Disclaimer: Ah! My Goddess! and its characters belong to Kosuke Fujishima and his publishers.
Author's Notes: This story is sort of a sequel for Ah! My Island! (and its unpublished bonus chapter which led the main characters to sort of an established relationship). I recommend you to read that fic to avoid unnecessary questions.
Warning! This story contains descriptions of romantic relationship between two females. Don't read it if you are against such things.
Special thanks go to Nenena and Aster for helping me with this fanfiction.
Chapter 1.
It was an ordinary summer day, one of those when nothing interesting happens. I was lying on a rooftop of our house, showering my perfect body in sunlight and enjoying the wonderful smell of pastries that Bell was baking in the kitchen. Skuld had gone out with her boyfriend, so everything was quiet and peaceful. And in that very moment when I decided that I should go to my room, something solid fell down from the sky and hit me on my head.
It was a box. A small box, made of leather and bronze, glued with a wax, to be precise. I carefully opened it. There was a beautifully made golden key on a chain and a piece of paper covered with text written in ancient runes. I looked at the sky and shouted:
"Hey! Why don't you come down here?"
"Is your robot turned off?" Somehow I had no doubts it was her.
"I believe it's recharging in Skuld's room!" I had to shout again.
"Both of them?"
"Sigil is helping Bell in the kitchen!"
"OK then..."
Mara appeared next to me in her usual cloud of a purple smoke, holding a box very similar to mine, only darker in a colour.
"What's this all about?" I pointed at the boxes.
"Do you want a long story or a short one?"
"Try to make the long one shorter." I smiled with a corner of my lips.
"OK... I'll try to..." She stretched herself next to me. "When I woke up this morning and started to get out of my coffin, I heard something fall from its lid. I looked around and found these boxes lying on the floor. At first I thought it was someone's joke or a trap or something like that. You know, I didn't order anything and so on. But the longer I looked at them, the more I wanted to open the dark one. It just asked to be opened..." Her fingers unintentionally caressed the box. "So I did it. There was a key and sort of an instruction on what to do with it."
"Can you read and understand the entire text?" I looked at her suspiciously. The language of my "instruction" was too ancient even for me, so the meaning of some words was totally unclear.
"I understand it pretty well..." She grinned. "Umm... In most parts..."
"So, what does it say? I'm too lazy to translate it."
"It says one goddess should serve one demon..." I kicked her leg. "OK, OK. It says one goddess and one demon should find five amulets, and then they will be able to discover the source of a great power."
"Mara, I'm not playing these games any more." I shook my head. "I'm not seeking power."
"It also says that, granting humans' wishes, people like us forget about themselves, and that our own wishes should be granted as well." She murmured quietly. "I wouldn't mind if some of my wishes came true."
"So you want me to go with you on a treasure hunt?" I chuckled.
"I thought you'd be glad for a change of scenery for some time and to keep me company." She smiled smugly.
"You're too self-confident!" Even though she was right, I just couldn't admit it easily.
"And too darn hot for you to refuse." She grinned. Oh joy. She was right again. And honestly, I didn't want to bake her with a lightning so strongly, it was an accident...
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We agreed to meet on the next morning in the city park. I decided to make an exact translation of the "instruction", so I secluded myself from everyone in my room and started preparations. Firstly, I needed a good reason for requesting a dictionary from Yggdasil. Of course, I could download it without any explanation, but Mara said there was a line about acting secretly, and my spontaneous interest in a forgotten language might seem suspicious. Eventually I made up a story about a book with alchemical recipes I found and wanted to investigate. Our system operators would have been satisfied. They think I have nothing in my mind but my lab and my TV set. Poor things. So, one hour later I had a dictionary transmitted directly into my head. I love being a goddess! And in a couple of hours I had an exact translation of the text.
"I bet you are tired of being neglected in granting your own wishes. You spend your life making human beings satisfied. Nobody deserves their desires to be fulfilled as much as you do. I can give you an unlimited source of power which can grant any of your wishes. I will not ask for anything as a price. But getting that source is not easy. Only a collaboration of a goddess and a demon can eventually open the seal. You should find five amulets, separated many years ago, bring them to a special place and open the sealed door. All the amulets are sealed as well, in their own chests, but I give you the keys. Also, be warned, you cannot use any magic besides a finding spell and the opening spell. The first amulet is hidden in the city called Tokyo. Go to the rooftop of the highest building and cast the finding spell. One more thing. Nobody should know what you are up to."
I had a mixed feelings about all that. Of course, it was going to be a great adventure. We proved already that we can collaborate very well when it is needed. And it was a great opportunity to spend some time with Mara while nobody would distract us. On the other hand, we had absolutely no idea who had given us that chance to break away from the routine. Also, the fact that we were prohibited to use magic was not really convenient. We would need money for travelling and we would probably need food to keep our bodies in normal condition. Also, my family shouldn't know where I was going to go. I rubbed my temples. Think, Urd, think. If I would disappear without any explanation, my sisters would definitely start looking for me. Eventually I decided to tell them that I should sort out my thoughts about becoming a First Class Goddess, so I needed few days out of the house all alone. Bell and Skuld were surprised, of course, but promised not to panic if I stay away from home longer than expected. And it wasn't even a lie because I was going to think about getting that worthless license. Once. Or even twice. Then I borrowed some money from Keiichi, and some from Megumi, promising that I would return it later, put few chocolate bars and a huge bottle of sake into a bag, and went to bed early. Of course, I was absolutely awake till late at night, thinking of why I had agreed to join Mara's reckless scheme again and again. I already had everything I wanted, and I didn't even grant human wishes, my job was nice and rewarding. The only explanation I could think of was the fact that it was a challenge.