At first, it was a sad creature born from an attempt to make a dog, but after various twists and turns, it ended up becoming a sacred relic of the Gun Rock Dragon that I apparently made myself.

Personally, it’s a bit of a dark chapter in my past, and after giving it to the Gun Rock Dragon as a gift and getting it out of my hands, I felt relieved…… only to now be seeing it again in a place like this.

I mean, how on earth did that statue get ranked number two!? When you really boil it down, it should only be worth as much as a statue made by an amateur. And yet, it’s ended up in the Phantom Item Ranking…… How?

"Regarding this 2nd place statue, this article contains the most unclear information, with much of it being mere rumors. We did as much investigative reporting as possible, but there are still many unknowns, so please keep in mind that what you’re reading is based on rumor-level information. The story begins on the first day of the Six Kings Festival, an invitation-only event. While unverified, there is persistent talk that at the time, the Six Kings, the Supreme Gods, Human Realm's three rulers, and even God of Creation Shallow Vernal-sama, along with an Otherworld God, all fought over ownership of a single statue. And that statue is said to have been the very same Winged Gun Rock Dragon."

……A- Ahh, I see now. True, it was decided by a game of rock-paper-scissors, but legendary figures like Shiro-san and Makina-san were among those who bet on that statue.

While the general audience had been evacuated outside the venue, that rumor must have spread afterward and elevated the status of the statue to a phantom item huh?

"The statue that the God of Creation Shallow Vernal-sama is said to have ultimately won ownership of is now strictly preserved in the Gun Rock Dragon’s settlement. How it ended up being passed from Shallow Vernal-sama to the Gun Rock Dragons remains unclear, but there are other strange aspects to this statue’s story. First of all, the identity of the creator is unknown. The statue was made by a challenger during a three-round match with the War King Megiddo-sama. There should have been many spectators at the venue that day…… yet no matter how much we investigated, we couldn’t uncover the details of that opponent. Some say it was a man, others say a woman. Some claim they were Human, while others say Demon. It is suspected that the challenger may have used Recognition Inhibition Magic or Information Concealment Magic."

O- Ohhh…… This might be thanks to Alice manipulating the information, but it seems there’s almost no data about me, which was a huge relief.

Even though there were a lot of spectators, the event was primarily attended only by invited guests and their pre-approved companions, so perhaps information control was relatively easy for Alice.

"Furthermore, there’s yet another strange story that highlights the oddity of this statue. Though this is still at the level of rumor, those who have attempted to investigate the Gun Rock Dragon statue too deeply are said to receive warnings from the Phantasmal King faction. One theory posits that during the conflict over the statue, a kind of agreement or pact was made between the Supreme Gods and the Six Kings, and that this is being deliberately kept secret. As for whether this article received any warning from the Phantasmal King’s faction, or whether it underwent any censorship, that is left up to the reader’s imagination."

It's a rather complicated situation, but as a result of the information being concealed…… that statue, and by extension, I, the one who made it, have ended up being treated like some kind of taboo-level urban legend. It’s hard to describe exactly how that makes me feel.

That said, if it were revealed that I was the creator, things would just get even more troublesome, so honestly, I’m grateful the information has been so thoroughly hidden.

“Considering all this information, perhaps this statue ought to have taken the number one spot. However, due to the overwhelming lack of clarity and detail, we ultimately decided to place it at number two. Why did the Gods and the Six Kings clash over the statue? What were the circumstances that led to the God of Creation Shallow Vernal-sama obtaining it? And why is it now stored in the Gun Rock Dragon’s dwelling? Who is the mysterious challenger who created such a statue…… The questions are endless, but the story is filled with a certain romantic allure.”

Well, yeah. If we assume that all information about me at the Six Kings Festival has been perfectly hidden, then there’s no way anyone could reasonably guess why the statue is now in the possession of the Gun Rock Dragons.

It's like one of those “mystery begets mystery” stories…… Though in reality, I just fulfilled my promise to go on a date with Shiro-san, got the statue back, and then, on a whim, gave it as a gift to the Gun Rock Dragon who had won the Dragon Carnival. No trace of “romantic allure” to be found in that reason…… but, well, whatever……

Still, for that sad little creature to become a sacred relic of the Gun Rock Dragons, and now even be called an urban-legend-class phantom item…… Its rise in status is so absurd, I can’t help but look up at the sky in disbelief.

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Afterword

Serious-senpai : [Ah, looks like Alice tweaked the other information related to the Six Kings Festival too, and completely hid anything about Kaito…… The fact that she did it without even telling him, yep, that’s her usual devoted self, alright.]