"I'm Althea, the Goddess of Lust and Love."
"Goddess of Lust and Love..." I echoed the title absentmindedly.
I subconsciously pinched the back of my hand to see if I was still dreaming, but the sharp pain that registered in my brain quickly answered my question.
Without a doubt, this was reality - a reality where I could still feel pain and desire. This was definitely not a dream.
'Bloody hell... In moments like this, I almost wish I could believe it was all just some prank. Like this 'Goddess' Althea is actually some bored, rich lunatic who drugged me, made me hallucinate getting hit by a truck, slipped me some kind of aphrodisiac while I was unconscious, and dumped me in this bizarre place pretending to be Goddess.'
'But I doubt that was the case,' I let out a wry smile.
Up until now, I had been so preoccupied with my own situation that I had barely paid attention to my surroundings. As I finally took a moment to observe the room I was in, I realized it looked like something straight out of a fantasy story.
I was sitting on a queen-sized bed, surrounded by red roses, giving the impression of a bed prepared for a newly married couple to consummate their first night. Though, in this instance, I was alone - well, not entirely alone, as there was a cute doll placed beside me.
The room had no ceiling and was exposed directly to the night sky above. The silver moon was glowing beautifully.
Aside from the bed I was lying on, there was only a single wall behind it. Everything else was wide open, exposed to the outdoors.
As I gazed beyond the room, I was greeted by a seemingly endless sea of flowers in every color imaginable - red, blue, white, and more, stretching as far as the eye could see.
It was no exaggeration to say I was like in the middle of nowhere.
A soft breeze drifted through the flowers, stirring them gently and carrying with it a sweet, unfamiliar scent. I breathed it in, and my body instinctively began to relax.
After a few moments, I hesitantly asked.
"You're really a goddess? Like, an actual god?"
"Yes,"
I took a sharp, deep breath.
Even though she'd already said it twice, I was still struggling to process it.
I grew up as someone who doesn't believe in the existence of gods. And now here I was, standing in front of a figure claiming to be one.
I didn't know how to react or what to say to such an entity. Was I supposed to bow like a servant before a king? Or stay casual, like nothing about this was out of the ordinary?
In nowadays novels, gods are often portrayed as pretty chill. Some were lazy, laid-back, even goofy. One story even had the protagonist manage to drag a goddess into another world with him.
But those were just stories. Fiction. A world inside novels. It's completely different from my situation. I wasn't in a novel. This was a reality.
It didn't make sense for me to use them as a basis or guide for my actions.
In the end, it's better to rely on my own judgment, acting based on real feedback.
And from what I've seen so far, Althea doesn't come off as distant, aloof, or overly divine. If anything, she acts more like a beautiful, down-to-earth older sister figure next door than a goddess.
After mulling it over for a moment, I spoke earnestly, "It feels like everything's moving too quickly."
"Can you slow down and explain what's happening? Am I... am I really dead? Was it because of the truck? And where is this place?"
Althea pinched her chin as she said, "Well, now that I've got you here, I wasn't in a rush anymore. So, let's begin with your first question. Are you dead? Yes, you are. By the way, was it painful? Do you have any feedback about the experience you'd like to share with me? I've been observing the human world for a while and noticed that many people use trucks as the replacement of grim reapers for reincarnation stories."
"Initially, I wanted to use the method of the previous Goddess of Love and Lust, which involved entering someone's dream and passionately making love with them until their life energy was fully drained. But that seemed outdated and not at all unique. I quickly changed my mind when I saw how many stories involved trucks. So, I couldn't resist trying it out. Why not, after all?"
I was completely stunned by her long explanation.
My initial reaction was, 'Ma'am, I actually liked and preferred the outdated, uniqueless method than getting hit by a truck!'
Then, I contemplate her words more deeply.
'So, from what she said, I was probably her first victim? And hold on, does this mean the truck accident was orchestrated by her and not just an accident? I wasn't dead on my own; I was killed... by the Goddess!'
The information struck me like a bolt of lightning, clearing up all the doubts I had before.
I had been baffled about how such a large truck could have ended up in the middle of the park. It seemed impossible for it to have driven there, as the park was located far uptown with no roads wide enough to accommodate a large vehicle leading to it.
And yet… even after knowing that, I didn't know how I was supposed to feel.
Anger? No point. I was already dead. What good would getting mad do now? Yell at her and die again?
Sadness? Maybe a little. I mean, it sucks being dead. But it's not like I had anything I was deeply attached to. I guess… I'll miss the internet? Yeah, I'll definitely miss that.
And then it hit me.
There was no one else to blame but myself.
It's likely that if I choose not to accept her offer, I won't be here.
As I thought about this, I hurriedly asked, "Say, if I were to refuse your offer at that time, would I be here?"