Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

Ursula eventually gathered her composure again and leaned back in her chair, hoping no one cared about her fluctuating emotions. It was a given that the next generation would surpass the old. Besides, Zach was still far off from being more than a brat still wet behind his ears. She picked up her teacup.

"...Can you elaborate?" Rienne asked Soara as soon as she noticed that her grandmother wasn't going to say anything or mention her reaction.

Soara saying that she was a deity of Death didn't tell Rienne much since she could already somewhat feel that Soara was related to that kind of attribute. And a deity? What did it mean to be a deity?

Soara hesitated and tasted the words on her tongue before she said anything to see if there was a restriction on what she was about to say.

"I am…an embodiment, a manifestation of the power of Death. Also Transcendence, but I doubt your spirit is crying about that."

"So…You represent Death?" Rienne hesitantly asked.

"Kind of." Soara shrugged. Mortal words had difficulty expressing the nuance of the divine.

"Would it be like a spirit of death, then?" Rienne asked, drawing a conclusion. Her spirits were representatives of forces of nature, elements, and properties of the world, this and the next. If there were spirits of life, there ought to be spirits of death. Maybe Soara was something like that.

"No." Soara shot down that suggestion at once without room for discussion. She was not a mere spirit.

Rienned glanced at Zach. The feeling she got from Soara was similar to when he had shot down her comparison between summoning and spirit magic.

"Why not?"

Soara sighed.

"Your spirits are, as you said, of a higher plane. They exist within this world but not on the same level of existence as humans. In their plane, their powers are nothing. It is the difference between that place and this that makes them useful and powerful to you. They are born like that. They don't grow stronger. The only way they improve is by becoming intelligent and developing a sense of self, but that can take thousands of years.

"They don't represent or stand for their attributes. They are leaves on a tree like clouds in the sky to ants. Out of reach, unfathomable, and influential when thrown into the anthill. But in the sky where they belong, they're nothing special.

"Me? I don't represent Death. Death is me. Transcendence is me. There is only one me. When people fear Death, embrace it, or shun it, they think of me. When people die, they die because of me. When they die, they represent me."

Soara took two steps forward as she tapped the center of her chest while declaring her position, announcing to Rienne and the world who she was. As she defined herself, some of Soara's presence, the presence of a deity burst out like a gust of wind sweeping through the courtyard.

A mere fraction of her power as a deity, less than a fraction of her original strength.

Rienne slipped out of her chair and was about to fall to her knees before Soara's majesty. But Soara caught her before the hem of her clothes could catch the ground.

She retracted her presence and put Rienne back in her chair. It wouldn't be good for Zach if he ended up on bad terms because she accidentally put the fear of god and death in the Empress Dowager's granddaughter.

"Do me a favor and don't compare me to a spirit, okay?" Soara crouched and patted Rienne on the shoulder with a kind smile.

"N-not a spirit. Got it." Rienne nodded furiously. She couldn't even glance at Ursula. All she could do was look at the ground and try and forget the phantom of a hooded figure of darkness standing behind Soara.

On a superficial level, it looked like an ordinary person whose body was hidden by a coarse robe. But just by looking at it, Rienne became acutely aware of her mortality, the fragility of her life, and the briefness of existence. She became acutely aware of her life and its worth.

Ursula's eyes narrowed as she looked at her granddaughter.

That was why she hadn't interfered.

Life and death were two sides of the same coin. It was a big coin with most of existence on it, but it was a singular coin nonetheless. As a spirit mage with a life spirit, there was a lot Rienne could glean from exposure to such thick power of death, even if it wasn't spirit magic.

"I must take my leave here," Rienne suddenly stood up and said. This was a valuable opportunity. She could sense her life force clearer than ever. She had to grasp it and learn what to do with it.

Ursula nodded, not that she needed to give permission. Rienne had already started walking away at a rapid pace.

Zach awkwardly scratched the back of his hand and bowed his head toward Ursula.

"I am truly sorry for my familiar's actions, Your Majesty."

Soara bowed along with Zach, ashamed to have made a mistake that led to her Master needing to apologize. It wasn't for nothing since announcing her identity to the world had solidified her power slightly, but it was poor timing, and it was a mistake still since she had ended up embarrassing and scaring the color out of the imperial princess' face.

Ursula's narrowed eyes turned to Zach, and she stroked her chin. She, unlike the others, could tell that Rienned had gained from this encounter, far more than she lost.

But there was no need to tell Zach that.

"It is not myself you should be apologizing to, young man. You will have to express your regrets to Rienne personally. Maybe even bring suitable compensation."

"Of course." Zach nodded, relieved Ursula didn't seem to take too much offense to Soara's actions. She probably understood that it had been a mistake and that not all of the blame lay on Soara. Rienned had been the one to compare her to a spirit, after all.

"Do you happen to have any recommendations for gifts? Or what she likes?" Zach asked hopefully.