How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game

Chapter 759: Continental Grand Festival’s End

Crack...!

A small sound echoed through Eris’s realm.

I looked down.

Thin cracks had begun spreading across my body.

At first, they were barely noticeable, little fractures running across my arms and shoulders like cracks appearing on a glass surface. But within moments, they began spreading faster, fragments of my body slowly breaking apart and dissolving into faint particles of light.

It seemed my time here was finally coming to an end.

Eris noticed it as well.

"Oh my~ It looks like your time here is up."

She sounded almost disappointed.

"I wanted to hug you a little longer. What a shame."

I glanced at her.

"Is it just me, or have you gotten a lot bolder recently, Goddess?"

Eris immediately smiled.

"Fufu~ That’s because you don’t address me as ’Great Mother’ so openly anymore, nor do you treat me with all that reverence."

She casually waved her hand.

"Now I can at least be a little more open with you. Besides, you’re a god now. There’s no need for useless formalities and hidden natures between us anymore, don’t you think?"

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

She certainly had changed the way she acted around me.

Or perhaps she had simply stopped hiding as much.

Either way, I didn’t dislike it.

Although I couldn’t even begin to compare myself to Eris in terms of either the quantity or quality of Divinity I possessed, there was still something I appreciated about the way she treated me.

Her familiarity.

Her personal faith in me.

And even the affection she had shown toward me.

Those things meant more than I was willing to admit.

The cracks continued spreading across my body.

I glanced down at my hand as another fragment broke away.

"So I suppose this is goodbye for now."

"Not goodbye~"

Eris corrected me immediately.

"Just until next time."

She smiled before suddenly raising a finger as if she had remembered something important.

"Oh, and one more thing."

"Hm?"

"If you ever want to bless your faithful again, you don’t have to try to visit their altars or sanctuaries anymore."

I paused.

"I, don’t?"

"Nope."

She shook her head.

"Now that you’ve properly connected to your Divinity, you should be able to feel your Faith Chamber."

"My Faith Chamber..."

"That’s right."

She nodded.

"Remember It contains the records of all your followers. You don’t have to physically search for them anymore. Just turn your attention inward and look for those connections inside yourself."

She tapped her chest lightly.

"Once you find them, you should be able to recognize your followers and provide them with blessings through your Divinity."

That sounded considerably more convenient than what I had been doing before.

So I wouldn’t need to enter their sanctuary every time I wanted to bless someone.

I simply had to reach into my own Divinity.

"I understand."

I gave her a small nod.

"Yes. I appreciate the advice, Goddess."

Eris smiled.

Then her expression softened.

"Take care of Emilia for me, okay?"

I stared at her for a moment.

Of all the things she could have said before sending me back, that was what she chose.

Still...

"Of course."

Even if she hadn’t asked me, I was already planning to do that.

The cracks had now spread across my entire body.

Light began shining through them.

"See you later, Riley~"

The last thing I saw was Eris smiling and waving at me.

Then—

The world disappeared.

Light flashed across my vision.

For a moment, everything was blurry.

The strange sensation of Eris’s realm slowly faded away, replaced by the familiar feeling of the real world.

My senses gradually returned.

The blurry shapes around me became clearer.

The first thing I noticed was the ceiling.

Then the familiar walls of the Church of Light’s nun’s room.

I was back.

Inside the academy.

I slowly blinked a few times, allowing my vision to fully adjust.

Then I noticed someone standing extremely close to me.

No.

Not standing.

Emilia was practically leaning against me.

She must have been waiting nearby the entire time.

I wasn’t even sure how much time had passed while I was inside Eris’s realm. From the looks of her, though, she seemed somewhat tired, as though she had been waiting for me to wake up for quite some time.

The moment she noticed my eyes had opened, she slowly raised her head.

"S-Senior?"

Her voice was quiet.

I smiled faintly.

"Hello, Junior."

I paused before adding,

"Thanks for agreeing to this request of mine."

"N-No, it’s fine."

Emilia quickly shook her head.

"Like I said, I wanted to help."

She gave a small, nervous smile.

"Hehe~"

Her cheeks were slightly red.

Then, almost immediately, she looked away.

I noticed her expression become a little more awkward, as though she had suddenly remembered what had happened earlier.

I didn’t need to ask what she was thinking about.

The memory of our earlier kiss had apparently resurfaced in her mind as well.

She avoided looking directly at me for a moment, clearly embarrassed.

I couldn’t help but chuckle softly at her reaction.

She really was easy to fluster.

Still, I wasn’t going to tease her about it.

I had more important things to think about.

"Regardless, I truly appreciate your help, Junior."

I gave her a sincere look.

"You helped me when I needed it, and I owe you a favor now."

Emilia looked at me curiously.

"A favor?"

"Yes."

I nodded.

"So, if there’s ever anything you want from me, you can ask."

I paused for a moment before continuing.

"As long as it’s something I’m actually capable of doing, I’ll gladly return the favor."

Emilia’s eyes widened slightly.

She seemed surprised that I was taking the matter so seriously.

But I meant what I said.

She had helped me when she didn’t have to.

If she ever needed my help in return, I wasn’t going to ignore her.

....

As night finally settled over the academy, I made my way out of the Church of Light after saying goodbye to Emilia.

She seemed a little disappointed when I told her I had to leave so suddenly, but she understood. I couldn’t exactly stay there for too long, especially with everything that had happened today.

To be honest, I wanted to stay a little longer myself.

There were still plenty of things I wanted to ask Emilia about the Goddess of Light, especially after everything Eris had told me. Emilia’s connection to Eris was unusual enough that I couldn’t help but be curious about it.

But curiosity wasn’t worth the risk.

Liyana was still somewhere within the academy.

And considering how troublesome things could become if she discovered that I had been spending too much time with Emilia, it was better to keep my distance.

Besides, the other girls were probably already waiting for me back in the room.

I sighed quietly as I walked through the academy grounds.

Still...

It had hurt a little when Vanessa had looked at me so suspiciously before I left the room.

What exactly did that woman think of me?

The look she had given me almost made me feel as though I had been caught doing something I shouldn’t have been doing.

I rubbed the back of my head.

As I continued toward the dormitories, I focused inward.

Almost immediately, I could feel it.

My Divinity.

It was still faint.

Very faint, in fact.

But there was something different about it now.

It felt as though there was slightly more of it than before.

The faith I had received from my followers wasn’t enough to cause some enormous transformation, but it was accumulating.

Slowly.

Little by little.

And unlike before, I could actually feel the difference.

So, this was the result of having followers.

Their prayers and faith were becoming nourishment for my Divinity.

I couldn’t help but find that fascinating.

I wanted to check my Faith Chamber immediately.

After what Eris had told me, I was curious about what exactly was recorded inside it.

How many followers did I have?

How strong was their faith?

Were there others with an affinity similar to Garan’s?

There were too many questions.

But I probably shouldn’t investigate it here.

If I suddenly entered some strange divine state in the middle of the academy, there was a chance someone could notice.

Alice’s realm would be much safer.

Once I had some privacy, I could properly examine my Faith Chamber and figure out exactly what I was dealing with.

For now, I simply continued walking.

The academy was unusually quiet tonight.

The excitement surrounding the Continental Grand Festival hadn’t completely disappeared, but after everything that had happened, most students were probably exhausted.

Tomorrow, the festival should gradually return to its proper course.

Which meant I had to return my attention to the problems waiting for me.

Lucas.

I would need to prepare for him soon.

After everything that had happened during the tournament, there was no way I could simply ignore him.

But honestly...

Lucas wasn’t even the biggest problem anymore.

My thoughts drifted toward Liyana.

I couldn’t help but sigh once again.