Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"It's called a human sacrifice, but it doesn't mean killing the person who is to be sacrificed, meow. Instead, it means selecting a suitable human girl to 'cover' her... Well, in my opinion, it's no different from killing the person herself, meow."

When deities are based on bloodline, they usually unite with humans and give birth to 'divine children' to perpetuate their divine status.

The so-called "divine child" is actually the 'next self'.

It sounds strange that I give birth to myself, but gods can perpetuate their existence in this way.

However, according to Kuroo's explanation, Ame no Hikaru was not born a god, but was an ordinary human until a certain stage in his life. However, he was replaced by a god through the secret method of becoming a god, and thus lost his memories of his human life.

No wonder Hikaru said she had amnesia; she meant she had lost her memories of her human life... Isn't this a case of being possessed by a god?

How pitiful, becoming a sacrifice for the family.

Akira Kuroba agreed with Kuroo's statement that personality is born from memories, and if one loses all memories, it is no different from being dead.

Kuroo glanced at Ameha Hikaru, who had actually been awake for a long time but was pretending not to be, lying on Kuroba Akira's back and reminiscing about the warm feeling.

"Right? Kid? So that's why you can't remember your memories of when you were human, meow?"

"..."

Tianyu Guang opened his eyes, looked up, and his face showed displeasure.

Kuroba Akira felt the girl's forehead, which was resting on his shoulder, lift up, so he put Amehiro down from his back and said.

"Tianyu, so you're already awake."

"Yes, thank you."

Unable to continue shamelessly clinging to Kuroba Akira's back, Amehiro got down, and her usually unchanging poker face actually managed a slight smile as she thanked Kuroba Akira.

However, that smile only lasted a few seconds before reverting to its usual expressionless state when he turned to look at Kuro.

“I don’t remember anything from before, but I don’t believe I was killed, because it is my mission to inherit the name of God, and only in this way…”

Only then can I protect my brother... wait?

elder brother?

I forgot... he's gone...

No... my brother is right beside me!

Suddenly, Tenyu Hikaru looked sharply at Kuroba Akira, his pupils dilated slightly, and even his breathing became extremely light and slow.

A tear silently seeped from the corner of her right eye, slowly sliding down her pale cheek, while her left eye remained dry.

Her expression remained frozen, as if the soul had been extracted from this body, leaving only an empty shell mechanically enduring the onslaught of tears.

Kuroba Akira stared at the scene in a daze... It was so beautiful, a scene that would leave a deep impression on his memory.

However, after regaining her senses, Kuroba Akira was somewhat at a loss, but still managed to wipe away her tears with her sleeve.

"Uh... Tianyu, why are you suddenly crying? Did something sad happen to you?"

"I...I think I forgot...something important..."

Amane Hikaru instinctively grabbed Kuroba Akira's wrist with all her might, as if to say, "I will never let you go again."

Kuroba Akira was in a bit of pain from being grabbed; she was really strong. It was a little embarrassing to admit, but he felt like even with all his strength, he couldn't break free.

"do not leave Me."

Kuroba Akira thought that Amayu Hikari was holding his hand tightly because she was still wary of Kuroo, so he spoke in a conciliatory tone.

"Uh... so Kuroo won't hurt me, thank you for your concern, Amau-kun, but you really don't need to protect me like this."

"..."

Amane Hikaru didn't reply, but just stared intently at Kuroo.

Kuroo, however, understood the girl's little thoughts and said with a mischievous smile.

"Kid, if you want to be sentimental, wait until you finish your work before going home to be sentimental. I asked you to come here to help with the ritual. If you're willing to help out properly, it wouldn't hurt to lend you my Shiroko for a while, meow."

"Huh?!"

No way, Haki, you just sold out your agent like that!

You mean, you really think highly of me? How could anyone possibly agree to such a condition...?

"Okay, I'll help him, he's mine."

"what!?"

Kuroba Akira was completely bewildered. What? Girl, you haven't fallen in love with me at first sight, have you?

Did my favorability rating increase so much just because I wiped away her tears?

Kuroo looked back and forth between Kuroba Akira and Ameha Hikaru meaningfully, muttering to himself.

"Even if their inner selves have been replaced, they still care about each other so much... What a tragic fate, meow."

Then he emphasized this to Ameyu Hikaru.

"I'll only lend it to you for one day, no more than that, meow."

"it is good."

The deal was actually made right away.

No, it's my own wish...

Kuroba Akira was thus treated as a bargaining chip between the two gods, stripped of all human rights.

The good news is that after receiving the promise, Amayu Hikaru released Kuroba Akira's aching wrist.

Then, Amayu Hikari took a comb out of her skirt pocket and handed it to Kuroba Akira.

"Here, take this."

"Uh... a comb?"

"Yes, keep a part of me with you."

Although Akira Kuroba really wanted to ask questions like "Why did you give me a comb?", "Why a comb?", and "What does 'a part of you' mean?", he suppressed his curiosity due to Kuroo's invisible pressure, accepted the gift, and thanked him gratefully.

"I understand, thank you, Tianyu."

"Light."

"Ok?"

"Call me Guang, or Xiao Guang, that feels right..."

"Oh, okay, then you can just call me by my name, Ming."

“Kuroba Akira…Kuroba…No, Akira…No, that doesn’t feel right either, so I won’t call you Akira.”

"Alright, then call me whatever you want..."

"Um... Brother."

"Hmm? Brother?"

"Yes... Brother, this feels right... Can I call you brother?"

"Yes, that's fine..."

Because the light novels he wrote were about younger sister characters, Kuroba Akira felt somewhat awkward about it.

It seems that only Mirai, in her spoiled mode, had called him that before, but Mirai called him "Dad" more often, so Kuroba Akira never took it seriously.

But Hikari's overly serious gaze... it seemed she genuinely wanted to treat him as her older brother, and Akira realized this.

Suddenly, I have a sister who has no memories of her past, and she's also a deity? But she's lost her memories, so I have to help her regain them.

I feel that these settings are already sufficient to form the basis for the next light novel.

Besides, it's just that I've adopted a sworn sister, so having another deity as a backer isn't bad.

"Alright, since we have other important matters to attend to right now, we'll skip the sworn brotherhood ceremony and just call each other brother and sister from now on!"

"Mmm, brother... brother, brother, brother... brother!"

Like a baby who has just learned to speak, Tianyu Guang repeatedly uttered the term "brother," a name that stirred her heart, her tone growing louder and louder, unable to conceal her excitement.

She didn't know why calling out "brother" made her feel warm in her chest, but she could feel as if she had rediscovered a part of herself that she once was.

"Alright, alright, let's not waste any more time and go inside for the ceremony."

Having watched the show, Kuroo entered the main hall first, followed by Kuroba Akira, with Ameha Hikaru close behind him.

The once solemn and majestic main hall of the shrine is now wrapped in layers of pale silk cocoons, as if it has been devoured by some enormous creature.

The pure white silk threads seemed to have a life of their own, slowly contracting and expanding.

Kuroba Akira couldn't help but sigh at the strange phenomenon before him.

"This really gives you the feeling of clearly witnessing the birth of new life..."

"Because everything we need and all the necessary conditions are ready, meow."

What is needed?

"There are three things needed: a divine body, a soul, and a large amount of faith sufficient to allow a living god to appear."

"The Divine Body is this thing in front of me, right? I have faith now... all that's left is the soul..."

As for the soul, the only one who can bring the old man's soul back is the great god who controls the underworld.

"So, the thing I still need your help with, Kuroo, is bringing back Kobayashi's soul again?"

"That's right, meow."

"Okay, so where does this Divine Body come from? Isn't it supposed to be an object related to the essence of a god?"

"What do you think these white threads were originally?"

"Hmm...uh, could it be..."

"It's a cat with ashes."

"..."

Okay, using one's own ashes as a divine body makes sense, it's almost like a saint's relic.

Divinity cannot be embodied in a human being... However, corpses and ashes are no longer human beings, but merely objects.