Chapter 250: Troublemaker

[: 3rd POV :]

"Trouble?" The man repeated before letting out a long sigh while shaking his head helplessly.

"The very first person that comes to my mind whenever someone mentions trouble is none other than you, Maiya."

Maiya immediately puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

"Hey! Do not make me sound like I am some kind of troublemaker!"

She folded both of her arms tightly across her chest before glaring at him.

"I am nowhere near as bad as everyone else!"

The man simply raised one eyebrow.

"Oh?"

Maiya nodded vigorously.

"That is right!"

She immediately began counting with her fingers as though she had been waiting for this opportunity.

"What about Big Brother Monkey? He broke into the Jade Emperor’s Realm and stole the Immortal Peaches that had been cultivated for billions of years!"

The man remained silent.

"And what about Uncle Morningstar? He sneaked into Heaven just because he wanted to cause chaos for fun!"

She pointed another finger upward.

"Brother Thor caused an enormous scene in Midgard and nearly started a war because he thought it would be entertaining!"

Another finger.

"Sister Athena rode Hydra across countless star domains and left chaos everywhere she went!"

Another finger.

"What about Aunty Malaika? She entered the Grave of the Celestials and actually raised the dead!"

Another finger.

"Uncle Xeref hunted down countless Gods of Destruction simply because he had a personal grudge against them!"

She continued without giving the man any chance to interrupt.

"And Aunty Mira turned nearly half of the Universe upside down because her beauty started wars wherever she went!"

Another finger joined the list.

"Sister Erina destroyed countless Sects and Clans because they managed to make her angry!"

"And Uncle Teus almost wiped out every Monarch and Sovereign after one of them challenged him!"

By the time she finished, all ten fingers were raised proudly.

Maiya placed both hands on her waist triumphantly.

"See?"

"Compared to all of them, I am practically an angel."

The man stared at her quietly.

Several seconds passed.

Then he slowly rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"...Maiya."

"What?"

"Seriously, Maiya? You are actually saying that you are not the troublemaker?"

The man slowly raised a hand before pressing it against his forehead.

*Smack.*

He facepalmed so hard that even the surrounding space rippled slightly.

His shoulders dropped as though every ounce of energy had left his body.

"I genuinely cannot believe you just said that with a straight face."

Maiya blinked innocently.

"What?"

"I was only stating facts."

"Facts?"

The man slowly looked at her with an expression that mixed disbelief, exhaustion, and amusement.

"You want facts?"

"Fine."

"I will give you facts."

Maiya folded her arms confidently.

"Go ahead."

"I have done nothing wrong."

The man let out a long sigh.

"Your Big Brother Monkey stole those Immortal Peaches because ’you’ wanted to taste one."

Maiya immediately looked away.

"..."

"You spent three whole days following him around."

"You kept asking what billions of years old peaches tasted like."

"You even told him that he was the greatest big brother in existence."

"He finally gave in."

The man pointed directly at her.

"He broke into the Jade Emperor’s orchard."

"He stole peaches that had been cultivated for billions of years."

"He fought half of Heaven."

"He was chased across several realms."

"And after everything was over..."

The man narrowed his eyes.

"...Mother punished ’him’."

Maiya scratched her cheek awkwardly.

"...He still brought me the peaches."

The man stared at her.

"That is your conclusion?"

Maiya smiled sheepishly.

"They were really delicious."

The man pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I am not finished."

He continued before Maiya could interrupt again.

"Your Uncle Morningstar caused chaos throughout Heaven because ’you’ said you wanted to know what Heaven looked like."

Maiya immediately defended herself.

"I only wanted to sightsee."

"You also said..."

The man perfectly imitated her cheerful voice.

"’Since we are already there, why not have a little fun?’"

Maiya laughed nervously.

"...Did I really say that?"

"You did."

"And Morningstar took those words very seriously."

"He overturned half of Heaven."

"He challenged every Heavenly General he met."

"He even stole the Heavenly Treasury’s front gate because he thought it looked beautiful."

Maiya covered her mouth.

"...That actually sounds like something Uncle would do."

The man looked at her.

"He did it because of you."

Maiya quietly looked away again.

The man continued relentlessly.

"And Thor."

"You wanted to explore Midgard."

"You also asked him..."

He paused dramatically.

"...if he could make lightning dance."

Maiya’s eyes sparkled.

"It looked amazing."

"It also frightened nearly every civilization on that world."

"Odin himself demanded an explanation."

"Thor simply smiled proudly and said..."

The man sighed before continuing.

"’Maiya wanted to see lightning.’"

Maiya rubbed the back of her neck.

"...Brother Thor is really nice."

The man’s eye twitched.

"He nearly started another war."

"Oh."

Maiya’s smile stiffened.

"I forgot about that part."

"And Athena."

The man did not even give her time to recover.

"You asked what it felt like to ride a giant serpent."

Maiya immediately became excited again.

"Hydra was really comfortable."

The man stared at her in complete silence.

"Comfortable?"

"Yes."

"It had soft scales."

"It was warm."

"It even let me sleep on its head."

The man took another deep breath.

"You and Athena rode Hydra across multiple star domains."

"Countless factions thought an ancient invasion had begun."

"Several Pantheons prepared for war."

"Entire galaxies activated emergency formations."

"Meanwhile..."

He looked at her.

"...you were taking a nap."

Maiya smiled proudly.

"It was a wonderful nap."

The man slowly looked toward the heavens.

"Why..."

"Just why..."

Maiya giggled.

The man pointed another finger toward her.

"And Malaika."

"Do not even try defending yourself."

Maiya immediately became quiet.

"You begged her for weeks."

"You kept asking how Necromancy worked."

"You wanted to see whether the stories about her were true."

"So she finally brought you to the Grave of the Sacred Celestials."

Maiya nodded slowly.

"I remember."

The man’s expression became serious.

"She stole their shadows."

"She turned them into her servants."

"The Sacred Celestials nearly declared war."

"And both of you became trapped."

"The situation became so disastrous that one of the First Generation Anomalies personally came to rescue both of you."

Maiya lowered her head.

"...That one might have been slightly my fault."

"Slightly?"

The man almost laughed.

"It was entirely your fault."

Maiya quietly mumbled,

"...Fair enough."

The man continued.

"And Xeref."

"You remember him?"

Maiya immediately nodded.

"He is nice."

"He was ’nice’ because ’you’ were scared."

The man crossed his arms.

"You cried after seeing several Gods of Destruction."

"You said they looked terrifying."

"Xeref asked who frightened you."

"You pointed at them."

The man became silent for a second.

"He hunted them."

"He eliminated countless Gods of Destruction."

"Simply because they frightened his little niece."

Maiya’s mouth slowly opened.

"...He actually did that?"

"He did."

"And afterward..."

"He proudly told everyone that nobody would ever scare you again."

Maiya suddenly felt a little guilty.

"...Uncle really loves me."

"He absolutely does."

The man sighed.

"And Mira."

Maiya immediately covered her face.

"...Can we skip that one?"

"No."

"You had a crush on a young man from the High Elf Faction."

Maiya groaned loudly.

"I was young."

"You asked Mira how to make boys like you."

"I expected her to teach you manners."

"Perhaps how to dress."

"Maybe how to speak confidently."

He looked utterly defeated.

"Instead..."

"She charmed trillions of men throughout the Universe."

"Across factions."

"Sects."

"Clans."

"Even Pantheons."

"Just to prove that beauty without restraint could become a catastrophe."

Maiya buried her face in both hands.

"I never asked for that."

"I know."

"But she still did it."

The man continued.

"And then there was Erina."

Maiya slowly peeked through her fingers.

"Boys around your age started flirting with you."

"You became annoyed."

"So you complained to Erina."

Maiya nodded weakly.

"I only wanted advice."

"Erina gave advice."

The man smiled bitterly.

"She raised one finger."

"And countless Sects and Clans disappeared overnight."

"She declared..."

His voice became calm.

"’Anyone who bothers my little sister again may consider this a warning.’"

Maiya slowly whispered,

"...She might have overreacted."

The man stared at her.

"Might?"

Maiya coughed awkwardly.

"...Definitely."

The man finally reached the last example.

"And Teus."

The atmosphere immediately became quieter.

"The most recent incident."

"One of the First Generation Anomalies."

"The man who dotes on you more than anyone."

Maiya swallowed nervously.

"You remember what happened?"

She slowly nodded.

"I do."

"You accidentally overheard several Monarchs and Sovereigns speaking poorly about our faction."

"They also questioned whether you deserved to stand among the Anomalies."

Maiya lowered her head.

"I was sad."

"You cried."

The man corrected gently.

"And Teus saw it."

His voice became much heavier.

"He nearly wiped out most of the Monarchs and Sovereigns."

"He declared that if anyone made you cry again..."

"...then none of them deserved to exist."

Maiya’s eyes widened slightly as she remembered.

"It took Mother herself."

"And several other First Generation Anomalies."

"Just to calm him down."

The man slowly looked directly into her eyes.

"Now."

He spread both hands.

"After hearing all of that..."

He smiled helplessly.

"Do you still believe that you are not the troublemaker?"

Maiya remained completely silent.

She looked down at her feet.

Then she looked at the candy in her hand.

Then back at the man.

"..."

Another long silence followed.

Finally, she raised one finger.

"I have one objection."

The man sighed.

"...What is it?"

Maiya smiled brightly.

"They all chose to do those things."

"I never forced anyone."

The man froze.

Several floating books around him stopped turning.

Even the leaves of Yggdrasil became completely still.

A few seconds later, he covered his face with both hands.

"I..."

"I actually cannot argue against that."

Maiya immediately raised both arms victoriously.

"See!"

"I am innocent!"

The man slowly lowered his hands before looking at her with an exhausted smile.

"No, Maiya."

"You are not innocent."

"You are simply surrounded by people who love you so much..."

"...that they are willing to shake the entire Universe just to make you smile."

Maiya’s cheerful expression slowly softened.

She looked down quietly before smiling to herself.

"...I guess..."

"I really am lucky."