It wasn’t easy to keep from smiling while staring directly into these big, moist eyes.
“Ahem…alright then, considering the information you’ve provided me, I’ll give you some time to think about it,” Ilea said as she slowly rose, crossed her arms, and walked to the door, opening it herself.
—Whoosh!
“Mm…”
But the moment she opened the door, a red figure suddenly lunged right into her arms!
“Mi…mi…milady!”
It was…
Yumina, who had just been eavesdropping at the door.
Now this lively girl, caught red-handed in her act of eavesdropping, awkwardly clung to her mistress, her cheeks flushed bright red.
“I’m sorry, milady…I just couldn’t contain my curiosity. I truly apologize!”
“Heh~”
But instead of the scolding she expected, Yumina suddenly felt a gentle hand pat her back.
“It’s alright~ I forgive any mistakes you make~”
“Huh?”
The twin-tailed maid froze, blankly lifting her head from Ilea’s embrace to look at her mistress.
She was smiling, her white hair under the afternoon sun looked like lilies blooming atop a mountain peak.
Compared to the mischievous little devil from before, she now seemed more like…a lady.
So steady, so gentle.
“After all, you’re my personal maid~”
Ilea reached out again and lightly pinched the maid’s cheek.
Toward her own people, she would never withhold kindness.
But toward her enemies?
They could expect no mercy whatsoever.
“Y-yes!”
Yumina quickly and naturally accepted this slight change in her mistress.
After all, right now, only madam and milady were left in the house.
Perhaps…during those sleepless nights, milady had done a lot of thinking?
Like, the tears this morning, and madam’s teachings.
The twin-tailed maid slowly lowered her head.
Could she…also do something for milady?
“Alright, take Viel to get something to eat.”
Speaking in a normal tone, Ilea then slowly leaned closer and whispered: “Mm…let her order whatever she wants, try to satisfy all her requests.”
“Eh? Understood!”
The twin-tailed maid nodded.
Looks like milady really liked this little pet she just picked up.
Was her name Viel?
Watching the two figures disappear down the end of the corridor, Ilea let out a long breath.
Of course she wouldn’t just use the goddess and then toss her aside.
Not to mention whether she could find a way to undo the seal on the goddess’s divine power—if the goddess were to meet another reincarnator, her own situation would only become even more dangerous.
So her goal was still to keep the other by her side, or rather…
To tame her, make her willingly stay by her side—so devoted that she couldn’t be chased away.
“But before that, I still need some…power.”
Ilea walked over to the tea table, gazing at the iron rod that could release blue currents, subconsciously caressing the twisted runes upon it.
Knock knock knock!
She didn’t know how long had passed when the open door was knocked.
“Uh…um, milady, I’ve brought them over…”
Behind her came the timid voice of the maid with glasses.
“Mm, just set them here.”
Ilea nodded indifferently, pointing to the nearby table, then turned to look at this maid who never seemed very confident.
“By the way, what’s your name?”
She searched her memory a bit but realized she had no recollection of this maid’s name.
Still…there was some vague impression, like how she had frightened this girl last night—proof that she had always been here, just never important enough for Ilea to remember.
“Ah…um, replying to milady, I’m Amisa. Amisa Rittari, a patrolling maid in the castle.”
The maid with glasses flinched slightly, as if the question itself frightened her.
“Mm, I see…you may go.”
Ilea silently committed the name to memory and waved her hand.
Compared to not knowing the name of a castle maid, the “gate of magic” before her—leading into the unknown—was clearly far more captivating for the current Ilea.
“Yes.”
Amisa slowly bowed.
But before she left, she suddenly turned back to look at her mistress’s back.
“Um…milady.”
“Mm?”
Ilea, who had just picked up the top book in the stack, turned her head to look at the maid standing at the door.
“Um…um…the forbidden…is very dangerous.”
As she spoke, her head dropped lower and lower.
“Forbidden…?”
Tap tap tap!
But before Ilea could ask anything more, Amisa had already bowed deeply and dashed out of the room.
“Eh!”
This girl…did she perhaps know something?
Even though…she was just an ordinary maid?
Ilea took two steps forward to chase after her, but ultimately stopped.
If the other truly knew something, chasing after her like this would do no good.
As the saying goes, “Plan first with cunning, conquer best by winning hearts.”
Since the maid had chosen to warn her, that meant…
She probably bore no ill will.
With that thought, Ilea returned to the table, picked up the topmost book again, and began to read.
This book was titled “Chronicles of the Age of the Gods,” recording fragments of things unknown to mortals—things to be feared.
It was only now that Ilea realized: the books in this world that recorded “magic,” or rather…the books Amisa had brought her, were not the refined tomes one might expect, but rather somewhat worn notebooks.
The writing inside was all handwritten.
“So in other words, magic…though known in this world, isn’t something commonplace?”
Could it even be something passed down by only a few?
Ilea continued reading further, but what she found left her somewhat shocked.
Because these things were completely different from what she had imagined.
This world did not have a broad concept of “magic.”
Although humans did possess supernatural powers also called “magic” or “spells,” the core of this power was nothing like what Ilea had seen in literature back on Earth.
It didn’t come from communion with nature or affinity with elements.
Instead…it came from other beings.
Or rather, from beings superior to humans, collectively known as “Higher Beings.”
They possessed sharper minds, stronger bodies, and more agile spirits.
They were creations of the so-called “gods.”
And humans could only rank beneath them—beneath even their followers—becoming the inferior race of this world, struggling merely to survive.
But…all of this changed because of one event.
This event altered humanity’s position.
Though it didn’t grant humans power enough to rival the Higher Beings, it did allow them to crawl up from the mud, and establish their own kingdoms.
This event…was known as “The Day of the Supreme God’s Gospel Descending,” or simply, “God’s Grace Day.”
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