HPL 02

chapter 02

Ariel crossed her arms and gave me a sharp look.

“Now that I think about it, everything’s strange. I heard a noise and came over, and the window was open—and you were lying there with a rope around your neck.”

At Ariel’s words, I glanced at Tommy. He nodded, as if confirming it.

Had someone broken in to kill Dyna? But why would they do that?

At that moment, Ariel voiced a similar suspicion.

“But who would benefit from killing an idiot? And who dies instantly just from having their neck squeezed?”

At first, she expressed a plausible doubt, but she finished with nonsense.

People can die if their neck is squeezed wrong, and if she were really an idiot, she wouldn’t even think to pretend to be dead.

Anyway, the situation was clear. Dyna, who was attacked, should have fainted and then woken up. But because of an error in the divine realm, she really died.

While I mentally sorted out the situation, Ariel greedily stared at the items on the table.

“So, a fool who can’t even speak properly is a child of God? Don’t get excited just because the temple sends you some things.”

The god of creation had decreed, “There is a deep reason, so don’t spread rumors that this child died and came back to life.”

At the temple, they spread the story that Dyna almost died from an illness and silenced those attending her funeral. Meanwhile, they sent me rare items faithfully, once a week.

It seemed that Ariel despised the temple for treating Dyna like a divine child.

“I brought something for you because I was thinking of you. It’s outside the door, so go get it.”

Judging from her behavior until now, it didn’t seem like she had brought anything for Dyna out of genuine concern. Still, I opened the door to check.

Outside, there was a pile of rags. Had Dyna even cleaned the mansion? My guess was slightly off.

“These are clothes that suit you, right? I personally picked out the ones the maids threw away. Who else would care for you like I do?”

Ariel shrugged proudly.

So that pile of rags was “clothes”? She really treated Dyna like a fool.

I stared at the pile, and Ariel strode toward the table. She clutched the items sent from the temple and chattered.

“None of these things suit you. I’ll use them for you. You should be grateful.”

I had thought to observe the situation for a while, since I had only recently possessed this body. But it wasn’t worth it.

I crossed my arms and said in a low, sinking voice:

“Ariel Molga Tail.”

When I called her full name, Ariel turned her head, holding the temple-sent items in both arms.

“You called me by my full name before, and now again. How did you memorize it all? That’s a real miracle of God.”

“Just because your mouth is open doesn’t mean you can say anything.”

At my cold words, Ariel blinked. She didn’t seem to understand what she had just heard. I would continue speaking so this foolish person could grasp the situation.

“You can only speak to a cousin who came back from death like that? Do you think the god of creation gave you a mouth just to be used cheaply?”

“Wha—what… this, this idiot dares to say that to me…”

Ariel stammered in anger.

“Who? You lived without knowing that?”

I paused briefly, took a breath, and then said sharply:

“You’re a parasite living in a slime’s intestines.”

When I spoke firmly and calmly, Ariel froze. But soon, her body shook violently, enough to drop the items she held.

I glanced at the items on the floor and added one more line.

“Now you’re a tremor-ridden parasite.”

“Hey!”

Ariel couldn’t contain her anger and shouted.

It felt completely different from when I was a godless spirit. It pierced my ears like awls.

Just then, a middle-aged couple burst into the room, covering their ears.

The short man was panting, and the woman in fancy clothes pressed one hand against her head, worried about messing up her hair.

{This is Baron Tail and his wife. Dyna’s maternal uncle and aunt.}

Tommy explained the identity of the newcomers.

They hadn’t been seen before, but now their daughter screamed and they rushed in.

“Darling, what’s wrong?”

“What happened to our daughter?”

Baron Tail and his wife asked in alarm. Ariel pointed at me and shouted:

“This idiot insulted me! She called me a slime-like woman!”

The baron and his wife turned to look at me in shock and anger.

“What? Did you really say that?”

“This is why you don’t raise black-haired beasts. You feed and shelter an idiot, but what’s the use?”

“I never said that.”

When I spoke in a low, commanding voice, the couple froze.

It was natural for humans to be taken aback by a tone that could make even a demon flinch.

{Your tone is very different from Dyna’s.}

Tommy pointed out my tone, and I replied silently in my mind:

If I pretended to be an idiot, when would I have the time to find the possessed ones and discover the cause of destruction?

{Hmm, true. You could just claim it’s a divine blessing.}

Exactly! And above all, I had no intention of speaking politely to these humans.

Not all gods are merciful. Each god has a different personality.

Some gods show love and hope for repentance from sinners; others declare, “Trash goes to the trash? What crime did the trash bin commit? Divine punishment is best for trash.”

I leaned toward the latter.

I shifted my weight to my left foot, stood askew, and snorted lightly.

“I never said you were slime. I said you were a parasite living in a slime’s intestines.”

“Pa-parasite living in a slime’s intestines?”

The baron and his wife blinked in disbelief. But soon, they began trembling and shouting, like Ariel.

“How dare this idiot call my daughter a parasite? Ungrateful wretch! And how come you speak properly?”

“You’re the parasite! You don’t even know who your father is, yet you eat, sleep, and dress… And now you’re suddenly speaking properly?”

Like parent and child, they expressed the same doubt.

This issue could be solved simply by invoking the name of the god of creation, as Tommy suggested earlier.

“When the god of creation revived me, my mind was fully healed as well.”

“Fully healed, and you thank us for raising you? Instead, you insult Ariel?”

Baron Tail twitched his mustache angrily.

Even a seasoned person would be intimidated by his furious, bull-like demeanor. But to me, a spirit who had handled demons for centuries, he seemed trivial.

“Insult? You don’t even know what a real insult is. If I really wanted to insult you, I’d say, ‘What does a human smelling like ten years of beggar’s rags have to say? Should I show you what happens when you mock my mouth? I’ll stretch out my tongue and stomp on it with jump ropes.’”

Silence. For a moment, the space seemed as if it had returned to primordial emptiness, devoid of any life. But the stillness was quickly filled with groans.

“Wha-what…”

The baron grabbed the back of his neck with thick hands and staggered. His wife and Ariel hurried to support him.

As he gasped with anger, they quickly guided him out of the room.

“This isn’t a miracle of God, it’s a demon possessing a corpse! No wonder it felt strange.”

Outside, the baroness slammed the door and shouted sharply. Ariel’s excited voice followed.

“Yes! When people come from the temple tomorrow, we must tell them clearly!”

As their footsteps faded, Tommy muttered.

{Is it okay for a god to swear like that?}

“Do gods always have to speak politely? You deal with demons for long enough, and swearing comes naturally.”

Demons don’t surrender easily. They resist and curse incessantly.

Interestingly, even a single curse sticks in your mind. That’s how I naturally learned curses from many worlds.

{When the temple officials come, they’ll probably claim a demon possessed her. What will you do?}

Tommy looked worried. I waved my index finger, signaling not to worry.

“If you don’t know how to roast temple officials, you’re not a god.”

Tommy looked skeptical but stayed silent, realizing there was nothing to be done now.

Since I had a rough idea of Dyna’s situation, it was time to examine my body. I needed to understand its structure since I’d be using it for a while.

I pulled my hair, lifted my eyelids to check my eyes, and counted the fine hairs on the back of my hand.

Even as a god, I had sensations, but the feeling was different this time.

Sometimes the sensations were vivid and startling, other times they felt alien, as if wearing a new skin.

As I moved my facial muscles, Tommy spoke again.

{Don’t make that expression when dealing with temple officials. Even if the god of creation issued a decree, they’ll think you’re insane.}

I was curious about the sensations in my facial muscles. Was it really that strange?

I turned to the mirror and relaxed my face.

The woman in the mirror returned from “crazy” to beautiful.