Chapter 469
The celestial garden had been noisy lately. Today, it was quiet. No, to be precise, it had been forced quiet.
"Is this some kind of joke?"
The gacha machine set up in the garden. It was only natural to use the funds earned by making the gods who'd caused trouble during Liberta's trial work to spin it. Curious, Kefeli spun it. Her expression went blank when she saw what came out.
The machine was needlessly elaborate. According to the flashy instruction manual, spinning it produced a preview light in six tiers: blue, green, red, silver, gold, and rainbow. There were also fanfares and secret bonuses. Kefeli had tried it right away. Ten spins. She'd used funds earned through the sweat and tears of the three gods currently working off the trouble they'd caused Liberta.
"What is this? It has glasses, a nose, and a mustache. Is it for disguise?"
"Who knows? But you'd stand out wearing that. I can feel divine power, so a god probably made it. I'm more interested in this one. It's a pretty doll, but it's definitely cursed."
Meter took the item from the capsule and examined it. She didn't know it was a party gag, so she just tilted her head in confusion.
Akm was more interested in the Western-style girl's doll radiating an ominous presence. A curse of this level wouldn't affect a god. He poked its cheek. The doll desperately tried to look away. But Akm was the god of war. He circled around and met its gaze.
"Hmm. I feel like I've seen this somewhere. Where was it?"
Beside him, Goldos was looking at a massive painting, too large to have fit in a capsule. It depicted flowers blooming in a yellow summer. An art connoisseur would recognize the style as strikingly similar to a very famous painter. But this was another world. Goldos couldn't be sure; his memory was from a manga.
"Let's see, this, and this, and... huh?"
Next to him, Pufful was desperately trying to solve a puzzle box the gods had made as a joke. If it were a physical puzzle that could be solved, a goddess wouldn't be so confused. Rings intertwined in complex ways. At first glance, they seemed connected. Even a goddess was having trouble.
What had come out so far was still tame.
Kefeli silently threw a bunny suit into the trash. It was made by a god, clearly a labor of love. A woman wearing it would have made a beautiful picture. The fabric and stitching were carefully chosen. It had features like automatic size adjustment, self-cleaning, self-repair, and increased durability. Liberta would have covered his eyes at the absurdly high performance for such a ridiculous item. Since it was made by a god, that was expected. But the embroidery logo revealed a male god's work. Kefeli, a goddess, looked at it like garbage and threw it in the incinerator.
She picked up another item.
"Ah, that's a magic tool."
"Hmm. Indeed. An unusual shape."
"A weapon?"
"It's small, isn't it? The color doesn't look like it's for fighting."
It had a handle attached to a small cylinder. Polka dots. Rounded corners. It was clearly not a weapon.
Kefeli gently shook it. It made a sound children would like. Magic power that soothed the heart flowed from it.
"..."
"Well, it's a magic tool that children would like! That's good!"
"Fool! North! Don't touch that!"
It was a rattle. A household with a baby might appreciate it. But it was in the hands of Kefeli, a single god.
Akm tried to lighten the mood. Goldos stopped him, acting on "let sleeping gods lie."
Kefeli's expression was completely blank. Gods lived long lives. Some became lovers and married. Some goddesses had children. Among them, the three goddesses Kefeli, Meter, and Pufful? All single. Even Pufful, the goddess of love, had dead eyes the moment she realized what this item was for. Not hatred. A gaze full of emptiness.
Goldos had grabbed Akm's shoulder. Too late. The bomb was about to explode. But Kefeli put the item on the table and sighed in relief. But bombs remained.
"..."
"South, please stop silently holding that whip. Say something."
"East, asking for a comment might be asking too much. Look. West and Pufful are looking at the gacha machine like they're staring at garbage."
The next item was a whip. Not for combat. For something else entirely.
The two male gods couldn't stop sweating. Were the ones who put this stuff in the machine insane?
"It'll get smashed at this rate."
"At this point, maybe I should smash it. The one who made this, I mean. This is completely tone-deaf."
Feeling the pressure from the three goddesses was unfair. The male gods prayed the goddesses' patience wouldn't snap. They watched Kefeli reach for the next capsule.
They hadn't wanted this kind of tension. They'd expected something more exciting. Akm and Goldos couldn't even read their manga. They watched, wiping cold sweat.
"I'll help if it comes to that."
Kefeli picked up a capsule. Just twisting it open had never been so terrifying.
What would come out next?
"A box?"
"Nice wrapping paper."
A small, beautifully wrapped box that fit in her palm.
Could it be a winner? Akm and Goldos started to relax.
"No, wait. Then why was the light blue? A winner should be a better color."
"...No way."
Akm panicked. Goldos did too. Kefeli had noticed. She unwrapped it with cold eyes. A spring-loaded clown doll popped out, cackling. A jack-in-the-box.
"..."
The gods who made and put it there aside, this wasn't funny. The three goddesses weren't the only ones angry now. Even the two male gods felt rage building.
Kefeli silently threw the jack-in-the-box in the trash. She reached for the last capsule.
At that moment, a presence approached the garden door.
"Unusual."
"Yes, it is."
All the gods felt it. They stopped their empty stares. Confirming a knock at the door, they allowed entry.
"Forgive the intrusion."
A faceless, winged being entered. An angel. A messenger serving the gods, connecting heaven and earth. It held documents.
They could only come here by meeting certain conditions.
"What is it?"
The gods didn't take their anger out on the angel. They were angry about the gacha. But the angel wasn't involved. Kefeli spoke for them. Her usual blunt tone. The angel bowed and presented the documents.
"I came to ask permission to issue this quest to your apostles."
A quest from heaven to the heroes of the lower world.
"Hmm. It's built up."
"This is good. An opportunity."
"Yes. I want my apostle to participate actively."
A trial from heaven. A chance for the gods to legally strengthen their apostles. There were limits, but they could add rewards. Even Kefeli, who'd been in a bad mood, felt a little better. Akm and Goldos were relieved. Meter was also interested. She took the papers and began reading.
"We've preselected the requests. Particularly those that would benefit the world's operation are prioritized."
These quests were a way to outsource the angels' work to heroes. Heaven had less work. Heroes got rare items.
"I see no problem."
"Yes, I agree."
"I am also fine with it."
"I'm good with it."
"Me too."
The angels had chosen carefully. No strange requests mixed in. The gods could approve them without worry. They each took out their divine seals and stamped the documents. This approved the quests for release to the lower world.
"Thank you. Next, I'd like to discuss the rewards for successful completion. Is that acceptable?"
The gods would decide the rewards. They couldn't give away heavenly items directly. But they could have the angels prepare items hard to obtain in the lower world.
"I will offer a recipe for an ancient weapon."
"Then I'll prepare a somewhat rare skill scroll."
"I'll provide a monster egg that's difficult to acquire."
They didn't leave everything to the angels. They sometimes provided items they already had.
"I'll give this map."
Goldos, Akm, Meter, and Pufful presented their rewards. The angel accepted them.
"And what will you offer, Lady Kefeli?"
"Me?"
The angel asked Kefeli. Remembering she hadn't opened the last capsule, she casually cracked it open.
"Oh."
Her lips curved. The first smile of the day.
"I'll offer this as a reward. Any objections?"
The item was acceptable. She handed it to the angel.