Everything happened so fast after that.
Alice became the Hero.
The moment she did, people from the Church showed up to take her away.
Apparently, there was someone with the "Oracle" blessing who could instantly sense when the Hero's blessing had been passed on—and that's how they found Alice so quickly.
I could only stand there, frozen, as she was taken away from me.
For some reason, I didn't want her to go.
I wanted her to stay.
Here. With me.
But I didn't call out. I didn't move. I just watched, silently, as her figure grew smaller and smaller, her back slowly fading into the distance.
Alice—of all people—ended up being the most perfect choice to bear the Hero's blessing.
She went on to defeat one demon general after another, carving her name into history as she pushed closer and closer to the Demon King's stronghold.
The human kingdoms cheered for her victories. She was celebrated across the land, hailed as the "Goddess of War."
Statues and monuments were built in her honor.
Two years passed since she left.
Then came the day I heard the news.
Alice had been captured by the demon army and taken prisoner.
It was a smart move on their part. As long as she remained alive, the Hero's blessing wouldn't transfer to anyone else.
She was locked away. Alive, yet removed from the battlefield. Effectively ending the threat without ending her life.
When my sister told me the news, I just stared at her.
"Alice was captured," she said, her voice tight, face full of disbelief and frustration.
"…Is that so?" I replied flatly.
The moment I said that, she threw a stale loaf of bread at me. It had been left out for years so it was rock hard.
I mean… what was her problem?
But then again, I understood. Who wouldn't react that way? It made sense to throw a brick-hard loaf of bread at someone who responded to the capture of a friend with nothing more than a deadpan "Is that so?"
Still, beneath all that calm, I was trembling inside.
I was frustrated.
Frustrated at myself.... for not being there with her.
For being so fucking useless.
That's all I'd ever been.
A useless piece of trash.
My parents had probably given up on me ever becoming someone worthwhile. My sisters were always harsh. And when it came to combat? I was laughably weak.
I was nobody.
I couldn't be anybody.
But... if I... if someone like me—someone completely worthless—could have just one wish...
Just one.
I'd wish I had been chosen instead of her.
I wish I had been the one burdened with the Hero's blessing.
Or at the very least... I wish I had called out to her. Told her to stay. Just once.
Or that I had been by her side... that I hadn't let her walk away alone.
All of these were nothing more than fragile, pathetic hopes. Wishful thinking. A bug's whisper against the wind.
But somehow... as if someone had actually heard those thoughts... my body was suddenly wrapped in light.
The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by whiteness.
A strange white space stretched infinitely in every direction. There was nothing else. Just white. White so bright, so pure, it was hard to even see properly.
Funny thing, really. People always say you can't see in darkness. But I learned that too much light can blind you just as easily.
While I was mulling that over, a voice called out to me.
"Congratulations."
It was a woman's voice.
When I turned, I saw her.
She was white. Her skin, her hair, even her eyebrows—all snow-pure white.
She was so white, I couldn't help but briefly wonder... if her hair was also white down there.
But that thought quickly faded. There were more pressing questions to ask.
Like...
"Where am I?" I asked.
"You are in a place known as the Goddess Realm," she answered. "And I... am the Goddess."
"You're the Goddess?" I repeated, blinking.
"Yes, I am," she confirmed. "I'm the one who grants blessings to mortals."
So she was the one going around handing out blessings to people who didn't even deserve them, huh?And she was also the reason why Alice wasn't here with me right now—why she ended up captured, trapped in the demon's threshold.
Still... for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to be angry at her.
Was it because she was just too damn beautiful to stay mad at?
She was practically a goddess.
No—she was the Goddess.
Her body was curvy in all the right places.She looked absolutely divine—refined, even.
It was the kind of body that you'd think shouldn't be touched, or it might lose its sacred glow.But then again, if you did touch it... I don't think it would be that bad, honestly.
I doubt there's another person out there who could come anywhere close to matching her beauty.
She was a gift to the eyes. A pure, overwhelming blessing in physical form.
But wait… if I was here now, then did that mean she was going to give me a blessing?
"That's right," she answered.
"Huh? Wait, you can hear what I'm thinking?"
She nodded softly.
"So… you've been listening to my thoughts from the start?"
"All the humans who come here, especially the males, tend to think exactly like you," she said without hesitation. "So no, I'm not surprised."
"I guess that makes sense… but couldn't you have told me earlier that you could do that?" I asked, half annoyed.
Still, she didn't seem fazed at all. She wasn't the type to be bothered by anything, it seemed.
That actually made things feel a bit easier to handle. Less pressure, somehow.
"So then, what's the blessing you're about to give me?"
Deep down, I was hoping for something powerful. Something that would let me chase after Alice and rescue her from the demon race that had her locked up.An Assassin's Blessing would be great. Archmage? That'd be amazing. Sword Saint? Now that would be fucking perfect.
"Congratulations," she began. "You, human, have obtained the blessing of… Farmer."
The moment those words left her lips, it felt like all the electricity in my head surged to my brain and overloaded in an instant. Then boom—it exploded.
"You've gained the power to enhance crops, make them grow faster and—huh?"
Right now, I was just standing there.
Standing in that infinite white space, staring down at the Goddess like I was about to murder her.
"You piece of shit Goddess."
"U-Uhii!?"
I socked her right in the face.
She flew back a few centimeters, completely caught off guard.
"W-What the hell, mortal?! I'm the Goddess who grants blessings! How dare you punch me?!"
"Because you're fucking useless!" I yelled right at her.
"Wha—?! Calling the Goddess useless?! That's blasphemy!"
"I don't give a fuck if it's blasphemy or not! Giving me the Farmer's Blessing is unforgivable! You're literally listening to my thoughts, aren't you?! Then why the hell didn't you listen when I clearly wished for a powerful blessing?! Not this bullshit Farmer's Blessing!"