The Deities of Hell

“Because of you, Ria, snail slime is on me now too.”

Entangled with Ria, Kanata became covered in snail slime.

His mood worsened after becoming dirty and smelly.

“So you were handsome, Kanata!”

“This is the worst…”

Having his sword looked at, he felt depressed.

Feeling slightly apologetic, Ria looked at his troubled expression.

“Should I show you my sheath?”

“No, that’s alright. Rather, don’t show anyone… Got it?”

“Why?”

“Why… Ria, you’re too uneducated. Even if you haven’t been involved with many people, there’s a limit to things.”

“Uneducated? I think I’m better than Pomkichi, though…”

“That’s not something you’re supposed to compare yourself with Pomkichi.”

Hearing their conversation, Pomkichi toppled down on the ground.

“No way~”

The two of them fully disregarded him, and slowly opened the door out of the room.

Confirming no gigantic snails were outside, they headed higher and higher.

On the way, Ria held Kanata’s hand.

Her initial confidence was gone, her eyes and hands trembling.

“Can I… hold your hand?”

“...Sure.”

Kanata’s face heated up as he misunderstood and thought he had become popular.

(Does this mean she likes me? No… Calm down me… I’m thinking too shallow. Ria is uneducated, she’s very open-minded… She’s not thinking of anything.)

However, he soon calmed down and corrected his thoughts.

Without any strange hopes, he started thinking of Ria’s safety.

“I thought I was someone who could do a lot more. I thought I had the bravery to face the devils and protect you, Kanata. But when the time came, my legs froze and my self-confidence fell apart. I can’t become the Benevolent Prince like this… I can’t become like the princes in picture books,”

Ria said with a timid expression, and Kanata was at a loss for words to say.

He didn’t know how to comfort her.

“But you are able to recognize your own weakness, Ria. That’s the most courageous thing in my opinion. Unlike me, you don’t run from it and accept it.”

Because he knew his own weakness, Kanata was able to say this.

“You’re lying. You’re not as weak as you think, Kanata… You’re way braver than me.”

Ria’s words made Kanata think deeply.

Was he really a weak person, or, like Ria said, a brave person? He didn’t know any longer.

What he could say, however, was that he was confident in helping Ria.

“Your sword is splendid, too.”

“Hey, that’s irrelevant…”

While continuing to talk like that, the two reached the hole in the ceiling.

Ria produced a sun to light up the room, and they headed higher up.

“Is this for real…”

They stopped walking up the stairs when they saw snails sticking to the ceiling.

These snails were bigger than the previous ones, even bigger than Ria and Kanata themselves.

On top of that, it wasn’t just one but at least five.

However, they had to pass these stairs to get further.

“We have to run through without stopping. Can we do it?”

“Don’t be stupid… I’m the Benevolent Prince, after all.”

“Then, let’s go.”

The two held hands and ran through.

The snails noticed them and dropped down from the ceiling to sluggishly chase after them.

Although it didn’t seem like they could catch up to them with their speed, because they met with more snails as they ran, it started becoming dangerous.

“This is bad! An enormous snail appeared in front! There’s no way to go!”

As Pomkichi had said, an enormous snail appeared in front of them.

Exchanging glances, they decided to escape to the side, but the snail didn’t let them.

“Damn it!”

Kanata let go of Ria’s hand and used his bow to shoot an arrow into the eye of the snail.

However, in its confusion, it buried Kanata underneath it.

“Ahhh!”

“Kanata!”

“Go! Go first! Before the stairs collapse!”

Ria hesitated to do what he said.

Her legs shook and the thoughts in her head whirled around.

Despite that, she gathered the courage to conjure a sun in the palm of her hand and assaulted the snail.

“What are you doing, Ria!?”

“I am the Benevolent Prince! I don’t want to be a prince who can’t even save one single boy!”

Ria said and while about to be drawn in, she pulled on Kanata.

Spreading her wings, she tried to pull him up, but her strength wasn’t enough.

On the contrary, the other snails approached from behind and surrounded them.

“Ria! Let go of me and run! You’re a proper prince! You’re a brave prince! Don’t die for me in a place like this!”

“No way! There’s no going back from this! If I don’t save you here, I won’t have the confidence to do anything at all!”

Ria words resounded in Kanata.

He, who lacked confidence, was painfully aware of the fear of losing it and the wonderful feeling of regaining it.

Because of that, he couldn’t say “run away” or “let me go” because he was worried about her safety anymore.

“You’ll die…”

Several snails had gathered, and because of their weight, the staircase started crumbling down.

The place where Ria and Kanata were seemed to collapse at any moment.

“My name is Ria Yumeno! I will save the cowardly boy Kanata Kisaragi!”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she stood up on shaky legs.

However, the situation only grew increasingly hopeless.