I think I was somehow letting it go to my head, all of this “goddess” talk.

I’ve experienced a slight luxury with the full-course dinner and comfortable accommodation when I stayed at the Grand Archbishop’s place for a few days (although I was asleep for the most part), not to mention the frequent glorification I received from the old man Benny himself and the occasional mysterious awestruck look from Kiel.

Yes, all of those things can make you feel important. They can make you feel like you have worth and that your existence is meaningful since you are needed. Funnily enough, they can also make you want more.

And that’s the position I found myself in.

I guess if I tried to be a little more honest, I’d admit that I was half-expecting this journey to be a grand one, or at least for it to start in such manner.

I imagined the journey to begin with trumpets blowing and a cavalry of golden knights walking behind our every step, not us unceremoniously leaving when the sun was nearly setting and then hitchhiking for a ride from a random old merchant we saw at the southern edge of Svet, the capital city of Yorden.

Despite my complaints, the view from being seated behind the horse-drawn wagon wasn’t too bad at all. I quite enjoyed looking at the orange-tinted Svet as its tall white walls magnificently decreased in size while the horseshoes clopped and wooden wheels clunked against the dirt road.

I looked to my left and found Kiel resting comfortably with his head behind his hands while a pile of clothes supported him from behind.

I wondered who Kiel really was. Sure, he is a Holy Saint, a heavenly figure that people revere to a point wherein they feel it’s actually a miracle to see one. Since he said he is in the mortal form, I’m assuming that these saints are immortal beings that serve the deity in this world. In other words, me, if I choose to believe them. Or at least, if I choose to believe Kiel. After all, he was the Holy Saint who persuaded Ser Michael and Benny to believe that I really am the God here.

Indeed, I saw him appear with a bright light and a halo on his head. But that doesn’t mean that I should take his word for it, does it?

Somehow at the back of my head, I felt that I can trust him.

I looked at him intently and let annoyance take over me as I saw him smile a little.

This punk is having fun while I’m going crazy with these thoughts.

Sensing my worry even with his eyes closed, he knowingly spoke, “How may I help you, my Queen?”

From what he said earlier, being in the mortal form limits powers to some extent, but his instincts seem to be on point.

But then again, he should have expected me to feel unsettled as my head drowned in a sea of questions. I’ve been in this world for almost a week now and what I know about it is next to nothing.

“Well, for starters, it would be great if you could tell me where we’re going and why we’re traveling in the first place. I don’t even know much about this world and you expect me to believe you when you tell me that I’m this... this goddess?!” I felt blood rush to my face as my temper began to flare.

His eyes went wide open as his hands swiftly covered my mouth. “Hey! You shouldn’t shout about such things out here.”

He turned his head briefly to look at the merchant, but the old man was still merrily humming to himself.

“Why the hell not?” I said in a muffled voice. It’s true that I am somewhat inclined to to prefer this world over the other, but it doesn’t mean that I will just easily accept everything without an ounce of understanding on the situation.

“We don’t want unnecessary attention. Who knows what might show up if you kept shouting that.”

He took in air deeply and slowly exhaled before drawing back his hand.

“We’re traveling to a small town south of Svet to investigate.”

“Investigate what? Why us?” I asked. I gritted my teeth a little, “Hey, you’re just adding a lot more questions to the ones you haven’t answered yet!”

“Dammit, Rinya. Fine.” He said as he grabbed a big satchel and put it over his shoulder. He knocked onto the wooden wagon. “Mister, this should be enough. We are going through the small path over there.”

The horse neighed to a stop and the bearded old man looked back, “Are you sure, lad? It ain’t the town of Raj yet.”

“Yes I am certain, we will be having a quick detour. We should arrive there before it gets too late in the evening.” Kiel jumped off of the wagon and I followed suit.

“Suit yourselves. Best be careful young ones, even the towns aren’t that safe recently. Don’t get too deep in the forest especially since the sun will fully set in an hour or so.” The merchant tipped his brown hat and tugged on the reins and the horse started walking again.

This world really has such long days. The sun seems to stay up for more than twelve hours a day.

“Thanks, old man!” Kiel shouted as he waved at the merchant. I mumbled a word of thanks as well.

“Where are we going?” I asked, walking behind him.

“You’ll see.” I barely saw a smirk on his lips when he briefly looked back at me.

I looked around and realised how the greens looked familiar. It probably wasn’t even ten minutes since we started walking when I saw charred trees in a circle. In the middle of it all, there was a huge empty space where the fire dragon’s body used to lie.

“Why are we here?” Memories came rushing and I felt a little flushed as I remembered how I ran and leapt and killed and cried.

Did those events really happen? Did I really do that?

“I took the Dragon’s head to Svet for safekeeping. It’s very valuable and may cause unnecessary disputes between humans and elves living in nearby towns.”

Wait, did he just say elves? As in those good-looking hotties with pointed ears? Legolas? Oh, and his dad was pretty hot too.

“The rest of the dragon’s carcass turned into dust after a day, but you were already out cold then.” Kiel said as he stopped walking near the center. “We weren’t lying when we said that it’s quite the feat to defeat a fire dragon with one blow. But up to that point, it’s still nothing too unusual. Some exceptional humans have killed fire dragons after all.”

I just nodded in silence. I didn’t know where he was getting at.

“But what is unusual here? Tell me.”

I took a quick glance. Charred trees aren’t unusual if a fire dragon went wild there. It’s not unusual to have grasses, flowers, and trees in a forest.

Wait! Those flowers... It was an emergency that time, but I don’t ever remember seeing flowers in this area.

I bent down and observed the red flowers that seemed to bloom in a scattered line of sorts. Looking at it closely, I realised that these flowers were nothing I have seen before. There was something strange with these flowers.

They only had three thin petals and a light green stem. The setting sun made them look like they were sparkling with waves of orange.

“Those flowers do not exist naturally in the mortal realm. Each petal, when boiled with water, can produce three vials of a very potent healing potion. However, no ordinary being would know about this and no one can pluck them out of the ground anyway. They will wilt on their own when their time comes. Where do you think they came from?”

“I remember stepping on some stones when I ran to save Ser Michael. I felt pain on my feet. My wounds probably have already healed by the time I remembered that I got hurt... But, there is no way that that’s possible.”

“They sprung forth whence your blood came into contact with fertile soil. Even the soil felt that they are unworthy to even come in contact with your precious human blood so they made sure to give you a gift of thanks for gracing them with it.”

He walked towards me and dropped to his knees and slowly closed his eyes, “You may still not believe me at this point, but I believe in you. I always have for the past thousands of years as I served you and I always will until the end of time.” He opened his eyes and those blues gazed intently at me, standing out amidst the sea of green in the background.

There he goes again with his piercing eyes! I took a step back as a reflex.

Thousands of years, huh? I can’t even imagine how long that is!

“I know that you are my one and only Queen of the Heavens and I will do everything in my power to serve you to the best that I can.”

“Come on, do you really have to say embarrassing things?” I felt goosebumps plague my skin as I watched his lean but slightly built figure continue to kneel in front of me.

Come on, cut me some slack. He is turning me into a blushing idiot again while struggling with those butterflies in my stomach. How can I not feel moved when someone says he has served me for the past few millennia?

“I apologise for always being so rude, my Lady. I have a reason for doing so. So for now, please forgive my waywardness until the time you remember everything.” Kiel reached out a gloved hand to me and without thinking, I instinctively offered mine. He did not waste a second and gently pressed his lips at the back of my hand.

“Okay, fine! I’ll try to be more patient with you!” I pulled my hand from the kiss as I couldn’t handle the tickling sensation any longer. “Just don’t go overboard with the teasing.”

“Good. But I can’t promise anything.” He flashed a big smile as he stood up and brushed off dirt off of his dark-colored pants.

“Anyway, we need to help resolve issues and we might even have to go on quests all over Gaia. By doing so, your memories are more likely to return.” He flashed me those pearly whites.

Did he really like going on an adventure that much? Well, all in all, his answers were still a little vague, but they were fine with me for now.

Seeing as I didn’t raise further questions, he started walking again and I slowly darted behind him after sneaking a flower into a small sling satchel that hugged my body.

I imagined the silent walk that we were having to be an awkward one but it turned out better than I expected. I heard myself giggle in my head as I felt a little happy being able to get a little bit closer to him somehow.

Slowly, I am starting to feel like I am not alone.

Maybe it’s not just my body that has changed, but I feel that I’m slowly changing too. Hopefully it’s a change that gears towards being a better person, or well, a goddess.

After half an hour’s walk, we arrived at Raj.

It was a humble town that didn’t look any different from Svet, except that it didn’t have walls and the streets were not covered in bricks.

People don’t usually stay up too late in this world, so I wasn’t surprised that the streets were almost empty now. We needed a place to stay in for the night.

We entered an inn and while Kiel was settling things for our accommodation for the night, my feet took me to a bookshelf nearby.

I picked out one white book with golden pages. It was entitled, “Morrigna, The Sole Goddess.”

Hmmm. This might just be the perfect opportunity to learn more about myself and this world. Since Kiel hasn’t really told me about this, why not just read about it?

I glanced over at the counter and it seems Kiel is doing his best to haggle his way in. This seems like the transaction will take some time.

I sat on a couch near the shelves and opened the thin book. A book that was about me (allegedly).

Is it weird to feel excited to read this?