Chapter 00063: Easily Fooled
# Easily Fooled
Chapter 63
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 63: Easily Fooled
Li Chengxi wasn't a follower of any religion, but even if he had never eaten pork, had he not seen a pig run?
A god who grants whatever a follower asks for—there was something not quite right about that.
It instantly brought to Li Chengxi's mind a scene from the movie "Bruce Almighty."
No matter what the followers prayed for, the answer was always "ALL YES," which ultimately led to very troublesome results.
That's right, a god shouldn't be accommodating to every request.
At the very least, they should ask for some sort of price.
Otherwise, the god's help would seem too cheap.
Li Chengxi had a knack for getting immersed in games.
Since this game, AAI, let the player act as a god, he should think like one.
So, after much thought, Li Chengxi decided he had to make a harsh demand to make Viola understand that a god's help wasn't something you could get just by asking.
"Let me see you struggle, wahahahaha!"
Then he picked up his headset...
–‐‐——–‐‐——
Demon Lord Calendar, Year 648.
April 30th, afternoon.
Inside the Chapel, Viola was leading the Royal Guards in prayer, kneeling before the Holy Emblem.
If there were no special requests, a prayer session would typically last between fifteen to thirty minutes.
It was like a daily routine, something they did whether they had a specific plea for the god or not.
Today was no different, and the prayer concluded smoothly.
If one had to point out anything different from usual, it was the addition of Reina, dressed in her butler uniform, to the praying crowd, and Wendy and Audel standing in a corner, observing.
Seeing Viola stand up, the two hurried over.
"How did it go? Did the Demon God agree to help?"
Judging by Viola's deeply furrowed brow, it didn't seem too optimistic.
"The Lord said he can repel the fleet, but he has two conditions."
Upon hearing this, Audel said:
"Oh? What conditions? Does he want a few hundred beautiful, pure maidens?"
Viola and Wendy both shot her a look that said, 'Are you even listening to yourself?'
"Is that strange? According to the research from our City of Academics, the Demon God likely has a great fondness for beautiful women. In the Mythic Era, he had a massive harem. Sometimes, merely to ask for the Demon God's protection, one would need to offer ten or more beautiful, pure maidens... You've never made such an offering?"
"No, the Lord has never made such a request."
"That's not right. If it were just one or two stone carvings saying so, it could be explained away as deliberate slander. But we've discovered many stone carvings from different periods, all stating that the Demon God was excessively debauched."
Whenever it came to academic matters, Audel became very serious.
"What do you usually use as offerings?"
"Um... meals?"
"Maidens for breakfast, married women for dinner?"
It was clear from her tone that Audel knew her stuff.
"No, just normal food. And after every offering, the Lord washes the tableware and sends it back. However, the Lord doesn't seem very satisfied with the food we present. He even once specially bestowed a large quantity of expensive spices upon us."
Audel looked at Viola as if she were a fool, her expression seeming to say, 'That's it?'
Wendy, on the other hand, didn't care for all this nonsense.
She pushed Audel aside and asked:
"What did the Demon God demand?"
"He said... he requires us to send out scout ships to sea to confirm the position of the enemy fleet."
"Is that even a demand? We would have done that even if he didn't say so."
Knowing a fleet was coming to make a landing, sending out scout ships was a given.
Otherwise, they wouldn't even know when the enemy had come ashore in the dead of night.
"The other requirement is, for me to..."
"For you to offer yourself personally?"
Audel, not giving up, interjected from the side.
"No, for me to personally lead all the commoners of the city in a grand prayer ritual that will last an entire day. He also specifically emphasized that both these conditions must be met, or the Lord will not act."
"..."
Audel looked as if she wanted to say something but ultimately held her tongue.
"Even if the Lord hadn't said so, I was already planning to hold a large-scale ritual soon to thank him for his help. I really can't figure out why the Lord would state these as conditions."
"Perhaps... there's no reason?"
"No, that is the Demon God who ruled the world in the Mythic Era. The Lord's wisdom and strategy are by no means something we mortals can easily comprehend. There must be a deeper meaning."
As a devout follower, Viola was thoroughly convinced of this.
But Wendy and Audel exchanged a glance, a single thought popping into both their minds simultaneously.
This Demon God... is way too easily fooled, isn't he?
–‐‐——–‐‐——
Different gods had different requirements for their rituals.
For example, the God of Agriculture might require the altar to be laden with fresh fruits and vegetables, while the God of War would need the supplicant to launch or win a battle.
There were also gods who were hostile to one another and would demand the followers of their rival be used as sacrificial offerings.
But no matter the god, the requirements for a ritual would never be mere prayer alone.
There was nothing to be done about it.
It was Li Chengxi's first time being a god; he was still inexperienced.
It was understandable.
But he himself felt pretty good about it, thinking he had given Viola a really tough time.
After all, he usually saw Viola busy with work all day.
Now she would have to set aside an entire day just for prayer, which was surely a great hardship.
Li Chengxi didn't notice any problem; he was even a little smug.
"Brother Li, I'm here again. Do you have any non-fried potato chips?"
"I do. My store might be short on anything else, but never on snacks."
The next morning, Lei Lei used the excuse of buying something to come and cozy up to him again.
However, when Lei Lei returned to the counter with her potato chips, she found that Li Chengxi wasn't staring at his laptop screen playing Minesweeper like usual.
Instead, he was frowning thoughtfully.
"What are you thinking about, Brother Li?"
"You know, what do you call those things you put on your hands for swimming, to paddle through the water?"
That's it?
This is what you're troubled about?
For a moment, Lei Lei couldn't keep up with Li Chengxi's train of thought, but she still answered:
"Are you talking about flippers? Those are worn on your feet, not on your hands."
Li Chengxi slapped his forehead.
He was so focused on the paddling part that he forgot the things weren't gloves.
"Why are you asking about this, Brother Li? Are you planning to go swimming at the beach?"
At the mention of the beach, Li Chengxi suddenly remembered that he did have some vague notion of going on a trip.
The family from the small restaurant next door had gone on a trip for twenty days, while Li Chengxi hadn't left home since graduating from university.
He had considered it before.
But on second thought, it was pretty pointless to go by himself.
Although Lei Lei was looking at him with a rather expectant gaze as she asked, Li Chengxi would never open his mouth and invite someone to go with him.
He felt that just asking would be somewhat criminal...
After all, they weren't that close yet.
Directly asking her to go to the beach, no matter how you looked at it, seemed to have impure intentions.
So, Li Chengxi said:
"I've had some thoughts, but I'm also a bit too lazy to move."
"Go, go! Now is the perfect time to go to the beach. If you wait any longer, the weather will get cooler and the water will be too cold."
Lei Lei's enthusiastic encouragement, of course, served her own purpose.
From her observations over the past few days, she really couldn't see what was wrong with Li Chengxi.
But if she could get him to go to the beach, perhaps he would relax and let a weakness show.
Lei Lei also knew that, given Li Chengxi's personality, he wouldn't invite her along.
They weren't yet familiar enough for an unmarried man and woman to go on a trip together.
But if they couldn't go together, they could still have a chance encounter, couldn't they? She could trail him.
It's not like she didn't have legs of her own.
She could just secretly follow him, and that would be that.
(End of Chapter)