Pretending to have amnesia was the right call.

The Orcs are happy to repeat everything they told me in small doses, making them a coherent whole.

Now that they no longer assume I know everything, I can puzzle the pieces.

This makes it easier to see the bigger picture and put things into perspective.

Well, it's not like I can see anything, the bandage is still tight over my damaged eyes.

This has the added benefit of not having to look at their faces. Otherwise, I can't deal with the huge crowd of Orcs.

Pretending I'm alone in the room and listening to a friend explaining things is the way to go.

It doesn't last long as they all get noisy, but at least it doesn't feel that silly to ask about 'me'.

"So how did I end up in the Demon Lord's harem?"

They don't rush the answer, beginning almost with Adam and Eve.

"Omega began his Eternal Conquest by challenging chiefs of tribes for their daughters. He built a Harem of influential wives to foster alliances." Charlotte starts her history lesson.

Other Orcs chime in too, and I can't recognize most of their voices.

Whoever this Omega dude is, I already hate him.

[Notice: Omega is the Demon Lord's name. Since he's the only one with this title people don't use his real name often.]

The System finally boots up and fills in the gaps. If it can't answer something, it must be recent knowledge, so it's safe to ask the Orcs about it.

"As his power grew, so did his Harem." The Vice Commander continues.

"And so did his responsibilities, which he shared with his Brides."

So it wasn't enough for the bastard to gather women around himself, he even made them do his job.

"He made a powerful alliance with Nordhaben, a human kingdom to the north."

"The King's first daughter, Lady Ghisella became the First Bride. This caused quite a stir with the older wives."

Hah, I can imagine. I can't fathom who's talking though.

It's a joint effort, and different voices come from every direction.

The Orcs keep cutting into each other's words to tell the story.

Long story short. Omega gained enough strength by allying with the humans to conquer six more kingdoms.

He united them under his banner and created the Empire of Cranta.

His Eternal Conquest started more than a hundred years ago, so the guy was ancient, and so was his 'First Bride'.

I can confirm that part, that bitch looked like she escaped from a cemetery.

That is until she used those black tentacles to suck the life forces of the Twelve Champions away.

If only my world had this technique. All those anti-age gel companies would go bankrupt overnight.

Anyway. Most of the Continent was no man's land, so conquering the largest kingdoms wasn't enough. Omega had his job cut out for him.

Now he gathered wives not for their alliances. But for their usefulness in handling his enemies.

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He planned long-term and often picked girls up after birth.

He was a sick fuck, but not enough to take them as wives right away.

Once a girl became part of the Harem, they became Brides. They had until their eighteenth birthday to prove themselves.

If they did, they got a Banner and some privileges. If not, they became a fucktoy for His Majesty.

As it turns out, he picked up Alexandra for her looks. The Thirteenth Bride still outperformed all expectations.

She was a powerful warrior from the start, but she didn't stop there. She attended the brand-new Cranta Academy and learned magic in record time.

What's crazy is that even this happened over fifty years ago. How old is Alexandra?

She looks eighteen at best, and even counting ten years in stasis, I can't make sense of the number.

And this is where her status of being a deity comes in.

"As you may know, the magic our world has to offer isn't available for everyone." It's easy to recognize Charlotte's voice. And no, I had no idea, but she doesn't have to know.

"It comes down to affinity, that only one in a hundred people has. I know most of the theory, but can't cast magic. Not even the Spirits will listen to my calls."

"I'm the opposite. I have great affinity but could never learn anything but hand-to-hand combat." Hana claims, joining in the discussion.

"Our Shaman, Gitaut had a huge potential, and went to the same Academy as you did."

The Vice Commander takes over again.

"He aimed to be a wizard — or a sorcerer as the humans now call it, — but couldn't finish training."

That was Alexandra's fault. Because, well, when she made the Capitol disappear, the Academy was gone with it. I had the System confirm it because they wouldn't say it outright.

"Without the immense knowledge to cast spells by himself, Gitaut could only ask the Spirits to do it for him." So if you cast your spells, you're a wizard.

If someone else does it for you, you're a Shaman or a Priest. The principle is the same, only the medium changes. You offer your Mana to your preferred supernatural, and they do your bidding.

It still needs a strong aptitude for magic, but you don't have to sit in school for ages.

And this leads us back to Alexandra.

"Gods are born the same as any other people," Charlotte claims.

"The only thing that changed in recent years is how we call the lower tiers."

"When someone starts to learn magic, they become Initiates."

"If they are humans and their derivatives, like elves, dwarves, and Beastfolk," Hana adds.

"Right. If they were other species, like Orcs, Ogres, Goblins, and more, the humans call them Acolytes." Charlotte corrects herself.

This was a recent split. The new designations were less than a decade old. The System didn't hear about them, but it doesn't apply to deities, and that's what Alex became.