A teenage Girl sits on a chair in an empty black room, surrounded by several blue orbs flying around her, ready to be judge after dying at an early age.

"Ugh, this is boring. How many souls are next in line?", Aqua moaned in annoyance, due to the never-ending line of young souls that have arrived.

"So this log book tells me that you committed suicide because you weren't able to get your favorite Gatcha Character, even after thousands of rolls."

"Yes", the young soul of the girl replied without any hesitation.

"And you're only sixteen", Aqua said, not able to believe the young girl's reason for her decision.

"You know, if you met me about 100 years ago or so, I'd laughed my ass of by now, but our new policy requires me to treat those like you with respect and kindness, so….", Aqua proceeded to wave her hand around, summoning a pink hagaromo around her neck and hands.

"I'll be straightforward for you, alright? right now: you can either reincarnate as a different person in the world you just died in, reincarnate as a different person in a Fantasy World with knights, magicians and monsters with a power of your choosing, or you could go to heaven-"

"I'd like to go to the Fantasy World, please and thank you", the girl enthusiastically replied.

Aqua remained in the position she was before the girl cut her off, "Hey don't cut me off like that! I haven't even finished explaining the rules to you."

"I don't need to hear the rest of that, to be honest. I know all this stuff from the Fantasy games I've played when I was still alive", the girl said smugly as she adjusted her glasses towards her eyebrows.

"Well if you say so, but I'll still need to explain the rest anyways", she then started her dramatic monologue about the World and its declining population in recent years, and the reason for them sending people to the World in the first place. She then emphasizes that the declining population is not due to any threat from a human or monster in the world, but rather an object that has been further utilized in said World.

"It's all due to the invention of condoms from one singular man, and the mass spreading of this newfound convenience. It's popularity mainly comes from people like Adventurers using it because their dangerous job forces them to not create "liabilities" to take care of. That, and added with the fact that its effectiveness reaches 100% levels, and you can start to see why the baby-making business has been sloping downwards in recent times."

After her explanation, Aqua presents the girl with a set of cards, each with a specific power for her to choose to use in the Fantasy World.

The girl carefully examines the cards given to her and says, "umm, Miss Goddess, all these powers are good and all, but I was kinda expecting something less basic, like a special weapon or elemental power."

"Well, we used to have those, but now they've been removed after the defeat of the Worlds Demon King and his Army. Now the world is kept safe by a new order of Knights led by a demi-god with Divine Weapons, so they've already dealt with the high-level threats in the World, so sending in more People with high-level gears would just simply disrupt the current ecosystem, if you catch my drift."

Aqua's explanation finally caught the girl's drift, and she finally went for Telekinesis as her power, allowing her to move small objects around, and eventually bigger objects as her power improves with experience points later on. The girl was then given a generic farewell by the idle Goddess, not as a hero, but as a new citizen.

"Okay, then, send in the next one", the Blue-haired Goddess said, and signaled the line to continue.

After a long tiring day of working, Aqua came into her quarter after finishing her daily quota of soul judgements. She face-planted herself onto her bed limply.

Even if all she did was pass judgements onto souls and reincarnate them, requiring no ounce of physical work. Nonetheless, she still felt exhausted, just like back when she used to do manual labor at a construction site.

Her daily life as a Goddess became monotonous to her, causing her to become frequently tired and next to none zest to her attitude towards each soul she judges. It all felt like a boring routine to her now.

"This isn't as much fun as it used to be", just as she was about to rid of her thoughts and sleep, a knock was heard on her door.

Knock Knock "Go away… I'm sleeeeppyyy…", she muffled towards the door after a knock or two. This didn't do much, as the knocking on the door kept going. Annoyed, Aqua opened her door feeling irksome.

"Hello there, Aqua-Sama", the person standing in front of the blue Goddess was her junior, 'The Goddess of Luck', a title that really irritated Aqua for some reason.

"Eris", Aqua replied in a dry tone, "What are you doing here, I'm trying to sleep. I already finished my quota for today." to which her junior giggled in response.

"Can I come in?" Eris asked.

"No!" Aqua replied with a straight face.

"Thank you, senpai!", Eris proceeded to enter her senior Goddess's room anyways, and sat on her chair by a table.

This sudden behavior from Eris surprised Aqua. She went to take a seat on the chair beside her, stomping her feet as she did so. For a complete minute there was silence between the two Goddesses, none wanting to utter a word, but stare at each other's faces instead.

"So, you were here to…", Aqua tried starting a conversation to lift up the aura of awkwardness between her and her junior.

"Oh yeah, I was here to give you company. Y'know, just two fellow Goddesses enjoying and talking together. Should we have some of you favorite Wine, then?"

"Yeah, we can have some. What I'm more focused on is why you're being so nice to me today, all of a sudden. Is there anything you want from me?", Aqua asked, straightening her brows.

"Nothing really, senpai! Just a Leisurely chat, and seeing how my senior is doing.", Eris responded.

Aqua knew she couldn't suspect any bit of what her Kohai was telling her, as she already knew that Gods and Goddesses can't lie, especially the Goddess of Luck herself. She poured her wine into a glass, giving it to Eris, and immediately chugged down the whole bottle, as Eris was merely sipping her glass cup.

After finishing her glass, Eris started a light-hearted conversion on how things are going in her world, her daily activities in the land of Belzerg, and how other Nations are prospering these days. Soon Aqua chimed in, and started complaining about how the souls keep increasing every day, and their deaths becoming weirder. She vented about her annoyance with work, and as the alcohol effect started to kick in, she started saying things that Eris wanted to hear from her.

"Eris, you know… hic, sometimes I think my life would be better if I was mortal… hic instead. This immortality thing doesn't really seem amazing to me nowadays", she told Eris in a pensive tone.

"The ways to the heart cannot be easily explained, it does what it wants, so do not fear growing old! Because not even God knows whether or not you will be happy in the future, so you should at the least be happy now", Eris told Aqua in a familiar chant.

"Wait a minute, that's one my verses! How do you know about that?", cried the surprised Goddess of Water.

"Well, you and your followers recite this a lot, and it's one of the most sensible of all things that everyone in the Axis sect really follows, so I think you did what you had to."

Eris and Aqua hardly ever agreed on the same thing, so this was one of those times, since not only did she quote a verse from her Seniors religion, but even liked the ideology behind it. After sensing the atmosphere around her, Eris asked Aqua something she was hesitant to ask her. Knowing it was going to hurt her, she had to do it anyways, for her sake.

"Senpai… do you miss your friends and family? Do you miss you daughter? Do you miss Kazuma?..", the change in questions caught the drunk Goddess by surprise, the nonchalant façade she had maintained over the years after returning to the Divine realm was slowly breaking down in the moment. Sweat started forming on her forehead as past memories flooded her psyche.

The room, which was just filled with laughter, complaining and annoyance, started filling with dreaded silence instead. That is until it started echoing with the sound of soft sobs, turning into full-on bawling from the heart-stricken Goddess.

It didn't take long before Aqua started latching onto Eris, and completely soaked her blouse and long skirt with tears that would not stop flowing.

But Eris wasn't mad in the slightest, nor annoyed by her senior's reaction. She just sat there, soothing her hair and held her like a mother caressing her own child in her bad times.

Aqua began crying for hours, with Eris sitting with her, giving her the best emotional support she could. She cried until her tears ran dry, releasing all the pain and emotions she had locked away inside her these past ten years, showing her an answer she wanted to see, rather than hear.

When Aqua finally stopped crying, Eris spoke. "It must be really hard, for you to go through such pain. I was really worried about you, and now I am somewhat relieved that you were able to show it to me."

Hearing such kind words from the one person she held authority, and could call a friend in the divine space, the person she would often bully or get jealous of due to her splendid performance and personality.

She spoke, "Eris, why are you doing this to me? I was never kind enough to you to receive such kindness from you."

After a few seconds of silence, Eris told Aqua something she could not believe. "Because you and I aren't so different, Senpai, and I really envy you because you got something I never had. Senpai, you know that Gods can't lie, so even if you try lying to me, you know you can never lie to yourself! The truth is, you still haven't gotten over the past."

'Huh, Eris being jealous of me? This can't be possible.', Aqua thought to herself. Even if she never said or expressed anything, Aqua always envied her junior Goddess. Since the day Eris became a Goddess, she has had a perfect soul-transferring score, and she was beautiful (even if she padded herself). Her kindness and welcoming personality always attracted everyone, and allowed her to become really popular in the Divine realm, even if she was more younger and relatively new here compared to other Goddesses like Aqua, to which even her religious sect is bigger than hers. Eris was just better than her in every way, maybe not in power or authority, but the more beloved person overall.

"Huh, you're jealous of me? Please don't joke with me right now, Eris, I'm not in the mood for it. You are perfect, and I… I don't even know why and how I'm here in the Divine realm.", Aqua said in a low voice, looking down.

"I know you wouldn't believe this, but you know that I am the far from perfect. I've made a fair number of mistakes in my past life, regrets I keep to myself, people I wish that I could've saved, and a family that I really wanted. The person I loved got a happy ending with someone else as we grew older. I myself have trouble letting that past go, I cry only in silence when no one is watching me."

Aqua was completely stunned at the revelation being told to her. She stood and kept listening to Eris in disbelief.

"Senpai, you've felt and went through a similar path I've gone, even it was a shorter one. The other Goddesses could never understand your pain and suffering, since they are immortal and has never lost a loved one the way you have. I can find some relatability in your pain; I can understand how you feel."

Eris took Aqua's hand, and clasped it tightly. The show of affection and empathy made her tear up again. It was all true, Aqua didn't have anyone here who liked her in the Divine realm, especially after she defied the will of the gods and got to live a life in the other world. They started hating her somewhat more than before, and nobody really bothered to try knowing her more since they fell under the common impression that she was a trouble-maker among her peers.

Eris noticed on Aqua's hand the ring that Kazuma gave her. It was the most simple and plain in the room, compared to objects like the rock collection she also got from Kazuma, and the displaced photo of her family and friends lying on the table.

"Aqua senpai, since the day you came back to the Divine realm, I've never seen you without this ring. you still keep it with you, just like the sleeping dress you have over there."

She gave Aqua a gentle hug, to which she stood still for a few seconds, and returned the embrace that her friend was giving her, clinging onto her tightly.

Aqua eventually calmed down, let go of Eris's arms, and went to sleep on her bed. Eris was on her way to leave when Aqua said to her, "Eris, you are extraordinarily beautiful, even if you pad you chest", Eris turned her face into a light shade of red and shouted.

"Th-They aren't padded!", to which Aqua let out a small laugh. The both of them laughed for a minute or so.

"Senpai, you've really changed and matured since you left the Divine realm a long time ago, although I do sometimes miss the old Aqua. She was joyous, and lived her everyday as a new beginning", she then proceeded to leave her quarters until she remembered what she came to give her now recuperating senpai.

"Oh! I forgot to give this to you.", she handed her a small prism. it was green and red on the sides, perfectly divided to give out a dual tone on each side. "Kazuma gave it to me when he came her for the last time. He wanted you to use it, along with his journal you still have."

"Wait, how do you know about the journal?", Aqua asked in surprise.

Eris just puts a hand on her lips and smiled, letting out a small giggle, "I was always watching.", she closed the door to her room without explaining any further.

Aqua didn't quite understand what the prism was, and what it could do. She also questioned why Eris was giggling when she told her that 'she was always watching', until it mentally struck her, causing her to go full-on red with embarrassment.

"That chest-padding surfboard…", she scoffed, "But I'll let this slide since she was very nice to me today."


On the other side of the realm, Eris met with the great Goddess Ishtar, one of the Holy Trinities and the supreme Goddess of The Divine Plane.

Eris bowed to her in a sign of greeting her, as Ishtar was a mother figure in the Divine realm, her kindness being a blessing towards her peers and subordinates.

"Great work, Eris, I think sending you to help with Aqua's condition was the right decision.", Ishtar congratulated her subordinate Goddess.

"Great Goddess Ishtar, sorry if I'm crossing the line here, but I would have still gone to check on her, even if you didn't ask me to. She is my senior, and the one who recruited me, so I know when she is feeling down and depressed with her duties. She is more important to me than it may seem", Eris remarks to Ishtar.

Ishtar just smiled to this and said, "I know. After all, you two are the only ones who were once mortal! You are like sisters here in the divine realm.", Ishtar went her way afterwards, and Eris continued walking past her.


Aqua was trying to sleep, but couldn't. The memories of her past, and what Eris said to her kept coming back and invading her mind.

She jerked up as she awoke, and walked out of her bed to take a swing. After finishing half of a bottle of wine, she calmed down and went to her table. She pulled out a drawer containing a book inside.

It was black in color, with a hard bind with brown-like threads surrounding it. It had a triangle-like shape carving on the surface, and as she was looking at it once more, she realized that the prism given to her by her kohai was just like her book. Aqua immediately started scrambling around the room to find where she left it, locating it underneath her pillow.

Aqua had tried opening the book beforehand in her mortal years to read it, but all that appeared on the pages were blank. No matter how many times she'd open or close it, she couldn't see a hint of text anywhere. When she tried asking Kazuma about it, he'd respond with, "You will see when it's time, but for now keep it with you, Aqua, it's very important."

'Maybe this is the time he was talking about', she retro-actively thought to herself. Though a little hesitant, she placed the prism onto the book carving, and with a 'clink', it fitted right into it, like it belonged there. A soft yellow glow emanated from the book.

It changed its color to white with golden stripes, and a title appeared on top of it.

The Peace in my Chaotic Life

She closed her eyes and opened the book after praying to the goddess of luck herself.

To her surprise, her Kohai's luck worked, and she can finally see every word written in the book. Her eyes lit up as she saw the skin of the book suddenly turn from pale to radiant, a small smile curled on her lips.

She opened the first page with enthusiasm.

' Dear useless Goddess! So, you finally found the key! Seems like Eris did her job well. If you are reading this, then it means that I am pretty much dead by now, and you are back in the place you belonged.'

Aqua got a little annoyed by his poor excuse at writing an opening message for her, calling her a useless Goddess once again, "I am not useless, you NEET", she muttered to the open book in front of her. She continued reading.

' Haha, you must be so angry that you're talking to this book right now. I'm sorry, you're not useless, Aqua, just a bit dumb.'

"This Kazuma, mocking me from his grave. He never shuts up, I suppose", Aqua mused to herself.

She flipped the page to read further.

' Well, onto the more serious introduction. This book is my Journal of Life, which I didn't want to call, but I did anyway since our daughter said so. I was reluctant at first, but I did end up enjoying this special device I got from Wiz and Vanir. This prism directly engraved my thoughts in this, allowing it to both play and record memories.'

'The green side plays memories, and the other side records them. Pretty handy, huh? The only downside is that if you want the device to play a memory, it immediately erases it from the journal afterwards, resetting the page and stuff. So the memories I've stored in this book are only a one-time use. But on the other hand, I've filled this with a life-like experience, so just touch the green side and put and book beside each other when you go to sleep. If you're wondering why I hid all of this from you, then it's probably because of some embarrassing stuff I said, or things I wanted to say, but never could, like how I wanted to introduce you and Ezili to my parents.'

'Even if they never loved me enough to mourn for me when I died on that faithful day, I still would've wanted to see my parents one last time, tell how much I love them, and how I now understand the hardships of being parents. The sacrifice, problems, and the joy that outshines it all. If I told you these things either I would have died from embarrassment, or you wouldn't have let me hear the end of it. All I want to tell you right now is how much I love you even more than you know. Even when my life was full of chaos, most of which was caused by your antics, it was all worth it for a little peace and happiness that I had, along with out daughter and friends.

It still scares me knowing that one day I won't be with you, and you will still be going on without me, but it's scarier for me knowing that you will have to live with it, always in the moment. Whenever you feel alone, remember how we were initially never meant to be together, but still did. So if we ever meet again, even in a crowd with thousands of people surrounding us,

I will still remember you, with that unforgettable and annoying smug of yours.

Thank you for this wonderful blessing on this HIKI NEET.

I love you.

And I will dedicate this to you, with my own memory.'

Tears started trickling down on the heart-stricken Goddess as she finished reading.

"That stupid NEET, always making me cry. Although, I should have erased my memory; wanted to, but just couldn't have the will enough to do it.", Aqua hugged the book tightly and slumped onto her bed.

After calming down and thinking for a minute, she decided that she will relive these memories. Even if it's one time use only, it's one more time she's willing to take.

She turned off her lights and wrapped herself in her blankets. Trying to clear her mind, she kept the book on her bedside table, along with the prism on top of it. After half an hour, she finally lost consciousness and fell asleep.

Shortly after, the prism started glowing bright, and the book began levitating. Strange white lights started surrounding her, completely covering the bed. It looked like it was creating a closed space in the room, separate from the table it's placed on. A bright flash of green light scattered in the room, and everything went black.

.

.

.

.


"Hey wake up, you idiot", The brunette boy tugged the blue-haired girl sleeping in a comical position.

"Aye, stupid Goddess! I swear, if you don't wake up right now, I'm gonna throw some horse shit on you. I don't wanna be late today."

"Curse you, HIKI NEET, don't you understand that a Goddess like me needs her precious sleep? Not only do you make me sleep in this shabby stable, you don't even spoil me! Lest you can do is talk nicely to me."

Another boring and absolutely tiresome day started once again. 'It's barely morning, and I already feel like I came back from a war.', the boy shook his head towards the tantrum his friend, the so called "Goddess" was throwing.

"Hey Kazuma, are you even listening to me? Don't ignore meeeeee!", she screamed.

I heard you, Aqua, now can you shut up for a few goddamn minutes!", 'God, where have you sent me, I don't think I'm gonna survive in this world, let alone defeat the demon lord. It'll take a miracle to actually get along with this dunce.', these thoughts fuelled Satou Kazuma's anger for his new life and his partner.

Aqua sat in the corner pouting, hands crossed.

"Just another day in this god-forsaken fantasy world", Kazuma sighed as he prepared himself for a new same day.