Philost looked surprised at Cia's gentle response, then scratched his head.
"To be honest, I've been loitering around the palace here and there, thinking I should apologize to you, sister."
"Apologize? For what?"
"At the coming-of-age ball last time, I got in the way between you and Duke Tenneris, and it seemed to make you upset..."
"Ah, that..."
Come to think of it, Phil had acted as a mediator back then. Her past self hadn't appreciated that at all, but now she thought differently.
"Ah well, I wasn't particularly upset."
"Really? That's a relief. Your expression had been sour for a while, so I thought you might have been angry at me."
Watching her younger brother wipe his chest in relief, Cia thought the nickname 'angel' suited him perfectly.
Due to his health issues, his growth had been slow—his voice hadn't even broken yet, his body was delicate, and for a male, his eyelashes were long and thick. His sparkling green eyes were like freshly sprouted seedlings.
'He would have been a huge success if he'd become an idol in the Second World.'
As she indulged in useless fantasies, Philost asked hesitantly.
"If that's the case, then perhaps, because you were rejected by the Duke..."
Cia's hands, which had been resting on her lap, twitched.
"Rejected? Me?"
"I-I'm sorry. I heard a rumor that you had feelings for him. It was also the first time you'd asked someone to dance first."
Toward her brother, whose eyes were already growing moist, Cia quickly waved her hands.
"It's f-fine. I don't really pay attention to rumors. And asking for that dance was..."
If she were to speak the truth plainly, she'd have to say 'it was because of my attention-seeking personality,' but saying that in front of the innocent, blinking Philost was a bit much.
"He was standing alone in the corner, so he looked lonely... I overstepped, wanting the Duke to enjoy the party too."
Philost grasped Cia's hand tightly and sent her a sparkling gaze.
"Such deep consideration. I didn't know you had that intention, sister."
Neither did I. Cia gave an awkward smile.
"I heard you visited Duke Tenneris's residence today, so I wondered if that rumor was true."
She'd gone quietly with only Janet—how did he already know?
Cia shook her head vigorously and firmly denied it.
"No, it's nothing like that."
"Then what business did you have... Ah, sister, like me, you went to make amends because you felt bad about what happened at the ball!"
"...Yes, that's exactly it."
"Just as I thought—you have such a warm heart, sister. Even if it doesn't seem that way on the outside, you must have been bothered by the friction with the Duke."
Cia bit her lip gently.
Looking back, Philost generally analyzed Cia's actions favorably, just like now. Even when she said something absurd or made a mistake.
'As expected of my sister, such creative opinions.'
'No way, my sister wouldn't have done that on purpose. She must have made a mistake because she was nervous.'
Her past self had interpreted this as either pretending to be kind or sophisticated sarcasm, but not anymore.
'Just because I was kind for a few minutes, he's acting like a dog showing its belly.'
He probably always thought of her as 'a sister who's gruff on the outside but kind on the inside.' Though embarrassing, it wasn't an unpleasant misconception.
"Did things go well?"
"No, not really."
If she told him she'd been kicked out in three minutes, he'd be heartbroken, so she omitted the details.
But even this brief explanation made dark clouds gather on Philost's face.
"Well, Duke Tenneris isn't the type to change his mind easily, I suppose."
"Are you close with him?"
"Not especially, but the Duke also attended the academy like me. Even after graduation, we occasionally run into each other at academy events."
"Oh, really?"
This was new information for Cia, who had never attended the 'Academy' they spoke of.
'Good information. I should remember this.'
If she tried to meet him at the ducal residence again, he'd surely be on guard.
'Should I lie in wait and ambush him?'
As Cia racked her brain, she suddenly felt a sense of futility. Why was she working so hard to help Duke Tenneris?
"There's an alumni charity gathering next week, and a seminar the week after."
Philost's chattering voice reached her ears a beat late. Seeing her younger brother's flushed cheeks, as if excited, she revived her fading motivation.
'If the world is destroyed, not just me, but Philost will die too.'
She would also lose the chance to become a good sister by repairing their relationship.
'...Alright, I'll somehow prevent the destruction. So don't just float that pathetic status window—hurry up and appear to explain properly, you damned god! Save this poor little lamb named after you!'
She glared at the status window and cursed internally again.
"If you're interested in these events, sister, you could come with me next time—"
"Phil?"
The boy, who had been chattering away, suddenly dropped his head.
"..."
Worried he might have suddenly become tired, Cia gently touched his shoulder.
"Are you okay, Phil?"
Through his disheveled golden hair, a low voice came.
"Oh dear, I tried to ignore it but it's noisy with all that chattering."
"Ph-Phil?"
"No matter how much you recite my name with flowery titles like 'almighty' and chant it like a mantra, humans only seek out gods when they need something."
The voice was the same, but the tone was completely different. The face that lifted sharply also contained irritation and boredom—a different feeling from Philost's usual demeanor.
"And that so-called status window—it might look amateurish to an amateur, but it's a cutting-edge service that condenses advanced technology and intelligence? You should be grateful to have the opportunity to be humanity's first tester..."
Cia gasped.
"Could it be."
The 'someone' who had entered Philost's body rattled off complaints, then reached for the holy grail containing holy water.
"The water doesn't taste like it used to either. Tsk, tsk, priests these days... In the old days, we'd walk dozens of li to search mountain valleys to make holy water..."
"Excuse me, are you... the god? Lord... Pyrphoros...?"
Cia voiced the other's identity in a half-doubting tone.
"Yes, I'm Pyrphoros. The 'damned god' you mentioned. More precisely, a 'demigod.'"
Philost—or rather, Pyrphoros possessing Philost—rubbed under his nose with his index finger in a smug pose.
"Why do you think I created the 'status window' in the first place? Even as a demigod, I have mountains of work to do! And yet you summoned me like this—humans are so bothersome..."
The self-proclaimed 'demigod' leaned back in his chair and grumbled.
Cia first assumed a respectful posture before him. She was boiling inside, but since the other was a transcendent being, there was no need to antagonize them.
"I-I'm sorry for summoning you when you're busy, but... I was sent here without any explanation! For what reason was I sent here? Wasn't this world already destroyed?"
"The status window explained that well enough. If you don't remember, press the read-again button— Hey, what's wrong with this?"
Pyrphoros took the window that had been visible only to her, fiddled with it, and his eyes rolled in confusion.
Cia knew this expression well. It was exactly the look on a team leader's face when they realized they'd opened the draft version instead of the final one while presenting PPT slides.
After pressing something for a while, he noticed Cia's gaze and hid his flustered expression.
"It-it seems there were some errors since it's in beta testing. I'll patch it and reinstall it."
Beta, my foot. It was clearly his mistake. Judging by his self-description as a 'demigod,' he seemed to have less power than a full god. The kingdom's people had been scammed into worshiping someone like this. Cia pursed her lips and demanded.
"Now that you're down here, wouldn't it be faster to explain yourself directly? What on earth is this situation?"
Having learned that the other wasn't a perfect transcendent being, her tension eased somewhat.
"Ha, the status window was originally supposed to explain things with a fancy hologram. Oh well, since I'm here, I might as well provide proper customer service."
According to his explanation, the First World had already been destroyed once at the point Cia remembered.
But he thought it was a shame to just discard this world, so with his 'superior's' permission, he was conducting an experiment to turn back time and change the outcome.
"Superior? Does that mean beings higher than you, Lord Pyrphoros?"
"Come on, I deliberately phrased it in a way you could understand. Don't try to delve too deeply into areas humans don't need to know—just let it go."
Cia had also worked in the corporate world in the Second World, so she understood that he had questions he couldn't easily answer either. But there was one thing she needed to confirm clearly.
"Then why was I the one sent back—"
"Hmm... random draw?"
"..."
"Ah, would 'first-come, first-served' sound more natural? You died first in the First World when it was destroyed. Clap clap clap, congratulations!"
"Is this something to congratulate me for?"
He didn't seem inclined to readily tell her why she'd been chosen as the mission executor.
Seeing her dissatisfied expression, he smiled brightly and suggested.
"Instead, if you prevent the First World's destruction, as a demigod I'll grant you a great reward."
"Anything?"
"As long as it doesn't violate the laws of nature, like bringing back the dead, or greatly disrupt the world's balance."
Eternal love, a fortune that would never run out even if spent for a lifetime, fame that would make everyone love her—all were possible.
"Wouldn't it be better for you—I mean, Lord Demigod—to just step in and prevent the destruction yourself?"
"Minimizing the intervention of an absolute being is the principle. Actually, even this status window and me popping out because you called me—if the higher-ups found out, there'd be chaos."
"If the status window had worked properly in the first place, I wouldn't have called you."
When Cia glared sharply, Pyrphoros flinched and cleared his throat.
"Ahem, anyway, if you succeed, I'll really grant you any wish. So do your best."
"Could you at least give me a hint on how to do it—"
"Divine intervention must be minimized, didn't I say?"
He gave her a task but offered no help. How useless could one be. Aside from learning what the reward was, she'd gained nothing.
As Cia was feeling deflated, Pyrphoros checked the time and stretched his neck side to side as if loosening it.
"Phew, I should get going now. A busy body that has to attend to the Second World simultaneously—you understand, right?"
"Wait, one more question. What happens if I fail the quest?"
She'd optimistically thought she'd either reincarnate in another world or return to the Second World, just like when the world was destroyed before.
But the demigod bastard gave a simple answer, as if mocking her optimism.
"High risk, high return."
"Pardon?"
"If the reward is that great, of course the risk is high too. If it's destroyed, that's the end."
"The end?"
"Yep, the end. This time, it's truly over. Death and annihilation. Everyone dies eventually, ha ha ha. Don't think negatively."
"Wait a minute, I didn't voluntarily choose to take on this mission—"
"Your intelligence and character are mediocre, and you don't have magic either, so I'm not expecting much. Don't feel pressured, just take it easy."
"Excuse me, you bastard?"
Cia grabbed Pyrphoros by both shoulders and shook him vigorously.
Suddenly, the mocking face turned into a tearful one.
"Ow ow, sister. That hurts."
"Ah, Phil? I'm sorry!"
In that brief moment, Philost's soul had returned, and Cia had nearly taken out her anger on her innocent brother.
The kind Philost readily accepted that she'd been trying to wake him from his dozing, but anyone watching would have misunderstood it as the princess taking revenge on the brother she'd always resented.
Cia ground her teeth.
'That demigod bastard—he possessed Philost one hundred percent on purpose.'
Possessing someone she couldn't mistreat, disappearing right after explaining the risks of failing the quest, and even throwing in that last insult.
'Everyone dies eventually, ha ha ha. Don't think negatively.'
Don't make me laugh. I will definitely survive. And I'll live with Philost, laughing and enjoying ourselves, until we're white-haired grandmas.
'Your intelligence and character are mediocre, and you don't have magic either, so I'm not expecting much. Don't feel pressured, just take it easy.'
It was true—she didn't have any outstanding qualities. That's why she'd suffered from an inferiority complex throughout her first life. Even in her second life, born with memories of her past life, she still had no magic—only memories that weren't useful in a world without a class system—so she'd lived feeling like she was starting from scratch on barren ground.
'But this time, I can finally put my reincarnation perks to use!'
After parting with Philost and returning to her room, Cia opened her notebook and carefully wrote down a title.
「The Grand Plan to Overcome Duke Tenneris's Mysophobia!」
