'Wait, I'm Supposed to Become a Goddess?! But I'm a Guy!'

“Urghh?”

Mize recoiled instinctively, nose wrinkling at the sight swarming through the portal.

She didn’t even try to mask the disgust curling up in her throat.

“What the hell are these things… gross.”

A particularly large goblin caught her eye, lumbering awkwardly in the middle of the horde.

Its body shape and smug expression reminded her of a terrible manga she regretted reading years ago.

“Maybe I should just nuke them,” she muttered under her breath, half-joking, half not.

But before the thought could really take root, she turned slightly, catching a glimpse of Liam’s sharply defined jawline from the side.

The flicker of cold focus in his gaze, the way his expression didn’t even twitch, yeah, that was enough.

“Maybe not,” she exhaled with a sigh and mentally crumpled the idea like a candy wrapper, tossing it aside.

She didn’t want another lecture. Especially not over something as catastrophic as a nuke.

And truth be told, she still wasn’t sure what side effects her “nukes” had.

For all she knew, they were part energy weapon, part ecological disaster.

Maybe even a biological weapon, if her theory about system energy corrupting land held true.

Clearing her head, Mize narrowed her eyes at the swirling portal.

The cozy little ‘getting to know you’ session with the invaders was officially over.

And then, just like that, the grotesque creatures burst through, charging straight toward the territory dome like some invisible tracking signal had called them here.

It was like they had a built-in GPS, screaming: Kill this place first.

“Urrgh… Disgusting.”

She muttered again, more to herself than anyone else.

She couldn’t blame her reaction.

Seeing a horde of mutated monsters barge into her beautiful, orderly territory was enough to sour anyone’s mood.

She doubted most lords would’ve made it this far anyway.

Their progress was way behind. Maybe a few could manage?

Mize wasn’t sure.

So, she did what she always did when unsure, she pulled up the territory panel and skimmed for answers.

[Path of the Lord]

[Status]: Partner Lord System – Sir Liam, Lady Mize Adhart

[Tier]: 6

[Lord's Attribute]: Summonings, Goddess.

[Territory]: 400km in diameter [Currently 40km in use]

[Population]: 14,278

[Lord’s Buildings]:

Altar of Darkness, Altar of Beauty Divinity, Storage House, Outer wall, Basic town, Serpentine Barrack [Purple], Trading Market, Taverns, Mills, Blacksmith, Restaurants, Basic Houses

[Resource Buildings]:

Copper Mines [-] × 23

Metal Mines [Tier 3] × 10

Silver Mines [Tier 3] × 7

Gold Mines – Tier 3 (Coins) [Tier 2] × 2

Gold Mines – Tier 4 (Coins) [Tier 5] × 1

[Regional Chat]

[Global Chat]

[Rankings]

[Territory Ranking]

[Power Ranking]

[Event Ranking] – [Monster Horde] [Ongoing]

[Trading Hub]

She casually flicked her gaze down the list, taking it all in without rush.

“Not bad,” she said, faintly smiling to herself. “A lot’s changed since last time.”

Her attention lingered on the population number.

“Elias definitely undershot the growth prediction.”

The thought amused her. Things were going smoothly, too smoothly, really.

With this many people, her plan for a fully automated points farming system was finally beginning to take shape.

Klein, her little protagonist investment, was already starting to yield returns.

The future looked bright. And prettier.

‘Ahhh… sometimes, I really am too talented for this world.’

‘It’s practically cheating.’

[Host, the overpride is practically bleeding through your nose right now.]

‘It’s called self-awareness.’

[Noted.]

Then her eyes drifted a bit lower… right to the size column.

The 'girth' of the territory.

Seriously?

She blinked, then smacked the stray thought away from her mind with a quick shake of her head.

Nope. Not going there.

Refocusing, she moved her hand in a graceful swipe and tapped on the event column.

The screen adjusted with a quiet pulse, revealing the current event rankings.

She recognized a few of the names immediately. Others were unfamiliar, but their placements stood out. A little too much.

[Event Rankings] – Kill the Beasts!

1st – Lord Liam | Wave: 54

2nd – Lord Azrael | Wave: 54

3rd – Lord Xaiya | Wave: 52

4th – Lord Estes | Wave: 45

5th – Lord Ilyas | Wave: 45

6th – Lord Rykar | Wave: 31

7th – Lord Frieny | Wave: 29

8th – Lord Shiran | Wave: 29

9th – Lord Halbatorth | Wave: 29

10th – Lord Vexil | Wave: 29

“Huh. Someone’s actually caught up to us?” she raised a brow, intrigued.

“And number three’s not far off either…”

Her voice trailed off as curiosity crept in. Had she underestimated some of these lords?

Possibly.

She lifted a finger again, summoning another screen.

‘System, quick question. Are there any other protagonists or villains among the top 100 lords in the Power Rankings?’

She figured she might as well check while the data was fresh.

With a flick of her wrist, the Power Rankings loaded next.

[Global Power Rankings]

1st – Lord Liam | Power: 9,823,000

2nd – Lord Azrael | Power: 3,019,000

3rd – Lord Vortan | Power: 2,582,340

4th – Lord Xaiya | Power: 1,305,000

5th – Lord Selvar | Power: 1,270,580

6th – Lord Rykar | Power: 1,064,100

7th – Lord Farel | Power: 1,059,300

8th – Lord Shiran | Power: 952,440

9th – Lord Grenn | Power: 849,890

10th – Lord Vexil | Power: 740,650

The moment her eyes landed on the numbers, her jaw loosened slightly.

“Ohhh…”

The sound slipped out before she could stop it.

Who could blame her?

Liam’s power level wasn’t just high. It practically dwarfed the rest. Just the gap between him and the second place lord was absurd.

But then again… she remembered how many troops he had and how much he was not showing off.

In that context, the number made a bit too much sense. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

He was holding back. Hard.

And this was only a week into the warp.

Then came the system’s reply in her ear, soft and direct.

[Replying to the host: Yes. Within the top 100 lords, there are several who share the same system classification as Lord Liam]

[However…]

[Most of them have significantly lower potential compared to your current target.]

[Only a few may be able to stand on equal footing with your current husband.]

“Hah?”

She leaned back, fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, a grin slowly playing at her lips.

‘So there are a few who could go toe-to-toe with Liam?’

[Yes, host.]

‘And hypothetically, if my presence could mutate Liam’s system… then could I do the same to those other potentials?’

[Correct. Though not advised. Direct interference with other targets using the host’s main body carries high risk.]

[Currently, the villain’s favorability toward the host has far surpassed what typical ‘true love’ thresholds usually measure.]

‘I mean… yeah. Liam is an evil tsundere king who acts all cold but tries way too hard to impress me.’

She smirked, folding her arms behind her head.

‘Still, if he ever finds out I’ve been flirting with other men for points…’

[There will be no escape. At minimum, you will be permanently confined to the villain’s personal chambers.]

[The predictions suggest he would dote on you daily, love you, worship you… but also, well… use you, consistently, as both comfort and possession.]

“Ah.”

The sound slipped out again, this time more exasperated than anything.

From the corner of his eye, Liam glanced her way, but said nothing.

He didn’t even flinch.

Mize quickly turned her head the other direction, pretending like everything was perfectly normal.

Absolutely nothing suspicious here.

Afterward, Mize scrolled through the rankings a few more times, mostly out of boredom, but also to marvel at how utterly ridiculous most of the usernames were.

Though, honestly… was she in any position to judge?

Mize Adhart.

Really now.

Sure thing, Mize Adhart.

Oh wait… right.

Snap.

A sharp click broke through her thoughts.

Liam’s fingers hovered just inches from her face, snapping in front of her glazed-over eyes.

She flinched with a jolt, arms flailing as she fumbled to sit up straighter in the seat.

Her gaze darted up, Liam was standing close, expression unreadable but clearly amused.

"Ah," she let out softly.

"I called you several times," Liam said, lightly ruffling her hair with a fond smirk. "What were you thinking about, dear busy princess?"

He leaned a little closer. “I’m heading out to do some inspections along the wall. Want to come with me?”

Mize blinked, gathering the frayed edges of her focus. Her lips parted, hesitated, then closed again. A beat passed before she replied.

"Umm, I want to stay here for now."

"Okay?"

"Mhmm," she nodded.

Liam watched her for a moment, then let out a quiet sigh.

Of course, he wasn’t about to force her into anything she wasn’t feeling up for.

He gave her one last look, issued a few parting instructions, not to run around too much, not to stir up any trouble, and then, just like that, he vanished from the room, dissipating like a wisp of mist.

Where exactly he’d gone, who knew.

Mize certainly didn’t believe it was just a wall inspection.

Not that she planned on prying into it, either.

She had her own plans today.

Liam’s army could handle the current wave of attacks for now, and unless something went catastrophically wrong, she wasn’t planning on stepping in.

Still, just to be safe.

Hovering above the chair, her form shimmered.

A soft hum pulsed through the air as her body split in two.

The second Mize nodded slightly, then vanished with a muted flicker, teleporting toward the outer wall while morphing into the unassuming form of an old man.

As for the real her, she stayed behind in the castle, lying low for now.

"Ah, right. Harapan had something to tell me too, didn’t he?" she muttered, recalling the faint connection from earlier this morning, he had tried reaching her through their link.

With another lazy stretch of her fingers, she created a second clone, cloaked it in a dark hood and draped a veil over its face.

That one would handle Harapan’s business.

"Judging by his tone, it sounded like good news, huh?" she mused to herself, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

And with a faint swish, she blinked away, reappearing inside the familiar bedroom she’d shared with Liam for the past two nights.

It was still a bit bare for her tastes.

So, under her casual but deliberate guidance, the place began to change.

She added a fish tank in the far corner, the water filling with smooth motions as several gleaming goldfish flicked their tails beneath the glass.

A plush, oversized round couch took shape nearby, perfectly made for sprawling across lazily.

Then a wardrobe appeared, tall, elegant, and she filled it effortlessly, conjuring up outfit after outfit and hanging them neatly on rows of conjured hangers.

Once finished, she flopped onto the bed, arms stretched out in every direction as she landed with a satisfied sigh.

For the first time, she truly understood the meaning of letting the money work for you.

Except in her case? Let the clones work for you.

Her mind wandered briefly, oh right, the underground dungeon.

"I should expand that thing a bit more," she muttered into the mattress.

More true lord monsters scattered across each sector. New monster species added to the second layer. A bit of extra lore here and there, woven deep into the structure.

After all, it wouldn’t do for people to sniff out that the whole thing was a façade.

Especially not the ocean surrounding the vast, thousand-kilometer-wide underground dungeon.

She let out a short laugh.

Maybe expanding the size of the dungeon more?

The icy clone she’d used to fool Klein and the old man?

Yeah, that beauty had lied.

The ocean was a complete fake, an illusion, crafted hastily because Mize didn’t have the time to create a real one.

But now?

She glanced upward, eyes gleaming with lazy determination.

Now, it was time to make that underground dungeon world real.