The Laziest God Mortal Reincarnation

I suddenly felt something annoyingly sharp pressing against my cheek.

My eyes fluttered open, and the first thing I saw was Lyssa’s golden eyes, close enough to reflect my own sleepy confusion.

One claw extended from her finger, lightly poking my cheek again as if she were testing whether I was truly alive or merely pretending.

I frowned and drew back slightly, rubbing the offended spot.

"...That is an incredibly rude way to wake someone," I muttered.

Lyssa’s ears twitched, though whether in amusement or impatience, I couldn’t tell.

"You were drooling on the floor outside a meeting room full of faction leaders," she said flatly. "I thought a rude method suited the situation."

I pushed myself upright with a quiet groan, blinking away the last haze of sleep. "I was resting."

"You were sleeping with commitment."

"That’s just advanced resting."

Her tail flicked once. "Get up."

Only then did I notice that the corridor outside the meeting room had gone quieter than before. The air carried that strange stillness that followed serious discussions, as though the walls themselves had overheard too much and decided to keep it.

I hugged my pillow a little closer before slowly standing.

Lyssa watched the movement, her golden eyes dropping briefly to the pillow in my arms. "You brought that with you."

"It brings me emotional stability."

"That is the least intimidating thing I have heard all month."

"I try to remain consistent."

For the briefest moment, one corner of her mouth twitched.

Then she turned. "Come. They’re waiting."

I followed her through the doorway and into the meeting room.

The leaders seated around the table turned their attention toward me at once.

Not hostile.

Not welcoming either.

More like a group of people trying to decide whether a blade placed on the table belonged to a future ally or a future problem.

Mia sat where she had before, calm and unreadable.

No - not Mia, apparently.

As if reading that thought from my face, the old cat woman said, "Since matters are moving beyond first impressions, I may as well give you my proper name. I am Miarielle Veyra."

I blinked once.

That was... much more elegant than Mia.

Before I could respond, Lyssa moved to her chair and sat with the easy authority of someone who belonged there more naturally than anyone else.

"And this," Miarielle continued, glancing toward her daughter, "is Lyssairia Veyra, leader of the Cat faction."

My gaze shifted to Lyssa - Lyssairia.

For a moment, I just stared.

The cat clan leader.

The one who had been poking my face awake with a claw a moment ago.

Lyssairia noticed my expression and narrowed her eyes slightly. "If you’re about to say something foolish, reconsider."

"I was only thinking that leaders here seem to have very unusual waking methods."

Liora, the rabbit leader, covered a smile with one hand.

Elaris lowered his gaze for a moment, and though his face remained composed, I had the distinct impression he was amused too.

Lyssairia clicked her tongue and leaned back in her chair.

The room settled after that, and Miarielle gestured lightly toward an empty seat.

"Sit, Al."

I obeyed, still holding my pillow. No one commented on it, though I noticed Liora’s eyes flick briefly toward it with quiet curiosity.

For a few heartbeats, no one spoke.

Then Elaris folded his hands and addressed me in that calm, measured voice of his.

"We have discussed your situation."

That got my full attention.

Liora continued gently, "Returning you to human territory will be difficult, but not impossible."

I sat a little straighter.

Miarielle picked up from there. "We have agreed to help you."

For a second, I thought I had misheard.

I looked from one face to the next.

No hostility. No visible argument. Just caution layered over something firmer.

Elaris inclined his head. "Each of us will prepare a written letter explaining our faction’s current situation, our opposition to the war, and the circumstances under which we continue to survive. You will carry those letters back to human territory as proof."

I stared.

Letters?

That... was much easier than expected.

Liora added, "We will also assign warriors to accompany you. The best available from each of our clans."

That startled me even more.

"The best?" I repeated before I could stop myself.

Lyssairia gave me a dry look. "Would you prefer the worst?"

"No, but-"

"Then be grateful and move on."

Liora’s ears twitched. "What Lyssairia means is that the route will be dangerous. If we are sending you at all, we cannot afford to do it carelessly."

Elaris nodded once. "It will still take several weeks, perhaps longer if we are forced to change routes. The journey will not be straightforward."

I heard the words, understood them, and yet one thought kept circling in my head louder than all the others.

Why are they agreeing so easily?

I had expected resistance. Suspicion. Negotiation.

I had even prepared myself to reveal what I had been carefully holding back - that I was the son of a duke, and that my awakened potential was SSS rank.

I had thought those truths might be necessary to convince them that helping me was worth the risk.

But now...

Now I just sat there while everything I had planned to say became suddenly unnecessary.

My eyes shifted, almost against my will, toward Miarielle.

She sat with the same calm expression as always, but there was something almost too calm about it now.

A faint suspicion crept over me.

She definitely told them something.

I looked back at the others.

They were friendly, or at least as friendly as faction leaders hiding from extermination could be, but cautious too.

The kind of caution that measured every word twice before letting it live in the air. And beneath that caution was something else.

Interest.

Not in me as a person, perhaps.

But in what I represented.

That made me even more certain.

After a moment, I cleared my throat. "You all seem... surprisingly willing to trust me."

"We don’t," Lyssairia said immediately.

Liora sighed softly. "Lyssaira."

"What? It’s true."

Elaris’s gaze rested on me, thoughtful but not unkind. "Trust and cooperation are not always the same thing."

"At the moment," Miarielle said, "we consider helping you the most reasonable path available."

That answer told me almost nothing.

Which, somehow, told me quite a lot.

I leaned back slightly in my chair, my pillow still resting against my chest, and studied them all in silence.

So.

They were willing to help me.

They were willing to send letters.

They were willing to risk elite escorts on a journey back through hunted land.

And they were all being just careful enough with their wording to make it obvious that none of this had happened by accident.

The realization settled quietly in my mind.

Miarielle had told them more than I intended to reveal.

The question was how much.

I considered asking directly, but something told me that doing so in front of everyone would either make the room colder or more annoying than I was willing to deal with while half-awake.

So instead, I asked the safer question.

"When do we leave?"

Liora answered first. "Preparations start immediately."

Elaris added, "The letters must be written, routes checked, and escorts chosen. We will move as soon as all of that is done."

"A week, if all goes well," Lyssairia said. "Longer if the world remembers it enjoys making our lives difficult."

"The world does seem committed to that," I murmured.

That earned the faintest flicker of amusement from Miarielle.

Then Liora looked at me more carefully. "Until then, you will remain here under our protection."

Lyssairia corrected flatly, "Under our observation."

"Both," Elaris said.

I gave a small nod.

That, at least, I had expected.

A silence followed, lighter than before but still full of unspoken things.

My gaze drifted once more toward Miarielle.

She noticed.

Of course, she did.

Her golden eyes met mine for a brief moment, and though her face did not change, I caught it, the smallest, driest edge of satisfaction.

Yes.

She had definitely said something.

And judging by how easily the others had agreed to help me, it was something important enough to make my own prepared arguments meaningless.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

I hugged my pillow a little closer and let out a quiet breath.

Whatever Miarielle Veyra had told them, I would find out eventually.

For now, though, one thing mattered more than the rest. I finally had a path back to human territory.

Even if that path would take several weeks, pass through enemy land, and involve the best warriors of three beastkin factions escorting me like some absurdly fragile diplomatic package.

Honestly, now that I thought about it, that sounded exhausting.

I was already looking forward to the nap I would take before we left.