WKOC Extra 1

1
As we all know, during the final battle with the demon lord, Alvin, the commander of the Holy Knights and a chosen one of the gods, accepted a [Divine Descent] from the Light God. Empowered by divine energy and with the help of many, he delivered the final blow to the demon lord, shattering its divinity completely, but at the cost of his own life.

The Light God, moved by his sacrifice, performed a miracle and resurrected the commander.
The Light Church rejoiced and decided to commemorate the day of the commander’s resurrection as the [New Miracle Day], but this proposal was firmly rejected by Alvin himself, so it was dropped.

However, privately, everyone agreed to hold a celebration on this day every year, and to wear homemade “ahoge” as a token of gratitude to the Light God.

—Yes, ahoge.

As the vessel that had borne the [Divine Descent] and been brought back to life by a miracle, the commander did indeed undergo a change—

A golden strand of ahoge had grown from the top of his head.
A strand of hair that faithfully reflected the emotions of the commander.

According to the only eyewitness to Alvin’s discovery of this change, His Holiness the Pope, the commander showed a rare expression of panic, repeatedly checking himself in the mirror before finally accepting the gift from the Light God with a bewildered look on his face.
His Holiness claimed that he was sincerely giving thanks to the Light God at the time, and was not laughing.

As for the rumor spread by the guards on duty outside, that uncontrollable laughter echoed from within the sanctuary as the Pope supposedly “went mad with grief” beside the commander’s body—well, that was just a rumor!

Praise the Light God!

2
There was a lot to handle after the war, and many matters required the personal attention of the commander. It wasn’t long before the news of Alvin’s new ahoge spread throughout the entire Holy Knights and then the entire Light Church.

Whenever someone spoke to the commander, they couldn’t help but glance at the top of his head—not intentionally, but it was just too noticeable. After all, everyone within the Church knew that while Commander Alvin was powerful, kind, reliable… full of virtues, he had one flaw: he was ‘terribly’ bad at expressing himself in non-work-related matters.

For example, if you asked him what he wanted for dinner, his answer would invariably be “anything is fine” or “whatever everyone else is having.”

Thanks to the Light God’s gift, the chefs of the Light Church finally discovered that the commander preferred fish and beef—his ahoge would sway slightly more when he ate those dishes.

The commander, eating while being watched by the chefs: “…”

The same thing happened during meetings.
One day, while Alvin was reading through some paperwork, Captain Miller suddenly snatched the document out of his hands.
“You should take a break.” Miller said seriously.

Alvin looked at him in confusion, “But today’s work isn’t done yet…”

Miller frowned and held up a mirror in front of him—in the reflection, Alvin’s face looked the same as usual, but his ahoge was drooping, limp and lifeless.

Alvin: “…”

He took a deep breath, trying to will the ahoge to stand back up energetically!
But it stayed limp.

The commander tried to argue, “This document is important, I can finish it—”
“No, you can’t.” Miller firmly refused. “Not until it—’ahem’, until you’ve recovered your energy, I won’t give you any more documents!”
“…”
Later on, even the faithful who passed by would unintentionally cast curious and friendly glances at the top of the commander’s head, until his ahoge pitifully curled up and hid in his hair under everyone’s gaze.
“You know, they’ve given your ahoge a name.” Cooper said. “It’s called [Brilliance].”
—[Brilliance] which in the common tongue of the continent, means “light.”
“I know.”
Alvin, the Child of Light, the Blade of the Lord, the One Whom All Look to, the Devout Believer, the Embodiment of Virtue, and the owner of the brilliant ahoge, said calmly.
He struggled to hold back a sob.
His ahoge didn’t hold back, trembling at an incredibly high frequency, fully displaying the commander’s inner turmoil.
“…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
Cooper burst into uncontrollable, maniacal laughter right in front of him.
Alvin: “…”
Daniel, standing nearby, tried to save the poor commander, quickly chiming in with a compliment, “I, I really like it!”
He earnestly added, “Brilliance is much more honest than Alvin!”
The ahoge trembled.
And its owner despairingly covered his face.

3
On the second day of the commander’s refusal to see anyone, His Holiness the Pope broke down the door with his staff.

“Brilliance is part of you, you should try to accept it, not avoid it.” Hilier said sincerely.

“No, please…” The commander, cornered by the Pope, whimpered, “…At least don’t call it by that name.”

Hilier looked at the little tuft of hair trying its hardest to shrink back into Alvin’s skull, feeling an unholy surge of joy. He couldn’t resist reaching out to grab it, and with a press of his thumb, he scrunched the poor little thing into a ball.

Alvin gasped.

“So, it has feelings?” Hilier asked curiously.
“No, but you’re pulling my hair, and you’re about to pull it out…” The commander, who didn’t dare resist, said pitifully.
Hilier lightened his touch.

The ahoge revived, gently rubbing against his palm.

The Pope blinked, looking at Alvin, who was completely unaware of his hair’s independent actions, and suddenly asked a strange question, “Do you think Brilliance could change color? Like, turn red?”

“Stop calling it that…” Alvin groaned weakly, “I don’t think so—uh?!”

The dual images of Alvin and the Light God separated, and Hilier glanced at the commander’s face, which was almost steaming with embarrassment, then at the stiff, lightning-struck state of his golden ahoge. He sighed regretfully, “It seems not…”

“…Ugh!”

4
The Light God’s previous vessel was damaged during the final battle, and it took a month before He created a new one, identical to the last, once again inheriting the name “Luke.”

When Alvin heard the news, he eagerly went to ask his Lord what was going on with the ahoge—he had expected that the “aftereffects” of [Divine Descent] would cause some physical damage, which would have been understandable… but why had it resulted in an ahoge?!

“That’s caused by residual fragments of my spiritual energy left in your body. Humans can’t absorb spiritual energy, so it’s being released this way.” Luke explained seriously. “Once all the energy is released, it will disappear. It won’t take long.”

Alvin sighed in relief.

“Probably just 150 years or so.” Luke added.
Alvin: “…”

Lord, it seems Your concept of time is getting even more out of sync with humans.
“Is there any way to speed it up?”
“Why would you want to speed it up?” Luke tilted his head in confusion, and the ahoge on his own head bent in curiosity. “What’s wrong with it?”

Alvin diplomatically replied, “It’s fine, but it doesn’t really suit me.”
Luke’s ahoge drooped in disappointment, “I really like it. Can’t you keep it?”

The commander summoned all his willpower to refuse: “No…”
Luke pouted stubbornly, “But I want to leave my favorite thing with my commander.”
“…”
The commander finally gave in to his Lord’s pleading, lowering his head in defeat, “…Alright, thank you for your gift.”
Luke’s ahoge perked back up with a happy wiggle, swaying energetically.

Fine, as long as the Lord is happy…
Alvin thought helplessly, when suddenly he saw Luke pull out a camera from his little bag.
“Can I take a picture of Brilliance?” Luke asked eagerly.
Alvin: “…”
Alvin: “…Wait, even ‘you’ know its name?!”

Aftereffects of Divine Descent – THE END

---

Be my Patron ~ Buy me Ko-Fi
✨Be a part of the story – support my translations✨
✨Buy me some Ko-FI | Paypal to support my effort✨
✨✨Advance chapter at Patreon✨✨