Chapter 318
"Ugh, my manga...""My, my latest work...""...... Please, I beg you, let me read it for this amount!?"
The heroes had gathered at Liberta's side, and the gods judged that there would be no problem dealing with the great calamity. However, the price for this was the loss of their entertainment.
"You were the ones who abandoned the contract. I delivered my oracle concerning the hero. Naturally, the manga is confiscated.""Then what about the Goddess of Love!? She delivered an oracle just like us!!"
The bookshelves were all removed, and the place had returned to its original mystical floating garden form. But Akam, Goldos, and Meiter, the three deities, were protesting with their own placards, decrying the tyranny, as a huge pile of unread manga had vanished.
In response to their protest, Kefeli glanced up once and declared it insincere.
"She came here after you made your contracts with him. She did not make that contract.""That's right~. I didn't know you seniors had a contract with Senior Kefeli, and the first time I read manga was when Senior Kefeli recommended it to me~. Ah, so this is where you're pushing. How precious."
The desks around Kefeli and Paffle were still piled high with manga. Kefeli read voraciously, indiscriminately across genres, while Paffle's stack contained many works with covers depicting males in close proximity.
"In that case, Paffle should also be under contract!! We demand equality!!""The situation is different now from back then. Back then, I acted to conceal Liberta, but now that he's acting so openly, there's no more meaning in hiding it."
Negotiating with Kefeli, aside from using the trump card of an oracle, is difficult. The oracle, which allows interference with the mortal plane, is their only means of negotiation. But if asked whether they want to read manga so badly that they'd consume their remaining oracles, even as gods, they would hesitate.
Therefore, Kefeli has no need to cater to the hopes of the three deities, Akam and the others.
She judged that while they lost some advantage, it wasn't a decisive one.Since they seem to have built a cooperative relationship, she推测 that by the time they become hostile, Liberta will have grown stronger, so she feels no need to issue an oracle.
"How can this be...""Rather, why not take this opportunity to break free from manga?""Impossible!!""No way!!""It is impossible!!"
And so, from here until the subjugation of Azidahaka, she thought it would be a time to leisurely read manga while observing from on high, but the outsiders were noisy.For gods, their natural enemy, boredom, could be staved off by the entertainment of manga, a treasure in itself.Kefeli sighed at the gods resisting the loss of this treasure. Normally, she would ignore them and continue reading, but when a two-headed eagle flew into the floating garden, the gods all fell silent at once.
The eagle perched on a roost, looked around, and confirmed that everyone was present.
Then, the right head of the eagle opened its mouth wide.
"Hey there, champions of justice. Having fun killing my subordinates to your heart's content?"
An unexpectedly cheerful voice flowed from the eagle.
"Your wording. There's a way to say things, even if it's unavoidable. Evil God."
It was Akam who reacted with a voice full of exasperation.
"I'll give you credit for volunteering for the role of Evil God, but right now, you should be sealed, limbs bound, unable to move, shouldn't you? I'm amazed you can sound so cheerful.""And you declare the owner of that voice to be the Evil God," Goldos said, his tone dripping with disbelief, as if questioning his sanity. "If you get used to it, this life can be quite comfortable, you know? I understand this is necessary to maintain the world. A world can't exist on light alone.""I never thought you'd be willing to give up the position of Chief God for that."
From the exchange, it was clear that the Evil God and the gods present here were acquainted.Meiter spoke to the two-headed eagle with pitying eyes.
The eagle gazed back at those pitying eyes with gentle ones.
"What, if someone has to do it, it should be me. After all, I am the God of Chaos. When it comes to creation, is there any god more suited than I?""Think of how your sisters carried on when you volunteered to be the Evil God! Even now, they are trying to save you!"
To kill a god, one must not kill them physically but eradicate the very source of their faith.However, there exist beings in this world whose faith cannot be extinguished, no matter how one struggles.
One is the earth, necessary for life.One is the light that illuminates this world.One is the chaos from which all things originate.
These three deities are triplets.
"That's right. We were the first gods chosen for the selection of the Chief God, so, well, we're rather resented.""Even though we cannot die, you chose a hero whose role is to kill you. It can't be helped if you're resented.""My sisters haven't changed either.""Enough with the brother complex. The reason we can't leave this place is because of those two."
The Goddess of Light and the Goddess of Earth.He calls them his older sisters, but since they were born together, they could also be considered younger sisters.
"Besides, if you want to go talk to someone, go to our sisters, not us. If this gets out, we'll get complaints from those two."
Considering the position of the person she was talking to, Kefeli gave up on the idea of having time to read manga, closed her book, and offered this advice. Both faces of the two-headed eagle smiled wryly simultaneously.It was a very human-like action, but if the essence is divine, then it can't be helped.
The fact that the gods present here now were suffering from the aggressive actions of the sisters, enough to make the two-headed eagle smile wryly, said a lot.
"Originally, those two were the top candidates for Chief God.""'How could we attack our little brother!?' they said. The other gods who tried to recommend them are still desperately trying to persuade them, you know~?"
Meiter and Paffl also looked troubled as they assessed the two problem children.
"I've told my sisters not to hold back, but...""Can you really defend them for trying to sneak into their brother's bedroom? Among us, the prevailing rumor is that you volunteered for the Evil God role to escape from that, you know?""...... Well, about the reason I came...""You changed the subject.""He changed the subject.""He changed the subject, didn't he?""He changed the subject~"
Romance exists even among the gods. If Liberta heard this story, he would probably sigh, think 'Sounds like Greece,' and listen on.
"I came to ask if you'd let me read that too.""You mean this?""Yeah."
The Evil God, aka the God of Chaos, wanting to avoid the topic of such romantic circumstances, slowly pointed his right wing towards the object on Kefeli's desk.
"Just how did you find out about this? I haven't left this place, nor have I allowed it to be taken out.""Gossip-mongers exist everywhere, you know.""...... That guy."
Kefeli's expression soured into a grimace as she realized how the Evil God learned of the otherworldly books, but the eagle, the incarnation of the God of Chaos, smiled wryly and waited for a reply.
"There is no compensation. Therefore, there is no reason for me to lend it to you."
The time it took to reply was mere seconds.Now that she understood the request, judging there was no need to entertain it, Kefeli pulled her chair back again, sat down, picked up her manga, and tried to return to the world of reading, but...
"I know the scope of your authority. To maintain fairness, you cannot carelessly exercise your power. Your role this time is strictly that of an adjudicator, and that adjudicator cannot show me favoritism. And from my perspective, there is no reason for me to lend you this, as it could be perceived as a bribe.""I didn't come here without compensation either."
Hearing that there was compensation from the God of Chaos, Kefeli paused her sitting motion and turned back towards the two-headed eagle with a look one might give something suspicious.
"It's true that acts which could interfere with that world are not permitted under my current authority. I am merely here to maintain the system for this adjudication. However, that is strictly the authority of my role in this adjudication. There are plenty of things I can do with my original divine authority.""Meaning?""I can remodel this garden."
Then, as the eagle grinned, Kefeli glared at it with a sharp, scrutinizing gaze.
"An environment with only game boards, chairs, and tables isn't inconvenient for us gods, but it's terribly boring, right? Using my authority, I can create hot springs, make a space for relaxing reading. I can prepare a kitchen, and even create a pot that automatically produces food."
The God of Chaos's proposal was indeed one that did not violate the rules of the competition for Chief God.He only held the authority to interfere with this space where the gods were staying, not to fundamentally interfere with the proceedings themselves.
Until now, Kefeli and the others had brought in items permitted by their respective authorities, but they couldn't prepare anything beyond that.Facilities were a prime example.
"Your demand?"
Kefeli didn't think the current situation was ideal either.Intrigued by the unexpected proposal, Kefeli's response showed she was positively considering it. The God of Chaos nodded contentedly.
"One work per facility, how about that?""Very well."
A contract born from the desire to read otherworldly manga.
Kefeli nodded and glanced at Akam and the others, who were watching the exchange between Kefeli and the God of Chaos with frustrated expressions.
"Then, make this first.""...... What in the world is this?"
What Kefeli took out was a thin booklet with a pretty picture drawn on it.Anyone who knew would recognize it as a pamphlet, but the God of Chaos, unaware of its existence, muttered 'What a pretty picture' while understanding the intent was to create the thing in the picture. The eagle skillfully grabbed it and turned the pages, but couldn't understand the content as it was written in an otherworldly language.
"It's a chair from another world called a 'massage chair'. It loosens up your body.""?????? We gods feel fatigue, but it doesn't accumulate. I don't think it's necessary.""I'm not that focused on the massage, but it's a well-designed mechanism for sitting back and relaxing."
Ultimately, receiving an explanation from Kefeli, who understood the object, the convinced God of Chaos immediately set to work.The other gods watched the scene, thinking 'I didn't think of that,' but since their own authorities made such negotiations difficult and impossible for them, they could only watch in silence.
"Okay, how's this?""......"
A mass of chaos appeared before the eagle's eyes, writhed, took shape in just a few seconds, and a chair resembling the one in the pamphlet was created.
The appearance was the same. The issue was the comfort. Silently, Kefeli lay down on the completed massage chair. When she channeled magic power into it, the chair naturally reclined, allowing her to assume a comfortable posture.
"What kind of works do you prefer?"
Kefeli, satisfied with the comfort, asked the God of Chaos.
"Hmm, the place I'm in is a bit dark, so I'd like a story that's exciting and makes me laugh?""That's quite vague."
Receiving such a broad request, Kefeli pondered for a moment.Come to think of it, there was a work where the characters did things similar to the actions of Liberta's subordinate. Remembering this, she took it out.
It was a story about university students spending their youth with alcohol.Here and there, scenes were depicted of men becoming nudists, but ignoring that, she thought it fit the God of Chaos's request. She placed all currently available volumes before the eagle.
"Don't dirty it, don't tear it, don't make copies. Understood?""Yeah, got it. I'll come ask about your needs again when I finish reading.""Sure."
The eagle that received them flew away.The negotiation was successful. Now, time to read elegantly. Kefeli opened her book, but...
"「「「That's not fair!!」」」""......"
She was disturbed by the shouting gods.