On the other side...

"Wait!" I shouted moments before we got snapped to someplace else, "What's in it for... us."

Gah, those damned Gods! At the very least, they could've given us a reason to help them get Sab! Ugh, where the hell even are we?

"Vastoria, where are you going?" I asked after spotting her walking to the other room.

"We should unwind for now." She glanced back, "I'll go get us some tea and biscuits. Until then, you guys sit down in the living room."

"Eh? This is your place?" Sheep glanced around, "Spacious..."

Spacious is underselling it, and by like, a huge amount. Just this living room looks more like a main foyer of a mansion than anything else, with only the small table and comfy leather sofas defining it as such. Obviously, I expect nothing less than a mansion for my princess Vastoria, but I still have to wonder how it all fit in the borders of her yard... F-Fueh...!?

"S-Sheep, check this out!" I pointed at the clouds just outside the window, "T-The sky! We're super high up!"

"Migu, we're in Heaven, remember? Everything is cloudy."

"Grr...! Just look!"

Leading him out the front porch, I was left speechless a second time once I realized she DOES have a yard, but it's way more vast than the regular confides of a Heavenly plot of land. How? How is hers so much bigger than everyone else's? And where is everyone else's, might I add? It's like the yard abruptly ends at the edges.

"Oh, there you are." She got the jump on us with her tray of cookies and tea, "Come on, they get cold quickly."

"Cute... N-No, wait!" I shook off my honest feelings, "Why is this place so big, Vastoria?!"

"Hm? Oh, you're talking about the island." She said with an aloof tone, "Right, I guess since my house is skybound, it doesn't have to follow the confides of the standard yard size."

"Skybound?!"

Immediately, Sheep and I booked it to the edge and looked down. Below was Heaven 2.0, the countless houses of all shapes and sizes, yet still cleanly fitting inside their respective yards' borders. Not to mention the countless tiny angels walking around aimlessly like ants. This reminds me of the very beginning. I was with those other two guys, when the Divine Voice explained everything about Heaven 2.0 to us. We were standing high up in the sky back then as well, and it looked pretty similar to this. Vastoria, she's just full of surprises...

"Wah~! So high up!" I gasped.

"Ugh, if someone fell from this high up, it'd definitely take minutes before they hit the ground..." Sheep gagged.

"Nah, definitely an hour, if not more!"

I gently nudged him a centimeter towards the ledge—y'know, as a joke—but he must've taken it seriously, prompting his legs to give out as he hit the floor like a wet noodle. Thankfully, we were a safe distance away from the ledge of the sky island, so it's not like he'd actually fall off unless I really shoved him with all my might. Geez, what a crybaby.

"Demon!" He began to call me names, "Heathen! What the hell was that, eh!? You trying to get me killed!?"

"Oh for crying out... We can't die out here, moron!" I hissed back.

"It'd still hurt if I hit the ground down there with my golden parts!" He raised his remaining hand, "Under this glove is a hand of pure gold, y'know? Sensitive gold! If I even accidentally slammed it on the way down..."

"Then just keep your hand up! The rest of your body is literally invincible! ...And how long are you planning to lay there like a scaredy cat!?"

"I can't move my legs, jackass! You scared the function out of them!"

How great, am I seriously gonna have to carry this guy all the way to the living room? Honestly, I do feel a bit bad about it, but I genuinely didn't know he was so deathly afraid of heights! Can you blame me? Geez, now even Vastoria is looking at me with a disappointed sigh.

"Migu, that was kinda cruel, what you just did."

"It was just a joke."

"Maybe to you, but just one good look at his state should tell you all you need to know." She turned her back on me, "Until you apologize and bring him back to the couch—no treats for you!"

Gah, don't do that! I won't be able to live without Vastoria's sweets! Life without them is agony! Like a drug I haven't even gotten addicted to yet. Nay, scratch that, I don't even need to get addicted to know I need it in my system now. As in N O W.

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"Mn." I glanced back at the wobbly shopkeeper lying on the ground in a fetal position.

"Right, so if you could just help me back up on my fee-WHOA!?"

Honestly, it was quicker to just scare him into propping himself up by acting like I was gonna completely push him off the island. Right, it was just an act, I wasn't actually gonna do it. I'd stop after he got scared enough to stop this sham of his legs not working... Probably.

"Are you crazy!? You were actually gonna push me off just now!"

"I didn't have to, because you got up all by yourself. Good job!"

"Y-You...! You're a horrible person, Migu!"

"Oh come on. It worked, didn't it?"

Despite my plan working flawlessly, he still kept acting like a fussy child. Guess he didn't wanna admit my methods were effective, despite their harsh undertones. After this, he stormed back into the house by himself, and worst of all—he tattled on me to Vastoria, so now I don't get any cookies at all! Stupid Sheep!

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***

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"So, to begin our latest team meeting..." Vastoria cleared her throat before pausing, "Migu, are you gonna continue to act like this for the entire meeting?"

"Hmph!" I sat there, arms crossed on the sofa as I gave Sheep death glares for being a tattle-tale, "I don't know what you mean!"

"Ignore her." Sheep nonchalantly chimed in, stuffing his face with the cookies just to spite me, "By the way, these are really good."

"Thank you, I found them lying around in the cupboard."

"Mnf-!?"

Choking on the bit of cookies after hearing where they came from, Sheep needed to drink some tea to properly wash it down before he caused a mess. That was when he realized the tea probably hailed from the same place, so he hesitantly sipped that until he stopped violently coughing. What a reaction.

"W-What the hell, do they have an expiry date?" He asked with a great deal of worry.

"They reset with each cycle, so they're fresh." She shook her head, "No expiry date, but I guess I should've specified that beforehand."

Oh? He seems skeptical. This might be my chance!

"If he doesn't want them, I'll...!"

"No." They shot me down in unison.

"You're not allowed to eat or drink any because of what you did to Sheep." Vastoria pouted.

"Oh come on! Please?" I begged, "This is the first time I saw something I can taste! I'll take any other punishment, I'll apologize a thousand times in a row if need be, but don't you think denying me this is too cruel?"

At this, the two could only look at me with wide open, flabbergasted Eyes. After an awkward exchange of glances between each other, Sheep was the first to break the news to me.

"M-Migu, there's nothing to taste."

"Huh?"

"Gosh, how do we put this...?" Vastoria had trouble explaining it too, "Uhm, our tongues aren't golden, so we can't really... taste anything."

...What? No, but their faces looked so happy while munching on them! And the tea as well, Sheep was practically slurping it down despite the steam coming out of it! No one does that to tasteless drinks! No, but it'd make sense that we can't "feel" the taste with our White tongues... Hold on, so only Throne could actually taste stuff!? Dammit, that guy's dead though! What the hell do you mean a jackass like him is the only one of us privileged enough to taste some damned tea and biscuits!?

"B-But..."

"Sorry, what we said isn't quite true." Vastoria gave me a glimmer of hope, only to utterly crush it in the very next moment, "Well, we can "feel" the liquids and solids enter our bodies, but in a sort of static way, like if you ate something under anaesthetics."

"Heh, in truth, I did compliment the taste and all, but..." Sheep bashfully admitted, "That's just me roleplaying and all. It helps make it feel more real."

What...? There's really no taste in Heaven? Nothing? A-Ah, why do I suddenly have this overwhelming feeling of loss? Tears?

"Mnf!" I felt something chocolatey get shoved in my mouth suddenly.

"Heh, gotcha!" Vastoria giggled devilishly, keeping her soft, supple finger on my lips, "But to think you would actually cry over this. I guess that makes Sheep and you even, then."

"I-I didn't cry after her stupid prank!" Sheep blushed.

"So you think we overdid it, then? Want her to do another prank to truly make it even?"

"I'll pass!"

She fed me a cookie. After spouting all that crap, it turns out they were just lying to get a reaction out of me. The cookie, as I expected, was beyond delicious. Actually, I started crying all over again, but this time for a different reason. The very first time in waking memory that I tasted something, and it was this delicious. Not only that, but it was directly fed to me by the cutest of all, Vastoria. I truly am blessed, but I'm still kinda pissed she tricked me like this.

"I... I knew you were lying." I muttered.

Quickly, while her guard was down, I swooped in for a quick peck on her sweet lips. The kiss was done directly in front of Sheep, just to further make the situation even more embarrassing. She didn't know how to react, her Eyes were wide open for the entire time she was left speechless.

"W-Wha...?" She finally uttered something.

"I knew you were lying, because when we first kissed—It tasted unforgettably sweet!" I proudly announced, a tad Red in the face myself.

"Geez, do that when you're alone!" Sheep groaned, "Just 'cause I know about you two dating doesn't mean I gotta see all that!"

"W-Wait! Sheep, no, that wasn't...!" Vastoria tripped all over her words, "Migu, that was totally uncalled for! How could you-!?"

"How could I... what? Not use my tongue?" I teased her some more, figuring I'd strike the iron while it was still hot, "Sorry, if you want, we can redo it."

"Shut up, what the hell are you talking about even!?" She jumped from her seat, eating all the remaining cookies and chugging the entire kettle of tea in one fell swoop, "There, because you did that, no more cookies for anyone!"

"Oh, that's a shame."

"H-Huh? You're not as sad as you were before." She stuttered.

"Well yeah, my girlfriend has an endless daily supply after all." I shrugged, spouting as many embarrassing buzzer words to her as I could cram in, "Then, since you stocked up on sweety goodness, how about we actually start talking about our next course of action?"

Sheep was cackling, reclined and rolling around on the couch as she reached her tipping point. I well and truly believe that teasing Vastoria is a bottomless well of joy and dopamine. There has to be a rule of Heaven that making her blush will never get old.

"Grrr...!" She exploded with anger, finally, "That's what I wanted us to do from the start!"

"Ahahahaha!" Sheep kicked his feet up sporadically in between wheezes, "This is so much better than retail!"