Chapter 43: Does he still look like an ordinary human being to you?

In a world teeming with monstrous beasts, demons, devils, and dark sorcerers, celebrating someone’s birthday every year was truly a luxurious affair.

There existed a culture of commemorating a child’s survival into adulthood without succumbing to illness, but merely celebrating the fact of being born was unheard of.

“What, a birthday?”

The muscle-bound old-timers in the Hero’s Party might have had their simple-minded moments, but it wasn’t as if their common sense or personalities were flawed.

“Well, I reckon I was born in spring, probably around sowing season, that much I know.”

These men, born thirty or forty years before me, had lived through an even harsher era.

The elf prince and the dwarf old-timer, being of different races, likely lived comfortably enough.

But for commoners and those from impoverished backgrounds—like the northern warrior Ignar, Cardinal Kalhart, and the Blade Emperor—the likelihood was high that they grew up not only without birthday celebrations but also without regular meals.

In a world where surviving past the age of ten without being devoured by beasts or demons was considered fortunate, things had only slightly improved thanks to our efforts in eradicating those fiends.

As a result, my life had been a relentless cycle of training and enlightenment through fierce battles, with no room for self-indulgence.

In the past twenty years, I hadn’t once bought a birthday cake to celebrate.

There was a time when, as a Hero standing tall, I marked a day of celebration, but I never bothered with something as embarrassing as a birthday.

While others could barely recall the month they were born, I wasn’t childish enough to demand that someone celebrate mine.

So, I’d forgotten about it for a while.

I knew my birthday was around this time, but I didn’t pay it much mind.

Even now, as the realization hit me while passing by, I didn’t feel particularly moved.

All I felt was: I’ve returned to a peaceful world.

I’ve crushed them all.

I did it.

A strangely fresh sentiment, nothing more.

[The Goddess smiles.]

“Maybe I’ll go home and watch a movie or something.”

At that moment, I wasn’t expecting anyone to celebrate me.

***

(Goddess’ POV)

As the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

In that world, it was customary to follow its traditions.

Thus, the transcendent being who governed that fantasy world, the “Balance of Order and Causality,” didn’t make a fuss over anyone’s birthday.

The Goddess didn’t apply the indulgent culture of the imperial capital’s wealthy nobles to the Hero’s Party, who lived on the battlefield.

To begin with, she never thought it was strange.

Wouldn’t it be weirder if the elf, dwarf, northern warrior, and thief threw birthday parties for each other?

However, having observed the Hero’s world and encountered various cultures, the Goddess had gained some insight into the customs of the country where she was born.

“To commemorate the day you were born, shall I buy you a castle? By the time we’re buried together, we might even build a nation.”

(*Note: This text above is spoken in the K-drama that the Hero and Goddess were watching)

Though her words were dripping with cheesy sentiment, it was while watching an emotionally charged K-drama that she had a sudden epiphany:

Wait, isn’t a birthday a really big deal?

Of course, buying a castle in reality wasn’t going to happen.

The heroine in the drama, a supernatural being, was probably half-exaggerating.

But in this medium called drama, they celebrated everything—first dates, hundred-day anniversaries, one-year anniversaries, wedding anniversaries.

Among them, birthdays seemed to be the most lavishly celebrated.

Having come to Earth, shouldn’t she follow Earth’s rules?

Thus, the Goddess had been meticulously preparing for Shin Yuseong’s birthday.

It wasn’t something she did alone.

(Note: The goddess is communicating with the goddess of this alternate Earth)

“Hey, Mayday, Mayday, come in.”

[“…What in the world did you pick up that weird phrase from?”]

“A sophisticated deity like me keeps up with trends not only in the heavens but also in the mortal realm.”

[“No, no, please don’t say stuff like that in public.”]

She had even enlisted the cooperation of the god managing this alternate Earth to organize the event.

It wasn’t just any birthday—it was the moment when, by this world’s standards, he had just reached adulthood.

The Hero was now living as a college student, an ordinary adult.

Even in that brutal world, the transition from child to adult was celebrated.

So, how could they not celebrate the coming-of-age of a Hero who had served for decades?

In the drama, the goblin heroine exaggerated about buying a castle, but as a Goddess, couldn’t she buy an entire nation?

Of course, she wasn’t planning to gift a whole country, but she prepared with that level of dedication.

[“An event? Is this for real?”]

There were limits to the divine power she could expend in another world, preventing grand interventions, but she still wanted to give a jaw-dropping gift.

Something that would stun even the cynical Hero.

A surprising yet extravagant gift.

Thanks to the souls of the demons the Hero had hunted and offered, divine power was hardly in short supply.

She allocated a portion of it to this.

“I’ll personally deliver this amazing gift.”

In short, it was a birthday present with an extra surprise.

“Yes, I, the Goddess, I’ll descend to Earth shortly.”

[“Wait, is this actually happening?”]

Whatever the goddess of that world was babbling about, it wasn’t her concern.

***

Meanwhile, in the secret laboratory of the Blue Mage Tower, Albania, the overseer and a former Hell Countess known as the “Illusion,” casually suppressed yet another coup attempt.

The power disparity made it an easy task for her, but for the defeated demons, it was an infuriatingly humiliating experience.

[“Albania, you wretch…! How long do you plan to keep this up? A Hell Countess like you, playing lapdog to humans?!”]

[“Ugh, gross. Borobophos, stop spitting and shut your mouth.”]

[“Damn it! You’re the worst kind of sellout! May you spend your entire life as a human’s dog! Let us innocent demons go!”]

The concept of innocence didn’t quite align with demons, whose crimes like murder, theft, or arson weren’t even considered sins.

To demons, where magic and power hierarchies ruled, defeat itself was the sin.

Thus, Albania, the laboratory’s overseer and former Hell Countess, smirked with a beautiful yet mocking expression and murmured,

[“This is why clueless idiots are hopeless. You’ve been in the presence of the Great Master and still don’t get it?”]

To demons, the infernal magic of Hell was their natural environment, their air.

Being trapped in this cage, far from a mere visit, was understandably uncomfortable.

Even Albania, now the head overseer, had once considered escaping.

[“The Great Master is truly great, you say?”]

[“…? Hey, Albania, what nonsense are you spouting now?”]

[“Exactly what I said, you dimwits.”]

But now, she had no such intentions.

Upon closer inspection, the Great Master was more thorough than a demon lord, immensely powerful, and cruel to demons.

She didn’t know what kind of holy curse bound her, but escaping would likely result in her own destruction.

Even if she succeeded, the Master would surely capture her if he so desired.

After all, the Great Master was truly great.

[“Do your petty souls still see him as an ordinary human?”]

[“…?”]

The demons imprisoned in the Mage Tower’s laboratory stared at Albania with puzzled expressions.

They all knew he was a monstrously powerful being, far too strong to be dismissed as a mere human.

But what she was implying seemed to go beyond sheer strength.

[“…Ugh, to think I’m the same kind of demon as you lot. What a sigh-inducing thought. Even in our weakened state, do you think we’d be subdued by a human? Maybe you lot, but not me, a former countess.”]

[“Then…?”]

[“Exactly, you fools. The Great Master is no ordinary human.”]

Albania, the Illusion, spoke with a calm expression devoid of any jest.

[“He is undoubtedly a god!”]

[“…?!”]

[“…Is there evidence for this?”]

[“You fools! His divine aura, his cold judgment, his majestic dignity—all prove it!”]

Indeed, those who ascended to godhood carried an air of divine authority, a transcendent mindset, and a piercing gaze.

The master of this hellish laboratory bore similar traits.

[“…Oh, so that’s it.”]

[“He was absurdly powerful for a human.”]

[“If he’s a god on a whim… yeah, it makes sense we got caught.”]

For the noble demons, who had been humiliated and drained of their magic, this was a convenient excuse.

The sting of defeat had been unbearable, but if their captor was a god? That was a justifiable loss.

Though Albania’s story reeked of betrayal, it held some logic.

The demons nodded in reluctant agreement, and Albania offered a magnanimous smile.

[“You fools, do you finally understand the meaning of the mercy the Great Master has shown us?”]

[“…Meaning? Was there such a thing?”]

[“Tch, you half-wits still don’t get it.”]

Clenching her fist, Albania shouted,

[“You don’t negotiate with a god—you offer tribute! Why do you keep whining and complaining?”]

[“…What?”]

[“If you’re true demons, stop whimpering about being caught! Pay the ransom or serve diligently as vassals!”]

Her words, coming from the demon who betrayed them first, were bold and struck a nerve.

The demons stared at Albania, dumbfounded.

To Be Continued