Chapter 128: The Genius, Wise, and Perfect Goddess Miss

With that thought, Ileya stopped worrying.

She slowly raised her hands and silently chanted in her heart, “Rise!”

Boom—boom—boom!!

The mountains surrounding the border instantly soared skyward! They formed a continuous circle of giant peaks, each ranging between two to three hundred meters tall!

The border was cut off from the outside, and her own several-hundred-li-wide Territory was now fully encircled.

“This should do it.”

Not only could this prevent any undead creatures she tossed in from mistakenly wandering into the Black Mist and getting lost, but after the Kingdom of the Dead “leveled up,” she’d also be able to more clearly observe whether the Black Mist had retreated…

Thus proving her theory.

Of course, it could also help protect her own Territory…

Though, in her analysis… this domain did indeed belong to her.

But who knew what strange things might come out of the Black Mist to attack her…

It never hurt to be careful.

However… where was she supposed to get so many corpses? Would non-human ones work?

A lot of questions lingered in her mind, waiting to be verified… Now was certainly not the time to rest~

Da-da-da…

The carriage rolled along the dirt road, its wheels following ruts made by countless other carts, and gradually… as the sun dipped toward the horizon.

And all along the journey, Reliel hadn’t been idle for a moment.

All the snakes, bugs, rats, and little critters nearby were swiftly caught by her, every single one tossed into Ileya’s dark, gaping hole.

And the expression on Ileya’s face shifted from dazed to enlightened, then back again…

She wasn’t quite sure what Ileya was studying, but it all seemed very impressive. Truly… impressive.

After hours of research, Ileya stroked her chin.

The instant small animals entered the Kingdom of the Dead, they would almost always die immediately.

But unfortunately, the Souls of these ordinary creatures were far too weak.

Forget insects or snakes—even rabbits couldn’t rise again as skeletons or zombies.

Instead… their feeble Souls would merge with this world, sinking into the earth and sky of the Kingdom of the Dead like “fertilizer.”

To Ileya, the death of these creatures seemed to be nothing more than minuscule Experience Fragments for her Kingdom of the Dead.

Truly insignificant.

At this rate, when would she ever gather enough “experience” here to unlock the Wind of Sighs?

If she collected them little by little herself, it might take ten or twenty years—maybe more.

Perhaps… she needed to find another method…

As she pondered, Ileya had the group stay put to pitch tents and prepare dinner.

She herself pulled Veil back onto the carriage.

Hmm… Wait… Was it time to “restore mana” again?

She… she hadn’t really done much these past two days, so how could her mana be depleted so quickly?

At that thought, Veil’s cheeks turned red. She closed her eyes on instinct, looking like she was ready to be picked at any moment.

Eh?

Ileya looked at the goddess, puzzled by her behavior the moment they entered the carriage.

Then, the wicked woman figured it out~

This girl… had gotten the wrong idea…

However—

With that thought, Ileya pounced without hesitation!

Hmm?!

It seemed even more intense than she’d imagined…

Was it because they’d held back for several days now…?

She was… almost out of breath…

“Ah… ha… ha♡…”

As the Crystal shimmered in the air between them slowly faded, the temperature inside the carriage… only grew hotter.

“All… all done now?” Veil blinked her innocent big eyes, looking aggrieved, as if she’d just been bullied by the villain in front of her.

“Hm? I wasn’t actually planning on restoring mana. Honestly, I just wanted to ask you something~”

Eh?

The goddess instantly froze. Remembering how she’d acted just now, she wished she could…

Find a hole and crawl into it!

“Pff~”

“W-w-why are you laughing?! Ugh!!”

Veil sprang to her feet in embarrassment! Her face was flushed to her ears, and even the little tuft of black hair atop her head stood straight up!

“Alright, alright.”

Like soothing a child, the young lady pinched Veil’s soft cheeks.

Hmm… So full…

The goddess swallowed, her eyes momentarily brimming with longing, but she quickly forced herself to suppress it!

No, no, no! She… she wasn’t doing this for the treat!

A mature Divinity… would never lose their temper over such things!

Besides… it’s happened so many times already…

Hmph~

“Go on… ask your question~” Veil puffed out her petite chest with pride, hands on her hips, striking a pose of utmost magnanimity—and pride.

“How can the Kingdom of the Dead… continuously generate Death Energy?”

Huh?

At Ileya’s words, Veil’s proud expression froze… and then turned into pure confusion.

“It… already does on its own, doesn’t it? Normally, as long as the world it’s connected to has [Death], Death Energy will keep flowing into the Kingdom of the Dead.

For Veil, this was really just a guess, but honestly, it was as good as saying “I don’t know.”

[Death] is the basic element of the Kingdom of the Dead.

Just like how water and land exist in the world… wasn’t this obvious?

Of course… Ileya hadn’t really expected a definitive answer—she just wanted Veil, in her capacity as a Divinity, to offer some advice…

Then she could slowly unravel the mystery on her own.

And just like that, Veil’s words proved…

That her current “Kingdom of the Dead” was obviously abnormal, right?

And since this world didn’t have a true “Kingdom of the Dead”… how was she supposed to connect her several-hundred-li-wide little world to this one?

Wait… That probably wouldn’t work.

First, she didn’t have the means; second…

Simply opening a passage had already drawn the attention of countless higher beings…

If she really managed to link them, given the twisted nature of this world, who knew what else might come “visiting” through the passage besides undead.

Ileya rubbed her chin, lost in thought.

And at this moment… not only was the young lady pondering, but for once… even Veil was scratching her head in thought…

Actually, “thinking” wasn’t quite right—it was more like straining to remember.

How had previous Lords of the Dead and other Divinities… managed to grow stronger…?

Ah~ That’s right…

“Or… you could have followers do it—like… pray to you, maybe?”

Veil blinked her pure black eyes, her lips still redder than usual from the recent “ordeal.”

She’d seen other Divinities gain power through mortals’ Prayers.

Of course… Ileya was still a mortal herself; who knew if Prayers would work for her.

“Prayer… Prayer!!”

Ileya’s eyes lit up instantly!

Wait—right! Why hadn’t she thought of that?!

Prayer!!

In her previous life, she’d had a roommate whose family had followed Buddhist traditions for generations.

Of course, the roommate still ate meat, but every time they did—or killed a mosquito or other bug—they’d mumble some so-called “mantra for rebirth.”

And in Western countries, people thanked God before meals, that sort of thing…

If… if she could establish a cult, and have people recite a spell before killing anything, channeling Soul energy into her Kingdom of the Dead…

Wouldn’t that work?

At the very least… it sounded more feasible and much safer than linking this world directly to the Kingdom of the Dead!

The young lady’s red eyes grew ever brighter!

Hah! She immediately pulled the still-dazed goddess into her arms.

“Veil, you really… are such a foolish genius.”

Huh? Foolish genius… what does that even mean?!

It sounded like praise, but… why did it still make her so mad??

That awful girl! Couldn’t she just give a normal compliment…