Chapter 75 - 2.36

"You are correct, my Goddess. I am one. Knowing that, would you.. get rid of me?" Xu Jiaqi laughed, feeling a bit unsettled. The Goddess was able to see through her like this. She was also much stronger than her. A human was not her match.

What would the Goddess do after learning this information? Kill her off?

There were so many things that could go wrong. So long as the Goddess did not wish for her to live, her plans would all fall apart and her missions would fail.

[Host, what are you doing?? Your tone while speaking to the Goddess- You will die, Host!] The System panicked on his own, as he couldn't comprehend why Xu Jiaqi was putting up such a brave front.

'Oh come on. No matter what I do, it all ultimately comes down to the Goddess' decision. To be honest, she doesn't seem like someone who is addicted to praise and worship anyway.'

[You can't know that for sure! What if she does desire someone who kneels before her? That kid Ezra kneels everyday!] The System berated her, not satisfied with how she was acting.

'Well, maybe he is into that kind of stuff. I'm not sure about the Goddess, though.' Xu Jiaqi was an expert at judging someone's character, even if they had just met.

The Goddess looked troubled for a few seconds before responding back to her.

<..No. I won't kill you. More precisely, I can't. My powers have been weakening ever since this world began deteriorating, and severing the bond that your companion made will be hard. It will definitely strain my power, and that is something that I do not wish to happen. Your companion is very capable, thank him and my bad luck of not managing this world properly. I don't know what you are here for, but just do not cause any useless chaos.>

"Ah, really? This guy is that good?" Xu Jiaqi chuckled as she heard the System mutter sounds of shyness after being praised like that.

'Don't get cocky, System!'

[Ao?! Shouldn't you be thanking me?! It was only because of me that you managed to survive, you know?]

The Goddess seemed to draw closer and closer to Xu Jiaqi, as if she was trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with Xu Jiaqi's existence. Or rather, why she couldn't read her identity completely.

Was it because of her companion? She was also unable to look at the transmigrator's companion.

<Yes. I was able to lock down the previous transmigrator who came across my world, but.. Hm, you don't seem like you would have negative intentions anyway. I heard your story. Your motive towards Ezra, is it real? If you are just using him, then..>

The Goddess did have a soft spot for Ezra. It was not love, but adoration because he was probably the only human who was so devoted to her despite having such massive strength blessing him. All that got the great abilities started off as a good person, but slowly deviated and descended into poor activities.

Ezra Lancaster was the purest human that she had encountered over the course of all the millenniums she stayed in this world.

"..I don't think this discussion should be carried out in front of the man himself, right? Let's talk another time." Xu Jiaqi stopped. To be precise, she did technically want to use him, just not in a negative way.

<I will isolate his hearing. Your powers are stronger than him.. Wait, no. Your foundation is extremely unstable. How much time did you take getting up to this stage?>

"Around.. a month."

<What..? That's absurd! Even for a transmigrator, how were you able to bypass the steps- Ah, forget it. Forget about all your silly dreams as well. At this rate, you will never get to do.. whatever you wanted. The moment you meet someone who is just slightly stronger than you, you will perish. It will be very easy for you to be hurt.>

"...I am pretty aware of that, but it's not like I have any other choices. I just arrived." Xu Jiaqi narrowed her eyes as she spoke. She did notice that it was getting harder and harder to progress after she reached a certain point. This could be attributed to the fact that since her foundation was not the best, her body's rate of taking in the power started to fluctuate and even show some signs of rampage.

<But you are.. indeed a special one. You must be an expert transmigrator, right? Did you enter a world with magic that works in the same way as mine?> The Goddess questioned, further inspecting Xu Jiaqi.

"No? This is just my second time."

<So you understood everything within the course of one month just by using.. nothing? Not even a speck of experience?>

Goddess Eula visibly displayed a face filled with shock, as this piece of information was something that she wasn't willing to believe in.

"You could say so?"

<..Okay then, maybe you are able to do the thing you wanted to. Actually.. Hmm, I have a proposal. It pains me to have to task someone with this, but if you want to reform the world anyway, could you help me restore my power back? If you cleanse the world out of impurities, then the people's faith that have been blocked by the injustices will strengthen me and restore the balance.>

'Wao, is she asking me for a favor? Also, System, can she hear what I'm thinking about?' Xu Jiaqi asked.

[Hmm.. She should not be able to. She said that she was weakening, so that should apply to your inner thoughts as well since you aren't Ariel, but a being who is connected to me.]

'Good, then.' Xu Jiaqi snickered, rejoicing over the fact.

"It sounds like a hard job. I have to make Ezra the Cardinal because my.. task is related to that. But outside of that scope, I will have to request a reward in exchange for the work if it's even possible to do in the first place."

It was time to bargain.