"How dare you call a genuine goddess shady?!"
Lunarinas rose slightly from her chair, her black-shaded flaxen hair swaying as cosmic starlight rippled behind her like offended hula dancers. Her previously serene expression cracked completely, irritation coloring her face in a way that felt oddly… human.
She still smiled — a very obviously forced smile.
Seeing someone else flustered had an unexpected effect.
Nathan relaxed. A lot.
Strangely, the moment the supposedly omnipotent goddess lost her composure, his anxiety packed its bags and left the premises.
"Because you are," Nathan replied matter-of-factly.
He even nodded for emphasis.
"I mean… you read my mind without permission — That's a breach of privacy."
Lunarinas flinched — a very visible, very guilty flinch.
Nathan raised one finger like a lawyer presenting Exhibit A.
"You knew about my past and embarrassing secret despite the massive dimensional gap between our worlds," he said calmly, raising a second finger.
Her brows twitched.
"You attempted some kind of charm magic to manipulate me," he continued, raising a third. "Luckily for me, you have failed miserably."
Her forced smile collapsed entirely.
"And," Nathan added, leaning forward and raising a fourth finger, "who sends a message to a dying person introducing themselves as 'totally not suspicious at all' unless they're incredibly shady?"
Lunarinas's mouth opened — still looking at him.
Then closed as she looked down, avoiding eye contact.
Then opened again.
"I was considering your personality!" she burst out, sitting back down and crossing her arms beneath her ample chest with an indignant 'hmph'. "Since you think about everything sarcastically, I was certain that would get your attention!"
She pointed accusingly.
"It was extremely difficult to get a dying person's attention, you know! I had to match your preferences!"
Nathan slowly clapped.
Once.
Then twice.
"…Then congratulations," he said flatly. "You won my suspicion instead."
"You—!" Lunarinas looked seconds away from combusting.
Nathan leaned back, oddly confident now.
"Listen," he said calmly. "I accepted your offer because I wanted freedom. Not to become someone's errand boy."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Don't forget," she shot back, her voice lowering with a hint of threat, "I am the one who gave you your System."
Nathan tilted his head innocently.
"So what are you going to do? Take it back?"
Lunarinas froze mid-motion.
Her lips opened.
Closed.
Then opened again.
No sound came out.
Nathan grinned triumphantly.
Hehe… I got her.
"What do you mean you got me?!" Lunarinas demanded instantly, cheeks puffing as she pouted before turning her face away with an audible "Hmph!"
Nathan blinked.
…Right. She's got that annoying mind-reading ability.
"Alright, listen here, self-proclaimed goddess—"
"I am NOT self-proclaimed!" she snapped immediately. "I am a GENUINE, omnipotent goddess!"
Nathan raised a brow.
"Oh? So you're omnipotent." he leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his hand. "Then you don't need my help. Can you just send me back to my body already?"
"N-no—!" she panicked.
The reaction was immediate.
Lunarinas stood abruptly, her chair dissolving into particles of light as she hurried forward and grabbed Nathan's hands in both of hers.
Her grip trembled.
"Please listen to me," she said quickly, her voice losing its pride. "I spent almost all my divine authority transferring you into Valneer from Earth. Then summoning your consciousness here used nearly everything I had left."
Her eyes shimmered.
"I might not have another chance for a very long time." her fingers tightened around his. "So please… help to set me free. I'll do anything in return!"
Tears formed at the corners of her eyes.
Nathan's grin slowly spread.
"…Aaaanything?" he asked, unmistakable mischief in his voice.
Lunarinas visibly shuddered, shoulders stiffening as if bracing for impact.
"I…" she hesitated.
Her voice dropped into a mere whisper.
"I— I'll do… anything…"
She released his hands and lowered her gaze toward the glowing floor, utterly resigned.
Nathan whistled cheerfully.
"We've got a deal."
She blinked.
"I was going to help you anyway," he added casually. "You freed me from my miserable life, after all. I owe you one — though the manipulation attempt earlier should already make us even."
Nathan shrugged. "But I'm a good samaritan, so I'll forgive you as long as you promise never attempting charm magic on me again."
He pointed at her.
"And you better not take your words back."
"You!" Lunarinas glared.
"What?" Nathan teased. "Changed your mind already? Are all genuine goddesses this unreliable?"
A long, thoughtful pause followed.
"…Fine," she sighed heavily, defeat settling over her like a perfectly worn cloak. She summoned her moonstone chair again and sat down, posture slumping.
"Name your price."
Nathan answered far too quickly.
"You."
"…Um. What?" Her brain visibly short-circuited.
"I want you," Nathan repeated with a casual shrug. "If you remember, I asked for a girlfriend before you transferred me here. And honestly? There's no better candidate than the goddess herself."
He hugged himself dramatically, giggling like and idiot. "Lucky me, hehehehe…."
The grinding sound of teeth echoed faintly.
Lunarinas clenched her jaw so hard Nathan briefly worried about dental damage.
Finally, she whispered:
"I… get it."
"What?" Nathan blinked, suddenly less confident.
Her cheeks flushed pink.
"If you free me," she said stiffly, forcing a smile that screamed emotional suffering, "I'll be your girlfriend."
She met his eyes.
"But you're going to hate me for it," she said coldly "I mean it."
Nathan's thoughts froze.
Uwaah… just how desperate is this goddess for someone to come and free her? I just wanted to tease her since it's honestly kinda fun…
"SO YOU WERE JUST TEASING ME?!" she shouted instantly.
Nathan winced. "…Ah."
"I HATE YOU!!"
Lunarinas buried her face in her hands and began sobbing.
Not dramatic crying.
But real, genuine crying.
Nathan panicked internally.
Oops… I forgot about the mind-reading.
He scratched his cheek awkwardly, watching the supposedly omnipotent goddess cry like a bullied middle-schooler.
What an immature-ish goddess.
His thought paused.
Strangely though… I think I could be good friends with this goddess. I mean… Lunarinas.
A small sigh escaped him as guilt crept in.
Nathan stood, walked closer, and gently patted her head.
"There, there," he said awkwardly. "Sorry for teasing you, okay. I just wanted a little comeback after my anxiety meltdown earlier."
She kept crying, completely ignoring him.
Nathan continued patting her hair.
It was soft — and surprisingly warm.
The cosmic space shimmered faintly with every quiet sniffle.
"…Is this what having a little sister feels like?" he muttered.
Actually… not a bad experience at all.
Lunarinas sniffed loudly.
Still crying.
Nathan kept patting her head, fully committed to emotional damage control, wondering how his life had escalated from zombie survival to comforting a crying goddess inside a cosmic-space-like environment.
And somehow…
It felt oddly normal.