"Are we not going to work today?"
Aurora asked, seeing Sophie still busy making lunch for four people.
"How could we leave when Axeden is in this condition? It's not like I don't believe Kausphore, but he also needs someone to take care of him."
Aurora frowned, confused by her words.
"You're staying to take care of Kausphore?"
Sophie almost laughed at her expression.
"No, I mean… They're Prince Kings or whatever. They must have hundreds of servants to take care of their things. I'm sure they've never even moved a finger to do anything themselves. Leaving the house in their hands is like leaving children home alone. They might burn the whole place down. They don't know how things work here."
Aurora and Sophie exchanged helpless looks. Aurora sighed and rolled her eyes.
"I thought having gods in our house would change our lives, and I guess, it did, but in the worst way. Now we not only have demonic cultivators chasing us but also two young masters to serve."
Sophie chuckled, and then she noticed Kausphore standing in the corner, a small smile playing on his lips. It was the first time she had seen him smile, and she smiled back. Aurora turned around and saw him too.
"Oh my! How long have you been eavesdropping?"
Kausphore looked at Aurora and replied playfully,
"Since you said you're staying because I also need someone to take care of me."
Aurora widened her eyes, it was the first time he had responded to her so casually… and while smiling. Her face turned red as he continued looking at her playfully. She turned to Sophie and whispered,
"Why is he in such a good mood today?"
Sophie shrugged and looked at Kausphore.
"Food is ready. I made something edible with whatever was left in the kitchen. I hope you won't mind…"
Kausphore softened his gaze and shook his head.
"Anything will work."
Aurora cleared her throat, trying to calm herself. She felt bewitched by Kausphore's beauty.
"Let's eat, then. Let me help you take it to the table."
Aurora snatched the plates and food from Sophie's hands to distract herself. Sophie noticed her strange behavior but shrugged it off. They all headed to the dining table, and Sophie was just about to sit down when they heard loud banging on the front door.
"I'll check," she said, striding toward the door and opening it without checking who it was.
....
"Hey there, pretty…! I thought I wouldn't get to see you again. Last night, you ran off without giving us a proper response."
Sophie's palms began to sweat. A group of demonic cultivators dressed in black stood outside, swords on their backs, eyes cold and calculating.
"H-How did you find my home?" she asked, voice trembling.
One of the men chuckled.
"Do you think we do charity? Your parents haven't paid their debt. They offered to repay with their souls, but there wasn't enough energy left in their bodies. Their souls were practically useless. So tell me, pretty lady, how would you like to pay? Do you have money, or…"
He looked her up and down slowly.
"…would you rather pay with your beautiful body? Since you're so pretty, we're willing to make an exception. Instead of taking your soul, we'll take something more… satisfying."
Sophie moved to slam the door, but someone gently pushed her aside and stepped in front of her. It was Kausphore. He stood tall, shielding her completely.
"How much do you need?" he asked calmly.
Sophie had expected him to attack, but to her surprise, he remained civil. The men clearly didn't expect to see another man inside and looked flustered.
"1 million golden coins! Can you pay that amount?"
Kausphore glanced back at Aurora and nodded. She understood and disappeared inside, returning with a heavy wooden box. Sophie watched in confusion as she handed it to Kausphore.
Kausphore opened the box. Sophie gasped, covering her mouth in shock. Aurora grinned ear to ear.
"This much gold pearl is more than enough to pay the debt, right?"
The men stared, eyes wide, at the pile of shimmering golden pearls inside the box. It wasn't just enough, it could pay her debt forty times over.
Golden pearls were rarer than gold itself. Finding even one in a thousand years was considered a blessing.
One of the men picked up a pearl, bit it, then nodded at his leader. It was real.
He immediately took the box and brought out a scroll to officially clear the debt.
A few minutes earlier-
As Sophie opened the door, Aurora heard the voice outside and panicked.
"What happened?" Kausphore asked.
"The demonic cultivators are here. They'll take Sophie if we can't pay the debt!"
Kausphore paused, remembering Sophie's words earlier,
"They don't know how things work on Ireas."
He decided to handle this like a mortal, not a god.
"Do you have pearls at home?" he asked.
"Yes, but they're not worth--"
"Great. Bring a big box of them."
Aurora blinked in confusion but obeyed. She returned with the box. Kausphore placed it on a table, then bit his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto a pearl. He closed his eyes, then brought his bleeding finger to his forehead.
A red symbol glowed, and the blood-soaked pearl began to shimmer with golden light, releasing glowing dust. The ordinary pearls inside the box began transforming, one by one, into rare golden pearls.
"Woah!!" Aurora gasped, eyes wide in awe.
One drop of his blood had turned thousands of pearls into golden ones. She stared at him with admiration, then clapped excitedly as if he had just performed a magic show. Kausphore chuckled softly at her reaction and went to help Sophie.
...
Sophie closed the door, still stunned, and turned to them. Aurora immediately started explaining everything enthusiastically, making Kausphore smile.
Sophie looked at him with deep concern.
"Are you okay? Did you lose energy too?"
She remembered how Axeden had coughed blood the last time he helped her. Maybe it was her fate, to always put people in danger. First her family, then her friends… and now even gods.
But Kausphore smiled gently.
"It's not a loss for me. It's a loss for them."
Aurora blinked. "What do you mean? Don't tell me that was fake gold!"
Kausphore frowned, irritated.
"It was real. More real than anything you have on Ireas. But those golden pearls will bring misfortune to them."
Seeing their confused faces, he explained further:
"All the demonic energy in the universe takes form in things like gold, silver, and other valuables. That's why these things often bring disaster to people who obsess over them. If demonic energy transforms on its own, it's not too dangerous. But if it's forced into a material form, like what I just did, then whoever uses it will suffer terrible misfortune. I used my own energy to make it happen. So now… the misfortune is theirs."
Aurora looked shocked. "So your body is full of demonic energy?"
"Well, I'm a Demon God… so yeah."
"No wonder you're this beautiful," Aurora mumbled, wondering if it was his demonic energy that made him so dangerously attractive, just like how gold, silver, and diamonds make mortals lose their minds.
"What?" he asked.
Aurora quickly cleared her throat. "I mean, they deserve it. They've ruined so many lives. They deserve all the misfortune coming their way."
Sophie sighed in relief and looked at Kausphore with gratitude.
"I don't know how to thank you. I'm sorry for being rude before. I didn't know your true intentions."
Kausphore smiled softly.
"You don't need to thank me. It was nothing. And I'm sorry too, for being irrational, knowing you don't remember your past life. I promise I won't bring up our past unless you want me to."
Sophie smiled and nodded.
"Let's get to know each other again in this life. Okay?"
Kausphore's eyes lit up with hope and happiness. But there was someone else in the room…
Someone whose heart quietly sank watching their interaction.
To be continued