“Ahem.”
“Alright, let us not just stand around.”
The woman claiming to be the Goddess coughed softly.
Then, she waved her hand casually, and a pure white table appeared before them.
A tea set even materialized on top of it.
The Goddess sat down at the table and very naturally poured tea for Lin Ling and herself.
Lin Ling looked at the tea that had suddenly appeared, then at the woman claiming to be the Goddess.
Her brain was still in a state of struggling to comprehend the current situation.
A god? The Goddess?
And now she's inviting me to drink tea?
Is this some kind of after-sales service for transmigrating to another world?
Meanwhile, Kavia stared at the tea on the table and immediately sidled over, placing both hands on the Goddess's shoulders from behind.
“Lady Goddess~ Where is mine?”
She stood behind the Goddess, the mask on her face still displaying a crying expression.
It seemed that Lin Ling calling her a kidnapper earlier had truly hurt her feelings.
So much so that she was still using the crying mask to silently protest against Lin Ling.
But the Goddess seemed to have no interest in dealing with this overly dramatic Deceiver, and another golden magic arm extended from behind her.
Then, with great familiarity, she lifted Kavia up.
“Eh? Lady Goddess?”
“I only wanted to drink some tea—”
Before Kavia could finish her sentence, a golden ribbon wrapped around her mouth.
As a result, Kavia could only dangle in midair, letting out muffled “mmph, mmph, mmph” noises.
Watching this play out, Lin Ling quietly lowered her head and took a sip of tea.
Suddenly, she didn't feel quite as nervous anymore.
After all, the person in this space who looked the most like a kidnapper had already been tied up by the Goddess herself.
“Now, it is truly time to discuss business, Lin Ling.”
The Goddess paid no further attention to the constantly struggling Kavia beside her.
Her pure white eyes locked onto Lin Ling's.
Though her tone was very calm, Lin Ling felt as if the surrounding environment had instantly fallen dead silent.
“What you did today was very bad.”
Hearing the Goddess suddenly bring up what she had done today, Lin Ling's hand holding the teacup froze slightly.
“Was... was it that bad?”
she asked in a small voice.
But she thought of the way Dashi looked when he saw Danasuo again.
She thought of him cradling that palm-sized figure, crying so hard yet holding on so carefully, not daring to let go.
She thought of Danasuo finally being able to touch Dashi.
She truly felt that she had done the right thing.
The Goddess looked at the silent Lin Ling across from her, as if reading her mind.
“You believe you did the right thing.”
Lin Ling's body stiffened. She saw right through me?
The Goddess's voice remained calm.
“You disrupted the rules of life and death. Death, Lin Ling, is inherently irreversible.”
She raised her hand.
An arm formed from condensed magic picked up the teacup and brought it to Lin Ling's lips.
It seemed she wanted to use the warm tea to soothe her tension.
Lin Ling instinctively opened her mouth and took a sip.
The tea was very warm, but her heart sank bit by bit.
“Child, there is no need to be nervous. I am not angry,”
the Goddess said.
“Since this is the first time, I can overlook it as you not knowing what you were doing.”
“However, resurrection never comes without a price.”
“It is just that this time, someone else bore it for you.”
Hearing this, Lin Ling's pupils constricted sharply.
“Someone bore it for me?”
Her voice suddenly became incredibly tense.
The Goddess did not answer.
She simply took a gentle sip of her tea.
As she set her teacup down, the reflection in the tea showed Kavia, who was still hanging to the side and making muffled noises.
It also showed the smiling face on the artifact in Lin Ling's hand, [Unfinished Deception], which had now turned into a crying face.
Lin Ling tightened her grip on the teacup.
“This is my own doing.”
For the first time, Lin Ling actively looked straight at the Goddess.
“Lady Goddess, if there is a price to pay, I should be the one to bear it.”
The Goddess looked at her.
There was no anger or blame in those pure white eyes.
There was only a serene calm, as if she had long known Lin Ling would answer this way.
“No, Lin Ling. The moment you made that choice, it ceased to be just your concern.”
Lin Ling bit her lower lip.
“Then at least tell me. Who is the one bearing it? What is the price?”
Her voice grew even more urgent than before.
If someone had paid a price because of her actions, or if someone had been hurt because she wanted to create a miracle, then she should at least know.
But the Goddess merely set her teacup down gently.
“No. This is not something you should know.”
“This is your punishment.”
Lin Ling was stunned.
“Punishment?”
“Yes.”
The Goddess raised her hand.
A light screen unfolded in front of Lin Ling.
Upon the light screen, everyone from the Demon King's Castle appeared.
Ivelia.
Niya.
...
“If you do it again,”
the Goddess said calmly,
“I will choose someone from your side to bear the price.”
As Lin Ling stared at the people on the light screen, her expression slowly changed.
“Why?”
Her voice grew slightly raspy.
“My actions, I will bear them myself.”
The Goddess looked at her.
“No.”
“You are my favored child, the darling of the world.”
“I will not harm you.”
Lin Ling snapped her head up.
Yet the Goddess's voice remained entirely unchanged.
“But to resurrect one person, you must lose someone you cherish.”
“That is the price.”
Having said that, the Goddess once again brought the tea to Lin Ling's lips.
But this time, Lin Ling did not accept the tea offered to her.
She simply stared at the people on the light screen.
They were all people she had slowly gotten to know since arriving in this world.
People who would take care of her, tease her, and protect her.
People who would smile because of the things she did.
Lin Ling's hands slowly clenched into fists.
If the price was one of them, then no. Absolutely not.
Only after a long silence did Lin Ling finally speak in a low voice.
“I understand.”
She looked at the Goddess opposite her.
“I won't use it again.”
The Goddess watched her quietly.
Then, she gave a gentle nod, and magic began to flow through her hand.
“Good child, go back now. I hope you speak the truth.”
As soon as she spoke, Lin Ling's consciousness began to blur.
Drowsiness washed over her like a tidal wave.
Ultimately, Lin Ling's consciousness drifted back into a deep sleep.
The Goddess raised her hand, sending her back to reality.
Quiet descended upon the pure white space once more.
After a moment, the golden ribbon over Kavia's mouth finally vanished.
“Waaah! I can finally talk!”
Once she was set down, Kavia immediately started rolling around on the floor.
“Lady Goddess is so selfish.”
“Talking to the little cutie all by herself and not letting me say a word!”
“I wanted to talk about serious matters with the little cutie too!”
The Goddess shot her a glance.
“You are too noisy, Kavia.”
With that, the light on the Goddess's body flared up once more.
She returned to her previous glowing disguise.
Kavia sat up from the floor.
Staring at the Goddess who had reverted to her glowing form, she suddenly took off her own mask and slapped it directly onto the Goddess's face.
“Clearly, Lady Goddess is the real Deceiver here.”
Goddess: “...”
Kavia crossed her arms, looking at the Goddess whose face she had covered with the mask.
“Lying to the little cutie like that.”
“Claiming that the price of resurrection is paid by those around her.”
“When in reality, the little cutie herself is the one paying the price.”
“Lady Goddess is the worst Deceiver of all.”
The Goddess did not take off the mask, remaining silent for a moment.
“If I did not say that, she would not stop.”
Just then, Marigal appeared out of nowhere.
She was holding a large stack of photos she had just taken.
Some were of Lin Ling's face being squished while she slept.
Others were of Lin Ling spinning around in the pure white space.
“Because the little cutie is just that kind of child.”
Marigal looked at the photos, that slightly dangerous smile still playing on her lips.
“She cherishes those around her far more than herself.”
“If we told her that she was the one paying the price of resurrection, she would probably keep using it next time.”
“She might even say something like—”
Marigal cleared her throat, mimicking Lin Ling's tone.
““If I'm the only one paying the price, isn't that a great deal?””
Hearing this, Kavia fell silent for a moment.
Then, she looked toward Lin Ling, who had returned to reality and was fast asleep.
“Mm~ That is true.”
“The little cutie definitely would say that.”
The Goddess raised her hand, took the mask off her face, and handed it back to Kavia.
“So she must not know.”
Kavia took the mask and looked down at it.
Finally, she let out a soft sigh.
“The little cutie really should love herself a bit more~”
Marigal tucked the photos into her coat.
“That will likely be very difficult.”
Kavia nodded.
“Indeed~ After all, she is a little cutie who will cry about how much she values her own life while actively burning through her own lifespan.”
The Goddess did not speak.
She simply watched the projection of reality.
In the image, Lin Ling was still cradled in Ivelia's arms, sleeping deeply.
After a moment, the Goddess said softly,
“At least for now, she can sleep a little longer.”
The pure white space fell silent once more.
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