The God's Messenger and the Underground Empire

Another day had passed, and Nestor’s settlement efforts continued as before.

The homes for everyone hadn’t been finished yet. The materials—grass, wood, stone—were everywhere, but the quantities needed were just slightly too much, and they ran out fast.

“Nestor-san, I found this while looking for timber.”

“Not a fruit? And fresh too. Did you pick it straight from the tree?”

“Yes, there were a few trees with fruit growing on them over there.”

“Leave that tree. If we eat these fruits, let’s scatter the seeds nearby.”

Still, Nestor and the men moved with remarkable patience.

Their pace was even slower than the initial town of ‘Akito.’

No rush. No worries about progress. Everyone was just… taking it easy.

Then there was Olga, in her maid’s outfit, bustling around frantically.

“Be careful, slave girl. Don’t hurt yourself.”

“Adorable, isn’t it? That outfit suits you so well.”

That cuteness of hers just seems to be making everyone’s chill vibe worse.

……Bored.

Followed her this far, first day was fine, but I’m already bored.

“…Maybe I’ll take a walk.”

I drift away from where everyone’s bustling about.

Wander aimlessly.

Part of me’s secretly hoping a monster shows up.

Monster hunting could be a nice way to pass the time right now.

Walk.

Walk.

Keep scanning around as I walk.

I circled that area—where the town’s supposed to be—for nearly half an hour, and not a single monster appeared.

“…Of all times, this is when they don’t show up? What’s the deal with that?”

A little deflated.

No monsters at all.

Did I kill too many?

Maybe it was a mistake to wipe out every one of Nestor’s slow-life supporting crew just for being nearby.

Maybe word’s gotten out by now—“danger zone” vibe spreading through the monster ranks.

Even so, this is a bit much.

"Menu open."

Pulling out a rare card, I used Encounter Up.

Then wandered again.

Walked and walked… staggered aimlessly.

"Encounter Up."

Kept walking.

Drifting without direction.

"…Encounter Up."

Feeling like crying now. Just show up, ghost or monster, anything—just appear.

Walking while layering magic... and Eluka showed up!

Eluka saw me and jumped.

Did a clumsy spin, tried to run.

"Sorry, but no way out."

I grinned, caught up to Eluka, and knocked her down with my bare hands.

"Phew."

Just one, but it was a decent distraction.

Pulled out the white hair that had appeared, stuffed it in my pocket.

"Man, even with magic and stacking it all? This is still the level I’m stuck at?"

How much are they scared of me, I guess I’m getting what I deserve.

No choice—back to Nestor’s lot.

Guess I’ll just go ahead and adore Olga now.

Taking the Eternal Slave’s assistant from Nestor and crew is the setup, but they’re the ones wanting a slow life too, so it’s win-win, right?

Thinking that, I set off on the return path.

Suddenly, my whole body gets a floating sensation—everything above me rushes upward.

I’m falling downward!

“Huh!”

It’s sudden, but I stay calm, adjust my balance midair, and land just fine.

“What the hell is going on?”

I take a look around.

Looks like I’ve fallen into a hole covered in dry grass and ivy.

About two meters wide—doesn’t look like it was made yesterday or today.

Years… no, more like decades. Something like that.

A hole that’s been here forever—just happened to step right into it.

Well, it’s the wilds, what can you do?

"Better to go back—yeah?"

I started climbing up the wall, but noticed the hole had widened horizontally.

Not just a straight drop like a well—this one stretched sideways, like a tunnel.

"Ooooh."

A laugh escaped me—heard myself chuckling, even.

After all that boredom, this? No idea what’s ahead, but damn, it’s a change.

Right now, I’d welcome any kind of change.

"Monsters or snakes. Either’d be fine."

Muttering that, I stepped into the side passage.

The ceiling was low—had to crouch to get through.

Bent low, I inched forward.

Then, again, the ground gave way beneath me.

"Too easy!"

Second time, I reacted faster. Had enough time in midair to spin once, just for fun.

Then landed—

"KYAAAAA!"

"Wha—?"

A woman’s scream came from below.

No time to react—smack!—collided with a force that knocked the breath out of me.

“Ow, ow, ow... huh. Hey, you okay?!”

I scrambled up in a hurry.

The young woman I’d landed on was unconscious.

Not just unconscious—blood was pouring from her head.

I pulled out my emergency salve and forced it into her mouth.

The bleeding stopped right away. Good.

But then... I was thrown off by her appearance.

I’d never seen anything like her before. To put it bluntly, she looked nothing like a human.

Her upper body was a flawless woman—perfect, even. But her lower half? A snake.

☆

“My name is Akito.”

“Rirya… I’m called Rirya.”

The snake-woman, realizing what she was, stepped back sharply, eyes wide with suspicion.

No—more like fear. She wasn’t just wary. She was terrified.

She kept her distance, staring at me with wide, trembling eyes—like a small, cornered animal.

"Why're you so scared?"

"Because... I'm human."

"Huh?"

"Humans capture us and do terrible things..."

"Mm."

So that's how it is. In this world, that's just how it's always been?

Like how humans oppressed creatures like Rirya, with serpentine lower bodies?

Makes sense, in a way.

"Relax. I won't do anything like that."

"But..."

"I'm not like the humans Rirya knows."

"Wha—?"

Rirya's eyes widen. To calm her, I show proof.

I pull out DORECA and open the menu.

I glance between the creation list and Rirya, pause, then produce a magic circle.

I place a strand of Eluka's fur—just taken down a moment ago—into it, and weave it into a ribbon.

"Eh?"

Rirya stares, stunned. I step closer and tie the ribbon around her tail.

A plain snake tail, now with a red bow tied in a butterfly knot.

"Yeah, looks good on you."

"How'd you do that?"

"My special ability—kinda like magic. Stuff like this? Humans can't do that."

Rirya nodded vigorously.

Her eyes, just moments ago wide with fear, suddenly sparkled.

"Can you really do something like this... Could you be a goddess?"

"No... Ah, but I am a messenger of the Goddess, I suppose."

She'd never thought of it that way before, but being told by the Goddess herself that she'd reborn the world... well, that made her a messenger, in a way.

Rirya's eyes lit up even more.

"Amazing!"

The gesture meant to ease her tension had backfired in the best possible way—far beyond what she'd expected.

With her guard down, Rirya spilled her story.

Apparently, people like her—half-beast in appearance—lived underground.

Long ago, something had happened. They'd been chased by humans and driven deep beneath the earth.

“Guess I was surprised humans hadn’t come underground in a hundred years… but if you’re the Goddess’s messenger, that makes sense.”

A hundred years without contact with humans… then why the hell did I end up here?

…Ah, right. Encounter Up.

Probably because of that stacked thing—kept falling into holes, and then I met Rirya.

“Ah, um… messenger-sama…”

“Hm?”

“Can you… make other things too?”

She asks timidly, eyes lit with quiet hope.

“Anything that isn’t alive, I can make.”

A little stretch of the truth—but not by much.

“S-so… like… houses? Buildings?”

I declare before she even finishes the sentence.

I’ll build you a whole underground empire.

That’s my specialty, after all.

And Rirya’s eyes sparkle even brighter.