Just like a mother coaxing her sick child to take bitter medicine, the Gods had to find ways to pacify the upset lich.
"You should do it," Ace told Stephanie. "Females are usually better at consoling others."
The Goddess of life cycle shot Ace an incredulous look and the wise ones uninvolved stepped back decisively. There was no need to get implicated with this messy affair. In fact, it was good to be forgotten now.
Phil quickly left the reflecting pond for his workshop, and Ark abandoned his sister with the God in charge of prayers. Ace and Stephanie were usually loggerheads with each other. One was a spender, and the other was a miser. Their personalities were just complete opposites. If it weren't for Ark holding the team together, these two Gods might have never attempted a civil conversation.
Instead of trying to bite Ace's head off at once, Stephanie scoffed and laughed in a shrill tone without humour. Her arrogant attitude was back, and her chin held high as she looked down on Ace like some kind of bug.
"Playing the sexist card now, aren't we?"
Ace wasn't a fool. He didn't bite the bait. Instead, he remained silent and returned her glare with a cool stare. A b*tch like her didn't deserve his attention. If it wasn't for Ark and Phil, Ace would have left this team a long time ago. With his capabilities, it wouldn't be impossible to rise through ranks quickly. Besides, it was Stephanie's fault for what happened to them. As the Goddess of life cycles, she should have monitored that strange fluctuating numbers over the years. With the population increasing every year, she should have realised something was amiss when the mana in that world was dwindling. Life was synonymous with mana. That dumb bitch should have known before all this happened.
"It's fine if you can't," Ace brushed her off nonchalantly. "I forgot that you're not that capable. We don't have much divinity to spare for you to fool around with anyway. I'll do it."
Initially, Stephanie was reluctant to talk to this annoying lich. Rino was a major pain in the neck, and after ruining the previous world, he got them all demoted. She hated him for ruining their lives, but there was nothing she could do about Ark's final decision. Rino was the best candidate to bring into this small world and their best bet for a comeback. However, she still could not forgive him for destroying their most profitable divinity farm.
"Shut up! I'll do it!" Stephanie raged.
Instead of feeling amused or impressed that the Goddess could be so easily riled into doing what he wanted, Ace simply kept a poker face and shrugged. His lack of reaction made the Goddess livid. If there was someone else she hated more than this lich, it would be Ace.
Ever since they graduated from God Academy, the difference between herself and Ace was huge. Stephanie relied heavily on her connections with other Gods to earn her position. It was a very tough environment to survive, and Stephanie made it through by the skin of her teeth while Ace simply aced through every trial thrown his way by being himself. She couldn't understand why someone like him decided to work with their crappy department. He could be overseeing domains instead of managing divinity farms if he wanted. If it wasn't for her brother's connections as a farm manager, Stephanie might be sent to travel the farms as an inspector intern for a long time before she had a posting.
Ace always managed to find a problem with how she worked, and each time they fought, her brother would side with him instead of her. Stephanie knew she was inferior. However, she didn't want to admit it. How was it fair that some people had everything without having to work for it, and how others would never achieve even a fraction of what they could even if they slogged their entire life?
Even in the world of Gods, fate was too cruel. Hence, Stephanie refused to relent. Call her a bitch, but this was how she could hold onto her pride as a Goddess.
"You will regret this," Stephanie warned cooly and left to find the message drafter.
Ace was silent. His eyes never left the reflecting pond, and already, he was regretting it. He might have restricted the divinity funds, but Stephanie might use her private funds to send stupid messages and infuriate Rino more.
Then again, it might not be a bad thing. Rino doesn't know it yet, but he would figure it out soon enough. In fact, it would be great if Stephanie completely messed up. He needed someone to play the bad cop for him to reap the benefits in the future. This was the difference between him and her. Ace played the long game, but Stephanie was too short-sighted. So what if Rino doesn't want to work according to their plans? They should just ride on his coattail and think of other ways to harvest divinity. In Ace's opinion, it would be difficult.
[This is God speaking. Stop sulking like a baby and start putting your back into it! That bone crafting reward is for your own good. How else are you going to sew your own underwear without a needle? You're such a dunce!]
When Rino heard the automated God message, he frowned. This was a different God speaking. As a genius, he didn't appreciate getting called a dunce. However, the message sender made sense. He thought about needles, but he didn't know they could be fashioned from materials other than metal. The reward for making a kiln finally made sense, and Rino was convinced. However, he hated how this God was talking, so he simply refused to move, ignoring them.
From the reflecting pond, Ace chuckled. Stephanie must be hopping mad by now. He wanted to see what else the stupid Goddess would do before he intervened. After observing Rino's reactions for a while, Ace was now sure about what he wanted to do.
He wanted to meet Rino in person. After all, true geniuses were far and few no matter which world they reside in. It was hard to find a kindred soul and even harder to be in their company.