Laia stared up at the tall Greater God, blinking.
Runaways? She didn't have any runaways. Just the twelve refugees from the Chaos Sea, the ones who were gonna pay her tuition. The ones who'd just gotten her two whole divine ranks in an hour.
Wait, he wanted to take them?
No way. If she gave them up, she'd have to go back to scrubbing mugs.
"Uh... runaways?" She tilted her head, trying to look innocent. "I don't have any runaways. Just... a few refugees. Their realm got eaten by the Corruption, you know? They came here to stay."
Valerius's jaw tightened. He'd expected that. The hidden Overgod was hiding the runaways, of course. He couldn't just force his way in, not against an Overgod—that would start a war with the entire pantheon.
He took a breath, softening his tone, and pulled out a heavy leather bag of gold. "I see. Well, those... refugees. They're dangerous criminals. I can give you ten thousand gold. Just hand them over. That's enough to buy you a whole new small realm, right?"
Laia's eyes widened. Ten thousand gold?
Wow. That was a lot.
Wait, but... she did the math in her head. Those refugees, if they kept working like that, they'd make her ten thousand gold in a single month. And then more, after that. And they'd make her realm bigger, her rank higher, so she could get more refugees, more tax.
Ten thousand gold was a one-time payout. But the refugees? They were lifelong income! And they were so nice, so hard working! She couldn't just sell them!
She shook her head, handing the bag back. "Sorry, sir. They're my followers. I can't hand them over. They need a place to stay."
Valerius stared at her.
Oh.
She really was an Overgod. She dared to refuse him? A Greater God?
He couldn't do anything. Not here, not in the academy. If he attacked an Overgod, the whole pantheon would come down on him.
He clenched his jaw, and nodded, taking the bag back. "Fine. I'll be back. Don't think you can hide them forever."
Then he turned and left, armor clinking against the stone floor.
Laia closed the door, breathing a sigh of relief. Wow, that was close. She almost lost her best workers ever.
---
Inside the realm, the overlords had frozen the second they felt Valerius's aura.
Mephis paled, the demon's red skin going even lighter. "That's him! That's the bastard who was chasing us!"
Kane tensed, grabbing his power armor's armrest. "We need to run! If he finds us—"
Torin shook his head, staring at the faint glow of the realm's barrier. "Wait. He can't get in. The barrier blocked his sense. It blocked him. The Overgod blocked him."
Elara's eyes went wide, her hand over her chest. "She just... she just refused him? A Greater God? She told him to leave? For us?"
Elowen whispered, her fox ears twitching. "Of course she did. She's protecting us. She's an Overgod, she doesn't have to be scared of that bastard."
Jax nodded, grinning, his tail almost slipping out of his cloak. "Wow. We picked the right place to hide. This god actually cares about us!"
Borin huffed, tapping his hammer against his boot. "Told you. Now let's get back to work. We need to make this place stronger, so that bastard can't break in. I'm gonna start forging the defense turrets. And the mead barrels, obviously. Priorities."
Kane nodded, already pulling up his star-tech schematics. "Right. I'm gonna build a power plant. Automated production line. We can boost the productivity even more. The Overgod's decree said we need to develop the land, right?"
Torin nodded. "I'll set up the barrier reinforcements. Make sure no one can break in. And a training ground, just in case."
Elara nodded. "I'll expand the forest, set up life magic wards, keep the Corruption out for good."
All of them, even more motivated now, started working even faster. They had to make the realm stronger, to protect their hidden Overgod, to protect their first safe home in a year.
They didn't know that Laia was just sitting in her dorm, eating a cheese sandwich, staring at her realm panel, watching the productivity bar spike, and going, "Wow, they really are hard workers."
Realm size increased by 10000 acres!
Productivity increased by 100000%!
Divine rank updated: Greater God!
Laia dropped her sandwich.
Wait.
What?
Another rank jump? In an hour?
What were those refugees doing? Digging up star-gold mines?
She stared at the panel, then at the refugees, who were now building a whole fusion power plant in her little pocket realm.
Huh. Well. As long as they paid their tax, it was fine, right?
She was still blinking in shock when her comms pinged. It was the academy's official message.
To all Intermediate+ divine rank students: The annual Realm Competition is coming up. Winner gets 100000 gold, and a top-tier realm expansion token. Would you like to register?
Laia's eyes went wide.
100000 gold?
That was enough to pay her tuition for ten years!
And a realm expansion token!
She hit register immediately.
Yes! She was gonna win that! With her hard working refugees, she could totally win!
She couldn't wait.