Asherah snapped her fingers.
A full-length mirror of pure light appeared in front of me.
And I looked at it...
Short white hair—silky, and flowing in soft waves. Blue eyes, large and luminous. With this delicate features, and this smooth skin.
And a face that looked… exactly like a certain feminine character's slightly more mature version. Androgynous and almost illegally cute.
I touched my cheek softly.
"Uhm… Asherah?"
"You pig! At least put '-sama'!!"
"Why do I look… like Shizuka? Is this your way of harassing me?"
Asherah grinned—wide, wicked, and far too satisfied.
***
I stared at my new reflection one last time before the mirror of light dissolved into motes.
Short white hair, soft and a little fluffy at the ends like I'd just walked out of a high-end salon.
Large blue eyes that looked almost too big for my face. Skin so smooth it didn't even have the decency to show a single pore.
Delicate jawline, small straight nose, lips that were… fuller than I remembered mine ever being.
I looked like Shizuka's slightly older twin who got scouted by a K-pop agency.
I touched my cheek again, half expecting the reflection to flinch.
"Uhm… Asherah?"
"You pig! At least put '-sama'!!"
"Why do I look… like Shizuka? Is this your way of harassing me?"
Asherah grinned—wide, wicked, and far too satisfied.
"Because I get what I want when I want it," she said slowly, stepping closer until the tips of her sandals brushed my sneaker, "even if what I want is not what I get in the end. Get it?"
I blinked.
"Uhm... That… makes zero sense."
She giggled, the sound annoyingly musical.
"Exactly. My divine logic makes no sense to your low-born mind."
I sighed. "Sorry to say, but you're hard to please. And a massive pain in the ass."
She beamed like I'd just paid her the highest compliment.
I was about to say something else when movement caught my eye.
Near one of the towering marble pillars stood another woman.
She was… striking.
Silver hair cut to a neat shoulder length, straight and glossy like polished metal.
She wore a simple yet elegant white Greek-style chiton—sleeveless, pinned at the shoulders with small golden brooches, the fabric draping softly over a figure that was graceful rather than exaggerated.
The cloth clung just enough to hint at high, firm breasts and a narrow waist before falling in clean folds to her ankles.
Her eyes were closed, lashes long and pale silver. Her hands folded neatly in front of her.
Her posture was perfect, and she looked like the most well-mannered, quietly beautiful maid you could imagine—if maids were allowed to be this ethereally lovely.
She was beautiful. Definitely beautiful.
But... Only a little bit cute.
I opened my mouth to ask who she was.
But before a single word came out, Asherah grabbed my face with both hands and crushed her lips to mine again.
"Ah, Yan-Yan!"
"Who the hell is Yan-Yan?!"
"You're soooooo cute," she purred against my mouth, voice dropping into something thick and syrupy. "C'mere, kiss mummy okay?"
I barely had time to register the words before her tongue pushed inside.
It was obscene.
Hot. Wet. Thick. Her tongue slid over mine in slow, dragging strokes, curling around it like she was trying to taste every inch.
She sucked hard—lewdly—drawing my tongue deeper into her mouth, then let it go with a wet pop only to chase it again.
Saliva spilled from the corners of our joined lips; I could feel it sliding down my chin in warm, slippery trails.
Her teeth grazed my lower lip, not hard enough to hurt, just enough to make me jolt. One of her hands slid to the back of my head, fingers threading through my new white hair, holding me exactly where she wanted me while the other slipped down to grip my ass and pull our hips flush.
My erection—still half-hard from earlier—surged painfully against my pants.
I didn't know what to do with my hands.
They hovered uselessly in the air before finally landing on her hips, fingers digging into soft flesh through gossamer fabric.
My brain was pure static. Every slide of her tongue made my knees tremble. Every time she moaned into my mouth—low, needy, vibrating—the sound shot straight to my groin.
I was a virgin. I'd never even gotten past second base. And now a literal goddess was tongue-fucking my mouth like it was her personal hobby.
When she finally pulled back, a thick string of saliva stretched between our lips before snapping wetly against my chin.
"Y... Yan-Yan…" she breathed, licking her own lips slowly. "I realize you're still pure and chaste."
I jerked my head away, face burning so hot I thought I'd combust.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I stammered. "I-I have a girlfriend who I love very much."
Asherah pinched my cheek, hard.
"Liar." She giggled, the sound bright and cruel. "Why don't mummy help you out… Don't you want to fuck a goddess?"
My brain flatlined.
And who the hell is "mummy" now?!
Options began to flash through my head at lightning speed.
Option 1: Say yes and lose my virginity to an actual deity.
Option 2: Say no and probably die of embarrassment anyway.
Option 3: Run away.
There were no pillars close enough to hide behind, though.
Before I could even squeak out an answer, a calm, cold voice cut through the haze.
"Oh perverted goddess."
A slender pale hand reached past me, grabbed a fistful of Asherah's golden hair, and yanked her head back.
"Kyaahhh!" Asherah yelped.
"Have you forgotten that the gods are not allowed to engage in sexual activities with mortals?" the silver-haired woman continued, voice flat and utterly devoid of warmth. "You'll trouble Lord Chronos and the rest."
"What gives, Eirene?!" Asherah roared, yanking her hair free and spinning around. "Let go of me!"
Now I could see her eyes.
Silver. Pure liquid mercury. And completely unreadable.
She released Asherah's hair with deliberate slowness, then turned that blank stare toward me.
She bowed—perfectly polite, perfectly shallow.
"My name is Eirene, as you must have heard from my depraved goddess. I am a type of spirit regarded as an Emanation. The highest level of spiritual existence just below a god." She paused. "However, I won't lie; It's not a pleasure to meet you at all."
I gave her my best wry smile.
'Yikes. She's the troublesome type you never want to have around.'
Asherah immediately started whining.
"But I made him! I made Yan-Yan into this attractive, cute little thing! Why can't I fuck my own toy?!"
I whined too, involuntarily.
"Would you not call me a toy… while I'm still standing here?"
Eirene sighed—the sound of someone who had long since given up on joy.
"Sleeping with mortals is similar to what people would call getting infected."
I frowned. "Uh... That's a ruthless way to put it, don't you think?"
Asherah folded her arms and sulked harder, "Cheapskate."
Eirene continued as though neither of us had spoken.
"A god's existence would reject the mortal's influence by purifying the mortal—making them godlier with every repeated sexual act. Sooner or later, the mortal would start becoming like me. An Emanation."
I blinked. "Oh? So you're like this because of god sex?"
The stare she gave me wasn't a glare.
It was worse.
It was the look you give something that has personally disappointed the laws of physics.
I shivered and immediately bowed my head. "S-sorry."
"I have always been an Emanation," she said coldly. "I was never a filthy piece of rag called mortal. But mortals can climb high enough in the pyramid to become bona fide gods themselves—if they keep coupling with deities."
She glanced at Asherah.
"Such abominations will not be condoned in the heavens. At least not while I serve in this world as system administrator."
"C'mon, just the tip won't hurt!" Asherah wailed.
"No means no, my goddess." Eirene's tone never changed. "Now if you would, give the utter virgin his assignment and let him stop polluting the Dwelling with his mortal stench."
Ouch.
Then she turned to me.
"Please forgive my goddess. I'll ask her to throw you out as the trash you are immediately. Is that okay?"
I nodded quickly.
But in my head: Hmph. I don't want to be here anyway. Mean woman.
Eirene's silver eyes suddenly flicked to me.
"I'm not a mean woman, I only state facts. Apologies if I came off as rude."
I gulped and nodded again.
She'd read my mind?! Terrifying.
Asherah threw her hands up.
"Ugh, fine, fine! I'll make do with sleeping with men in other worlds so the assembly, or you, won't find out." She shrugged, suddenly cheerful again. "Alright, Yan-Yan. It's time for your journey to another world to strengthen officially. Let's give you your equipment and powers already!"
She clapped her hands once, and an interface of gold materialized like a screen in front of us.