My New Life As A Kid Goddess: Book 3 - Kingdom Goddess Arc 2

Arc 2: Kingdom Goddess - Chapter 89

Swirling all around the air were snowflakes of various sizes, some as big as a person's fingernail. The day itself was gray and overcast as one expected from deep winter, though thankfully the wind was dying down as the day dragged on. Here in the town of Vemdelen life was thankfully bereft of the political turmoil of the inner kingdom. Situated so far to the north it meant that even the bandits rarely caused widespread issues, with only the occasional animal attack daring to threaten the meager populace.

This was the location in which I was bringing my new "friend," or prisoner, to test out their reaction to the wider world. Barthenor may currently be an undead being of extreme power, but in the inner recesses of his mind he still is fundamentally human. He is similar to me in that regard. I wasn't born as a goddess, well not originally anyway, so my reactions are likely much different than those of a true goddess. Thus the both of us needed to interact with the mortal world in order to keep our perspectives in check.

That was the purpose of this little foray into the kingdom. Though the lich claimed to be trustworthy and changed to be less willing to commit mass murder than his starting days there still needed to be proof to such claims. Taking a field trip thus allowed a chance for me to see him interact with humans while under my supreme supervision. If he stepped out of line I was there to correct him and if he did anything dangerous I could stop him. But without a chance to prove himself like this there could be no progress in our relationship.

Some people asked me why I would even bother trying to rehabilitate Barthenor. Wasn't he beyond saving as an inhuman monster? Well honestly to a certain degree he is, there is no reversing lichdom. However even my detractors agreed that there were great contributions he could make to society, both in intellectual and magical ways. His knowledge on magic and science are unparalleled in this world, something he can use to benefit the public. He also has great magical power which can be used in defense of the innocent as a protector.

Of course this entire path of redemption was not being forced upon the former mage. I had gone over my plans for his introduction into society with him and asked him if its what he wanted. Obviously he would naturally agree with the plan due to his continued imprisonment or even destruction should he refuse, however that clearly wasn't the entire reason. There was an actual want in his spirit to help others on some level, tarnished as it was due to his undeath and previous insanity. Sanity is something one can recover and this path was at the very least worth exploring.

So here the two of us were walking through Vemdelen on a rather chilly winter day. The two of us are immune to the cold, being a goddess and skeleton respectfully, though we had to keep up appearances. I did so by wearing my fluffy winter outfit and cute fuzzy hat, something everyone knew me by despite the fact I could honestly get away with wearing whatever I wanted. Barthenor on the other hand was more complicated.

See having an actual skeleton man walking around as little more than a bag of bones in rags is not conducive to pleasant interactions with the public. Thus I had the lich dress in a suit of armor from head to toe, including a covered helm that hid his face. In addition to this there was plenty of fabric padding to fill out the spaces between metal plates to hide his bony nature. He also was temporarily going under the false name "Jackson" in order to hide his identity.

Jackson's clutched the sword on his right hip in his gauntlet clad hand and followed closely behind me. His armor clanked together as he walked, his plate boots crunching in the snow. All in all he looked like an actual knight, though the lack of foggy breath coming from his helmet was something there was no solution for. It was clear by the way his pin light eyes scanned the street that he was unimpressed with his surroundings.

"So goddess." His magical voice echoed from his helmet. "Are all these humans your worshipers? I'll admit my knowledge on the mechanisms of worship are unknown to me. I simply know that a goddess knows all who worship her."