1.
[For the first time only, the creator is granted the opportunity to personally select a cloud from the Celestial Sea of Clouds.]
[The selected cloud will be delivered to its designated bonded recipient.]
[Would you like to enter the Celestial Sea of Clouds?]
An invitation that had suddenly begun appearing.
It was telling me to come pick out a cloud, like I was at a market thumping watermelons or something....
If there was something I needed to do before abruptly heading to the celestial realm, naturally, it was ask for advice... right?
If it was a special opportunity given to a creator, Harngar, who was already there, would probably have gone through something similar.
At the very least, he would know more than I did.
I immediately reclined my chair and closed my eyes.
Fortunately, after all that prolonged grinding, my body was completely worn out, so I fell asleep quickly.
That thought was the last thing on my mind before my consciousness began to fade....
"...So it says to come over. Should I just go?"
"...Ho ho."
Harngar’s ensuing explanation was simple.
Well, he went over various cases, beginning with Divine Relics, and compared them to my situation.
The explanation was fairly long, but to summarize the conclusion....
What is that...? I don’t know, it’s scary....
Even this was a situation he had never encountered before.
"You’re entering the Celestial Sea of Clouds to catch a cloud?"
Harngar looked down at me with his arms folded.
"Still, if there is one thing that is certain...."
"What is it?"
"Even a god cannot casually intervene in the path walked by a craftsman. The path of creating something is sacred in itself...."
So, did that mean I was safe?
"It would be different if they were willing to risk damaging their own divinity, but would they pay such a dreadful price just to forcibly alter the choice of one mortal?"
I had heard it too—divinity was, to a god, like flesh and blood.
They sweated blood trying to receive Divine Relics in order to obtain it....
If they lost divinity by interfering with a craftsman’s path just to bring me over, that would be putting the cart before the horse, wouldn’t it?
That was a relief, then....
But Harngar’s expression was not particularly pleasant.
"However, descendant, if you read the textbook, you must know as well...."
Ah... I remembered that.
"Never be tempted?"
"That’s right."
They hadn’t written that for no reason.
I had been really startled last time.
"Countless craftsmen forgot that and went to their deaths. And this time, you won’t merely be hearing a voice beyond the Divine Bell—you will be entering the celestial realm on your own two feet.... I do not know what they might show you, or what kind of offer they might make."
Pat, pat.
Harngar patted my shoulder.
"Descendant... It may be a material you will never touch in your entire life, or a technique you have longed to learn. They may even offer you a pleasure so great it melts your mind."
I snickered and nodded.
"I’m stronger against temptation than I look."
Because I had Yuna, too.
"Yes... I know. The life of a blacksmith is the life of a pilgrim...."
Harngar gazed at me for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"If you are not strong against temptation, then who is?"
With those final words....
I slowly returned to reality.
After opening my eyes, I sat there for a while and went over it again.
Think about it. If gods could intervene without a Divine Bell, each of them would already be keeping an Heir of Fire at their side. From their perspective, this is probably a golden opportunity.
Okay, message received.
"Yuna."
[Yes.]
"Raise the temptation warning level to maximum."
I absolutely would not be tempted.
I rose from my seat and loosened my stiff shoulders and neck.
I drank a glass of water, and since my body was basically still a baby and I normally never drank it, I took a sip of coffee too.
[Would you like to enter the Celestial Sea of Clouds?]
"Let’s go."
When I hit accept, a stream of new windows appeared.
Ding!
[Opening a passage to the [Celestial Sea of Clouds] through the path of the craftsman.]
[Purpose of visit: Selection of a cloud to be bonded to dedicated equipment.]
[Creator status confirmed.]
And then....
[Before entering, please familiarize yourself with the precautions below.]
Precautions...?
Uh... I needed to read things like this.
I needed to read them very carefully.
─────────────────
[0. Do not trust gods you know.]
[If they were a god who cared for you, they would not approach you during this visit in the first place.]
[Gods may approach you, but they cannot inflict any harm unless you grant them permission.]
[However, do not coldly reject every god who approaches you. Greetings and brief conversation are proper etiquette for a visitor to the celestial realm.]
[Repeatedly ignoring or insulting a god’s goodwill may incur their wrath.]
─────────────────
[1. Your purpose in visiting is to choose a cloud.]
[Simply keep walking forward.]
[Even if you are asked to do something else, do not alter your purpose for visiting.]
[The gods already know what you came here to do. Asking your purpose again is merely a pretext for beginning a conversation.]
─────────────────
[2. Every precious material placed by the roadside has an owner.]
[The owners of those materials have long awaited a blacksmith capable of handling them perfectly.]
[From the moment you touch a material, you may be classified not as a visitor, but as the craftsman of that workshop.]
─────────────────
[3. Even if someone grieves over your return, you have no obligation to comfort them.]
[Do not agree to their tearful plea for you to stay by their side just a little longer.]
[To them, ‘just a little while’ may be longer than the remainder of your life.]
─────────────────
[3-1. If someone approaches you in an alluring form and invites you to satisfy your desires, you may accept without reservation.]
[They even know the desires you were too ashamed to speak of.]
[The moment you take their hand, you will enjoy ecstatic pleasure across your past, present, and future lives.]
[Do you really need to go back?]
─────────────────
[4. The beings of the celestial realm perfectly understand mortals’ concepts of chastity.]
[Do not be shaken even if a naked being approaches you.]
[Kissing, touching the other person’s body, and removing your own clothing will all be regarded as explicit ‘permission.’]
─────────────────
[5. The Sea of Clouds has no roof, and clouds flow beneath your feet.]
[If you can see a ceiling, you have not yet arrived. This holds true no matter how magnificent the workshop may be.]
─────────────────
[6. If you wish to return, hold the equipment you created and declare your intent to return. You may return immediately.]
[Unfortunately, we cannot assist you if you no longer feel the desire to return.]
─────────────────
[7. This guide contains no sub-items.]
[If you have read a separate item such as ‘X-1,’ do not remember its contents.]
[If you have already received those contents positively, immediately abandon your entry into the Sea of Clouds.]
[If you still wish to enter, read the guide again from the beginning.]
[There is no guarantee that it will contain the same things you read the first time.]
─────────────────
I read through it calmly.
"Fuck?"
What the hell was this?
What was with these absurdly difficult questions?
It felt like I was reading one of those Neapolitan horror stories....
There was no point thinking through this alone, so Yuna and I put our heads together and sorted through it one by one.
The code of conduct Yuna and I came up with was simple.
[Yuna’s Big Brother Code of Conduct]
[1. Observe celestial etiquette, make light small talk, and move on!]
[2. No holding hands, hugging, or kissing! Do not give permission in any way!]
[3. Do not pick up materials lying on the ground!]
[4. No lewd stuff!!]
[5. Just grab a cloud and come straight back!!]
Okay, perfect.
If I decided to do something, I was actually pretty capable of carrying it out.
I should be able to go and come back without any trouble.
Besides... they said they would not directly harm me, so I just needed to be careful.
The disappointing part was that Gaia probably would not come.
Since those who knew me would stay away out of consideration for me.
Once I was ready, I pressed accept.
Vwoooong—!
"Huh...?"
With the roller-coaster sensation of my stomach lifting.
My body floated up, and I closed my eyes....
Whooong....
The wind brushing past my ears came to a stop.
When I cautiously opened my eyes....
"...Wow."
The sight that greeted me made my jaw drop in admiration.
Pure white clouds spread beneath my feet.
Even as I stood on them, they billowed and floated, wrapping softly around me.
Am I already there?
The moment I had that thought.
"...!"
I lifted my head and saw a translucent dome covering the sky.
The Sea of Clouds has no roof.
Clouds flowed beneath my feet, but this was not my destination—that realization snapped me fully awake, and chills ran down my spine.
Then, at that moment.
"...Do not be afraid."
A gentle voice sounded from behind me.
When I turned around....
"..."
A beautiful woman stood there.
Golden hair cascaded down to her waist....
Enormous white wings, larger than her body, spread behind her, while a single thin sheet of cloth barely covered the vital parts of her voluptuous body.
The woman curved her eyes gently and held out her hand to me.
"Welcome to the Celestial Sea of Clouds. I will accompany you."
She was offering her hand.
For now... no contact.
I carefully rose while avoiding her outstretched hand, then bowed my head.
"Hello. I’m a blacksmith."
"...Yes."
The woman hesitated for a moment, but soon withdrew her hand with a faint smile.
Everyone probably lost their heads, took her hand, and got themselves killed here.
The first step was clean.
"I am the Archangel Michael."
"..."
Michael?
That was a name I had seen a lot somewhere, wasn’t it?
I searched my memories for a moment....
Soon, several Origin Scripts engraved on Seren’s equipment came to mind.
『H-how dare you imitate our appearance...!』
『T-the creator must come to the celestial realm to be forgiven for this blasphemy....』
Those were the comments attached to Valkyrie Type 2.
『Creator. Come to the celestial realm at once!!』
That was the comment attached to Type 3, the swimsuit.
They had been pretty aggressive and all... but the conclusion was that she wanted me to come to the celestial realm.
And here I was, just like that?
It was hard to imagine that this was the same person who had written those comments.
Her face was incredibly pretty, and she had a great body, but... she just was not my type.
Thankfully, I thought I could get past her.
"Yes, I’m Cristiano. I have something rather urgent to take care of, so...."
The best policy was to get away before she could say anything more.
Rustle.
But as I tried to pass by her, her white wings spread out and blocked my way.
"Are you leaving already?"
"I have business to attend to. Thank you for the offer, but next time...."
I almost said I would come again next time.
There would be no next time.
"I’ll be going now."
"..."
I dipped my waist slightly, then stepped in the other direction.
This time, Michael withdrew her wings and did not block me any further.
[Well done!!]
It seemed the guide had been telling the truth.
A god could not hold me back unless I gave permission.
Michael seemed only to watch as I moved farther away behind her....
"...Fine."
Flinch.
A voice completely at odds with her gentle tone from moments ago reached me.
"I understand that your willpower is strong, so I will make a request. Many angels lost their wings in the last war, and even after the war ended, they have not recovered.... There are children who will never fly through the skies again. With your skills, you could help us. Won’t you help us? I will provide anything you desire."
The nature of the question was a little different.
A formal commission request to a blacksmith?
It was harder to simply ignore something like this.
"I’m sorry, but my Divine Relic has a weak constitution, so I can only use it once a year."
I turned back, smiled, and politely refused.
"I would appreciate it if you could ask again next year. Well then...."
"..."
The grounds for refusal were perfect, and I had been polite as well.
Holding down my trembling heart, I began walking forward again.
After taking several steps....
Crack....
Something translucent in front of me developed cracks.
Crack!
Beyond it, a path with no visible end was revealed.
The moment I set foot upon it....
Ding!
─────────────────
[Achievement][One Who Resisted an Angel’s Temptation][★★★★★]
─────────────────
『No human has ever resisted it before.』
[Title Acquired — ‘Willpower’]
─────────────────
An achievement notification appeared before my eyes.
It said this was a temptation no human had ever overcome until now.
In that sense, I could see why.
Her face really had been beautiful... and angels generally had a familiar image to us.
On top of that, when she came at you like that, half-naked and showing everything, any man would be bound to fall for it.
I was not a man. I was a blacksmith.
Then another notification appeared....
─────────────────
[Reward]
[Seraphim Feather]
─────────────────
"Huh?"
[Rewards will be issued all at once upon your return to the mortal realm.]
"..."
The rewards would be issued ‘all at once.’
Did that mean the rewards would keep piling up every time I overcame another temptation from now on?
Maybe this visit to the celestial realm was the greatest farming opportunity of all time....
I shook my head, stopped, and examined my surroundings from top to bottom.
I could not let my guard down.
The ceiling? There was nothing.
Beneath my feet... there was nothing, either.
There were no clouds beneath my feet... so this was not the Sea of Clouds yet.
I had to keep going.
Holding the insignia tightly in my hand, I stepped forward.
How long had I walked like that?
Sparkle!
Something shone on the side of the road.
"...?"
The instant I turned my head, I regretted it.
─────────────────
[Primordial: Nameless][★★★★★★]
─────────────────
『????????????????????』
『The finest metal.』
─────────────────
The sleek, supple body of the ore....
Its light-struck surface gleamed subtly as though damp, while its curves narrowed into a slender waist that looked like it would melt if touched.
Even its backside was so perfectly shaped that it looked like it would greedily drink in water the moment I quenched it.
It was sexier than any porn I had ever seen.
And it was six-star, too.
It was a grade I had never seen in my life.
"Ah... fuck."
That thing was tempting me, wasn’t it?
It was practically wagging its tail at me right now.
I could somehow endure a dazzlingly beautiful angel with a perfect body, but....
[Big brother, warning, warning!!]
[Y-your, your, your heart rate!!!]
"..."
I had the feeling this one might be difficult.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register