The moment I heard the old man’s voice, the weight on my shoulders vanished. I felt light, almost stupidly light. I lifted my head and saw him sitting up in bed, alive. My eyes burned. The servant was already crying openly, and even the general’s stone face finally gave up, his eyes wet and shining. I dropped to my knees and bowed so deep my forehead hit the floor.

  “I’m so so sorry,” I said, my voice cracking apart. “I swear I’ll never push any of you that close to death—”

  “Young lord… cough… please… get up,” the old man said, his voice thin and weak.

  I didn’t move. Even hours like this wouldn't be enough to wash off the guilt. Tears dripped to the floor as I pressed my forehead down harder. Then a gentle hand landed on my shoulder.

  “Alright, get up,” Midori said, calm but firm. “A lord shouldn’t be face down on the floor like this.”

  I stood up, wiped my face, and looked again. The old man was better but not as I expected. Not young, not reborn, just like a dry flower that finally got some water. I frowned, then turned to Midori.

  “Wasn’t he supposed to get younger too?” I asked. “At least five or ten years?”

  “Be glad he’s standing,” she said flatly. “Most of the essence was wasted. He was that close to death, and a few drops of edelweiss could only do this.” She reached into her bag. “But we still have one more, if you want—”

  “E-edelweiss?” the old man gasped, eyes wide. “Young lord, please don’t tell me… cough… you wasted something that precious on me—”

  “Wasted?” Midori snorted. “He brought it just for you. And relax. We still have one more left...”

  Midori was still digging in her bag for the other flower when I heard it, that soft, cursed sniff. I turned to see Aoi was seconds away from firing a dragon lung powered sneeze. I panicked and slapped my hand over her mouth. She sucked the breath back in and froze, eyes watering. The crisis was delayed, but the damage was done. Every pair of eyes in the room turned toward her.

  The old man gave Aoi a slow look, top to bottom. Then he checked Midori. Then Aoi again. Back and forth, like some invisible scale was wobbling in his head. After a long pause, he nodded to himself and shot me a quiet, knowing smile.

  “Young lord,” he said. “Who… cough… might this young lady be?”

  “Oh, her?” I said fast. “She’s just... Midori’s—”

  “Rrr-achoo!”

  I pulled my hand away for one second and that was all Aoi needed. She unleashed the sneeze she’d been saving, and it slammed into the old man like a dragon’s roar. If he had hair, it would have flown right off, but luck was on his side. He was bald. The sound wasn't human at all. The general stared at her, stunned and wary, then slowly turned his suspicious gaze toward me.

  “My lord,” he said, slow and careful. “Forgive me for my curiosity. And I know you are tired too, but… did you happen to see the dragon on the mountain?”

  His eyes weren’t just looking. They were measuring me, then Aoi, then back to me. Like he already knew the answer and only wanted to hear me say it. And there was no way I could admit that the dragon who wrecked their land and nearly killed everyone was now standing right next to me as a stupidly hot lady.

  “Cough… cough... Goho-oho!"

  The old man suddenly burst into a loud cough which felt almost on purpose, and it saved my life without him even trying.

  “Please, just rest,” I said quickly. “We’re all tired from the journey anyway. We can talk about the details later," I glanced at Midori and Aoi. “Right?”

  “...Right?” Aoi frowned, clearly confused.

  “Right, right,” Midori said, grabbing her arm and dragging her out.

  We almost rushed outside, and I started marching toward my room as fast as I could, silently praying the general wouldn’t appear at the door with another uncomfortable question. Behind me, though, I heard the familiar sound of tugging. Midori and Aoi.

  “Ahh! Stop pulling my arm!”

  “Shut up, stop crying!”

  “You’re hurting me! Let go!”

  I turned and gave them both a fed up, angry look. They froze at once. Midori let go of Aoi’s arm and looked away. Aoi suddenly got very interested in the ceiling. I shook my head and went up the stairs to our room. I knew they would keep arguing and pulling at each other along the way. And they did. When we reached the room, I closed the door, dropped onto the bed, and stared at the two of them, tense.

  “Fine,” I said, rubbing my forehead, “we have a problem here.”

  “What kind?” Aoi asked, clueless.

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  “Worm type,” Midori replied fast.

  “You are the problem,” I said to Aoi, but before her face could drop fully, I waved my hand frantically. “No, no, not like that. I mean… in terms of mana. We can’t tell them who you are.”

  “Oh,” Aoi relaxed, puffing her chest out. “Of course. I also wouldn’t want people constantly bowing in front of me. The truth about who I am would hit them hard, right? After all, I’m—”

  “One of the seven ancient worms!” Midori cut her off.

  “Can you two shut it for one second and act serious?” I snapped, finally dragging their attention back to me.

  “The thing is,” I said, forcing myself to stay calm, “whether you meant to or not, all that mana you made turned the demon town into a wasteland. And I can’t just tell them the thing that shoved them off their homeland is standing right here... We have to keep it a secret.”

  “Hey, I already fixed this when I left this worm behind! You just had to make it harder by summoning her again—”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. And we’ll deal with that later,” I said, pointing a trembling finger at Midori. “Aoi is just… a mana making disaster,” I added, opening my mana vision. “I mean, look at her, it's only one day and she’s already produced enough to fill her source. If we left her there, everything would be ruined again in no time!”

  “Oh? Is that so?” Aoi glanced at herself, brushed her hair back, then shot Midori a smug look. “It’s not full yet, but by evening it will be.” She drifted closer to me and leaned in, voice dangerously low. “After that, the extra mana just spills out... You could stay with me tonight if you want to stop it.”

  Midori grabbed Aoi by her long, straight hair at the hip and yanked her back, using pure muscle and just enough rage.

  “Ahh!” Aoi squealed. “Let go of my hair, you stupid snail!”

  “Midori!” I shouted, trying to stop her.

  That was when a familiar voice popped up in my head, one I couldn’t place at first.

  “Hayato.” it called.

  “Who… who are you?” I asked, startled.

  “What? Me? Who am I?” Midori muttered, pausing as she tugged on Aoi’s hair.

  “Snail— Ahhh!”

  Midori yanked her hair harder. Aoi answered by slamming an elbow into her stomach. Two perfect adults, acting very mature.

  “Ugh!”

  “Leave her—” I cut myself off as that same voice echoed in my head again.

  “I’m your goddess!”

  “Goddess?!” I blinked, confused as hell.

  “Oh, thank you for the compliment,” Aoi said immediately, taking it as her own, “but I like the name Aoi too, no need for formalities— Ahh!”

  Midori yanked her hair harder, trying to snap Aoi out of her daydreaming.

  “Wait, stop it!” I yelled, slapping my face. “Stop, you two… no, three women!”

  Finally, they paused, glanced at each other, then at me.

  “Three?” they said in unison.

  “Hey, who are they? We need to talk. Now. Just… send them,” the goddess’s voice echoed in my head again, sharp and impatient.

  “What? Why? And… how can you even talk in my head—”

  “Ugh!” she groaned, clearly frustrated. Then, fed up, she appeared right in front of me, standing between Midori and Aoi.

  I blinked, then squinted, even waited for it to fade, but it didn’t. Not a dream. The goddess was really there, standing right in front of me in all her unfair beauty, arms crossed, cheeks puffed, heels tapping against the floor like she was counting down to my execution.

  Then Midori stepped forward with the same strange look on her face and scanned the goddess from head to toe, noting she was taller and far more impressive than both her and Aoi. She nodded, still confused, reached out, and her hand passed straight through. She then frowned and waved her hand through the goddess’s translucent, holographic form, clearly baffled.

  “Honey, what are you doing exactly?” the goddess asked, shooting her an annoyed sideways look. “That’s just a reflection. I’m not really here. So back off.”

  She turned to me, irritation written all over her face. “We need to talk. Now. So send these two, whoever they are, away. I don’t have much time.”

  "Why even—"

  “Wait. Who is this self absorbed pest staring down at us?” Aoi cut in, snapping. “Do you even know who I am?!”

  The goddess tilted her head, flicked a quick look at Aoi, and made a face like she’d just tasted something bland.

  “Of course I know who you are. Even before this… almost average look,” she said flatly. Then she turned away with a dismissive wave. “Anyway, you two, out. I need to talk in private.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Midori said, hands planted on her hips, glaring at the goddess like she was one step away from pulling her hair.

  “Me too,” Aoi added.

  “Ha-ya-to!” the goddess snapped, glaring at me like this mess was somehow my job to fix.

  “Don’t even look at me,” I said, lifting my hands in defeat. “They don’t listen to me anyway. And they can stay. I guess… I have a soul bond with both of them.”

  “Oh?” The goddess paused, then relaxed a little. “Well, that’s a relief. Seems like you’ve already adapted to my world… even doing rituals. I’m impressed.”

  “Your world? Who even is this, Hayato?” Midori snapped.

  “Ah, that… she’s the goddess. Desira, the so-called goddess of lust,” I said, eyes darting nervously between the three of them.

  “Yes, that’s right,” the goddess said flatly. She shot them a sharp look from under her lashes, then waved it off. “But we don’t have time for introductions.”

  Midori and Aoi’s defiance vanished all at once, replaced by shocked eyes and guilty face. They turned into two sad tomatoes, barely able to speak.

  For a moment, my vision blurred, stuck on the goddess’s face. Her sudden, unfair beauty pulled up memories of Hana and my old life, and my eyes went dull as useless, sad thoughts passed by. Was Hana still at that shop. Was my landlord cursing my name after I vanished without paying rent. Then I saw the goddess waving her hand, and I snapped back to present.

  “Hey? You there? Hah, listen now—”

  “No, you listen!” I cut her off, my patience vanished after all those memories came rushing back.

  “Nowhere in the hero contract did it say the hero gets hurled from the sky like a potato sack! And, what’s with acting like nothing happened days later, not even knowing if I survived?”

  “I can explain—”

  “Explain my ass!” I barked. “Do you even know what happened after that? While you were probably napping on your cozy golden throne, the Demon Lord tried to take over my body. And I still don’t even know how much of it failed—”

  “...What?!” her eyes went wide. “I thought he was already dead.”

  I brushed my hair aside and showed her one of my small, black horns. “This says otherwise.”

  The goddess looked at me with clear disgust, like I was a bug she regretted noticing. Then she sighed and brushed it off, moving on fast.

  “Alright. I’m sorry. Really,” she said, raising her hands. “But listen. I don’t have much time. Still, I can at least tell you what happened—”

  “You know what?” I said, turning my face away. “I don’t care anymore.”

  “Hey, please! I’m curious,” Aoi said.

  “Same,” Midori added.

  I stayed quiet, just stood there, hoping she would get the hint and vanish. She didn't. Instead, she stepped right into my space and blocked my view. Because personal space was clearly optional for divines, especially for the goddess of lust.

  “I get it. You’re angry. You have every right to be. I’m sorry,” she said in a lower voice as she stepped closer. “But what I’m about to say matters to you too.”