Chapter 96: Only Investment in Their Eyes

No matter the race—whether of divine bloodline or ordinary mortals—everyone has an equal chance to become a god.

Becoming a god does not mean discarding everything from one’s mortal past. Rather, it is more like obtaining a divine spark while retaining one’s humanity—only now with endless time. Gods still possess human emotions. Some choose to protect their original race, while others use their power to create entirely new ones.

But the world is only so large. With too many races, conflict is inevitable. When wars break out, mortals suffer devastating losses—and the gods who protect them are naturally unwilling to see such outcomes.

As a result, since ancient times, relationships between gods have often been poor. Only a small number of them maintain occasional contact—like Lirna and Liuming.

There are also gods who simply don’t care about the survival of mortals at all, focusing only on themselves. Amo is a good example of this—and because of that, she gets along quite well with most other gods.

By now, every god has their own stance.

Lirna is no exception.

Conflicts between gods are common. When their respective followers meet, the fact that they don’t immediately start fighting is already a rare occurrence.

In the past, Lirna had been the kind of god who preferred to hide away in some corner—if no one could find her, she simply wouldn’t show herself.

But over time, even she couldn’t escape loneliness. And after accidentally picking up Yinuo, an outsider from another world, Lirna finally reappeared before mortals after thousands of years.

There are many gods like her.

But someone like Pereti—

A single individual possessing the blessings of four gods at once—

That was something unprecedented across the entire continent. Even for a god like Lirna, this was the first time she had ever encountered such a situation.

What are these old monsters doing—raising Gu here?

…No, that’s not how you raise Gu.

On the other side, Yinuo, staring at the panel before her, saw only two words:

Investment.

Back in her old world, she had only ever seen this kind of trope in novels—where some powerful old figure helps the protagonist at their lowest point without expecting anything in return, only for them to rise to greatness.

She never expected that after transmigrating into this decaying world, she would encounter such a figure herself.

Especially the title—

Demon King.

That one stood out the most.

She didn’t fully understand what “Demon King” meant in this world, but after more than ten years of observation, she had already realized something:

Those churches that appeared holy and glorious on the surface were, in reality, rotten to the core.

The same went for the nobility.

If people like that could be labeled “sacred”—

Then what about a Demon King?

Standing on the opposite side of all that decay…

No matter how she thought about it, that sounded like the protagonist’s faction.

Better latch onto this thigh immediately.

“Lirna, what do these last five blacked-out squares mean? I’ve never seen anything like that.”

After making up her mind, Yinuo couldn’t help but ask, staring at the final line.

Why were there black blocks there?

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know either?”

Lirna shook her head helplessly.

“How would I know what those old things are plotting? With that many divine blessings, the fact that she hasn’t exploded already is a miracle.”

She couldn’t help but click her tongue.

After staying hidden for so many years, not only had mortals changed drastically—even the gods were no longer the same as she remembered.

And that God of Delusion…

She had never even heard of that name. Probably a newly ascended god.

The two of them couldn’t help but look at the girl in front of them again—Pereti, who was currently devouring her food without restraint.

The secrets she carried were far greater than they had imagined.

“Nana, let’s make an investment.”

“Hm? What kind of investment? Let me hear it.”

Oh? There’s meat inside this bread?

At first, Pereti had assumed everything on the table was light vegetarian fare. But after tasting it, she realized many of the dishes hid their richness beneath an unassuming appearance.

“How does it taste?”

“Mm—delish!”
Pereti mumbled through a mouthful of food—only to notice that the two people across from her were looking at her rather strangely.

The way they looked at her…

It was like they were staring at an incredibly precious jewel.

There was no attempt to hide the greed and excitement in their eyes.

Seeing this, Pereti slowly put down the bun in her hand and hurriedly swallowed.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing. Seeing you enjoy the food makes me happy. For a chef, there’s nothing more satisfying than someone enjoying what they’ve made.”

“That’s really what you think?”

Pereti clearly didn’t believe a word of Yinuo’s nonsense. It was practically written all over her face—did she really think such an excuse could fool her?

“Ahem…”
Caught on the spot, Yinuo coughed awkwardly and decided to drop the act.

“Miss Pereti, I heard from Nana that you’re very curious about the development of the Gluttony Church. Is that correct?”

Pereti, cheeks puffed, still holding a half-bitten bun, tilted her head in confusion.

When did I say that…?

She couldn’t remember.

“Ah—”

Another bite.

“Oh, right. I remember now. What I asked was whether the Gluttony Church needed to rely on Lirna’s power to defeat the Empire. That doesn’t really have anything to do with what you’re saying, does it?”

“It does. Of course it does. Please, follow me.”

As she spoke, Yinuo stood up and walked toward the door, gesturing for Pereti to come along.

Though she didn’t understand what Yinuo was planning, Pereti followed anyway—still chewing on her bun, with two more tucked in her arms.

“Hm? Big Sister Lirna, what is the Leader doing?”
Wenika looked up, slightly puzzled, watching Pereti leave.

“They have something to discuss. Just keep eating.”

Wenika nodded vigorously and went back to devouring her food.

Yinuo led Pereti down a corridor. Suddenly, she stopped and gently pushed open a wooden door.

Beyond it was yet another corridor—but at the far end, it looked as if a crack of light had torn open the darkness. Golden-red light streamed through the stone, carrying a crisp, dry wind that brushed past their hair.

“This door leads outside? How did you know?”

“Stay here long enough, and you’ll figure it out.”

She followed the direction of the wind.

The stone path beneath their feet still held the warmth of sunlight. The wind grew stronger, whipping their clothes.

And the moment they stepped out—

The view exploded open.

They stood atop a towering cliff dividing a plateau from the plains below. A fierce wind rushed toward them, almost lifting Pereti’s skirt, yet at the same time sweeping away all the heaviness in her chest.

Above them stretched a vast, cloudless sky—so blue it looked like a sapphire polished by the gods.

Several eagles spread their dark wings, soaring over the cold mountains, circling lazily in the currents as their sharp eyes scanned the land below.

To the left, the plateau spread into lush green grasslands. Herds of cattle and sheep moved like scattered pearls. A river, over a hundred meters wide, cut sharply into the plains below, cascading down like an arrow, its waters roaring.

The clear sound of bells drifted on the wind. In the distance, a few shepherd boys waved their whips, their songs rough and free.

Walking to the edge of the cliff and looking down—

To the right stretched an endless sea of green wheat fields. With every gust of wind, waves of grain rippled outward. Farmers in coarse clothes bent over their work, their figures appearing and disappearing within the swaying fields.

Further still, rolling mountains lined the horizon, their ridges forming a grand silhouette. At their base, a faint glimpse of a town could be seen—white walls and red rooftops glinting softly under the sunlight, like a gentle embellishment upon this vast world.