Chapter: 446
What caught my attention at the end was the last phrase.
‘The gods are watching me.’
Not just one, but multiple beings are showing interest in me.
And they want to bestow rewards upon me.
The first thing that pops into my mind is the unique blessings held by various divine beings.
These are the special things that gods only grant to their apostles. Many of them are incredibly useful.
Like the giant’s incredible strength from the god of enormous power.
Or the foresight from the god of prophecy.
Even the binding contract powers from the god of oaths.
The names of these skills can only be obtained by spending a long time under their divine authority, igniting a greedy desire within me.
But then again, I thought I shouldn’t get too overexcited.
I mean, when you say ‘gods,’ even if it’s the Pathetic God and the Perverted Crow, it’s still plural.
I didn’t want to set myself up for disappointment, so I swallowed hard and waited for the next message to pop up.
[The Goddess of Beauty and Art wishes to grant you a new blessing!]
Ah, it’s you, Perverted Crow. Thanks for wanting to give me something, but how about you give something to your perverted apostle instead, huh?
He better get stronger so he can roll around in my stead.
Well, whatever.
It’s enough as long as I can grab what I missed the last time.
[The God of Martial Arts shows interest in the martial arts you perform!]
Good enough?
[The God of History and Records is interested in your biography!]
Oh.
[The God of Nature expresses gratitude towards you!]
As the messages continued to appear, I blinked in bewilderment and felt my head beginning to swirl.
Sleep.
Just a moment.
Can I get a little time to think?
I’ve hardly ever imagined myself in this kind of situation, and my head is feeling a bit fuzzy.
…Wait, no? It’s not just a feeling?
It feels like my thoughts are getting interrupted, just like how it felt when I collapsed last time.
One…
Hm.
*
In the basement of a building, a man in a robe quietly sighed as he listened to stories coming through a crystal ball.
Many were trying to create something while dying themselves.
They were risking their lives to fulfill the wishes of their great deity.
But in the end, what remained was merely more death.
Where did it all go wrong?
What was the problem that caused their success, which was right in front of them, to crumble so futilely?
We bent our pride and even reached out to the unbelievers, so why is our plan…
“What went wrong?”
The man flinched at the tone that held no sympathy and raised his head, chewing on his lips before the opponent’s expressionless face.
Now, at the point where the plan that he absolutely had to succeed in had also failed, he found himself in a position where he had to beg for cooperation from the person in front of him.
“We faced a bit of interference.”
“The opponent is the Alrn Young Lady, is she not?”
“How do you know that?”
“Because she is the one the divine beings are most interested in on this continent.”
Mentioning Lucy’s name, the man’s counterpart smiled lightly and leaned back against his chair.
“See, didn’t I tell you? To get the Alrn Young Lady into trouble, you shouldn’t target her directly but rather influence those around her. She can bravely confront any enemies aimed at herself, but she cannot withstand the collapse of those close to her.”
Unable to refute the question about whether his own advice had been so difficult to follow, the man bit his lip yet said nothing.
What he had just been told by the evil god he served was not much different from this individual’s words.
To topple Lucy Alrn, blessed by the deity, it was not a smart choice to target her directly.
Even when the evil gods of fire acted directly against her and the evil god of darkness laid his existence on the line to kill her, Lucy Alrn was standing right here, having overcome all those trials with aplomb.
In fact, look at the current situation.
The mad alchemist, who had lived for a long time, attempted to control the two masters of the forest to trample her, yet ended up losing.
“Perhaps this is a good thing. Your incompetence has now been proven. From now on, out of sheer shame, you won’t be able to obstruct my plans.”
“…Do you have something in mind?”
“Yes. A few things. If you assist actively, I’m sure we’ll achieve some solid results.”
The counterpart looked at him with a sticky smile.
Meeting the sparkling eyes filled with madness in the person’s gaze, the man confirmed that they were empty and let out a light chuckle.
He was rushing towards something, losing his mind, yet this individual’s core seemed to be blank.
Right. For now, I’ll just follow your lead.
Our goals intersect at this point, so I’ll abide by it.
However, don’t ever think we’ll remain under you forever.
When the emptiness spreading from within you devours you whole, you’ll find yourself subordinate to us.
Whether you want it or not.
While the man was contemplating betrayal in his heart, the man across from him, Luca, surmised what he was thinking.
If he were in that position, he wouldn’t have been able to endure the arrogance of the other party not knowing their place.
But whatever. It doesn’t matter. I have no intention of granting that fellow what he desires either. That person will become fodder to raise Lucy Alrn.
He would cultivate the one he hated the most with his own demise.
And in the end, Lucy Alrn would become a star brighter than anything, even more than the moon.
A new moon forged by my own hands would be the center of the sky.
As Luca chuckled at that thought, the man across from him also wore a smile.
For now, both were merely preparing hidden daggers for each other.
*
“…Huh?!”
As I regained my senses and sat up, I confirmed the dimming scenery around me and blinked.
[Are you awake?]
‘…What happened?’
[A simple story. Due to outputting insufficient abilities, issues arose.]
So I collapsed because I filled the gaps left by my lacking magic with my divinity, huh?
Well, it’s not surprising. What I did just now was revive the entire dying forest.
It’s not strange for my body to hit its limit.
‘Where am I now?’
[You’re in the village, having used the teleportation circle. This is the lord’s mansion.]
‘…The lord’s mansion? Not an inn?’
[Do you seriously think people like you would stay in a rural area?]
I chuckled at Grandpa’s explanation about how, even now, the lord must be sweating bullets, fearing he might have made a mistake.
I feel a bit sorry. If I hadn’t fainted, things might not have gotten this way.
After that, I asked Grandpa several questions. I wanted to know if the masters of the forest had recovered, if there was something wrong with the forest I revived, and what my friends were doing.
If I had to boil down Grandpa’s response into one phrase, it would be that I didn’t need to worry about unnecessary things.
All the problems plaguing the forest had already been solved, and now the only lingering issue was myself.
Hearing that, I let out a chuckle and stretched.
Given the time, there’s no point in fussing about going back; it would only put them in more trouble.
I should just take it easy for today. After all I had worked myself to the bone recently, so this amount of rest should be fine.
Settling my mind, I activated the log function to check the messages that had come to me.
I never expected so many gods would take an interest in me.
The Perverted Crow. The God of Martial Arts. The God of Nature. The God of History and Records, too.
Wow. Can I snag one thing from each of those idiots?
If they want to be part of my heroic tale, they better hand over what I want, right?!
Haha! This is insane!
Being the apostle of a pathetic god comes with its perks!
This is the power of the great god at the center of all gods!…
[Please select one of the gods who have shown interest in you.]
…Wait, what?
Just one?
Am I supposed to choose one from all of them?
What a major letdown. If you’re going to call yourself a great god, at least have some guts and flex a little!
I’ve got a favorite among them. You should be pressuring them to give me something nice!
After all I’ve been through, I should at least be able to pull that off!
I clicked my tongue and crossed my arms, taking a good look at the list of gods.
It was a dilemma. Do I really have to pick just one from all of that?
Telling me to choose just one from a buffet spread? That’s just unfair!
If that’s the case, why not choose for me and just hand me one?
Why make me give up something?
Hmm.
For now, let’s skip the Perverted Crow.
That guy has tons of useful powers, but if I ask if they’re strictly necessary, it becomes a mixed bag.
The same goes for the God of Nature.
He has great powers, but most of that could be replaced by my sacred magic.
No real reason to accept it. So if I have to choose, it would be the God of Martial Arts or the God of History and Records.
Furrowing my brow in thought, I recalled the personalities of the two gods.
Which one would offer me more to chew on?
The God of Martial Arts is the kind who gives anything to those with talent, no questions asked.
Since so many people worship him, he’s bound to have substantial powers, so I could expect a lot from him.
On the flip side, the God of History and Records is overly picky.
A typical foul-mouthed scholarly type.
When comparing the two, it seems only normal to choose the God of Martial Arts, right?
But then again…
Heroic tale.
Heroic tale.
As I was tapping my arms in thought, a sly grin crept across my face.
If I play my cards right, maybe I can bag a sucker.
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