The Krass Order was once one of the main religions in this world, a faith that held sway over kingdoms. Although it couldn’t compare to the ancient and monolithic Grand Holy Church, it had a significant number of followers. However, for some unknown reason, a rot began to fester within its core. The cult began to practice the wicked, forbidden ritual of sacrifice. It started with the tolerable sacrifice of magical beasts to fuel their dark miracles, then escalated to the chilling sacrifice of intelligent beings, their souls offered up on blood-soaked altars. Finally, it devolved into the intolerable practice of instigating wars to conduct large-scale blood sacrifices, turning entire battlefields into unholy grounds.

The Krass Order, once the state religion of this country, was abandoned by its own nation in horror. The kingdom then joined forces with the Grand Holy Church to attack the cult’s headquarters—the very city now known as Pekoin. It was in this bloody struggle against the Krass Order that the Trefle ancestor established his great merit, carving out a legend with his sword. For his valor, he was eventually appointed as the local marquis, granted various privileges as a condition for guarding this ominous, haunted land. It was said that when the Krass Order was still in power, the Beast Forest never had a beast tide that attacked the towns. It seemed that with great power and a dark past came an equally great responsibility.

The Marquis looked out the window. The once-bright moonlight was now being devoured by dark, bruised-looking clouds. It seemed there was much to be done before the coming storm.

After escorting Ard back to his room, Yexi prepared to return to her own quarters to rest.

“Goodnight, Yexi.” Ard’s voice was soft from his doorway.

“Goodnight, Mr. Guest.” Her reply was crisp, professional.

Back in the quiet solitude of her room, Yexi deftly changed into her nightgown. She didn’t used to have this habit; sleeping in her underclothes was more efficient. But over the years in this other world, her mistress had forced it upon her, a small, domesticating ritual. In fact, Yexi felt she had grown accustomed to far too many things, like this maid’s uniform. At first, wearing it didn’t bother her. As an assassin, she had worn all sorts of disguises, and women’s clothing was just one of them. She could quickly blend into any role for the sake of a kill. But she had never worn one for so long. It went from indifference to a slight, chafing discomfort, and then, slowly, back to a resigned indifference.

Yexi felt she had lost something intangible, a sharp edge of her former self sanded down by years of peace. But… it was nothing compared to what she had gained.

Lying in bed, Yexi quickly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, a skill honed as an assassin to recover her energy as quickly as possible.

But this time, something was different. It felt like she had only been lying down for a moment when a light, brighter than the sun, bloomed behind her eyelids. Puzzled, she opened her eyes to find herself not in her small room, but in a vast, brilliantly white space that stretched into infinity.

“I… I did it, hehe.”

“?” Yexi turned her head. A blonde woman, looking utterly and completely drunk, was staring at her with a lecherous, predatory expression, a gaze a hundred times more inappropriate than Ard’s.

A lucid dream? That was Yexi’s first, logical guess. But why would she dream of something like this? It didn’t make sense. And she hadn’t had a dream—a phenomenon that affects the quality of sleep—in twenty years, including her past life.

The blonde woman, Lifa, poured wine into her mouth from a golden flask while patting Yexi’s shoulder. “Hic, hello, hic. Assassin from another world, hic, I have a job for you, hic.”

The overwhelming, cloying smell of alcohol made Yexi frown. She knows my identity. Her voice turned cold as ice. “This is clearly more than just a dream. First, state your identity.”

“Me? I, I, umm~, I’m a goddess! I’m the goddess of this world, Lifa! Waaah!”

As Yexi stared in bewilderment, Lifa burst into tears, wailing while chugging her wine.

“I really am a goddess, hic, sob, believe me! No matter how incompetent I am, I’m still a goddess! I tried so hard! Sob.”

Yexi was silent for a moment, processing the absurdity. “How about we talk another day? And don’t drink so much next time. Could you please send me back first?”

“No!” Lifa leaped over and hugged Yexi’s leg tightly, her tears soaking the phantom fabric of Yexi’s nightgown. “If you don’t agree, I’ll die right here and now!”

“Then go ahead and die,” Yexi said, her face impassive.

Lifa’s world turned gray. “Waaah, sob, has this goddess been abandoned by everyone?!”

Ignoring the crazy goddess clinging to her leg, Yexi surveyed the room. There were no entrances or exits, only seamless white walls. Even the source of the blinding light was unknown. She clenched her fist. She couldn’t feel the presence of Ki here. Looking at the goddess still crying on her leg, Yexi felt a headache coming on. What is all this about?

“Hey, what will it take for you to let me go? I haven’t killed anyone in many years, but if you piss me off, I’m not against killing a god.” Yexi sized up the self-proclaimed goddess. In terms of combat power, she should have the advantage… right?

The next second, the world spun, and Yexi found herself pinned to the ground, an immense, invisible weight pressing down on her, rendering her unable to move. The drunken goddess sat on top of her, still crying. “How could you! Just because I’m a useless failure with no achievements, doesn’t mean you can just abandon me! I’m a goddess, why does even a mortal despise me?”

Alright, the difference in power was obvious. Yexi accepted the fact that she was the weaker one.

If force didn’t work, she would try persuasion. Yexi’s voice became soothing, the tone she used to calm a spooked horse. “There, there, good girl, don’t cry. So, what is it you want me to do? If you don’t tell me, I won’t know how to help you.”

“I haven’t told you yet?” Lifa blinked, her large, tear-filled eyes wide with confusion.

Seeing those confused eyes, Yexi shook her head.

“It’s fine, it’s not too late to say it now. Help me… help me kill this idiot!” Lifa produced a shimmering, magical portrait of Ard and held it in front of Yexi. “It’s this bastard! He ruined all my performance metrics! My supervisor yelled at me! Sob, and I owe my senpai so many favors, I swore this time would be it! It’s all his fault! Do you have any idea how cruel he is?!”

“Um,” Yexi said uncertainly, “I think I have a little bit of an idea?”

“I’ve explained it so clearly and you only have a little bit of an idea?! Do you understand performance metrics?! I’ve been at the bottom for nearly 500 years! No bonuses, no vacations, and now I’m about to be demoted to the bottom of the bottom! Waaah, hic, why is my life so miserable! Kill him! I must kill him!”

Yexi asked doubtfully, “Aren’t you a goddess? Why don’t you do it yourself?”

“You think I don’t want to?!” Lifa said, her voice rising with excitement. “I’m an administrator! According to the divine rules, I can’t interfere with that world at will! I can only follow the rules! The most I can do is give guidance through oracles like this, and even that has a time limit! If I could act myself, I would grind that pervert to dust, scatter his ashes, and obliterate his soul!”

Yexi said tentatively, “So you mean you can’t actually kill me?”

Lifa shook her head. “No, I can’t. What happens in this place doesn’t carry over to the real world. Why?”

“Then I’m not doing it. When the time is up, we’ll say our goodbyes.” Yexi was now fearless. What was there to be afraid of? A goddess bound by her own rules.

Lifa looked at Yexi with wide, teary, pleading eyes.

Yexi turned her head away. “Don’t look at me like that. Playing pitiful won’t work. I’ve been retired for many years. I don’t want to go back to my old profession.”

Lifa threw herself onto Yexi and started crying again, her wails echoing in the infinite space. “No! Please! You help me… and I’ll do anything! I’ll harass you every day if you don’t agree! You can’t even refuse! Don’t sleep if you dare!”

The smell of alcohol was overwhelming. Yexi was disgusted. Though she knew it wouldn’t affect her real body, it was incredibly annoying.

But this person said she’s a goddess, right? Then… Yexi looked at the disheveled, pathetic Lifa. “I want to see someone from my original world. Can you help me with that?”

“Someone from that world? It’s a bit against the rules, but whatever, I can do it,” Lifa said, sniffing.

“That person is already dead. Can I still see them?” Yexi asked, her voice steady.

“That makes it more difficult.” Lifa looked thoughtful for the first time. “May I ask how long that person has been dead?”

“Including the time in this world?” Yexi clarified.

“Yes,” Lifa confirmed.

“Twelve years,” Yexi stated, the number a weight on her tongue.

Lifa looked troubled. “Can you ask for something else? For example, how about changing you back to your original body? Or I could give you some divine artifacts or countless treasures.”

“Changing back to my body… that’s something to consider. But I still want to see that person,” Yexi said, her voice unwavering. “I need to get an answer from her. It’s more important than my gender. It’s my reason for living.”

Yexi’s words were firm and powerful, imbued with a conviction that seemed to resonate with the very fabric of the white room, and they finally seemed to sober Lifa up.

“Fine! No problem, it’s a deal!” Lifa declared grandly, wiping her tears away.

“No, there’s one more thing. How can I trust you to keep your promise?” For an assassin, a contract was paramount. The killing itself was not the goal; it was killing with a purpose. If the contract that guaranteed the purpose was not binding, the transaction would not take place.

Lifa proudly produced a withered, ancient-looking piece of parchment that seemed to absorb the light around it. “Do you know what this is? It’s a Divine Contract. A contract that even gods must obey. If one party fulfills their side of the contract and the other does not, even a god will face a severe, soul-crushing punishment.”

Yexi was a bit skeptical about the authenticity of the contract, but seeing how utterly drunk the goddess was, she probably didn’t need to doubt it. This person’s brain was completely soaked in alcohol.

Yexi said with good intentions, “Should we sign it now? Or should we wait until you’re a bit sober?”

Lifa slapped the floor with a resounding boom. “We sign it right now! No backing out!”

“I won’t back out. I just don’t know what will happen when you sober up,” Yexi murmured.

“Hic, are you kidding me? A great goddess like myself, lose my ability to think because of a little wine? Sign it!” Lifa insisted.

And so, with the goddess completely drunk and Yexi pinned to the floor, the two of them signed the agreement with a touch of their fingers.

“Excellent! Excellent! Here, have a drink. This is a fine wine my senpai gave me… to comfort me.” Once the Divine Contract was signed, it split into two motes of golden light, one part merging into Yexi’s body, the other into Lifa’s. Lifa seemed overjoyed and produced several more bottles of wine, offering one to Yexi.

Yexi frowned. “I’ll pass. I have things to do tomorrow. And can you let me go now? Mmph!”

“What are you afraid of? It won’t affect your real body anyway. Drink.” Lifa directly poured the shimmering, fragrant wine into Yexi’s mouth.

Yexi was initially resistant, but after a taste… hmm, it was actually quite good. A warmth spread through her, chasing away the cold logic and filling her with a strange, pleasant buzz. If it wouldn’t affect her real body, a little drink wouldn’t hurt, right?