Chapter 319
Well then, it can be said that the gods existing in this world are generally benevolent towards humanity.However, depending on the time and circumstances, gods can wreak havoc upon people.
And many of these rampaging gods are those with natures derived from natural elements.
"I can't accept this!! Why is our little brother playing the role of the Evil God!? That child is so very kind!!"
Perhaps they could be called raging gods. *Thud!* She slammed her tankard down on the table as if striking it, her flushed face shouting complaints.
Her straight, platinum blonde hair flowing, a face one could call cute if not for the drunkenness, a figure with well-proportioned curves—mountains above average but less than bountiful—the emerald-green-eyed goddess, her gaze unfocused, latched onto the woman drinking with her.
"That's right! That's right!! Laina is absolutely correct!! Why must Gulfora-chan play the role of the Evil God!? I cannot accept this!! That's it! Let's cause earthquakes in vehement protest!!""Yes! Let's do that!! I'll also go on strike and erase all light from the world!!"
Across from the woman called Laina, another goddess, her face also flushed, drained the ale in her tankard and yelled for a refill at a nearby angelic attendant.
Her beautiful, wavy, honey-brown hair and seemingly gentle appearance were stained crimson from the alcohol. Her mountains were more bountiful than the goddess called Laina's, so they swayed appropriately when she moved her body.
"Um, Laina-san, Juri-san, perhaps it's time to ease up on the drink? And Laina-san, as the Goddess of Light, if you erase the light, the world will fall into chaos. And Juri-san, please, *really* stop with the earthquakes. If you, the Earth Goddess, seriously caused an earthquake, the continents would split in two."
The one admonishing these raging gods was a goddess with beautiful blue hair tied in a ponytail.She was also drinking, but not as much as the rampaging goddesses.
"What is it, Kairi!? Are you siding with those conceptual gods!? And you're a nature god too!?""That's right! That's right!! As the Sea Goddess, you should just hit those guys with a giant tsunami—*splash*!!"
The goddess with what could be called a sporty, tanned complexion—the Sea Goddess—regretted in her heart why she had come to this drinking party.
"This is all the fault of the previous Chief God!! If they had just installed Gulfora as Chief God, this wouldn't have happened!! What's with this 'selection'!? 'Next generation god' my foot!!""That's right, that's right!! We properly recommended Gulfora-chan!! Then the next Chief God should be Gulfora-chan!"
The gods of this world are broadly divided into two factions.One is the Conceptual Gods, born from conceptual meanings, like Kefeli, Goddess of Wisdom; Goldos, God of Commerce; Meiter, Goddess of Mediation; Akam, God of Strife, etc.The other is the Nature Gods, beings closer to spirits, born from the natural environment like light, fire, water, earth, etc.
These two factions don't exactly feud with each other, but they aren't particularly close either.Because their origins are different, their values often differ as well.
The Goddess of Light, Laina, and the Earth Goddess, Juri—while not called extremists among the Nature Gods, their power often makes them domineering.Even now, they were making bold statements criticizing the previous Chief God, who should be their superior. The Sea Goddess sitting with them exchanged looks with the angelic attendant, who signaled back with an 'It's fine' glance.
"Ugh, why did Gulfora have to volunteer for the Evil God role... Now I can't see him. Idiooot~"
In the end, it seemed they couldn't go on without taking their frustration out on something. Their earlier energy vanished, and they slumped over the table, half-crying. The others had left them alone, knowing this pattern.
One might think other male gods wouldn't leave such vulnerable goddesses alone, but the male gods, knowing exactly how it would end if they got involved, quietly averted their gaze and enjoyed the drinks in their hands.
"That's riiight! Your big sisters are so lonely without being able to see youuu!!"
In the end, the reason for all the commotion boiled down to one word: loneliness.These two goddesses doted on their younger brother, the God of Chaos, Gulfora, to the point of being called overly affectionate.So much so that, despite having the power themselves, they didn't participate in the Chief God selection, instead wanting to support their brother into becoming Chief God out of sheer kindness—that's how heavy their love was.
If asked if this was the love spoken of in the world, one might answer it was nothing so mild.After all, these two goddesses *withdrew* from the Chief God selection because their brother took on the Evil God role.
Furthermore, they were so worried about the God of Chaos that they schemed to thwart the Chief God selection and ruin the whole game board, just to deter the gods who would point their spears at their brother.
"...... If you feel that strongly, you both should have just participated in the Chief God selection and quickly won. If you two cooperate, you could achieve an overwhelming victory that would leave the other gods unable to lift a finger, right?""「What kind of sister attacks her own brother!!?」""Quite a few, actually. Because, well, we're gods. Compared to humans, the concept of death isn't that big a deal for us."
And so, while properly carrying out the world's management duties, the wise choice was to steer clear of the misbehaving goddesses.The Sea Goddess was here because she knew that leaving them alone would lead to something terrible, so she had no choice but to come, even knowing the trouble.
"That's no sister!""She's no sister!!""Yes, yes, I understand. Let's drink some holy water, okay?""I'm still drinking ale!!"
Whether it was because they were of the same generation, Kairi often found herself dealing with them like this and felt like sighing.She thought, 'Maybe I'll just pay the bill and leave, it's too troublesome.'But she resigned herself, thinking, 'If I leave them here, I'll get complaints from the other gods,' and asked the angelic attendant for a chaser.
"In that case, why don't you two just go help Gulfora-san yourselves?"
Thinking her response could be half-hearted by now, and knowing they wouldn't be satisfied anyway—and since the rules stated the Evil God role was for one deity—she tried to brush it off.
"「......」""You two, the restroom is over there. Making a mess here is NG for a goddess, okay?"
They suddenly fell silent. Worried they might have drunk too much, Kairi checked their expressions, but their cheat-spec goddess bodies seemed to have metabolized the alcohol all at once, returning them to sobriety, and they began thinking with serious faces.
"No, no, it's impossible. The Evil God role can only be handled by one deity. I was only joking," Kairi said, flustered and terrified by the two high-spec goddesses suddenly falling silent, trying to change the topic.
"Juri, it only says 'the Evil God must be one deity,' doesn't it?""That's right, Laina. It is written: 'The Evil God: One Deity.'""Y-You two, what exactly...?"
As if realizing a blind spot, the Goddess of Light and the Earth Goddess began to chuckle.
"No, no, we just thought of something. We'll be taking our leave here.""Yes, we thought of something, so we'll be excused."
For some reason, Kairi felt that if she didn't stop them now, something irreparable might happen.
"Umm, might I ask what you thought of?"
She wasn't outmatched in terms of power, but facing both of them together was indeed tough.Wishing for backup from the other gods, she sent a glance around, but everyone averted their gaze from the two goddesses with their eerie smiles.
'Useless men,' Kairi cursed inwardly, thinking of how to stop them, when...
"Hey! I heard you're drinking! Let me join in!!""Perfect timing!! I always thought you were clueless, but!!"
A carefree male god approached and latched on.A male god with hair reminiscent of flames, wearing Middle-Eastern ethnic attire that left his muscular chest largely exposed.
He sensed something rude in Kairi's words but assumed he was welcome, grinning widely.
"Hey, is that so! Then Laina and Juri, let's drink too!!""「......」"
In stark contrast to Kairi's welcoming mood, Laina and Juri shot him cold stares that said 'Read the room, idiot.' Ignoring him with the bold tactic of 'he's just heated up, being the Fire God,' he plopped down heavily.Ordering a drink from a passing angel, he said...
"Speaking of which, I heard something earlier. Apparently, that guy Gulfora showed up at the floating garden.""FAMUU!!!!!"
He had just brought up the worst possible topic at this moment.It might have been a perfectly fine topic from his perspective, but Kairi couldn't help but think there were plenty of other things he could have talked about.
"Huh? What's up? Yelling all of a sudden, are you drunk?""That's right, Kairi, be quiet.""Yeees, Kairi-chan. You have to be quiet, okay~?"
The one silver lining was that they had managed to detain the two goddesses who were about to leave.
"So, why did Gulfora go to a place like that?""Yes, yes, that's right. Why would he go to such a place, leaving his sisters behind?"
What lay ahead was no longer a fun banquet hall.What lay ahead was an interrogation where silence was not permitted.To Kairi, the beautiful attire of the two goddesses seemed to transform instantly into the uniforms worn by torturers.
"Huh? Something about... manga? He went to borrow some books called that, I heard. Seems Kefeli's the one sourcing them.""Oh really? That vixen, trying to catch Gulfora's eye with something like that?""Unforgivable. This is unforgivable~. That shut-in goddess, trying to catch the eye of my precious, precious Gulfora-chan."
Yet, Famuu, still unable to read the room, blurted out what he'd heard without a care, and Kairi felt the temperature around them dropping rapidly.
"Ah! And I heard Gulfora gave her a present as thanks for borrowing it or something!!""FAMUU!!!!""Huh? What's up? Hey, Laina, Juri, you're shaking... are you cold? Want me to make some fire?"
'This is bad. We can't let him speak any further,' Kairi judged instantly and tried to interrupt, but it was too late.
"No, we're fine. Thank you, Famuu, for telling us such good information. As thanks, I'll pay the entire bill here, so drink as much as you like.""Whoa! Really! Lucky!""Yes, please drink to your heart's content. We just *haaappened* to remember something, so you and Kairi-chan take your time and drink slowly, okay~?"
The two goddesses, having passed their critical point, stood up quietly, said a few words to the angelic attendant, and left the establishment.
"What was up with them?"
Unaware of the change he'd caused, the male god tilted his head, finally receiving his drink.
"If the world ends, it's your fault.""Huh? Why's that?"
Kairi was seized by the impulse to punch this fool, who remained oblivious to the fact that he had just spawned a world crisis.
"Shut up! Attendant, bring me more ale too!!"
With no one left to pray to, Kairi fled into reckless drinking.