I walked into the castle—no, the divine temple. As expected, the interior décor was an explosion of pink, overflowing with a maidenly, princess-like charm. Everywhere, pink furniture and porcelain, edged with gold filigree, adorned the space. The floor was meticulously covered with pink carpets, embroidered with patterns of roses, truly a textbook example of a princess-style castle.
From time to time, divine servants dressed in maid outfits passed by.
Wait, maid outfits?
I turned my head, looking at the Agent.
She settled into a chair beside the table, accepting a pink, gold-filigreed teacup from a passing maid. Taking a delicate sip, she explained, “This was Aklys’s arrangement as well. She believes your divine servants dressed this way might fulfill a certain need of yours. Though I don’t quite understand it, it seemed rather pleasing to the eye, so I agreed.”
I paused, a moment of stupefaction washing over me. “Since it’s already like this, then so be it,” I conceded. ‘Miss Aklys, whom I had never met, had finally done something truly proper.’
She placed her teacup back on the table. “However, don’t celebrate too soon,” she cautioned, pausing for effect. “They aren’t working for free; they earn a salary. As a newly ascended deity, the Divine Realm will cover their wages for one year.
“But if, after a year, you can’t afford to pay them, then I’m afraid you’ll either have to bid them a tearful farewell, or pluck the feathers from your wings to compensate them. Your feathers are quite valuable, you see. A single feather can cover five or six years’ worth of one person’s salary. This temple only has a little over a hundred staff, so about a hundred feathers would suffice for five or six years.”
I recoiled, shrinking back in horror. ‘No, absolutely not!’ I thought desperately. I had once thought these feathers quite miraculous, even foolishly trying to pluck one, only to find it wouldn’t come out, leaving me rolling on the ground in agony for ages.
A hundred feathers? That would surely be the death of me!
“Then how do I earn money?” I asked, my face alight with desperate hope as I looked at the Agent.
She took another slow, unhurried sip of tea. ‘Watching her unhurried movements was truly agonizing.’
“There are many ways,” she finally began. “Typically, a High God would have their own ventures, but you… ah, well. Another option is to join the military.”
I froze, utterly stunned. “The Divine Realm has an army?” I blurted out.
She nodded. “After all, even a god is merely an ultra-high-level being, not omnipotent,” she explained. “Threats from other ultra-high-level worlds cannot be ignored. However, there’s no doubt that we represent the highest and most powerful level of existence.”
I continued to nod. “So, there shouldn’t be any danger, right?” I ventured.
She fixed me with a mischievous gaze. “Generally speaking, there’s no danger, as true battles rarely erupt,” she began, a hint of malice in her tone. “However, as a High Illusion God in the military, you’ll need to worry not only about enemy threats but also about assassinations from other deities belonging to rival factions.
“But don’t worry, they usually protect you quite well. That said, if a fight *does* break out, your opponents will undoubtedly try to eliminate you first, at all costs.”
A ripple of confusion crossed my face. “Don’t I usually not die? Can’t I be resurrected?” I questioned.
She nodded once more. “Theoretically, you won’t die, yes. But as a High Illusion God, it’s not impossible for the enemy to deploy a divine king’s artifact capable of guaranteed fatal damage,” she explained patiently. “After all, keeping you alive would introduce too many variables…”
I immediately shook my head. “Forget it, then. Working a job where I might lose my life? No thanks,” I declared. “What other options are there?”
The Agent pursed her lips, pondering for a long moment. “Given your circumstances, it seems there truly aren’t any other options,” she admitted. “You can’t perform Genesis, so you can’t create worlds and reap their offerings. For a High God, that’s quite shameful, really.”
“Genesis? You mean like the creation myth of God in the Western Bible from our world?” I pressed, eager for clarification.
She nodded. “Roughly so,” she confirmed.
I lunged forward, grabbing hold of her upper garment. “Then can you teach me?” I pleaded.
She squirmed, attempting to dislodge me, but found my grip surprisingly strong. Unable to shake me off, she resigned herself to letting me hang onto her. “I am merely a divine servant,” she stated, “How could I possibly perform Genesis? And I’m not a teacher; how could I instruct someone else in Genesis?”
My eyes lit up with sudden inspiration. “Then, does this Divine Realm have schools or anything similar?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes, it does. But have you considered whether learning Genesis is something you can master in a single year?”
Clutching her clothes even tighter, I changed tactics. “Then, do you have money?” I blurted out.
She answered without a moment’s hesitation. “No loans,” she stated firmly.
‘I seemed to catch a subtle hint. She was truly terrible at lying; if she had simply said no, I wouldn’t have suspected a thing.’ “So you *do* have it, then?” I pressed, my voice rising. “Aren’t you supposed to help the deity you’re responsible for when they’re in trouble?”
Her stance remained unyielding. “No loans means no loans,” she insisted.
I resorted to my secret technique: throwing a tantrum and being shamelessly unreasonable. “If you don’t lend it to me today, I won’t let go! Please, just lend it!” ‘To avoid having my feathers plucked, I was willing to go to any lengths.’
Finally, her patience snapped. “I’ll only lend you enough for five years of basic expenses,” she relented, “After that, you’re on your own.”
I quickly sprang off her, though in truth, clinging to her had been rather comfortable. ‘Had she not spoken, I might not have wanted to get down at all.’
“Excellent! Now I’ll have enough time to study Genesis,” I exclaimed, turning from the window to face the Agent. “Where are these schools?”
She took another sip of tea. “It’s not enrollment season right now,” she delivered the blow.
My spirits immediately deflated again. “Then, what should I do?” I asked, wide-eyed, staring at her.
“There are certainly ways…” she drawled, prolonging the suspense.
I continued to stare at her intently. “Here’s a letter of recommendation,” she said, finally emptying her teacup and producing a white envelope. “Naturally, you’ll have your pick of any school.”
It finally dawned on me: this Agent was definitely toying with me. “Can’t you just say everything at once?” I grumbled, a surge of annoyance rising within me. ‘This isn’t fair play!’
“No, I cannot,” she replied curtly. She stood up. “You should depart now. I have some matters to attend to and cannot accompany you. I will visit your academy when the time comes.” With that, she left.
Standing by the doorway, I pondered the situation carefully. ‘Hmm… I suddenly realized I seemed to have been thoroughly played this time.’
First, I had to maintain this castle, yet I couldn’t enjoy even a fraction of it.
Second, the letter of recommendation seemed to have been prepared all along.
I gazed out at the street, a wave of melancholy washing over me. ‘This was just unacceptable! To think that I, Big Dream Lord, a player renowned for my intelligence, could be tricked like this! I vowed to settle this score, sooner or later!’