A week had passed since the environment around me changed. Following Iris, I went to her territory and was put on standby.
I was given a room in the goddess' house and had been stuck there for a week. What made it worse was the atmosphere of this place.
"The Goddess wants to meet you." A hint of displeasure could be seen in the voice.
Tori, the head maid of the goddess, had come to my room and told me that the goddess wanted to see me. Tori, like most people in this place, hated me. My existence was like a plague, and their so-called goddess was weakened because of me.
"Lead the way."
The old me would have cursed everyone who annoyed me somehow, but I had grown since then. I ignored the displeasure of everyone since most of them weren't much of a treat. And none of these people dare mess with me being the goddess' guest.
Iris lived in a palace of some sort. Dyed in the color red, it took me a few days before I got used to the atmosphere of the place.
"Charles, you have arrived." She said she expected me to be here.
"Tori, you may leave."
"Yes, Goddess." Before Tori left, she gave me one last glare. What a bitch.
"Charles. I have a task for you." Iris said it commandingly, telling me that refusing was not an option.
I loved how this goddess thought she had control over me. My grudge against Iris was immense. Because of her, she ruined my happiness. I had tried my best to be calm in front of her, and when the time was right, I would strike her down.
"What do you need me to complete, goddess?"
"One of my followers was assassinated. He was a lord managing a territory, and now that slot is open. You should know what I want." I nodded, understanding what she meant.
"Where and when would I be going?"
A lord? I couldn't care less about the condition of the territory where I was located. I was like a trapped princess wanting to escape from this castle. Getting away from these servants would make my life easier.
"Cline." Instead of answering my question, she called for someone else.
"Yes, goddess?" Cline, who was in this room the whole time, left his shadow.
"You will take him there now. I have other important matters to attend to."
Iris' important task was to recover her powers. While she didn't state it, I could tell how she felt.
As for Cline, he was Iris' shadow. Assassination, scouting, and espionage—you name it all. He is someone who follows Iris like a slave.
I didn't interact much with Cline, but he hated my guts. I wouldn't be surprised if he cut my neck when I slept. It's not like it would work.
"Follow me. I want to get this over with." I followed Cline's lead and headed to the palace's teleportation room.
The teleportation room had portals everywhere. I couldn't memorize their location unless someone put a sign on them.
Cline didn't say anything and entered a portal without saying a word. He wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to finish this.
"Welcome, my lord!!!" Entering the portal, we were greeted by the sight of multiple men.
Ah! The ranking system was in play. Looking at these soldiers, I could see their rank. Wondering what rank mine was, I was surprised to see it this well.
15Bth ranking. I didn't know which realm I was in, but I heard that the sixth realm and above population was practically impossible to count.
As for the soldiers' numbers, counting them was impossible. They had more than ten digits to their name, and I didn't know how much that even was.
"This is Charles—your new lord. Your task will be to show him around." Cline didn't want to stick around any longer and had these soldiers explain for him instead. Cline then left, and I was left with these people.
"My lord! Please follow me!" One of the men walked up and stated his purpose.
"What's your name?"
"I'm Sanders! Commander Sanders!" He said it with an emphasis on his title.
"Very well. Lead the way while telling me everything about this place. I haven't received any information as of yet."
Commander Sanders should have a lot to say. With his position, he should have the most information.
"My lord. Do you know where we are?" Commander Sanders wanted to gauge my understanding.
"Nope. Like I did, I have no information. I was put here in a spot."
Commander Sanders gave me a worried tone, feeling I might not be up for the task. It did sound annoying to explain everything when he could let someone else do it.
"Don't forget, the goddess chose me for a reason."
The commander's doubts were quickly erased. Questioning the goddess was a sin no one in this camp could handle. What scared him more was that I had sensed his thoughts.
"So, mind talking?"
"Ahem. We're in the city, Chrome—one of the goddess's sixth territories in the sixth realm."
"Six territory isn't that small?" I would have thought Iris would be more competent.
"This realm is a war realm. Territory comes and goes; we're in a constant war for the gods to help them gain followers."
Realm of war? Sheesh, it's a wonder that the population of this realm was so affluent with how much fighting there was.
Commander Sanders first brought me to my estate, a more prominent mansion than my previous one. It's more like a castle.
"Head butler. Get everyone here. Your lord has arrived."
"As you command, commander," The head butler rushed out to get everyone in the castle.
The head butler had brought about thirty people. I observed all of them and found no sort of interest.
"My lord. I will leave you to your people. Tomorrow we should discuss your job as a lord." Just like that, Sanders left.
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