I groan as I slowly crawl out of the bed, pulling the strap-on off entirely now that I've got the energy, my legs wobbling as I stand up straight, wondering what exactly this goddess' malfunction is.

"Mm? Malfunction?" Her voice is punctuated by more sounds of her eating popcorn, causing me to roll my eyes at her casual ignorance. I don't think it's usually normal for someone to grab popcorn and watch other people have sex.

"Well, good thing you didn't cum together or I would have came in there and fucked you silly instead." I shudder in horror at the thought, realizing that this psycho goddess is fully willing to do something like that. I need to make sure not to get into those dreams anymore...

I let out a long sigh, ignoring her as I head over to the bathroom, turning the bath on while I try not to think about just how little control I have over my own life. Even the goddess I barely just met has more control than me...

I watch as the bath slowly fills, the sound of running water overwhelming the chaotic sound of popcorn crunching from beyond the doorway, relieving me of-

"Hey! The bit isn't any fun if you can't hear it! Bring me in there!" No, absolutely not! I hurry to the door, closing it to dampen the sound of her voice even more, my heart feeling elated when I can't hear her anymore.

I crawl into the bathtub once it's about halfway full, relaxing in the hot waters as I begin to scrub myself, cleaning myself thoroughly as the water climbs more and more, forcing me to drain it a few times just so I can keep the sound of the water running.

I'm unsure how long I've been in here, but all I know is that long baths are the best... I don't have to deal with people anymore. No more people! I'm just alone...

I thought that would make me feel more sad, but if anything it's wonderful that I don't have to talk... I should be alone more often. Maybe I'll throw the goddess out the window?

A tinge of worry suddenly appears in my heart over what I'd been breaking down over earlier, but I push it away quickly, forcing myself into a reality where I don't have to deal with those things.

It's fine! When the Heroine gets tired of me, all I have to do is take on a human appearance and become a bandit or something! ... Can I even do that anymore with this rotten goddess?

I shake my head quickly, sending that thought straight into the depths where it belongs. I'll be fine! I just need to do whatever I want, maybe I can get the favor of the Demon God back or something and resume my place!

With no servants or status and saddled with debt, but... But! Uh, I'll be free again at least! I'll live quietly as a pretty little succubus, service people like I've always done! I can throw away the name Ilvia and...

I chew my lip in frustration, while I am decently strong, starting with no status whatsoever is really dangerous, I might get picked up by some sort of rando big-shot greed demon and end up servicing them until I die. In that regard, I got really lucky.

I sigh, every plan I make seeming to come up with no results whatsoever. Not to mention, would the Demon God really be okay with me coming back like nothing happened if he truly hates me enough to kill me?

What if I do something really big? Could I even pull it off? I roll around a couple of possibilities in my head for a couple of minutes before throwing them all away, digging my nails into my hair and ruffling it in annoyance.

If he really hates me that much, it would need to be something really big! Demon-kind is losing really badly, but what if I gave them the advantage? Would he see me then? Would that be enough? I say that, but I have legitimately no idea where to even start with that if I wanted to.

I let out another long sigh, my heart wavering in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. It's only a matter of time before the Heroine hates me again even though she seems to like me now. She hated me so much before, now she likes me, and even declares that she loves me? Her heart is way too fickle!

Laying a hand on my chest, I take a few deep breaths to try and calm down, tossing a couple more plans into the trash while my brain continues to go over them one by one, exhaustion quickly taking my attention away.

I swear, I've slept so much lately that my body can't bear to not sleep anymore without getting tired. Must be the fault of that rotten goddess, or something. I yawn, stretching my limbs a bit to relax further. Letting the hot water wash over me almost completely, I finally turn off the faucet before sinking under, all sound immediately getting muffled.

Staring up into the shimmering water, my mind gradually begins to drift away from my planning, putting it off until I'm a little less tired. God, a bath alone for the first time in forever feels incredible.

Nobody hovering over me, threatening me that I can't be alone or else. Nobody forcing me into stupid pink clothes. Nobody to try and fuck me at the nearest opportunity.

Maybe I actually just hate the Heroine? My heart wavers at that thought, discomfort filling me almost immediately. I must! That's why I'm acting like this, she's constantly torturing me in every which way, treating me like some sort of toy, wouldn't anyone rational hate that kind of person?

I hate the Heroine. My heart feels like it does a few leaps and bounds before it twists unpleasantly, almost stealing away my held breath. She's going to hate me anyway, so it's okay if I hate her! I never liked her in the first place, I just felt happy from finally getting the advantage over someone I hate so much!

Right, that's normal for me! I'm not the weird one, I just needed some time to sort out my feelings, isn't that completely reasonable?!

She likes me, I hate her. I mean, who would like her? She constantly makes dumb jokes, never leaves me alone, constantly tries to treat me like some sort of helpless damsel in need of saving, constantly wants sex, and is way too overpowered for her own good.

Obviously I would feel trapped and pretend I like her! If I don't like her, I'll die because she's that crazy and overpowered! Mhm. That's why I actually hate her.

Ignoring the deep pit in my stomach, my eyes slowly drift closed, the tension in my body slowly relieving even though my insides feel like they're knotted up. What a pitiful Heroine, she thinks she's going to be able to abandon me, but I was never hers in the first place!

That evil goddess was right on one thing, the Heroine does love me, I'm sure, but we've all seen just how much her heart can change in such a short period, once she gets her regular harem and starts to be with normal people, she'll realize she doesn't want me and then... Freedom!

Freedom. How will I get back, though? That goddess wouldn't give me wings, and I can't rely on the Demon God anymore... I'll be completely alone and helpless to any Demon Hunter. Doesn't that just mean if I wait for her to abandon me first, I'll be killed?!

I frown deeply, slowly opening my eyes as anxiety begins to pool in my heart again. I need to win over the Demon God again... I have to, there's no other opti-

I nearly jump out of my skin as a blurred face appears above the water, all but throwing myself out of it, ready to fight before I realize who it is.

"I had a bit of a bad feeling so I came back here, but... Uh, why are you drowning yourself, Ilvia?" Fluffy looks at me a bit worried, holding the Goddess statuette in her hand. I grimace, preparing myself for a lecture from that rotten thing, but I can't hear anything, causing me to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Uh, I don't need to breathe, remember?" I slowly sink back down into the lukewarm waters after saying that, at least Fluffy is someone that is easy to understand the intentions of.

"Oh, right, um... Are you okay? You seem a bit on edge." She blinks a couple of times as well before continuing to speak, her tone switching to a more worried one. "Also, why are you in this room? Is the person unconscious on the bed the person staying here?" I laugh, a sour feeling gathering in my stomach as I realize she completely never thought that I might be the guest here.

I guess it makes sense, though, considering my status... I'm basically just the Heroine's servant, who would put a servant in such a fancy space?

"Hm?" She looks at me curiously when I laugh, though that doesn't make this sour feeling any more palatable. It's fine. I know my place, everyone knows my place, that's why I need to get out.

"Idiot, I can't sleep when you're being this stupid! You have no fucking idea how tired I am after getting someone over here twice! Quit making assumptions all on your own!" The goddess' tired shout erupts loudly from the statue, causing me to flinch.

Before it can get any worse, I snatch the statue from her, dunking it into the water, her continued screams now becoming muffled.

Fluffy just blankly stares at me as I hold this small wooden thing under the water like I'm drowning someone.

"You really don't seem okay? I assume you didn't... Just break in here or something, but maybe using the bathroom like this might be a little much?" I don't know why both of those were questions, but...

"I'm fine, just, you know, uh..." I roll my tongue a bit, trying to come up with an excuse. "Of course a demon wouldn't like it if you shove a goddess thing in front of their face!"

Her brows furrow slightly before she nods, a slight sigh escaping her lip before she scratches the back of her head.

"Right, right... I'm sorry. I guess it would make sense you're on edge if I'm holding that kind of thing, though doesn't it burn or something?" I shake my head rapidly at her words.

"Nope, just a myth!" Well, no, technically it's not a myth, I had that experience with the Demon God statue, but... What's a little lie hurt? "I'm fine, absolutely nothing wrong here besides an interrupted bath. Did you need something?"

She slowly shakes her head, sighing slightly. "No, I just had a really weird intuition that something was wrong here, but I guess not. It's good to see you again, though. It's been a while." The screaming under the water gradually begins to die down as Fluffy says that, making me wonder if I actually succeeded in drowning that rotten goddess.

I cautiously pull it up above the water once it's gone completely silent. I hesitate for a few moments before handing it to Fluffy, hoping she'll take that thing away from me for good now.

"It's good to see you too? I'm just... A little busy right now." I gesture towards the water, hoping that'll get her to take it away faster, not wanting it to be here when she comes to.

"Oh, right! Um, sorry for interrupting. Stay safe, okay? This place is probably pretty dangerous to you." Don't think I don't already know that, I'm going to figure out how to escape if it's the last thing I do!

I relax when Fluffy finally leaves, goddess in hand. Freedom! True freedom! No reading my thoughts, nothing! Now I can work on planning in peace.

+Ilvia.+

(Aaanyways, the goddess has a message for this chapter, and it's... 'I really fucking hate that the closest person with a good connection was so spineless!')

+Ilvia...+

(She also says 'If Ilvia doesn't apologize right now, I'm going to smite her.')

+Eh? Wait, apologize then! Apologize!+

(Fine, I'm sorry, but at least that proves we aren't friends! She's willing to smite me!)

+... If anything that kind of makes it seem like you're even closer friends.+

(How?!)