Goddess Kaleidoscope

"It's not a matter of getting used to it or not. Although those kids are very noisy, they are much easier to deal with than those gang members who each have their own ulterior motives."

"Okay, that's good. It's getting late, so I'll head back now."

"Wait... wait a minute! You... you're going back already?"

"Yes! I came to check on everyone and I'm relieved to see that everyone is doing well. I still have a ton of things to do back home."

"Uh……"

Seeing Ludwig turn to leave, Hugh panicked. Who knew when Ludwig wouldn't be back, and how long he'd be left stranded there? Without thinking, Hugh rushed forward and grabbed Ludwig, who was about to go back.

"Um... Master Lu De, I... have some work-related matters I'd like to consult you about. May I speak to you privately for a moment?"

At Hugh's warm invitation, Ludwig, who was staying temporarily, followed Hugh to the "Hope Primary School" in Taoyuan Village.

Lude's investment in this school is far less than that in Brewster Academy in Pine Town, but it is arguably the world's first school specifically for underprivileged demi-human children, thus holding special significance. Currently, there are a total of 302 students, while there are only six teachers, including Hugh.

From a human perspective, Lud's actions were tantamount to aiding the enemy and betraying his own race.

Lud himself was well aware that the "civilized society" dominated by humans regarded these ugly and technologically backward demi-humans as "pests," and the conflict between the two sides had lasted for thousands of years, which could not be an exaggeration to call it a blood feud.

But Lud was, after all, a modern human from Earth. He couldn't simply treat these communicative demi-humans as beasts based on their appearance alone, and persecute and slaughter them without any psychological restraint. Moreover, a little historical knowledge would reveal that for the past few thousand years, the demi-humans were the victims; their civilization's lack of development was inextricably linked to the continuous oppression by humans.

Therefore, Lud believed he saw things very clearly. He would not indiscriminately sympathize with all backward demi-human races. Those who were determined to be enemies of humans deserved to be killed without hesitation, but those who could be won over or educated would be given a helping hand.

When Lu De arrived at the school, he was warmly welcomed by all the teachers and students.

Surrounded by demi-human students, Lud was initially pleased, but he was soon astonished to find that his portrait was hanging in the school's main hall and in every classroom.

Luther learned from asking that it was Hugh's idea that the students would stand up and bow to Luther's portrait before greeting their teacher every day before class.

"This...isn't this inappropriate? Won't it disrupt the children's classes?"

"No way! Everyone feels that having your portrait in the classroom makes them even more eager to learn. You can ask the children if you don't believe me."

"..."

After a tour, aside from the portraits which were full of flaws, Lud was generally satisfied with the demi-human school. These new generation members, under Lud's protection, grew up in a peaceful and stable environment, learning about civilization and development.

Perhaps the day of universal harmony is still far away, but Lud has already successfully planted a seed called "hope" in Peach Blossom Village.

However, Hugh couldn't yet comprehend Lude's grand ideal. In her understanding, the demi-humans of Peach Blossom Village were Lude's secret servants, behaving much like some human nobles. These servants typically only served their master, and would readily give their lives for their master's orders.

So when Hugh arrived, he did a lot of messy things to establish a "cult of personality," all of which were ordered to stop by Ludler.

Hugh was quick-witted enough to realize that Lud was not satisfied with what she had done, and that her flattery had backfired. So she quickly tried to make amends, putting on a humble and repentant act.

Looking at this "almost goddess" who was bowing and scraping before her, Lu De knew that the other's true thoughts were probably not as submissive as she appeared. But she was good at being pragmatic and knew the survival rule of "if you can't beat them, join them"—a rule comparable to the "it's actually good" principle.

So Lude thought about it and felt it was time to give her a treat, at least to give her something to look forward to so she would feel at ease working under him.

"Shull, if you were given another chance to start over, what kind of god would you want to be?"

"I……"

Faced with Ludwig's abrupt question, Hugh fell silent, hesitating for a long time before daring not to answer. She was unsure why Ludwig had asked her this question, fearing it might be a test, and that if she answered incorrectly, she might even lose her life.

"My lord, actually I... I don't know either."

"Don't understand?"

“I used to want to replace Hume and become the true god of thieves, but that’s impossible now. And to be honest, if I had to choose, I wouldn’t actually want to be the god of thieves.”

"What if I gave you the chance to choose a new godhood yourself?"

"I will choose my own divine position?"

"Yes, I will give you several options to choose from. Whatever god you want to be, I will make you that god. What do you say?"

Luther's words were spoken casually, but to Hugh, they were like a bolt from the blue, his pupils seeming to tremble.

Because Hugh's previous identity was that of a "prisoner undergoing labor reform," she knew nothing about the Pantheon's core secrets, especially its unique "mystical art of creation," except that Ludwig possessed the Primal Flame and was adept at management.

The importance of divine positions to deities is self-evident. Traditional gods have waged wars that nearly destroyed civilizations in their struggle for these positions. Therefore, when Hugh heard Rudd say that he could easily help her obtain a certain divine position, her first reaction was "absolutely impossible." She felt that Rudd was simply boasting without any basis. You are just a mortal. Even if you possess the primordial fire within you, are you still a god-king? A divine position is not something you can just give away.

Lude could tell that Hugh didn't believe him at all, so he didn't explain much. He simply took out a piece of paper and a pen, wrote down a few words, and handed them to Hugh.

"Pick one."

"..."

Looking at the note Ludwig handed him, which contained the words "debt collection," "rebellion," and "punishment," Hugh had never heard of such three divine positions before, and thus looked on with suspicion.

"Is this a divine position? I've never heard of it before."

"Nonsense! Those who have heard of them are all taken. These three are only able to be put on your head because no one has heard of them before."

"Can divine positions be created again?"

"In theory, as long as there are enough believers who recognize it and worship it as a faith, any object or concept can become a deity... even pasta."

"..."

She gave Hugh a simple explanation of some basic theories. Hugh, who was skeptical, finally decided to give it a try and chose the "Punishment" position. She wanted to see how Lud would use his propaganda to create a new position out of thin air.

"So how long will I have to wait to obtain this divine position?"

"Don't rush, preparations take some time, but before that, I have something more important to do first."

"What is it?"

"We'll help you create a new image... inside and out."

A few days after returning from Peach Blossom Village, Nidhogg arrived in Pine Town as promised. Lude immediately called Brother Long to the film set, pointed to a wooden wall with a round hole in the middle, and asked Nidhogg to stick his head through it. Then, he yelled at the camera in his most powerful pose.

Nidhogg's expression at Ludd's request was like that of an old man on the subway looking at his phone, but he ultimately complied.

Given that the dragon's roar carries its own imposing aura, Lude specially ordered the area to be cleared before filming. The entire crew members retreated to a distance of over 100 meters in advance, while also being responsible for blocking onlookers who came to watch the spectacle. Lude, who could withstand the dragon's aura, was in charge of filming.

The filming process went relatively smoothly. Nidhogg roared a total of three times. Ludwig wasn't very satisfied with the first two takes, feeling that they lacked a bit of momentum. So, before the third take, in order to get Nidhogg excited, Ludwig casually mentioned to him that a businessman had recently come to buy Kanna.

The black dragon's rage instantly reached its peak, and the overwhelming pressure of the dragon race seemed to tangibly wash over them. His roar nearly blew Lude and the camera flying, and a large number of onlookers hundreds of meters away were instantly terrified and collapsed to the ground.

Saintess Selica and her companions were also among the crowd. When Nidhogg approached Pine Town, his holy sword emitted a warning tremor, which made Selica mistakenly think it was an enemy attack. She immediately called her companions to prepare to fight.

When they rushed out of the Baron's mansion fully armed, they saw a grown black dragon fly overhead. The servants working in the Baron's mansion seemed to take it for granted, and some even smiled and waved at the dragon.

After some inquiries, the group learned that the black dragon was none other than Nidhogg, who was rumored to have close ties with the Pantheon. He and another female black dragon were an extremely rare dragon couple who lived in the Void Forest and would occasionally visit Pine Town. They were already well-known "familiar dragons" to everyone.

The local long-time residents had a complex relationship with him, with both grudges and gratitude, but the later new immigrants had virtually no enmity with him, and had even watched plays together.

Out of curiosity, the group also went to the film set to watch the excitement. Although they didn't understand what Lude was doing, they could at least see that the big and strong male black dragon could obey Lude's commands.

"This black dragon is so cool! Look at its muscles, it's completely different from those fat, pot-bellied dragons in paintings."

"I wish I could have a dragon like that as my mount."

"Keep dreaming! Dragons are very proud. Throughout history, you can count the number of people who have been able to tame a dragon on one hand."

"Speaking of which, Your Highness Li Wei, what would happen if your country's proud Wyvern Knights encountered a real dragon?"

"Weishead, what do you mean?"

"Haha! I was just curious and asked casually. Oh, by the way! Just a friendly reminder, Pine Town is part of our Duran Kingdom's territory. Just a reminder, nothing more."

"..."

While the onlookers were still chattering, Ludwig's filming was complete, and he was very satisfied with the results of the third take. Nidhogg also came over to take a look at the footage of his first "electric" experience.

What are you going to do with this?

"Helping you find a wife... Just kidding. I know you're a good man, loyal to your wife. This is a movie opening sequence, like an advertising sign. All the movies I shoot here will have this scene at the beginning to help increase brand recognition."

"don't know."

Seeing that the filming requested by Ludd had been completed, Nidhogg was thinking of going home if there was nothing else to do. But Ludd said that he planned to film a miniature version of Connor as the opening credits for a children's film. Nidhogg, who was about to take flight, immediately changed his mind.

At this moment, the saintess and her entourage approached, and Ludwig generously introduced the two sides. Selica immediately bowed to Nidhogg, while Nidhogg raised his right paw, placed three fingers on his shoulder, and nodded slightly to Selica. His proper knightly return of the greeting immediately surprised all the elites.

"You know the chivalry?"

“I was once the guardian knight appointed by the Storm Queen of the Kingdom of Sein. I was also present when the guardian dragon of the Holy Light Church, Sheen, fell. That senior saved my life, so I swore an oath never to be an enemy of the Holy Light Church.”

In front of Celica, Nidhogg unusually introduced his family history, including the events of the War of the Gods, which even Rudd hadn't heard much about. This was the first time he had brought it up on his own initiative.

Celica and his group were also surprised to find that the black dragon in front of them had a past connection with the Holy Church of Light. Celica had learned about the guardian dragon Sheen that he had just mentioned when he was studying the church's scriptures. Sheen was a two-thousand-year-old female white dragon who had received the blessing of the Holy Lord of Light, which greatly extended her lifespan and made her much stronger than ordinary dragons. She was the holy guardian dragon of the church.

But even such a powerful being perished in the war of the gods. And the details of Shin's death are not explained in various records, which makes Celica vaguely feel that the church is deliberately hiding something.

Selica originally planned to use her connections with the church and Nidhogglar to befriend powerful figures and renowned experts as part of the hidden missions of the Saintess Trial. Getting to know a black dragon would be even better.

But Celica soon noticed that Nidhogg's attention was entirely on the cute little black and white creature named Kanna, and his originally cold and dignified expression was crumbling at a visible speed.

Serica then remembered that when Lud had introduced Kanna, he had said that she was a mutated young black dragon. He looked at Nidhogg in astonishment, then at little Kanna, thinking to himself that if he hadn't remembered what Lud had said before, no one would have believed that they were father and daughter.

Soon, the opening sequence featuring Kanna's adorable dragon was finished. Ludwig immediately told Nidhogg that he would make a large hanging scroll and personally deliver it to Nidhogg's house in a few days. The black dragon nodded in satisfaction.

Nidhogg didn't stay in town for long, setting off home before sunset. After the other party left, Selica told Lud that the Church of Light attached great importance to this cooperation with the Pantheon and had sent another delegation from the Holy City to discuss the details, which was expected to arrive in three days.

Upon hearing this, Lud thought to himself, "They've arrived incredibly quickly." The Sun Capital of the Holy Church of Light is located in the southwest of the continent, at least two or three thousand miles away from Pine Tree Town in a straight line. Lud pondered that the delegation's ability to arrive so quickly meant they must have used the legendary treasure unique to the Holy Church of Light—the skyship "Icarus."

The Holy Light Church is, after all, a millennium-old order. This world-class sect not only has a large number of believers, but also possesses many rare treasures, among which the Sky Ship Icarus is one.

Legend has it that this spaceship is an ancient relic, once the national treasure of the Dwarf Kingdom. After the Dwarf Kingdom fell, some fleeing Dwarf refugees took the spaceship to the Holy Light Church for protection, and the spaceship was given to the Holy Light Church as a "gift of gratitude".

Because Icarus is unique and cannot be replicated to this day, the Holy Church of Light rarely uses this spaceship. Rude guessed that the reason for bringing it out this time was to show off and demonstrate their strength.

Currently, Celica only knows that the delegation will arrive in three days; further details are unknown. The Holy Church of Light does possess unique divine magic for long-distance communication, but the amount of information it can transmit is extremely limited.

However, Lud was extremely confident about this negotiation. He had already shown enough goodwill and sincerity in the early stages, and his attitude had been extremely humble. If the Holy Church of Light still insisted on playing hardball after all this, then Lud would have no choice but to write a letter inviting the Bishop of Ural from the War God Cult of Wolfhelm City to come over for a cup of tea.

Just as the US-Soviet rivalry on this side of the world gave many small countries a golden age of securing aid by choosing sides, the tripartite balance of power among the three major religions in this world also gave Ludl the opportunity to seek opportunities to play both sides in the cracks.

He ate bread from the Church of Light dipped in jam from the Church of War, with the two major sects taking turns serving him. Wasn't that a great blessing?

Thus, Lud sincerely looked forward to the arrival of the Holy Light Church delegation, and in order to arrange a suitable place for the delegation to stay, Lud decided to use the newly built hot spring hotel in town as a temporary reception building.

Last year, when the town of Pine was expanding its new urban area, a hot spring was accidentally discovered while digging a well. So Ludwig invested in the project, bringing in the Baron's family as shareholders, and built a hot spring hotel. It was just completed last week and has not yet officially opened for business.

So Lude decided to invite Serika and her party, as well as the delegation that would arrive three days later, to stay at the spa hotel, making them the first guests, and even giving them a private room.

This serves two purposes: to show goodwill and to create buzz for the hotel.