Mikaela was inwardly ranting.
These past three months had felt utterly miserable. Only the stars knew how many times she'd regretted her decision during that time.
A male god suddenly shows up at your doorstep, spinning dreams of making you a god, then admits he's coveting you. After that, a normal person would've gone all in, but what did this guy do? He switched it up, bringing a different flashy woman back to the hotel's luxury suite every day for wild escapades.
It was the same old question.
Mikaela still didn't know why she hadn't left yet.
After a long pause.
Mikaela looked at Lake. "Are all male gods like you?"
Lake smiled. "Gods all face loneliness. To avoid it, every god has their own unique hobby."
Mikaela seemed to ponder this. "So your hobby is chasing all kinds of goddesses and women?"
Lake shrugged. "An ancient god once said that only love can walk alongside a god, keeping them from loneliness. I'm on a quest for love too—it's just that my love is a bit broader than other male gods'."
"…What does that mean?"
"Heh!"
Lake's blue eyes sparkled with starlight. "If I can have the whole world, why settle for just one place?"
Mikaela was speechless.
It was the same old story—count the Western myths; how many gods were faithful? Zeus? That guy got smitten and turned into a ram to make his move. Lake figured compared to Zeus, he was practically a disgrace to supreme gods.
Lake looked at Mikaela, who seemed too exasperated to keep talking, and smiled again. Then he turned to the real estate agent walking in, ready to speak. Lake tossed his Stark Bank card over. "Full payment, swipe it, thanks!"
Jeremy froze for a moment, then looked at the bank card in his hand. In an instant, his mind flooded with visions of green Franklins.
Half an hour later.
Jeremy's manager respectfully handed the freshly swiped bank card back to Lake, who was sipping bourbon. Holding it with both hands, he said, "Sir, your card."
Lake, holding his bourbon, glanced sideways at Mikaela beside him, as if to say, See? I told you there's money in there.
But clearly, Jeremy's manager misread the gesture. He stood, shifted direction, and offered it to Mikaela with a fawning smile. "Madam…"
Already too drained to retort, Mikaela took the card expressionlessly and slipped it casually into her pocket.
Fine.
You're a god. Do whatever you want in the mortal world. You're the boss—happy now?
Good thing.
She hadn't taken that bet earlier, or she'd be scrubbing herself clean right now.
Mikaela's mind buzzed with suspicion. After all the paperwork was handed over and they saw the real estate manager off, she pulled the bank card from her pocket and examined it closely.
No mistake.
It was a debit card, not a credit card. But a month ago, when they went to withdraw cash, hadn't it only had six or seven Franklins left? How could it suddenly cover over thirty million Franklins?
Mikaela mulled it over, her curiosity finally getting the better of her. She turned to Lake, who was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window with his bourbon, ready to ask.
Just then.
Buzz!
A ring of sparks appeared, and the Ancient One, cloaked in a yellow robe, materialized.
Lake took in the Ancient One's appearance today and raised an eyebrow. "Supreme Mage, where's your white robe?"
The Supreme Mage's tone was cool. "White robes get dirty easily. Cleaning them costs money."
Lake's lips curved upward.
Was she indirectly calling him out for not knowing how to save money?
The Supreme Mage surveyed the lavish property about to become Lake's. "The environment here is indeed nice."
Lake raised his bourbon. "Want some?"
The Supreme Mage pulled off her hood, looking at Lake calmly. "Perhaps I should hand your position over to that demigod who's currently hunting you."
Lake's brow twitched.
Earlier, the Supreme Mage had revealed that one of his furious girlfriends was coming after him. Now she was specifying it was one of his demigod girlfriends.
That narrowed it down.
Lake's mind raced. Demigod—what was a demigod? A being between mortal and god…
If gods were rare, demigods were even rarer.
But did he have a demigod girlfriend?
Lake muttered inwardly. In his memory, most demigods were male. Even the female ones tended to have altered their physical traits. Though he was a god, his sense of aesthetics was still pretty standard.
Muttering to himself, Lake looked at the Supreme Mage, his expression steady. "If the Supreme Mage can provide housing funds, doesn't that mean you've already made up your mind?"
The Supreme Mage's face remained impassive. "Foreign god…"
Lake cut in with a smile. "Call me Lake. 'Foreign god' sounds weird."
The Supreme Mage paused, then said, "Lake, it's true that spacetime turbulence brought you here by accident. But Kamar-Taj isn't your personal bank. If you really want to stay here, maybe it's time you learned to blend in. Do you know what thirty million Franklins means here?"
With that.
The Supreme Mage answered her own question. "Maybe you don't, but the Ms. Vixen next to you does."
Mikaela's fox-like eyes flashed. Keep me, an honest-to-goodness mortal, out of your little chat, thanks.
Lake smiled faintly. "Does the Supreme Mage have any good suggestions?"
The Ancient One said calmly, "You should learn to earn your own money."
Lake laughed heartily. "Supreme Mage, I'm the victim here. Have you forgotten I was stranded here against my will?"
The Ancient One glanced at Mikaela again. "I offered to send you away before. You refused."
Lake fell silent.
Fair enough. A male god's promise was priceless, and Lake took his commitments seriously.
Lake nodded. "Alright, the Supreme Mage makes a good point. I'll accept that."
The Supreme Mage's expression didn't shift. "Thank you."
Lake flashed a hint of a smile. "No need to thank me. Like I said before, though I was stranded here unwillingly, I'm a god who came with good intentions. I'm not like those dimensional false gods out there eyeing this place or the cosmic gods up above. This might not be my true home, but it's about eighty percent similar."
The Supreme Mage automatically tuned out Lake's spiel about friendliness. Three months ago, she'd watched from the snowy mountains as he gunned down that little black guy. If that was "friendly," the word might as well become a slur.