Thigh Pillow Therapy and Kingdom Confrontation

With the holy war against my Lord God successfully thwarted and the encounter with Belladys safely concluded, the curtain had fallen. There had been a major crisis mid-way with that identity confusion mess, but I'd managed to patch it up somehow. Good thing, too.

And now, in the midst of all that—

Clatter. Clatter.

I was inside a high-end magic-engineered carriage, receiving care from Belladys.

Uncomfortable.

The damage from blocking that Black Sun bastard's attack had healed on its own, but the sticky feel of blood-soaked clothes clinging to my skin was utterly revolting. I wanted to change or at least wash up. But circumstances weren't cooperating.

"....."

From the moment I entered the carriage, a heavy silence had settled in. A soft warmth cradled the back of my head, a pleasant scent lingered at my nose, and a prickling gaze stabbed right at my face. There was only one other person in the carriage besides me, so the owner of that stare was obvious.

Master.

It had been an hour since my fake unconsciousness act began, and my Belladys was still silently gazing down at me. What an oppressively heavy moment.

With no choice, I kept my eyes closed and manipulated my status window.

Oh.

Just as I was pondering how to handle the Avatar of the Black Sun, a nice reward popped up. A brand-new community window I'd never even seen in the game.

I immediately checked the tab, and it greeted me with a structure similar to the ones other users and I had used.

Another constellation. Perfect—there was that noisy one in the message window.

Without hesitation, I selected its name.

Hey.

Accept the friend request.

The friends list activated right away. As of today, the Avatar of the Black Sun and I were friends. Was this an equal relationship? If I wanted, I could turn their cult into rubble in a single day.

The key point was that I now had an easy, quick way to contact it without direct interference.

Huh?

Then, messages started appearing in the new community window.

What did I do?

I'd preserved its existence and blocked the holy war. If anything, it should be grateful. A surge of indignation rose up.

Should I curse it again just like that?

Yeah, that's more like it. The constellation community seemed to allow direct conversation with other constellations. Up until now, it had just sent noisy warnings via messages, but this felt like a real chat. Probably worked with others too.

So.

Don't we need to have a little talk now?

A very important fact: I still hadn't fully grasped how this world operated.

What? What did you even say besides whining for help?

Spill more.

Most of the cult's facilities were deactivated, and my followers were gearing up to rampage across the world. I wanted to scout personally, but I only had one body. Even with the cheat-like system, there were limits to how much info I could process at once.

The holy war against the Black Sun had halted for now, but the forces I'd built spanned the entire world—that's how much effort I'd put in back then.

According to the system and that constellation, my cult was in massive chaos right now.

The Avatar of the Black Sun wracked its brain, dropping bits and pieces.

Other constellations?

The constellations that knew me wouldn't pull that crap, so new ones? Hah. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Setting up big events to keep me from getting bored—already exciting.

As I leisurely fiddled with the settings window, I sensed Belladys stirring.

"...Ahh."

A sigh laced with longing. I wanted to open my eyes and see what she was doing, but I couldn't break character now.

Belladys Rozeria. In the game, her unique charm had melted my heart. Cold and curt to everyone else, but to me, she'd flash a subtle smile, revealing her feelings. Classic gap moe.

And now she existed perfectly in this world, right in front of me. Yet I couldn't even talk to her or touch her.

Why can't I just enjoy this.

All because of those Black Sun idiots stirring up trouble with their mere existence.

"Lord God, my Lord God."

The back of my head was incredibly soft and warm. Belladys special thigh pillow service. A seat no one else in the world could enjoy, prepared just for me.

"Please open your eyes and look upon this lowly servant. And..."

Belladys spoke desperately, at a loss.

"Punish this repulsive mongrel."

...What?

My thoughts froze at the sudden self-deprecation.

Drip. Drip.

Droplets started falling on my forehead right around then.

...Tears?

"I vowed my life to the Lord God, swore it in blood."

Belladys's voice was now drenched in sorrow.

"Hic...! Punish this fool who couldn't even recognize her master and dared bare her fangs...!"

She was grieving. Belladys, who always smiled brightly in the game, was crying because of me.

This isn't what I wanted.

I'd aimed for a dramatic reunion, a miraculous moment. Not tears from a character I loved.

Stroke.

A cool sensation on my cheek. Her hand.

"H-How much it must have hurt. This ignorant, foolish head of mine can't even imagine. It's... so terrifying."

She'd shifted from devout follower back to her usual self. Unlike earlier, when she had to play the strong devotee in front of others, now it was just us in the carriage. She could let her guard down.

It's all your fault.

In that situation, all I could do was shove the blame elsewhere.

If you hadn't pulled aggro, there'd be no attack, and it'd all end peacefully. Admit it?

Huh? Talking back? Curse rebound?

If this kept up, I'd look like the bad guy, so I even made the Avatar of the Black Sun cry.

Bad guy, you bastard. Daring to make tears fall from my devotee's eyes?

"I love you deeply in my heart. I love you, my Lord God."

"Just seeing you like this in the flesh makes my heart race like I'm dreaming. My head feels like it's going crazy..."

No.

This wasn't what I'd aimed for. Belladys kept confessing.

"But... I mustn't dare, right...? A lowly thing like me. A wretched mongrel who couldn't recognize her master and put him in danger. I can't..."

No, you'd be fine as you are.

"And everyone saw that disgrace. I'll be struck by heavenly punishment, hic...! No reason left to live...!"

The misty tears turned into a downpour on my face. The sensation of my face getting soaked by my devotee's tears oddly cleared my mind.

If I left her like this, she'd erode her self-esteem straight to the abyss.

About time.

I needed to forcibly stop her self-flagellation. She'd suffered while I was out. Weird to say it when I'd set it up myself, but it wasn't intentional.

I thought she'd be thrilled like Lisia.

My fault for not considering each devotee's personality.

"Mmm..."

First, a little engine rev.

"....!"

As I showed signs of waking, Belladys flinched and trembled. Probably dreading what was coming. Even though I had no such intentions.

"Be... lla...?"

I opened my eyes with a hazy gaze, and right there, Belladys's face looked down at me. How did her face still shine from this angle? I wanted to brag to the neighborhood: This is my devotee.

"F-Father God...!"

She'd placed my head on her thigh ages ago and was now at a loss. I was very reluctant. Really reluctant. But I lifted my head from Belladys's thigh and sat up properly.

"Where... is this...?"

Play dumb for now.

"I-It is our cult's carriage, Lord God...!"

"Ah."

"Any injuries, uh..."

Belladys hurriedly checked my complexion, then hesitated with guilt.

I needed to ease that guilt first.

"Injuries, ah..."

Pretending to check at her worry, I soon smiled as if all was well.

"All healed up nice. I'm fine now."

"S-Sorry. Please, punish me harshly..."

"Why? You handled it well, Belladys."

"I couldn't recognize my master and even put the Lord God in danger. That sin... can never be washed away...!"

Deep in self-loathing, Belladys couldn't even meet my eyes, exuding a melancholic aura.

I know.

Annoyingly, the stat window popped up, showing minus values just like with Lisia. I couldn't stand seeing my devotee's stats drop right in front of me. Not after I'd raised her so carefully.

No way.

"I'm unworthy trash...!"

"Belladys."

I called her name firmly, unable to watch her shed more tears.

"...?"

"You're not at fault at all."

"But...!"

"The one who leaked false info and plunged the cult into crisis—"

The reason I'd lifted the Black Sun's curse. The reason I'd spared their forces.

"—was all the Black Sun's scheme."

I spared you, so do the work.

The price of forgiveness was simple: take the blame like they always did.

"B-But..."

Belladys looked at me with wavering eyes. She was shaken but couldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shake off the guilt easily. Her feelings for me must have been profoundly heavy.

"As much as you like me, Belladys, I like you too."

"...?!"

Her gloomy, tear-brimming expression shifted to confusion, then wide-eyed surprise as she met my gaze.

Yes. That's it.

Give as good as you get. Essential for devotee management. Basic business principle.

I flashed a salesman's smile to steady her turbulent heart.

"Seeing my beloved Belladys in pain hurts me too."

"L-Lord God!"

"The spot I got hit doesn't hurt at all, but my heart aches so much."

"Eek...?!"

At my honest feelings, the vampire devotee was beside herself with guilt.

"How dare I, how dare..."

Hmm.

"Well, nothing to be done then. Guess the constellation's outta here."

Belladys's face crumpled like the world was ending. Who told you to hold out. Dragging me to the nuclear option.

"Ah, no. Don't go, Lord God. I was wrong... Don't leave."

"Shall we call it even now?"

"Y-Yes."

She clung to my olive branch like a lifeline.

"Okay, good."

To end this bizarre back-and-forth, I gently pulled her shoulder.

"....?"

Unable to refuse, she yielded to the pull. Where she ended up...

"....?!"

In my arms. A hug. Free hug for the devotee. Repayment for the thigh loan earlier.

"I forgive your sins."

Belladys finally stopped tearing herself down. She trembled faintly, lost in the moment.

# A Brief Atonement Timeout Later

My head was back on Belladys's lap pillow before I knew it. I'd received, so I gave—but now I had to give again. At Belladys's firm insistence, I had no choice. Really no choice but to entrust my head once more.

What, jealous?

You would be. Their cult was all drab, hopeless darkness. They could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only dream of fluffy, warm interactions like mine.

Meanwhile, Belladys had impulsively placed my head on her thigh but hesitated at the next step, dithering.

Do whatever's comfy.

With the awkwardness gone, I felt no resistance.

As we enjoyed this healing time leisurely—

Clatter!

Ugh.

The cryptic message came with a sudden stop. My body nearly tumbled to the floor from the abrupt halt. If not for the soft embrace hastily cradling my head, I'd have rolled ingloriously.

Ooh.

My mind blanked briefly at the heavenly softness. I quickly opened the map to assess.

This is...

Around my forces' green dots, smoothly pulling away from the Black Sun cult territory, orange dots had now deployed.

Orange.

The color between ally green and enemy red. Meaning they could become allies or foes depending on future actions.

What the?

"...Lord God. Just a moment."

She carefully placed my head on the carriage seat and stepped out. The moment she did, I lifted my head and peered out the window.

"Ah."

The flag flying high in the sky and the emblem that appeared.

It matched the familiar design perfectly from the game. A force that had cooperated with our cult.

But why?

Why were they facing us like enemies instead of welcoming the cult?

Especially the man at the forefront of their forces. Clad in the kingdom's ornate armor, wearing a grim expression—

He was a pretty influential character in the game too.

Ricardo Baltar.

Knight Commander of the kingdom and a Sword Saint. A name always mentioned among the world's top powerhouses, with genuine overwhelming combat prowess as an NPC.

Back when I was still a Baby Constellation, I'd gotten tons of help from him. When the cult was weak and all I had was constellation authority, we'd profited big from quests with Regarium Kingdom.

"Ah."

As memories surfaced, one forgotten fact hit me.

Regarium Kingdom was the one nation in this near-dark fantasy world that upheld light and justice. Ruled by a gentle king, they were just good people. No group is perfectly pure, but compared to others, they were spotless.

That's why we allied often.

But.

Until moments ago, my followers had been marching to wipe out the Black Sun cult. Massacre, slaughter, blood, and more blood! A kingdom valuing peace and serenity wouldn't look kindly on that advance.

No matter our high favor, wrong is wrong.

"Trouble."

It had turned into nothing in the end, but they didn't know that. Facing my menacing cult, they were fully prepared.

"By order of His Majesty the King! Disband the cult immediately and uproot the seeds of discord!"

The Knight Commander at the front bellowed. Unflinching before my cult—a true knight.

"Hmph."

But it stung. After all our mutual aid, to turn hostile in an instant. With no choice, I decided to step in personally.