Chapter 1778 Survey Team.

A familiar road manager was leaning on the side of the wagon, drinking a cup of coffee and watching the sun rise. Noticing Rain, he spared her a crooked smile.

«Ah. It's you again, Rani.»

Rain almost stumbled.

«Damn.»

Rani is what she was known as on the road crew. Since she was hiding here, using her own name would have been silly... the problem was that Rain had not thought about that right until the moment she was asked to introduce herself.

So, put on the spot, she had failed to come up with anything and mumbled the first thing that entered her mind.

Which was why her teacher had mocked her relentlessly for a whole week.

«No, really? Rani? The best you could do was shift two letters around? I just can't... gods, everything I've been through, and I'll die of laughter...»

Rain had endured the mockery for as long as she could, and then kindly reminded her teacher that he went around calling himself Shadow.

So, he wasn't in a position to critique her naming sense, was he?

That, luckily, had shut him up.

In any case, by now, she was more or less accustomed to responding to «Rani.»

Which was not to say that she wasn't embarrassed every time she heard it.

«Good morning, chief.»

The man stared at her for a few moments, then sighed.

«Listen, Rani... I get it, the pay in the advanced camps is higher. But what's the use of having money if you are dead? It's quite dangerous out there, you know! A young girl like you should just stay here in the main camp. Actually, even the main camp is not a good place. If my daughter wanted to come here from Ravenheart, I would have locked her up.»

He took a sip of coffee and shook his head.

«Why don't you change your mind?»

Rain gave him her best smile.

«Still, chief... I hear they are establishing a new camp soon. Please reassign me.»

He grimaced.

«I'm sorry. Actually, all the spots are already filled... it's a tough job, especially now that we are so far away from Ravenheart. We have strict orders to prioritize the strongest and most resilient recruits for these postings.»

Seeing that her expression fall, the manager hesitated for a few moments, then let out a heavy sigh.

«Okay, okay... I'll help you out. Just don't pout Rain blinked a couple of times.»

«I... I'm not pouting!»

Rain thanked the road manager and turned to leave. As she was walking away, he called out to her.

«May the Queen's grace protect you!»

She halted for a moment.

«Uh... yeah, Thanks, You too!»

It felt weird to see how readily the settlers accepted Queen Song as not only their ruler, but also a... a surrogate goddess, of sorts, Sure, the Sovereigns possessed unimaginable power — Saints were already called demigods at times, and the Supremes were far above them in all regards.

But, still... Ki Song was just a human, just like the rest of them. So was the King of Swords. Watching people treat them with religious zeal made Rain a little uncomfortable.

She wasn't really sure why, since most of them were still good people. It was just that there was an inevitable element of surrendering your own judgment when one acted with blind faith... and if you followed someone blindly, who was to say that they would not lead you into a dark place?

On the other hand, perhaps it was only logical that the people of the Song Domain treated their Queen as a deity. Most of them were only alive because of her grace, after all, and would be swallowed by the Nightmare Spell without her. lіght\nоvel\cаve~c`о/m. From the point of view of a mundane person, her vast power would indeed seem godlike.

Gathering her pack, Rain asked thoughtfully:

«Teacher... can a person become a god?»

Her shadow moved slightly.

«That's an unexpected question.»

He lingered for a few moments, then said neutrally:

«Sure, It's possible.»

Rain continued to gather her things, thinking that his answer was over.

But then, her teacher added suddenly:

«Not only is it possible, it is also necessary.»

Rain stopped what she was doing and looked at her shadow in surprise.

«What's that supposed to mean?»

He remained silent for a while, then laughed.

«It means just that. Why, do you feel insecure? Alright, alright... I won't insist that you become a goddess... just yet. But honestly, for a student of mine to aim any lower is a bit shameful...»

She stared at the shadow for a while, then scoffed and turned back to her pack.

«...Why did I even ask?!»

Rain was pretty sure that becoming a deity was not in the cards for her.

However, with such a teacher... she definitely had a chance of developing divine patience.