The castle was finally quiet once again. All of the children had long been put to bed inside a human sized house inside an absolutely immense bedroom, their futures now completely unknown. Inside with them was the high priest Timothy who had been relegated to child care duty for the remainder of the night. The ever-present and bright ambient light now dimmed to what one would expect inside a castle at night.

I lay in my bed up above in my my full goddess size. Of course I didn't sleep in the traditional sense though even rest eluded me now. The screams of those people left to burn to death inside the mansion still haunted me. I vaguely remember what happened but still don't believe what I had done. What was done was done however and I now knew what exactly had happened. Sub-chan had taken over my body. Here in my bed for hours I'd been thinking over what this meant and how i'd address it.

With a great sigh I closed my eyes and went down into the goddess zone. There awaiting me behind the counter was Sub-chan like she always was. Still no expression of emotion came over her face as she looked at me with her wide open eyes. It was if she already knew what I was thinking, which of course she did. She knew what was about to happen when I didn't. How does one truly converse with oneself?

Miya was sleeping over on the big comfy couch as even when a disembodied spirit her mind still needed rest from time to time. This left me alone with my thoughts, in this case being literal. Hopefully the conversation I was about to have wouldn't wake up my high priestess. Thankfully she didn't stir as I walked over to the counter.

Sub-chan sat there silently as I approached and didn't even look up at me until I cleared my throat. She then put her hands down on the counter and stared over at me with those intense yet empty eyes. Her look could be interpreted in all manner of ways but one I felt was along the lines of "lets get this pointlessness over with."

I crossed my arms and frowned at her.

"So. Apparently I burned down an entire mansion with everyone inside except for some kids. Sure most of them were pedos but there were lots of servants as well."

Sub-chan continued staring at me unblinking.

This was starting to make me angry and I huffed through my nose. My voice started to raise in volume.

"You took over my body and killed all those people! I never gave you permission to do that!"

Finally Sub-chan spoke, her tone monotonous and dry.

"You had a mental break."

With a grunt I put my fingers to my temples and closed my eyes in frustration.

"Yes I'm aware of that! When I noticed the kids acting all weird I scanned the mansion and saw what was going on. It was overwhelming and I didn't know what to do. Then the next thing I know I'm walking through the pasture with all the kids and the mansion burning behind me. I vaguely remember gasoline being involved?"

There was no response from Sub-chan and her silence implied she didn't deny any of it. Thus I was remembering things correctly. With this in mind I opened my eyes and put my hands on the desk.

"My whole thing is not killing people! Like what the actual fuck? I can't just go around murder hoboing everyone that commits a crime!" I sighed and tapped my fingers. "Although this was particularly egregious..."

After a brief pause I snapped back to being angry and glared at Sub-Chan across the desk. She continued sitting there allowing me to vent without comment.

"Now what am I supposed to do? Just pretend this whole thing wasn't me? Start killing evil people from now on at will? This is all your fault! You made me kill!"

I thrust my accusing finger into Sub-Chan's face as my anger began to rise in my chest again. She just looked past my finger and into my eyes, her gaze sending a chill down my spine.

"You can't run from the need to kill forever. When you're too weak to dispense your sense of justice I simply did what you needed. You got over it when I did it back with the cult."

This made me drop my finger limply to the table as the shock hit me and settled in. Was it actually Sub-Chan all the way back then? Of course it was it only made sense! She wouldn't have been Sub-Chan back then though, but my subconscious existed all the same. That certainly counted for a mental break. This would count as instinct taking over and doing what had to be done. How stupid of me to completely gloss over this possibility!

Sub-Chan continued staring at me. She had no need to speak as this was something she already knew. She also knew I knew it so verbally confirming it was pointless.

Miya however had been woken up by my shouting. She sat up on the couch and rubbed her eyes, looking over at the two of us with a tired look.

"Jenna? Is everything ok?"

My face blushed red from embarrassment. Look at what a fool I am standing here arguing with myself. With great effort I took a deep breath and let it out as a long sigh. I didn't turn away from my mirror copy in front of me as I replied to Miya.

"Everything's fine Miya. Sorry for waking you up. You should go back to sleep ok?"

Miya let out a yawn and nodded briefly. It was clear she was still half asleep anyway.

"Oh ok. Take care of yourself please."

There's the understatement of the century. It could be interpreted in a myriad of ways. As she laid down again and went back to sleep I watched her out of the corner of my eye. Then once I was confident she was sleeping again I focused back on my other self.

"Fine. You're right." I said putting my hands up in surrender. "I have to be able to kill evil people when the time calls for it. I'll do better to control my anger so it doesn't boil over into rage."

"We will." Sub-Chan replied.

I let out another sigh and put my hands down again. This was more difficult than I thought it'd be. For some reason I hated asking for help, always wanting to be self reliant. It was a personality quirk of mine or just one of my core values. Having to ask myself for help was something I never imagined I'd be doing literally.

"Will you please help me know when taking a life is necessary?" I asked quietly to my double. "I guess its not everyday you can get your gut feelings contacting you directly. I'll try to trust my judgment as long as I'm willing to be critical of it as well. What do you say?"

Sub-Chan nodded, her expression still unchanging.

"Yes."

It was like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. For whatever reason I just felt like I had taken a huge step in the right direction just now. Maybe it was part of this weird talking to myself thing but it really made me feel more comfortable with my own choices to know someone else, even if it was myself, was there for me. Of course Miya was here for me but I can't put the burden of life and death on her.

I smiled weakly as my shoulders relaxed.

"Thank you."

With my internal crisis resolved for now it was time to look towards the future. In the morning I'd have to do something with all those children and I can't just dump them off in Doovlin. It was becoming my default place to drop off lost souls and couldn't continue. What I'll do is take them to Quarely and have him integrate them into his larger population. Then I need to go have a heart to heart with the king.

After finishing my planning for the morning I went to lay down on the couch across from Miya and get some quiet mind time myself.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

------------------------------------------------

The morning came sooner than I had hoped, the time of day being something I only knew about because of my worshipers out in the world. Here in my goddess domain there was no morning or night with no sky, though the time passed as normal. With a fair amount of dread in my heart I got up and shrunk down to my human size. The conversation with the king was something I wasn't looking forward to.

Timothy was turning into someone I could really rely on to help me out even though his anxiety and fears were strong inside his heart. Of course as his goddess I could see all that and hear his thoughts as well, something I think he forgets about constantly. It wasn't an issue of course as I knew more than anyone he was a good person and I've been trying to be nicer to him as of late.

With my high priest's help I was able to corral up all the children, give them a nice breakfast, and get them through a portal to Quarely's castle. I sent Timothy with them to explain the situation to the lord and make sure things went smoothly. Normally I'd do this myself but I thought this would be an excellent growth opportunity for my tiny Timtim. His goddess is never far away anyway.

After having that all sorted out I was free to get on with the big issue of the day: my conversation with the king of this kingdom. This Alphonse Ferenik rubbed me all the wrong ways. He embodied everything wrong with the rich and those in power. There was his overinflated ego, sense of entitlement, greed, cowardice, and all around scummy behavior. He was one of the evil people of this world and would normally be a target for killing.

However in this case the power vacuum from the removal of the ruler would cause a power struggle and probably lots of death due to the ensuing war with lords fighting for control. Not to mention the fact that if I killed the king for his crimes I'd have to execute everyone in government completely and start all over with likely me in charge.

My home nation from before was a democratic republic which I remember working out pretty well. It was brought about through gradual change which is why I needed to get the education of this kingdom up to snuff and get the standard of living higher as well. Then the people of the kingdom will make the changes slowly and sustainably instead of drastically with more chances for it to go horribly wrong.

So for now it was a requirement to play nice with the king. At least I was an actual goddess and had the power to force him to comply if needed though I hope that won't be necessary much. Today will be a conversation with him about our relationship in general and I prayed it went well.

There were plenty of worshipers of mine inside the castle itself from the servants and guards so portaling over was easy enough. Once I arrived it was just a quick walk to where the king was having his breakfast. I decided to be nice and wait for him to finish. What I did was turn invisible and walk into the room and jump up on the nearby cabinet, my plan being to jump scare him as soon as he was done.

It appeared that he was almost done with breakfast anyway and eating with a young man around the age of nineteen who was one of the princes. I didn't know his name but their brief conversation told me that. His name is Turshok and he looked much like his father with white skin and straight black hair, though his eyes were more pink like his mother. I didn't know much about him.

As the servants came in and started clearing away the breakfast the king stood up. He was facing the direction of the cabinet I was sitting on top of so I revealed myself. I was sitting there with my legs hanging over and a wide grin of my face.

"Hello."

Alphonse shouted in surprise, stumbling backwards in a panic and slamming into the table. When his panic subsided he registered me sitting above him and his expression immediately turned to one of anger.

"What the hell are you doing here? How dare you assault me in my own home!"

With my grin still plastered on my face I slid off my perch and floated down to the floor where I landed without making a sound.

"Now now. That's no way to greet your goddess. Shouldn't you be praising me?"

After landing I walked over to the table and stepped up a chair so I could sit on the table facing the king, my feet on the chair below. This left my back towards the prince who was currently going through shock himself. I don't think he's ever seen me up close before.

Turshok stood there stammering and pointing at me. There was a mixture of fear and awe on his face.

"Th-That's the goddess father! The one you've told me about!"

Alphonse still outwardly didn't show his internal terror of me, his anger winning out as usual which made him act in ways one wouldn't expect someone to around a goddess.

"I'm aware boy! She's always dropping in unannounced and unwelcome. What is it this time goddess?"

I let out a deep sigh and leaned forward, propping myself up with my elbows on my knees and hands on my face. For now I ignored the prince behind me.

"I know we spoke briefly at the execution before but I just wanted to clarify a few things with you so we're on the same page."

The king crossed his arms and took a step back, blowing air through his mustache.

"About the deal we made. You giving me your blessing so long as your worshipers are respected. I've already had it passed into law that ones personal religion be respected. That should be enough for you."

I nodded and sat back up, straightening my back and putting my hands on the table for support.

"Yea yea that's very good. Freedom of religion is the start of this whole process. No what I'm here about today is just a heart to heart between the two of us." I looked over my shoulder at the prince. "If you want him here its fine."

Turshok gulped nervously and sidestepped out of my range of vision towards the wall near his father and the windows. Of course he didn't know I could see him with goddess vision still.

"Should I g-get the guards father? W-Would that even mean anything?"

With his arms still crossed across his chest Alphonse shook his head.

"No it won't. You're dismissed boy. I'll manage to deal with her on my own. Staying here will only put you in danger."

With his father's permission the prince bowed.

"Yes father."

He then quickly dismissed himself from the room, clearly wanting to be as far away from me as possible. The servants were also dismissed with a wave of the king's hand and soon we were alone in the room. Not that there was anywhere these people could run to escape me.

Once we were alone I leaned back on the table and sighed.

"So. Here we are all alone."

Alphonse was clearly not in the mood for any of my antics and dropped his arms to his sides. He then leaned back into the cabinet as probably an instinct to have his back covered.

"What is you want oh goddess that you'd invade my home once again?"

"I'm here to discuss our relationship" I said sitting up again. "I don't like you and you don't like me."

He huffed and looked away.

"I'm not your enemy though Mr. King, at least not for now. There are plenty of other evil people for me to worry about including several other surrounding kingdoms which I'll have to deal with eventually. Not that I'm going to invade anyone of course, but I'll defend this kingdom if needed."

He looked back at me and grunted.

"At least you're not completely useless then. I don't like your implication that I'm an evil man."

I squinted at him.

"Oh you are. Just not enough at the moment for me to have to deal with you. Besides you're going to be on your best behavior from now on." I let him look away again as fear rose up inside him again. "I appreciate you helping me so far in implementing laws to better the kingdom and expect you to continue. Like I said when we first met I have no plans to kill you and your family and take over myself. I'm perfectly content letting you still rule this kingdom."

"Rule as your puppet" he snorted in retort. "Not that I have a choice but obey or die."

I closed my eyes and nodded solemnly.

"You're right I suppose. I am a goddess after all. The goddesses of old would've already killed you and taken over themselves from what I've heard."

He gulped nervously and took a couple steps closer to the door. I let him as him escaping wasn't possible if I so chose. I opened my eyes and looked at him before continuing. I also raised my left hand and put my fingers on my cheek.

"Think of us as master and servant. I'm the master and you're my servant, as are all of my worshipers. You may not be one of my worshipers but your duty to the kingdom gives you a duty to me as well. Just as I allow you to speak to me in ways I'd never allow normally because my duty to the kingdom gives me the duty to respect your position as king. Do you understand?"

Alphonse stopped his pathetic and useless attempts and retreat. He stood up tall and adjusted his clothing in an attempt to present as dignified. It seemed my words had emboldened him and made him think he was safer than he truly was.

"I understand. Thank you for making this clear goddess. It seems your not as unreasonable as I originally expected."

My expression was a small smile and narrowed eyes, not an expression of happiness but one of annoyance. I brought my hand down to the table again.

"On the subject of servants I have another issue for you before I leave you to your morning."

A wave of concern washed over the king again as he braced himself for whatever I was about to say.

"And what might that be?"

With a sigh I stood up on the chair in front of me and put my left hand on my hip while my other dangled to my side.

"Its on the matter of human trafficking. Its come to my attention that in the upper classes of society having servants, escorts, and lovers of people sold and bought is more common than I'd like. Including might I add children. This stops immediately. Do what you must to fix this or I will, meting out the ultimate punishment if needed."

Alphonse gulped as beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He nodded and even bowed to me.

"Y-Yes goddess! It shall be done. Please don't worry yourself with this matter any farther."

I nodded with contentment as he humbled himself before me, my other hand coming up to rest on my waist.

"Oh I will until its fixed. But good boy! This kind of cooperation is what I'm looking for! Now I'll excuse myself and leave you to your day. Thanks for having this chat with me."

Now that we were officially on the same page I left the groveling king and opened a portal back to my castle. I stepped through and closed the portal, my body relaxing as I took a deep breath. It was a great relief he was being as cooperative as he was. All I had to do was make a couple veiled threats and he got in line.

I grew back to goddess size and lay down on my bed again. This whole running a kingdom was exhausting, though that was probably because I was taking it seriously where the king was just doing it for the power. Whatever the future held I would have to work together with him and while it was disappointing hopefully I could make enough societal changes that evil diminished across the kingdom.