It had been a year since Shijin left the human realm, promising Noa he would return once matters in the spiritual realm were resolved. Though this year passed in the blink of an eye for Shijin, for Noa, it felt like an eternity. Days became weeks, and weeks turned into months. Despite the ache of missing him, Noa refused to remain idle. She immersed herself in work, saving diligently for the day Shijin would come back.

Determined to start anew, Noa planned to move to a quieter, more pleasant place once Shijin returned. Six months after Shijin's departure, Callum offered her a promotion. Instead of quitting her current job at the café, he suggested she manage a new location. Given her years of dedicated service, Callum felt she deserved this opportunity. Though surprised and hesitant, Noa appreciated Callum's faith in her but was conflicted about working for someone who had once confessed his feelings for her.

Danielle, her co-worker and friend, encouraged her to accept the promotion. "You've always wanted to own a café. Think of this as training," Danielle said as they lingered after work.

Noa wasn't entirely convinced. She wished for Shijin's presence to help her decide. She feared Shijin might not take kindly to her working for someone who had previously expressed romantic interest in her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. Opening the door, she was taken aback to see Baku standing there in his human form, his demeanor clearly showing his reluctance.

"Baku?" Noa said, astonished.

Baku, arms crossed and looking decidedly uncomfortable, began to leave. "Human. You appear well. I shall report this back to him. Farewell."

"No, wait!" Noa called, pulling him back before he could disappear.

Baku turned back, clearly annoyed. "What is it?"

Noa let go of his arm, an embarrassed look on her face. She hesitated, but she wanted to know more than anything how Shijin was doing. Baku sighed, already knowing what she wanted to hear. "He's fine. The transfer is taking longer than expected, but—" He abruptly stopped himself, realizing he was about to say too much.

Seeing Baku's conflicted expression made Noa anxious. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing for you to worry about. If you don't need anything else, I'll be leaving."

Things are so busy up there and master ordered me to come check on this human. He cares too much about her. 

"…Uh I wanted to ask you something else before you go." 

Baku turned to face her, a frown now on his face. "Go on." 

"You know Shijin pretty well given how long you've worked for him right?" 

"...I suppose." Baku answered, looking smug. 

"Then do you think he'd be upset if he found out that the person he liked was working for someone who confessed their feelings for them in the past?" 

Baku's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "Is this a hypothetical question?" 

"Y-Yes, you could think of it that way." Noa replied back, trying her best to hide her panic. 

"Well, given master's personality, I don't think he'd be all that thrilled. I guess it would have to depend on the circumstances. Is this person in desperate need to have this job? Is this job necessary to their survival?" 

Noa was taken aback by Baku's response. Was working as a manager really worth it? Yes it would definitely be a stepping stone for her future and it would give her the experience needed to become a cafe owner but was it worth potentially upsetting Shijin? Or worse, betraying him? 

Seeing the torn expression on Noa's face made Baku feel conflicted. It was obvious that the person involved in this "hypothetical" question was herself. He could guess that the human was contemplating on whether or not to take the offer but couldn't decide since she didn't have Shijin's opinion on the matter. 

Normally Baku would've dismissed her and carelessly told her to do whatever she wanted but since this also involved the god of death, he couldn't bring himself to tell her to decide arbitrarily. 

Baku let out a sigh. Why am I, a divine being who is also the subordinate of the strongest god in the spiritual realm working as a relationship therapist? 

"Look. I'm sure whatever you decide to do, lord Shijin will respect it. It's good that you are taking his feelings into consideration, but this is still your future we are talking about here. Humans don't have long to live and with the little time you have, it would be wiser to chase your dreams instead of living with regrets. Just do whatever you think is right." 


"I see. Thanks for the advice Baku. I didn't know you could be this sensible." Noa said, letting out a small laugh. 

"What was that?" 

"Nothing. You should go, I'm sure I've already taken too much of your time." 

Damn straight. 

Baku let out a huff before disappearing into the smoke. 

Now left alone, Noa had a tough decision to make. Whatever she decided to do, she hoped that Shijin would understand. 

                                                                                 ........................…

Things weren't going too well in the spiritual realm, more specifically for Shijin. 

From the moment he came back, he was already suspected of having left his post. The only reason why they couldn't find any evidence and put him on trial again was because Baku had made sure to cover for him. 

Once again he was reminded of how lucky he was to have Baku as a subordinate. He made a mental note to treat him better. 

The transfer ceremony, intended to be straightforward, was mired in complications. Anubis, who was to assume one of Shijin's minor roles, awaited his share while the council debated who would take over Shijin's domain. The problem was deciding who Shijin's domain would go to. Shijin knew that having Hades or Hel take care of his territory would ensure its safety until the time he'd take over again, but Shijin didn't want to have to pick between the two of them. They were both hard headed and difficult to get along with and having even one of them as his enemy wouldn't bode well for him, so he decided to leave this matter to the head. This was the worst decision he could've made because they were currently in the process of a hearing to decide who would get Shijin's domain. 

"I believe it would be in the death societies best interest to have someone like Hades take over for lord Shijin." Thanatos spoke. 

Thanatos was currently speaking in Hades' stead as his representative. He stood there proudly boasting about Hades and Shijin couldn't help but roll his eyes. It wasn't strange for a god to have a representative but for some reason it annoyed him to see Hades sitting there with his arms crossed looking so disinterested. 

"Would it not make more sense to have Shijin's domain transferred to me?" Hel spoke up against Thanatos. 

"I have the most space given that Niflheim is already divided into sections. I have ample space in my territory." Hel continued, her voice cold and distant. 

If Shijin wasn't familiar with her temperament, he would've thought that she was disinterested as well. It was hard to know what Hel was thinking since she always sported the same stone cold appearance. This was why Shijin could never get along with her, but he couldn't deny the fact that what she said was true. Before the deliberations even started, Shijin knew who would get his shares. 

"By order of the council, it has been decided that lord Shijin, now minor god of death, will temporarily transfer his domain to Hel, goddess of death, effective immediately." The head ordered. 

"It is as the head has decreed." The gods present chanted in unison. 

After the hearing ended, Shijin requested an audience with the head. He had been thinking about what he would do now that he has fallen in love with Noa. Since he was a god and had duties, he couldn't just abandon them and live his life in the human realm as he wished. 

So he decided to tell the head what had happened to him and hopefully make a deal with him. 

The deal was to live the hundred years of demotion as a human and then return to his post once his punishment was up. He didn't want to live apart from Noa even for a second. The head was surprised by his sudden conviction and granted Shijin his wish. 

"I know how tough things must have been for you Shijin. You are one of the best gods we have here in the spiritual realm and it brought me no joy to have to demote you, but you know the rules. Since you have already been punished, you can relinquish some of your duties to Baku and live the rest of your punishment on earth. Take good care of yourself and the human you have come to love." He said, a rare smile could be seen on his face. 

And just like that, Shijin took on his human appearance, and lived the next hundred years as a human by Noa's side, until the end.