The Goddess Is Obsessed With Me

"Luceria?!" Arsia, shocked by the ancient god's sudden appearance, is instantly on guard.

"Harold?! That's different from what we heard earlier?!!" Erina also displays a bewildered mood, but it's fleeting; she soon reveals an overt hostility.

"And what did Arsia just say?" Aris, mulling over Luceria's words, darkens in expression, "Definitely..."

"She said 'husband'..." The others catch the ominous mood, staring at me with an overwhelming intensity.

I can feel their hostility without even looking back. I shiver involuntarily and break into a cold sweat.

"Harold?"

"Did the ancient god just call you her husband?"

"Surely we didn't hear that wrong...?" They corner me with suspicion, hoping perhaps they misunderstood, but...

"It's not a mistake, Harold willingly agreed to become my partner in exchange for his wishes." Luceria's declaration escalates the tension, leading to an even worse scenario than I anticipated.

"Harold is Luceria's partner?"

"It can't be..." While some are in denial,

"Why would you do that? Making a deal with an ancient god is strictly forbidden, it's illegal!" Arsia, concerned with the implications for the Church, is visibly worried.

"You as a wife... I can't accept that..."

"No matter what your terms were, I'm against it, absolutely!!" Both Aris and Erina seem more unsettled by the idea of another woman becoming my partner than by any heretical issues.

"I absolutely can't accept this...!" Especially Erina, who, while not overreacting, reveals a hint of madness in her voice, signaling a loss of composure. "Just wait... calm down..." I attempt to pacify them with a gesture, but it seems unlikely they'll listen to me easily.

"Why... are you all so jealous that you'll eventually be abandoned by my husband?" Luceria only agitates them further, pushing the situation to the brink.

"What?! Luceria...!" Erina and Aris are ready to attack, summoning their last bits of strength and wielding formidable physical prowess despite their depleted magic and damaged weapons.

"Wait!" Arsia steps in, seemingly trying to understand Luceria's malicious intentions. She's visibly on edge.

"Luceria... you made a deal with Harold, what was it about?" Although Arsia doesn't appear to be trying to stop the fight, she seems more interested in Luceria's last words, almost as if granting her a final wish.

Luceria's expression changes suddenly, showing a mix of sadness and twisted emotions. "Arsia... seeing that expression, you've developed emotions... I somewhat expected this, given you didn't turn out to be the vessel for my resurrection."

She acknowledges Arsia as a spirit, a life-like entity created by gods, nearly demi-god in nature.

"Even though I set you up as a puppet to follow my commands, it seems time is an aspect even gods can't fully control."

Her interest in Arsia is clear, but Arsia frowns, showing hostility towards Luceria.

"Just answer my question. What trick did you use to lure Harold into making a deal with you?!"

There's a weighty and serious atmosphere around Arsia's question.

"Interesting... the doll once so obediently loyal to me now bares its fangs at me. It's quite an odd feeling."

Despite Arsia's threat, Luceria remains ununsettled, almost leisurely in her response.

Just as Arsia is about to attack, driven to her limits, Luceria reveals, "In exchange for freeing the princess and helping Harold find his true life, he agreed to accept me as his partner."

Finally, Luceria stops her jesting and somberly responds to Arsia's inquiry. "The true life?" Erina was the first to react to Luceria's statement.

"Explain in detail." There was something slightly troubling about Erina's continual interest in my affairs. Despite our brief acquaintance, she seemed overly kind, as if we had a deep connection that couldn’t be undone.

"His life is currently filled with lies. I don't know everything, but from what I can infer, it seems like someone has orchestrated a terrible circus for their own benefit," Luceria explained.

This revelation seemed to shock Erina, who widened her eyes in astonishment, but soon her expression began to show traces of resentment.

"Is that really true?" While not fully trusting, Erina seemed to be gradually convinced by Luceria's words.

"As I said before, it's just a guess, but it seems likely," Luceria replied. The atmosphere, which had been filled with hatred towards Luceria, began to soften with her words.

"So, you're trying to help him reclaim his life because you dislike the idea of your partner being used as a mere pawn for others," she added. Erina appeared to want to find fault in this, but her overall view wasn’t negative.

"I'll accept it, excluding the part where you call him your husband," Erina agreed reluctantly, releasing the tension in her body. Aris seemed to feel the same, as the magic at her fingertips naturally dissipated.

"It was Harold who voluntarily agreed to be my partner, you know?" Luceria added smugly.

At that, my shoulder was grabbed firmly, and resentment was directed towards me. "You'll need to explain this in detail later..." Erina said threateningly, now speaking informally to me.

"I understand..." I replied, feeling a sense of relief as the tense atmosphere finally eased.

"I always have..." she muttered quietly, too softly for me to catch. "Even though she told me to speak casually, I wonder if it's really okay to be so informal with her?" I pondered.

"Alright, I'll speak casually," I responded, and Erina's slight smile showed a small sign of contentment.

Luceria interrupted our exchange with a forced cough, drawing attention. "Harold, didn't you promise to love me?" she pouted, inflating her cheeks like a sulky ancient deity. Despite my previous perception of her being colored by the situation, I started to find her somewhat endearing now that she was on our side.

I wanted to offer some kind of consolation, but I refrained due to the tense atmosphere around us. "I'm sorry about that," I replied with as much regret as I could muster, but all I got in return was a sigh tinged with disappointment.

"Well, I did anticipate that other women would naturally be attracted to a man like him," she murmured to herself, seemingly coming to terms with the situation.

"So, what now? I mean, even if we manage to recover my memories, where do we start?" I asked.

Luceria gestured to me lightly, then placed her hand near my forehead. "Just stay still for a moment," she instructed, then began to chant. She closed her eyes as if she were looking deeply into something.

After a while, she removed her hand from my head and announced, "Okay, that's done." I wasn't entirely sure what she meant by that.

"Your mind currently has a curse-like magic on it, too complex even for me to unravel," she explained.

"This is a level of skill that reaches the realm of deities. The structure of the spell seems to have completely removed your original memories and replaced them with something else," she continued.

"Your real memories are probably being carefully preserved by someone. Finding them seems to be the ultimate goal," she concluded.

My real memories are being kept safe by someone... The story spoke of a somewhat mysterious and complex feeling.

In a beautiful, sunlit, and pure white location, there was a sense of warmth and kindness that provided stability and tranquility, creating an almost mystical atmosphere.

"Uh..." The owner of this place, however, seemed troubled, emitting a short, frustrated groan.

"There's a bad feeling about this..." They reacted sensitively to the impending fate, showing obvious displeasure.

"Extra Inventory," they muttered, casting a spell to summon a high-dimensional, personal storage unit that only they could access.

Click! They infused the chest, responsive only to them, with magic, eliciting a crisp sound as it slowly opened.

As the safe opened, a radiant, abstract orb emanated a vast light from within its gap. Its essence was so pure and attractive that it seemed anyone could fall under its charm.

"Thank goodness it's still there." They cherished it as if it was something they desperately needed to protect.

Sighing in relief upon confirming the presence of the item they needed to hold onto, they securely locked the sturdy chest and dismissed it back into space with a gesture.

"The man who will save me..." They murmured to themselves, reflecting on a future they foresaw but whose timing remained unknown.