I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 100
CHAPTER 100
Boom!!
The table shook violently, and the plates on top of it fell to the floor with a loud noise.
I felt the light seeping out again, gradually, from my body.
Deron exhaled deeply as he checked the changing color of my hair and eyes.
“Calm down, Wanderer.”
“……!!”
In an instant, my strength disappeared.
More accurately, it was undone by another force.
I found myself back in the chair as if nothing had happened.
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t give him to you.”
With a wave of his finger, the fallen plates returned to their places.
“I was just curious. I wanted to know why you’ve changed.”
“So, are you going to give him to me now?”
“Yes.”
Deron nodded obediently and handed me the glass bottle containing Arkin’s soul.
Arkin!
I reached out and grabbed the glass bottle.
Afraid of losing it again, I quickly hugged it to myself, and a small laugh escaped him.
Is Deron laughing now?
Surprised, I looked at Deron, and he waved his hand.
“Shall we part now? It’s troublesome for me if there are too many living in the underworld.”
My body began to float.
It felt similar to using teleportation magic.
Is it this easy to let go?
“Wanderer.”
No, Deron, with a light nod, spoke again.
“Lottie Paeon.”
That was my real name.
When one of the divine gods called my real name, a slight surge of power coursed through me.
“Will you promise me?”
“What promise…?”
“Will you promise to uphold every word you’ve said?”
Every word I said?
My mind stopped for a moment.
The only words I’ve said were that I won’t give anything anymore, I won’t make nectar or anything else, and I’ll live a normal life.
Surely he’s not talking about that?
I blinked dumbly.
Deron nodded.
“…Why? The words I just said are all unfavorable to the gods.”
“That’s true. In the divine realm, they are trying to figure out how to send you to Cranis Tower.”
Your family, the ones who stood by you.
All abandoned after making you give up everything.
“In this lifetime, they were sure you could make nectar.”
The corners of his lips revealed beneath his robe, formed a smile.
“That’s what the Lord said.”
“……!”
I grimaced.
The Lord didn’t say anything meaningless.
When he said it so confidently, it was either when the fates of the three gods glimpsed into the future or when he was confident he could somehow create the future.
‘I haven’t heard that the Three Gods of Fate have revealed themselves.’
The Three Gods of Fate were gods, but they didn’t stay in the divine realm.
Even the gods found it difficult to find them.
They only revealed themselves in the divine realm when a warning was needed.
‘If the Three Gods of Fate had revealed themselves in the divine realm, Detmé and Kyres would have noticed.’
The movement of the Three Gods of Fate meant something big was happening.
The most recent time the Three Gods of Fate moved was to warn of the evil spirit’s actions.
So they weren’t the Three Gods of Fate.
That meant the Lord had some tricks up his sleeve.
While my eyes narrowed, Deron’s lips curled further upwards.
What is it?
That smile seemed like it was confirming all my guesses to be true and then replying.
“But why are you telling me this?”
I asked Deron, keeping my gaze fixed on him.
“If I don’t make nectar, won’t you be in trouble too, Deron?”
If I don’t make nectar, eventually the gods will perish one by one.
And the divine realm will collapse as well.
That was true for Deron, one of the gods among the twelve.
But why would he tell me not to make nectar?
As I eyed Deron suspiciously, he provided an answer.
“I believe the era of the gods must come to an end.”
Tap, tap, Deron drummed the table lightly with his slender fingers as he spoke.
“All flowers wither once they bloom. Everything has a beginning and an end.”
“….”
“I’ve long thought that the era of the gods has ended. What’s happening now is nothing but forcibly keeping those who should have died alive.”
If I peek at this conversation, I might get some useful information.
I licked my lips once.
“You speak as if it’s already past the time it should have ended.”
“It is.”
Some bitterness seeped into Deron’s voice, and I couldn’t help but notice.
“In reality, it should have ended when that child fell.”
That child.
If I hadn’t only heard Deron’s words, I wouldn’t have known who it was.
But didn’t Kyres give plenty of hints?
“The current evil god, is that it?”
“….”
Deron’s eyes turned towards me.
Under the penetrating gaze of the divine eye that seemed to see everything, I swallowed momentarily.
It was a little frightening, but I had no intention of backing down.
“Kyres was babbling about something. Shameful history, his own mistakes. Oh! By the way, I didn’t ask any questions.”
I waved my hand.
“I just happened to overhear what Kyres was shouting to himself.”
“How far will Kyres go with his antics.”
Seeming tired of my words, Deron leaned against the backrest of his chair.
“Your guess is correct.”
He nodded lightly.
“I believed the era of the gods had ended when the evil god fell from the divine realm.”
Even a primordial god seemed to need preparation.
Deron took a deep breath.
“His name is Anatascius.”
Zap!!
As soon as I uttered the name, a strong recoil surged forth.
It was a force so strong that even I, at a distance, flinched involuntarily.
Even Deron’s fingers began to darken.
“Haha.”
Despite appearing to have serious injuries, Deron simply laughed.
“I never thought I’d sow such a curse in my nephew’s name.”
Tsk, he clicked his tongue lightly.
During that time, the blackness gradually consumed Deron’s fingers.
Crackle.
Soon it turned into dust and scattered away.
“….”
I frowned as I watched.
Deron’s current appearance wasn’t his true form.
Even in the underworld, moving the true body wasn’t an easy task.
But he was still undeniably a primordial god.
I never thought I’d get that kind of blow for calling a name.
“That’s why I wasn’t particularly fond of you. It was like forcing something that had already ended.”
“….”
“Everything must come to an end when it’s time, tsk.”
Deron looked at me, casually brushing off his hand.
“So, promise me.”
<I won’t make nectar anymore.>
I shrank my neck at the forceful voice.
<Lottie Pandelion, dear. Didn’t you just say out loud that you wouldn’t indulge the Lord anymore?>
The sweet whispers of death rustled in my ears.
<I, one of the primordial gods, will support you.>
I can do as I please.
I said I wanted to live a happy life surrounded by loved ones.
<After that, remain as a soul in the underworld.>
Then he’ll protect you.
I don’t have to struggle anymore with reincarnation and adaptation, or making nectar.
<Just live as you want in your current life and rest deeply.>
Or I can stay here and enjoy the underworld’s food.
Just eat that and close my eyes for a moment, and all my troubles will be over.
Leave all the troublesome things to him.
All I have to do is sleep without worrying.
<Because death is the ultimate rest.>
“….”
It was a sweet proposition.
Isn’t death truly the ultimate rest?
Living through storms of life, tired souls return to the underworld.
And then they sleep.
A sweet sleep without dreams, until enough strength is accumulated to withstand the next life.
But I didn’t have that.
I died, then woke up again in another life.
Desperately adapting, living life, only to die again soon.
And when I opened my eyes, a new life began again.
It felt like opening the door to leave work after finishing, only to find myself back at work.
But there was nothing left in my hands. Everything I had accumulated in each life scattered in an instant.
Some remembered me, some herbal cultivation methods, and a few combinations.
But that was all.
I looked down at my empty hands.
As if sensing my hesitation, Deron’s voice became even sweeter.
<What you want and what I want aren’t different.>
Certainly, Deron’s proposal was appealing.
If I just nodded at Deron’s words, I could rest without any interruption.
This life could pass smoothly and healthily, without any disturbances.
“….”
After a moment of contemplation, I clenched my fist.
And smiled.
“No, thank you.”