I Became the Goddess of a New World

In Akare, you could hire a carriage driver to travel to different regions.

“Are you heading to Ritanya Count Territory? Then just give me 10 gold.”

Currently, Master Kim had 25 gold in hand.

Buying level 10 armor took 10 gold, so…

Level 20 armor would likely cost about double that.

If he spent 10 gold here, he couldn’t buy any equipment in the next area.

“Here you go.”

“I’ll take care of you with all my heart. Right this way.”

Just as he was in anguish, Raven, disguised as a man, made the first move.

―――

Wow, lol.

Life of an alpha male.

A stunning beauty is making the first move.

Investigate this!

You should pay five times the taxes.

―――

Master Kim, who unintendedly became the object of mockery, felt wronged.

He was frustrated but boarded the carriage behind Raven.

With the driver in the front seat, the two of them were left alone inside the carriage.

As the awkward silence was palpably felt, an option appeared.

[ Main Story – Conversation ]

[ Main Story – Skip Travel ]

―――

Are you really going to skip it?

Just the two of us in the carriage, heh heh.

If you skip it, you better pay for it, Master.

―――

Looking at public sentiment, there was only one option to choose.

[ Moving to Main Story – Conversation. ]

Clatter-clatter—

Before long, the carriage departed, and the sound of horses galloping echoed.

I heard medieval-style carriages weren’t comfortable, but this one was different.

My butt wasn’t particularly sore; the rattling was just a bit annoying.

“Phew… It should be fine inside the carriage.”

Raven pulled out a clock-shaped artifact from her pocket.

She moved her hand to operate it, and Raven’s appearance returned to her original form.

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“We’re alone here, after all.”

―――

Mmm wow.

What’s this flirting?

Get over here, lol.

The chat is filthy.

―――

With a sigh at the chaotic chat, Master Kim completely turned off the chat window.

“If I were alone, I would’ve felt nervous. But being with you eases my tension.”

“…You might find me less reliable than you think.”

At Master Kim’s sulky reply, Raven let out a small laugh.

“You, who aren’t reliable, are risking your life to save me.”

“That’s…”

Players can revive after dying.

Raven, being an NPC, couldn’t possibly know this.

Even if it were explained, she wouldn’t likely understand.

She might even think of him as some kind of weird guy.

“…But you also risked your life for me.”

Thinking back, it was Raven who seemed to be the strange one.

How many people would choose to sacrifice for someone they just met?

“You just try to sacrifice without thinking.”

“…I swore to myself that I wouldn’t run away again.”

Seemingly lost in reflection, Raven spoke slowly.

“I survived by sacrificing everyone in the kingdom. I’ll live my life atonement for them and eventually must pay the price.”

“…”

That was a pretty cruel statement.

Living a lifetime in atonement and paying the price?

“If that’s the case, you shouldn’t take sacrifices lightly.”

It was simply a concern raised for Raven’s sacrifice, but at Master Kim’s words, her eyes widened.

“If I survived by sacrificing everyone in the kingdom, then for their sake, hold on tightly to life.”

“…”

Raven looked at Master Kim.

His gaze was steady, unwavering.

“You’ve saved me twice now.”

“Saved? That’s a bit of an exaggerated expression.”

In an instant, the immersion broke, and Master Kim turned his head away.

He was struggling to manage his expression.

However, Raven interpreted his actions differently.

“…You’re quite the wonderful person.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

Raven simply smiled.

Her smile was brighter, filled with different emotions than before.

***

As usual, Akachan’s daily routine involved monitoring.

Watching a thousand users simultaneously was nearly impossible.

But that was merely from a human standpoint, and Akachan was an entity far superior to a human.

“Easy as pie. Salary thief deluxe.”

Recently, Akachan’s mood was at an all-time high.

She had dressed her negligent boss in a bikini, and…

It was delightful to see the shameful expressions on the boss, I mean, Master.

Seeing her hero save her world like that was exceptionally rare.

“Lifetime record. Save to favorites.”

(A picture of Aurora entering a capsule in a bikini.)

(A picture of a blushing Aurora in a bikini.)

That was truly Akachan’s life’s best meme.

Naturally, if Aurora saw this, she would delete it immediately.

But if you don’t get caught, it’s not a crime.

Like hiding trees in a forest, Akachan concealed Aurora’s records among countless others.

– Master. Call.

“What’s up?”

As Akachan was organizing her memes, a teddy bear approached her.

This teddy was a creation made using the Court Mage’s Golem Magic by Akachan.

Its main job was to monitor for Akachan, who was busy “thieving” her salary.

– Code name Master Kim. Abnormal occurrence.

An abnormal situation occurred regarding a person of interest.

Such an emergency situation that the supreme authority, Akachan, would need to intervene personally.

Stopping her salary thieving antics, Akachan quickly set out to assess the situation.

“Open favorability?”

Favorability content only added to the test world for administrators.

It was supposed to be added during the official launch, so it was naturally unavailable now.

“Is it you again?”

A bundle of bugs, Master Kim from Akare.

Still, it wasn’t as serious an issue as last time.

She had prepared safety measures for situations like this.

The safety measures were functioning properly and delayed the opening of favorability.

Now, all that was left was to figure out why the favorability was about to open…

“Master Kim. Flirting skill. Casanova level.”

An unconscious ability to charm people was pretty close to Aurora’s level.

Of course, if Master Kim were a woman, maybe the two could have a nice romance.

Anyway, it wasn’t a major bug this time, and it was quickly solvable.

The main virtual reality was set up so that favorability content wouldn’t open.

In the test world, it was also set not to operate based on the main server’s data.

Smiling confidently, Akachan quickly resolved the problem, unlike last time.

“Capable. Amazing.”

This was the prestige of the Akashic Record.

Clap clap clap—

The teddy bears, Teddy One and Teddy Two, clapped at the sight.

“Limit the skinship. What’s the cap?”

Last time, when trying to open actions related to love, she got hit by Aurora.

Akachan didn’t want to experience that again and set the skinship limit to ‘kissing’.

“Kissing. Very difficult.”

No matter how much in-game gal theory spoke of Master Kim as an alpha male, he wouldn’t progress to kissing.

Even if they did proceed that far, it wouldn’t matter. In fact, it might be even better.

The story Aurora envisioned would hit harder as the relationship between the player and Raven progressed.

“Master. Wicked.”

Though Akachan derisively labeled Aurora as wicked, she too wanted to see the reactions of users who experienced that storyline.

***

There is a saying about the five stages of death.

Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance.

The next day, waking up, Sweet reflected on yesterday’s events.

“Was it a dream?”

Denial.

What had happened yesterday was just a figment of her brain’s imagination.

It felt similar to fleeting excitement upon passing a beautiful woman.

Objectively speaking, Raven was beautiful. It was clear that any man would feel excited.

See? Even now, I think of her without feeling anything…

Thump-!

“No, why would I be yearning for a data fragment…”

Anger.

Sweet was someone who absolutely despised visual novels.

She couldn’t immerse herself in a character made of 0s and 1s.

Since immersion was impossible, it was only natural not to feel any other emotions.

All the diverse reactions shown while streaming visual novels were nothing but acts.

What had happened is why she felt like yearning?

Yeah, thinking like that calmed her heart a bit…

Thump-!

“To be honest, that NPC is indeed attractive. I’ll admit that.”

Bargaining.

Sweet acknowledged her feelings.

At the same time, she revealed a bit of her true self.

Thump-!

“Aah, how did I end up like this…”

Depression.

She was simply feeling down. The fact that she had fallen for a data fragment.

“Others must feel the same way as I do. This isn’t weird for me.”

Acceptance.

This was not just self-justification.

Objectively, it was a fact that Raven was attractive.

A beautiful girl willing to sacrifice for herself? That didn’t exist in reality.

In a virtual reality, it was possible to have a person like that.

[ Sweet’s stream is starting. – Akashic Records 1 second ago ]

Her head was a mess, so she just turned on the stream.

The chat she usually paid attention to didn’t enter her sight.

As if to release her complicated feelings, she cast fireballs at the dungeon’s monsters.

Freezing every approaching skeleton and ghoul, she sped towards level 20.

“Oh, a ring.”

―――

[ Ring of Vows ]

Attack power +5

Durability +5

– A ring gifted to a knight by their partner. It contains the knight’s vow.

“I vow to live a life dedicated to protecting you for a lifetime.”

―――

She could equip four rings total.

Normally, Sweet would have equipped it right away, but the ring’s history intrigued her.

Though she tried her best to avoid mentioning it, the chat wasn’t quiet.

―――

Romanticist’s Ring

Knight’s romance is geographical.

What’s that ring doing here?

Oh no.

What the…?

―――

Having equipped the ring, Sweet continued her hunting.

[Level Up!]

Finally hitting level 20, Sweet equipped the obsidian staff immediately.

“Everyone, check out this color!”

The level 10 staff she previously used was certainly good, but…

The one dropped by the boss, the level 20 obsidian staff, was on another level altogether.

“Burn them all, fireball.”

Whoosh—!!!

A massive fireball struck the rat men blocking the underground waterway entrance.

Even without a direct hit, the rat men turned to ashes as it merely grazed them.

Even considering their level, the performance was overwhelming.

“This is it.”

With RPGs, it’s about growth. The thrill of getting new gear.

That was the essence of RPGs.

What kind of romance simulation was there with mere data fragments?

Feeling the true charm of growth and acquiring items, Sweet emerged from the underground waterway.

[ The Mercenary Guild is looking for you. ]

[ Accept to teleport to the Mercenary Guild. ]

“What kind of event is it this time?”

During an enjoyable moment, an event appeared?

Sweet, of course, pressed accept and moved to the Mercenary Guild.

“Oh, you’ve arrived.”

But upon hearing a familiar voice from behind, Sweet’s body tensed.

“R-Raven?”

“…?”

Momentarily flustered by the unexpected situation, Sweet stammered, and an expression of curiosity appeared on Raven’s face.

But soon she continued her prepared lines, explaining everything that had happened recently.

Once the explanation ended, Raven got straight to the point.

“I would like to hire you.”

“What is…”

Thump-!

She wanted to decline, but due to this damned heartbeat, she couldn’t form coherent words.

“Will you come with me?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Let’s go right now.

Huh, why suddenly can I speak normally?

As soon as she caught sight of Raven’s smiling face, all the thumping and tension vanished.

This comfortable feeling. As if everything had returned to normal.

Sweet hired a carriage driver alongside Raven.

“I’ll cover the expenses.”

She paid instead of Raven and climbed into the carriage together.

[ Main Story – Conversation ]

[ Main Story – Skip Travel ]

Her rational mind commanded her to skip the travel, but…

[ Moving to Main Story – Conversation. ]

Strangely, her body didn’t move as ordered.

“Phew… It should be fine inside the carriage.”

Raven, still in disguise, unmasked herself.

Her original form revealed, Sweet took off the ring she was wearing.

She handed the ring to Raven and said nonchalantly, “Thanks for saving me in the Dark Devouring Forest.”

There was no other meaning behind it.

Fortunately, having succeeded in self-censorship before saying anything else, Sweet closed her mouth.

“The ring… Hehe.”

Raven smiled softly upon receiving the ring.

“Do you know what it means to give a ring to an unmarried woman in Raven Kingdom?”

“I don’t know.”

Sweet answered honestly.

Raven smiled brightly, as if she had expected it, and said quietly, “It’s a confession.”

Confession.

At this unexpected response, Sweet’s heart broke again.