Remy looked up at the big, blue sky, expanding high above him. It was a clear sky, a calm and peaceful morning. He lay down on the harsh surface of the road, his head tilting to the side. Near the sidewalk was the pineapple pizza he had bought, splattered across the ground. Blood trickled down his forehead, dripping in front of his eyes, giving the endless blue sight a drop of red. 

There was no noise, not even from the thing that hit him. He never knew what took him out. Was it a truck? A bus? Or a car, maybe? He had no idea. Everything happened so quickly. He was crossing the road, and the next moment, his body flew high. Like a wingless bird, he crashed into the asphalt below. No one came to help, leaving him lying alone on the side of the road. 

Not that there was anyone else there in the first place. 

I... I…

The back of his head felt wet, and pain filled his body, engulfing his entire being. He tried to move, lifting his hand toward the sky, yet it flopped back, his limbs refusing his commands. His breathing was heavy, and he knew his time was approaching. It scared him. He wanted to fight it, but he couldn’t. Remy could only watch the blue sky, the sky he had seen so often, the same sky etched to the back of his mind, fade away to darkness. His strength wavered, and he could no longer open his eyes. 

• ••

…?

When he returned to his senses, he realized that he was no longer on Earth. He couldn’t feel anything. Not the pain he felt a couple of seconds ago, not the weight of his eyelids, not the end of his fingers. Nothing. He looked down, his body was no longer there. He floated in an empty, white room, akin to a void. Nothing was inside it, a completely empty space. This was no longer the sphere planet (sphere because he didn’t believe in flat Earth) he once lived in. It was an unfamiliar domain.

“Welcome to the afterlife.” He heard a soft voice. It sounded sweet, lovely, probably the sweetest voice he had ever heard. Something attractive about that voice, something that made his heart skip a beat. He watched countless anime back on Earth. He often heard the sweet lovely voices of the various skilled voice actors who performed in such shows. For some reason, this one felt different. Something just felt different. He couldn’t point that thing out, nor could he describe it. All he knew was that his heart, which shouldn’t exist in this room, began beating faster. 

An image materialized in front of him. Despite no longer having a physical body, he shivered at the sight. A blinding white light covered the figure as it appeared. It resembled a regular human being. Color filled the silhouette, making the figure look like a normal person. She stepped forward, approaching Remy. Remy couldn’t move. Had he could, he would have shrunk into a corner by now. 

"I'm Atilia, and I'm the angel that will guide you to the afterlife,” said the girl. 

Atilia. 

Remy repeated her name in his mind, it sounded sweet. The girl put her hand on her chest, a caring expression akin to a loving mother on her face. Remy stared at her. She was beautiful. She had golden eyes that looked precious and long flowing silver hair. She wore a simple but beautiful white dress that made her look like a cheerful young girl.

She’s perfect!

The very sight of her charmed Remy, making him forget most of his fear that existed a moment ago.

“Umm… hello?” The girl waved her hand, worried about Remy’s lack of reaction. Remy tensed up again. She approached him. Remy held his breath, not that he could breathe in the first place. He searched for a proper response. The fact that this girl floated here meant that she wasn’t normal. He needed to treat her with the utmost respect, not wanting to piss off some higher deity. His mind went into overdrive, thinking about the appropriate thing to say. 

“I’m dead,” he blurted out. Atilia stared at him, looking even more confused than before. 

“Umm… yeah? Is that a question?”

“Ah, sorry. I’m really sorry. My bad. I wasn’t thinking.” He panicked. She looked at him, giggling. 

“It’s alright. Just relax.”

“Umm… if you… don’t mind me asking. Sorry if this is disrespectful… but are you an angel?” he asked, wanting to make sure. He heard her words from before, but his mind struggled to accept it.

“I told you to relax. And, to answer your question, yes, I am.” 

An angel? A real angel?

It was the first time he saw someone as beautiful as her. But then a realization came to his mind. 

He was dead. As in, actually dead. 

It took a while for the fact to sink in. At first, a part of his brain told him that this was all a dream, or maybe an illusion to make him believe that he was dead. Some minutes had passed, but he didn't wake up. He would never wake up. There were so many things that he didn’t get to do, so many things that he never reached. Yet, his life was over. It had ended. He tried telling himself that everything would be alright, but that voice fell flat. He was no longer among the living. Things would no longer be alright. It didn’t matter anymore. 

“... Are you alright?” Atilia’s previous smile had been replaced with a worried face. Her face captured his attention, stabilizing his mind against the wave of emotions. 

“... You can feel my feelings?” he asked. He tried to relax, doing as the angel told him to.

“Yes, I can.”

“Oh… sorry. Just… thinking of something…”

“Do you regret your previous life?”

“Regret?” 

It was a tough question. He didn’t feel like it was fair to say that he did. He won the lottery at a young age. He spent most of his time watching anime, reading manga and novels, or playing games. A dream life for many. It would be unfair to all the other people out there, who struggle to get by day and night. Saying that he regretted his life, or that his life wasn’t good enough, would be the same as slapping all those people in the face.

Yet, at the same time, he did regret one thing. He didn’t have a wife, a partner. Whatever he did, he did it alone. He loved watching romance, and always dreamt about having such an exciting love story. But that dream remained a dream. Until the end, until his death, he remained alone.

“I wouldn’t say regret… exactly.” He understood that he had a much, much better life compared to most people. Plus, not having a partner was his fault. He chose to spend his life inside his apartment room, away from others. He chose that life for himself. 

“Would you like a second chance?” Atilia asked. Remy could guess where the conversation was heading.

“Demons?”

Atilia looked at him, quite amused. 

“Yep. I probably don’t need to explain this.” A white slate appeared in front of her. Her eyes went from the top of the slate down to its bottom.

“Alright. To put it simply, the Goddess had deemed you someone worthy of heaven. You only have one major sin in your life’s history, and She decided that it isn’t an issue, so you can pick. You can go to heaven, or you can help this world that as you guessed, struggled in a war against demons.”

Sin?

Remy couldn’t remember any particular mistake that would be severe enough to the point She marked it. He made a lot of mistakes in his lifetime, of course, but he couldn’t remember a ‘major’ one. 

“I assume I’ll be getting some cheat ability?”

“Correct. You can ask for anything, but there are terms and conditions, and I’ll help you choose.” 

That one thing came to mind, of course, but he wanted to ask something else first. 

“What’s that one sin I did?” 

“You really want to know?”

“Yes.”

Since he already received the offer anyway, he thought knowing about it wouldn’t be much of an issue. By knowing, he could fix it in the next world, but the words that came out of Atilia’s mouth left him in a state of shock. 

“You like pineapple pizza.”

“... What?”

“And you’re actively buying it.”

“Wait wait wait, you’re saying that liking it is a sin?”

“... She didn’t consider it a sin.”

“Then the problem?”

“I consider it one, but I’m just an angel, so I can’t punish you,” Atilia said matter-of-factly. Remy realized that fighting an angel wouldn’t be a good idea. He kept his thoughts to himself, hoping she couldn’t hear it. He was too afraid of her to retort anyway.  

“It’s delicious, though,” he murmured. 

“... Did you seriously just say that?”

“Ah, I… I said it… didn’t I?”

“Oh, you bet you did!"

It was an honest mistake. He was thinking about the deliciousness of that pizza and the fact that he may never be able to eat it again. He had no intentions of letting his thoughts slip, though. 

Atilia glared at him like a hungry lion, ready to devour this heretic who dared to go against the holy rule. 

“But, I mean, at the end of the day, it’s just different tastes, right?” Remy began panicking, realizing he had pushed himself into a corner. Atilia approached, her dark golden eyes looked frightening.

Remy couldn’t run away. He didn’t even have a body. “I’m… sorry…?” he let out with a shaky voice. Atilia let out a sigh, averting his gaze. 

“Whatever. Let’s just talk about your cheat.”

Remy felt relieved at her changing the subject. 

“So, anything you want in particular?” she asked, back to her previous cheerful mood. He hoped she wouldn’t hold his opinions against him. 

“I…” 

He spent all his life after his lottery doing things on his own. He locked himself up in his apartment, refusing to go out unless necessary. It was pretty ironic how he died when he went out for the first time in a week, as if it was a punishment for his lifestyle, or maybe for his taste. He did return with that pineapple pizza in tow. 

Rest in peace, my lovely pineapple pizza.

After his previous attempts at getting a girlfriend failed, he decided to give up. He spent all his time at home, so when she asked him that question, there was only one thing he could say. The only thing that was unreachable to him back then. 

“I want a wife,” he muttered. Atilia looked at him, her eyes going blank. 

“What… what did you say?”

“I want a wife,” Remy repeated. “But that’s probably impossible.” Remy let out a dry laugh. Love wasn’t something someone could pull out of thin air. Even if the angel before him could do that, it probably wasn’t something he should be asking for. 

“Why… why do you want a wife?”

“I don’t know. I just… really want a partner to go on an adventure with. I mean, I am fighting demons, right? Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone to watch your back?” 

“Umm… yeah…” Atilia’s cheeks reddened as she nodded meekly. “What… what kind of girl… do you want?” 

She’s so cute!

Her cute embarrassed expression was enough to take Remy’s heart. Without much thinking, Remy blurted out,

“I think you’re perfect-” he stopped himself, realizing what he had said. He was still slightly scared of her, but his heart was thumping louder than ever. Something about her melted him. Falling in love for the first time in years, with an angel no less. 

“Wait… what?" Atilia's eyes went wide. 

“Ah, sorry! I- I didn’t mean I’m asking you!”

“Then what do you mean?”

“I mean- like, you’re cute, you’re pretty, you’re sweet, so I was thinking it would be great if I could have you- But I know I’m not worthy! You’re an angel, after all, and I like pineapple pizza,” Remy said, panicking. Atilia clenched her fist, her cheeks even redder than before. 

“Ah… ummm… a…” 

He tried to say something, but he couldn’t. 

“Umm… ah… I mean, I’m sorry, sorry for bringing it up,” he said in his panic, yet Atilia didn’t say anything. Instead, she lifted her arms, her hands glowing white. 

“Dummy!” she yelled, and Remy’s vision began fading.