"Holy Divine One, I agree that we have made a poor first impression and I will make no excuses for our behavior. If you feel that we need to be punished, we will comply but I beseech you to please spare our lives," the girl appealed as she bowed.

Ada was impressed by the courage of the girl who looked like she was barely twenty. She was not at all impressed by the men behind her who were mostly still cowering in fear with some even whimpering. Grown men who just tried to attack her hiding behind a little girl did not make Ada want to show them any mercy. Aside from the guards or soldiers, there was also a well-dressed man who would have looked presentable in a royal court but looked completely like a fish out of water here. It did not help his case that he seemed to have just urinated in his pants from fear. They looked to be quite pathetic and Ada didn't have the heart to hurt them. There was also the concern that the deity who these people worship could make a sudden appearance if Ada harmed any of his or her followers.

Yet, Ada felt that she wasn't just going to not take advantage of this scenario just because of the nebulous fear of a deity. Her mom's advice since childhood came to her mind which was that sometimes taking a risk is necessary to get a great reward. Her mom's particular example was snagging her dad which was always embarrassing for him when mom brought it up as an example. Ada smiled thinking of the last time she saw them on the week

end before school started.

When Ada saw the girl hesitantly smiling back at her, she stopped reminiscing. Time to get down to business, thought Ada as she cleared her throat. On Earth, her sinuses were just starting to act up as it did every year around this time. Here on Urth as an appointed goddess by God, she really didn't need to clear her throat ever. In fact, since being on Urth, she has never felt this good physically. Still, habits die hard and just like talking to herself when she felt no one else was around, Ada often cleared her throat before making important announcements.

"Mortal, I forgive you but only on one condition. If you cannot agree with my condition, then I'm sorry to say that there will be no forgiveness."

"Holy Divine One, what is your condition?"

"Do you know what faith is? Faith is believing that which is yet to be proven. You must have faith in that my condition will be completely reasonable and mutually beneficial for both of us. If you have faith, you will believe me and agree."

"Holy Divine One, please give me one moment while I consult with my lord," the girl replied as she slowly nodded.

Ada nodded back in consent. The girl walked to the well-dressed man who was leaning against one of the ship masts. He was trying to dry up the obvious urine around his crotch in the last minute but has been woefully unsuccessful. When the girl approached him, he threw away the wet rag and made a futile attempt to look like he wasn't doing what he was just doing. Ada has unofficially decided to give the man who peed in his pants a nickname called Pip which stands for "Pees in Pants". Pip being a command for installing and managing Python packages was really just a coincidence.

The girl ignored his behavior and they started jabbering away in their local tongue. Their conversation grew more heated with waving hand gestures which included a few finger pointing towards the sky and the ocean. The other men dressed in armor didn't seem to be considered important enough to be consulted in the discussion. They had mostly stopped cowering and a few had stood up. Some of them whispered between each other as they gave her sideway glances. A few kneeled and seemed to be ready to engage in prayer but they quickly stopped when these men noticed Ada glaring at them. Ada didn't know if a god or goddess would be able to hear their prayer or have any interest in intervening, but she wasn't going to risk that.

Ada spent the remainder of the time waiting for their conversation to be over while ensuring that no one else would dare to start praying or reading some holy book. The time spent here was both boring and stressful to Ada. After what seemed like an interminable period of time but what was really just a few minutes, the conversation reached its conclusion. Pip muttered to something as he shook his head and shuffled towards the other side of the ship. He appeared to be sulking which was an even more pathetic sight than before. I think I might just call him Pip even if I do find out his real name, Ada thought.

Ada prepared herself for the reply from the girl in quiet anticipation. Though Ada felt quite excited, she projected an image of calmness since that's probably what mortals expect a goddess to look like when talking to them.

"Holy Divine One, we, excuse me, I, have decided to accept your condition," the girl spoke after bowing.

"Before you continue, can you please stop with the honorifics? No need to keep saying Holy Divine One. Once or twice was fine but now it's getting to be rather annoying."

"Holy Di--, I apologize. I did not mean to offend."

Ada continued. "Back to the topic, I want to know if I can truly believe your words. Are you able to speak for your lord?"

"Lord Pyron may be the lord of the largest city in South Tesia but he is still only a lord of the mortal realm. I was chosen by the gods since birth to be a speaker for them. I have invoked my rights as a temple adept to supersede him on this decision."

"Well spoken. There is a reason I chose to come to South Tesia," said Ada. While she was saying these words, privately Ada was thinking excitedly that she had finally learned the name of where she was.

Ada paused for moment to collect her thoughts on what to say next. The silence also made a good dramatic effect on the importance of whatever came next. The girl waited patiently.

Ada continued in a hushed tone. "I came here since this land has mortals such as yourself."

The girl's eyes widened in surprise. "I am no one special."

"On the contrary, you are very special though you may not yet realize it."

The girl seemed to want to argue the case but changed her mind when Ada held up her right palm. "Enough chatter. Do you truly agree to the condition?"

There was a pause as the priestess debated on the choice. Ada could wait a minute or so and she gave the girl the time to compose her mind. After a minute of deliberation, the girl cleared her throat and declared confidently, "Yes, I agree to the condition."

"Since you have agreed, I will forgive your companions for their foolishness. Now, here is the agreement."

Ada paused again as she debated on the exact words she would say next. She wanted to be convincing in a godlike manner but didn't want to sound too pompous. There needed to be a nuanced degree of being cool.

"Swear to me that you will discard whatever other deities you believe in and become my follower for the rest of your existence. You will follow the commands I give you and in return I will ensure that you are blessed and protected always. You will also have a much greater purpose in life than whatever you're doing now."

The girl's eyes grew wide in shock. She opened her mouth to say something and then closed it again. This happened several times. Poor girl really does look like a fish on land, Ada thought.

"I am a busy goddess and I do not have all day waiting for you. If you have changed your mind now and want to backtrack on your promise, then I will consider forgiveness to be out of the question as well. I'm sure your city will look very different tomorrow."

To emphasize her power, Ada quickly unpaused systemhelper and ran the script lookimpressive again. Two dozen brilliant silver discs and two sodium balls floating on clouds materialized in front of the girl. The same reactions ensued from the people onboard who cowered and whimpered. Lord Pyron, or rather Pip, looked like he urinated in his pants some more.

The priestess took two steps back. She looked terrified. "I agree! I swear!"

"Swear to me by the name of Goddess Ada. I want to hear you say it using your own name."

"Goddess Ada, I, Leanne Syrana, formerly Temple Adept of the Temple of Tesia, now declare myself free from the temple and its faith. I solemnly dedicate my life and my faith to You and no other deity."

That only took a little bit of prodding, Ada thought.

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