Chapter 148

I knew a day like this would come someday.

Just as he had seen the holographic badge in CallOVo, I expected the time would come when Dominic would notice the signet ring hidden in my inventory.

But I never imagined it would be now.

I felt as if every nerve had stiffened.

I didn’t want to return the ring.

However, contrary to my thoughts, my body was already moving beyond my will.

As if obeying an irresistible command, I pulled the ring out of my inventory.

I knew it from the moment I received the ring from the butlers. This was not an item meant for me.

Dominic had already reclaimed a part of his existence. I could clearly feel that he was different from before.

If he were to change even more after receiving the signet ring…

I gasped for breath.

I barely managed to clutch the ring with my convulsing hand.

Not handing this to him right now was the best I could do.

Seeing my state, Dominic asked softly,

"Are you scared?"

"……."

"It is merely an object. Giving it to me won’t result in what Roasted Chestnut is worried about."

"……."

"That is because it truly means nothing to me. However, it will be meaningful to Roasted Chestnut. If you return the ring, I will be able to do a few things for you."

He whispered softly, suggesting he could help with things I wanted, such as opening an Interstellar Account.

"If you’re still scared, you can put the ring back. Let’s just take it out when you want to give it to me."

His voice, tinged with a faint smile, was not as entirely affectionate as before.

Dominic spoke like someone who already held everything in his grasp.

“You were going to return it to me anyway, weren’t you?”

I realized it then.

Even though it seemed like I had a choice, there was ultimately only one answer.

It was pointless to hold out here.

Since the owner had recognized his property, it was bound to be reclaimed sooner or later.

In reality, from Dominic’s perspective, he could have forcibly taken it back, but he was merely letting me off the hook.

Returning it now would be advantageous for our future relationship.

Also, as Dominic said, I couldn’t possibly find his essence in a single ring.

I opened my lips.

“…Dominic-ssi.”

“Yes, Roasted Chestnut.”

“The ring… I should have returned it long ago. I’m sorry.”

“No problem. You must have had a hard time.”

Dominic actually comforted me.

He even spoke in a tone that suggested he was proud of me for keeping such an object safe all this time, noting that I must have been scared to possess it. It was as if he were comforting a child who had confessed honestly without lying.

Feeling like I was becoming endlessly younger, I just listened quietly.

After reassuring me for a while, Dominic said.

“Then, I will take it.”

Even though I tried not to be nervous, my body froze involuntarily.

The ring on my palm vanished as if melting away.

When the ring had completely disappeared…

A chilling silence descended.

Every sound in the world was cut off.

Even the light was sucked in, and absolute darkness enveloped the space.

A darkness composed solely of pitch black enveloped my body, and pure disorder and chaos crushed my mind.

The remnants of light from a bursting supernova flashed.

Billions of galaxies swirling as they vanished into nothingness.

The death of countless stars.

The screams of stars trampled by Him poured down upon me.

Scary scary scary scary scary scary scary scary scary scary scary

I wanted to run away.

But amidst primal fear and terror, all I could do was endure.

I wished this terrible catastrophe would end.

But… does an end exist?

Is there an end to the infinite void?

“Roasted Chestnut.”

“…!”

I woke up with a start.

It took a moment to realize that I had escaped the endless abyss of emptiness, and that I was inside a small room.

A moment that must have been nothing more than a fleeting instant had clawed my mind to shreds.

I stared at Dominic, frozen in place.

He didn’t grow huge, nor did he give orders as a master.

He spoke to me while still remaining a small, soft slime.

“Look. I’m exactly the same, Roasted Chestnut.”

I felt like I knew what Dominic wanted.

When he retrieved the signet ring, I could clearly feel the vast gap between Dominic and me.

However, Dominic did not want me to be afraid or scared.

He still wanted to pretend to be a friendly Pudding Slime.

And that was exactly what I wanted as well.

After taking a deep breath, I reached out my hand to him.

His soft body touched mine. Only then could I feel a little relieved by the familiar touch.

“Would you wait a moment?”

Having asked for my understanding, the Pudding Slime stayed quietly on my hand for a while, as if checking something.

As I waited for him, I thought to myself.

What did it mean that he had gone around my planet?

It seemed unlikely he had stayed away from me simply for that reason.

Because Dominic was interested in the young god, not my domain.

It seemed there was some other purpose as well…

It was clear that even if I asked Dominic, he wouldn’t tell me.

If he could have told me, he would have already told me.

While I was speculating about his whereabouts, Dominic finished his check.

He let out a light "hmm" and said, "This should be enough."

I hesitated, then asked him.

"What do you mean by ‘enough’?"

"I meant that it would be enough to become Roasted Chesnut’s patron."

The signet ring was likely related to the cosmic account he owned.

Dominic asked me politely,

"May I check Roasted Chestnut’s Galactic Trading Post?"

"Please do."

Then he smeared glitter on me. Starlight seeped into me.

As I entered the Galactic Trading Post, Dominic, who was sharing my vision, looked at the trading post system window and said a word.

“I see that the feature for young gods is enabled. The Akasha System will be considerate in many ways, so it would be best to keep it enabled.”

Then, as soon as he saw my shopping cart, he let out a laugh.

I felt a little embarrassed by the sound of his laughter.

Since I had nothing to do while trapped for 72 hours, I had put everything I wanted to buy into my cart.

Even though I tried to be careful in my selection, the list was endless.

The total of my cart exceeded trillions and reached quadrillions.

However, this was partly because the items at the Galactic Trading Post were so expensive.

If something seemed decent, it was at least billions, and if it was decent, tens of billions was nothing.

There were plenty of items I really wanted that cost hundreds of billions.

Dominic, having scanned my cart, made a proposal.

“How about signing a sponsorship contract with me? I could buy everything in your cart, Roasted Chestnut. And I would be able to do even more for you.”

It was the second sponsorship offer, following Black Block-ssi’s.

Both of them acted as if they had an abundance of Star Shards, readily offering to buy me whatever items I wanted.

I recalled the time I spent happily emptying Dominic’s wallet in CallOVo.

I asked cautiously.

“Is the sponsorship contract separate from the current contractual relationship with Dominic-ssi?”

“To freely transfer goods or currency from the Galactic Trading Post to Roasted Chestnut, a different type of contract than the current one is required.”

Apparently, it was necessary to utilize the Akasha system.

He also explained that under the current contract, it was difficult to give me anything without receiving something in return.

Come to think of it, during the Infernum event, I received quests from Dominic to hunt, and during the ■■■ event, my power was used in the annihilation, albeit only partially.

‘A sponsorship contract, huh.’

The concept of a sponsor was familiar.

But why would they sponsor me when I am not even playing with the Pudding Slime logo attached? I couldn’t help but ask.

“I am curious what benefit the sponsoring god gains if we sign a contract.”

“It varies depending on the form of the contract, but the contract I intend to make with Roasted Chestnut offers no benefit whatsoever.”

“What? Then…”

“It simply extends the relationship a little longer. Our current contract has a set term.”

Until Dominic regains his memory.

That was the contract between me and him at the moment.

However, to think that signing a sponsorship contract would extend my relationship with Dominic in exchange for massive financial support…

It felt like a contract so advantageous to me that I was suspicious.

Furthermore, I couldn’t understand what it meant for the relationship to be extended.

In the end, I ended up declining the sponsorship offer once again.

“For now… I will try doing it on my own.”

“Understood.”

As always, Dominic let me do as I wished.

He also agreed to help me open an Interstellar Account.

I watched intently, hoping to learn the method of how on earth it was made, but it was a futile effort.

A glitch flashed and bounced in the air, and suddenly, an account had appeared.

I was just wondering if this was okay, as it felt somewhat abnormal.

The Dark Star Fragment, which had been sitting quietly in my inventory, was automatically deposited into the account.

As soon as I saw the number of Star Shards displayed in the system window, I opened my eyes wide.

Ten billion…?

My shock at the unbelievable number lasted only a moment.

Wreeee!

Suddenly, a warning alarm went off, and an emergency system window popped up.

… Account frozen?

The Pudding Slime I trusted has shot me in the foot.

I called out to Dominic, who was sharing my vision.

“Dominic-ssi…?”

I think I’m doomed. What should I do?

I called out to him with that meaning in mind, and Dominic spoke as if he had absolutely no idea.

“I didn’t know Roasted Chestnut had this much cash. You won’t be able to use it for the time being.”

Unless otherwise set up, creating an account automatically deposits the funds from your inventory.

His tone, implying it was his own oversight, was highly suspicious.

I could only suspect that he deliberately didn’t tell me because I hadn’t signed a sponsorship contract.

My 10 billion Star Shard……

“Still, it’s not a bad thing for the Administrator to know. Especially for someone as young as Roasted Chestnut.”

Dominic said something, but it didn’t register well.

Star shards were flying right before my eyes.

At that moment, I felt like I could just squash a pudding slime.

While I was staring blankly at the account freeze notification window…

A new square window popped up, and a strange presence appeared. A video call was forcibly connected even though I hadn’t accepted.

Startled, I looked at the screen to see a strange alien appear.

The alien, with long hair that mingled turquoise and purple like a nebula and swaying in the air, had white skin.

Its androgynous appearance made it difficult to determine its gender.

It wore a stifling uniform coat that reached up to its neck, and the hands exposed beneath the sleeves were made of a transparent, crystal-like mineral, constantly shimmering with light like fiber optics.

Its eyes, with their diamond-shaped, angular pupils, moved ceaselessly as it checked something.

—This is the Galactic Trading Post Administrator. We have connected to proceed with an explanation process regarding an abnormal transaction detected in your account. We ask for your sincere cooperation.

Hearing the voice, I lowered my guard slightly.

The stiff, dry voice sounded like that of a weary office worker.

‘Do I just need to explain myself to that alien?’

A glimmer of hope welled up that I might not lose ten billion won.

Since this was my first time meeting an alien other than Dominic or Black Block-ssi, I decided to start by greeting them.

“Hello.”

As I greeted them politely, the administrator, who had been staring blankly into the air, finally looked at me.

They looked slightly surprised.

After a moment of silence, the administrator spoke to me in a somewhat softer voice.

—Kid. Is there an adult on this planet? Could you go call one?

I almost instinctively turned to look at Dominic, who was perched on my shoulder.

Having barely managed to hold back, I replied to the administrator.

“I am the owner of this planet.”

The administrator did not seem to recognize Dominic.

They seemed to be a trading post administrator, but they didn’t appear to be of low rank; it seemed Dominic had simply disappeared.

I didn’t know the reason, but Dominic seemed to have decided that it was better for him not to be seen.

As soon as they heard my answer, the administrator leaned their face close to the screen.

Their diamond-like pupils dilated wide, and their hair rippled in all directions.

—You-are-the-planet’s-owner-? All-alone-without-a-guardian-?!

As if they was very surprised, their voice, which had been drooping with fatigue, became incredibly loud.

I answered, feeling a bit intimidated.

“Yes… I’m sorry, but… how do I unfreeze the account?”

However, the administrator wasn’t listening to me at all.

They frantically moved his hair like hands and repeatedly tapped the air with their crystal hands.

Wherever they touched, flashes of light erupted in the air.

—Planet Earth, just joined Akasha too… Child filter applied… To think they entrusted a planet to this baby. They must be out of their minds. Young gods are so precious, after all…

Muttering to themself while checking, they addressed me.

—Kid. Let me take a look at the Galactic Trading Post transaction history.

And before they could even hear my answer, they arbitrarily accessed the transaction history.

Of course, there was nothing to see in my transaction history.

—First transaction… 10 Event Star Fragments…

The administrator’s hair hung low. They looked at me with a somewhat miserable expression.

As I stared blankly, the administrator sighed and asked in a rather gentle tone.

—Where did you get the Dark Star Fragment? Did anyone force the kid to do anything bad?

I pondered for a moment.

How should I answer?

First of all, a problem arose because the Dark Star Fragment currency was a much larger sum than I had anticipated.

Since a large amount was deposited immediately upon account creation without any proper transaction history, it was likely to cause a problem within the system.

If I failed to explain myself properly here, it seemed highly likely that my 10 billion Star Fragments would turn into cosmic dust.

I wished Dominic would whisper a hint, but he just sat on my shoulder, looking squishy and unhelpful.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“I received this for doing cleaning work. My employers thought highly of me.”

I answered honestly, fearing that getting caught lying would make the situation even worse.

Then the administrator looked at me with even more pity.

It seemed the gods of other planets didn’t do cleaning part-time jobs…

—The Dark Star Fragment is a rare currency, so we need to verify it. Where did you do the cleaning, kid?

I learned for the first time that it was a rare currency.

I thought it was a widely used currency since it was said to be usable throughout the universe.

‘How am I supposed to explain that I obtained this through a trial?’

I doubt the administrator would know if I mentioned the already closed Clean3, but I tried telling them the truth for now.

“I cleaned at a mansion…”

—A-mansion-?

At that moment, a huge reaction came back. The administrator buried their face in the screen again.

And asked an unexpected question.

—Kid, did you get it from the cat and rabbit butlers?

hello everyone! i’ve completed my busy first week back at school and i’ll be releasing the chapters from this week today and tomorrow :> i hope everyone had a good week!