17. Blessing of the Stars (1)
The moment I leaped over the window of the lavish room prepared for me, Belladys and I gazed out at the kingdom's scenery just like that.
It's exactly the same.
As expected. My heart raced once more at the sight unfolding precisely as it had in the game—and in my imagination.
This sudden breakout time. Wait, had I ever even had anything resembling a normal daily life?
One moment I snapped to my senses, and bam—tossed into an unfamiliar world, told to manage devotees.
It's fun, though.
And since it wasn't that bad, that's probably how I ended up here.
Whoosh...
"Ah, F-Father God...! You can let go...!"
Belladys, suddenly tucked under my arm, flailed in confusion. She'd stuck to me just fine all this time, but she had no tolerance for this.
"It's fine, it's fine."
She probably had ways to hover in midair on her own, but where's the fun in that? Sneaking out together needed that mysterious thrill.
"...Huh?"
A royal knight walking the street below looked up in puzzlement.
No chance.
With our items equipped, there was no way he could spot us.
"Let's head to the temple."
"Y-Yes...!"
"Uncomfortable? Should I go alone?"
At my question, Belladys shook her head vigorously.
"We're half-sneaking out... hope it's okay?"
"This world and all within it belong to Your Divinity. It is only right that You enjoy what is Yours."
"Is that so?"
Listen to her sweet talk. I ruffled her hair generously.
"Eek."
Leaving Belladys pressing obediently against my palm, I kept flying with wings outstretched.
My body, far transcending human limits, locked onto the familiar silhouette of a building visible even from afar.
The temple.
It welcomed me in the exact form I'd meticulously customized back then.
Found it.
In Ragnarok, temples and sanctuaries partially handled a constellation's role automatically. Like an automation system.
They distributed faith value as needed to devotees and restored stamina worn down by battles or other tasks.
An essential element you couldn't play without for smooth gameplay.
I'm here.
Its perfect form stirred faith even in those who had none.
My other home—the temple.
This is... real?
Goosebumps prickled my skin as overwhelming emotion surged.
Sanctuary of the Nameless God Lv.1
Kuh, yes... this...
I nearly teared up at the familiar window, but then froze.
...?
What the hell was this?
Where was my player name? My accumulated levels?
I rubbed my eyes and checked again.
Sanctuary of the Nameless God Lv.1
Still the infuriating window.
Wait, what?
What kind of situation was this? My progress?
Due to data loss and collapse, some object progress has been reset to initial values.
Reactivate objects to reclaim your authority as an Absolute!
"...Ah."
Fuck, this ain't right.
My blood ran cold.
"Father God...?"
I barely registered Belladys calling from behind in concern. Dazed, like an idiot, I shuffled over and placed my hand on the temple's outer wall.
Ding!
Object successfully activated!
Object experience acquired!
Temple level increased! Lv.1 ▶ Lv.2
Just activated, so it leveled up, they said.
...No. It's barely a goddamn speck.
Where'd my max level go? My progress? All that effort poured into results—gone, leaving only this pathetic reset number amid the bullshit.
"Please, no."
My knees nearly buckled, but I couldn't show such a pathetic sight in front of a devotee.
"A-Are you alright?"
"Yeah, first time seeing it in person. Kinda shaky."
I forced my stiff jaw to move, faking excitement.
Why drop this despair bomb now? It hadn't happened with Lisia.
The reason was already in my head.
The monastery I'd seen protecting Lisia back then wasn't part of the temple network.
Just rundown facilities, no proper priests—a barren space.
So it'd been classified as mere infrastructure.
"Yeah, first time seeing it for real. Overwhelming..."
"Th-This is another first for..."
"Hm?"
"N-Nothing...!"
Belladys mumbled to herself, bit her tongue, and trembled with ears red to the tips.
Watching her innocent reaction somehow soothed my gloom.
Her voice dripping unwavering trust helped me cling to sanity.
Suddenly, enlightenment cleared my mind.
"Right. I had it wrong."
"Y-Yes...?"
I needed to separate game from reality.
Back then it was a game; now it's real.
Not just text crying out my name—real people devoting everything to worship me.
Lisia, Belladys.
Yeah. My devotees who crave me are right here.
That's enough.
I straightened my slumped shoulders and declared confidently.
"Thank you."
"...!"
At my sudden gratitude, her lips quivered upward in delight.
This is it.
Give devotees what they want.
Screw data scraps; I could rebuild those numbers bit by bit.
The unbreakable faith is what matters.
Steeling myself again, I eyed the sanctuary system.
Enter a name in the blank to proclaim your existence.
Name:
I'd forcibly changed the name here before.
Name: Ron
Your name has been newly established.
Congratulations on taking your first step into the world, Constellation 'Ron'.
Congratulations my ass.
This right?
"Father God, something must be...?"
As I showed unease, Belladys immediately checked my face.
"No, I'm fine."
Let me sort my thoughts.
I didn't know where it went wrong, but my current spot wasn't bad.
First place is the tutorial zone.
Surrounded by ultimate safety; even if things twisted, stability was high.
The reset level? Just steadily pour in divine power and it'd recover fast.
The issue was the untouched, deactivated sanctuary objects.
Those are pretty far from here.
System power could cover somewhat, but not scouting right away was frustrating.
Gotta check this out too.
Looks like I'd be flipping through system windows all night.
Sanctuary of Father God of All, 'Ron' Lv.2
The sanctuary name updated nicely.
But the gloom didn't return.
The halted flow of the stars begins normalizing...
"...What?"
....?
Flow of the stars? What?
I wouldn't know.
Of course.
What would you know, empty-headed fool.
Ignoring the clueless chunk of data, unease swelled at the unfamiliar phrase.
Thud!!
Then a light impact from somewhere.
"...?"
Looking down for the source, my eyes met a girl's—with unusual hair color.
"You."
"...Ah."
Where'd she come from?
A sense of wrongness. Even with my veil suppressing presence, she'd made contact.
The kid was clearly locking eyes with me.
"You're... handsome..."
"Father God, this wench."
Belladys instantly went on guard.
Wench? Harsh for a little kid who couldn't even be that old.
"It's fine, Belladys."
I stopped her from jumping to action and addressed the girl who'd touched me.
"Who are you?"
"Ah, me. I... don't remember."
Amnesia? Suspicious as hell.
With the first object activation, accumulated luck begins to take effect!
Event triggered!
Probability of 'Girl Blessed by the Stars' appearing greatly increases!
Blessing of the Stars.
Chills hit me.
"...Huh?"
Rumble!!
The ground shook, a ferocious roar tearing the sky.
Crisis sense blaring, I looked up.
A glowing star plummeting from the heavens.
"F-Father God...!"
Right above my head.
Ding!
New Hero of the Stars