After chatting idly on the sofa for a while, Luo Qitian excused himself to go home and do homework. He left two comic con tickets on the table before leaving Nangong Shiyu's house. He mentioned he'd also be at the con that afternoon and they could meet directly at the Beidou Star International Convention Center.

After seeing off his close friend, Nangong Shiyu stared at the two comic con tickets on the table, lost in thought.

There was something he'd never quite understood: why Shen Yining was so set on liking him.

In terms of looks, though he was quite cute as a girl, in his male form he was just average—nothing particularly outstanding.

Academically, besides his math grades—which consistently ranked in the top five—his other subjects were merely above average.

As for hobbies, Nangong Shiyu wasn't as good at basketball as Luo Qitian, knew far less about otaku culture than his friend, and besides that, he just enjoyed messing around in the kitchen.

Hmm, after this analysis, among his peers, he seemed to have no strengths besides cooking. So Nangong Shiyu couldn't fathom why Shen Yining was so fixated on him.

Nangong Shiyu sighed, put the comic con tickets back on the table, and opened the tote bag Luo Qitian had brought. He counted the test papers inside—sixteen in total. Seeing that number, he couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

Though the homework load was a bit lighter than last week, it would still take a lot of time to finish—quite a headache.

He'd have to start cramming right after breakfast; otherwise, with the comic con he had to attend that afternoon, he probably wouldn't finish this week's homework.

Thinking this, Nangong Shiyu put the tote bag back on the sofa, got up, returned to the dining table, and sat down to continue his breakfast. Since he'd chatted with Luo Qitian for quite a while, the broth in his bowl had been absorbed by the noodles, ruining the texture completely.

Still, wasting food wasn't right, so Nangong Shiyu picked up his chopsticks and chewed the noodles.

"I'm full," Xia Zixin said, putting down her chopsticks. She pulled a tissue from the table and wiped her mouth.

"Mm, when you're done, just put your bowl and chopsticks in the sink."

"Got it~"

Just then, Nangong Shiyu suddenly remembered something.

"Wait, there's something I need to confirm with you."

"Hm? What is it?"

"It's about my sick leave yesterday. I heard from classmates that I called the homeroom teacher to take a sick day. Was that the Balancers' doing?"

"Mm, probably. They're quite flexible in this regard. The altered memories usually align with others', so ordinary people can't detect it."

"I see."

Balancers.

According to Xia Zixin last night, the Balancers' main purpose was to let ordinary people live normally, so their lives wouldn't be disrupted by the magical world.

However, there was one thing in Nangong Shiyu's memory that bothered him.

"Also, I remember you gave orders to the Balancers last night, didn't you?"

"That's right. Gods do have the authority to command the Balancers," Xia Zixin said as she walked out of the kitchen and flopped onto the living room sofa, looking lazy. "Burp~ So full."

"Can I give any command?"

"As long as it's within their capabilities, they can usually handle it."

Just as Nangong Shiyu was about to ask his next question, Xia Zixin, as if guessing his thoughts, spoke up:

"But don't count on them to help you during fights with Aberrants. Those idiots won't intervene in battles. Even if they did, without divine power, they can't threaten the Aberrants—so their help would be useless. Just think of them as mysterious office workers. After all, world peace ultimately depends on you to protect it."

"What do you mean world peace depends on me?" Nangong Shiyu said with dissatisfaction. "It sounds like I'm the only one who can defeat those Aberrants."

"At least in Tianmu City, you're the only one with the ability to kill Aberrants."

At least in Tianmu City...

"You mean there are others like me?"

"Hmm, I didn't expect little brother Shiyu to be so perceptive," Xia Zixin chuckled from the sofa. "That's right, just as you sensed. There are five other gods like you on this planet, but I don't know their exact locations. I've only met the Wind God, Water God, and Ice God so far; I've never encountered the Fire God or Earth Deity."

"Only six? I thought there'd be more," Nangong Shiyu joked.

"If there were too many gods with such immense power, this world might as well turn into a manga-style magical world."

"Haha, true. But if it were like a manga plot, wouldn't we six gods be burdened with some world-saving mission?"

"I don't know. I'm clueless about all that," Xia Zixin replied, shattering Nangong Shiyu's fantasies. "At least since I became the Thunder God, I've just been living like a normal person, occasionally running into a few Aberrants coming to die. That's basically it."

"Tch, I thought there'd be some big reveals. What a disappointment. So boring."

"What more do you want? Gather six companions to summon the Dragon God?"

"Whether there's even a Dragon God in this world is a mystery, right?"

"If gods exist, there should be a Dragon God too, right?"

"When you put it that way... yeah..."

After that, both fell into a brief silence. After about two seconds, Nangong Shiyu and Xia Zixin both burst into silly laughter simultaneously. Their laughter echoed in the slightly empty house, making it even harder to stop.

Neither asked why the other was laughing, nor did they show any sign of stopping.

Perhaps it was enough that only they knew why it was funny.

For the two of them, that was enough.