Zach and Aria finally reached the throne.
Zach placed Aurora on the throne and looked at her with a smile on his face. She stroked her hair and moved his face closer to kiss her. But he stopped and jumped down from the throne.
"Why didn't you kiss her?" Aria asked with a confused and curious look on her face.
"I thought it wouldn't be a good thing to do…?"
"Don't couples kiss each other even when one of them is sleeping?" Aria wondered. "I am talking about wishing good morning or good night, by the way."
Zach shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Maybe, but I would prefer to kiss her when she wakes up."
Zach looked at nothingness in front of him and uttered, "Can you listen to me?"
[Always, my liege,] Cerberus replied.
"Not you. I am talking about the dragon."
[…]
Cerberus and the dragon lived in Zach's shadow, but they didn't share the same space.
"….?"
[Yes!] the dragon suddenly said.
"Were you sleeping?"
[I am ashamed to admit it. Yes, I was sleeping,] the dragon replied in an apologetic tone.
"Come out," Zach ordered.
The dragon appeared from Zach's shadow and glanced around.
At first, she was shocked and confused. She thought they were in an entirely different place.
[Where did all that lava and the river go?] she asked.
"It's gone." Zach pointed his finger at the throne and said, "I am giving you a task. Watch over Aurora and report everything to me using telepathy. And if she opens her eyes, immediately inform me."
[It would be my pleasure,] the dragon said. [But may I ask something in return?]
"Sure. I will grant your one wish once Aurora is fully healed," Zach stated.
"Also, I have a name for you." Zach looked into the dragon's eyes and said, "From this moment, I hereby name you Milo."
[I will accept any name you would give me. But can I ask why did you name me that?] the dragon asked curiously.
"Aurora once told me about her maids. And the name of her favorite maid was Milo. Since I am assigning you to watch over Aurora, I think it's a suitable name," Zach responded with a distant smile on his face.
[I will gladly accept that name then. Thank you, master.]
Suddenly, a screen popped up in front of Zach that showed Milo's stats.
[Level 1- Milo.]
[HP- 10,000.]
"Hmm~" Zach hummed in wonder after seeing the stats and uttered, "Just like Cerberus. I guess you would also level up depending on what you do."
Zach then turned to Aria and asked, "Say, if I can turn the monsters into leveling up beasts. Does that mean I can turn the NPCs into players?"
Aria's eyes widened as she heard that.
"I am not sure. I don't have knowledge regarding that. Sorry."
"It's fine. We will find out soon enough," Zach uttered with a sigh.
"What do you mean?"
Zach ignored Aria's question and turned to Milo.
"Milo, I am leaving Aurora to you."
[Rest assured master.]
After that, Zach and Aria came out of Aria's domain and glanced around.
The crowd outside the portal was insane. Although most of them were NPCs who had gathered there from not only the capital but the entire first realm.
"What's… going on…?" Zach muttered with a confused look on his face.
"My Lord…" a familiar voice sounded in Zach's ear.
When Zach looked down, he saw the NPC nun kneeling in front of him and looking at him with a resolute expression on her face.
'The nun from…' Zach raised his brow and asked, "What are you doing?"
"You are my lord. And our savior. Please accept our gratitude…" the nun said without raising her head.
"Raise your head."
The nun raised her head and looked up at Zach, but she didn't make eye contact with him.
Zach placed his hand on the nun's cheeks and grabbed her face. Then, he said, "Look me in the eyes."
The nun looked into Zach's eyes with a flushed face and bit her lips to hide her anxiousness.
"What is your name?" Zach asked in a calm voice.
"Ninia…" the nun replied in a low voice.
"Ninia. I want your help."
"I would do anything you ask for. Just ask me and I will do it even if it costs me my life," the nun uttered with utmost sincerity.
"Those big words are wasted on me…"
Zach glanced around to see a huge pile of bodies of the dead demons in the garden. However, there were still many corpses around.
He turned to the male NPC standing near him and asked, "I asked to gather all the bodies like 10 hours ago. And you have only gathered this much?"
"Since the players and NPCs' bodies were in a severely bad state." The NPC pointed this gaze at Aria and continued, "This young lady asked us to bury them first."
"That's good."
Zach pondered for a while and muttered, "At this rate, it will take days to gather all the bodies from the capital alone."
"Cerberus. Come out. I have a job for you," Zach asserted.
Cerberus immediately jumped out from Zach's shadow and bowed its head to Zach.
[I have been waiting for my turn, my liege.]
Zach pointed his gaze around and uttered, "Gather all the dead bodies of demons and monsters at one place."
Cerberus stared at the pile of the dead demons and said, [Can I eat them?]
"No. Don't you even dare think about eating them! I want you to gather all of them!" Zach ordered in a loud voice.
Cerberus whimpered and started doing its work.
SIGH!
Zach sighed and shook his head in disbelief after realizing how laid-back Cerberus was.
Aria nudged Zach and pointed at her at Zach's hands, which were still caressing Ninia's face.
"Oh… right." Zach stared deep into Ninia's eyes with a serious look on his face and uttered, "Ninia, I want you to create a religion based on me."
"…!"
***
Total players in the game- 1,485,006
0 new players logged in.
31 players died.
===
Author's note- Thus starts Zach's journey to 'Rise as a God'!