I awoke to the sight of a now-familiar wooden ceiling.

  Well, it wasn’t unfamiliar anymore. I had been staring at it for over a week now.

  “Oh my, have you finally woken up, Freed?”

  Mother’s gentle voice greeted me as she noticed my eyes open.

  “You slept longer than usual today. Perhaps playing with your sisters over the past two days tired you out? Mommy wanted to feed you earlier, but you looked so peaceful sleeping. Are you feeling hungry now?”

  She began disrobing, preparing to feed me.

  At this point, I had long accepted this routine. My expression remained neutral as I observed the familiar scene.

  <”Azadia, how long did I sleep?”>

  【10 hours. To be precise, Master did not sleep but fainted.】

  <”Huh..? 10 hours!? Fainted!? W-What happened?”>

  【Master used the Appraisal skill, consuming the only aura available in Master's body. When an individual lacks both aura and mana, they will typically lose consciousness.】

  Ah, I see… I have 0 mana, and my aura is only 1. So even using Appraisal was enough to drain me completely.

  <”Why didn't you stop me?”>

  A slight pause. Then—

  【...I have no excuse. I failed in my duty to prevent the Master from collapsing. I apologize.】

  That’s… the first time it apologized to me.

  No—should I say ‘she’ instead of it?

  Because I remember her voice just before I lost consciousness.

  It was different. It didn’t sound purely mechanical.

  It sounded like… a girl’s voice.

  <“No, it’s not your fault. It was my mistake for not realizing the risk. Besides, I remember hearing your panicked voice right before I blacked out. That means you did try to stop me. So you did well in your duty.”>

  If anything, it was a good thing I learned about this now rather than later. If I had collapsed in a worse situation, things could’ve ended badly.

  【...】

  She didn’t respond.

  …Is she sulking?

  <“So, does using a skill always consume aura?”>

  I changed the topic, hoping to get her talking again.

  【Most active skills consume either aura, mana, or both. Certain rare active skills may instead drain the user’s raw status directly.】

  【Passive skills typically do not require aura or mana. However, exceptions exist. Some passive skills consume aura, mana, or even the user’s raw status over time.】

  Somehow, her tone felt colder than usual.

  …She is sulking, isn’t she?

  <“Um… Are you upset? Your tone sounds a little different.”>

  【It is just Master’s imagination.】

  She denied it immediately.

  Yeah. She’s totally sulking.

  After I finished eating, my mother gently placed me back in bed.

  I closed my eyes and spoke to Azadia again.

  <“Uh… There are a few things I wanted to ask a week ago, but I kept forgetting.”>

  【Understood. What does Master wish to know?】

  <“Alright, first—why do you keep calling me ‘Master’?”>

  【Master is a candidate for Goddess Libertas’ Apostle. Meanwhile, we angels are merely servants of the Goddess.】

  【Currently, Master’s rank is below us. However, upon becoming an Apostle, Master's position will surpass ours.】

  【Therefore, it is logical to address Master as ‘Master’ from the beginning.】

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  <“....Huh? Wait, wait, what!? There’s something that I can’t ignore! What’s this about me being an Apostle candidate!? That’s the first time I heard about it!”>

  【Goddess Libertas chose not to inform Master immediately. She did not wish to give Master false hope.】

  【However, I disagreed with her decision. Based on my calculations of Master’s personality and potential, Master has a very high probability of becoming an Apostle.】

  【Therefore, I determined it was more efficient to inform Master now rather than later.】

  I appreciate Libertas’ intentions, but I also see Azadia’s point. This is important information.

  But… an angel disagreeing with a Goddess? Is that okay...?

  More than that, does she know that Libertas told me my helper would be a companion instead of a servant?

  She seems really determined to call me ‘Master’… So, I don’t think she knows about this?

  Well, it’s not that important. I can push that thought aside for now.

  <“I see. So… what exactly is an Apostle? How do I become one? Do I have to compete with other candidates? And more importantly—can I reject it?”>

  【Apostles are the messengers of the Goddess.】

  【The Goddess is restricted from directly influencing the world unless an emergency occurs—one that requires a vast amount of mana from the world itself.】

  【While angels have fewer restrictions compared to the Goddess, we also cannot frequently manifest in the world.】

  【Therefore, Apostles—who already exist in the world—act as proxies, exerting influence on Her behalf.】

  【To become an Apostle, candidates must achieve significant accomplishments recognized by a large number of people in the world, as well as by the Goddess Herself.】

  【Additionally, they must be stronger than most people in the world—either in position or power.】

  <“Why do they have to be strong? Can’t someone just be kind and become an Apostle?”>

  【A very kind beggar claiming to be an Apostle will not be believed.】

  …Wow. That was blunt.

  <“You’re really sulking, aren’t you?”>

  【There are currently multiple candidates in this world. However, there is no limit to how many Apostles can exist in the same world, so competition is unnecessary.】

  【That being said, they do not even know they are candidates—because no one has told them.】

  She completely ignored my question!

  She is sulking!

  And now, she’s just continuing her explanation as if I never spoke.

  【Master may reject the position. However, there is no inherent disadvantage to becoming an Apostle.】

  【Even Apostles themselves are not required to obey every request from a Goddess.】

  【The primary effect of being an Apostle is that it becomes easier to hear the Goddess’ voice when She grants an oracle.】

  【Additionally, Apostles are considered friends of the Goddess—unlike devotees or saintesses, who often collapse in tears or scream with joy at the mere sight of Her or us, angels.】

  … She gave another unique remark.

  <“I see… Apostles are friends of the Goddess, huh? Is that why they outrank angels?”>

  【Yes.】

  Her reply was short.

  She usually says ‘Correct’ or ‘Affirmative’, but now she just said ‘Yes.’

  <“...You’re definitely still sulking.”>

  【It is just Master’s imagination.】

  She denied it again.

  <“Uh… I’m sorry, okay? What can I do to make you stop sulking?”>

  I don’t know what I did that made her sulking like this, but I still apologize to her.

  【…Erase my panicked voice from Master’s memory.】

  Ah.

  So she really was sulking.

  <“...I didn’t know you had such a cute side.”>

  【Because I am a girl. Also, please remove this conversation from Master’s memory as well.】

  She didn’t even deny it.

  I can imagine her saying this while looking at me like, ‘Why are you stating something so obvious?’

  <“Okay, okay… I’ll forget it.”>

  Of course I lied, there’s no way I can forget a unique moment like this.

  【…Thank you.】

  Seems she’s convinced.

  Her voice is so mechanical like a robot. So, I thought she was just a system-like assistant who self-claimed as an angel.

  But she really does have emotions.

  I want to know more about her… but if I push too hard, she might sulk again.

  Better to save it for later.

  <“By the way, your task is to be my helper, right?”>

  【Correct.】

  Good. Looks like she’s back to normal.

  <”Until when?”>

  【…Until Master dies.】

  <“Huh? But I’m immortal, right? I may die if I killed by others, but there’s a case where I keep alive forever.”>

  【…Then I will remain as Master’s helper forever.】

  <“...And you’re okay with that?”>

  【…Yes. Because it is my punishment.】

  Her voice suddenly softened.

  I had planned to ask more about her later… but I just stepped on a landmine, didn’t I?

  <”Uh.. Sorry? I didn’t know that... Let’s stop this conversation. You don’t need to force yourself to talk about it if you don’t want.”>

  【…Thank you, Master.】

  Another brief pause.

  Then—

  【...However, it would be better if the Master knew. Because… it is related to Master’s life.】

  I stiffened.

  …Her punishment is related to me..?

  I have no choice but to ask,

  <”... What do you mean?”>

  Azadia didn’t respond with words.

  Instead—

  A vision appeared in my mind.

  Not words. Not a status screen.

  A moving image—like a video playing directly inside my head.