.
"Miss Perra."
Mr. Drake Kando slammed his hand on the table edge, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. "This is the fourth time you've left crumbs after dessert… How curious. I thought you had your body back, or is the part below your neck still dead?"
Perradat shifted her gaze slowly. "Dusty used to feed me. What god cleans up after eating? You're being rather harsh…"
"Poor Miss Dusty." Drake's smile was polite and his pace of speaking was unchanged. "She requested a transfer in the fifth year after the Divine War. Let me guess, Miss Dusty couldn't return home, and with you haunting her with your antics, she had to compromise and adopt a new belief—she must have had another faith before, right?"
"At least it was a lifesaving grace. Believing in me isn't a problem." Perradat's gaze wandered. "But what about you and this 'Miss Perra'? I've always felt something off about you. How can you call a god without their full name?"
"I've never had faith in you nor do I plan to believe in any god." Drake snapped his fingers, and the crumbs on the table instantly vanished. "Loyalty and faith are entirely different matters."
Perradat retorted, "Lord Nol would be sad to hear that."
Drake replied, "He would only be sad if I truly worshiped him as a god."
Now, his interactions with Nol were no different from when he was known as "Kando". Nol seemed quite happy, never putting on airs of superiority.
"Even that lunatic Teest believes in Nol." Perradat's gaze drifted to the other end of the room.
"That's because Nol indulges someone's twisted thoughts." Drake scoffed coldly. "Whereas I am relatively sane, Miss Perra."
"I'm at least the third most powerful god in Tahe. You should show me more respect!" Perradat rolled her eyes in frustration. "But speaking of names, there's something I've been pondering lately… Eugene firmly believes Painter is an incarnation of the God of Life, right?"
"So?" Drake's cold smile faded, and his tone turned curiously gossipy.
"You see," Perradat leaned in mysteriously, "when Eugene prays, he always calls out to 'the Supreme Lady Tilia'. But when he sees Painter, he still calls him 'Painter'. Normally, shouldn't he call him 'Tilia'?"
"Maybe it's just habit," Drake said uncertainly. "But now that you mention it… I thought that guy would be more obsessed with Painter, yet his demeanor is quite proper now."
"Fanatics are truly unpredictable."
"Indeed…"
As the two continued their whispered conversation, a figure approached from behind. Perradat and Drake both jolted, and when they realized it was Painter, they both relaxed.
"Why do you look so tired?" Painter asked. "Who are you guys on guard against?"
"Who else but Teest," Perradat said, looking around cautiously.
"Lord Teest and Lord Nol have gone to Earth." Painter pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm the one you've been gossiping about behind my back. You two could be a bit more nervous."
"Then I'll ask directly." Drake crossed his arms, unapologetically inquisitive. "You've been living in Paradise for so long, why hasn't Eugene started calling you 'Tilia'?"
Painter's tired expression eased slightly. His lips twitched as he gave a complicated look. "…You two don't think that kid is actually worshiping me, do you?"
"Isn't he? He insists you're an incarnation of God," Perradat leaned in curiously.
"I'm actually not that interested in power, even the authority that was given to me by Lord Nol."
Painter pulled up a chair to sit down. "I once thought about handing over the 'Tilia' role to Miss Perradat once the Temple of Life was back on track."
Perradat's eyes widened, her face barely hiding her anticipation. "If you insist, I have no objections…"
"But then you would be attacked by that kid. Your character and actions wouldn't match his ideal image of 'Tilia'." Painter sighed heavily. "Have you forgotten how Enbillick lost his head?"
Perradat slowly recoiled.
"Even I, if I did something out of line with the 'Tilia' concept, would surely suffer." Painter spread his hands helplessly. "If he were just a human, I'd just have to endure until his death. Now… haa."
"Such a troublesome guy," Perradat muttered.
"It's your fault for not making it clear." Drake mocked mercilessly. "If you had told him from the start, 'Dad hopes you won't be too fanatical, be mentally normal, and go out to make some friends,' there probably wouldn't be so many issues."
"But now he still firmly believes you're Tilia, so he should call you 'Tilia', right?"
"Maybe I'm not perfect enough as a god," Painter mused.
After all, even if he slightly deviated from the perfect image of "Tilia", Eugene probably wouldn't harm him… Just like when Eugene firmly believed "Painter betrayed the Temple", the boy didn't kill him for "Tilia".
Maybe the kid has kept calling him "Painter" just to keep something purely human in that name. Who knows?
From now on, he would only strive to be an ideal "God of Life".
"Speaking of names," Painter poured himself some lemon water, "Lord Nol and Lord Teest have time traveled so many times. They definitely know Teest's real name, but they haven't changed how they address him."
After the tragedy of the Flama family, all records about Teest were erased. Even Painter didn't know the true name of the youngest son of the Flama family. To be honest, he was a bit curious.
Yet those two, even in Paradise, still maintained the name "Teest".
"It does make one very curious," Perradat said seriously, "but I don't dare ask. Maybe you should, Drake? For the sake of Lord Nol's face, Lord Teest won't make it too hard for you."
"I value my second life very much," Drake said slowly.
Painter added, "I wonder how Lord Nol will handle the 'name'. I heard that this trip to Earth, they're creating an earthling identity for Lord Teest."
Perradat interjected, "Don't rush to change the subject. Painter, why don't you ask? Aren't you good at talking?"
"I, for one, also value my second life quite dearly…"
...
Earth, at the Xu family residence.
Nol's hands trembled slightly as he took several deep breaths in front of the ID card. Although he was mentally prepared, returning to Earth still didn't allow him to commit crimes openly…
He had boldly spoken of forging documents, but creating fake IDs seemed to violate the Criminal Code.
Teest sat on Nol's bed, flipping through the Criminal Code with interest, observing Nol's increasingly pale complexion.
"You know, if you wanted, you could cause incredible destruction." Teest twirled a strand of his hair. "Even if you wanted to declare yourself a god here, I would help you… Lord Nol, to think a mere card could confine you."
"You don't understand."
Nol, who had abided by the law for many years, clutched his head. "It's a matter of principle."
"Forget about humans. You've even killed gods in Tahe." Teest deliberately rustled the pages of the Criminal Code loudly.
"…It's a matter of principle…" Nol's voice wavered.
As the standoff between the two gods continued, Nol's phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, Nol sharply inhaled. "Hello, Officer Luo?"
"The issue with the neighbors has been resolved. Thanks to you, it went smoothly," Rosen's cheerful voice came through the phone. "How have you been recently? …You haven't been up to any mischief, have you?"
Nol's eyes darted around, and his voice suddenly became sharp. "Mischief? You're joking. How could I possibly engage in mischief?"
Officer Luo's voice paused meaningfully for two seconds. "I meant Teest."
"Oh, oh, no worries. I'll keep an eye on him," Nol responded numbly.
Teest chuckled, shaking the Criminal Code even louder.
It seemed when guilty, his husband's ability to lie was zero, which was quite endearing.
"…By the way, Officer Luo, do you know how to reissue an ID for someone without one?" After a while, Nol still asked, frowning, "The complicated kind of undocumented—you know who."
Officer Luo: "..."
Five days later.
"You still chose to obey the law. Impressive," Teest commented as he tied up his magically disguised black hair, clicking his tongue.
"Name." Nol muttered.
"Hm?"
"The details for reissuing the ID have all been arranged by Officer Luo," Nol said. "Only the name is left. You need an earthling name."
Teest's playful expression softened a bit. "I'm getting more and more names. It feels quite nice. You pick one, honey."
Nol paused, looking into those soft golden eyes. To think of a meaningful name…
The name Teest carried memories of Teest's family, and he didn't want to use it casually. If he was to find meaning in another name…
"By the way." Teest suddenly leaned closer, wrapping an arm around Nol's shoulder. "Last time we went back, we agreed. My true name can only be known and called by you."
"I remember."
Nol looked down. "I just want to borrow the meaning of that name."
During their last visit to the past, they overheard a conversation between the pregnant Mrs. Flama and a neighbor.
"…Isn't this name nice?" Mrs. Flama, touching her belly, smiled brightly. "My grandfather taught me this word. In ancient Wilder, it means 'companionship' and 'moving forward together'."
"It's suitable whether it's a boy or girl."
Indeed, it was a gentle and good name.
Adding the Flama surname… Nol opened the notes app on his phone, hesitated for a moment, and crisply typed a name.
"How about this?"
"Hmm." Teest tilted his head to look. "I don't really have a concept of names here. But since you chose it, it must be the best."
"Flattering, Mr. Feng." Nol ruffled Teest's hair.
He set down his phone on the table, the screen still not turned off. In the notes app, the name "Feng Yuxing*" lay quietly.
*The name broken down refers to two things. [Feng] (封) has many meanings such as to envelope, seal, close, but in this context, it refers to god (referencing [Feng Shan] (封禪) and [Feng Shen] (封神) essentially creation of a god (i.e. deification). [Yu] (与) with, together; [Xing] (行) action (in this case moving forward like on a journey or path), so Yuxing together would mean moving forward/onward together. Combined Feng refers to Teest's apotheosis (becoming a god) and Yuxing journeying in life together (with Nol), reflecting the meaning of his "real name" given by his mother. Quite apt.
Soon, Teest would have an official identity. Nol sincerely hoped that this ID wouldn't first be used at the police station.
"Teest."
"Honey?"
"Let's buy a cake to celebrate."
"Ah, that fruit cake from last time was quite good."
In an ordinary room, an ordinary day was about to begin.
The author has something to say:
Filling in the little gap about the name!
Teest's true name, in the end, is only known by Nol lol.
A little romance for the couple!
Everyone can let their imaginations run wild lol.
Next extra will be the couple's wedding!