Astral Pet Store

“A pet shop??”

Of course, she didn’t recognize such a strange name since there were way too many shops selling all sorts of things for her to remember. And she surely wasn’t expecting someone to hire her like this.

I’m a god! He thinks I’m some kind of common helping hand he could use? Even the biggest trading companies in this whole realm would do my bidding without question. Now a human wants me to work for him??

She frowned and carefully used her divine power to check whether the scroll was rigged with any traps. She fully expected Su Ping to do such a thing after the recent attempt.

But… It was just a scroll no matter how she looked. Maybe the material was a little bit strange, yet there was nothing harmful about it.

“Are you done yet?” Su Ping urged, impatient. “Just hurry up and sign it if you want to go to the Archean Divinity for real. I need to leave soon.”

“… Are you sure this will help me go there at all? What’s this employment stuff got to do with the Archean Divinity?”

Su Ping spat, “I need that so I can teleport you away from this realm, slowpoke.” “And how do I know you’ll fulfill your promise if I follow you?”

“Mistrust, I see. And I totally understand.” Su Ping spread his hands. “That’s the only chance you’ll get from me. Nothing more. I will be expelled from this world very soon. You won’t find me again. I probably won’t come here a second time. Heck, there are many interesting worlds out there waiting for me to check them out. And even if I somehow return, I won’t be looking for you. Now, make your choice.”

The woman gazed at him for a moment and didn’t see any signs of lying. Her perception did help her detect his shady attempt earlier. At the moment she could see he was being honest.

“Archean Divinity…”

She couldn’t make up her mind.

Many gods, including the strongest rulers, had always been dreaming of going there someday. By doing so, they might talk to the gods over there and persuade them into accepting the Demigod Burial once again, after having been abandoned for millennia. But she wouldn’t believe that a human knew how to enter the Archean Divinity. Even though this employment offer seemed real, it didn’t seem to be enough to get them anywhere near that locked-up realm. “Come on,” Su Ping urged again, “I only have like an hour left.”

“Just, give me some time.”

Su Ping took it easy by sitting at the edge of her bed. “Make it quick.”

The woman looked displeased to see that a human had tainted her sheets. But she managed to hold back her outburst since there were more important matters at hand.

“How do I sign this thing?”

“Easy. Write your name on it. Be sure to use your blood.”

The woman closed her eyes and performed another thorough scan. This time, she felt a faint trace of exceptional power contained inside the scroll.

This is… a creation governed by the rules of absoluteness?

This told her that the contract had been made and ensured by the absolute rules that watched over all worlds. There would be no turning back once she agreed to the clauses. She had to read them with care.

All things said, it didn’t take her much time because there weren’t too many words written. Duties and restrictions… Payment and welfare… Ohh, there’s a lot of interesting stuff I can get. And a free chance to go on a vacation inside a realm of my choosing. I can earn it by becoming an ‘outstanding employee’…

Since it was impossible to disobey anything written in the agreement, it could be said that every part inside the ‘payment and compensation’ section had to be true.

But deep down in her mind, she still had doubts regarding Su Ping’s morality.

Half an hour soon elapsed; Su Ping felt his patience was being put to the test. “For god’s sake-I mean, no offense. Are you coming with me or not?”

The woman showed him a somewhat determined look. “Fine. I’ll sign it.”

“Do it then!”

Without asking more questions, the woman nibbed a finger and left her name on the scroll that slowly started to glow-Joanna.

Su Ping glanced at the finished agreement and asked the system, “Is this okay now?”

“Please wait for a moment, host. She is presently attempting to dodge the restrictions by transferring her consciousness elsewhere. Locating her source in three, two, one…”

At the same time, Joanna suddenly yelped in horror and held her head. “What have you done, human??”

“Just making sure you don’t try any dirty tricks. So, what I’m looking at is not the real you, right? Tell me already, what’s your job among all gods?”

Joanna appeared somewhat mad when Su Ping revealed her plan. “None of your business!”

“If you haven’t figured it out already, you’re my employee now. And if you want to earn the extra bonus, you gotta listen to my orders. I won’t regard someone who always causes trouble as ‘outstanding,’ you know?” Su Ping tried scaring her with a small bluff.

Rather, it was partially the truth since she indeed needed to work harder to earn her keep.

Joanna clenched her teeth. Her final attempt to shirk her “duties” just ended up as a failure when a terrible force somehow followed her escaping soul and locked up her true self. She had no way to escape from it.

The overwhelming knowledge regarding a “pet shop” entered her mind uninvited, which both confirmed that the shop was real, and told her that she had indeed become a hired worker.

It was… not so bad, because she could see that her promised rewards were real as well. The same irresistible force had already reassured her of her future gains as long as she delivered enough effort, including how it was possible to pay a visit to the Archean Divinity later. The unknown force even showed her a brief image of the Archean Divinity realm, which looked the same as how she remembered when the two realms were still together.

“System, you just found where her true self was hiding? Is she going to use that true body to work in the shop then?” Su Ping wanted to make sure.

“…According to the agreement, she is free to use her current avatar to attend to her job. Although it would be advisable to try winning her trust, so she might feel comfortable enough to come as her real self.”

“Well, that’s a bummer. But I guess it makes no difference as long as she helps. What does that ‘true body’ look like? How strong is she?”

“She is akin to a Superior God that rules over this piece of world.”

“Woah, for real?” Su Ping was surprised to hear that. “That must be why she knows the secret arts used by all gods.”

“Alert. The connection with Demigod Burial will terminate in ten seconds. Nine, eight…”

Su Ping quickly turned to Joanna. “All right, time to go back to the shop. Try to behave, okay?”

Joanna still looked pissed off because something had exposed her vulnerable source, even though there was much to earn from her new job.