Keiichi, Belldandy, and Urd must help Sayoko believe that Belldandy is a goddess after an anki—a creature that makes people question their reality— attaches itself to the top of her head.
Summary
Heads quickly turn at Nekomi Tech when a Mercedes makes a dramatic entrance. The driver is Sayoko, who has worn a flashy outfit to campus and wows the male onlookers with a wink. However, while she loves the gazes she's getting from her admirers, she feels that it's mostly pointless, as Belldandy isn't present on campus due to the summer break. Just as she wishes for Belldandy to show up so she can compete with her, Belldandy suddenly appears through an outdoor mirror right next to her.
Sayoko is too shocked at what happens to respond, but she eventually snaps out of it. She accuses Belldandy of being a witch who transforms with a magic chant, secretly being an idol singer, as well as having a witch rival. She claims to know all about her kind due to watching television, and she doesn't believe Belldandy when she tries tells her that she's a goddess, not a witch, and suspects did a magic trick to appear out of nowhere. Suddenly, Belldandy notices a strange creature on Sayoko's shoulder, but Sayoko doesn't notice anything and walks away, leaving Belldandy confused as to what she saw.
Sayoko continues doubting the existence of gods and goddesses right as Urd accidentally appears in front of her on a flying broom. However, Sayoko thinks Urd is just playing dress-up and make-believe and again walks away, unaware that the creature Belldandy saw earlier has attached itself to the back of her neck. Meanwhile, Keiichi finds Belldandy and learns of her encounter with Sayoko. Then, Urd meets them and asks if they've seen a strange critter that she needs to quickly capture, and after describing what it looks like, Belldandy realizes that it's the same thing that she saw on Sayoko. As it turns out, this creature is an anki, whose egg was accidentally mailed to Urd when she attempted to order an angel's egg.
As Belldandy and Urd explain to Keiichi, an anki is a demonic creature that feeds off a person's ability to trust and believe, and now that it's attached to Sayoko, she has lost her ability to believe in anything. Worse yet, as it continues feeding off Sayoko, it will grow and grow until it crushes her! Urd says that removing the anki will be difficult, as Sayoko will die if they don't do it properly. However, these creatures are only attracted to those who already have doubts—in this case, Sayoko not believing that Belldandy is a goddess. Thus, if they could convince her of that, they can remove the anki.
As Sayoko continues walking around campus and complaining about feeling heavy, a man gets her attention and asks her out for dinner, but she rudely turns him down and claims that all men only care about women for their bodies. Belldandy, Urd, and Keiichi then catch up with her and ask if she can come with them for a moment, but she suspects they're either going to harvest her organs or sell her into slavery. Nonetheless, they find a secluded area where Belldandy magically changes into her goddess outfit in front of Sayoko to prove she is one. However, Sayoko thinks that Belldandy is merely a quick-change artist. Seeing the anki growing on her head, Belldandy ups the ante and summons her angel Holy Bell, but Sayoko thinks Holy Bell is just a poorly made costume, which makes her cry. Urd tries her hand and phases through two walls in front of Sayoko, but she simply thinks Urd sawed herself in half. Keiichi then pleads with Sayoko to trust them, but she is confused as to what she must trust them with, and she wanders off as Keiichi and Urd get into a brief argument about him not being helpful.
Sayoko runs into her cousin Toshiyuki, who notices that she is in a bad mood, but she accuses him of being fake because the Aoshima she knows is a narcissistic creep who doesn't care about other people. She proceeds to grab his face and tries ripping his "mask" off before Keiichi, Belldandy, and Urd catch up to her. Sayoko then tells them that since they keep calling her Sayoko, that must mean she is not that person! She then goes further and says that not only are they not real, but neither is the world and that it's just an illusion to trick her!
Sayoko rushes up the stairs of one of the campus buildings with Belldandy following behind, saying that if the world doesn't exist, then she doesn't exist either! She reaches the roof and hops the railing to fall to the ground below, but Belldandy spreads open her goddess wings and catches Sayoko in her arms. She tells her that she doesn't need to believe that she's a goddess, but that she must still believe in herself, as that is what makes her who she is. Sayoko finally thinks that Belldandy is telling the truth, and the anki loosens its grip on her and is immediately caught in a net by Urd.
Upon reaching the ground, Sayoko tells Keiichi she won't tell anyone about what happened, as nobody would believe her. Unfortunately, she is right back to where she started and tells Belldandy she always knew she was a witch!
Trivia
- With the exception of a brief cameo in "The Man Who Invites Misfortune", this is the first time that Sayoko has appeared in thirty-one chapters, with the last time being the chapter "The Queen of Vengeance", which was also centered around her.
- This is additionally the first time Aoshima has appeared in twenty-six chapters, with the last time being the chapter "Lunchbox with Love".
- When Sayoko accuses Belldandy of having pulled a magic trick, she offhand references a person named Hikida Tenko, a real-life singer-turned-magician who is better known by her stage name Princess Tenko.
- This is the second chapter to feature Sayoko on it's cover after her debut chapter 5.