I shot up, a pained groan escaping my mouth as I awoke. I was in my room. I wiped away the sweat that had been collecting on my forehead as I looked out the window and saw a soft beam of light pouring in from the gap between the curtains.
It was morning, and it appeared I had woken up early once again. I got out of bed and walked towards the source of the sunlight. I flung the windows open, my eyes squinting at the light shining on me. The cold, fresh air washing over me felt nice.
Though I’d woken up in the worst way, this morning sun felt like it made up for it, leaving things at a net zero.
I still can’t believe that a god showed up in my dream. Maybe it’s a sign that I’m going to die.
“What a weird dream...” I mumbled to myself.
“It wasn’t a dream.”
“What the?!”
I definitely heard a voice coming from behind me, at very close range. It was the voice of a prepubescent boy. I quickly turned back and scanned the room but couldn’t find the boy behind the voice.
Am I still dreaming? I thought to myself as I kept my guard up and pinched my own cheek.
“It...doesn’t hurt?”
“I don’t think that’s because you’re dreaming, but rather that your nerves that sense pain are dead,” the voice mocked. “I’m right here.”
There it was again. It was coming from the floor...no, from my shadow, cast by the sunlight shining on my back. As I stared at my shadow, the human-shaped silhouette slowly trembled. Ripples began to form on the shadow, like it was water, and a black-haired boy appeared from within.
“This is our first time meeting in the real world, my priestess. I’m—”
I was used to things appearing from my shadow. In the dungeon I used to frequent, there was a monster known as a Shadow Assassin, which would ambush people by jumping out of their shadows. It was annoying at first, but I had conditioned reflexes that could handle these monsters; the moment something came out of my shadow, I would automatically attack—that was just how my body was trained to react.
Of course, the same thing would happen even if the thing that appeared from my shadow was a young boy who looked nothing but human. Before I knew it, I had kicked the boy, who still hadn’t fully emerged from my shadow, in the chin.
“I’m the god of darkne— Whoa!”
“Oops, sorry.”
I caught myself just barely in time to reduce the amount of force I was using. The boy went flying, bouncing off the ceiling before falling onto my bed. His refined features seemed to survive my attack without getting destroyed.
Phew, glad he’s okay... He is okay, right?
The boy pressed his hands against his chin as he stood up. “Ouch... Jeez, I know how rough you can be, but wasn’t that a bit much?”
“I’m sorry, it’s muscle memory at this point. So...who are you?”
“Like I said in your dream, I’m Lemn, the god presiding over darkness, but you can just call me Lemn,” the self-proclaimed god said as his expression softened into a smile.
There’s no way he’s just a human when he appeared from my shadow. Is he really a god?
There were so many questions I had for him: what exactly a god was, why he’d called me a priestess, and whether I could also enter people’s shadows. The most important was, of course, finding out how I could enter shadows—everything else paled in comparison. Just as I was about to start asking my questions, I heard Patrick calling to me from outside my room.
“Are you awake, Yumiella? What was that sound?”
“Oh, that was, um...”
Patrick had heard the sound of Lemn slamming into the ceiling as well.
Maybe I should have him sit in on me questioning Lemn... Wait. A strange boy with a pretty face in my bed this early in the morning... There’s no doubt about it—he’s going to think I’m cheating.
Despite the fact that Patrick trusted me, I was fated to be constantly misunderstood. It would be terrible timing to be suspected of infidelity now, when we had a wedding coming up.
The door slowly opened as if ignoring the fact that I was frozen, leaving me panicking at the crisis I was facing.
“Yumiella? I’m coming in,” Patrick announced.
“Wait! I’m completely naked right now!”
“What?!”
The door that was about to open was shut vigorously.
All right, that should’ve bought me some time.
The culprit behind this dire situation himself was sitting on my bed, without a care in the world.
“What’s wrong? You’re dressed.”
“Hurry, you have to hide.”
Where should I hide him? The closet? That feels too obvious, I’m going to get caught. Why did this even happen? There’s no way Patrick would believe someone appeared from my shadow... That’s right, my shadow! He came from my shadow, after all—my shadow’s the best place for him to go. Return to whence you came!
I dragged Lemn off my bed and shoved him against my shadow.
“Come on, get back into the shadow.”
“Ow, that hurts! That won’t even work!”
Despite using my strength to press the boy into the shadow, all that I got was a creaking floor.
Do I need to use more force? I thought to myself before grabbing the boy and slamming him into the floor with all my might. I slammed him against the floor over and over, as if I were kneading dough.
“Come on!” I grunted.
“Ow! Hey! Stop!”
I repeatedly picked up the black-haired boy before throwing him at the floor. All that came of it was the sound of something hitting the floor.
Maybe I’m throwing him in the wrong direction? He appeared from his head, so maybe he needs to go back in headfirst?
I repositioned my grip to hold Lemn upside down and tried throwing him into the shadow from his head. I swung him up and down several times, like a drink labeled “shake well.” It looked like brute forcing this wasn’t going to work, so I had no other choice but to try a bunch of things and see what worked.
“Go back, go back. Please, go back where you came from,” I pleaded. Lemn didn’t respond.
It’s no use, he’s not going back in.
All the commotion caused by my trial and error until this point had been audible to Patrick on the other side of the wall.
“What in the world is that sound?! I’m coming in!” His patience had run out, and he barged into the room.
“No, wait, hold on!”
Patrick froze upon seeing me. Of course he would; his fiancée was alone with some strange, pretty boy in her bedroom. It was obvious why he would be suspicious of me cheating.
It’s okay, there’s nothing illicit going on here. I’m sure he’ll understand if I just explain things honestly.
“This isn’t what it looks like!” I exclaimed. “Come on, you help explain things too, Lemn.”
Huh...? Um, god of darkness? Can you please say something?
The boy that I was holding upside down was silent with his eyes shut. He almost seemed lifeless.
Patrick, who had been stunned, finally opened his mouth. “Y-You’ve finally gone and done it...”
I couldn’t fault him for suspecting me of infidelity after witnessing this scene, but he said I’d “finally gone and done it.” That meant he’d expected that I would cheat one day. I’d never realized that he trusted me so little. This shocking discovery weighed heavily on my chest as I was overcome with pain and sadness.
That’s not what happened at all... It’s just a misunderstanding...
“You’ve finally gone and...killed someone!”
“Hold on, that’s really not what happened!”
◆◆◆
Lemn was alive. There was no way I would let myself become a murderer—no, a god-killer. It was definitely bad to kill a god.
After the passed-out Lemn regained consciousness, I had him show Patrick how he could appear from and reenter my shadow. After finishing that exchange of information, we had him explain things.
“Hm, where should I begin?” Lemn wondered aloud.
“You should start with how to enter shadows, obviously. Can I do it too? Are there any tricks to getting it right?”
“That’s something only I have the power to do, so you wouldn’t be able to do it no matter how hard you tried.”
“I see... I have no further questions, then. You can go home if you’d like,” I said as I pointed towards my feet. As soon as I found out that I couldn’t enter shadows, my interest in Lemn quickly diminished.
Lemn returned my cold, disinterested gaze with puppy-dog eyes. “Aren’t you curious about who I am, miss? I don’t think you believe that I’m a god.”
“It’s not like I would treat you any differently whether you’re a god or not.”
“Hey, miss, you’re my priestess, you know?”
“Can you decide whether I’m ‘miss’ or ‘your priestess’?”
I don’t care anymore. The fact that I can’t enter shadows is all I needed to know.
“I’ve never heard of a god of darkness named Lemn; are you really a god?” Patrick asked, seeing how the boy was slightly tearing up.
“I know, right? Isn’t it all fishy?”
“We know that you’re not just a regular child since you can go in and out of shadows, but... I’m sorry for suspecting you like this.”
“You’re so kind, mister...” Lemn said as he gave Patrick a faint smile. Since they were both good looking, the scene was quite picturesque.
I’ll shut my mouth, then. I’m just a decorative houseplant.
“It’s understandable that you wouldn’t have heard of me,” Lemn continued. “My faith has long been lost...or should I say, had been lost.”
“Does that mean that faith in the god of darkness is being revived? Does that have anything to do with you calling Yumiella a priestess?”
“You’re sharp—that’s right. Um, how should I phrase this... There’s like, faith energy? And that energy is pouring into me through her.” Lemn and Patrick then turned to look at me.
Hey now, I’m not doing some religious-leader-type thing like that. I guess my time being a plant is over.
“I never even believed in the existence of gods until yesterday.”
“Many of my believers are near here, so I’m pretty sure that’s what’s happening.”
“Do you know exactly where these believers are?”
“Of course, I think they’re actually within walking distance.”
That meant they were definitely in Dolkness County.
I don’t like the idea of some unknown religion forming so close to me. It looks like I’m getting mixed up in it in some form too.
Why had this lost religion revived in my territory? Why had faith in the god of darkness even ceased in the first place? I hadn’t considered it because of his pretty face, but there was a possibility that he wasn’t a very good god.
“I have a question too,” I began. “Can you explain in specific terms what exactly a god of darkness is?”
“Isn’t that a bit too abstract a question? I guess it’s fine. I’m one of the six gods born simultaneously with the creation of this world. I preside over various things, like darkness, the night, the moon, dreams, illusions, monsters, dungeons—”
“Hold on. Does that mean you’re the god of monsters? Doesn’t that make you an enemy of mankind?” It was no wonder that faith in this god had died out. My wariness of Lemn grew another level, and I could feel Patrick brace himself beside me.
Monsters couldn’t be separated from the history of this world—the two were endlessly entangled. There were countless kingdoms that had been wiped out by monsters, and wars had been repeatedly started in search of areas where monsters wouldn’t spawn.
Lemn let out a sigh, shaking his head to signal that we had it all wrong. “Nope. Monsters are part of the world’s metabolism. They’re needed in order to cycle all the magical energy in the world. They’re basically a natural phenomenon. Water is necessary in this world, but there are people who die in floods, right?”
“So you created monsters for the world’s benefit?”
“Nope, that’s also wrong. When I was born, most of this world’s systems were pretty much completed. The only things I created were dungeons and magical instruments. I also gathered monsters underground, where people wouldn’t go, and provided tools that couldn’t be made by humans... I’ve done a lot to help humans, you know?” Lemn said with a pout as he turned away. Perhaps this childlike attitude was also to make us let our guard down.
It was true that magical instruments were helpful. Human-made magical instruments all seemed to be made based off dungeon-made items, and they used magical stones obtained from monsters as their source of power. There was no doubt that Lemn’s creations bettered our lives.
However, there was something I understood because of my memories of my past life: while being beneficial, magical instruments were also standing in the way of scientific advancement. Technology had stopped making progress several hundreds of years ago in this world.
He probably provided tools for the benefit of humans, in the way that a parent worried for their child would. However, would a parent be in the right to stand in the way of their child’s growth? Was a god that only gave gifts without also allowing for independence an ally or enemy of mankind?
Actually deeply thinking about something for once, I had fallen silent. Patrick hadn’t said anything either, perhaps lost in his own thoughts. Seeing us quiet like this, Lemn stopped pretending to sulk and continued speaking.
“On top of all that, isn’t it difficult to level grind without monsters? It’s precisely because you’re taking down monsters, whose bodies are completely constructed out of magical energy, that people can gain power.”
“Lemn! I’m so sorry for doubting you, you’re a wonderful god. Let’s build a shrine for you.”
I see now, he’s the god of level grinding. Why didn’t he say anything sooner? You’re the GOAT (god of all time), Lemn. Who cares about, what was it again, scientific advancement? It has nothing to do with me. I honestly couldn’t care less.
Upon watching me fall to my knees and hang my head, Patrick mumbled, “Are you really okay with that, Yumiella? Well...I guess this is how you usually are.”
“Oh, so this is normal behavior for her?” Lemn asked.
Do they think I’m someone who only cares about level grinding? How dare they?
Regardless of what they thought, the important thing right now was level grinding. I was already level 99 when I entered the Academy. No matter how many monsters I’d taken down since then, my level hadn’t increased. I’d given up on increasing my level any further, having thought that the level cap was just a part of how this world worked.
But now, after all this time, there was a ray of hope. A god might know the way to unlock the level cap.
“Do you know how to increase the level cap, Lemn?”
“I’ve been watching you all this time, miss, but you’re actually kind of intimidating to talk to.”
“Is there a level higher than 99, or is there not?” I looked up and met the boy’s eyes. If I just asked with sincerity, he would surely answer my question.
Look into these pure eyes of mine. They’re not the eyes of someone who would level grind to carry out nefarious acts, are they?
“Your eyes are scaring me, miss.”
“The level cap unlocking, please.”
“There are several different methods to do that,” Lemn finally said after a short pause. “The shackles on levels are just a law of this world, and only operate within the context of each given world, so...”
I wanted to know specifics; I couldn’t care less about the laws of this world or theory. I silently stared into Lemn’s eyes. His black irises reflected the face of a woman who, despite looking expressionless, was exerting an incredible aura.
“Fine, I’ll tell you so don’t stare at me so much,” he complained. “But I need to explain things in order, so let me start from the way the world works... You might not believe this, but there are an infinite number of other worlds, in other words parallel worlds, aside from this one.”
“Do you mean separate continents?” Patrick asked. I knew from personal experience that otherworlds existed, but this was likely a difficult topic for Patrick to wrap his head around.
“No, there are several entire worlds that exist. It’s known for sure that everything in the world, from the sun and the moon to continents and people, all exist in places that, although they appear similar, are completely separate and will never converge.”
I still wasn’t sure how otherworlds were related to unlocking the level cap, but I couldn’t leave Patrick behind in the conversation. I decided to add my own explanation to help him understand.
“They’re worlds that can have differently shaped continents, or have different levels of development, or not have magic and things like that...right?”
“No, that’s wrong.”
“What?”
“What you’re talking about are...worlds different from this one. I think they’re called otherworlds? They exist in theory, but they’re out of my observational range, so I can’t say they exist for sure.”
Now that I think about it, he said parallel worlds, not otherworlds. I see, so we’re talking science fiction, not fantasy. Sorry for confusing you, Patrick.
“I see. So parallel worlds are worlds that are generally the same as the one we’re in, with differences in the details.”
“That’s it! You’re surprisingly smart, miss!”
I’d grown up seeing all kinds of futuristic gadgets on TV, so I had a basic understanding of science fiction.
I don’t know if parallel worlds were covered though. Maybe exploring alternate timelines counts as covering parallel worlds?
Patrick seemed to kind of understand after hearing our conversation. “In other words,” he began, “there are other worlds almost identical to this one, and the people in this world also exist in those worlds...?”
“Yup, that’s pretty much it,” Lemn responded.
“Do Yumiella and I exist in those worlds?”
“There are as many versions of you as there are worlds. Of course, of you as well, miss...”
I get it. Parallel worlds. I guess if otherworlds exist then it’s not so strange for parallel words to also exist. So, what does that have to do with unlocking the level cap? Can you please get on with it?
“Like I said earlier, the shackles limiting levels are a law that only operates inside each individual world. Imagine a tree. Of the countless branches spread out across the tree, one is this world. There’s one of each of you in each of the branches.”
“So one branch is a single world?” I asked.
“Exactly. While you’re in that one world, the level limits will continue to operate. In order to be freed from those shackles, you, a resident of the branch, have to become a resident of the tree.”
From the branch to the tree...
Though Lemn’s explanation felt poetic and convoluted, it made sense to me right away. All I had to do was go from being a resident of this world, to a resident of the infinite parallel worlds that existed... It sounded impossible.
“Wouldn’t that be difficult?” I asked.
“There are several ways to do it. You could take down a being that outranks you, like a resident of the tree.”
“A being that outranks me... So a god? Will my level cap unlock if I defeat you?”
“Heh heh, would you like to find out?” Lemn asked with a mischievous smile.
I see, I get it now. There’s only one thing for me to do, then.
Just as I was about to pounce on the boy before me, I was restrained from behind.
That was too quick. Did he anticipate me making a move? Also, the force he’s using to hold me back is stronger than I expected.
“Let go of me, Patrick!” I exclaimed. “I can’t kill him like this!”
“You’re going to die!” Patrick called out to Lemn. “Hurry up and run! I won’t be able to hold her back for much longer!”
“A-All right.” Lemn nodded. After hearing Patrick’s warning, he finally made a move. He made his way towards us for some reason.
I see, he’s going to escape by going into my shadow. Unfortunately, my shadow is not only his escape route but also where I attack from.
“Shadow Lance.”
Countless black spears appeared from my shadow, into which Lemn was trying to flee. The spears all plunged into Lemn—he didn’t have time to dodge. The moment I thought I had won, however, something unexpected happened.
Just as they touched Lemn, the Shadow Lance spears all disappeared. The dark magical energy that had dissipated slowly disappeared as if it was being sucked up by him.
“Why...?”
“Heh heh. Did you really think that you could harm me, the god of darkness, who is darkness itself, with dark magic? Jeez, I got worked up for no reason,” he said with a composed smile.
Dark magic doesn’t work on him? Would my spell with the most firepower, Black Hole, also not work? I’m not giving up yet. If magic doesn’t work, then...
Patrick’s grip restraining me grew stronger.
Shoot, he noticed. But Lemn has totally lowered his guard. Now is my best chance.
“Run!” Patrick shouted. “Yumiella won’t stop just because her magic won’t work!”
“Mister?”
“Let go of me, Patrick! If magic doesn’t work, I’ll just punch him with physical force!”
“J-Jeez, you’re strong.”
“Aaargh! Let goooo!”
I already knew that physical attacks were effective on Lemn because of everything that’d happened before Patrick arrived. Even a god could be taken down with a few good punches.
I flailed my legs around while still being held back from behind to show Lemn that I’d kick him if he got close to my shadow. Having lost his escape route, his face tensed up.
I don’t care if you beg for your life.
“H-Hey, miss,” Lemn began. “How does it feel to be embraced by the man you love?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden...? Hurry up and run!” Patrick shouted angrily upon hearing the boy’s flippant words. I could hear Patrick’s voice right by my ear.
Ugh, his kind voice is nice, but the tone he’s using now is also good. He sounds angry, but it’s out of concern for Lemn’s safety, so it’s actually kind too. Not only that, but he’s using a loud voice, and it’s right by my ear. It’s like listening to his voice at an earsplitting volume... This is the best.
Now that I think about it, he’s embracing me from behind right now. Our bodies are touching more than they ever have before. Doing something like this in front of a child... Patrick is so bold. Hugging me so tight that it hurts... Well, it doesn’t hurt, but let’s just say it does. It hurts.
“Patrick... It hurts to be embraced so tightly...”
“What?”
“It’s still morning, but, um, if you insist, then we can...”
“Huh?”
“But Lemn is watching, so...it’s embarrassing. I’d rather do things like this when we’re alone.” I stopped resisting and surrendered myself to Patrick, and in turn Patrick slowly let go of me.
Huh? We could’ve just stayed cuddled up like that forever.
I turned back to find Patrick sighing with an incredibly fatigued look on his face. Lemn also sighed at the same time, layering the sounds of their exhales.
Don’t add unnecessary noise to Patrick’s sounds, Lemn.
“I really thought I was going to die,” Lemn said, relieved.
“I apologize. I didn’t think that would stop Yumiella, though.”
“Heh heh, she wants to fire an ‘I love you’ barra—”
“Aaagh!” I shouted in an attempt to erase Lemn’s words as he was about to reveal what had happened in my dream. By bringing up unlocking the level cap again, I could hopefully divert the conversation away from this. “So! Is it true that I could level up by defeating you, Lemn?”
Patrick braced himself, anticipating I would launch into an attack again.
“That’s a lie,” Lemn said, beaming.
“What...?”
“I asked if you wanted to find out, but the truth is that the shackles limiting levels won’t come off just by defeating me. If people are residents of the branches, that would make me the caretaker of the branches. There’s one of me for every parallel world, just like humans.”
“Does that mean your level maxes out at 99 too?”
“Yup. I’m just a helpless boy who exists in this single world.”
What the hell, my rampage was all for nothing. All that did was unnecessarily use up strength. Patrick’s strength, that is.
“When it comes to topics like levels and strength, jokes go over Yumiella’s head,” Patrick, the biggest victim of this all, said in a fatigued tone. “I hope you’ll refrain from making any more jokes.”
“I see, I’m sorry about that, mister. I didn’t think she would act that irrationally.” Lemn and Patrick both turned to look at me.
I thought this earlier as well, but do they think I’m someone who only cares about level grinding? I’m not.
Regardless of what they thought, the important thing right now was unlocking the level cap.
“So I need to defeat a god that’s...a higher rank than you, Lemn?”
“You haven’t given up yet...? Well, you’re right... There are gods that rank above me and have influence over all the countless parallel worlds. They would be caretakers of the tree. But those jerks rarely ever show their faces.”
“Jerks? Aren’t they technically, like, your bosses?”
“I might not be an exemplary god,” Lemn began after a short pause. “But the one thing I won’t stand is someone grouping me together with those jerks. You should also be wary of anything they say to you, if you ever talk to them.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m taking everything you say with a grain of salt too.”
“I guess there’s no harm in being cautious... But you shouldn’t say that to people’s faces, it’s hurtful.”
Perhaps unlocking the level cap wasn’t feasible. It seemed my chances of meeting a god ranking higher than Lemn were incredibly low.
But wait, didn’t Lemn say there were several methods?
“What are the other methods, besides defeating a higher being?”
“You’re really persistent.”
“What did you say?”
“Fine, I’ll tell you.”
It felt like we’d already had this exchange earlier as well. It was the boy’s fault for being so pretentious and withholding. Lemn began explaining the second method.
“Basically, you need to break free from being a single-world being. You just have to become the you of multiple worlds.”
“So I should take down my other selves in the parallel worlds?”
“Exactly. That doesn’t mean you have to defeat all the other versions of you though. Even if you take down just one and become a being straddling two worlds, the level-limiting shackles will come off.”
A battle royale of all the versions of me from parallel worlds, gathered together. The last me standing will reign as the strongest me. This is starting to sound like a death game. That in itself is making this whole thing feel unrealistic. I don’t know if I could kill another me, even if it was for level grinding...
“That seems unfeasible. I can’t kill someone just to level up.”
“What...? Weren’t you trying to kill me just moments ago?”
“You aren’t a human, you’re a god, so...”
Why is he asking a question with such an obvious answer? People and gods are completely different.
Lemn, who seemed to be deeply confused, turned to Patrick and signaled for help with his eyes.
“I don’t know either,” Patrick responded. “I thought I understood Yumiella’s moral values, but...”
“Are you really going to marry someone like this, mister? I think you should reconsider.”
“Well, that’s... I decided that I would look after her for the rest of our lives. There’s nothing I can do about it. I’ve given up, and I’ve made up my mind.”
I heard that, Patrick. You said you’re determined to stay by my side for the rest of our lives. Patrick just loves me so much. Jeez, what am I gonna do with you? It’s my fault that Patrick’s love has bloomed so much, to the point that I can’t accept it all. I’ll take responsibility. You’re really putting me in a hard spot here... This is bad. My mind was about to float away somewhere.
I set all my “troubles” aside for later—for now, I needed to get information from Lemn.
“Just asking for a friend, but how can one go to a parallel world?”
“What? You still haven’t given up?”
Both Patrick and Lemn looked exasperated.
And I even used the precautionary “asking for a friend” line...
If it was possible to open a portal to a parallel world, I would want to go. I would meet the parallel-world version of myself, and...I could think about what to do after that once I got there. I would want to make a choice that wouldn’t leave me with regret, after discussing things with my other self.
But, would the version of me in the parallel world truly be me? Would it be a me like my current self, where I had the memories of my past life, or would it be a me that was just Yumiella as she was in the game? The situation would be quite different depending on the kind of me that my parallel-world self was.
Regardless, all these what-ifs were nothing but empty speculation without actually being able to go to a parallel world. Judging from how Lemn had been acting, it didn’t seem that he could do something like open a portal to another dimension.
“Going to a parallel world... Yeah, I can’t do that.”
“I knew it,” I sighed.
“I can communicate with other versions of myself from parallel worlds to a certain extent, but I don’t think I can physically go between the worlds.”
That’s what I expected. I guess it’s impossible after all. My chances of meeting a higher being are slim, and I can’t meet myself from a parallel world. It feels like the ray of hope for my future has vanished.
“Is there any other way to unlock the level cap aside from those two methods?” I asked.
“You really can’t let this go, can you?”
“Well? Is there?”
“There could be,” Lemn began. “But I don’t know it.”
After letting my expectations soar, this god threw me into the depths of despair.
I was now faced with the hopeless truth that surpassing level 99 just wasn’t feasible. I hadn’t been this depressed since the time my favorite character wasn’t in the newest title of one of my favorite game franchises. I was just that shaken up.
I returned to my bed and slowly sat down, slightly sinking into the mattress as my heart sank even further. Patrick and Lemn took notice of the gloomy air around me, and appeared to be put off by how upset I was.
Just then, a cheerful voice that didn’t match the somber atmosphere rang out. It was Eleanora.
“Yumiella? Are you in your room?”
We had talked for quite a bit, to the point it was around the time that Eleanora, who always overslept, woke up. I got up and called out to the other side of the door.
“I’m in here.”
“I’m surprised to see you sleeping in, Yumiella.”
“I’ve been awake since early this morning. I just...”
Hold on. If Eleanora just came in right now she would see Lemn. I just know it’s going to be annoying to deal with. I can hear her surprised voice yelling, “What?! You had a younger brother this whole time, Yumiella?!”
I decided that we could take our time to deal with all of that after we’d finished talking to Lemn.
“Get into a shadow.” With that short command, Lemn moved right away. I was relieved that at the very least I wouldn’t have to slam him onto the floor again. As soon as he’d hidden away in Patrick’s shadow, which had been closest to him, the door opened.
“Breakfast will get cold if you... Oh my!” Eleanora covered her mouth with her hand and looked back and forth between Patrick and me as her face flushed.
Why is this happening? We definitely hid the black-haired god.
I was standing while Patrick was sitting in a chair—there shouldn’t have been anything strange about this sight. As I was perplexed by her strange reaction, Eleanora finally squeezed the words out in a quiet tone.
“Um... If you two are in the middle of something, I wish you would have just told me so.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I understand that the two of you are lovers, so you partake in those sorts of things, however... I do think you ought to be locking the door.”
“Um, it’s not what you’re thinking...” Eleanora had a huge misunderstanding about what was going on here. More than that, though, I was shocked to find out that she knew about “those sorts of things.”
No way, it’s not true. Whatever the wholesome, innocent Eleanora was imagining was completely different from what my sleazy mind was thinking. I would bet my soul on it. I’ll even throw in Patrick’s soul too.
“Anyways, it’s not what you’re thinking,” I repeated. “I was just talking with Patrick.”
“B-But, Yumiella! Dressing like that in front of a gentleman is a bit...”
Dressing like what?
I looked down to check what I was wearing, but it was just my usual pajamas: a top and bottom with polka dots, and a triangular nightcap. I had been in these clothes since I woke up. It was a perfectly normal outfit to sleep in...
“Is it that strange?” I asked.
“I’m saying that it’s disgraceful to be appearing before others in the clothes you sleep in. Also, I’ve never seen that kind of hat outside picture books.”
I see, so it’s bad to meet with the opposite sex in your pajamas. Though, I took out the trash in my pajamas plenty of times in my past life. Well, technically my pajamas were my high school tracksuit.
Clearing up this misunderstanding was too much of a hassle, and I still had things I wanted to talk to Lemn about. I decided to have Eleanora leave.
“My apologies. Well then, we’ll lock the door and get back to it.”
“G-Get back to it?!”
“Yes, we’ll be continuing what we were doing before. Would you like to stay and watch?”
“Wh— That’s, um, I... I! I will be heading out for a bit!” Just as I had expected, Eleanora’s face turned bright red, and she ran out of the room. She would usually take any opportunity to watch romantic scenes between us, but it seemed that this one was too stimulating.
After listening to her footsteps to confirm she was long gone, I closed the door, locking it just to be safe.
“That’s taken care of, then.”
“You might think you succeeded, but I think it’s just going to be more trouble for you later,” Patrick said.
“We can clear up the misunderstanding if you just deny it too.”
“I think it’s too late for that,” he grumbled, pressing his forehead.
If it bothers you that much you should’ve just denied it right then and there. Anyways, I’ll deal with Eleanora later. My main focus right now is the god of darkness.
I crouched down and spoke to my shadow. “Let’s continue our conversation. You can come out now, Lemn.”
“Did the young miss leave already?”
“The young miss...? Oh, you mean Lady Eleanora.”
“Yeah, that young miss that’s loved to the point of overprotection.”
So I’m “miss,” and Eleanora is “young miss.” The two are hard to tell apart; maybe it was for the best that Eleanora left the room. Also, is it her father he’s calling overprotective? It can’t be me; I don’t spoil her that much. All I want is to do everything I can to grant her wishes.
Anyways. What did I want to ask Lemn about? I need to first organize all the information I’ve gotten... All I can remember is stuff about leveling. I think before that Patrick asked a question... Right, now I remember. It was about the revival of believers in the god of darkness within Dolkness County. I can’t just look the other way when a suspicious religion is forming in my county.
“How about we go to the place where Lemn’s being prayed to?”
“Sounds good. Didn’t you say you’d be building me a shrine, my priestess?”
“Excuse me? Why would I build something weird like that?” I had only ever said that because I had mistakenly thought that Lemn was a good god who presided over leveling. Now that I knew he was an evil god who dangled methods of unlocking level caps in front of people only to drop them from heaven into the depths of hell, I had no obligation to do such a thing.
I was standing there, ignoring Lemn hanging his head down, when Patrick stood up.
“Why don’t we have breakfast before we go?”
“Sure. All right then, Lemn, get in the shadows.”
“You’re not going to feed me?”
“Lady Eleanora would see you, so no.”
I was surprised to find out that even gods ate. When I was kicking and pressing Lemn into the floor, he’d felt more like a monster than a person. This was just speculation, but his body was probably almost entirely made up of magical energy.
Ryuu also ate food for pleasure, so perhaps it was natural for Lemn to ask for breakfast. But still, I wanted to avoid others in the mansion, including Eleanora, seeing Lemn. I had him hide in the shadows, and we headed to the dining room.
As I walked down the hallway alongside Patrick, Rita came walking from the opposite end.
“Good morning Lady Yumiella, Sir Patrick. Breakfast is ready, I was just on my way to escort you two.”
“Morning, Rita. Is Lady Eleanora already eating?”
“Well... It appears that she has gone out without eating anything,” Rita said as she glanced outside the window. I followed her gaze and saw that Ryuu, who was usually sunbathing at this time of day, was gone.
Eleanora said she was heading out for a bit, but I didn’t expect her to go somewhere far. I was just hoping she’d keep her distance from my room... I think I overdid it.
“She must be so hungry out there... I wonder if she’s all right.”
“I believe her safety is guaranteed, as she took Ryuu with her.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine with Ryuu there,” Patrick said.
“You’re right, she’ll be okay since Ryuu’s there.” I nodded.
Our thoughts all aligned: it was dangerous for Eleanora to go out on her own, but we didn’t have to worry if Ryuu was with her.
“I see, so the young miss isn’t here. Then I guess I can come out.” Intercepting the sunlight pouring in from the window, my shadow began to take shape as it spoke. Seeing the black-haired boy that appeared from my shadow along with the voice, Rita’s eyes widened with shock as she froze.
“Oh, this kid is—”
“Good morning, Miss Maid. I’m the god of darkness, Lemn. You can just call me Le—”
“This kid is an evil god, so don’t listen to anything he says. Please warn everyone else in the mansion as well.”
“Yes, understood,” Rita responded, briskly walking away upon hearing my voice.
“Hey!” Lemn exclaimed, upset that I had interrupted him. “What are you going to do if people actually think I’m an evil god?! That maid is probably going to actually tell everyone that!”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about the small things. Oh, do you want breakfast?”
“I do!”
After teasing the construction of a shrine, I was treating him like an evil spirit. This was karma.
I’ll have you taste the same despair that you made me feel, I mused, but the moment I’d said I’d feed him breakfast, Lemn instantly cheered up.
This god is a sucker.
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