06—Can you send me back to my world?

Ame-chan snapped her fingers, and a puff of cloud instantly materialized above her head.

POOF!

"Very well. Let us commence a presentation regarding the vision and mission of thy employment." Ame-chan adjusted her glasses—which had appeared out of nowhere. Her outfit had even transformed into that of an office worker.

Woah! She can create a projector screen?! Toma marveled as video clips began playing across the cloud.

"In ages past, I taught mankind the art of weaving garments so that they might have dignity. I am also the creator of Suppafuku." Ame-chan narrated over the footage. "But humanity grew ever more greedy after I departed, and Oru no Kuni was no exception."

"Oru means weaving—so the name directly follows your teachings, huh?"

"Indeed. And tragically, they are also the ones who twisted those very teachings." Ame-chan's jaw tightened.

Toma continued watching the video playing on the cloud above Ame-chan's head.

"They decreed that those who are naked, who possess no elegant garments, and who bear no Suppafuku, are people without dignity—branded as heretical criminals..." Ame-chan paused mid-sentence, then floated with her back to Hiho-mura and spread her arms wide.

"People are now judged solely by what they wear. And recently, the Shogun established Hadaka no Hanzai, punishable by death."

"E-executed just for being naked?" Toma swallowed hard. "Even poor people who obviously can't afford clothes?"

"Yes." Ame-chan nodded sadly, dismissing the video above her head with a snap. Her outfit reverted to normal.

"That is why I hired thee. Any questions?"

"Yeah!" Toma raised his hand with the innocent face of an elementary schooler.

"Can you send me back to my world?"

THWACK!

"Absolutely not, you stupid brat!" Ame-chan bonked Toma's head so hard a bump swelled up like a steamed bun.

"Ack—and besides, how am I supposed to overthrow a system that literally worships you?" Toma clutched his throbbing lump, frustrated by the absurd scope of his job description. "If I go around honestly claiming to be your messenger, I'll get branded a false prophet or a lunatic—"

"Who said anything about being a prophet, hmm? Besides, I'm not even the Head Goddess!" Ame-chan cut in.

"Huh? Not the Head Goddess? Then who are you?"

"Fufu—I am the daughter of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess who illuminates thy world, the supreme being of the entire universe!" Ame-chan declared proudly.

"WHAAAAT?!" Toma's eyes went wide. "Amaterasu is REAL?!"

Toma grabbed his head in shock. So Grandma was right all along, praying at the shrine every day... Forgive your prayer-skipping grandson, Granny...

"Then your mom must be wise and compassionate, right?" Toma looked eager despite his shock. "Why not ask her for help? I bet she could totally reach the hearts of those messed-up people!"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Ame-chan shook her head violently, panic plastered across her face. "My mother... is a terrifyingly strict perfectionist!"

SHIIING.

Suddenly, a thought-bubble cloud popped into existence above Ame-chan's head—and to her misfortune, Toma could see it too.

A shadowy silhouette of an adult woman wearing a red apron. Her face was hidden in darkness, but her eyes blazed with fire, and her hair writhed like tentacles. She gripped a rolling pin with an aura of sheer terror radiating around her.

"AME NO NUNO! WHO TOLD YOU YOU COULD TASTE THE CAKE FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN WITHOUT PERMISSION?!" A bone-chilling voice boomed from the silhouette.

"Eep! S-sorry, Mother!" Ame-chan in the vision was trembling, desperately hiding cake crumbs on her lips.

Poof!

The memory cloud vanished as Ame-chan shook her head rapidly, banishing the trauma.

"Don't tell me... the reason you recruited me into this world..." Toma narrowed his eyes with a suspicious look. "Was to clean up a mess you made, so your mom wouldn't yell at you?"

"Th-that's not it!" Ame-chan shook her head furiously, but her body language was so obviously guilty it was practically screaming the truth. "I truly wish to save this world!"

Toma stared at her with pure skepticism. Ame-chan was clearly lying through her teeth.

"Fine, fine," Ame-chan surrendered. "The point is, thou art not a prophet or anything of the sort—thou art mine assistant. But thou may introduce thyself to the people as..." Ame-chan held her sentence, then pointed at Toma dramatically.

"Hekisa wo Kiyomuru Unmei no Kare — Tenchi Shonin no Bouya — Ame no Kareshi."

"Hekisa wo Kiyomuru Unmei no Kare — Whoa, that sounds awesome! Like a title fit for a God!?" Toma's eyes sparkled. Completely forgetting the real reason behind his so-called sacred mission.

Ame-chan smiled happily at Toma's reaction. Like a child who'd just been bought candy.

But a second later, something clicked. His face went pale. "Wait... Tenchi blah blah blah no Kareshi? Kareshi means boyfriend, doesn't it?!"

"Indeed!" Ame-chan nodded innocently. "And because of that, I shan't hesitate to bestow upon thee a little kiss as well. Chu!" She puckered her lips.

"GYAAAAA!" Toma crossed his arms over his chest dramatically, stumbling back several steps. "I DON'T WANT THAT TITLE! You might be hot and stacked, but you're NOT my type!"

Toma's ridiculous display of yelling at thin air looked absolutely unhinged to everyone around him. Since nobody else could see Ame-chan, to them he was just a lunatic screaming at nothing.

"Total nutjob," a vendor muttered, scooting away.

"See, sweetie? That's why you eat your vegetables," a mother whispered to her child.

BONK!

Ame-chan slugged Toma in the head with white-hot fury—blank raging eyes and razor-sharp teeth. "How DARE you! Every single human in this world loves and adores me! You should count yourself bloody lucky I chose you as mine assistant!"

"You might be my boss, but our working relationship isn't gonna change what kind of woman I'm into! That's my principle!" Toma grabbed his head, but held his ground.

"Thou art truly stubborn, aren't you." Ame-chan let out a long sigh, hands on her hips. "So then, art thou ready to accept thy position?"

"No. Or more accurately, not yet." Toma stared at his clenched fist. "But since I'm already here, and you are a Goddess with real power—even if you're not my type—I'll be professional about my job."

Then he bowed before Ame-chan.

"Please lend me your strength to help me do my work."

"I'm delighted to hear it!" Ame-chan smiled warmly. But a second later, her expression turned mischievous. "Very well, I acknowledge thy resolve regarding women."

She locked eyes with Toma, grinning slyly, then cupped her ample chest and gave it a slow, deliberate jiggle.

"But even though I'm not thy type, one of the powers I shall grant thee is..." Ame-chan purred in a sultry voice. "Cheering you on with these!"

Smooch!

Toma's eyes bulged out of his skull, his lips puckered involuntarily, and his body lurched forward—nearly face-planting straight into Ame-chan's chest. He shook his head violently and collapsed onto his butt.

"Gyahaha! Brilliant! It worked!" Ame-chan cackled, clapping her hands. "My word, it's so easy to tease a virgin!"

"You absolute menace..." Toma grumbled. "Why does a Goddess act like such a flirt?!"

As Toma was about to stand, somewhere in the distance, a girl in a black snapback cap printed with a tongue-out lips design stood watching him. Her blue eyes were half-lidded but razor sharp, her blonde twin-tails swaying gently in the night breeze.

The girl smirked, then stepped closer—casual, but calculated.

SWIPE!

The instant Toma let his guard down, the mysterious girl blitzed past him at blinding speed.

"Huh?" Toma patted his boxer pocket. "MY MONEY POUCH IS GONE!"

He spun around. The girl was already sprinting away, his coin-filled cloth pouch in her hand. Instantly, Granny Bota's warning echoed in his head.

"Keep that money close. Lotta pickpockets 'round Hiho-mura!"

"HEEEEEEY!" Toma roared, pointing at the fleeing girl. "GIVE ME BACK MY HARD-EARNED MONEY YOU LITTLE THIEF!"

The girl ignored his screams and kept running, disappearing into the crowd.

"Toma-kun!" Ame-chan shouted. "Give chase—activate thy Suppafuku!"

Without a second thought, Toma sucked in a deep breath and screamed at the top of his lungs:

"ENKAI!"