Seoul (18)
Kirikiri’s eyes glowed and she glared, but the G.o.d of Duel paid no attention to her. Rather, he looked at me calmly as if he were waiting for my answer.
I thought while looking at them,
Fight.
Please, fight.
“What do you mean?”
“Literally what I said. The G.o.d of Slowness wants you to be her apostle,” the G.o.d of Duel answered my question.
Suddenly, this guy seemed better.
Kirikiri, who was staring at the G.o.d of Duel with a burning gaze, opened her mouth.
“Isn’t asking this a different story as opposed to what you came here for?”
The G.o.d of Duel ignored Kirikiri’s words altogether.
Very good.
You two fight this time.
I can sacrifice my house for the sake of a fight between the two.
“Come on, don’t be so hard.”
Fight.
Fight quickly!
“I want to hear stories from both sides.”
“The G.o.d of Slowness promised you the best treatment. It would never be a disappointing proposal for you.”
“Heng, you’re just telling him to become a lower G.o.d. Like you!”
Rough words begin to pour out of Kirikiri’s mouth.
Very good.
Now, the G.o.d of Duel was furious…
“That’s right.”
I just agreed.
It’s not good enough.
“But a price is promised.”
I’ll fan the flames again.
“Can I hear what the price is?”
“Of course.”
“No! Don’t listen!” Kirikiri screamed.
She had stood up, fluttering her arms, showing her urgency to keep me from hearing the proposal.
Yes, attack the G.o.d of Duel.
Attack and shut that d.a.m.n mouth!
Fight!
But the G.o.d of Duel spoke calmly, overshadowing my enthusiastic support.
“I’m glad you’re interested in the proposal. I’ll give you more details next time, in a quieter and calmer situation. For now, I’ll bid goodbye.”
And he disappeared. It was a sudden exit, just as he had first appeared.
F*cking b*stard.
I couldn’t believe he ran away from here.
* * *
“Heng-heng.”
Kirikiri ran to the kitchen as soon as the G.o.d of Duel disappeared.
She returned to the couch with a bunch of snacks under her arms (that was hidden by Kim Min-hyuk so that Hochi and Seregia would not eat everything) from the cupboard.
“Come on, eat up.”
This is my house, Kirikiri.
“It’s the first time I’ve given food to Ho-jae!”
This is my chocolate pie.
Eitherway, I ate the chocolate pie quietly.
If I a.s.sumed from what had happened, the G.o.d of Slowness and Kirikiri were divided within the Hundred G.o.ds Temple. That was good news for me.
Given Kirikiri’s behavior, it was easy to guess her position in the Hundred G.o.ds Temple.
Same went for the G.o.d of Slowness. All the words used to describe the G.o.d of Slowness were obviously not enough, since she was revered even by the other G.o.ds. Apart from her influence within the Hundred G.o.ds Temple, it can be a.s.sumed that the G.o.d of Slowness has exceptionally strong ability and power among them.
And if those two were at odds… Of course, it was a good thing for me. Just by dividing opinions about me there, it became difficult for the Hundred G.o.ds Temple to impose punishments or force something on me.
The Hundred G.o.ds Temple goes with a majority vote anyway.
“Heng-heng, will you become the apostle of the G.o.d of Slowness?”
Of course, I didn’t intend to.
“Well, let me think about it.”
Kirikiri, who was biting into a Choco Pie, had a bad complexion. Wow, Kirikiri’s expression was dark even though she had something to chew in her mouth.
“Can you explain to me a little bit about the G.o.d of Slowness for now?”
“Yes, the evil G.o.d.”
Lightning struck from the sky.
“Ahhhhh! You’re just mad!” cried Kirikiri, pointing out the window.
Well, a lying G.o.d looked worse than one who drops lightning for swearing at her.
By the way…
“What are you doing on someone else’s planet?”
“Right? How rude!”
Kirikiri said with a bright smile. It was obviously a bright smile, but it felt strangely mischievous.
There were few things I knew about the G.o.d of Slowness. The G.o.d who was related to time. A G.o.d who had nothing to do with the source.
Even in the world of polytheism, she was not well known to people.
“The G.o.d of Slowness is peculiar. Especially among Hundred G.o.ds Temples, as well as the Pantheon.”
“In what way?”
“That’s because she’s the oldest G.o.d in existence. She existed before the Hundred G.o.ds Temple was made, before the source was discovered and divinity increased.”
It didn’t make sense to explain it like that.
“She’s a G.o.d who doesn’t care much about ordinary people.”
“Why?”
People were the main source of power. No matter how much one hated, most of them were simple human beings.
“The G.o.ds instead fear the G.o.d of Slowness. It’s nothing to be shocked about; which one would give more faith? An ordinary human being or a G.o.d who’s reached a high level?”
It was obvious. Of course, the faith from the G.o.d was much greater. Overwhelmingly.
Was that why the G.o.d of Slowness wanted me to be an apostle?
I didn’t think so. Kirikiri warned just a moment ago that a G.o.d that became an apostle of another G.o.d could be a risk factor, crossing the constraints of the system.
If the G.o.d of Slowness wanted me for that reason, it was something that would work for Kirikiri, who wanted to stamp out the G.o.d of Hope for the balance of the Hundred G.o.ds Temple.
“By the way, what’s up with the sudden increased interest in the Hundred G.o.ds Temple? Now that you’ve struck out the G.o.d of Hope, are you saying it’s useless now?”
“No, it’s not like that.”
Kirikiri scratched the end of her ear.
Her ears were so long that I couldn’t reach them at all, so she’d folded them, pulled them down to her cheeks, and scratched them like she was combing her hair.
“Rather, she’s nervous because you’re so intimidating. A few G.o.ds were interested like the G.o.d of Slowness. Most are on the edge though.”
It was the same story that Kirikiri had explained a little while ago.
“Even if you don’t necessarily become an apostle of any G.o.d, Ho-jae is a powerful enough G.o.d. It’s rare to see a G.o.d with such a combative disposition. Even the G.o.d of Duel is a very exceptional case. You, who have strength way beyond that of a Minor G.o.d at the Minor G.o.d level but are also a Combatant G.o.d, naturally come off as intimidating.”
This was rather unexpected. Few of the G.o.ds were combative.
“But of course. A combative disposition doesn’t help much after you ascend to higher ranks.”
I didn’t think so.
Let’s find out more about this later.
“And I’m more anxious about Ho-jae’s absorption of the believers by impersonating the G.o.d of Hope.”
“Huh? Why?”
“In fact, you shouldn’t have done that. It’s obvious that just impersonating another G.o.d will affect your own divinity.”
[Warrior, are you alright?]
Seregia piped up.
I thought she was sleeping, but she must have been listening to our conversation. I answered that I was okay.
Pretending to be the G.o.d of Hope, I didn’t feel particularly hurt by anything.
“The Hundred G.o.ds Temple’s G.o.ds are afraid you’ll impersonate them in a place where they can’t act directly.”
* * *
I promised some things to Kirikiri, who had been sticking to me for a long time.
Unless they antagonize me, I won’t attack or impersonate a particular G.o.d first.
Kirikiri wanted a promise that I wouldn’t impersonate the G.o.d even if they were hostile to me, but I refused.
I knew impersonation of a G.o.d was threatening, so why wouldn’t I use it? I should use it if I need it.
In return for my promise, I asked for information. I became a G.o.d, and I came out of the Tutorial, but there was so much I didn’t know yet. At this point, I wanted to answer some questions.
“Next question.”
“What is it?”
“Hundred G.o.ds Temple. Where do they meet?”
I understood that the Hundred G.o.ds Temple was a group of over a hundred dangerous G.o.ds. But sometimes I wonder if the G.o.ds of the Hundred G.o.ds Temple were all gathered together in a certain s.p.a.ce.
When I was in the Tutorial before, I saw the message from the G.o.ds.
“Yes, yes, there’s a place like that. Of course they are. There’s a rule that all the Hundred G.o.ds Temple’s G.o.ds should keep their bodies there. That’s why I was able to deliver the offer of surrender to the G.o.d of Hope.”
Their bodies were gathered together. Other than that, I asked about the constraints of the Hundred G.o.ds Temple itself, but Kirikiri didn’t answer everything.
“I can explain more than I used to, but I can’t tell you everything.”
“Then, the next question.”
“Heng… how much more?”
Of course, it’s until you pull out what I want to know.
“I’ve explained so much that my mouth is burning.”
The burnt smell in Kirikiri’s mouth was not because she talked too much, but because she ate too much Choco Pie.
* * *
Kirikiri was satisfied with getting some promises from me, so she ate all the snacks by herself and then went away.
“What are you going to do?” asked Seregia, who was lying on the bed.
I shrugged my shoulders.
“You need to build up your strength again. I need to connect the earth to the 60th floor, and absorb the believers of the G.o.d of Hope perfectly. No rush though as time is on my side.”
I got a lot from today’s conversation with Kirikiri with the G.o.d of Duel. It was miscellaneous information but I got confirmation that the Hundred G.o.ds Temple were not taking immediate hostile actions against me. It was even better to confirm that the G.o.d of Slowness was at odds with other G.o.ds in the Hundred G.o.ds Temple.
“What about the proposal of the G.o.d of Slowness?”
Of course, I intend to refuse.
I could listen to the proposal, but that didn’t mean I would accept it. I couldn’t bear to be under anyone in the first place. The G.o.d of Slowness may not know the fact. If it were the G.o.d of Slowness who had been watching me all along in the Tutorial, I was sure she’d expect me to refuse.
Clearly.
Still, should I think that the proposal provoked Kirikiri? Or maybe I should try to induce a dispute. I don’t think the spark of the dispute would hit me. Though I should be careful.
“Oh, you’re back.”
Kim Min-hyuk opened the door and came in.
I greeted him.
Kim Min-hyuk said while putting down the stuff he had in his hand, “I’ll have to call Hochi. He was really worried.”
Hochi must have been really worried about me.
“I already met with Hochi and Yong-yong.”
“Oh, really? What’s wrong with Miss Seregia? Are you sick?” Kim Min-hyuk exclaimed when he saw Seregia lying in bed.
In fact, it was not a day or two since Seregia was lying down, but now she was showing that her whole body was sick. Her hair was disheveled, a blanket covered her nose, and her forehead was draped with a wet towel.
“Uh… um… well, if it hurts, it hurts.”
Seregia’s strength was exhausted in the battle against the G.o.d of Hope and the fake. There was a lot of damage during the attack.
But lying down like a flu patient wouldn’t restore Seregia’s strength. It was just a formality.
“I want to eat tangerines,” sniffed Seregia.
“She wants to eat tangerines.”
“…Do I look like the maid who does grocery shopping?”