As morning dawned and the men began to move, Lucas also moved along with them.

"Where was our next town?"

"Where else? Isn't it Kench Village?"

The men stood at the inn's entrance and loudly announced their next destination.

'Kench Village...'

However, Lucas didn't notice the awkward atmosphere they were giving off.

'If it's that place, I should be able to follow without being too obvious.'

The distance from the current city of Rita to Kench was a short half-day journey. Therefore, there were many people moving along the same route.

"Alright, let's depart!"

"To Kench Village!"

The men, who shouted their destination loudly until the very end, got on the carriage.

'Should I go ahead this time?'

As the carriage slowly left the village entrance, Lucas entered a small alley.

"...My memory should be correct."

Lucas, thinking of the coordinates of a place not far from Kench Village, let out a small sigh and teleported.

-Flash!

Looking around, Lucas seemed momentarily flustered by the scenery, which was completely different from his memory.

"Is this not the place...?"

The coordinates of this place that Lucas remembered should have been a forest.

It should have been a forest path with the village entrance visible in the distance...

"A temple?"

A path paved with smooth marble. The towering building at the end of it boasted a pristine white appearance, as if it had been built not long ago.

"Whose temple is this? There should be an emblem somewhere..."

Lucas was standing still, carefully examining the building's appearance to pinpoint its exact location.

[What~ I'm so touched~]

"Shit!"

A voice suddenly came from near his wrist. In response, a curse reflexively shot out of Lucas's mouth.

[Oh my, did I startle you, darling?]

He had forgotten. The existence of this annoying artifact embedded in his arm.

At the voice that was now calling him 'darling' and asking him familiarly, Lucas almost cut off his own arm in that moment.

[How did you know to come here~? It's a newly built temple!]

Of all places, the coordinates he teleported to were right in front of the Temple of Amore!

But Amore was already talking to him.

"...Let me ask just one thing."

At that moment, a very ominous thought flashed through Lucas's mind.

[Yes, yes. What is it, darling?]

The excited Amore asked in a thrilled voice.

"Are you always watching me?"

[Oh my, darling, please. I'm not that idle of a god~ I'm Amore. The god right in front of you! The statue! The temple! Can't you see? I'm very busy.]

The cloying voice flowing from his arm dodged the question.

"The answer?"

[Ahem, ahem! Not always... sometimes?]

"Hmph... Then I have a request."

With this, it became certain. Amore was watching him not just sometimes, but most of the time.

[Yes, yes. What is it, darling?]

"Even if you watch me in the future, don't just pop up like this."

[Oh my, I just came because I thought you came to my temple because you missed me... Hmph!]

He wished this was all a nightmare. Patience audibly snapped between Lucas's teeth.

"Don't appear. As you already know, I have less than a hundred years left. I hope the first thing I do when I become a god isn't to come and annihilate you."

[Ho-eek! Darling, how can you say such things? If a cute and lovely god like me were to be annihilated, only darkness would remain in this world!]

Lucas was truly on the verge of going crazy.

The toughest of tough enemies. And there was no way to shut this insane god's mouth!

"If you appear one more time, I will find all your temples and destroy them."

[I hate you, darling! My temple is so lovely! Can't you see the heart on top? I even gave an oracle to the high priest this time!]

"Haaah..."

[It's my heart for you, darling.]

Finally, at the end of his patience, Lucas gathered mana in his hand.

[Sorry, sorry! Please don't break it! That's a brand new model. Okay? I get it, I get it!]

Amore, realizing Lucas was serious, quickly raised a white flag.

Hearing that, Lucas dispersed the mana he had gathered in his hand.

"There won't be a next time."

[My darling is truly so aggressive. So powerful. So... cool.]

"I believe I said there won't be a next time."

[Alright. Darling, then take care of yourself~ Call me anytime if you miss me~ It's a shame, but I have to go now!]

With those last words, the presence of Amore he felt from his arm slowly faded.

"Hah..."

It felt like his soul was being sucked out.

'But... do gods smoke? Does he have phlegm in his throat? No, no, that's not it.'

In his exhausted mind, even useless thoughts surfaced.

Shaking his head once to clear his mind, Lucas looked around again, and through the trees, he saw the familiar scenery of the entrance to Kench Village.

'The coordinates weren't wrong.'

Lucas's steps toward the village quickened.

'I need to get out of here quickly.'

***

Entering Kench Village, Lucas thought about what to do while waiting for them.

'It's been a while since I've been here too... hmm...'

The antique shop he had visited before was gone, and perhaps because it was a relatively small village, there were fewer people than in Rita.

In the end, Lucas, with nowhere to go, entered a small cafe.

As he sat on the terrace, a waiter approached and handed him a menu.

"Would you like to order?"

"A cup of hot black tea, please."

"Yes. With cream or sugar in your hot black tea..."

"Neither is fine."

"Yes. I'll prepare it for you shortly."

As the waiter who took the order disappeared, Lucas leaned back in his chair and looked around.

Despite visiting after a long time, the village hadn't changed.

On the stalls spread out in front of the square, peddlers were unpacking their goods and hawking their wares.

"Cute pets! A great gift for your child! Parrots from the south! We have parrots too!"

People started to gather at the mention of animals from the south.

"That's not all! We also have winter squirrels with soft fur! Their white fur is very soft!"

People often kept pets.

The most common pets were dogs, cats, and birds, but they were still considered a luxury that only well-off households could afford.

'Hmm... a pet merchant in a place like this.'

On the merchant's stall and cart, several birdcages and large and small enclosures were stacked in layers.

"Mom! I want a squirrel too. Please?"

"No. You said you'd take good care of it last time, but you didn't even feed it, did you? No matter how small an animal is, the value of life is the same. An irresponsible child can't have one."

The child, who was tugging at his mother's skirt and whining, became crestfallen at his mother's firm refusal.

"Oh my, should we get a bird? I think it would be nice to wake up to the sound of a chirping bird every morning."

"What's so pleasant about the sound of a bird trapped in a small cage? Let's be satisfied with the sound of the sparrows chirping around the house."

The woman who wanted to get a bird became crestfallen at her husband's firm words.

"Now, now! Then how about this? A very cute puppy! This breed is a Diva Terrier with a very gentle nature, raised in the warm island country of Divanos!"

The baby puppy, held in the merchant's hand, was whining and had a frightened expression.

"Oh my~ how cute. How much is this puppy?"

"10 gold!"

"That's too expensive... 10 gold for a dog."

"If you buy the puppy, I'll give you this cat here as well. If you keep it on a leash in the yard from a young age, it will be very good at catching mice!"

The woman, slightly tempted by the merchant's words, seemed to be thinking for a moment, looking back and forth between the puppy and the cat.

'To think of raising a life without knowing anything. Keeping a cat on a leash in the yard? Tsk.'

Lucas's brow furrowed as he watched the scene.

Just then, a noble family's carriage, a rare sight in the small village, stopped, and the onlookers moved to the sides.

"It's the Baroness."

"Quickly, move this way."

As the carriage door opened, a woman who looked like a noble lady got out.

"We greet the Baroness of the Melton Barony!"

"Yes. Has the item we discussed last time arrived?"

At the lady's words, the merchant quickly replied and began to lower the enclosures loaded on the cart to the ground.

"Of course! I was just about to visit you later..."

"That's fine. It will be certain this time, right?"

"Yes. Of course."

The merchant, who took out a small box from among the enclosures, smiled brightly, and the people around also focused their attention on the box.

However, unlike the other enclosures, the inside of the box was not visible, and it was not large.

On top of the black box, which was large enough to fit on an adult's palm, was a red gem the size of a thumbnail.

'That can't be a pet.'

Lucas's brow furrowed even more.

The lady held the box she received to her ear and shook it up and down.

-Thump, thud, thump, thud

A sound of something hitting came from inside every time the box was shaken.

"Oh, oh! If you do that..."

The merchant, looking flustered, quickly reached out a hand.

-Knock, knock, knock, knock!

As the lady stopped shaking it, a sound like something knocking on the box wall was heard.

"It's alive."

"Ha, haha... Of course. It's what the lady requested. It was really hard to get it."

"Good work."

After finishing her words, the lady casually handed the box to her maid and gestured with her head. The maid, who quickly received it, took out a pouch from her pocket.

"Take it."

"Thank you!"

The merchant, who received the pouch, bowed deeply.

"Let's go."

Just as the Baroness was about to turn away, the merchant, who had checked the pouch, quickly stopped her.

"Oh, oh! My lady... I'm sorry, but the amount..."

"I'll give you the rest after I check the item."

"...I understand."

As the carriage left, the merchant fiddled with the pouch several times before putting it in his pocket.

"We have pets!"

As the merchant's hawking continued, the people who had been murmuring about the box began to focus on the merchant again.

'Trashy people don't change even with time.'

Lucas knew the identity of the box.

"Your tea... oh? Sir!"

The waiter, who was bringing the tea, shouted as he saw Lucas getting up from his seat.

"Something urgent came up. I've left the money there."

Lucas, who had placed the money on the table, moved his feet.

'Why do tiring things keep happening.'

It felt like he had come out after not having an excursion for a long time.

Even in his past life, whenever he came out to the human world after a long time, annoying things would always pop up at first.

As if they were waiting for him to come and solve them.

"Tsk."

Lucas, who clicked his tongue lightly, moved his feet in the direction the carriage had left.

(End of Chapter)