Chapter 8 - Let the Vacation Begin (Whether You Like It or Not)

Yeah, apparently the whole 'goddess reincarnates into her own creation' thing was strictly forbidden.

Not just frowned upon—officially labeled as a divine-level crime.

It sounded pretty serious.

Did she care? Not really.

Who was going to find out anyway? The whole thing was totally secure.

...Well, except for the System.

Seriously, how could he always be so tense?

Rules, rules, rules. It was exhausting just being near him.

"Don't be so stiff, System. Re-laaax!"

She had decided. Not only was she going down to the mortal realm, but she was also giving her adorable cat a mandatory break. A long, peaceful, stress-free vacation.

"Where do you think you're going?"she called after him, because obviously, he was being all suspicious and judgy.

Was that... a phone call? Was he trying to snitch? No way.

Phones off.

"You're scaring me with that face, Aerisse."

Oh great. Now it was Aerisse.

"And all this talk about breaking divine laws—I didn't sign up for this."

What was that tone of 'have standards' about?

"I'm done. That's it. I'm officially resigning—"

Sure. Totally believable.

"As if you're really doing that," she muttered.

"Come on, who's my favorite cat in the whole multi-planetary system?" she cooed.

He made that annoyed huff sound again.

"See? That's the problem. I'm not a cat, Aerisse."

There it was again. That familiar mother-like tone.

It reminded her of her mom—may she have gotten a nice afterlife, wherever she was.

Whenever her mom called her by name instead of 'sweetie' or 'baby,' she knew she was in trouble.

This felt exactly like that.

"Okay, maybe I haven't been the best boss ever," Aerisse admitted, "but I'm going to make it up to you, System. I promise."

It was basically a 'please don't leave me' kind of plea.

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" he asked, now back in his very handsome human form, arms crossed like he was about to deny her everything.

Reincarnation wasn't an option—they weren't dead. But incarnation?

Totally doable. Discreetly, of course.

"Let me show you."

The moment he turned around—poof—sleeping powder.

One gentle tap with her newest persuasion potion, courtesy of her bestie Zaryssa.

She'd have to stop by later and thank her for the stellar recommendation (even if Zaryssa's intentions weren't exactly... pure).

One down, one to go.

Now, time to summon her newly promoted personal assistant—the recently desincarnated Invisibility Hero.

So far, he had the best track record of any hero she'd ever managed. Definitely trustworthy.

"No way!" he practically glowed brighter than her celestial eyes.

"Yes way," she smiled. "I'd be honored if you'd run things while we're away. Only rule: don't leave the office. And if anyone manages to sneak in—which, by the way, probably won't happen in the next thousand years—you are me. Got it? No suspicious behavior."

"...Y-yeah! I mean, this is amazing. I always wanted to know what it's like to be a goddess—well, I guess god in this case, but still…"

He was already spinning in her command chair like he owned the place.

"This is awesome. Can I never get fired?"

Exactly the kind of attitude she liked.

She trusted him already—maybe even too quickly, but hey, who had time to build loyalty the slow way?

He was perfect.

"What was your name again?" she asked.

Cue the 'are you serious right now?' face.

"At Skethera, I'm called Caelus.

By the way, if you see my son down there, tell him to find me once he's done. This place is way better."

Ah, right. His son. The one destined to become the next king of the largest human kingdom.

Caelus had apparently married some gorgeous princess after finishing his heroic run, and people decided he was better suited for the throne than her older brother. Harsh system.

Kinda weird to leave a message for a living, healthy human like that—but hey, she'd make sure to deliver it... once the guy hit his eighties.

"Deal, Caelus. Handle things properly and you'll be handsomely rewarded. The better the results, the bigger the prize. I'm heading out now—please don't break anything before I get back."

She could only hope this was a good idea.

Aerisse would go first—to prepare the ground.

Then her beloved System would follow.

She had arranged everything for his perfect vacation: a healthy, loving family; zero responsibilities; no divine memories; and absolutely no stress.

It was the break he didn't even know he needed.

As for Aerisse?

Well, she never liked those memory loss plotlines anyway.

She was heading down to get things done, not play pretend.

No memory loss for her.

The sooner she fixed the mess, the sooner they could return to her favorite spot in the multi-planetary.