Having a calico cat god commandeering my expensive gaming chair is truly an experience... beyond words.

  I lie on my bed, staring into Nanao-san’s glowing red eyes in the dark. The chair swivels gently with his movements, his long tail occasionally slapping the armrest with a dry thwack. Outside the window, I know Xiaolang is also lurking somewhere, hiding in the shadows of neighboring buildings on guard duty.

  Even though the room seems peaceful, inside I am a mess that cannot be untangled. I sneak a peek at the Solak app, watching the urgent red notifications continuously ticking up in the Room 1031 group chat.

  A group of Evil Deities somehow escaped Tartarus. The prison break was so shocking it has been the topic of group chats for the past few days.

  Among the names on the red notice list, Gakai stands out, suspected to be hiding right here in World 1031. And the most horrifying news was confirmed just hours ago: Mr. Ogawa, the man we risked our lives to save from that hellish Beta dimension, was murdered in his own home.

  I grip the blanket tight, feeling a cold jolt run down my spine. A person just given a second chance at life, turned into a soulless corpse in the blink of an eye.

  "Nanao-san..." I sit up, voice full of determination. "Let me go with you guys. I don't want to sit idly here while that Gakai guy is loose out there. Security Team is surely short-handed, I can be a Vessel for you guys!"

  Nanao freezes, his triangular cat ears twitching sharply before snapping back to look at me.

  "Sit your ass down, would you?" Nanao waves a hand, claws slightly unsheathed from his paw pads. "Eat full and sleep tight, kid. Itsuki-san ordered us to keep you safe until the situation stabilizes. If anything happens to you, I can't keep this job."

  Nanao sighs, hops off the chair, and saunters toward the balcony, calling out into the air: "Hey, stupid dog! Get in here, let's talk."

  Nanao’s shadow on the floor bubbles, and in the next second, Xiaolang steps out, shaking off the night dust from his ash-gray fur.

  "I don't get what's wrong with Itsuki-san," Nanao whispers to Xiaolang, but I hear every word. "He seems totally off. He called me earlier about Kaito, sounding totally panicked, like he just saw the apocalypse coming."

  Xiaolang shrugs, scratches his ear, and waves his hand dismissively. "Probably just getting grilled by Director Ariel about the budget or reports again. You know him, making a big deal out of nothing."

  "Makes sense," Nanao nods, ears drooping in thought. "Our whole department has been in chaos lately because of the Tartarus incident."

  Listening to the two gods, I feel heavier than ever. In my eyes, Itsuki-sama is always calm, cunning, and seemingly in control of every situation (except when money is involved). If even a veteran god like him loses his cool... what kind of monster is the enemy this time?

  That night, I try to close my eyes but sleep never comes. It feels weird sleeping with a cat god staring at me from a gaming chair.

  Pale blue light from Nanao’s spirit phone casts eerie shadows on the wall. Occasionally he looks up, glowing eyes scanning me in the dark to check for vital signs, then goes back to scrolling the Nexus social network.

  Nanao’s presence brings a creepy feeling, like being watched by a predator, but deep down I feel somewhat safe. Tokyo outside is churning with deadly undercurrents, but at least in this small room, I remain protected by these... not-quite-human colleagues.

  The next morning, I drag my lead-heavy legs to school. The Tokyo sky is gray, leaden clouds drifting as if weighing on my mind. Mr. Ogawa’s image keeps flashing non-stop; not the poor man I carried in hell, but the empty shell that remains. The thought of a human vanishing completely, no trace, no afterlife, chills my spine.

  "Hey kid, looking like you're on your way to a funeral. How are you gonna get a girlfriend with that face?"

  Nanao’s voice rings out right next to me.

  "How do you expect me to be happy after that?" I whisper, trying not to attract my classmates' attention.

  "Alright, alright, let me show you this. Guaranteed to cure the blues."

  Nanao shoves his spirit phone in my face. On the screen is a candid video from the Nexus office. In the clip, Itsuki-sama is... extremely problematic. Instead of walking on two legs, he has all nine white tails fanned out, propping himself up and skittering across the floor at breakneck speed. He looks exactly like a giant furry spider crawling around the office, mouth continuously muttering numbers.

  I almost burst out laughing in the hallway. "What... what is this? Is Itsuki-sama exercising?"

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  My shadow twitches, and Xiaolang pops his head out, grinning as he explains: "Nope. It's because of the budget cuts. The Jade Palace Conglomerate cut Department 1031’s bonus by 20% last quarter, sending Itsuki into a deep 'financial depression'. He started acting weird, rambling about optimization and saving calories by walking with his tails to rest his legs. Looks cute from afar, but terrifying up close!"

  The image of the Diplomatic Relation Team leader turning into a "nine-tailed spider-man" over money soothes my heavy mood a bit. Turns out gods have their... awkward and goofy moments too.

  Deep in conversation with the two gods, I forget a vital high school rule: Don't talk to yourself in class.

  "Hey Kaito," Takechi calls from the next desk, cutting my train of thought. "Who is Ogawa? You've been muttering that name for a while, looking pale as a ghost."

  My heart skips a beat. Crap! I stammer, brain working overtime to find an excuse.

  "Ah... nothing! Just a mysterious murder case I read in the morning paper. That Ogawa guy... um, really tragic, so I'm a bit haunted by it."

  Takechi squints at me suspiciously, scooting his chair away a bit. "You're acting weird. Like you're talking to a ghost. You okay?"

  I wipe sweat from my forehead, laughing awkwardly. At this moment, Nanao leans in, whispering mischievously.

  "Scare him, kid! Say something mystical so he stops suspecting. It's the 'Fog Diplomacy' tactic Itsuki uses to bluff partners."

  I gulp, glancing at Takechi’s curious face. In for a penny, in for a pound. I lower my voice, putting on the most serious and profound face I can muster, eyes staring into the empty space right behind Takechi’s shoulder.

  "Can you see... what I'm seeing, Takechi?"

  Takechi jumps, looking around frantically behind his back then turning to me, face pale. "What nonsense are you saying? Don't scare me!"

  I let out a sigh, eyes fixed on that empty spot, voice cold: "You don't see it? Never mind then. Forget what i said... Some things are better left unseen."

  Saying that, I look down and pretend to read, leaving Takechi sitting there frozen with a pale face. Nanao laughs with delight: "Top tier! 10/10 acting! Look at him, he won't dare pee alone tonight!"

  Contrary to Nanao’s excitement, I feel like I'm burning inside. Guilt washes over me for listening to this cat's terrible advice. Instead of solving the problem, I just made myself look like a psycho to my friends.

  The history teacher’s rhythmic voice sounds like a lullaby composed for the afternoon session, slowly rewinding black and white footage of World War II. Dates and events are read out dryly, causing eyelids across the class to droop.

  However, for me right now, the history lesson has more than one lecturer.

  "Ah, this incident," Xiaolang’s shadow rises from under the desk, chin resting on his hand as he looks at the board, commenting energetically. "The 'Security Disaster of Market 1031'. Back then, a low-level disciple of Ares from Olympus Corp got itchy hands and secretly incited some human leaders. Resulted in total chaos in World 1031."

  Nanao, lounging on the ceiling fan (invisible, of course), lazily flicks his tail: "I think I had just transferred to The Jade Palace Conglomerate for about 20 fiscal years back then. I remember asking Itsuki-san if we should intervene. He said, 'Screw the humans, let them fight until they're bored'."

  The cat god mimics Itsuki's indifferent tone perfectly: "'We only go down to clean up if it smells like total extinction. Otherwise, with this level of fighting, they'll just breed like rabbits afterwards anyway.' And he was right, look at the population now."

  I shudder, gripping my pen tight.

  "Wait..." I whisper. "Nanao-san, you said you worked since before the World War? But the other day you complained you were still young and needed to grind FP to pay off your house mortgage?"

  "Weird question," Nanao lands on my shoulder light as a feather. "My work experience is only 200 years. Xiaolang is greener, only 180 years. Compared to this eternal life, we are young adults. You want to call us geezers?"

  "Big Brother Itsuki has 500 years of experience," Xiaolang adds, grinning. "And he still calls himself a 'Na?ve Little Fox' all the time."

  I gape at the two "bros" using Gen Z slang, chatting about office drama and social media addiction right next to me. Turns out I am surrounded by monsters who have lived through centuries, but possess the souls of... immature brats.

  "So... what about the Prime Deities?" I gulp, asking curiously. "Their experience must be tens of thousands of years? Like from the Stone Age?"

  "Haha! You're funny!" Xiaolang laughs, the sound echoing in my skull. "Tens of thousands? That age only qualifies as a 'Promising Neo Deity' in the Nexus!"

  Nanao squints, his voice turning deep and distant. "Prime Deities... they existed before the Fiscal Calendar was established. Before the concept of 'Conglomerate' was born. About 4.2 or 4.3 billion years ago, I think. The Nexus history is boring."

  "Four... billion... years?" I almost dropping my pen. "Impossible! History books say mythology and religion only appeared tens of thousands, or a few thousand years ago?"

  "That was when they launched their products to the market," Nanao explains, tone dripping with economics. "A few thousand years ago, the Conglomerates decided to expand their brand coverage to this young world. Prime Deities like the Jade Emperor, Zeus, Odin, Ra, or Amaterasu... Their brands and essences have existed for billions of fiscal years. You humans are just the newest customers on their list."

  My mind spins at the absurd numbers dancing before me. My knowledge of mythology needs a complete teardown and rebuild.

  Ting!

  My wandering thoughts on the universe and finance are cut short by a phone notification. I sneak a look under the desk.

  A new message from Kujo-Sensei.

  Even though he isn't a teacher at my school, ever since the rescue in Beta Hell, I shamelessly connected with him on Solak. Initially just asking about aura control, then conveniently asking him to... solve difficult math problems. And so, I just call him Kujo-sensei for convenience.

  [Kujo Reo]: "Kid, done with homework yet? Why are you online?"

  [Kaito]: "I'm in History class. Is there something wrong, Sensei?"

  [Kujo Reo]: "Brace yourself. The Jade Palace Conglomerate is about to organize a major event exclusively for Japan. This is high-level classified info Itsuki-sama just leaked to me."

  [Kujo Reo]: "Itsuki-sama asked me to help you train. After school, remember to come to the Sensitives' Hub in Setagaya."