Silence.
Luca just stared at her. He didn't move. He didn't blink. He just stood there, frozen like someone had hit pause on his life.
The Goddess shifted awkwardly. "Did you...hear me?"
He still didn't give a response. But just as she was about to go over and check if he was still breathing, Luca moved and slowly raised a hand to his face, pinched his cheek hard, and winced.
"…Nope. Not dreaming."
Then, after another long pause, he shook his head rapidly.
"You're joking, right? You're definitely joking."
His voice was shaking, his expression twitching somewhere between disbelief and horror.
"Please tell me you're joking. Because what you just said is—is absolutely outrageous! What kind of ridiculous thing even is that?!"
But sadly for Luca, no matter how Luca wished for all this to be a big joke, the goddess just sighed before she shook her head solemnly.
"It's not a joke. It's the truth. You've been chosen as the progenitor of the demi-human race."
She hesitated before shyly adding,
"The one who will father the future generation of every single race and have hundreds of children who will call you father."
Hearing this, Luca gawked at her like she'd just told him the sky was green.
Then his composure finally shattered.
"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!"
The goddess jumped at his volume, eyes wide.
"THAT'S your solution?! THAT?! This—this is insane! That's not a solution! That's a plot twist in an adult novel! What are you talking about?!"
"I mean, who the hell even wrote this script?! Is this a parody?! An fantasy erotic comedy?! What the hell kind of plan is this?! Impregnate the entire demi-human continent?!"
"Are you even LISTENING TO YOURSELF?!"
He turned around and started pacing.
"Goddammit—I came here thinking I'd get a cool sword, some fire magic, maybe a dragon companion or something, and instead I get thrust—pun not intended—into the role of a mythical sex god?!"
The goddess, cheeks fully flushed now, opened her mouth to respond, but he wasn't done.
"I'm just one guy! How am I even supposed to—? I mean, logistically—! There are over a dozen races, right?! That means so many women, hundreds of them! So what what am I supposed to do?!"
"Go door to door like some sort of deliveryman?! Say 'Hello ma'am, I'm here to repopulate your species—spread your legs for and prepare to take my seed world peace!'"
The Goddess couldn't help but chuckle, though she tried to hide it behind her hand before asking,
"...Are you done?"
"Oh, I'm not done!" Mika yelled, jabbing a finger at her. "So what—do I have to carry a schedule? Appointments? 'Tuesday, you're mating with the cat girls. Wednesday, the elf ladies. Thursday, the lamia tribe."
"Oh, Friday's reserved for the harpies, better bring a helmet for that one in case they try to peck my head—' WHAT AM I EVEN SAYING?!"
He then dropped to his knees dramatically, lifting his hands toward the sky.
"…This isn't a fantasy story."
He said like it was a cruel joke before finally saying,
"...This is the plot of a degenerate novel made by some desperate, sleep-deprived author who's one deadline away from insanity."
And just like that, he looked absolutely dead inside.
His spirit had been crushed, his ambitions annihilated, and his entire existence rewritten in a single sentence.
The Goddess of Space blinked at him, completely taken aback as she was expecting him to be shocked but not show such a reaction.
"What...What's wrong with you?" She finally asked. "I was expecting you to be elated. I mean, you've basically been given an entire harem—no, not even a harem—an entire nation of women all for yourself."
"Any mortal man would have fainted from happiness by now! They'd be jumping around, maybe thanking me, maybe even worshipping me for such a reward!"
"So, what's wrong with you!? Why are you so upset?!"
And in response, Luca just let out a hollow little laugh. He rubbed his face, took a deep breath, and then looked at her like a man whose spirit had just left his body.
"The only kind of person who'd be happy about something like that..." He said tiredly. "...is some idiot out there who's never touched a woman in his life and spends all his nights fantasizing about stuff like this."
"Someone whose entire existence revolves around sex and delusions."
He sighed deeply, dragging a hand down his face.
"But me? All I can think about right now is how I've basically been turned into a breeding bull. A living, walking, breathing piece of meat whose only purpose is to impregnate women.
"That's not heroic—that's degrading. That's not glory—it's humiliation."
He complained before signing pitifully.
"I feel less like a savior and more like a...sperm donor."
The goddess blinked rapidly, clearly not expecting that kind of reaction. She opened her mouth to argue, but Mika cut her off, raising a finger.
"No, seriously. Why me? Why do I have to do this? I never asked for this. I didn't come here to be some inter-species Casanova! I just wanted a normal fantasy life. Some adventure, some peace, maybe a bit of magic and glory. That's all. So why me?"
The Goddess of Space looked almost sympathetic now, her tone softening.
"If you want the exact answer." She said carefully. "Then, I'll tell you that it's because of your unique constitution."
That caught his attention. "My...what now?"
"Your constitution." She explained. "Even though you're technically human, you're not entirely human. Your body is unlike that of any other mortal."
"You're a special case, a being born outside the natural world's balance. That's why, even if you were to impregnate a woman from another race, your human essence wouldn't transfer."
She began to pace slowly as she spoke, her voice becoming more formal, almost like a teacher giving a lecture.
"In other words, if you were to have a child with an elf, the child would be a pure elf. If you were to have a child with a beastkin, it would be a pure beastkin. There would be no human dilution in the bloodline whatsoever."
"It's as if your body simply adapts to the race of your partner."
Mika's eyes narrowed slightly. "Wait...so you're saying the child wouldn't be half-human at all?"
"Exactly. And because of that, it made perfect sense for you to be selected for this role. In fact…"
She hesitated briefly.
"…it's also one of the main reasons you were chosen as a hero in the first place."
Mika stared at her, disbelief written all over his face.
"…So you're telling me this was planned from the very beginning?"
The goddess nodded again, looking almost guilty this time.
"Yes. From the very start. Though I didn't tell you at first because I knew it would be too much for you to process. You had just been summoned, after all. I was going to wait until the time was right."
He rubbed his temples, muttering under his breath.
"The time was right, huh...yeah, sure. Perfect timing to tell me I'm the universal donor of destiny."
She ignored that and went on, though her tone grew a bit more awkward.
"And as for those...dreams the women have been having recently, the ones where they feel your presence, or see strange visions of you—well, that was the work of the Goddess of Fertility."
Luca's head snapped up. "The Goddess of Fertility?"
The Goddess of Space sighed. "Yes. She took it upon herself to 'prepare' the women mentally. She said she wanted to make sure they knew about your existence and would accept the...arrangement."
"But instead of doing it subtly, she decided to...get creative."
The goddess groaned like it was a decision she really regretted.
"Instead of introducing you as a protector or savior, she...may have made it sound like some terrifying entity was about to descend upon them."
"So now, most of them think a demonic creature is coming to...uh...violate them all in their sleep and half the demi-human races now think you're some kind of supernatural predator out to impregnate everything that moves."
Mika just stared at her in disbelief. "…You've got to be kidding me."
"I wish I were." the goddess sighed. "Honestly, the Goddess of Fertility is...let's say, a bit cuckoo in the head. I should have expected something like that from her, but I didn't think she'd go that far."
He ran a hand through his hair, muttering under his breath.
"Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Not only am I a breeding bull, but now the entire demi-human continent thinks I'm a sex-crazed demon. Wonderful. Truly the hero's dream come true."
But then finally, his rant tapered off. His shoulders slumped and the sarcasm on his face slowly faded away, replaced by something quieter, more solemn.
When he finally looked back up at the Goddess, there was a faint, wry smirk on his lips, the kind that hid a mix of exhaustion and seriousness.
"This may sound like a stupid question." He began. "But...is it possible for me to pull out of this entire operation? You know, just—call it quits. You send me back to my world, we pretend this whole thing never happened."
"You get to find another poor idiot to play your mating game, and I get to live the rest of my life not being haunted by the words 'breed an entire continent.' Fair trade, right?"
He tilted his head slightly before asking with a knowing gaze,
"Or is this one of those situations where, if I refuse, the heavens smite me? Or maybe I get banished to some netherworld as punishment for divine insubordination?"
"Because I'd like to know my options before I start packing my bags."
The Goddess didn't answer right away.
She looked at him calmly, studying his expression for a long moment before finally speaking in that smooth voice of hers.
"Before I answer that." She said. "I want to ask you something."
He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"Why?" She asked softly. "Why are you so insistent on not doing this? To the extent that you'd rather abandon your entire mission, even after everything you've accomplished?"
"You've already faced horrors beyond what most mortals can imagine in your life—battles that would break even gods, and you walked out of them alive."
"You've endured pain, suffering, betrayal, and death, and yet you never backed down. You've done far worse things than this."
"So tell me—why is this so unbearable for you?"
Her eyes glimmered faintly as she tilted her head.
"All I'm asking you to do is...how do I put this politely? Move your hips a little here and there, keep a smile, and let nature take its course."
"That's hardly the most difficult task in existence."
"So why resist it so much?"
Luca let out a quiet laugh under his breath. He slowly raised his head and met her gaze, that faint smirk returning.
"If you really know who I am." He said. "If you know my history—the life I lived, the things I've been through—then I think you already know the answer."
The Goddess blinked. "Enlighten me anyway."
He sighed, eyes turning wistful.
"It's not the sex that bothers me. Trust me, I can handle that part just fine."
He said dryly, and for a second she almost laughed.
"It's the fatherhood part."
He paused, and the emotion in his eyes shifted—deep, quiet, full of something old and painful.
"That's the part I can't do. Not easily. Not again. And I think you know why I don't want that sort of responsibility in my life ever again."
The Goddess's eyes became tender and her expression carried genuine understanding.
"…I know." She murmured. "I've seen the sorrows you've gone through and I know exactly what you mean."
She then looked at him thoughtfully for a few seconds, as if trying to read the memories behind his eyes.
"I just wanted to hear it from your own mouth." She added. "To make sure you understood what it is you're truly rejecting."
But then she shook her head slightly and gave a faint, resigned smile.
"Still, if you truly don't wish to do it...there's nothing forcing you. I'm not some cruel, merciless god who will strike you down for refusing. You won't be killed or banished or cursed."
"If you really want to go home, I can make it happen."
"That's your decision to make, and I'll respect it."
For a brief moment, Luca looked almost relieved.
His shoulders loosened slightly, as if he was considering agreeing right there and then.
The idea of walking away from this mess was almost too tempting.
But before he could say a word, the Goddess smiled. It wasn't her usual composed smile, it was knowing, mysterious, almost playful.
"However..." She said as if she had figured everything out. "Before you make your choice, let me tell you something."
"Let me inform you that I may have...a solution to your problem."
That immediately caught his attention.
"A solution?"
Her expression turned serious, her tone steady.
"Yes. If you accomplish your mission, if you fulfill your purpose and complete what you were sent here to do, then I, as a Goddess, can grant you one wish. Any wish."
"What do you think about that offer?"