Two more days passed, and Li Jia had not seen Hera again since that day.
At least she had plenty of leisure.
When the cat was away, the mice would play.
Crude, but true.
She had the Deep Hall's big bed all to herself and could sleep wherever she pleased.
Most days, she played around with Winslow, fishing, catching shrimp, and experimenting with new recipes, carefree and at ease. Doreen also left early and returned late, so she was nowhere to be seen.
Winslow and Li Jia were two salted fish who got along so well that they wished they had met sooner.
Li Jia instantly understood why people of the older generation could stay at one job until retirement. If every job had conditions like these, who couldn't stick it out until retirement?
Li Jia had also asked Winslow where their divine mistress usually went when she wasn't at Hot Spring Ravine.
Winslow said their divine mistress had to go and resolve mortals' relationship problems. Only by resolving those problems could she draw more worshippers to the Temple of the Goddess of Marriage. The more offerings she received, the more fully it showed that she was fulfilling the duties of her divine office.
Divine power and wealth were equivalent and could be freely converted into each other.
Once Winslow had explained the general process, Li Jia understood.
So the Temple of the Goddess of Marriage was just like an administrative service center. People brought their requests to the Goddess of Marriage, who resolved them reasonably and received offerings in return.
Hearing that made Li Jia feel almost embarrassed. How was this any different from the boss taking her subordinate out to haul bricks in the height of summer while she and her bestie stayed home eating ice cream in the air conditioning?
That guilt didn't last more than a few minutes, though, because the Goddess of Weaving delivered her custom-made clothes.
Sure enough, everyone had their specialty, and this was the Goddess of Weaving. Every garment she made suited Li Jia's tastes perfectly.
Long skirts with pockets, bubble skirts with pockets, pinafore dresses with pockets...
All she wanted was something simple and convenient that could hold things.
Li Jia had also drawn several distinctly school-style uniforms from memory, some with long sleeves and others with short sleeves.
Although Hera had said she didn't have to wear a servant's uniform, Li Jia thought she still needed some formal-looking clothes. These were uniforms she liked herself.
Li Jia loved watching Japanese anime and loved the way the girls in manga dressed.
The pressures of life had left her with no spare money to indulge her hobby. On one rare birthday, she had gritted her teeth and bought herself a uniform she liked, but after wearing it just once, she had tucked it away at the bottom of a trunk.
That was when Li Jia understood that hobbies cost money.
She had no right to luxuries.
So when Hera invited the Goddess of Weaving to make clothes for her, Li Jia had hesitated.
In this world, she was nothing more than an orphan living under someone else's roof. To obtain a healthy body, she had resorted to a few tricks to become Hera's attendant.
Could someone as insignificant as a blade of grass really have these things too?
Before she could figure it out, Winslow put her concerns to rest.
"Use the finest materials for everything. Her Majesty Hera has plenty of money." She said this to the Goddess of Weaving with a lavish air, and the goddess nodded as though accustomed to it.
When Winslow finished, she turned to Li Jia and winked. "Don't be so petty about it," she said quietly. "You're Her Majesty's only attendant. If you look good, she'll look good taking you out with her."
"There's plenty of money. You couldn't spend it all if you tried."
Our divine mistress told me you need some proper care.
Those words were too mushy for Winslow to say aloud.
Li Jia was used to scraping by. This was the first time someone had been willing to spend money on her unconditionally.
She couldn't quite describe how she felt.
She would have been lying if she said she wasn't touched.
Li Jia had entered the workforce early, taking countless part-time jobs to support herself and meeting all sorts of people.
This was the lesson she had learned from experience.
In adult relationships, a person had to be willing to spend money on you. If you thought talking about money was too crass, it only meant the love wasn't deep enough.
Li Jia had seen too many lovestruck men and women who were inseparable when in love, only for their love to end in insults and mutual slander once money came up.
The people in the divine residence had a relationship where they could talk about money as freely as they liked.
She watched Winslow spend money like water without the slightest twinge of pain.
Li Jia suddenly felt a little envious of Winslow. Though they weren't related by blood, their divine mistress and Doreen were willing to treat her well unconditionally.
In Li Jia's eyes, all of this was a gift from heaven.
Now it seemed she had a share of that gift too.
Perhaps she was benefiting from Winslow's good fortune, or perhaps, now that she had become Hera's attendant, Hera didn't want her to be too embarrassing to take out.
Li Jia considered many possibilities, but it never occurred to her that Hera might genuinely want to treat her well. After all, they had only known each other a few days.
Gradually, she began to develop a few personal desires of her own within this conquest plan.
Li Jia didn't want it. She didn't want Hera to marry Zeus.
For Hera to marry a stallion she didn't even love.
And, merely to fulfill the duties of her divine office, become a jealous woman reviled for ages to come.
Li Jia was still afraid of her, but deep down she felt that Hera was fair and impartial and shouldn't have to bear such blame.
Why should women bear all the consequences of men's mistakes?
Li Jia vaguely remembered that Zeus had turned into a bird to win Hera's sympathy.
She resolved to practice her bird-shooting skills. Not a single bird would be allowed anywhere near Hera.
Li Jia loved every piece of clothing, and they all fit perfectly. Winslow generously handed the Goddess of Weaving a large bag of gold coins, which the goddess gladly accepted.
Before leaving, the Goddess of Weaving gave Li Jia her address. If she had any new ideas, she could write to her or come directly to the Silk Garment Workshop to find her; she lived there.
She liked this young girl who was full of clever ideas.
Li Jia agreed and said goodbye to the Goddess of Weaving. She also asked Winslow why gods needed worldly possessions like money.
Winslow looked at Li Jia as if she were an idiot and explained that the Goddess of Weaving maintained more than a dozen fabric shops in the mortal world. Did Li Jia think the labor and materials appeared out of thin air?
Li Jia couldn't help remarking that being a conscientious, dutiful god wasn't easy either.
It was just like Hera and Doreen going out to earn money while she lazed around at home with Winslow.
Another day passed. Li Jia had grown completely accustomed to the temple and Hot Spring Ravine, coming and going as freely as she would in her own home.
Late at night.
Li Jia lay fast asleep in bed as Hera walked out of the rose grove. Her soul body had been restored, and her once-pale face had much more color.
Li Jia was a little afraid of the dark.
She had lived alone since she was eight.
Wherever she went, she took a small night-light with her.
When she first arrived, she had Winslow for company, so she wasn't afraid.
Now that she had moved into the Deep Hall, she lit an olive-oil lamp on the round table in its center when she went to bed.
Through the window, Hera saw a small flame burning in the Deep Hall, as though lighting someone's way home.
Hera paused. She stood silently outside the door for a long time, then pushed it open, went inside, and closed it behind her.
Li Jia was still sleeping in the corner.
Hera changed into a sleeping robe and lay down beside Li Jia. As expected, Li Jia fell into her arms again.
Li Jia had slept enough during the day, so she wasn't sleeping as soundly.
The movement woke her. When she opened her eyes, she desperately hoped she was imagining things.
The demon was sleeping right beside her, and she had rolled into her arms again.
Li Jia muttered inwardly, Does Hera really have some kind of unusual preference?
Like using me as her human body pillow?
Li Jia also liked buying lots of dolls to hug while she slept.
Maybe human flesh feels better than a cloth doll.
Angry but too afraid to speak, she could only lie obediently in her arms.
Li Jia stole a look at Hera. With her eyes closed, she resembled an exquisite sculpture, like those Li Jia had seen in museums. Now she could look her fill at the face she usually didn't dare look at.
Ordinarily, even if Li Jia had ten times the courage, she wouldn't have dared stare at her so openly.
As she looked, Li Jia made her own little calculations.
How did her nose grow like that?
How can it be so straight?
Her lashes were thick and curled, as if she had permanent extensions, a model of perfection no plastic surgery clinic could produce.
"What are you looking at?"
The one asking did not open her eyes. Her voice was cool and clear, pitched so that only the two of them could hear, and her unhurried question sent a pleasant tingle through Li Jia's heart, leaving her entranced.
"Your face, Your Majesty. You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen."
Li Jia answered truthfully. Hera really was the most beautiful person she had ever seen. No, god.
"Little liar."
Hearing the answer from the person in her arms, Hera sighed softly, turned her face away, and moved to the other side of the bed. The roots of her ears, half-hidden beneath her golden hair, had turned thoroughly red despite herself.
"Your Majesty, what did you say?"
Li Jia pulled free of her embrace. She hadn't heard clearly.
"Strip away the flesh, and there's nothing but a pile of bones. How vulgar."
There was a hint of a lecture in her words. Li Jia narrowed her eyes, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly as she smiled. "But Your Majesty is beautiful, so I like you."
"So you wanted to become my attendant because you think I'm beautiful?"
Hera seemed to be considering whether she was telling the truth.
"Just think of me as an ordinary, vulgar person, blinded by beauty."
How could Li Jia dare say it was because she wanted to conquer her?
Hera didn't respond to that. Instead, she asked, "Why did you light the lamp? Are you afraid of the dark?"
Li Jia didn't make a sound. She wasn't a child; she was an adult, after all. How could she say she had lit the lamp because she was afraid of the dark?
After a moment of silence, Li Jia spent a few minutes steeling herself and decided to confess.
What if she said no, and Hera wouldn't let her light it anymore?
She was still a little afraid.
"Yes, I'm afraid of the dark."
"After my mother died, I always slept alone. I was still very, very young then. If I didn't light a lamp, I couldn't sleep."
When the light went out, there was only endless darkness, and her whole being sank into its depths.
As long as there was light, even just a little, it could drive away the fear lingering in her heart.
"Mm, I understand."
"Go to sleep."
After that, all that remained beside her was the sound of soft, slow breathing.
How could Li Jia sleep now? She finally understood what it meant to serve a ruler as though keeping company with a tiger.
It was like carrying her life in her hands, constantly afraid the demon would take offense and snuff her out.
Her thoughts were in turmoil.
Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt-
Brain waves flashed through her mind.
"Master, I'm baaack!"
The system, which had been down for who knew how many days, had finally booted up.
For a moment, Li Jia was torn between sorrow and joy. The sorrow was that she was sleeping with the person she was supposed to攻略; the joy was that the system had finally woken up, so she no longer had to feel quite so lost. Having hints was better than taking an exam unprepared.
"Master, you're a genius! While I was away, I never expected you to get close to the conquest target so quickly. You've done so well! You've made me look so good!"
It rattled off a stream of lavish praise.
"So what should we do next?"