Chapter 12 – Territory Issue

Lynett

There was a time when I was stupid and naïve.

Back then, I still believed in Prince Charming. I thought that one day, he would come to me, riding a white unicorn, and that he would bring me in a wonderful land. Together, we would be living in a garden filled with roses. Everything would be pink. The sky, the trees, the flowers… Instead of having clouds, there would be cotton candy and the sun would have the shape of a heart. Because it’s much cuter that way.

It was a foolish dream I had when I was a child. Of course, it didn’t last long, and I tried to forget about it. I put it all behind me and never thought about it again. And yet…

Right now, I’m living a nightmare. Everything that I tried to forget, every single detail of that embarrassing childish fantasy I had, it’s all here, right in front of me.

I want to kill myself… I want to dig a hole and hide myself in it forever…

“Welcome to my humble place, dear guests~!” Harri said, doing a reverence. “To what do I owe the honor of this illustrious visit?”

“Mother fucking asshole…” Yoko growled. “Your place?”

Ignoring her obvious bad mood, Harri turned to Yoko, as a friendly smile appeared on his face –not sure if it was genuine or if it was just to piss her off.

“Yoko, darling~, miss me already? It hasn’t been that long since we last saw each other, I didn’t expect to see your beautiful face again so soon! You even brought friends with you this time!”

He turned his gaze to Troy, who was still staring blankly at the unbelievable scenery in front of him, his mouth wide open.

“A new lover again?” Harri asked, shaking his head in disapproval. “Yoko, sweetheart, I already told you shouldn’t do that. Love is something between only two people. It may take several billions of people to complete the world, but it only takes one to complete your love.”

Oh dear… Please, someone make him stop talking. Yoko didn’t lie; he barely said anything, yet, I already want to punch him.

When Harri finally noticed me, he widened his eyes. He stared at me for a while, turned his gaze to Yoko, and then to me again. A small grin appeared on his face.

“He~! Yoko, darling, did you have a hidden daughter? With a mortal? The others are going to lose their minds once they learn about this! You know that I always support love, no matter its nature, but the rules are the rules, you know? So, how about we come into an arrangement? I don’t mind sharing this territory, but clearly, you don’t think the same. So you leave me alone, and I keep my mouth shut about your secret affairs. Deal?”

A forced smile appeared on Yoko’s face. “I think you misunderstood something, asshole. I didn’t come here to negotiate; I came here to kick your ass out of my territory. Besides, you have nothing to threaten me with. She’s not my daughter.”

“Is that so?” Harri sighed in disappointment.

He turned to me one more time, as a huge smile stretched on his lips. Overdoing with his movements, he put one knee on the floor in front of me and grabbed my hand, before kissing its back. Oh gods…

“My deepest apologizes for my rudeness, young lady,” he said. “Since your divine aura is so faint, I automatically assumed that you wouldn’t be one of us, or at least, not entirely.”

He brought his hand to his forehead, simulating a headache. “Ah~! But your beauty is so blinding! If the Creator exists, then you must be his best creation! If beauty was a time, then you’d be Eternity! I don’t think I ever need to see the sun again, since your eyes already light up my world!"

… I can’t… I can’t handle him… He is too much for me… Someone please make him shut up with his stupid love lines. I can’t believe I once thought that it was romantic… It’s just lame…

“Keep it in your pants, Love-boy. That’s our Mother you’re talking about.” Yoko bluntly said, with a disgusted expression on her face.

Harri turned his gaze on her, raising an eyebrow. “Mother?” He repeated.

“That’s right. Her name is Aileen, she’s the Creator, the Goddess of All Creation, and our Parent.” She explained with a dull voice.

Clearly not believing what he just heard, Harri started to inspect me from head to toes with his squinted eyes. After a while, a weak smile played on his lips as he moved to Yoko’s side. He rested his arm on her shoulder and whispered something into her ear.

“Have you finally gone insane, Yoko? That’s a child, no matter how you see it. Even if she is not a mortal, her aura is weaker than a Low God’s. Besides, weren’t you the one who said that such a thing as the ‘Creator’ didn’t exist?”

Yoko immediately responded by hitting him in the stomach with her elbow, forcing him to step back.

“Don’t touch me, you bastard.” She coldly grunted.

“Ha… Ha…Such a violent woman…” Harri said, grabbing his sides. “Mean girls are lonely girls, you know? At this rate, you’ll never find love, sweetie! No man on this world will accept a woman like you, with such a bad character…”

Yoko clicked her tongue, clearly annoyed by his remark. “Does it look like I’m looking for love, asshole? Who the hell do you think I am? I’m the Goddess of Lust, I make all men crawl at my feet. Why would I want one of your shitty romances?”

“All men, huh? I don’t remember ever crawling at your feet, minx.” Harri said, as a forced smile appeared on his face.

“And since when do you count as a man, pussy? Have you seen the place you’re living in? There is nothing more girly than this.” She responded, with a wicked grin.

W-Wow… The clash is strong. Those two really can’t stand each other. Thinking about it, it actually makes sense. He is the God of Love while she is the Goddess of Lust. They kind of are natural enemies. I should have made them a couple, it would have been quite hilarious…

“So, you’re here because of the territory issue again?” Harri asked, returning to the main topic. “What are you planning to do? Do you want to fight again? You should know it’s useless, there will be no winner. The only thing you’ll do is destroying your forest even more.”

“If that can make you leave, I don’t care. Actually, I’d rather burn the whole place instead of letting you transform my forest into… this…” Yoko answered, clenching her teeth.

“Do you not like? Lovely, isn’t it?” He responded with a proud smile, clearly provoking her.

“Horrible. It looks like hell.”

I couldn’t agree any more. If she goes rampage and wants to destroy everything, I won’t stop her. Actually, I’d be grateful if she did. This place should have never existed in the first place.

Harri sighed. “So you really came here to fight…”

“Actually, I didn’t.” She contradicted.

He furrowed his forehead. “You didn’t? Then how are you planning to settle this? That’s not like you to be diplomatic…”

Yoko pointed at me with her finger. “She decides.”

Following the direction of her finger, Harri’s eyes widened for a few seconds as he saw me. Then, he returned his gaze to Yoko, narrowing his eyes and furrowing his forehead.

“You want to let the child decides the final outcome of our conflict? Why would we… Wait. Were you being serious when you said that she was the Creator?”

“Of course I was, you should know that I don’t lie.”

“I do know that but…” He marked a pause, turning his gaze on me. “But a child… I can accept the fact that there is someone above us all, it’s not like I’ve never thought about it before. It’s just that I imagined the Creator to be a little…different. You know? Someone older, with maybe a white beard and a couple of wrinkles on their face…”

So he thought I was an old sage. Well, that makes sense. If someone was to create a whole world by himself, most people would think of him as a wise elder instead of a teenage girl, I guess.

Harri shook his head. “Sorry Yoko, I can’t accept this. We can’t let a random child decide the outcome of this conflict. At least, give me some substantial proof about her identity. You can’t really expect me to believe that this lovely little girl is the Creator just like that, right?”

Yoko sighed heavily before turning to me. “He’s all yours…”

The God of Love returned his attention to me, understanding that I will be the one to prove my own identity. An appealing smile appeared on his handsome face. I don’t know why, but I really can’t stand his Prince Charming aura. I want to punch him… As he was about to say something, I spoke first.

“You have a birthmark in shape of a heart on your butt…” I simply said.

Harri’s smile immediately disappeared, as his eyes widened. Clearly, he did not expect me to blurt out something like that. Without saying anything, he just looked blankly at me, blinking. The awkward exchange of stares only lasted for a few second though, as a sudden laughter broke the silence.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA! A heart? HAHAHAHA! That’s so lame! Suits you, Love-boy!”

Harri’s face instantly reddened, as he turned to Yoko.

“Silence, minx! Don’t listen to her, that’s not true!” He exclaimed.

“It is true…” I said, with a dull voice. “Additionally, the reasons why you only have roses in your garden is because you’re allergic to most flowers.”

“HAHAHAHA! That’s so ridiculous! I’m sooo telling everyone about this!”

Giving up in denying anything, Harri placed his hand across his face, let out a loud sigh.

“Fine… That’s my bad… I should have believed in it sooner…” He muttered.

“Heh? You’re pretty fast in accepting this, aren’t you? I can tell you a couple of other things, you know?” I said.

“No need, what you’ve said is enough. Unlike Yoko, I always believed that there was someone above us so it’s not that hard to accept… It’s just that your appearance is… unexpected. Besides, if Yoko says it herself, then I have even less reasons to doubt it.”

“Is that so…”

Harri grabbed his neck, trying to cope with the situation. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, and then he turned his attention back at me, displaying his most charming smile.

“Well, you can’t exactly blame me, right?” He said. “No one would ever guess that such a lovely girl as you is the Creator! For a few seconds, I thought the heavens fell down! Turns out it was just because they lost their most beautiful angel!”

Oh no, here he goes again with his stupid love lines. P-Please stop… I can’t… This is so cringe worthy…

Ignoring my silent wish, he continued. “Where do you hide your wings? Is it the sunset that I’m seeing, or is it just your eyes? Want to know what I’m wearing right now? The smile that you gave me!”

… Well technically he’s not wrong, but I wish he wouldn’t put it that way.

“So you created me?” He asked with the same silly smile.

“N…No…” I muttered, as I could feel my body trembling in frustration.

“No?” Harri repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! That’s wrong! I wasn’t the one who created you! I refuse!!”

I snapped. It was just too much for me, I couldn’t take it anymore. Grabbing my head, I strongly tried to convince myself that I wasn’t the one who created all this. This place, this man… None of it was my doing. None. Absolutely none. If I could turn back time, the first thing I would do is to punch myself. Then, I would burn every sheet in my room, erasing all evidences of his existence.

“Congratulations, Love-boy. Your silliness managed to drive the Creator insane,” Yoko said with a mocking tone.

“E-Eh? But… I was just complimenting her…?” Harri responded, confused. “What’s wrong with that?”

I glared at him. “What’s wrong, you said…? EVERYTHING! Everything is wrong! This place, your face, your character, your WHOLE EXISTENCE! None of it should exist! It was just a big mistake! Beginning with your name…!” I exclaimed, as I pointed him.

“M-My name? Is something wrong with my name?” He asked, even more confused.

“YES! There is a spelling mistake in it! You were named after my first crush, his name was Harry! HARRY! It’s not written with an I but with a Y!!”

Taken aback by my sudden tantrum, Harri blinked at me several times while Yoko giggled, amused by the turn of the events.

“W-Well, it’s not that bad, right?” He tried to reason me. “Everyone makes mistakes, it can’t be helped! We can’t erase the past, so we just have to accept it!”

Hearing him, I couldn’t help but twitch a little. Accept this, he said? Haha… I clenched my fists, ready to take out my anger on him at any moments, but in the end, I didn’t. I took a deep breath, regaining my composure, and let out a loud sigh.

“You’re right… We can’t erase our past mistakes… But at least we can fix them.”

“…Eh?” Harri blinked a few time, trying to process what I just said. “You don’t mean to…”

I stepped forward, placed my hands on his shoulders and looked at him with a serious expression.

“Sorry, Harri, but I need you to disappear. My bad, your existence was a mistake.”

His eyes widened. “Hum… Creator? Y-You… You want to erase me…?”

“Oooooh? Well that is terrible~!” Yoko suddenly spoke with an evil grin on her face, clearly enjoying the situation.

“N-No wait! You should think about this carefully! You are clearly confused right now! Erasing a Mid God is not exactly the wisest idea! It will disrupt the balance of the world!” He exclaimed.

“Don’t kid yourself, Love-boy” Yoko said. “You don’t have that much influence.”

Harri glared at her. “What in the world have you done to her? She clearly has something against me! Did you turn the Creator against me just because of a territory issue?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t do anything. I intended to, but obviously, it wasn’t necessary~! It seems that your existence is the problem!”

Disoriented, Harri squinted his eyes and slightly tilted his head to the side. He was probably trying to figure out what the problem was, as he nervously glanced at me. Ah, this puppy face…He really has no idea, does he? Well, thinking about it, it’s not really his fault. He didn’t ask to be silly like this, I made him this way. I’m the culprit and he is innocent. Worse, he is a victim. Having calmed down –somehow- I let out a loud sigh.

“Well, maybe I won’t erase you…” I muttered.

A sudden expression of relief appeared on Harri’s face, while Yoko clicked her tongue, disappointed.

“Is that so? Too bad…” She mumbled, loud enough for us to hear.

Harri glared at her, but she ignored it. “So, returning to the territory issue, what do we do?” She asked.

Both of them turned their gaze on me, their eyes full of expectations. Without uttering a world, they were clearly waiting for my final decision.

“She wins.” I simply said, pointing at Yoko with my finger, as a huge grin appeared on her face.

“… What an obviously biased judgment… Oh, well… There is no point in arguing with the Creator, especially after that.” Harri said, with a defeated voice.

“Fine, I’ll leave your forest, Yoko. Still, visit me sometimes! I hope we’ll become good neighbors!” He added, turning to the Goddess.

“… Neighbors?” Yoko and I repeated at the same time.

“Yes, neighbors. I’ll just settle to the other side of the city. That will make us neighbors, right?” Harri explained with a bright smile.

This man… He never intended to leave, did he?

“… Are you fucking kidding me?” Yoko grunted, as the veins in her temples started to pop out.

“Well, it’s not like I can’t right? You never leave your forest, so it’s not like it can be considered part of your territory.”

“Of course it is, you idiot.”

“You know, I have troubles understanding you, Yoko.” Harri sighed, shaking his head. “You’ve avoided humans’ territories for so long and suddenly, you decide to settle down next to a human city. Here, humans worship Naia. If anyone’s, then this city should be considered part of her territory, but since she’s not here, it’s a neutral land.”

“It stopped being a neutral land once I moved here, eleven years ago.” She responded with a firm voice.

Harri shrugged. “Just because you lived here for a few years, it doesn’t mean that you have enough influence to make this city yours. Except for your forest, this land is still a neutral territory. So you can’t really stop me if I want to stay.”

“Even so, you can’t stay. Are you stupid? You know we can’t have two deities staying at the same place.”

“If it’s the miasma you’re worried about, I’ll just suppress my aura; there shouldn’t be any problem then, right?”

As Yoko heard this, even if she seemed cool-headed, her ears kept twitching. She was clearly irritated. Harri had absolutely no intention to leave, she understood that, and now, she didn’t have any good reasons to drive him out either.

“You are one annoying bastard, you know that?” Yoko muttered, as a forced smile played on her lips.

“I know, I return you the compliment, sweetie!” Harri responded, with a provoking grin.

So, in the end, we’re back to square one. I came here for nothing. They still intend to fight over this land. I don’t get it. It’s just one place, isn’t it? The world is wide enough for them to find another territory, so why are they being so stubborn to stay here? Is there something special here? Oh well, whatever. I’m definitely not going to let them do whatever they want.

“Guys, you know what? I have an idea.” I exclaimed, as they both turned to me, raising an eyebrow. “This place is my territory now. End of the story.”

Their eyes and their mouth wide opened, they blankly stared at me.

Ah…! Silence again, finally!