The day began, as usual, with a tiger crashing through a wall.
"Your Majesty! The sky is on fire!""That's nice, Leonhart. Tell it to wait until after breakfast."
Keika didn't even look up from his bowl of rice porridge.He'd learned long ago that if the heavens wanted something, they'd make it obvious.
And then the ceiling exploded.
A beam of golden light shot down into the royal dining hall, disintegrating three chandeliers and a perfectly innocent vase.From it descended a squad of armored angels — glowing, majestic, and utterly lost.
"BEHOLD, MORTAL!" cried their leader. "WE COME FROM THE HIGH REALM TO—""Stop," Keika said, raising a hand. "You tracked the wrong address again, didn't you?"
The angels looked at each other awkwardly.
"…No?""You hesitated. That's a yes."
A blinding light filled the hall. A familiar, smugly divine voice echoed above:
"Keika! My favorite overachiever!"
"Don't 'favorite' me! You dropped me back into chaos!""Yeah, about that—this is just your tutorial mission for world defense."
"…Tutorial. Mission."
"Yup! The Celestial Department of Balance thinks your kingdom is 'too fluffy to be real.' So we're sending inspectors to make sure you're not breaking divine law!"
Keika rubbed his temples.
"My kingdom is full of tigers, rabbits, and sentient birds.""Exactly!""And you're worried about morality violations?""Yes. The fluff ratio exceeds acceptable holiness limits."
Keika stared at the heavens.
"…I am this close to committing a holy felony."
The lead angel — clipboard in hand — began the inspection.Behind him, assistants floated with quills and glowing forms marked "Celestial Compliance Report."
"Section 1: Civil Conduct. Do your citizens exhibit divine modesty?"Leonhart flexed so hard his shirt exploded."Does that answer your question?""...Mark that as 'uncertain.'"
"Section 2: Dietary purity. What do you eat, Lord Keika?""Rice. And whatever the tigers don't eat first.""So... partial carnivore?""Survivalist."
"Section 3: Spiritual Morality. How do you enforce peace?""I threaten to resign."
The angel's pen hovered uncertainty.
"That... shouldn't work.""It does. Terrifyingly well."
Meanwhile, the birds — who had taken great offense to being called "non-compliant"— decided to protest.By dive-bombing the angels.
"Cease your feathered rebellion!" shouted one seraph."CHIRP CHIRP ANARCHY!" screamed the birds, hurling acorns.
A full-blown mid air battle broke out — divine beings versus avian chaos.Rabbits joined in by launching themselves from catapults.Leonhart, thrilled, began chanting:
"FOR THE KING! FOR THE FLUFF!"
Keika, standing in the middle of the chaos, looked skyward again.
"God, explain yourself."
"Looks like your citizens are very… passionate!""They're rioting!""That's called engaged civic participation!"
"I'm going to engage you in the face."
Hours later, the angels retreated — their wings frayed, their clipboards on fire, and their dignity nonexistent.The Fluff Kingdom stood triumphant… mostly by accident.
Keika slumped on his throne, face buried in his hands.
"I just fought heaven with rabbits.""And won!" Leonhart cheered."That's not a victory. That's a cry for psychiatric help."
Eliara appeared beside him, serene as ever.
"You've proven yourself, Keika. Even the gods must acknowledge your power now.""They acknowledge me as a glitch in the divine system!"
Then, as if on cue, a new golden scroll materialized before him.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED TUTORIAL MISSION: "DEFEND FLUFF KINGDOM FROM CELESTIAL INVASION."]
[REWARD: PROMOTION TO ACTING GOD OF BALANCE (TEMPORARY).]
[NEW RESPONSIBILITIES: MAINTAIN UNIVERSE STABILITY.]
[DEADLINE: YESTERDAY.]
Keika's eye twitched.
"…Acting. God. Of. Balance."
"Wow!" Leonhart said. "You've ascended!""No. I've been promoted against my will into cosmic customer service."
He threw the scroll across the hall.
"I'm not balancing anything! I'm unbalanced enough already!"
The god's voice chuckled.
"Oh, don't worry, Keika! You'll get the hang of it. Besides—"
The clouds parted once more.
"You've just been scheduled for your first audit!"
"WHAT KIND OF HEAVENLY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IS THIS?!"
"One that loves paperwork! Have fun~!"
As the divine voice faded, a shadow loomed over the palace — enormous, radiant, and unmistakably divine.
The Celestial Auditor General descended — a towering figure in gold armor, holding a pen like a sword.
"Keika of the Fluff Kingdom," he boomed. "Your actions have destabilized cosmic order. Prepare for divine accounting."
Keika, deadpan:
"Do I at least get dental benefits?"
The auditor pointed dramatically.
"By decree of Heaven, I hereby summon the Balance Tribunal!"
Leonhart flexed.The birds shrieked.The rabbits readied their catapults.Eliara sighed.
And Keika, utterly done, stood up with his teacup in hand.
"Fine. But I'm billing heaven by the hour."
Lightning cracked across the sky. The Divine Tribunal arc had begun.