I'm a boy now?
Percher was abruptly startled. She immediately cupped her hands over her chest to check. It's over, they're flat! Does that mean I've really become a boy... Wait, no! I've always been flat!
Not yet ten years old, Percher hadn't even begun to develop. Her figure was already similar to a boy's. As for the more obvious features below the waist, her knowledge was limited to agriculture, so she naturally didn't think to check.
Just then, a tinkling laugh made her realize she had been tricked.
"Lamia, you!" Percher glared at her.
"Sorry, sorry, Pest-chan is just too cute, I couldn't resist playing a little joke," Lamia apologized with a grin. "What I was trying to say is, your Gastrea virus implantation was a success. You are now a certified cat-eared girl."
"Cat-eared girl?" Percher was taken aback.
Before she could react, she suddenly felt something on top of her head. With a slight twitch, she reached up and found a pair of real cat ears.
"Have I become a monster?" A jolt of fear ran through her. Just as she was about to panic, the cat ears on her head suddenly vanished with a swoosh.
"Not a monster!" Lamia shook her head. "You're a Gastrea virus carrier, or rather, a Life Factor holder."
"Don't worry. Although it's called a virus, after modification, it's essentially a product of genetic engineering. By removing the side effect of the Gastrea Life Factor easily going berserk, the former 'Cursed Children' have now become the 'Blessed Children'."
"I don't really understand..." Percher shook her head.
"Simply put, you can call upon the Life Factors of all other living beings without any side effects. You're still human, just with a few superpowers!" Lamia gave a brief explanation.
"Superpowers... like becoming a cat-eared girl?" Percher asked with a blank expression. She didn't mind becoming a non-human species; she was just curious about her new abilities.
"No, of course not. It's not just that." Lamia shook her head seriously, then, under Percher's expectant gaze, said enthusiastically, "You can also become a dog-eared girl, a shark girl, a horse girl... There are many cute styles to choose from!"
"I'll pass." Percher's expression immediately cooled as she came to a conclusion. So it's a useless power.
But it was fine. As long as it cured the Black Death, it was a good thing. No extra surprises were necessary.
"Pest-chan, you're no fun at all..." Lamia guessed her thoughts and grumbled a little, but made no move to correct her.
"I have no obligation to be fun for you," Percher retorted instinctively.
"Oh? Then who are you planning to show your cute side to? A mere rookie maid trying to sleep her way to the top?" Lamia drawled, deliberately teasing her.
"You!" Percher's face flushed red. Even she could guess what "sleeping her way to the top" meant.
Before the two could continue their "friendly exchange," Su Mo suddenly interrupted their conversation. "I don't want to interrupt your friendly bonding, but as we discussed, now is the time to clear up Percher's doubts. You can cultivate your relationship later."
Hearing this, Percher instinctively retorted, "I'm not having a friendly exchange with her!" This girl is bullying me, and the master is turning a blind eye. So biased!
"Yes, Master! I will properly train this child later!" Unlike Percher, Lamia obediently accepted Su Mo's command.
Percher saw this submissive posture as malicious sycophancy, which made her glare at Lamia again. But no matter what, the master's words must be obeyed, especially since her master was very likely the legendary God himself.
Percher was also very curious about what had happened, so she quickly composed herself.
Seeing Percher's curious expression, Su Mo began to speak. "First, let me explain the reason for the Black Death's birth, and its purpose..."
With no intention of hiding anything, Su Mo told the story behind the Black Death that was sweeping across Europe in a way that Percher could understand.
After listening to his background explanation, Percher finally realized just how terrifying this unknown epidemic was.
Not only did it spread for hundreds of years, but it also killed a staggering eighty million people, wiping out a third of Europe's population.
Even the Bible, outside of the Day of Judgment, had no record of anything so terrible. It was as horrific as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse cleansing the earth.
As she listened further, her eyes gradually widened. "You mean to say, this terrible plague was intentionally caused by gods and buddhas?"
"Yes. Although their reason for doing so was for the future of humanity, they were indeed the creators of the disaster." Su Mo nodded, not intending to make excuses for Canary and the others.
However, Percher's reaction was much smaller than expected. "I see..." She nodded in understanding. "So this is God's will? Is the Day of Judgment at hand?"
Seeing her calm reaction, Lamia was taken aback for a moment, then remembered that for Christians, the idea of God wanting to destroy humanity from time to time was quite normal.
Whether it was the various abstract acts of God in the Old Testament or the final war mentioned in the New Testament's apocalypse, the teachings of Christianity were never about bringing peace to the world, but about bringing a sword to the earth.
Therefore, anyone familiar with the Bible would probably not be too surprised by a disaster caused by God.
"Although I don't intend to solve the problem using the Christian worldview, you can understand it that way if you like." Su Mo thought for a moment and nodded. Even if things didn't develop according to the Christian worldview, they would develop according to the will of Su Mo, the god, which wasn't too different.
"According to your original destiny, you would have been guided by the Demon King Alliance to walk the path of revenge. But now that I have destroyed the Demon King Alliance, that path has been closed to you."
"So that's what you meant by my choices..." Percher realized. Why the Black Death appeared, what Su Mo meant by her choices... Of course, there was one last, most important question that had yet to be answered.
With this in mind, Percher looked at Su Mo. "Master, I have one last question for you."
"Speak."
"Why did you choose me?" Percher summoned her courage and asked with utmost seriousness.
She could understand everything else, but this one point bothered her deeply. So many souls had died from the Black Death, why did Su Mo choose her specifically?
Now that she knew Su Mo's identity, certain that the man before her was the God worshipped by all, she couldn't understand why she had been chosen.
"I don't have the noble faith of a saint, nor the steadfast will of other holy figures. Why would you bestow such great grace upon me? Why would you even be willing to change the world for me?"
When Su Mo had explained earlier, he mentioned that he had fulfilled two of Percher's wishes simultaneously. One was to take Percher with him to a new world; the other was to turn back time for Percher's village, resurrect the dead, and erase everyone's memories, returning everything to its original state.
From then on, no matter how rampant the Black Death was in the outside world, it would not threaten the land Percher had once tread upon.
For a little girl like Percher, such a gift was a tremendous grace from the Lord. According to the myths, even the Son of God and the saints of old had not received such favor. The Son of God had to bear the sins of the entire world and took three days to resurrect.
Yet, she was saved by Su Mo before she died, and simply because of her personal wish, other deceased people were granted treatment on the level of the Son of God.
Percher didn't think she had a particularly strong reverence for God, but this series of favors from Su Mo truly overwhelmed her.
So, more than the background story of the Black Death, she was more concerned with why it had been her.
Faced with this question...
"..." Su Mo was at a loss for words for a moment. It wasn't that there was some reason he couldn't say, but simply that he didn't think there needed to be a special reason. Changing the world, is that such a big deal?
It was only because of Percher's personal request, and the fact that changing the fate of a single world was meaningless, that Su Mo had only turned Percher's village into a paradise.
Otherwise, even deleting the concept of the Black Death from the entire universe would have been a simple matter for him.
Furthermore, the Black Death wasn't necessarily an incurable disease. This plague, known as the bubonic plague, had also spread to the East, but it had been suppressed without causing much of a stir due to the systematic countermeasures in place at the time.
With these thoughts in mind, Su Mo, not really making anything up, asked back, "Why do you think it is?"
"Me..." Hearing Su Mo turn the question back on her, Percher clas-ped her hands over her chest, a nervous expression on her face. After a moment of hesitation, she stammered, "I do have a guess, but it might offend you, Master. May I ask for your forgiveness for my disrespect?"
It seemed she really did have an idea of her own.
"Let's hear it." Su Mo's eyes showed a flicker of interest. Lamia also looked at Percher curiously. They were both eager to hear her answer.
Under their gazes, Percher took a deep breath and re-organized the information in her head.
"I think... I think it's because..." After a few seconds of hesitation, Percher closed her eyes and shouted as if she had thrown all caution to the wind, "Master, I think it's because I'm your daughter... In other words, you are my biological father! That's why you've shown me such favor!"
After shouting her conjecture, her face flushed red, and she closed her eyes, awaiting Su Mo's judgment.
"..."
The scene fell silent.
Lamia and Su Mo exchanged a glance. For a rare moment, she saw a look of astonishment in her master's eyes. It had to be said, Percher's train of thought was truly unique, to the point that even Su Mo hadn't anticipated it.
"The master's... daughter?" Lamia was silent for a few seconds, then asked in a confused tone, "Pest-chan, may I ask why you think that?"
"There are many reasons, aren't there?" Percher finally opened her eyes and looked at their expressions uncertainly. Seeing nothing conclusive, she began to explain, "The miracle of resurrection, treatment more honorable than that of the Son of God... Other than being an illegitimate daughter, I can't think of any other reason."
At this time, Joan of Arc had not yet appeared, so the only story Percher knew was that of King Arthur. Arthur was also an illegitimate son raised by others, and after pulling out the sword of kingship...
Considering that God could have an illegitimate son, it seemed quite normal for him to have an illegitimate daughter like herself. Otherwise, why would he be so good to her?
"That man's ugly behavior before... Wasn't that a fate specially arranged by you, Master, to make me realize that he is not my father, but that you are?" The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
A biological father, in order to find his long-lost daughter, wants to win back her heart by exposing the ugly side of her adoptive father.
Then he has his daughter inherit his legacy, accept her destiny as a goddess, and fight for him.
The logic was smooth. Although it had a bit of a "kill the father, take the daughter" robber's logic, in the Christian worldview, that kind of flavor was just right.
"..."
Watching Percher get progressively more excited, Su Mo and Lamia exchanged another glance. They never expected this child to have such a rich imagination.