"He was a friend. A very good one. And he gave everything up for the future of Ysvil." ~Shallies Mythernal, the Godkiller

"Godhood isn't some status or title that you can flaunt over people, you know? Mortals won't even believe you if you just casually walk up to them and tell them you're a god. They might even think you're crazy."

"I'm not in it for the recognition."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Someone has to do it, Bernadette. Famine and Destruction can't remain uncontrolled. We've seen what it can do underneath the Abyss Towers. If they remain without reins, then more lives will suffer. We're not even considering what could happen if they fall into the wrong hands, or other worlds for that matter."

"That's the same for Loss, Sin, Death, and whatever other Concept there is out there."

"They have to be controlled, as well, Bernadette. I know you can find those who can bear the burden. I'm sorry, I can only handle two."

"That's not the point, Fello. You're already doing way too much."

"Not as much as you. Not as much as you will."

"…"

"Come on, Bernadette. Don't cry."

"I'm not crying!"

"The balance of power won't last without you. Gods, Gatekeepers, Watchers, Acting Deities, we can all be replaced. But your role is what will ensure we can keep doing what we need to do until we can't anymore. It's a lot for us to ask of you, but we all know you can do it."

"It's unfair… I never thought it would come to this. We can just have no gods at all—!"

"And let the Concepts out of control? Bernadette, we both know how that works out. You saw what happened to those worlds."

"It's fake."

"We both know it's not, Bernadette. It's the entire point of The Pantheon. It doesn't matter whether mortals like it or not, but too much of one thing is never good. Never. You heard what Ysvil said. We need to keep them under control."

"…"

"Look, I'm sorry. I really am. I really wish there's another way. And it's stupid that we're putting all the burden on you. But you're the—"

"It's fine, Fello. You don't need to say it."

"You're crying again."

"It's just…"

"It's not like you don't have to see us anymore, right?"

"Try to see it from my perspective, Fello. If I keep spending time with you all, do you think I would have the heart to kill any of you when you turn mad? I'm not some psycho who can just turn off her emotions like that."

"I won't turn mad, Bernadette. You know how strong I am."

"You don't know that."

"I guess… I guess you're right."

"…"

"This is goodbye, then. You don't have to cry, you know?"

"I'll cry if I want to, you dumdum!"

"I know. I'll be seeing you around, Bernadette. I'm sure you'll make a lot more friends in the future. And I'm sure you'll treasure all of them like you do for us."

"…"

"I'm sure you'll cry for all of them, too."

"Shut up…" Shallies whispered as she woke up. Her hand wiped away a tear in frustration. "Idiot…"

As always, it was still a few hours before sunrise. This time around, rather than spending time in the kitchen, the Godkiller went for a walk, leaving Apple to sleep in her teacup bed. She randomly headed north, towards the Great Wilds.

If I'm taking on students, I'm essentially not retired anymore, am I?

No response. Stachie was still probably recharging mana. A rare occurrence for a System Assistant, but not exactly unprecedented. Regardless, Shallies appreciated her time alone.

She had a knack for it, she realized. After years mingling with so many people, Shallies had learned the importance of isolation. The joy of silence. The calm in loneliness. These were fleeting moments wherein she could truly reflect upon her life. A time to remember those who had gone ahead, as well as look to those passing by now.

Those little snippets of absolute solitude were treasures she had learned to cherish. She had learned to simply accept.

As she walked, Shallies found herself smiling. The visions Fello'resh kept sending her, her worries about Grace and her party's trial and safety, even the tavern's future… They all simply vanished.

This was her time. Her time alone.

The road was wide, meant for speeding vehicles of all sizes while accommodating for them going both ways. Shallies had observed that some mana-engine vehicles had been coming and going lately. She imagined that would increase by the time Spring fully blossomed.

The farms out here were wider as well. No lands were left out for rotation, meaning the Farmers were Skilled in nourishing and repairing the land quicker rather than growing their crops faster. Though Shallies could notice the extreme lack of magical plants, now that she looked into it.

Now that the sun was peeking from the eastern mountains, Shallies started seeing some animals grazing here and there. She even saw some cowblinks, which made her wonder if any of those were to be sold to Valor'el. She observed them through the fence, wondering how they blinked in and out of reality. The thought of Scanning them crossed her mind, but she didn't want to spook the lovely creatures. Regardless of how subtle she could be, the natural instincts gifted to most animals were incredible. She didn't want to risk traumatizing them just to satiate her curiosity.

Still, Shallies spent a few idle minutes just appreciating the calmness of these cowblinks. In a way, they were cute. Until one of them disappeared.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

For all her time in Ysvil, this was the first time she saw a cowblink blinking out of reality. It was a little alarming, she admitted. And when a few moments passed by without the creature returning, she was actually worried. Thankfully, the cowblink eventually blinked back into reality, seemingly unaware what had happened to itself as it continued grazing upon the field.

Shallies breathed a sigh of relief, before realizing that something as trivial as a blinking cowblink shouldn't have made her as panicked as she had become. Massaging her forehead a little, she continued on down the road.

"Good morning, Shallies!" a familiar voice called out as soon as she crossed the next farm.

"Marisa!" Shallies returned the greeting, heading over the farm. "Good morning. You're up early."

"So are you!" The human woman made a wide gesture, showing her entire farm. "I'm on farm duty. The earlier I'm done, the better. Didn't expect you to come strolling this far away from your tavern."

Shallies looked back where she came from, trying not to make a frown. Have I really walked that far? For some, probably. She could see a carriage parked in a nearby shed.

"I wanted to explore a bit," she said. "I should've realized. You did say you're up here near the border."

"Yep. Once you cross our farm, you're just a few steps away from The Great Wilds." Marisa pointed towards a small hut on a hill overlooking her fields. "Want some coffee, or tea?"

"Oh, if it's not too much of a bother. I'll have some coffee."

"You're never a bother for us, Shallies." Marisa beckoned her over. "Mind where you walk. Don't accidentally slip up, unless you want a mud bath."

"Thank you. I think I can manage."

As soon as they reached the hut, Marisa poured two cups of freshly brewed coffee. The two sat together, took a pause, and sipped from their cups. It was a lot milder compared to what Shallies used for her brews, but it helped with warmth and awareness nonetheless.

"Are you going to manage the farm alone?" Shallies asked.

She could see the wide fields from where she was sitting, and she could easily say that it was much larger than her land. Granted, most of the fields were already growing crops, but the maintenance work alone would take one person all day. And that had Skills into consideration.

"I have Ben and some nieces and nephews helping out later."

"No kids of your own, yet?"

"Not yet." Marisa smiled. "Too busy. We'll probably try after harvest. It'll be a whirlwind if I suddenly can't help."

"But you have a Devout in town," Shallies reasoned. "I'm sure Amabelle wouldn't mind helping you out. Before, during, and after labor."

"And it doesn't pull her out of Cinterbrim…" The Farmer thoughtfully rubbed her chin. "You have a point. Why did we not think of that?"

At that, Shallies just shrugged. It sounded like a rhetorical question anyway.

"What about you, Shallies? No one in town takes your fancy? Or maybe you get a lot of suitors back in the city, and you're hiding from them?"

"I don't know," Shallies said. "I've never thought about it. Before the tavern, I've always been after the next dungeon or quest or raid, or whatever. If I had any suitors, I probably ignored all of them. I doubt I had any, though. I'm the type of person who can disappear from a group, if I want to."

Marisa gave a knowing smile. "I suppose you are actually a workaholic. But you're settling down now. You might want to entertain the idea before you grow up as a single grandma."

"I'm twenty." Millennia…

"Bah! Sometimes you stare and the day doesn't seem to move. And then you blink, and the season has changed. But it is your life. Don't mind my nagging."

"Oh, it's okay. I started the conversation." Shallies took a sip of coffee, but before she could return the cup on the small table, something else caught her attention.

It was subtle, but a small entity created a net made out of mana, capturing more mana in the air, before absorbing it. Nothing harmful, but it was out of the ordinary, as far as how the previous farms she had seen had gone.

"What's wrong?" Marisa asked.

"I felt something disturbing the environmental mana," she explained. Shallies pointed across the field, near the northernmost part of their land. "Somewhere in your farm over there."

"Oh, you're quite a detector, aren't you?" Impressed, Marisa placed her cup on the table and urged Shallies to follow. "Wanna see?"

Curious, the Godkiller followed. They traversed through a small pathway in the middle of fully-grown crops. Rice fields, Shallies noticed, but with blades of grass that were taller than usual. For someone short like her, they were as good as eye hazards. Thankfully, Marisa said that bending them slightly with mana-control wouldn't cause any adverse effects.

After the rice fields was the orchard. Rows of fruit-bearing trees greeted Shallies with their colorful produce. Marisa tapped a trunk, causing a pair of large mangoes to fall into her hand. She gave her one while carrying a mischievous smile.

Shallies knew it would be a harmless prank, so she casually allowed herself to take the bait. What happened impressed her instead. Chilly. Not freezing, but the mango was surprisingly cold.

"Wait till you open it," said the Farmer.

Carefully, Shallies peeled the fruit. It was ripe, glistening with juice over yellow-orange flesh. And when she took a bite, she quickly realized two amazing things. First, the sweetness. It was overpowering the sour, but not outright pushing it away. It tasted like a juicy sugar explosion inside her mouth. The second was the missing pit.

Shallies enjoyed the fruit and eventually found the pit. It was surprisingly, amazingly tiny. If Apple was as large as a normal mango, the pit would be her head. She could easily fit two of them inside a potion bottle. The seed, not the fairy's head.

The Godkiller cleaned the juice out of her hands with mana-control and did the same thing for Marisa, who had taken a basket with her while tapping tree trunks to get their fruits.

"For Apple," she said. "I know she likes fruits, and these are some of the specialties of our farm. Oh, and the cowblink and bullblink tails might take a while, said our seller. They need to induce the blink so you get a proper batch."

"I'm not in a rush."

Shallies considered declining the fruit basket, but she wanted her Soul Confidant to taste them as well. So she gladly accepted about a dozen different fruits.

The orchard wasn't their destination, however. Marisa led Shallies further north where they eventually reached a section of field. It was mostly empty, except for a few crops slowly growing in a corner. She immediately recognized them.

"Treant Life-Branches."

"Yup. Mana-infused plants grow a lot quicker than the norm, so these are almost good to go." Marisa smiled and presented the plants. "Grace asked us to plant them. Said she wanted to give you the harvest in return to your help with her first quest. How she managed to get her hands on these things while we were out there, I have no idea.

"It was honestly, a little chaotic," Marisa admitted. "I wasn't sure what happened, but Ben and I blacked out for a moment. The last thing we remembered was fighting something unexpected and asking Grace to leave so she can save herself.

"Then the next moment, we're back in camp, with Grace also asleep. None of us remembered exactly what had happened. But we continued and finished our survey, and the rest wasn't anything dangerous anymore."

"The important thing is you made it home," Shallies said, trying not to accidentally slip up. The trauma Arun'dul accidentally caused must have been quite a lot for Ben and Marisa.

"Yes. That's the important part." The Farmer made a sad smile. "A lot of fame and glory can be found in adventures, but I don't think we're cut out for it. I'm glad Grace found a party."

"By the way, Marisa," Shallies said, suddenly having a thought. "Can I also ask you to plant something for me in the future? I can't do it myself."

A few things came to her mind. First, though she wanted Marisa to plant the Treant Life-Branches she currently possessed, those materials might jog the Farmer's brain and accidentally piece things together. Shallies couldn't risk it. Second, the Godkiller considered if she should take the Farmer Class when the opportunity arose, but that would cause some complications with the people who already knew she was a Guiding Star.

A problem for the future. For now, we'll try to strike a deal.

"For the right price, Shallies, we certainly can." Marisa smiled, her business-minded attitude showing clearly.

"Of course," Shallies said, smiling back. "We can discuss the matter when I have them."

With the sun now fully up, Shallies decided to return home. Marisa waved her goodbye. Before walking down the road, however, she saw the edge of a large, encompassing forest. The Great Wilds. It was still far in the horizon, but the large trees made it easy to spot the area.

Next time.

As soon as Shallies made it back, she could hear the sound of a piano. Apple must've gotten bored and brought out a miniature classic piano from her Class Inventory.

Shallies entered the gate, made it up the winding path, and held the door to her tavern, when Stachie greeted her.

[Shallies, one of our quests has been completed. An adventurer found a mana-infused storm near Bluepearl Sea. It seems to be heading for a Same-Plane Rift.]

"We might not have enough time to stop it from going through the rift," Shallies said as she opened the door. "I think it's better to try and find out where the Rift's headed, so we can have Valor'el and Phey catch it there."

[Copy that. I'll send a follow up quest.]

"Also, extend our quest search to the surrounding kingdoms. Any ruins with storm mana, or verify locations of slumbering god corpses, and if any of those have recent activity. Don't require them to investigate, we just need to pinpoint the areas. You can take the budget from my main account."

[Roger that.]

"Trouble?" Valor'el asked. He had a coffee cup in hand, but he paused in place when he heard his name. The other seraphim were there too, surrounding the teacup fairy on her tiny piano.

"Not yet," Shallies said, giving them a confident smile. "How are you guys with Rift-jumping?"

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