I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

 

I still remember the day my life was falling apart.

Nothing particularly special, just a perfectly ordinary day.

The sun was shining as usual, the wind was blowing, and I was working in the herb field like any other day.

Then, an unidentified voice came down.

<You are Paeon.>

It was the voice of the deity.

Blinding light poured down from the dark sky, and the voice echoed in my head.

“Yes, I am Paeon.”

I could barely nod my head.

<I will give you a task.>

A task.

I should have ignored it and thrown the herb basket, or gently raised a middle finger.

<Create an elixir for all the gods of the divine realm and name it Nectar.>

“Nectar.”

The elixir of the gods, the elixir of immortality.

Damn it, they were asking me to do something even the gods couldn’t do.

I should have just thrown the herb basket at that moment!

But, for the first time in my ignorant life, my heart was pounding with excitement.

I knew this was something only I, Lottie Paeon, could do among all the intelligent beings in both the divine and human realms.

Only I, Lottie Paeon, could do this.

So why wouldn’t my heart pound?

The question arose in my mind, ‘Why would the gods need an elixir of immortality?’ but only for a moment.

The deity had given me something even more extraordinary.

<I understand that even if you devote your short life, you cannot accomplish this task.>

Of course.

Making medicine for the gods wouldn’t be that easy.

<So I will grant you a life that continues after you.>

A life that continues? What does that mean?

Before I could ask, something hot touched my forehead.

It was the deity’s sentence.

The bright light emanating from the deity disappeared into my body.

<If you succeed in making Nectar, I will give you a place among the gods.>

“I will become a god?”

<All the beings in the intermediate realm will worship you, and even the gods will acknowledge you.>

The voice continued to echo in my head.

<I will seat you among the 12 gods, receiving all the reverence and respect.>

It wasn’t just a normal god’s seat.

The 12 gods.

It referred to the superior gods seated right next to the deity.

Just hearing it was a sweet reward.

As a human, it was an opportunity to ascend not just to a normal god but to the seat of the 12 gods.

But what made my heart beat even faster was the continuation of life.

‘I can study herbalism until I die.’

No, even after I die, I can continue to explore the field I didn’t know, the field I wanted to know!

What if.

How much would herbalism develop after I die?

What new herbs would be discovered, and what new treatments would be born?

‘Could I even discuss with other geniuses?’

Now, it’s just me, and everyone else is ordinary, but you never know.

Living a continuing life, I might meet someone with similar knowledge to mine.

Then, we could stay up all night debating and arguing, finding new methods!

I might even keep meeting new geniuses as I continue to be reborn.

‘It’s thrilling just to think about it!’

Even the end of this continuing life was divine.

A reward for transcending the limits of the human body and soul.

I was so excited that my fingertips tingled.

“Alright.”

In this lifetime, I won’t be able to create Nectar.

I lacked research infrastructure, facilities, and theories.

But time would solve that too.

While I’m breathing, I’ll develop, and after I die, I’ll nurture the seeds I’ve sown into bigger trees for others.

That’s how the world will keep expanding, and knowledge will keep expanding.

Ah, how naive I was then.

“I’ll try to make Nectar.”

I accepted the deity’s proposal, and thus, the first life began.

 

The first life.

It wasn’t bad.

Although I promised not to take on any more disciples after a problem arose with my only disciple, and I died earlier than expected due to a severe cold…

Other than that, everything was perfect.

From the tower the deity provided, I could study herbalism to my heart’s content until I died.

Of course, when I died, herbalism research had progressed abnormally.

 

The second life.

I regained my memories in the body of a three-year-old.

I could barely find out that it was 30 years after I died.

I died less than a year after recovering my memories due to worsening cold symptoms.

I should work harder to promote herbalism to prevent such things from happening again in the future.

 

The fourth life.

I realized that the age of memory recovery is random.

In the second life, I was three years old, but in the previous life and this life, I regained my memories as an adult.

I also realized that the reincarnation cycle is randomly determined.

From here, I should have known that I was already doomed.

 

The tenth life.

Darn it.

I advanced herbalism by ten in my previous life.

Why, when I’m reborn, does herbalism not only fail to progress but drop to levels 8, and 7?!

Why?!

Every time I reincarnate, I gnash my teeth at the fact that instead of growing, herbalism has regressed compared to before I died.

Eventually, baldness came….

In this life, I also need to develop a hair loss treatment, quickly.

 

The fifteenth life.

I started to get confused about how many lives I’ve lived.

Some lives are so short, and others are so long that it’s even more confusing.

From now on, I’ll just roughly count.

Surely it won’t exceed three digits, will it?

 

1nth life.

…Tchkk!

Damn it, tchkk! It was random, tchkk!! And the race too!!!

I, tchkk, was born an orc, tchkk!

I! Died, tchkk! In a skirmish!! Tchkkk!!

Take that, Ten!

Tchkk deity!! Take it!!! Curse!!! My curse!! Tchkkkk!!!

 

2nth life.

I was born as a human, which is nice, but I’m anxious.

If this continues, will I be born as a kobold or goblin next time?

Herbalism still couldn’t keep up with how much I’ve advanced it.

Isn’t it understandable? Why doesn’t everyone understand this? Can’t you just see it right away? Instead of interpreting it on your own, just follow the path I’ve laid out!

 

3nth life.

…Kurrkk. I became a goblin.

I’ll be careful from now on, kurrkk.

I raided a human farm and died by knights, kurrkk.

The captain betrayed me!!! Kurrkk!!

 

4nth life.

A dragon came looking for me.

It seemed interested in the fact that a human is living a continuing life.

We became friends after cursing the deity while drinking heavily together.

I envy you, dragon, strong and long-lived.

I’ll never be a dragon, so why can’t I be born into a long-lived race like the elves?

 

5nth life.

After begging with the dragon every day since we met, I finally was born as a long-lived race!

Immediately, as a mermaid!

…Damn!! No, how am I supposed to conduct herbalism research underwater?!

And why do my sisters keep making me sing, whyy!! No, I can’t sing!

Meanwhile, the fish are so good at coaxing me that it seems difficult to eat fish in the future, huhu.

Although I didn’t advance herbalism, I became extremely knowledgeable about seaweed and aquatic plants.

 

6nth life.

What’s this about not being able to eat fish? Omnomnom.

 

7nth life.

I died as soon as I regained my memories because a demon cut my country in half.

I heard he was looking for someone, but it was a commoner, so he was consumed by the flames.

Demon bastard, you will not be spared.

 

8nth life.

Hurray, hurray!!

Finally, I was born as an elf, hurray!!

Wow, finally, a long-lived race living on land.

As long as I take care of myself, I should easily live a thousand years, right?

…And I was happy.

Regained my memories from the past life, and after just ten years, I died from a disease only elves get.

Damn.

 

9nth life.

It’s a historic life.

I! Made! Nectar!

The deity and other gods were greatly satisfied with the result, and the nectar I made began to be supplied to the divine realm.

But to stop the continuing life and elevate my soul to the position of a deity, a perfect nectar is needed.

Then I asked if I could at least choose my reincarnation, but that was also not possible.

Instead, they offered a gift, what’s this? A ticket to the afterlife?

Can I just punch the deity once?

 

10nth life.

Wow, this time I’m a dwarf, wow, exciting. Wow.

…Is that a lie? Am I going to tour all races, damn!!

What’s the use of knowing that dwarves even have bearded women in herbalism!! What’s the usee!!

And why are dwarf scabies so painful?!

After baldness, I guess I need to make a scabies medicine too, huhu.

 

And in the nth life.

“Ah.”

My lungs disappeared and then reappeared, and my breathing became shallow. Tears fell from my eyes as they touched the air.

It was a sign that memories from past lives were coming back.

Human, orc, goblin, mermaid, elf, dwarf…

Knowledge, memories, and experiences from a life that easily exceeded three digits poured into my small mind.

For a moment, I stood there, tears streaming down, and then I clenched my fist tightly.

“Darn it.”

As I looked up, the blue sky stretched out before me.

The same blue sky as when I first met the deity.

…Are the deity and other gods now behind those blue clouds, drinking the nectar I made and sucking honey?

And here I am rolling around like this?

As soon as that thought came to me, the thread of reason snapped.

Damn.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

Someone grabbed me, but I ran for my life.

To a high place, as high as my voice could reach the sky!

So where I arrived was at the top of a tower.

“I announce to all the gods of the divine realm and all intelligent beings of the human realm!”

Maybe it’s because I’m not used to it yet, or maybe because my body is weak. My voice lacked strength.

Cough, no.

It seems that the body of this life is unusually weak.

I tasted blood in my mouth.

But I couldn’t stop talking.

“I, Lottie Paeon, hereby resign from this life!!”

Nectar, scabies medicine, baldness medicine!

I can’t make anything anymore, no, I won’t make anything anymore!

From now on, whether it’s racial diseases or scabies, you’ll figure it out on your own!

All deals are off now!

I, really, sincerely!

“I don’t want to work!”