Chapter: 138
‘The sin of monopolizing a goddess?’
At Yama’s words, Keres, who was standing next to him, made a disgruntled face.
“No, it’s annoying that he’s been monopolizing the goddess for decades… But are you really going to call that a sin? If the goddess finds out, she’ll definitely freak out.”
“That person needs to be a bit more aware of her position,” Yama said softly. His expression was hidden behind veils, so it was hard to tell what he was feeling.
“She’s in charge of the entire world, the ruler of this realm… For her to hang around a human for an entire lifetime, do you know how much damage that does to this world? You must understand, right?”
Yama regarded the hero with an infinitely chilly gaze.
“Think about the time the goddess spent with the hero as the Dragon’s Priestess. During all those decades, just consider how many things she was supposed to be doing… You don’t need me to spell out how huge a sin it is to waste her time. Sure, she handled things from a distance, but that’s nothing compared to doing things directly; the workload is like comparing heaven to earth.”
“But isn’t it faster to talk to the goddess directly instead of accusing the hero over that? Huh? If she finds out that you’ve put a sin on this innocent soul, she’ll surely be furious! Especially for the soul of that human she cares about! An innocent soul! This is false accusation! False accusation!!”
Keres completely disagreed with Yama’s words.
“So, I oppose! Absolutely oppose! I don’t want to lay sins on a hero who has worked hard for the world! No way! Absolutely no way!”
Keres shouted at the top of his lungs.
“And clearly! The goddess will find out later! I don’t even want to imagine what the backlash will be like!!! If you’re going to go to your grave, do it alone! Don’t drag the other gods into this!!!”
“I’m in favor. Keres is against it. What about Thanatos?” Yama turned his gaze to the silent Thanatos, who was calmly observing the situation.
“……”
Thanatos looked at the hero. What were the thoughts hidden in that dark shadow?
“I…”
Finally, Thanatos’s quiet mouth opened.
“I agree that the Goddess of Life should realize her own position.”
“What?! Even Thanatos?! The two old men are teaming up to persecute me!!!”
“However, I disagree with framing that as a sin and laying it on the hero.”
Thanatos’s statement contained both agreement and opposition.
“So… Which side are you on then?”
“If there’s an issue, it should be directly addressed to the goddess. Don’t impose it on some innocent human.”
“Still, I don’t think the goddess will easily listen to us.”
“Nevertheless, this isn’t right. We can’t create an innocent sin.”
Thanatos spoke softly.
“So, one in favor, two against, right!? Right!”
Keres exclaimed excitedly, and Yama nodded slightly.
“Hmm… Looks like that’s how it is. But I feel like, without this drastic method, the goddess won’t even notice.”
“No matter what, this is still wrong! I don’t care how important getting the message across is; you can’t do that to the human the goddess cares for! Absolutely against it!”
Yama sighed at Keres, who was pouting like a child.
“Alright then, I understand. I’ll also drop my intentions.”
“Uh-huh. That’s why I think the goddess set this Afterlife up as a triad to prevent such things from happening!!!”
“Well, maybe she just liked the number three.”
The hero just stared blankly at the conversation between the three gods.
“Wait a second… Did I just go back and forth to hell in no time?”
“Yep. You’ve got it. Yama is usually gentle, but when it comes to the Goddess of Life, he gets more intense.”
“To be honest, I doubt there are any gods who don’t admire the Goddess of Life. Especially among the old-school dragon gods, many have regained their physical forms and become deities thanks to her grace.”
Keres grumbled and jabbed the faint form on the scale with the tip of her greatsword, returning it to the hero.
“Alright, then let’s deliver the judgment. Hero Yohanan. Not guilty. You go to paradise.”
Yama slammed the end of the scroll he was holding onto the table with an emphatic bang.
Suddenly, a light poured down from above the hero’s head, and his soul began to rise slowly.
“Go peacefully, hero.”
“Please tell the goddess. While she was with the hero, she didn’t do her job right, and the hero almost got blamed.”
“Oh no! Don’t say that! If you spill that, she’ll definitely come in to turn it all upside down!”
The light covering him reached his feet, and the hero’s vision was swallowed by blinding light.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“Alright, where were we…”
“Page 54. It’s the part about the gods of the Afterlife.”
“Thanks, class rep.”
After adjusting his glasses, the teacher checked the page and picked up the chalk to start writing on the blackboard.
“You probably know there are more than a few gods of the Afterlife, but let’s talk about the three with the greatest authority.”
Thanatos, Moros, and Keres.
The names of the three divine figures known as the Afterlife Triumvirate were written on the board.
“The Afterlife Triumvirate exists for various reasons, but the biggest one is… to deliver just judgments.”
A line was drawn between Thanatos, Moros, and Keres, forming a triangle with their names at each corner.
“They are divine figures that hold immense importance in handling the souls of the dead. If these divine figures were to go rogue, the consequences would be immeasurable. It’s widely believed that the one who created the Afterlife took this into account when forming the Triumvirate.”
A slight hook was attached to the ends of the lines pointing towards each other, and those lines morphed into two-way arrows.
“They monitor each other to prevent wrong decisions. Whoever created the Afterlife must have been quite wise.”
“Isn’t it unknown who created it?”
At the student’s question, the teacher nodded.
“Various theologians and historians have researched and researched, but… they couldn’t figure it out. Even in the oldest book detailing the Afterlife, *A Brief Reflection on the Afterlife*, there’s no mention of who created it.”
“Wasn’t it made by the three gods of the Afterlife?”
“There’s such a claim, but it hasn’t gained much weight. Rather, the Goddess of Life, considered the superior to the gods of the Afterlife, seems like a more probable candidate…”
“Again with that goddess? She must have created the entire world.”
“There’s an entire book that summarizes and interprets the deeds of that goddess based on theology textbooks…”
“Our brains are going to burst from memorizing her deeds!”
At the students’ grumbling, the teacher nodded in agreement.
“Honestly, it’s a bit much. Thanks to this, some in academia have quietly suggested that the many divine figures that existed at the time were conquered and assimilated under the name of the Goddess of Life. The followers of the Temple of Life were quite famous from ancient times and had sufficient power. And… there’s no other way to explain the sheer number of deeds attributed to the Goddess of Life.”
“Is it okay to make such claims? The Temple of Life won’t take that lightly?”
“Of course not. So keep what I’ve said here a secret. I don’t want to find myself in front of the Inquisitor of the Temple of Life.”
The sleepy-looking girl who watched the class scene merely yawned softly.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
After the dazzling light faded away…
“This is…”
The hero saw a familiar scenery.
The small mountain village where he had lived until just before he died.
The village where he lived peacefully after marrying his wife.
That scenery lay stretched out before him.
And.
“You’ve come.”
The silver-haired girl wearing a playful smile stood there. The Dragon’s Priestess was waiting for him.
“It’s good you weren’t late; otherwise, we wouldn’t have had this reunion.”
No, his beloved older sister was right there in front of him.
“I’m so glad to see you again, sister.”
“Yep. Welcome to paradise, hero.”
“Am I still a hero even though I’m dead? When will you start calling me Yohanan?”
“Once a hero, always a hero.”
She chuckled with mirth.
“Ahem. Since you are the first soul to reach paradise, I have a gift for you.”
“Huh? A gift? Out of nowhere… what kind of gift?”
“First, close your eyes. I can’t give you a gift if you keep your eyes open.”
At his sister’s words, the hero tilted his head, still confused, but closed his eyes.
And a moment later.
“Okay, it’s all ready. Open your eyes!”
The hero slowly opened his eyes.
And there,
“Dear…?”
In front of him stood his wife.
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