Leila's Earth Date

"Hey, Jihun."

It was when Jihun was in his own room. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out.

Kim Jihun turned his head to look beside him. There sat Leila on a chair, gazing at him.

Jihun jumped in surprise and said to her, "Leila! What are you doing in our house?!"

Surprisingly, she had appeared out of nowhere in Kim Jihun's room. Just like Asrie, she had shown up stealthily right next to him.

"Obviously, I came to Earth for a visit. To see you."

She approached slowly and pressed her lips to Jihun's cheek.

Unfamiliar with such intimate skinship between the opposite sexes, Jihun's cheeks gradually flushed red.

Leila looked at him with a seductive expression.

"I told you, didn't I? I won't let you go. And I want to know more about you."

"What do you...?"

Kim Jihun stared at her with a dumbfounded expression.

She just grinned and tugged at his arm.

"Come on, show me around where you live. Earth."

"Leila?"

Leila forcibly dragged Kim Jihun along. Now beyond low-level god and approaching mid-level god status, she could overpower him with sheer strength, and Jihun was helplessly pulled away.

So embarrassing.

Kim Jihun felt a sense of self-loathing at being dragged around powerlessly by a girl. And he resolved himself. He had to recover his body quickly, consume the Essence of Divine Power, and become a mid-level god.

...

"I really didn't think you'd actually come."

Kim Jihun looked at Leila in front of him. She had hidden her wings and was dressed in casual Earth clothes.

Leila grinned and said, "Let's go! I want to see how you usually live."

"Uhmm..."

Kim Jihun groaned. If he'd known this energetic woman was coming, he would've prepared what to show her in advance, but he hadn't expected such a sudden visit.

Suddenly, he said to Leila, "By the way, how did you even get here? This isn't your territory. Didn't Asrie stop you from coming?"

"Oh, when I told Lady Asrie I wanted to sightsee, she happily allowed it."

Her answer left Kim Jihun momentarily speechless. Considering Asrie's personality, he'd thought she hated letting other gods into her domain.

But Leila's next words forced him to revise his thinking.

"If it had been a full-fledged general god adult, she might've refused. But she let me in because I'm cute!"

"..."

Jihun could only blank out for a moment at Asrie's unexpected behavior.

She likes kids, huh!

Surprisingly, Asrie seemed to have a soft spot for young gods. Like how adults dote on little children. Though Leila's appearance looked like a very mature late teen, her actual age was extremely young among the gods. So she was probably still seen as a child.

Leila grabbed Jihun's arm and urged him on.

"Come on, show me quick. Where you live."

Pushed by her urging, Jihun had no choice but to introduce her to Earth.

Kim Jihun walked the streets with Leila. She bombarded him with questions about everything that caught her curiosity: street cars, massive buildings, street food, money... Her curiosity knew no bounds, leaving Jihun's mouth sore from explaining.

But people keep staring over here.

As he walked with Leila, Jihun suddenly felt the surrounding gazes. People whispered while looking at him and Leila.

Jihun strained his ears to eavesdrop on the passersby's words about them.

The various people they passed on the street all seemed to assume Kim Jihun and Leila were a couple. Well, both of them had outstanding looks, so it wasn't unreasonable.

Deep down, Jihun felt pleased.

I'm handsome enough not to lose to Leila?

Kim Jihun recalled his time at the low-level school with Leila. The low-level gods there had badmouthed them, saying they didn't match. But here on Earth, people just saw them as a perfect handsome guy and beautiful girl couple.

So Jihun felt good about it.

Then, suddenly, he thought,

But this feels like a date.

Wandering the streets without any particular goal, chatting about all sorts of things. Trying public transport, buying street food, stopping by a roadside cafe. It was all just to let Leila experience Earth culture, so they wandered aimlessly, simply enjoying themselves. It naturally felt like a date.

Is this my first date, then?

Jihun smiled inwardly at the thought.

Come to think of it, Leila had given him many first experiences. His first rival, his first kiss partner, and now his first date.

As Jihun savored the novel feeling, a naughty thought fleetingly crossed his mind.

What if we end up spending our first night together too?

The moment that thought hit him, Kim Jihun's face flushed red. It was too indecent even for him.

Watching him, Leila asked in confusion,

"Jihun, why's your face suddenly turning red while walking? You sick?"

"Ah, it's nothing."

Kim Jihun cleared his throat a few times and continued introducing Earth culture to Leila.

After quite a long time wandering around,

Kim Jihun and Leila strolled the darkening night streets. Both were satisfied. Leila had enjoyed experiencing an intelligent species' culture for the first time, a fresh thrill. Jihun also found it fun sharing such private time with the opposite sex for so long.

They walked the night streets with a slight sense of regret.

Leila said to Jihun, "It was a fun day."

Jihun nodded at her words. He'd enjoyed the date-like outing with her too.

He smiled and replied, "Yeah. I had fun too."

At his answer, Leila flashed a soft smile. A gentle smile unimaginable from the old Leila.

Seeing that smile, Jihun felt his heart stop for a moment. Her attractive face with such a soft smile had more destructive power than expected. His heart began pounding rapidly.

Stunned by her unexpected charm, Kim Jihun stammered, "Come visit again next time."

"Yeah, I should. That way I can learn more about you."

She spoke softly to him. Jihun walked side by side with her.

Soon, they entered a quiet park with few people.

Leila greeted him as if this was as far as she'd go. "I'll head back now. Mom's waiting."

Whether gods or humans, parents worry about their young children the same way.

Kim Jihun chuckled and saw her off. "Alright. Let me know when you come next time. I'll show you stuff we didn't get to today."

"Okay."

Leila replied to Jihun and pulled a mysteriously shaped stone fragment from her pocket. High-level Creation Force and divine power flowed from it in streams.

It was an artifact imbued with the authority of dimensional leap, made by her mother for her.

Leila infused it with divine power, activating the dimensional leap authority. A small temporary dimensional gate appeared before Kim Jihun and Leila.

She was about to return ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠home through the gate.

Leila looked at Kim Jihun one last time and said, "Well, see you."

With that, Leila lightly kissed his cheek with a smack.

Jihun wasn't startled by her kiss anymore. After all day of her doing it, he'd gotten used to it.

"Yeah. Take care."

Kim Jihun saw her off.

Thus, Jihun ended his very first date ever.

...

After Leila left,

Kim Jihun pulled out the three promotion battle rewards from his subspace.

These were the rewards Kim Jihun had received: the Essence of Divine Power, the Absolute Recovery Elixir, and the low-grade Soul Stone.

Jihun carefully examined the descriptions on his rewards.

The Essence of Divine Power is an orb that turns you into a mid-level god, and the Recovery Elixir is just what it says—a potion for recovery. Probably like an RPG game's potion.

Jihun could easily infer the uses of the Essence of Divine Power and Recovery Elixir among his rewards. The descriptions were detailed enough.

But one thing—the low-grade Soul Stone—he couldn't figure out at all what it was for. It just said it was a medium needed to create low-grade souls, and he had no knowledge about soul-related matters.

As he pondered, a voice suddenly came from beside him.

"That's a low-grade Soul Stone."

"Yes, it is. But I don't know what it's used f— Whoa!"

Kim Jihun absentmindedly replied to the sudden voice but remembered he was alone in the room and let out a startled yelp.

Of course, the one speaking to Kim Jihun was Asrie, who had appeared unnoticed.

Jihun said to her, "Ah, please stop scaring me like that. Make some noise when you come."

"I'm not a person, so I don't make presence noise. I could make some divine presence, though."

Ignoring her lame pun, Kim Jihun continued scrutinizing the low-grade Soul Stone.

As if to resolve his curiosity, Asrie explained,

"The low-grade Soul Stone is proof that you've been recognized as a true Creator God."

"...What do you mean?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Kim Jihun sensed her words carried some weighty truth and immediately put on a serious expression, listening intently.

Asrie began explaining the Soul Stone in more detail.

"Intelligent beings are entities with souls. Souls are extremely noble and sacred things possessed by both gods and intelligent beings. That's why only certain recognized Creator Gods can handle souls, and they use that Soul Stone to prove their qualification."

Kim Jihun didn't quite follow Asrie's explanation. Reading his confusion, she simplified it.

"In short, you can't make intelligent beings without that."

"Aha!"

Kim Jihun preferred that simple expression over her long-winded one. How intuitive!

She continued explaining to him.

"The fact that you've already received a Soul Stone means your qualifications as a Creator God aren't just sufficient—they're overflowing. Well, there are no low-level gods who create and make artifacts like you."

In other words, god society recognized Kim Jihun's value and utility. And they had high expectations for his future potential too.

Kim Jihun asked Asrie, "But I'm originally human, right? Won't the other gods reject me? Actually, the low-level gods hated me."

Kim Jihun expressed doubt about being accepted into god society. The low-level gods had hated him so much, yet the higher-ups ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠recognized him? Ironic.

Asrie easily cleared up his question.

"The low-level gods rejected you because they're immature kids full of bravado. Gods live for many ages, gradually becoming wiser. That's why the high-ranking gods who've lived long ages recognized your utility and gave such rewards."

In short, the low-level gods had bullied Jihun because they were childish and immature. Kids are always bratty, no matter where you go.