Lord Voice sounded determined to make sure I wouldn't ever return. That was rather troublesome, but it made me feel warm inside to be reminded that he didn't want me to suffer.
"Okay, fine."
I had to accept my fortune. I willingly placed the Luxury Wristwatch and each of the three artifacts I just purchased for 50,000 points each into the mystery box.
â¬Â«Quest» Synthesize â â â â (Difficulty Level: Unknown)
Artifacts worth 50,000 points and above (3 of 3)
Wristwatch of Returning (1 of 1)
Save Point (0 of 1)
Sacred Place Establishment (0 of 1)â
I placed the mystery box back in the inventory once the status window updated itself.
"I'll need to think about taking the remaining artifacts from both Tesilids once I'm back in the real world. I'm not sure how that will go."
"Good luck, dear," Granny God said, chuckling.
"I just hope it'll be worth the trouble."
"Of course it will. The mystery box synthesizes artifacts that greatly surpasses their original components. Who knows? Perhaps it will create something that will allow the impossible to happen."
My eyes sparkled at her words. "Can it serve as a deus ex machina?"
"Not to that extent, dear. It must still be plausible within the story."
"That's a shame." I didn't try to hide my disappointment.
"But it will still be powerful enough to alter the ending," she said. "So don't give up too soon."
Granny God let out a small laugh as she reassured me. Being the Supreme Merchant of All Things, she had a tendency to mutter mysteriously meaningful words at random, so I decided to regard her words carefully.
"Thank you, ma'am."
"You're welcome, dear. But you should get ready to return to the Human Realm now. It's about time."
"What?"
I didn't understand why she would say that when there was still another day left in the penalty period. Why was she kicking me out of her shop so suddenly? I was well-behaved the whole time I was here!
The elderly god smiled at me when she noticed the panic in my eyes. "The experience of time is rather loose in one's dreams, so I had its flow altered during your visit."
"Does that mean...?"
"Yes. A day has already passed in your reality. The penalty period must be coming to an end very soon, so you should get going."
"Wow! Thank you so much!"
I rose from the stool I was sitting on. But just as I was about to bow and take my leave, I remembered something and sat back down on the stool.
"Why are you still here?"
"I just remembered something."
"What is it?"
"You once offered to read my fortune. Does the offer still stand?"
"Oh? Sure, but I can only read your fortune about future romantic prospects."
"Yes, that's exactly what I wanted."
The Granny God brought out her crystal ball as if she had been waiting for this exact moment the entire time and brushed her fingers around it with exaggerated movements.
"Good. Then let's see how you and your current love interest would-" Granny God muttered, but I interrupted her before she could finish.
"No. I want to know about Tesilid Argente of Loop Seventeen." She snapped her mouth shut and stared. "Please tell me how I'd fare with Tesilid from Loop Seventeen."
The impish look on Granny God's face turned into a smile that seemed to indicate how impressed she was. "You didn't forget my advice, little transmigrator."
"Then think a little harder before you ask me something next time so that I don't get penalized."
"Of course not," I answered. I managed a smile, but I felt extremely tense as I wondered what the god's next sentence would be.
"I can't see your future with someone who's already dead."
Except it happened to be a death sentence. I took a deep breath until my chest could no longer rise. I just couldn't understand why I felt like I was suffocating, even though I had completely filled my lungs with air. I only remembered to breathe again when a puff of herbal smoke from Granny God's pipe reached my face, but I still couldn't say anything.
Then I heard her voice once again.
"Now, which Loop shall I pair you up with?"
I didn't know what to say to that.
"Or which number shall I start checking, dear?"
I kept my silence, but the omniscient god seemed to read my thoughts. Right then, something changed my mind. I figured I would prefer to see and hear it myself.
"I would like to buy another artifact."
"Which one?"
Perhaps I should have done this from the very beginning.
"I want the replica of the Eyes of Sin."
â
My consciousness slowly returned to my body, and I felt my senses come to life as I lifted my eyelids. Fortunately, someone was waiting to welcome me back.
«Ailette?» Agnes blurted out in disbelief.
I turned my head and tried to smile.
"Hello..."
I wanted to greet her affectionately, but my vocal cords could only muster a hoarse grunt after days of inactivity, which was rather upsetting, even though Agnes didn't seem to care about it.
«Are you really... awake? I-I'm not dreaming, am I?»
"Yes... I'm... up now..."
«Ailette, you dummy! Why did it take you so long to wake up?!»
"I'm... sorry... for making you... worry."
That's when I noticed a maid staring at me from behind Agnes' spectral form. She stood in disbelief with a flower pot in her hands and only came to her senses after a moment of stunned silence.
"My goodness! Her Eminence is awake!"
Right after the maid shouted, a bunch of people, including Edgar, peeked in from the hallway.
"What? Her Eminence is up?"
"It's true! She really is conscious!"
"Oh, thank God!"
"Go! Tell the good news to His Grace and the Silver Citadel's knight division!"
"How do you feel, Your Eminence? You've been in bed for twelve days... Oh, water? Of course. I'll get you some water right away!"
The servants of the castle slowly raised me up as if I was a priceless piece of art and even brought the cup of water to my lips.
"You must be hungry, Your Eminence. I'll have them prepare a meal right away."
"Do you feel any pain or discomfort? A doctor will be here shortly."
"How are you? Please let us know if anything feels uncomfortable."
"Does the taste of the water suit you?"
I didn't know what to say. The servants were always very kind and courteous to me. But now that I was a patient, the level of their service went up yet another notch. Everyone was happy to help me, and their eyes sparkled with eagerness. In fact, Edgar seemed like he was about to burst into tears.
"Your Eminence... I'm so glad you regained consciousness."
"It's all thanks... to everything you did. Thank you... everyone..."
The servants suddenly burst into tears.
"Y-Your Eminence!"
"We should thank you for what you did for us!"
"You stopped the catastrophe! You don't owe us anything!"
"The whole world owes their lives to you. We will never forget what you did for us!"
The servants then dropped to one knee on the carpet, even though no one instructed them to do so.
"Thank you, Your Eminence!"
"But everyone..." I couldn't finish my sentence because I felt so touched.
â¬Â«Quest» Sixth [Calling of the Grand Priest of Voiceism] (Difficulty Level: L)] quest fulfillment reward is [???].â
What? Right now? I was notified without being given a choice. Right then, a bright light immediately started shining over my head. Several objects hovered down to my hands, leaving the servants in shock.
â¬Â«System» You've received [Super Effective Fever Potion], [Top Ceremonial Wine], and [Sacred Halo Effect].â
â¬Â«Item» [Super Effective Fever Potion]
This legendary fever potion can cure a Holy Fever!
Comes in the form of an orange-flavored cold syrup. Use as prescribed with the syrup spoon included in the package.â
I got a handy potion to use when I have to fight to the death again in the future.
â¬Â«Item» [Top Ceremonial Wine]
A bottle of premium wine produced with the grapes from the farms of Eden. The ceremonial wine also tastes amazing.â
The second item was a nice bottle of wine. The flask of potion and the bottle of wine sparkled their divine colors over the white sheets of the bed. But they weren't the only things that were glowing. Something felt strange over my head, so I turned around and was shocked by what I found.
"Whoa!"
There was a beautiful ring of light hovering behind my head.
â¬Â«Skill» [Sacred Halo Effect (Passive)]
A sacred and brilliant halo forms behind you in reaction to your powerful divinity. Once active, the halo increases your charisma by 300% and may cause extraordinary effects under certain circumstances.â
So this thing basically turned me into a walking lamp.
Lord Voice! Thank you for the items, but I think you overdid it this time! And why are you handing me the rewards in front of everyone?
I found my answer from the reaction from the servants.
"My goodness! I don't believe what I'm seeing!"
"It's a miracle! It looks just like the one we saw at the opening ceremony!"
"Look at that holy halo of light! She looks more glorious than an angel!"
"God must be congratulating Her Eminence on her recovery! I'm sure of it!"
So, that's what it was for. Clearly the sight of the halo had inspired their faith, so I figured it wasn't so bad after all.
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World raises their chin and beams with pride.â
â¬The Scale that Judges Souls clicks their tongue, saying [The Voice that Shapes the World] is acting like an attention seeker.â
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World scoffs at their envy.â
â¬The Scale that Judges Souls is furious.â
Fortunately, it was possible to activate and deactivate the halo at will, so I quickly decided to lower the lighting in the room.
Stomp, stomp, stomp!
That's when I sensed an intense presence approaching from the hallway. None of the servants panicked. Instead, they simply stood aside. The culprit behind the noise immediately ran through the cleared path.
"My child! Have you come back to us?!"
"Grandpa!"
My grandfather showed no regard for his reputation as a grand duke. He immediately ran over and hugged me.
"Your Grace, Her Eminence has just woken up."
«Why is that old man always so touchy-feely?»
I savored the embrace of his large pecs for a moment and peeked over his shoulder muscles to see that others had followed my grandfather into the room as well.
"Allie!"
"My dear daughter..."
I saw my mom and dad.
"It's been a while, big Sis."
"Sister... Oh, Sister..."
They were followed by Ash and Hilde.
"Did you rest well?"
And lastly, I noticed Bianca there as well.
Once my grandfather released me from his grip, I met eyes with each of my visitors. I gave them a big smile and said, "I'm sorry for making you worry over me. I ended up sleeping in because I was tired."
I tried to sound like I had just gotten up from a lazy afternoon nap, and I thought I was doing a fine job of it until everyone suddenly started looking sad, especially someone particularly dear to me.
"You are so stupid."
I wasn't expecting that.
"You dummy."
By the second time, I was completely lost for words. Bianca had never called me names before. I wanted to protest, but my mind went blank when I saw her red eyes quiver. Thankfully, my body managed to do its job.
"Bia." I pulled Bianca close to me and gave her a hug. "I really, really missed you."
She didn't respond.
"I don't want you to be mad at me. I'm back now, so will you please forgive me?"
"Fine... But I won't forgive you if you ever do this again."
"Thank you."
People started complaining when I didn't let Bianca go.
«Gosh. You're your grandfather's granddaughter, all right. You both love hugging people out of the blue.»
"Big Sis, give Ash a hug too!"
"H-Hilde would like a hug as well..."
Gosh! Will you stop talking about yourselves in the third person?!