Betrayed by the Goddess – The Status Window Finally Appears
You tricked me? Status Window. A word so familiar from my previous life, one I'd shouted hundreds, thousands of times after reincarnating as a dragon. And why not? In regression, possession, reincarnation—whatever you call it—getting a status window was common sense for those who'd gone through it. I'd reincarnated, after all. But damn it, over the past 300 years, the status window never once showed up. Not even once.
"...Wha. Whaa...?"
"Lea... Lady Lea...?"
"You scammer!!"
Kugugugu...!!!
As my rage erupted, the royal palace shook. The maids who'd been watching our conversation broke out in cold sweats and collapsed, while the knights rushed toward the source of the commotion only to hesitate and back away. Haring and NyaNya trembled, bowing their heads repeatedly.
"S-sorryyy!!"
"Master, calm down! The castle's gonna collapse!"
"...You said it wasn't there."
"Y-yes?"
You said there was no status window! Even when I first met that so-called goddess 50 years after reincarnating. Even when she kept visiting my nest every other day like she had nothing better to do. Even when that great goddess of this world sprawled on the floor whining. Even when she came down personally to praise Bahamart and the heroes for defeating the demon king! That old hag clearly said there was no such thing as a status window.
But...
"Old hag... you tricked me???"
"Uh, uhhh..."
"Flame Dragon! Please calm down..."
"Withdraw your wrath!!"
But no. The status window existed. Right there in my face.
"This is absurd. So damn absurd..."
It was like the status window was mocking me—the status matched my mood perfectly. Absurd, angry, wronged. I wanted to go find that old hag right now and give her a good smack. Sure, I'd lose if we fought for real, but she'd never fought me seriously even once.
"Hoo... Puhah..."
"C-calmed down?"
"Um... I bought some tanghulu, wanna eat it and feel better...?"
"Behave."
"Yesss..."
"Leave it and go."
I snatched the tanghulu from Haring's hand, crunching into it as I thought. I was really pissed, but first, I needed to check out the current situation using this status window. Dealing with the goddess could come later.
'Name, race, level, stats...' It had all the basic stuff you'd expect from a status window. Name and race were whatever, but...
Level and stats.
"Not sure if that's high."
"Huh?"
"Hm."
Level 300+? Stats at 99+? Looks pretty high, I guess. Not that I've ever felt lacking in raw power, so it didn't matter much.
Next up...
"What's QP?"
"Huh?"
"Dunnooo...?"
"You don't know?"
"Nope."
Even the Earth-born heroes didn't know what QP was. I wondered if they were lying, but those eyes didn't look like it. The status window provided the answer.
Would you like to hear an explanation of QP?
"Old hag?"
"Yes?"
"Not you guys."
"Yep."
Haring and NyaNya glanced around nervously and huddled in the corner. I glared at the floating status window.
"Is that you, old hag?"
Would you like to hear an explanation of QP?
"Fiiiine. Not calling you old hag anymore. Goddess?"
Would you like to hear an explanation of QP?
"Answer me."
Would you like to hear an expl, expl, explanation of QP?
Just like with Haring and NyaNya, I grabbed at the air, and the status window's message started warping. The letters distorting like crumpled paper. Was this what Haring and NyaNya had seen? I gripped the blue window harder, crumpling it like a sheet of paper, but it snapped back to normal.
Would you like to hear an explanation of QP?
"Hmph. So you're a god, huh?"
Old hag or whatever, in the end, it was the goddess. A system made by this world's god couldn't be fully destroyed.
"Fiiiine. I'll listen."
Beginning explanation of QP.
QP stands for Quest Points.
Try giving quests to the budding heroes!
If the hero succeeds in the quest you assigned, you'll receive a certain amount of points.
Collect points to use the QP Shop.
"...?"
You currently have 47,090 QP.
So, to sum it up...
"You give me a status window after 300 years... because you want me to help the heroes...?"
Shivering...
"Le-Lea?"
"Get lost. You idiots."
I turned my back on them.
"Lady Lea! We're sorry! Please!"
"We really just like you so much, purely..."
Haring stared blankly at Lea's firmly shut door. It was a relief that no major damage had occurred—no killing sprees like Evan feared, no permanent ban like Husk's imprisonment. But Lea was deeply disappointed in the heroes and had shut herself in her room. Just hours ago, she'd been grinning, promising proper training.
"...Haa."
"She must be super disappointed..."
"NyaNya."
"Honestly, I'd feel the same. This is her real world."
NyaNya slid down the corridor wall in exhaustion. To heroes, users, Prolagia was just a game. A perfect place for weird stuff you couldn't do in reality or to act however you wanted. It was mere entertainment to them, but not to the residents here. To Lea, it was her precious lifelong home.
Thinking that, NyaNya hugged her knees and buried her head.
"Finding out the heroes she decided to care for see this world as fake..."
"...Yeah, no wonder she's disappointed."
"Haa... What do we do? Feels like we'll never see her again."
"Hmm..."
Haring pondered, then plopped down next to NyaNya. Lea was still fuming—no maids or knights could enter her room. But once she cooled off, she'd probably say:
'Heroes. Kick 'em all out.'
Order the heroes who'd deceived and belittled her gone. Maybe lock herself away forever out of spite. Or even hunt down the annoying heroes...
"Nah, not that."
"Yeah, that's overkill even for me."
Haring nodded at NyaNya's words. Lea preferred standing less than sitting, sitting less than lying down. Hunting heroes out of spite? After all their time with her, it seemed too much. Though her attitude toward heroes would definitely change.
'Maybe Evan was right.'
Haring thunked her head against the wall, thinking. Evan, who fled without hesitation upon hearing the news. Maybe they should bolt now, before her anger faded. Miss this chance, and they might never escape.
But...
"Still, I can't abandon Lady Lea."
"Me neither."
Abandoning Lea was unthinkable for the two. No matter what, they'd seek forgiveness and live on as her disciples.
NyaNya looked up.
"What do you think Lady Lea's doing now?"
"...Sleeping?"
"Maybe... Or cussing out the goddess. Probably still at it."
"No way."
"Logout."
This function is unavailable.
"Goddess consultation."
This function is unavailable.
"Old hag, you're typing this yourself, right? Yeah? Come out now and I'll forgive you."
This function is unavailable.
Thwack! A luxurious pillow, handwoven by a master artisan, sliced through the air. Brushing past the floating blue status window. I wanted to hit it. So badly. But the old hag comes and goes as she pleases. Unless she visits me directly, I couldn't reach her realm.
"...You really gonna play it like that? You know I could turn all the heroes into Pokémon?"
Doesn't seem impossible. I could do it. It's not that I can't move—I'm just too lazy. She needs to learn that. I could reset all the gacha pulls she worked hard on...
Ding!
"......"
Discounted, huh? Fine, I'll take a look. I scrolled through the endlessly long QP shop list. Not 10 or 20 items—easily over a thousand. No idea why she didn't give me this sooner. I would've used it nonstop to kill boredom.
"...Is 40k points a lot?"
I'd given out plenty of quests, but no clue on the scale. Earth round trip at 5 million suggests it's not much.
I decided to buy the one thing I was most curious about.
Would you like to purchase 'Goddess's Word of the Day'?
"Yes."
Discount applied! 1,250 QP deducted.
Remaining Points: 45,840
Goddess's Word of the Day can be purchased only once per day.
"Let's see what she says."
I crossed my arms and glared at the floating status window. Better not be nonsense, or it's Pokémon Go time.
As I glared, holy energy gathered in the air, engraving letters.
You...
◎It's better than you breaking it yourself, right?◎
"...You sneaky bitch."