Frustrations with Authority

Tanya sighed, wiping the glistening sweat from her forehead.

The Blacksmith had been surprised at her desire to come in to his shop and forge, day in and day out, only taking breaks to replenish her mana and eat, for the past week.

She was fine with the extra work, and her contract with heaven hadn't acted up. She did need her own weapons if she wanted to take out the Demon King, and working at making her Smith skill better would do that. It seemed to be have reached the same conclusion.

The initial surge of information the skill had given her, that week ago, had shown her that she would need to level up the skill if she ever wanted to get a gun.

Despite her desire to just pour all of her Skill Points into the Smith skill, she'd held off. Skill Points were, apparently, hard to get by just leveling up.

There were potions – and potion-making was more similar to cooking or chemistry than shouting arcane words and hoping the mixture would turn into a different color – but those potions cost more money than she thought she would ever get here.

So, she needed to work to get her skill to grow to the level where she was confident in being able to make herself a gun. Until then…

Making swords, spears, and daggers was all she could do. More complicated metal weaponry, like maces or axes, took much longer, and the Blacksmith didn't sell weapons like bows that were simple to make. Comparatively.

Holding it up to the light, her latest attempt at a cog shone. It was still imperfect, but it was closer.

The Type 95 hadn't had any maintenance in the seventeen days that she'd been here, besides a bit of cleaning. She wasn't going to bet that it would hold up forever, so she'd asked for a bit of paper from the Blacksmith.

One trip to the general store – the Blacksmith didn't have paper, besides to keep track of purchases and what little he gave to adventurers so they could name their weapons – had seen her meeting the balding old man that ran the place. He'd been overjoyed to have a customer, and she had thanked him in turn by buying more than she needed.

Sketches of the pieces of each of the components, from the outer casing to the smallest gear she could find, were done.

Recreating them with the technology available to her wouldn't be easy, and creating imperfect replicas would ensure that the thing would be inoperable in a few years. Preserving how they looked now was paramount.

Done with that, her day, now half gone from using Smith and drawing her Type 95's components as well as she could, she'd decided to take up another quest. The loan the guild had given her needed to be paid back, after all.

With a part-time job, she was no longer completely poor. She had signed a contract with the guild, however, and completing it was really the only short-term goal she could complete.

She could technically pay for the loan from her own pocket instead of completing it with money from quests, but she was saving up for a scepter.

A scepter was her next goal, and until she could afford the materials and had the experience to make a gun and bullets, a scepter would have to suffice. A simple stick would burn up in a matter of hours after usage, so something professionally made would be required.

Constantly spending her meager pay from the Blacksmith to pay for that loan would be troublesome, so she'd continued to do the occasional quest. Nothing much – just killing the occasional Giant Toad and watching over fields, mostly.

Today, however, there was a problem: All of the easy quests were gone, leaving only the ones that were above her level, according to the Guild's rules.

She was confident in her ability to kill 'One-Hit-Kill Bears', but Luna had forbid her from taking the quest until she was level fifteen and had a party of similarly strong accomplices.

Seeing as she had no friends that were willing to fight one – Taylor's party had blanched – and she was not level fifteen – she'd only risen another level in the past week, giving her a total of eight levels and nine Skill Points to use – Tanya was sure Luna wouldn't let her take on the quest.

"Can I please take this quest?" Tanya asked, handing the piece of paper to Luna.

She looked annoyed – whether it was for being interrupted or for having that question asked again, Tanya couldn't tell – and she raised an eyebrow as she spoke. "For the last time, Tanya, no. All of the easy quests have already been taken by the rush of new adventurers that always arrive in the spring. If you'd just get here earlier…"

Tanya sighed, annoyed. The reason she didn't come earlier was that she needed a large portion of her mana in order to actually be able to effectively use Smith and ensure that whatever she made was durable.

There was nothing for it, then. Tanya opened her purse, and laid a handful of Eris on the table. "To substitute for my required quest."

Luna obediently scooped up the money, stashing it away. Tanya turned, intending to leave, when a thought occurred to her.

"Hey Luna. I can put a request for teammates on the bulletin, right?" Luna nodded, and Tanya smiled.

She could at least take care of that problem. Luna provided a piece of paper, and Tanya wrote instructions, requirements, and information on it. One problem would be solved. She still wouldn't be able to take on many quests, but with more people, even Luna wouldn't limit her selection too much.

Tanya made her way out of the guild. She'd hang out at the Blacksmith's – maybe she would clean those hideously dirty windows or something – and man the counter.

Whenever she spoke with that disgustingly cute voice that had aided her throughout the war, she could get better deals than he did. He'd given her another job to do, whenever she had the time.

Tomorrow, she'd be sure to go out on a quest with whoever showed up.

-OxOxO-

Tanya's Poster

Resting her head on her arms, figure slouched over the table closest to the bulletin board, Tanya glowered at the piece of paper she'd pinned there yesterday. She'd cut off her time at the Blacksmith's early and shown up for potential interviews, but no one had come.

People occasionally glanced at it, and some of them even seemed to go up to Luna to ask about it, but no one went any farther than that. Some just looked at it and moved on, while smiles broke out on the faces of others.

She'd laid everything out perfectly. She said what her job was, said she'd be leading, and said she was searching for anyone who could be of use. Luna had laid out that new adventurers were coming to the town regularly, with the end of spring upon them.

So why was nobody interested?

One more person glanced at it, before having the gall to actually double over laughing.

That was the last straw. Tanya marched up to the counter, and began to speak with Luna in low tones. "Hey. Why is everyone blowing off my request?"

As per usual, a small smile flashed across her face before her answer. "I took a look at it. While there isn't anything wrong in your attempts at recruiting a party member, you aren't going to get many members."

Tanya merely raised an eyebrow, and Luna elaborated. "Well," she said, clasping her hands together, "you're an Adventurer. Even if people were willing to party up with someone with that job, the fact that you want to lead puts people off as well. They assume you're low level, and that you haven't changed your class yet. Having someone weak lead them is only going to appeal to people who are desperate."

Just as Tanya was about to march over to the request, Luna piped up again. "Plus, the few that have asked about it become totally uninterested once I start to describe you physically." While Tanya was wondering what that had to do with it, Luna just shook her head at the girl.

Luna was wondering when the noble would just give up and go back to their mansion. While Dust was proof that not all blonde haired people were nobles – he didn't have any particular skills to speak of, besides wasting money – this girl had plenty of power that would be better fit to the upper echelons of the world she had clearly left.

Unaware of the receptionist's thoughts, Tanya narrowed her eyes at the woman and turned, walking over and taking down the request.

Tanya sighed. It was obvious that no one wanted to quest with a twelve-year-old. She would have to try a different tactic, then.

Muttering under her breath, Tanya scribbled furiously.

-OxOxO-

The sun rose and cast a streak of light onto Tanya's face. As she did every morning, she shook the hay off of herself and prepared for the day by getting dressed.

Unlike other mornings, however, she didn't start her day by sitting down in the Guild to eat.

Instead, she quickly glanced at the bulletin board, grabbed the first easy quest she could find, and then sat down.

She'd have a full breakfast, instead of the grab n' go stuff she'd been having for the past week in an attempt to get more time at the Blacksmith's. She would go on this quest today, even if it meant she didn't have a party.

She glanced around, and noticed a distinct lack of people. The waitress she usually ordered from wasn't there, and even Luna, ever enslaved to her work, had come in later than Tanya.

To Tanya's growing horror, there were very few people in the guild. Dust was there, but Tanya had started to see him as a fixture of the guild that occasionally moved, whenever it didn't have the money to buy drinks.

A few others were there too, but most of them weren't newbie adventurers Tanya was hoping to form a party with. They were all old hands, getting drunk early in the morning or hitting on the waitresses that were so sparse today.

Besides them and the ever-present debt collectors that always had their eyes glued to Dust, no one was there.

No one was looking at the bulletin board and the request she'd made.

She'd omitted her job, said she could use the 'Detonation' spell Lynn had mentioned, and even stated that she would be happy in any team willing to accept a new member. She didn't even have to lead it.

And yet, no one was there. The entire guild seemed barren.

Tanya slowly walked to the counter, staring holes into Luna's head. For her part, she only flinched a little. It seemed she was used to dealing with irate adventures.

"I made the request more reasonable, as per your suggestion, and yet no one is here. I would like to know if you all decided to play a prank on me, or if there's some sort of holiday today."

Luna, after composing herself a bit, supplied an answer. "The explanation is simple: today is Sunday."

Twitch.

Right. Tanya inhaled deeply as she realized what that meant. Medieval society went hand in hand with religion.

Tanya exhaled. "Fine. Is there some sort of ban on hunting monsters on this day, or something stupid like that?"

Luna scoffed. "Of course not. The Eris Cult is vehemently against the undead and Demons, so they endorse monster hunting, for the most part. The Eris Cult is the nationally endorsed religion, so many people go and listen to sermons and pray on this day, to… ensure… success…?" Luna trailed off, looking at the increasingly twitchy eyelids and hair of Tanya.

Cult?

Eris Cult?

Nationally endorsed Eris Cult?

Tanya gave Luna a wide grin, vainly attempting to hide the anger she radiated. Luna backed up a step, retreating into the area only the receptionists could be in.

The money she'd been using and hounding after was named after a supposed god. The reason her notice wasn't getting attention was due to a religion.

"I had thought you more sensible, but are you part of the infamous Axis Cult that possess a burning hatred of the Eris Cult?" Luna muttered.

A rather nasty scowl overtook her face. The Type 95 began to shine through her clothing, and Tanya attempted to reign in her mana, if not her anger.

At least they called themselves a cult, instead of trying to hide it behind pretty words. There were two of them, and if they were called cults, there were likely more. Damnable. Religions.

Smoothing over her features, Tanya tried to cut off the interaction so she could find somewhere to curse Being X.

"Thank you for your help, Luna, I'd like to take this quest, please! And don't ever suggest I'd belong to something like that!" she said, slamming down the piece of paper onto the countertop. A dent was left, and Tanya was thankful that cracks hadn't developed in the marble counter.

Hesitantly, Luna took the quest, before gulping. Tanya tried to calm down, but if she told her that she couldn't go on the quest…

Luna chuckled nervously. "Well, I don't think I can let you go on this quest, but I do have an idea."

Tanya said nothing, waiting. If she really did have a better idea, she would listen.

Seeing that she didn't have to call for help, Luna continued. "While I can't let you take on something dangerous like Lizard Runners or One-Hit-Kill Bears, I do have something suited to your rumored talents."

Anger receding, Tanya responded. "I'm listening."

-OxOxO-

Damn it, Damn it, Damn it!

Luna had told her this would be easy, if she knew Detonation magic. Tanya did, in a sense – her Artillery Shot spell was probably similar to this Detonation they kept talking about, and maybe her Explosive Vaporization was like the 'Blast' spell Lynn had mentioned during their quest? – and had readily signed up to help the quarry with some controlled explosives.

Unfortunately, a Fire Drake had been nesting on one of the rocks. She'd thought they'd be easy to beat, and that they were just overgrown lizards.

How'd they be able to resist an explosion?

'Very easily' was the answer to that question.

One Explosive Vaporization later, and Tanya was staring the angry beast in the face after its sky-high flight. Her attack might have done damage, but the spell had failed to kill it.

Tanya had been forced to throw herself into the quarry as it tried to bite down on her. She didn't have the room to pretend to run around and use her Flight spells, so sliding down a hill was her best option.

That had lead to a chase around the place. She'd tossed the occasional spell at it, but it seemed to shrug off almost every one. It had to be tiring by now, right?

She hoped so. Something had been hurt on her way down the hill. It wasn't fatal, but it was a pain to stand.

She peered around the corner she'd hidden behind, only to come face to face with a large, reptilian snout. A shouted "Active Barrier" saved her from immolation.

Sweat burst into being everywhere on her body. Her shield, while saving her, was now acting as a very fancy pressure cooker. The flames must have been magical as well, because they were eating through her shield fast. If she didn't act soon, she'd be cooked alive.

Seeing no other option, she drew the Seitengewehr and began to walk forward, increasing the mana in her Active Barrier and weighing the pros and cons of using the Type 95.

The Fire Drake cut off its flame, and if Tanya had been asked to classify what it looked like, she would have sworn that it looked mildly surprised she wasn't burnt to a crisp.

Without the force of its flames to hold her back, Tanya flew forward, nearly tripping. She dropped her shield and plunged her blade into the thing's scaly neck.

Mana-enhanced steel slipped in between scales, and Tanya leapt away, ready for more.

The lizard, it seemed, was not, and it sank to the ground as blood gushed from its neck.

Sighing in relief, Tanya looked up the hill she'd slid down. "Anything else?" she asked, panting.

A rather hurried conversation had followed, where the manager had apologized for not realizing the thing was there. Fully grown Fire Drakes, naturally resistant against anything that involved heat and fire, could withstand a Detonation or two, apparently, and it should have been attacked by a full team. Tanya thanked the man, and continued blasting rock with the little wisps of mana she had left.

His explanation revealed one thing: she needed to get a party. She'd never be allowed to fight things stronger than this is she didn't have a full team, and if she ever were allowed to fight things like that, she'd wind up dead.

She could also use the Type 95, but that would probably lead to her…

She frowned. She wouldn't be declared a religious lunatic, no, but she might start a cult of her own if she was left under the control of the Type 95 for too long.

-OxOxO-

Tanya slowly made her way back to the Guild.

She'd finished her job of using 'Detonation' to help with the quarry. She'd used the spell a few more times before the foreman had cleared her to go. The aching pain in her abdomen had grown during that time.

She had definitely cracked a rib falling down that hill. Maybe even broken it.

But that didn't matter. She didn't have the income to wait in bed for a few months for it to heal, and she had never learned any spells that helped with healing from the expensive and constantly in-demand Medical Mages that made the Empire their home.

She'd have to try and bandage the wound, and she would have to hope it didn't become infected or that it had punctured a lung.

Arriving at the guild at last, Tanya staggered in. She trudged over to the counter, and placed her card on the counter. "Luna. I finished the quest."

Luna cast a quick glance at Tanya, before doing a double take. Tanya grimaced. Did she really look that bad?

Luna took the card and inserted it into the card reader, glancing worriedly at Tanya all the while. For her part, she just tried to suppress the pain.

Soon enough, the machine made a ding, and Luna handed the card back, along with a bag of coins. "Are you okay? You took down a Fire Drake all on your own."

Tanya flashed her a quick smile. "Yeah, I just think I broke a rib. I'll try to set it, but this'll be a hassle," she lamented.

"Do you want to be healed?"

Tanya's eyes widened. They had healing magic?

She voiced her question, and Luna, shaking her head at Tanya's apparent lack of knowledge, said, "Well… yes, of course. I'll call for some aid, so please, just rest in the tavern."

Tanya nodded, and made her way to the eatery. Soon enough, a waitress approached and Tanya placed her order. Fried frog was pretty good, and having something good in her would probably make the healing process bearable.

Other than the frog, her meal consisted of as much food as she could afford to buy. Mages expended a lot of energy using magic, and Tanya wasn't an exception, especially after that fight.

She might have wanted to save money on food, but dying because she didn't eat properly would be unimaginably humiliating.

Actually, wait. Dying to those Horned Rabbits would be truly humiliating.

"How'd that happen?" asked someone. Tanya glanced their way. She didn't remember his name - did it start with a J? – but he had treated her to a meal once and explained why harvesting food was even a job.

She began to explain quickly. The one who'd told her that food often tried to defend itself gasped, and began to shout to the entire guild. "You beat a Fire Drake on your own?"

Adventurers began to congregate around her. There weren't many, seeing as it was, according to Luna, Sunday, but ten of them seemed to have decided that listening to this was better than waiting for their meals.

Aware that she wasn't getting away, she began to tell them about the adventure. The specifics of what magic she'd used was left out, but they were impressed nonetheless. Talking and eating might upset her rib, but increasing her repute among the adventures would go a long way to getting her teammates.

"Clear the way!" came a shout over the din of conversation. The adventurers moved, and Luna approached, followed by…

A priest. Or, rather, a Priest. Someone who dedicated their lives to some ethereal creature they couldn't see.

Tanya's eye twitched.

It made sense, no doubt. Priests were associated with their gods, and what better way to scam people than to heal them and then ask for some exorbitant fee?

The table and Tanya groaned as she pushed against it, but she was standing all the same. The priest held up her hands in front of her body, motioning for her to stop. "You don't need to stand, miss! Please, sit back down, and I'll have that on the way to recovery in no time."

Tanya glared at her, and the woman backed away. "I think I feel better now," she said stiffly, attempting to stand up straight.

Neither of them, nor the adventurers around her, looked particularly convinced. "Now, now. There's no need to be shy. Just sit back down, please."

Tanya remained standing, for a moment, before she sat back down. "How much will this cost? I won't have it done if it's too much."

Luna and the Priest looked at each other, before the latter began to speak nervously. "Well, we usually ask for around thirty thousand from the adventurer if the injury isn't life threatening…" she trailed off, backing away with the rest of the crowd at Tanya's glare.

It was cheaper than she expected and also more than she would have liked. And that caveat of 'from the adventurer' meant she was also taking money from the guild. Still, this was bypassing weeks and months of recovery, so she didn't have much choice. Tanya passed the bag of money she'd just earned to the woman.

"Take exactly thirty thousand, and not an Eris more," she said stiffly. Luna nodded, and the priest began to chant.

Tanya grit her teeth and let out a hiss of breath between clenched teeth. The magic didn't feel like anything that Being X, the two relics she had, or Aqua had done to her. It was revitalizing in the way a long night of sleep was.

Still, she didn't like it.

Soon enough, the pain faded, and Tanya breathed deeply. Broken ribs were always annoying.

Tanya supplied the woman a stiff "Thank you," and then began to make her way out of the Guild. She needed to get to the Blacksmith's and do some work. She'd been planning to spend that money on a new scepter.

She'd just have to work harder, then.

-OxOxO-

Tanya breathed a sigh of relief as she stared at her Adventurer's Card.

Her Strength stat had risen, and she hadn't gained a level.

Of course, the Fire Drake had given her a boost. She was close to leveling up.

That her Strength stat had increased, solely through working, using the Smith skill, and fighting meant that she wasn't limited to leveling up to increase her stats. Exercising could also increase her stats, even if it was just by a few points.

She glanced at her Skill Points. She had nine of them.

Shrugging her shoulders, Tanya studied her older skills as she walked back to the stables that served as her home. She had nine points, and nothing to spend them on.

Of course, she could just pour all of them into Smith or One-Handed Swordsmanship, if she really wanted to upgrade something. She needed more skill in both, if she was going to survive until she could make a gun.

Scrolling through her skills, dozens passed her eyes. Her various Flight spells could have their maximum height increased. Not important in a world where flight seemed to be a fantasy to most people, instead of just restricted to those who knew how to in her last one.

Her Artillery Shot spell could have its maximum power increased. She didn't think she'd run into anything that could withstand that spell very well, but she'd keep it in mind.

The Fire Drake had withstood an Explosive Vaporization, after all. Something might be able to take an Artillery Shot, like the Bloody Valkyrie had been able to.

Her Active Barrier spell could have its defense increased. She could enchant blades to be even stronger, or to have a fantastic effect. She could make her Napalm spells even more destructive or longer lasting. All were intriguing, but none seemed right.

Then one seized her interest. Her Reinforcement spells…

There were more of them.

The one's she had now increased their target's pain tolerance, Strength, and Dexterity. An increase in all three was needed in order to withstand the forces that mages underwent every time they fought.

The 203rd and some of the enemies she had fought against could react to bullets, with their help. Not guess that they were coming, but react to the signals that they received from Observation spells or even their own senses, if enough mana was used.

But it said on her card that, in addition to being able to increase their efficiency, other stats could be boosted by giving up mana.

She could increase any of her stats, besides Magic-Power. She could increase her Agility, Intelligence, or even Luck.

Tanya grinned.

She looked at the one that increased her Agility. It cost…

Eight Skill Points.

She looked back up at the Skill Points she had. She'd be down to one if she got it, but she'd be able to increase her speed directly, instead of just pouring mana into her Flight spells.

She sighed, and poked the skill, and then touched the profile of her head. She felt her knowledge of the Reinforcement spells changing.

She blinked. Of course, it had been so simple. How hadn't anyone else in the Empire yet realized this?

It was quite odd to realize how to better utilize something she had believed she had once mastered, but she didn't dislike the feeling. In a way, she imagined this was what Schugel must have been like before he'd been infected by Being X's simpering tones.

She took a deep breath, and she began to pour the mana she'd recovered since leaving the Blacksmith's shop into the spell. "Reinforcement spell: Agility."

She began to walk. In ten seconds, she crossed the entire stretch from the store she'd just passed to the Guild. She turned, and ran in the other direction, reaching that same store in only two seconds.

She cut off the mana, and chuckled. By using her Flight spells, she had been able to outpace planes in her last life, and with this, she'd be able to outrun the cars from her last life too.

With how many Skill Points had been in her Flight spells when she got here, she could fly faster than she could run. Doing this cost much less mana, which made it well worth it in a world where she would be battling most enemies on the ground, until she got a proper Computation Jewel and just flew above all of her problems.

Pleased with herself, she turned back to the guild, only to trip on a flagstone and smash into the road.

…Yeah, she'd run out of mana.

She waited for someone to help her, or for her mana to return. It seemed as though she still had a lot of growing to do, and the one skill point she had left wouldn't help much.

More than ever, she really needed a team.

-OxOxO-

Aqua whimpered.

In Heaven, it had been a few days since her mistake. Reincarnation and the general processing of souls had been halted since then, as the windbag and the other bigwigs decided how to react to The Atheist getting another relic and chance at life.

But that didn't matter that much to her.

Gods and Goddesses, both weak and strong, had come in spades. They'd gloated, taunted, raged, cried, and nearly everything in between, asking why she'd done that when it wasn't even her fault.

It wasn't her fault entirely, anyway.

That overblown windbag shouldn't have locked up The Atheist's files. The system shouldn't have gone through while there were two relics in possession of the Reincarnate. She had a dozen other excuses, but all of them boiled down to 'Why are you blaming poor Aqua when there are plenty of other things to blame?'

Even angels had shown up to mock her and declare that they should be elevated to her position. Only one of them had even been remotely polite about the whole affair.

Now all of them were here, every single God and Goddess and Deity, in the largest expanse in Heaven, to discuss the Resurrection Project. Now that a major incident had occurred, they needed to make sure that everything would be fine for the foreseeable future by pooling their power.

The windbag said he'd keep their ideas in mind, but truthfully, no one really expected him to listen to them.

He'd simply nodded his head at each of their proposals. The project should be shut down because of the possibility for mistakes caused by cocky teens and resistive braggarts. The contracts should be more complete. They should rescind the wish portion from the contract all together, and just tell whoever they reincarnated that they should be happy to have a second life.

Eventually, after nodding his head absently at each of the millions of proposals, he stood. His outer demeanor was calm, but the roiling clouds from which this part of Heaven was composed told a different story.

"Everyone. I have heard your proposals, and I think there is one topic missing from what has been suggested: What to do about The Atheist."

Whether it was a witty pun to hide it, or full blown, entire body shaking, discomfort was shown at the introduction of this particular topic. No one said a thing, however.

In their entire history, almost no one had simply thought they weren't Gods. They'd been called false Gods, true Gods, pretenders, or visions of the Devil.

No matter what they were called, nearly everyone they contacted directly thought that they were, in some form, Gods or divine beings of some sort.

From the small pool of people who still doubted them after their revelations, none lived long enough to regret their choices.

All but one.

They were all wary of someone who could survive everything they could throw at them, apart from actual combat with a Deity.

Still, no one suggested that they had a good idea about The Atheist. Doing so could imply that they thought they knew how to best her, and suggesting that you could do something even the head honcho hadn't yet done was a very fast way to get you punished. Severely.

"Luckily," the being at the head of the table said, "I have a solution."

He pulled out a copy of the contract that bound most of the souls of the Reincarnates, and pointed a page. "The contract now states that The Atheist, in addition to the Demon King, is a target. We've provided a full description of her, and the added incentive of her relics to aid them on their quest to destroy the Demon King," he declared.

Everyone clapped.

That meant they wouldn't have to deal with the hassle of keeping track of the relics after their owner died and that the Demon King would be defeated all the sooner, since someone having multiple relics obviously made them more powerful.

Aqua shivered, looking up and down the table at those who looked rather indifferent to the whole affair.

While The Atheist might have been creepy or disconcerting in her ability to resist their power, the Demon King was a threat. He had convinced a number of them, the Gods and Goddesses, to abstain from his fight against Heaven, or to even rebel and support him.

Wolbach, having left and been sealed long ago, was the most conspicuous absence. Others were missing. Gods that weren't widely worshiped, or who disagreed with the head honcho's newest policies that had been sparked by The Atheist.

With that last declaration, the meeting was dismissed, and everyone either disappeared or walked to the transportation circles place throughout the room.

Aqua sighed as she was moved. She'd do better, this time. She knew it.

She soon arrived in the waiting room. Eris quickly walked over to her, waving a piece of paper in her face. "Er, Aqua, He changed the rules on what constitutes as 'young' in order to drive up the number of people reincarnated, and he's shifted your scope outside of Japan," she said, trying to hand the paper to her.

Aqua growled as she talked. Perfect Eris. She'd never done anything to annoy anyone, and she didn't even try to interact with anyone beyond work. She just did her job, getting endless praise from everyone for being lucky.

Except for her. Aqua hadn't once thought the girl was more than what she was: an overblown, breast-padding brown-nosing workaholic.

"Oh please. If that's all he changed, then it doesn't mean all that much. I'll get some different types of humans is all. Just open up the gates already," she commanded.

Eris began to rise up to the ceiling, muttering about the windbag needing her. Aqua just shook her head as she walked forward to greet someone new. Someone who wasn't The Atheist.

--OxOxO--