I knew he wasn’t an ordinary person ever since the Meeting of the Ten Greats.
The Divine Possession Clan receive training from birth in order to eliminate their emotions. Those who hold unnecessary emotions are unable to call upon a god.
And amongst our clan, Reia stood out, being able to perfectly erase her emotions. At the very least, until she left the village, Reia had not displayed any emotion before.
But before the man known as Takumi, emotion was leaking from that Reia. The change was so great you could have thought she was a different person who looked similar to her.
I shuddered at the man who could change Reia’s sense of values that much.
Investigate Takumi and Alice’s strength.
The request I received was truly simple.
There was no option to refuse.
Due to the calamity caused by Reia, there’s no longer anyone in the village who can call down a god.
If we did not accept any request offered to us, the village would perish.
Not being able to fight the cause of it all, Reia, with my full strength was maddeningly frustrating but I suppress that emotion.
Even after losing my own god, I desperately trained myself not to defeat Reia, but to keep the clan alive.
Reia with one day, once again…..
!?
It was truly only for the briefest of moments.
Takumi, who all this time was staring at Alice, suddenly turned his gaze.
I checked where he was looking.
“Eeek”
Fallen on the ground, Machina was flailing as if to run away from him.
Machina who had accepted the same request as me.
Did he notice Machina’s gaze!?
Impossible, Machina’s reconnaissance was close to perfect even from my point of view.
The special high performance camera in her right eye should be recording without a sound.
Takumi looked towards Machina for just a moment before turning back to Alice.
I began to sweat all over and the black garments I wore turned damp.
It was only a matter of time before I’d be noticed too.
However, unlike Machina, I didn’t have the option to run away.
Putting my life on the line, I’d accomplish this mission.
That’s the only path left for us who have lost our god and become secret agents.
“The Four Heavenly Kings (Including Dogma) were defeated in an instant. Hmmm, what should we do? Nuruhachi”
“Surprise attacks and magic attacks won’t work. The only effective option is to utilise Alice’s strength against her”
I drew closer to the Demon Lord and Great Sage from behind.
Even when between Alice, the Demon Lord, and the Great Sage, three people outside the norm, Takumi made no reaction.
“I have one strategy left up my sleeve”
“What is it? A worthless strategy will only have the opposite effect”
The two spoke in the lowest of voices in order to not be heard but it mattered not to me as those trained as a secret agent can read lips.
“I’ll tell her that I stole Takumi’s first kiss. Alice will fly into a rage and her attacks will turn simple”
“…..You should give up on that. If it goes badly not a trace of you will remain”
“That isn’t too bad in itself. I exchanged a kiss with the one I love and you we’re able to confess your feelings, Nuruhachi. I no longer have an regrets in this world”
“…..Hmmm you might be right”
The power of the two rose explosively.
As if in response, Alice’s power rose too.
A storm of power, the likes of which I had never seen, swept through the arena.
In spite of it all, Takumi stood there calmly in the middle.
Even if you are the strongest in the universe, it’s impossible to think you wouldn’t respond in this scenario.
Was he out of it from the start?
I could tell from my training to lose my emotions.
An emotion that should have existed in Takumi right then, was never there from the beginning.
It wasn’t a technique that allowed him to control his emotions.
The survival instincts or fighting instincts that a human being should have were completely gone.
I thought back to the words of the transcendent I trained with who was rumoured to be the strongest in the east.1
The ocean does not drink it’s own water.
The earth does on eat it’s own fruit.
The sun does not shine upon itself.
Truly great strength exists for the sake of others.
Consequently the body takes in nothing, the vessel is empty.
Although Takumi walked upon the stage of the Great Martial Tournament, he holds no will to fight, nor does he use his immense strength for his own sake.
There he was emotionless, simply watching Alice and the other two from afar.
As they approached their limits, the three closed the distance between them.
Even then, Takumi did not react at all.
Amidst that, a voice sounded from outside the arena.
“Reia everyone’s going up! Are you not going to join them!”
The dragon woman turned to Reia and yelled.
Certainly everyone who has won in the second round was assembled onstage.
The victor of the battle would no doubt be the victor of the Great Martial Tournament.
The dragon woman’s voice cause Reia to stare at the stage, no, at Alice.
What’s with that face.
Even my emotions flowed out seeing how Reia had changed.
“Alice-sama has come. …..There is no longer anything I can do”
“What are you saying. Are you fine if Takumi-dono gets taken”
Reia averted her eyes from Alice and looked to the ground.
With the ability to read lips, only I could understand what Reia said in a low voice.
“…..in the end, I’m Alice-sama’s substitute”
Substitute?
As in she was only there temporarily until Alice came?
Reia’s body was trembling slightly.
I knew that emotion.
It was the one she inflicted on me.
The feeling known as despair, from when something valuable to you is taken.
I could not forgive her for taking everything from me, no, my clan, yet showing such joyful emotions before Takumi.
Reia almost looked like a weight was off her shoulders, even though she was crushed under her despair.
What’s up with that.
I began to feel more and more annoyed.
Why. Why won’t you move.
Why are you doing nothing and giving up?
That’s not right. You never gave up.
You stole from the clan, and become known as Imiko(Child of Taboo), but even then didn’t you yearn for power?
Go, fight, over there is what’s important to you right.
I didn’t speak a word.
However, perhaps noticing my gaze, Reia looked to me with hollow eyes and slowly shook her head.
“It’s impossible, Yoru. Alice-sama is…..”
The moment Reia spoke.
A sound like the crack of thunder rang out.
It came from Alice taking one step forward.
With that alone the stage cracked with a roar.
“Just now, what did you say?”
Alice’s golden hair stood up as if to reach the heavens.
What’s this!
Can a human have this much strength!?
Does this mean that the power of Alice I had seen until then was only a fragment of her strength!?
Her power, as enormous as it was, was no longer something I could measure.
“Did you not hear? Takumi’s first kiss was taken by me”
“By the way, his second kiss was taken by Nuruhachi”
At those words Alice roared like a beast.
Reia was not watching their fight.
She shut her eyes, as if praying.
I understood.
That there was no being that could win against Alice.
No there is one, only one, who surpasses her.
The one who was calm amidst the sudden situation, the strongest man in the universe finally moved.
Takumi raised his right arm and gestured to wait.
With that alone the three of their movements came to a halt.
Just what did he do.
Silence came over the grounds, every gaze was focused on Takumi as he opened his mouth.
“The three of you calm down. The sun is beginning to set so why don’t we take a quick break? I made sandwiches”
The three on the stage, myself, and all the spectators were shocked.
A small laugh could be heard.
With tears welling in her eyes Reia, who’s face was full of despair just before, had a smile on her face.
I understood why Reia no longer hid her emotions.
There’s no way to do so when being by that mans side.
I too am the same.
In truth I had already known.
That following the mission was not just for the sake of preserving my clan.
From the moment I accepted it, I was following the mission for that sake of that person.
Translator’s Notes:
1: Xian
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Placeholder name 
Basically his Mama side preserves the world balance. If Takumi was a mom this story would be ‘the world’s ultimate mother, goddess of all eternity and beyond, altruistic saint’.. etcetc
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