Chương 42: The Jealous Goddess

Ch 42 - The Jealous Goddess Toma opened his eyes as the dim light from the living room slipped into the game capsule where he was lying. The room was still completely quiet, with barely a sound anywhere. It seemed almost everyone was still asleep, and it was only three in the morning. Maybe he had woken up a little too early. Still, Jester had already arrived in Necroton and should have had enough time to rest. That also gave Elora and the others plenty of time to finish everything he had instructed them to do.

By the time he returned, the place should already be more organized, cleaner, and much more comfortable to live in. Even so, there was still one small problem he had to deal with before starting everything from scratch. The rats. Those damn people would only get in the way of everything he planned to accomplish in Necroton. He had never managed a city in real life before. Still, he had played plenty of city-building games on his smartphone. Whether reality would be anywhere near that simple, though, he had no idea.

Eternal Legacy felt far too real. Instead of feeling like a game, it felt much more like another world. A true high fantasy realm, almost like an isekai. Toma climbed out of the game capsule and found... Zetia. The silver-haired girl with the breathtakingly beautiful face. The one who claimed to be the true Zetia, the Goddess of Chaos. She was asleep on the sofa, curled up comfortably. Her peaceful expression made it look like she was enjoying a truly deep and restful sleep. Why wasn't she sleeping in his bedroom?

Did Lina refuse to let her stay there? Or… Toma quietly walked over to the sofa and looked down at the sleeping girl. Then he slowly lowered himself until he was sitting on the floor with his back resting against the side of the sofa. He stayed there in silence for a while. It was still far too early. He could wait a little longer, prepare breakfast, and then head outside for a run and a workout.

He knew he would be spending far more time inside the game from now on, so he needed to keep his real body in good condition. It would be foolish to let all the training he had put himself through go to waste. Then again, calling it "training" made it sound more deliberate than it really was. The truth was, he had only pushed himself because life had forced him into difficult situations.

He had practiced acrobatics, built up his endurance by running because of the physically demanding part-time jobs he had taken, and even trained with weights for the very same reason. Toma turned his head for a moment. Then he suddenly flinched backward. Zetia's face was right in front of his. She looked just as startled as he was.

"Zetia," he said.

"Toma... you're back," she replied softly. She lowered her legs from the sofa before sliding down onto the floor beside him. Sitting close to him, she folded both of her legs neatly to one side, settling into a graceful side-sitting position. Toma and Zetia sat in silence for a while without saying a word. To be honest, Toma still felt a little disoriented. Jet-lagged, almost. After spending nearly a day and a half inside the game as Jester, his mind had yet to fully adjust to being back.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Well... he was a clown out here too, in a way. Still, too many things had happened all at once in the game.

"You didn't sleep in the bedroom?" he asked.

"My room." Zetia turned toward him, and before long they were facing each other directly. Their faces were only inches apart. Toma quietly looked away. This girl… She was unbelievably beautiful. No wonder the store manager had offered her a chance to become a model. She really was that stunning, even with her hair slightly messy from just waking up.

"I was waiting for you," she said. Then she added, "And... I feel more at ease whenever I'm close to you." Toma didn't answer right away.

"I..." he began, pausing for a moment.

"I found a few things... and accomplished quite a bit in Yunatea." At that, Zetia shifted her body until she was facing him completely. Resting lightly against the sofa at her side, she looked at him with bright, eager eyes.

"The Divinity," she said.

"Tell me. What happened to the Divinity?"

"The Veil..." Toma replied, sounding a little uncertain before letting out an awkward smile.

"It transformed into a scythe. I honestly don't know why the change was so dramatic. Going from a veil to a scythe... I thought it'd become a scarf, a coat, or at least a cape. But... a scythe." Zetia blinked in surprise. Then a small laugh escaped her lips, and she lowered her head slightly. Before long, she was laughing openly, soft giggles slipping out one after another as she struggled to stop. Seeing her laugh like that, Toma could only grin before quietly laughing along with her.

He wasn't even sure why he was laughing anymore. Her laughter was simply too infectious. Zetia glanced at him between her laughter, her smile widening when she realized he had started laughing too. She laughed for a few moments longer before finally taking a slow breath and calming herself.

"The Divinity doesn't simply change form at random," Zetia explained.

"It glimpses countless possible futures and responds to the path that holds the greatest potential. Chaos chose the scythe because, among all the possibilities before you, it is the artifact that best matches the future you are walking toward." Her smile softened.

"Yes. A scythe suits you perfectly," she continued.

"Here, you look like an ordinary young man. But in Yunatea... you walk through the battlefield with a scythe in your hands, calmly delivering judgment to everyone who stands in your way." Toma let out a long sigh.

"You make it sound like I'm some kind of executioner." He scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.

"I'm just playing my role as the Evil Clown. I mean, that's the class I was given." Zetia nodded.

"Tell me more," she said.

"What else did you do with the Divinity?"

"Uhm..." Toma paused to think for a moment.

"I gathered a group of people to fight the raid boss together, then stole the last hit at just the right moment."

"Okay."

"And then... this prince got furious and tried to kill me. So I killed him first. After that, I got his face and was able to disguise myself as him."

"That's interesting."

"I also got a cute pet. It's a wolf. Then I went to the royal palace, where I met an incredibly capable male attendant... and eleven female maids."

"Okay," she replied. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"What's with that look?"

"Nothing." She smiled sweetly.

"Go on. Tell me what you did with those maids."

"Nothing," he answered. Did having them help him bathe count as "nothing"? After a brief moment of thought, Toma decided it absolutely did.

"And then, after a few more things happened... I found this Chaos Bound."

"Chaos Bound?" Zetia's expression changed instantly. She grabbed Toma's arm, her fingers tightening around it hard enough that her nails nearly dug into his skin.

"Chaos Bound?" she repeated.

"Yeah. It's the bond between a master and their followers, right?"

"... Who did you form it with?" she asked, her grip tightening around his arm.

"It wasn't... some village girl with a low level and no real potential, was it? Don't tell me you forced her into a Chaos Bound just because she was weak."

"Well..." Toma hesitated, carefully choosing his words.

"Actually... yes."

"No!"

"I mean, at first, yes. But it turns out she's descended from both a Saintess and a Sword Saint."

"... Well," Zetia muttered, crossing her arms.

"That certainly sounds impressive." Then she looked straight at him.

"So... you secretly married another girl behind my back, huh? Without even asking your first wife for permission."

"You make it sound way worse than it is." Toma sighed.

"We're not married. Lucia and I only formed an alliance through the contract." Zetia shifted again, leaning back against the sofa with an exaggerated huff.

"Did you... do that with her?"

"... Do what?"

"You know." She looked away, pretending to sound casual.

"The things husbands and wives usually do."

"I already told you, we aren't married. It was just an alliance contract." Toma shook his head.

"And I'm pretty sure you know exactly how Chaos Bound works, Goddess Zetia."

"Yes, I know." She answered immediately.

"That's exactly why I know." There was a faint pout in her voice, and she looked away with obvious annoyance. Silence settled between them once again. Neither of them spoke for a while.

"Tell me," Zetia said at last, repeating her question.

"Did you... do that with her?"

"Do what?" Instead of answering, Zetia shifted away from him, turning her back with an obvious pout. Toma frowned. Did she mean kissing? Hugging? Or... was she talking about the kind of intimacy shared between a husband and wife?

"... No," he replied after a brief pause.

"We didn't do that." The moment the words left his mouth, Zetia immediately turned back to face him.

"Really?" she asked, searching his face as if trying to see whether he was telling the truth.