Chapter 327: Karma (XLV)

Around six weeks later, the grand announcement that the mana football prodigy, “Eric, the God Of Anger,” had died finally spreaded through the whole god realm.

But that same announcement quickly died out as Aestrea had stepped up as the new mana football prodigy.

Just one match… and he had turned into a legend.

And of course, that also increased his popularity within the school, and many people now actively talked with him.

Especially his two buddies, Kael and Tyrian.

Other than that, Aestrea started focusing on training himself with the help of the card he had received from Kael.

And unfortunately, the card had ended just a few years ago, but Aestrea had made quite the progress.

He had strengthened his manipulation over Chaos Energy, increased his proficiency with his divine eyes, and the words of law.

And finally… something he didn’t expect to get…

An ephiphany about his sword art… and maybe, he could actually create an eight move, something that never happened during all of those ninety-nine reincarnations.

Besides that, Aestrea had given Christina an order… and that was to try and collect as many divine crystals as possible.

And Christina… somehow went over what Aestrea thought that she could get.

“There’s a total of six thousand one hundred twenty-nine low-grade divine crystals,” she began calmly, like she was reading a grocery list, “seven hundred ninety-two intermediate-grade divine crystals, and thirty-one high-grade divine crystals. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a perfect-grade one.”

I blinked, and then blinked again.

That… was insane.

“Christina…” I rubbed my forehead, not sure how to even start.

“How the fuck did you get that many divine crystals?!”

Hearing my words, Christina replied with a small, sweet smile.

“In a casino!”

I stared at her, trying to figure out if she was joking or if I was just too tired to understand divine-level stupidity.

“You won them?” I repeated slowly.

“At a casino?”

Christina nodded once, her expression was completely calm… too calm, actually.

Her blonde hair slid over her shoulder as she leaned forward, resting her chin lightly on her hand.

“Mhm. You told me to collect divine crystals. You didn’t say how.”

I sighed, dragging a hand down my face.

“Christina… you mean to tell me, you took the only divine crystal I gave you, went to some godly gambling pit, and just …what—bet it?”

“Not bet,” she corrected with a soft smile.

“Invested.”

“…Invested,” I repeated, deadpan.

“Yes. I simply used what I had to win more. Fair and square.”

I blinked at her, my brain refusing to process the words fair and Christina in the same sentence.

“Explain.”

She let out a little hum, the kind she always made when she was proud of herself.

“Well, there was this small casino owned by one of the lesser gods of Fortune. He thought I was new, so he offered me a ’lucky’ deal.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“And?”

“And I accepted, of course.” Her eyes glimmered faintly, not in a pink or red shade, but that dangerous in-between shade that usually meant someone was about to die.

“After that, I started winning every single game. Dice, cards, mana roulette, even divine draws. They thought I was cheating.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Were you?”

“Of course not. I just… adjusted their luck a little.” Christina smiled wider, her voice soft as silk.

I felt my temple twitch.

“Adjusted…? How?”

She shrugged like it was nothing.

“I may have turned into a Goddess of… Probability.”

I stared at her for a long moment, completely silent. She tilted her head again, as if testing how much she could push before I snapped.

But then… I simply smiled and laughed.

Now this was a lucky surprise.

Christina’s actually the Goddess of Probability?

She’s going to be a lot more useful than I had ever thought.

“Agh… that’s incredible, Christina. You actually cheated in a casino made by a God of Fortune,” I couldn’t help but laugh even more.

“Fair and square,” she repeated innocently, her smile never fading.

“You’re unbelievable.”

Christina’s smile softened, and she looked up at me, her eyes gleaming faintly. “You told me to collect crystals. I did. Efficiently.”

“…Yeah,” I admitted, crossing my arms.

“You did.”

Then I glanced at the pile of divine crystals again. Six thousand low-grades, hundreds of intermediates, dozens of high-grade.

And all of that… from one casino.

“Well… those crystals should be enough for now,” I raised my gaze from the crystal to Christina, who was looking at me with a proud expression.

“Take these,” I told her, pointing at the glowing storage orb.

“Give them to gods who need them.”

I stared into her face to make sure she understood.

“If you know what I mean.”

Seeing my eyes, Christina nodded slighly before taking the glowing storage orb from the table and quickly excusing myself.

My words were quite obviously… I wanted to create a small force under me.

Why?

Because, of course, I want to destroy this piece of shit of an academy.

Hah?

Do they think I’d let them cultivate students to kill me?

They must be dreaming!

“But now…” I muttered, looking at my comfy bed.

The sunlight from the window spilled over the white sheets, and there, half-buried under a pillow, was a single paper.

[Student Council Application]

“I need to infiltrate inside the high circles…”

My lips curled up slighly.

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The next day, I stood before a large white door trimmed in gold.

The plaque above it read: Student Council Office.

I raised my hand to knock, but before I could, the door opened with a soft click.

A girl stood there, and when she saw me, she didn’t look surprised.

She only gave a faint nod, as though she had been waiting.

“…Aestrea, correct?”

I nodded silently.

“Come in,” she said, stepping aside.

I walked inside.

The room was clean, organized, yet almost oppressive.

Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with scrolls and divine texts. In the center stood a circular table with six chairs, five empty, one occupied by her.

She sat down gracefully, folding her hands on the table.

“I’m Themis,” she said softly. “Goddess of Truth. Acting Vice President of the Student Council.”

Her eyes, calm but piercing, locked on mine.

“I’ll be asking you some questions before we decide your acceptance.”

Then she tilted her head slightly.

“I hope you don’t mind if I use my Authority of Truth. It’s standard procedure for screening applicants.”

I nodded slightly.

“Go ahead. I don’t mind.”

Her lips curved faintly.

“Good.” She leaned forward, hands resting lightly on the desk, eyes locking on mine.

“First question: why do you wish to join the Student Council?”

I leaned back, crossing one leg over the other, letting my gaze meet hers steadily. I could feel the faint pull of her divine authority probing at me, sifting through what I presented.

Unfortunately…

Her authority wouldn’t work on someone like me.

So I smiled, calm and convincing, and answered her question with pure, unshakable sincerity.

“I want to join the Student Council,” I said slowly, deliberately, “because I want to make this school a better place. Everyone should have equal chances, and the system should work for those who are capable, not just those born into privilege.”

It was the most basic answer I could give as I was someone who had just ascended, and by now understood how unequal the academy actually was.

Themis’s eyes, sharp and probing, flickered with faint approval. She leaned forward slightly, a spark of excitement in her gaze.

“And what,” she asked sharply, “do you intend to do with this position of power? How would you influence the students, the staff, the very structure of this academy?”

I kept my tone calm and ’righteous’.

“I would enforce fairness wherever I see injustice. I’d ensure that the rules are followed, that those who cheat or abuse their power face consequences. And I’d protect those who are being suppressed, overlooked, or mistreated. That’s what I intend to do with the position.”

Her eyes widened slightly, a small shiver of admiration running through her posture.

“Interesting,” she murmured.

“And if someone tries to manipulate you… to sway your decisions for their own gain?”

I shrugged, letting my gaze meet hers without faltering. “Then I’ll root it out. I wouldn’t let corruption survive. No matter who they are. No matter their status.”

She leaned back for a moment, tapping her fingers lightly on the desk, clearly impressed.

“And… what if you gain this power, but find yourself tempted to abuse it?”

I smiled faintly, a calm but piercing look.

“Then I’ll remember why I wanted it in the first place. Power is meaningless without purpose. I’d rather be hated for doing what is right than loved for doing what is wrong.”

Themis’s eyes softened ever so slightly. There was admiration there now, a spark that hadn’t been present at the start of the interview.

Oh…?

Now this is interesting… does she like this kind of righteous people?

If so, she probably would fall in love with Lucas at first sight.

But then, her next question… actually caught me off guard.

“…Are you the Fallen God?”

And her eyes told me how serious she was about that question.

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