Morrigan puffed out her cheeks, like a little girl who had been wronged. Her foot, clad in a combat boot, lightly stomped on the ground.
"Allowed… Of course, it's allowed. Who made me your subordinate God now?"
She even put on an act, covering her eyes with her sleeve and fake-sobbing.
"Alas… I can't help myself. Whatever you ask me to do, I can't resist~"
That coquettish tone, coupled with her identity as a Goddess of War, created a wonderful contrast of cuteness.
Seeing Rhode continuously looking at her with an expression of "How long can you keep this act up?", Morrigan finally couldn't maintain it. She made a face at him, stuck out her little tongue, then huffily turned and ran out, angrily waving her whip to supervise those guys forging farm tools.
Izanami gracefully walked over, refilling Rhode's tea.
"She just has a childish temper occasionally, but she's actually kind-hearted."
Rhode shook his head, smiling helplessly, and picked up his teacup.
"I know. I'm not that harsh on my own people. Besides, it's tiring to constantly maintain a high and mighty demeanor."
Lavellna, the Goddess who was originally most afraid of Rhode, also understood his temperament after a brief period of interaction with him and was no longer so reserved.
"Speaking of which, forging farm tools, while a good option, probably won't generate enough revenue to sustain the city's operations in the short term."
"So I prepared this."
Rhode placed an exquisite, silver, lighter-like device on the table with a soft "click."
Lavellna curiously picked it up; it was cool to the touch and had an extraordinary texture.
"What is this?"
"A device to activate 'Grace' in place of the Gods. As long as your divine blood is stored in it beforehand, users can update their ability values and even level up at any time without the presence of a God."
This was a finished product he had crafted using the Shadow Monarch's power, similar in principle to how he remotely updated Grace through the System. The most crucial part was the Shadow Power acting as a medium.
As for the outer shell and such, the people in the City of Sinners could certainly make them.
And the Shadow Power could be provided through the Loli Apophises who would remain here to assist in managing the city at that time.
And space-time would not affect the transmission of Shadow Power.
Quite miraculous, isn't it, Shadow Power?
Rhode slightly curled the corners of his mouth.
"Do you think… this thing will sell?"
Lavellna's eyes sparkled, and she cried out excitedly.
"It's not just marketable, it's incredibly marketable! This thing will definitely sell for a huge amount of money!"
Hella, on the other hand, rested her chin on her hand, analyzing seriously.
"This item is most suitable for factions with an extremely large number of Familia members, such as kingdoms."
"Besides that, Orario's adventurers probably also want a device that can update their ability values in real-time, as this will make them safer in the Dungeon."
She looked up, her clear black-and-white eyes filled with approval.
"As expected of you, to come up with such a unique product."
Being praised so directly by the goddesses, Rhode felt a subtle emotion within him.
Could he say that the initial intention for designing this thing was simply that he didn't like the original setting where Grace had to be personally engraved by the chief god, and each time the Familia member had to expose their back…
"Cough, cough… That's right!"
Rhode stood up and stretched, leaning against the window.
Below, the bustling reconstruction scene came into view, and a sense of inexplicable satisfaction arose within him.
"I designed this item with a three-year obsolescence cycle. The first generation can replace activated Grace and update ability values at any time; the second generation adds an autonomous upgrade function; and the third generation can replace the chief god in locking abilities."
"As for pricing and marketing activities, I'll have Pride stay behind to discuss them with you."
Enwei is not suitable to remain in this timeline, but Pride, whose origin is entirely from another world, doesn't have this problem.
Moreover, she has already extracted the experience of Thomas's management guild, so assisting in managing a city is not a difficult task for her.
Lavellna subconsciously asked.
"What about after the third generation?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Lavellna immediately realized she had asked a stupid question.
If, after the third generation, the entire city still couldn't be self-sufficient without relying on this product, then they would be too useless.
And by then, Rhode would probably have already arrived in this world; even if the City of Sinners really had some problems, he would be able to solve them.
That's right, after signing the contract, Rhode also didn't hide the fact that he had traveled from ten years in the future.
Hella also got up from her chair and came to Rhode's side, looking out with him at the city being rebuilt on the ruins.
Although it was a mess everywhere, it was full of vitality.
The air was filled with the smell of earth and sweat, but it was much sweeter than the stench of blood and despair that permeated the past.
The original Prison City was divided into four layers; in fact, the first and second layers were the lowest-level enslaved prison areas and torture chambers.
The third underground layer was a street where criminals ran rampant, called Black Chaos Street.
Only those considered useful or interesting by the gods or great sinners could relocate and live there; Hell's Paradise was used to describe the utterly lawless area where people fled barefoot.
Here, snatching, violating, and killing were all allowed; conversely, being snatched, violated, or killed could not be complained about.
This was deliberately created to construct the "Dystopia" desired by the gods of the Underworld.
And the fourth layer, even more outrageous than Black Chaos Street, imprisoned the most vicious criminals.
But now, all evil and past were purified by the dragon's flames, the ideals of the gods of the Underworld became slag, and ironically, the seeds of "Utopia" were born on this land.
And the human who destroyed the gods' ideals and accomplished all this only took seven days.
She looked at the young man beside her in a daze, his high-spirited reflection mirrored in her pupils.
A subtle hint of reluctance appeared on her beautiful and stern face.
Unlike the gods of the outside world, the evil gods of the City of Sinners, strictly speaking, mostly did not have true Familia members, so they had not experienced the familial affection that outside gods felt.
And they, who were already ostracized by other gods, felt as if they had found their home after forming a contract with Rhode.
Regardless of their feelings, their destinies were closely intertwined with Rhode.
"Are you... going back soon?"
"After all, many people are waiting for me there," Rhode said with a relaxed tone, "and ten years is nothing for a god, right?"
However, the experience of this day, for me, for us, these ostracized gods, might be more meaningful than many years in the past.
Hella didn't say these words out loud; she just showed a relieved smile and looked at the door not far away.
"...What about that child?"
-
In seven days, the girl gradually understood this world from Liu Lu's words.
In this cruel City of Sinners, violence reigned supreme.
Even Rhode, who rescued her, relied on even greater violence.
And that was precisely what her despairingly small self lacked.
The weak are a burden; in order not to become a drag on the strong (Rhode), the girl sought ways to become stronger.
So, in order not to reach the end, in order to survive, what could she rely on?
As she asked herself this, the girl noticed the busy and efficient Loli Apophis, and finally came to the conclusion—"thought."
The expansion and efficiency of her thoughts made the girl quickly mature.
The raw material of thought, plus experience, can cultivate one's own thinking; the girl naturally came to this conclusion.
Everything was a reverse calculation of the instinct to avoid the end, death, plus the desire to live forever with Rhode, and the girl gained "intellect."
Literacy and reading skills were quickly acquired, and even the improvement in numerical calculation ability exceeded Liu Lu's expectations, making the Fairy Girl wonder about her own intelligence in astonishment.
But this was far from enough; she sought "knowledge" from Liu Lu, which even a small person could use to become stronger.
After much troubled thought, Liu Lu did come up with a few abilities.
The rules and tricks of gambling (games), methods for making explosives, linguistic techniques for threatening, intimidating, and probing…
Although none of them were very proper, they were undoubtedly skills that, once mastered, even a Pallum could use to struggle for survival in the lower hell.
The girl seemed to have a great talent in this area, becoming proficient in just three days.
But in the end, the Fairy Girl still advised and warned her.
"Your intellect is remarkable, and you learn skills very quickly, but knowledge alone is not enough."
"...Knowledge alone is not enough?"
"Ah, whether it's a saint or a villain, they are only considered capable after mastering 'wisdom.'"
Liu Lu used Rhode's current planning for the entire City of Sinners as an example, explaining that pure violence cannot bring prosperity.
Thus, the rapidly maturing girl stopped blindly believing in knowledge.
Liu Lu excitedly shared her experience of secretly observing Rhode's conduct with the girl, and she even bravely invited Enwei and Pride to educate the girl.
To her surprise, these two seemingly fierce and violent individuals were very gentle with the girl, generously imparting survival principles.
Remember how to correctly process knowledge, and think about how to do things well.
Be skeptical of all information, compare it with the experience accumulated in your short life, and selectively choose your correct answers.
While knowing your own weakness, rationally use the limited cards you have. Reflect on past failures and find breakthroughs.
And the most important rule of the Rhode family: if you make an enemy, you must eradicate it completely, leaving no hidden dangers!
Then, as the girl continuously absorbed various experiences, she suddenly realized a crucial question.
"Others, and this world, all have names… What about me?"
"What is the name of the 'me' standing here? Who is the 'me' standing here?"
When she asked Liu Lu this.
She showed a troubled expression and said.
"A child's name is usually given by their parents, embodying their blessings and expectations."
The girl didn't know her birth parents, who had died casually.
The source of her name had already left this world.
So, is the abbreviation others define for her her name?
When she was being chased in the parts yard before, the girl heard someone call her 'Tiny.'
But she hated Tiny; that was the name of the weak.
········
Although she was indeed weak, admitting she was weak would give others an opportunity and implicate Rhode, exposing his flaws.
For survival, even if it was just bluffing, the girl had to refuse to be weak.
And the only person who could give her, and whom she most hoped would give her, a name was—Rhode.
So the girl, holding a doll, came to the door and just happened to hear the news that Rhode was leaving.
She was silent for a long time, then gently knocked on the door. After getting permission, she entered, her gaze fixed directly on the figure who had saved her.
"Rhode… are you leaving?"
Rhode walked over, squatted down, and smiled as he ruffled her somewhat dry hair.
"Yes, because the future you is waiting for me to return."
"I don't understand…"
"It's okay, you just need to know that you must work hard to become stronger when I'm not around. After all, ten years from now, I'll still be waiting for you to save me."
"...I will."
Although she was very doubtful in her heart whether her small self could actually do it, facing Rhode's encouraging gaze, the girl still clutched her doll slightly and nodded seriously.
"But before that, I hope Rhode… can give me a name."
This time, Rhode didn't hesitate and immediately said with a smile.
"Laila, your name is Laila."
The girl, no, Laila, tilted her head, happy and puzzled.
"Liu Lu said that names are parents' expectations for their children. What does Laila mean?"
"It means 'sacred' in the Bible." Rhode gazed into her eyes, "For you, who fought desperately and selflessly in this terrible place, it's very fitting, isn't it?"
Named Laila by the young man before her, she was enveloped by a supreme sense of omnipotence at this moment.
.....
Laila learned from Rhode's example and smiled, curving her lips.
"Name" was another weapon she gained after "wisdom."
Laila thought for a moment, then quietly held Rhode's index finger.
"I want to change my hair color… What color do you like, Rhode?"
Laila's original hair was white, but it wasn't the white of fresh snow; it was graying hair like an old person.
After she recently understood this, she grew to dislike it, and most importantly, Rhode was surrounded by cute and beautiful girls… Her appearance was simply like an old man-child.
Rhode narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"Then let it be peach pink."
Laila happily agreed, then lifted her small head and asked the question that had been bothering her.
"Rhode… why did you save me back then?"
There were simply too many people in the City of Sinners who were even more pitiful than her, but only she received Rhode's favoritism.
Rhode thought seriously, then met the girl's gaze.
"For the current me, it's 'love,' but perhaps there's also a bit of repayment for 'justice.'"
Although there might have been a sense of karma when he first traveled through worlds, Laila and Kaguya's sense of justice at that time was undeniable.
"Love… Justice…"
Thought, talent, knowledge, wisdom, name, love.
As if the last piece had been filled in, the girl named Laila finally became complete.
"It's okay if you don't understand now; later, you'll meet companions who are equally lost and a Goddess who will embrace you."
Rhode raised his right hand and quietly cast the Phantom Grimoire on Laila, weaving a memory for her.
"Laila, don't become a bad person, okay?"
At this, Rhode almost couldn't keep a straight face.
This was practically a hellish joke for him, as he considered himself a genuinely evil person.
"Uh, at least… don't be a bad person until you meet me."
Rhode's image in Laila's eyes gradually blurred, and she fell into a deep sleep.
Rhode picked up her frail body and looked at Liu Lu, who was nervously peeking her head through the doorway.
"Take her back."
"Lord Rhode, she, Laila she…"
"She's just been woven into a not-so-pleasant dream. Afterwards, I'll need you to play the role of the villain and train her well."
Liu Lu took the sleeping Laila with a wry smile. As Laila left Rhode's embrace, she frowned slightly and whimpered a few times.
The Fairy Girl hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice.
"Must we do this?"
The Fairy Girl didn't know if she felt bad for Laila or for Rhode.
Rhode gave her an amused look.
At first, this Fairy was terrified of him, her legs trembling whenever she saw him, but now she had grown much bolder, even often stealing glances at him.
"This is also an essential step to make her the Laila I know."
After all, she was a girl born in the depths of hell, who, despite knowing the abyss of human ugliness, refused to do [evil] and found her own belonging.
If her growth trajectory were forcibly altered, who knew what she might become in the future.
Rhode lightly flicked the forehead of the Fairy Girl, who still wanted to say something.
"Alright, take her away. If she wakes up and sees me again, it'll be another hassle."
The Fairy Girl, with a red forehead, left the room with Laila, looking wronged.