Becoming an Accidental God in a New World

The duchess entered the shop and her body shuddered as she entered the barrier. Somehow, the barrier had gotten even stronger than before, and her body tingled as she felt the barrier scanning her for potential dangers.

Once she was inside, she quickly looked around for the kids she had handed over to the shopkeeper.

The twins seemed to be just fine, and they were working at the shop. It was keeping them distracted and not allowing them to feel lonely.

'What an ingenious idea. I knew it was a good idea to hand these kids over to the shopkeeper. He's taking such good care of them.'

The duchess nodded as she looked at the expression on these kids' faces. They looked relaxed, and it made her feel better about her decision.

She followed them both and got settled in a room she had never been in before. She was not even aware this back office existed, but it was a good place for privacy.

Before the shopkeeper arrived, she wanted to talk to the kids and make sure they were truly fine.

"You both remember me, right? I am the Duchess Isabella Lilly. I am the one who helped you along with the shopkeeper to get out of the temple. I am also legally responsible for you both. So, would you mind it if I ask you a few questions?"

The duchess asked the kids, and they exchanged a look with each other before Nyx spoke up.

"We are… fine…"

She sounded hesitant, like she did not know what she was supposed to say to the duchess. And the duchess did understand her hesitation as well.

After all, even though the duchess was the 'legal' guardian for these kids, she was not the one who had gained their trust or even looked after them.

She was just someone who had given them an excuse to leave their prison. She sighed as she realized that these kids did not trust her.

"I will not ask you a lot of questions. I just need to know whether you are happy here or not… not that I doubt the shopkeeper. But if you want to go somewhere else, I can take you—"

"No, that's fine. We don't want to leave. This place is… our home now."

Nyx assured quickly, not looking away from the duchess. It caused the duchess to sigh, but her pride was not hurt.

It just reaffirmed her trust in the shopkeeper even more.

"I see. Please do ask me for help anytime you might need it."

The duchess assured the kids before the door opened and the shopkeeper entered. She had no doubt that the shopkeeper had heard her conversation… or at least a part of it.

Her heart thundered in her chest as she wondered what would happen next. Would the shopkeeper ask her any questions? Or would he pretend he did not hear her?

In the end, he chose to do the latter, and his eyes even looked around the room once before they settled on the kids.

"I hope I am not disturbing you all. I can give you more time if you want me to."

The shopkeeper told them, but the duchess was quick to assure him that it was not needed.

"No, it's fine, shopkeeper. Please, do come in now. We are done with our talk as well."

She assured as she took a seat on the sofa. The shopkeeper sighed and walked inside as well before he took a seat opposite her. The kids sat on the shopkeeper's side, showing that they had chosen his side.

It just reaffirmed that the duchess had made the right decision.

________

I felt nervous as the duchess looked at me. I could feel her eyes staring right at me, trying to find any secrets I could have hidden away.

Not that she was going to find any because I was not hiding anything from her. Especially when it came to these kids.

Both Nyx and Erebus were on my side as well, and I wondered what the duchess thought about it.

Seeing her, it likely was not much because she just sat in silence for a few more minutes and exchanged a look with the kids sitting beside me.

Then, she decided to stand up and leave soon enough. Her eyes looked at the kids one last time before she was out of the shop.

She had never given me a list of items she needed until the end, so she likely used that as an excuse to talk to these kids.

"Are you both alright? What did you and the duchess talk about?"

I asked the kids, but I did not expect an answer from them. I was asking for the sake of formality.

However, Nyx blinked at me and decided to answer me anyway.

"The duchess wanted to know how we were settling down and if we wanted to leave. I told her that we don't want to leave."

There was no hesitation in Nyx's voice when she told me this. She was firm and had made her decision.

I could not help but feel glad and soft at the same time at this. I had not expected this from Nyx.

"Hmm, you are welcome to stay with me for as long as you want. But if you do want to go join someone else, please tell me beforehand. I would understand your decision and let you go."

I told the kids, and they exchanged a look. Whatever was going on in their brain was not something I wanted to know about.

"Don't worry. We are not going anywhere."

Nyx told me, but her words sounded more like: you are not going to get rid of us that easily. I ignored the part of me that told me this and just smiled back at her.

"Hmm, alright. Now, let's get back to work and then we can have lunch. Is there anything special you want for today?"

I asked the kids, and for the first time, Nyx made a request.

"Can we get pizza? I really want it."