A king is so noble that upon his death, he is welcomed into the godly realm. However, during an encounter, he gazes unabashedly at the nude form of a goddess. This offense results in him being exiled to the mortal realm, doomed to be reborn for one life as a mortal. He accepts this punishment without complaint.

At the same time, eight demi-gods are cursed to spend time in the mortal realm as well. They notice that the goddess seems to adore the king-mage, so they ask her to become the reincarnated king-mage's wife and give birth to all of them. They also ask her to drown them all after birth, except for the one baby who is cursed to live a lifetime on the mortal realm. The goddess agrees and schemes to be arranged in a marriage with the reincarnated king-mage.

The king-mage and she have a long, passionate affair, and the kingdom loves both of them. However, he grows increasingly desperate and sad after the drowning of seven of his sons. He confronts her before she drowns the eighth son, drawing a full confession from her. He forgives her, but she must leave because of divine law. He tells her to raise the eighth son, and she agrees. She tells him to find another wife and bear an heir.

He throws himself into running his kingdom instead, taking solace in conversations with her by her river.