A God's Mistake
The cityscape unfurled beneath the clouds.
I poked my head out for a better look, and a voice called from behind me.
"Child. You'll fall if you're not careful."
"Ah. I'm sorry."
I turned at the sound on pure reflex.
What filled my vision was an old man in shabby clothes.
His gray outfit looked like something out of the Joseon era, but somehow I couldn't bring myself to find it strange.
Well — I was standing on top of the clouds. A man in old-fashioned clothes was hardly the weirdest part of this picture.
The old man approached with a hearty chuckle. He held a cane, but his back was ramrod straight.
If he's that upright, why bother with a cane?
Well. Some people use them for other reasons. No point thinking too hard about it.
He came right up to me, looked me over from head to toe, and broke into a bright smile.
"It was a mistake."
"Even if you call it a mistake, I'm already dead... More than that, you shouldn't smile after killing someone."
"Ahem. Well, anyway."
"This is not an 'anyway' situation."
This old man seemed to be a god. The kind people talk about.
I never expected one to look like this, but outwardly he was just a dignified old gentleman.
"Since you died because of my mistake, I ought to compensate you for it."
"Ooh. Reincarnation? Reborn into a rich family? Do I get to live as the youngest son of some noble house?"
"Eh. Not quite that far."
"...This is a god?"
Once he explained, I more or less understood.
The compensation was reincarnation, just as I'd guessed — but he would make sure I lived a better life than my previous one.
At the very least, he promised, I would receive a reward equal to the hardships I'd endured.
"How about it? Not bad, right? As long as you don't go and ruin the family yourself, it seems like a pretty decent deal."
"It's not bad, but... don't I get some kind of ability? Superpowers or something?"
"This isn't a fantasy world, you know."
"That's a shame..."
"Well. I'll at least set you up with a life as a social butterfly."
"Thank youuu."
"Then, since our conversation is over."
The god clapped his hands, smiling brightly. I wanted to spit in that face.
"Farewell. May this life be a happier one."
With that bitter smile as my last memory, everything cut off there.
And I was reborn as the daughter of a certain couple.