Chapter 270: Pekola and the Lord!
"Oh my—! We have a visitor!"
Hearing Lucoa's voice, Ryohei Tanaka followed her gaze curiously.
A dark shadow rapidly solidified in the corner of the kitchen, finally taking the form of a blonde woman draped in a pitch-black cloak.
"Ugh—! It feels so awful..."
Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, knelt on the ground, sitting sideways with her plump body.
Her left hand supported her on the cold floor tiles, while her right hand weakly held her forehead. Her face was frighteningly pale.
"Long time no see, Persephone."
Lucoa lifted her eyelids and greeted her with a smile.
The two were acquaintances, after all.
"Long time no see, Lucoa."
Persephone barely managed to lift her head in response. Her gaze swept across the kitchen with a hint of confusion as she asked strangely:
"Are Persephone II and the others not here?"
It was really strange! She had teleported based on their location...
"They went to help 'treat' Jashin-chan's sense of shame. They just left." Lucoa answered truthfully.
"—!"
Persephone was stunned for a moment, then shocked, blurting out in disbelief:
"Sense of shame? Jashin-chan actually has that? Has she changed that much since coming to the human world?"
"Cough—splurt!"
As soon as the words fell, she violently coughed up a large mouthful of fresh blood. The crimson liquid instantly stained the floor tiles in front of her red, and the last trace of color drained from her face.
Persephone reached out a trembling hand towards Lucoa and said weakly: "Used... used too much power! Let me rest for a bit first!"
"..." Ryohei Tanaka, Lucoa, and Petra were instantly left speechless watching her.
Afterward, Lucoa escorted Persephone to the living room of the hilltop villa and let her lie down on the sofa to rest.
...
When Pekola had free time, she would occasionally volunteer at the welfare institution.
Today was one such day.
She greeted the old gatekeeper familiarly and headed to the kitchen carrying large and small bags.
After putting the meat and seafood bought from the wholesale market into the refrigerator to add to the children's meal later, she went to the classroom.
"Yui-sensei, ohayo."
Pekola looked up and greeted Shimizu Yui, the welfare institution teacher who was standing at the classroom door looking after the children, and asked:
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"Ah, you came just in time, Pekola-san."
Shimizu Yui turned her head at the sound, a look of pleasant surprise on her face. Without much formality, she said directly:
"I've been planning to give the children's dormitory a good cleaning these past two days. Could I trouble you to look after them for a bit?"
"No problem."
Pekola agreed readily. Looking after children was one of the common tasks she did as a volunteer here.
She paused, rolled up her sleeves, and added:
"Do you want me to help with the cleaning? To be honest, I'm quite experienced in that area; I'm a good hand at it."
"No need."
Shimizu Yui smiled and waved her hand:
"Someone needs to watch the children here. I can take my time with the dormitory... I'll leave this to you!"
Saying this, Shimizu Yui left the classroom.
"Okay." Pekola responded and watched her leave before turning her gaze to the children in the classroom.
There were about twenty children gathered in small groups of twos and threes.
Some were playing with blocks, some were looking through picture books, and a few were lying on tables, doodling on paper with crayons...
Suddenly, Pekola saw a cute girl walking over.
She hadn't seen her before; she was a stranger.
Is she a new child?
Pekola thought to herself, then saw the child walk straight up to her, lean against the wall, and speak in a deep tone inconsistent with her youthful appearance:
"This land is filled with hatred and strife."
"The fallen humans were once destroyed by the flood, but history... always repeats itself..."
...Is she a child who likes to express herself dramatically?
Pekola blinked and said with a gentle smile:
"Do you like reading the Bible? You're amazing for such a young child!"
"...What nonsense are you talking about, Pekola."
Lierre was speechless. She raised her hand to her forehead, half-closed her eyes, and looked at her old subordinate.
"You're really dull! Haven't you realized who I am yet?"
"Eh?"
Pekola was surprised and looked at the little girl in front of her with confusion.
Then—
When she felt the incredibly familiar, vast, and pure divine power within the other person, she gasped sharply. A spark of realization flashed in her mind, her eyes widened instantly, and her voice rose in shock:
"You... no! You are—"
"My Lord, Lierre-sama!"
"Finally figured it out?" Lierre put her hands on her hips, the corners of her lips curling up, and puffed out her chest proudly.
"But... You, why have you become like this?"
Pekola looked at Lierre, who was even more petite than herself, in astonishment. She subconsciously traced the curvaceous silhouette of a mature woman in the air with her hands:
"You should be more mature, like a mature lady..."
"What the heck is a mature lady?! I'm still young, okay!?" Lierre instantly broke character, her small face flushing red as she retorted loudly.
Then she rubbed her temples, calmed herself from the "age critical hit" delivered by her subordinate, and explained helplessly:
"This is more convenient... Being a child makes it easier not to arouse suspicion."
"...That is true."
Pekola agreed with this point and nodded. Then, she started feeling anxious.
She remembered Pino saying that she and Poporon were now wanted by Heaven as traitors.
So, the Lord coming down this time...
"Gulp—!"
Pekola felt bad and couldn't help swallowing. Just then, Lierre spoke abruptly:
"I came here because I've decided to give the earth a great cleansing!"
"...Eh?"
Pekola was stunned, her body stiffening as she looked at her Lord in disbelief.
A great cleansing!?
"This is a decision made in a meeting with other gods..."
Lierre lowered her eyelids and said emotionlessly:
"Indulging fallen humans to drag out their existence will only continue to pollute this land."
"B-but...!"
Pekola reacted and got anxious immediately.
At this moment, she couldn't care less about what would happen to her and Poporon. She argued with Lierre based on reason:
"There are still many kind and innocent humans on earth. Are we going to abandon them too?"
"Many gods dislike humans, but My Lord... haven't you always deeply loved humans!?"
"..." Lierre fell silent for a moment, then looked up at the ceiling, disappointment evident in her voice:
"Looking down at the human world from Heaven, the scenes I witnessed shocked me... and completely changed my mind."
"We can no longer allow these humans who live only for their selfish desires to run wild..."
"My Lord...!"
Pekola opened her mouth anxiously, wanting to say something, but didn't know how to persuade her Lord.
Lierre crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and said to herself:
"However, before that, I wanted to experience human life a little, so I came down alone."
"Incidentally..."
She opened her eyes and glanced at Pekola: "I also need to deal with you lot who betrayed Heaven and allied with demons."
"Uh... is it really going to turn out like this?"
The spearhead suddenly turned to herself. Pekola's body stiffened, cold sweat instantly breaking out, and for a moment she couldn't care about humanity anymore.
Lierre's lips curled into an elusive arc as she crossed her arms and said:
"Anyway, first tell the other two traitors the news of my descent."
"...Hai!"
Pekola felt cold all over. She responded instinctively, then took a deep breath, suppressed the trembling in her fingertips, took her phone out of her pocket, quickly opened the restaurant's Line group, and typed out a few messages with almost spasming fingers—
Everyone, big trouble!
My Lord Lierre-sama has descended to the human world! She says she's going to unleash a great flood and give the earth a complete cleansing!!! (＞_＜;)
She had to find a way to stop the Lord—!
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