please make a contract with me.”
At first, she looked surprised, but her face quickly turned happy.
“…R-r-really? You’re not just picking on me…?”
“Wanna prove that?” I said, smiling, and her crimson eyes became filled with tears.
She held out her hand.
I gently took it and kissed the back of her hand.
–And like that, the contract was formed.
That moment, she was engulfed by a dazzling light.
Her white hair fluttered in a nonexistent wind originating from me.
“Please, give me a name.”
A name… strangely, I didn’t have to think long.
“…Athena. Your name is Athena.”
“Athena… Athena. My name is…”
She – Athena smiled a smile the beauty of which didn’t lose out to the light enveloping her, large teardrops forming in her crimson eyes.
That’s the face I wanted to see.
Tears didn’t suit her. I decided I would stay by her side and protect her from now on.
And for that––
“…May I ask what your name is?”
“I’m Yuno. Yuno Astorio.”
––I’d get just a little serious.
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