At the same time, the young man Mozo woke up in his apartment.
Looking at the faint sunlight filtering through the window, he let out a small sigh.
What a wonderful dream.
No… not just a dream.
A grand opera.
And he had been the leading actor.
From a nobody to a being who stood shoulder to shoulder with gods, in just a few short years he had forced countless factions to accept, in fear and helplessness, the rise of a new deity.
And then, when no one expected it,
he gave the godhood to the girl.
And sacrificed himself.
The gods… and those unknown existences…
what kind of expressions would they have after learning the truth?
It would definitely be quite the spectacle.
Hopefully, the next dream would show him their reactions.
With that thought, Mozo got out of bed, preparing to wash up and eat.
But before getting up, as he looked at the golden morning light falling across his bedside, he could not help but think of the golden-haired girl.
Her hair had shone just as brightly as the dawn.
In that grand opera,
the only regret… was probably her.
Mozo curled his lips slightly.
What am I thinking? It was just a dream.
And even in that dream, didn't I give her the godhood in the end?
A happy ending. A happy ending.
He got up, washed, ate, and headed to university.
Another dull day in Mozo's life had begun.
Compared to the grandeur of his dream world, reality felt painfully ordinary, even a little suffocating.
But that was fine.
The hardest days were already behind him.
Now, he was a promising university student at Cromwell University.
Good grades, decent character, and with recommendations from several professors, he would likely enter a respectable company after graduation as a mid-level employee, earning enough weekly pay to move into a better apartment.
If luck favored him, he might even join a securities company and become a chief accountant, a position respected even among high society.
After walking through two streets and boarding a public carriage, Mozo finally arrived at his university.
Cromwell.
A prestigious national university renowned throughout the entire empire. It was said to have been established by the first Empress to commemorate the achievements of Duke Cromwell.
Come to think of it, in his countless dream operas, he had also played the role of Duke Cromwell.
Though… quite different from the one in the history books.
As he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard the sound of carriage wheels behind him.
Along with it came the crisp ringing of copper bells.
Unlike the single chime of public or private carriages, this one rang three times.
A signal of nobility.
Hearing it, Mozo quickly stopped, turned aside, and removed his hat in salute. The other students on the road did the same.
It was not mandatory.
But doing so saved a lot of trouble.
Because of its strong political background and excellent faculty, Cromwell University had a large number of noble students.
Two hundred years ago, it had even been an academy exclusively for nobles.
Although commoners were now allowed to enroll, the gap between them and the nobility was still obvious.
Fortunately, because the highest-ranking nobles were far too prestigious, many lesser nobles chose to walk instead of using private carriages, in order to highlight the superiority of those above them.
So things were not overly troublesome.
But precisely because of this, one had to be especially careful around those who arrived by carriage.
As he was thinking, Mozo watched the carriage enter the school gates.
A trace of envy rose in his heart.
Being a noble really was better than being an employee.
Unfortunately, the path from commoner to nobility was far too narrow.
So narrow that Mozo gave up the thought almost immediately.
Just as he stepped through the gate after turning a corner, he suddenly collided head-on with someone.
There was no romantic encounter.
Only scattered pages flying everywhere, and a girl's pained cry as she fell to the ground.
Mozo, being a man, remained standing, but he quickly crouched down.
"Are you alright?"
Then he saw her face.
His mouth twitched slightly.
The Tulip of the Faculty of Flowers.
Audrey Hepburn.
A well-known gentle and pure beauty of the Flower Faculty, one of the three major faculties of Cromwell University.
Like him, she was a commoner.
But unlike him, she was extraordinarily beautiful.
Just like the Audrey Hepburn of his previous life.
Because of that, she had countless admirers.
Mozo had always avoided getting involved with someone like her.
It was too easy to attract hostility from those hormone-driven idiots.
And yet today, he had run into her like this.
At the crowded school gate, no less.
People were already gathering, whispering among themselves. This kind of situation was exactly what they loved.
If he did nothing, rumors would surely spread.
Something like "Mozo deliberately arranged this encounter."
Then suddenly, his eyes lit up.
Among the scattered pages, he noticed one sheet with something interesting written on it.
Others nearby had noticed it too, showing confused expressions.
Several words written in Elvish.
This world had no elves.
No magic.
Not even gods.
Yet due to superstition and obsession with the mysterious, all kinds of occult elements existed. Even so-called Elvish languages had been invented for no clear reason.
Outside, such things were harmless.
But in a university that revered truth, discussing mysticism was considered a joke.
So the Tulip of the Flower Faculty was into this kind of thing too.
After a brief pause, Mozo picked up the page and said with surprise and excitement,
"Oh, Miss Audrey, I didn't expect you to be interested in mysticism as well."
"To be honest, I'm quite fond of it too. For example, the Sun King mentioned here. Did you know that among the elves, it has a different pronunciation?"
He paused as if thinking, then spoke a long, obscure, yet strangely pleasant-sounding word.
As he spoke, his expression suddenly changed.
First disbelief.
Then panic.
Finally, a hint of embarrassment.
He bowed to Audrey.
"My apologies, Miss Audrey. I didn't realize this was actually mine. I'm terribly sorry!"
Then he grabbed the page and hurried off in a fluster.
The onlookers were stunned for a moment.
Then they burst into laughter.
Clearly, no one would think this was a carefully arranged encounter anymore.
To them, it was just a clueless commoner who thought he had found a fellow enthusiast of mysticism.
Only Audrey knew the truth.
That page had been hers.
And his ridiculous act… had protected her.
Thinking of the strange word he had spoken, her brows gradually furrowed.
But soon, she shook her head.
Quickly gathering the scattered pages, she turned and left the campus.
After several turns and passing through a few streets, she changed clothes three times at three different hidden spots.
Finally, wearing a mask and dressed in knight attire,
Miss Audrey arrived before an abandoned sewer.