Whew… okay, deep breath.

I might’ve gotten a little too carried away just now.

I mean, I’ve never even seen a real-life celebrity, and yet I nearly jumped out from behind a tree to gush compliments at Eunice.

Thankfully, common sense kicked in at the last possible second.

So here I am—hiding behind a big tree next to the greenhouse, spying.

Yes, I know. Creepy.

But I swear, I’m not doing anything weird. Just quietly admiring from a distance. That should be forgivable… right?

No binoculars or magic zoom lens here, so I squint hard, pushing my eyesight to its absolute limit—

And finally, her face comes into view.

Oh. My. God.

Her strawberry-blonde hair shimmered like silk in the sunlight, light and glossy as if spun from gold.

And those eyes—clear, glistening blue like dew-kissed skies at dawn—

They didn't just sparkle. They glowed. Even under the shadows of trees, she seemed to shine on her own.

The cover art? Just a rough sketch compared to the real deal.

Seeing her in person was like stepping into another dimension.

I’ve always thought I wasn’t the type to care about looks.

Turns out that wasn’t true.

It’s just that my standards were ridiculously high.

Now I get it.

Everyone else’s face looked "meh" to me because none of them were Eunice.

She doesn’t look like she belongs in this world. She’s a being straight from the heavens—

And frankly, we should be worshipping her.

I used to think I didn’t care about appearances.

But no.

It wasn’t that I didn’t care.

It was just that no one had ever met my standards.

And now I realize—my standards weren’t on Earth to begin with.

They were floating somewhere in the clouds, waiting for someone like Eunice to show up.

Still, I've admired her enough for today. Time to head back to the dorm and—

Thump-thump-thump-thump.

Huh?

Is that… my heart?

Wait, something’s wrong—

“Kh… cough…”

Suddenly, there’s a sharp pain in my chest.

A warm, metallic taste rises in my throat. My legs buckle beneath me.

I manage to stumble back against the tree just in time, then slump to the ground—

And everything goes black.

---

I quickly leaned against a tree to keep myself from hitting my head as I collapsed. And the moment I sank to the ground, my consciousness slipped away.

It felt like I was being dragged into an endless abyss. I couldn’t breathe. My lungs felt like they were being squeezed shut.

I desperately tried to take in air, but it was useless.

Haaagh—!

Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, a breath finally burst out like lightning tearing through my chest, and light exploded before my eyes.

Where… am I?

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a space that shimmered like a galaxy flowing through the cosmos.

No sound. No gravity. No warmth. Just brilliant, endless stillness.

And at the center of it all stood a boy with snow-white hair.

It was clear from a single glance—he wasn’t human.

There was a pressure rolling off him, a sense of presence so powerful it felt like he was a law of the universe itself.

He gave off the kind of vibe that practically screamed, “Yep, I’m a god.”

…Right. When it comes to beings like that, manners are everything.

I wasn’t about to get my soul erased or cursed for being rude.

Especially not when he might very well be the one who dragged me into this world. No harm in getting on his good side.

I bowed my head deeply, doing my best to radiate respect and humility.

He tilted his head, eyeing me curiously.

“I’ve met a lot of humans,” he said, “but you’re the first one to size up the situation this fast.

Most of them just gape at me like goldfish, too overwhelmed to even speak.”

I thought to myself:

Well… in possession stories, this kind of setup is actually pretty common.

…Not something I should say out loud though.

“I’m Barael. The being you humans would call a ‘god.’”

His expression grew solemn for a moment—then he immediately broke into a casual grin, grumbling as he spoke.

“Though honestly, pulling off the whole majestic god thing is exhausting.

It’s so stiff and uptight, and it drives me nuts!

Everyone keeps calling me a god, but I’m not some all-knowing, all-powerful being.

Sure, I’ve transcended humanity, but once upon a time, I was just an ordinary human like you.”

“An… ordinary human?”

“Yep. So there’s no need to be so formal. You can just talk to me casually.

I’m not some holier-than-thou deity.”

He gave me a cheerful smile.

“The me standing in front of you right now is the 200-year-old version of Barael.

Out of all the versions of myself I’ve split off over the past ten thousand years, I’m the youngest.

That’s probably why I’ve still got a bit of humanity left in me.

And that’s exactly why you ended up meeting me.

The others wouldn’t know how to hold a conversation with a person if their life depended on it.”

He gave a sheepish laugh and waved his hand.

“Ah, sorry. I’m rambling.

It’s been seventy years since I last talked to anyone, so I guess I got a little excited.

Anyway, you can ask me anything—like why I brought you to this world.”

“Um… can I ask something else first?”

“Of course! Go ahead, ask away.”

“Well, I’ve always thought that when someone gets isekai’d, they’re supposed to meet a god or get a status window or something. But…”

I trailed off, and Barael clapped his hands, as if he’d just figured it out.

“Ah, I get it now.

You’re wondering what the hell the god was doing until now and why I’m only showing up after you arrived here, right?”