Oaths Before the Goddess

"What the hell is going on? Where am I? Who are you people? I was definitely sleeping in the hospital..."

After finally calming down, the supporting character recalled the questions that had first crossed his mind upon arriving here.

"I'll explain everything one by one. Let's take it slow. First, this is inside your dream. Meeting you directly would be too soon, so we called you here using the easiest and simplest method."

"A dream...? Are you saying I'm still asleep right now?"

"That's right. And as for who we are~ you probably already know."

"I don't. Especially people who can barge into dreams."

"Aha! Don't give up so easily. Think back. On the day your world changed, you definitely heard it. My voice."

"...A voice?"

Joyeon thought back to the day of the world fusion. The day he'd stepped outside out of curiosity about the suddenly transformed world, only to be captured by a band of thieves. The voices he'd heard that day belonged to Sirius and his subordinates, the heroine, and finally, the divine voice that had echoed in his mind.

"...A god?"

"Ding-dong-dang~! Correct~!"

"Huh? Wait a second. That can't be right. Why would a god call for me? I haven't done anything to warrant meeting a god."

"You might think that, but we don't see it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that way. Especially the lady over there."

The Modern God pointed at the Ability God with his finger and laughed as if amused. Even after hearing his words, Joyeon couldn't understand what he meant and simply stared at the Ability God. No matter how much he thought about it, it still didn't make sense.

"...No. I don't get it. The gods mentioned that day were two. And both were male, weren't they?"

"Good, good. At least you understood that much. Here's some new information~! She is the Ability God. Not the god of the fused world managed by me and the Magic God, but the god of another world—the Ability World."

"The Ability World... So what? Then tell her to go manage her own world. Why did she suddenly slap my cheek?"

"I'd like to do that too~ But the thing is~ there's a human the Ability God cherishes who's currently in the fused world."

"...So what? What does that have to do with me?"

"You stupid human. You still don't get it even after all that?"

While Joyeon was in the middle of conversing with the Modern God, the Ability God suddenly butted in. His mood instantly souring, Joyeon scowled just like her and muttered in her direction.

"...This auntie."

"What?! How dare a mere human say that...!"

"Ability! I clearly told you not to say anything!"

"Th-that bastard called me an auntie..."

"Modern, should we just do it? Should we just curse that kid?"

"W-wait! I got it! I understand! I won't say anything else!"

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ability God frantically stopped the Magic God after hearing his serious tone. Though the Magic God had only been half-joking, the completely non-joking atmosphere made it extremely effective on the Ability God.

"Our friend here should also refrain from provoking her now. You know who we are, don't you? No matter who started it, if you respond like that, we can't just let it slide."

"...Understood. I'm sorry."

Joyeon wasn't foolish enough to fail to grasp the situation, so he obediently followed the Modern God's words. Satisfied with his reaction, the Modern God smiled and resumed his explanation.

"Arty Stria Jewel Heroine, the one who's been staying with you. She's the human from the Ability World whom the Ability God cherishes."

"Arty is...?"

Only then did Joyeon understand why those incomprehensible notifications and titles had been appearing recently.

"...But I still don't see why just being around Arty would get me summoned here."

"Aha. That's true. You being here is entirely the Ability God's fault. She flew into a rage after seeing you sleeping together with that child. She even tried to curse you to death."

"It was hard to stop her. I never expected she'd actually try to directly implant an instant-death curse..."

...Does that mean I nearly died just for sleeping next to Arty?

Joyeon looked at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Ability God, wondering if she had really tried to do something like that. Seeing her still glaring at him, he realized it hadn't been a lie.

"Then what should I do? Should I just stop being around Arty from now on?"

At Joyeon's words, the Ability God's face brightened.

"That's right, do th—!"

"No, that won't be necessary."

However, the Modern God cut her off and denied it to Joyeon.

"You said you nearly died just from being with Arty. I'm not even dating her or anything. Can't I just stay away from her?"

"It's not that simple. Your relationship with Arty is far more complicated than you think."

The Modern God scratched his head and continued.

"Where should I even begin explaining this... Ah, I should just show you Arty's status window."

"What?! W-wait! Modern! What nonsense are you spouting?! You're going to show that guy her status window?!"

"It'll be hard to explain if I don't show it. And this is a gift of apology for you slapping our friend's cheek. In the end, it was your fault."

"H-hold on! I-I'll apologize! I'll do anything as long as it doesn't harm Arty...!"

...Just how much does she care about Arty for a goddess to beg for forgiveness from me?

The Modern God dismissed the Ability God's plea and snapped his fingers. Then, what appeared to be Arty's status window materialized before Joyeon. Feeling a slight pang of guilt for viewing her status window without permission, Joyeon nevertheless began scanning through her abilities.

Arty's status window contained far less information than Joyeon's, but every entry was substantial. She possessed numerous titles with excellent effects, and even a cognomen that Joyeon didn't have yet. Unlike the Language Translation (God-tier) he'd automatically obtained through the world fusion, hers was Language Translation (A-rank) granted as a reincarnation perk. The ability she'd previously shown him, Concept Sculpting, was an A+ rank ability—far higher than his own Death's Field. And most importantly—

"What? She's nineteen, not twenty. She said we were the same age, but that was a lie?"

"Kuk! That's important too, but isn't there something else more important right now?"

"It was a joke. What does one year difference matter? Anyway, so she's an ability user... Not from the modern world or the magic world, but from another world. No wonder our conversations sometimes went in circles..."

Does Mother know that Arty is an ability user?

"That's right. She's a special case who came to our fused world from the Ability World for some reason. Because she monopolized the Ability God's love, she also received a 'blessing.' See it in the titles?"

"Yes. It seems like a good thing."

"Of course. A blessing is something even we gods can only grant to a single person. The effects are naturally excellent... or at least, they should be. But with that child, there's a bit of a problem. The title 'Icon of Misfortune with Twisted Fate.' See it?"

"Yes, I see it. That's the reason Arty has bad luck, right? I heard about it roughly."

"Right. But the current problem is that the blessing's effects are also being applied to that misfortune."

The effect of the title 'The Blessed' was amplification correction for all abilities—including the 'Icon of Misfortune with Twisted Fate' title.

"But misfortune is a bad thing. Isn't something wrong here?"

"No, nothing's wrong. Misfortune is relative, after all."

At the Modern God's words, Joyeon stared blankly with an expression that seemed to ask what he was talking about. The Modern God laughed as if finding it amusing.

"Well, ask her directly later. Anyway, right now she doesn't have the power to deal with the misfortune title on her own. You need to help her for her to live a normal daily life. In fact, even though she arrived in the fused world over a month ago, the reason she's been staying at the neutral saintess's hospital until now is because it's too dangerous."

"Eh... She could just learn one defensive spell, couldn't she?"

"I figured you'd say that since you don't know much about magic yet. Ordinary defensive magic won't work if Arty wants to protect herself from misfortune. It has to be defensive magic that reacts to dangers she herself isn't aware of, like your Bone Armor. And most such defensive magic is advanced rank or higher. It doesn't exist among low-rank spells."

"......"

"Do you understand? Right now, your existence is indispensable for her to live a normal daily life. So deciding to stay away from her is the same as abandoning her."

"Arty and Joyeon are fated to stay together."

When the Magic God chimed in from the side, the Ability God shot him a sharp glare. However, she seemed to understand as well and didn't take any further action.

"Now you roughly understand, right? Arty is a precious child whom Ability cherishes. And to that Arty, you are an indispensable existence. That's why Ability was somehow enduring her jealousy over you staying with her... but after seeing you two sleeping while embracing each other, she went berserk~ That's what happened."

"What... does that even make sense?"

"I don't really understand it either, to be honest. Pouring that much affection on a single human... But what can we do? Ability really was about to pour curses on you."

"...Then what should I do? What am I supposed to do from now on?"

"Make an oath that you won't cross the line with Arty!"

The Ability God burst into the conversation as if she couldn't hold back any longer. The Modern God, thinking he'd already told everything that needed to be said, didn't interrupt her.

"Arty is far too precious a child for someone like you! You decided to be her bodyguard, didn't you? Being a shield to protect her is enough. Swear that you'll never cross that line."

Though annoyed by the Ability God's arrogant command, Joyeon had cooled his head after hearing the story, so he could listen to her words with composure.

"If she's such a precious child, she could've lived happily in that world of yours. Why did you send her to this dangerous world and make things like this? Isn't this your fault?!"

Unfortunately, the words that came out of his mouth were still aggressive.

"Th-that's..."

"Take her back to the world she originally lived in! I really don't care, you know?"

"Th-that's why I'm saying it's not possible!"

"Why not? What's impossible about it! You're a god, aren't you?!"

The Ability God couldn't answer, thinking that explaining why Arty had crossed over to the fused world would be giving too much information to a single human. Watching this, the Modern God and Magic God exchanged words.

"Modern, it's fine to tell him, isn't it?"

"Hmm~ I think so too. The reason we specifically called him into a dream is because his memories will become hazy once he wakes up."

"Then let's explain."

"Okay."

Having finished their discussion, the two intervened in Joyeon and the Ability God's argument and continued explaining.

"Friend, do you know about 'protagonists'?"

"Protagonists...? What are you suddenly talking about. Aren't protagonists the main characters from comics or novels?"

"That's right. But protagonists clearly exist in this world too, not just in comics or novels. There's only one protagonist. An existence that becomes the center of the world."

"Arty dreams of becoming that protagonist. But the protagonist has already been decided in the Ability World. And two protagonists cannot coexist. But the Ability God, who cherishes Arty so much, wanted to make her the protagonist no matter what, and so the conclusion was for her to reincarnate into the magic world I manage."

"Though that plan got twisted when Magic created the fused world with me, our world has many possibilities. The protagonist hasn't been decided yet. With her talent, she could certainly become the protagonist."

After hearing one of the truths of the world regarding protagonists, Joyeon wondered if the gods were joking with him, but seeing how serious they were, he couldn't say anything.

"Anyway! That child is aiming to become the protagonist! Someone like you doesn't suit her at all! Just obediently become her shield!"

Emboldened by the Modern God and Magic God's explanations, the Ability God pointed at Joyeon and commanded him. Joyeon was about to retort again but realized he was still arguing like a child and calmed himself down.

"Well, I admit it. Arty doesn't suit someone like me. I know that too, and I wasn't thinking of her as a woman."

"Right! You clearly weren't imagining having that kind of relationship with Arty! But then you got swept up in lust and touched that defenseless child's body...!"

"...Then, can you endure it?"

"What?"

"When Arty acts spoiled and clings to you asking to sleep together, can you endure it then?"

"Th-that's..."

Unable to say she could endure it even as a lie, the Ability God bit her lip and trembled.

"This incident couldn't be helped. Neither Arty nor I thought about the future and got caught up in that childish provocation."

"Arty did nothing wrong..."

"Ability."

"...There is a bit."

"Honestly, no one knows what Arty ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠will do to me after she comes to her senses. But since something like today happened, she won't be sleeping with me anymore from now on."

"That's not enough. Even if Arty is careful, you might stick to her with bad intentions, right?"

Ha— this is really annoying...

"I can hear everything you're thinking, you know?!"

"Then what do you want from me? Tell me exactly why you called me here."

"An oath! A declaration that you'll never approach Arty!"

"Ability, I told you that's not allowed. Tell him about the compromise we reached before calling him here."

"Ugh...! Fine! Then, don't confess to Arty! And eliminate all men who approach Arty! And also eliminate men whom Arty confesses to!"

"Even stop men Arty confesses to?"

"Yes!"

"Ha! You're being unreasonable... Well, it won't be much different from what I've been doing until now."

"Right! But! You'll declare it in front of me. Before a god. You must never break it."

"...What do I need to do?"

The Ability God told Joyeon how to make the oath.

"Kneel and prostrate yourself before me, say that you won't confess to Arty and that you'll eliminate all men who approach her, then kiss my foot."

"...Is that for real?"

Joyeon asked the Modern God and Magic God just in case.

"You could do that~ But there's no need to go that far."

"That's how it's usually done in official settings. But even though it's called an oath, we're gods. A simplified version is fine too. As long as there's mutual acknowledgment, we can bind it as an oath."

"......"

"Eek! Even if it's not an official setting! There's such a thing as appearances! It's an oath with a goddess, after all!"

Sighing at the Ability God's unreasonable outburst, Joyeon knelt on one knee before her as if he would at least play along and lowered his head.

"I, Ju Joyeon, swear that from now on, I will never confess to Arty Stria Jewel Heroine, and I will eliminate all men who approach her. I will also eliminate any men to whom she confesses."

"G-good. I, the Ability God, have heard your words. There must never be any falsehood."

Joyeon's expression grew complicated after reading the notification that appeared before his eyes. The repercussions seemed far more severe than he'd expected.

"Excuse me. Isn't the curse effect too harsh? There will be times when I'm not by Arty's side. If a man approaches her then, I won't be able to stop it. That means I could die out of nowhere."

"An oath is different from a contract. I'll understand if circumstances make it unavoidable, so don't worry. I'll be watching Arty anyway, so if any problems arise, I'll summon you."

"Me? How?"

"I'll give you this."

The Ability God threw something to Joyeon, who was still kneeling. Joyeon fumbled to catch it. It was a small ring. From a distance, it looked like an ordinary silver ring with no gemstones, but up close, it was an ornate ring engraved with tiny patterns all over. When the Ability God snapped her fingers, the ring's notification window appeared.

"This is... something Arty made?"

"Yes. It was a gift I received from that child. Originally, I planned to give one to her after her reincarnation to continue helping her... but Modern said that much interference wasn't allowed, so I couldn't give it."

"Is it okay to give it to me?"

"I don't particularly plan on having many conversations with you anyway. I decided to only send danger signals when that child is in danger."

"Hmm... But won't Arty notice if she sees it?"

"No. She probably won't remember. This is something she made as practice before making her name known in the world and offered to me."

More or less convinced by the Ability God's words, Joyeon slipped the ring onto the index finger of his right hand. He'd been slightly worried it wouldn't fit, but the ring immediately adjusted its size to match his finger thickness.

"Then we're done now, right? I made the oath or whatever, and I received the item that sends signals when Arty is in danger, so can I go now?"

"Ability's business is mostly finished... But our friend here was dragged here, got slapped, and was forced to make an oath. Do you really think it's fine as long as you can return quickly?"

"Well... what can I do? The other party is a god. They said one wrong word could get me killed. And... well, I just slept in the same bed as Arty. I should be satisfied with that and move on."

"AHAHAHAH! Ability! This friend is much more magnanimous than you thought?"

"Hmph! He directly touched Arty's body, so of course! What more could he hope for!"

"You think so too?... Well, it's good that you're thinking positively, but we should still separate public and private matters. Magic, hand over what you prepared."

"Yeah. Take this."

The Magic God handed Joyeon a black gemstone the size of a fist. Joyeon accepted the seemingly expensive gemstone with a blank expression, slightly flustered.

"Isn't this expensive? Why are you giving it to me?"

"Aha! The beings you're talking to right now are gods, you know? You're getting flustered over something like this?"

"In terms of monetary value, it's quite expensive. There probably isn't anyone who could buy it right now. And there are three reasons we're giving this to you. First, you're the first human to meet us. Second, among the rules established when creating the fused world, there's one that says humans who meet gods must be given appropriate compensation. And third, we decided to give a small gift regarding this incident."

"We prepared it as a pretty decent gift combining all three reasons, so take it."

"S-so what is it?"

"Check it after you return. It's time for you to wake up now."

"Uh, I was going to sleep a bit more, so if you could just tell me now..."

"No, if you sleep any longer, it'll really be a big problem. Let's meet again when there's another opportunity."

Joyeon's mind suddenly grew dizzy, and just like that, his form disappeared. Joyeon had woken up from his sleep.