I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 101
CHAPTER 101
The smile of Deron deepened in response to my answer.
<You were planning to reject my proposal from the beginning.>
“Yes.”
I nodded lightly.
“It was indeed a charming proposal. You gave me exactly what I desired most at the moment.”
<Then why?>
“I may not seem like a fool at first glance.”
I looked at Deron.
“You may not believe it, but I had a strong desire for research.”
To discover something new, to find it, and then to apply it.
To see the patient return to a normal life.
Each of these was gratifying and immensely enjoyable.
So, I became greedy.
A firm desire to live like this forever.
“You recognized that.”
So, out of billions of people, you chose me.
To someone with the greatest potential to create nectar and who would undoubtedly accept your proposal.
“…A foolish choice that has led me here until now.”
<……>
“But then you ask me to entrust my fate to a god?”
It’s a ridiculous notion.
I chuckled as I watched Deron gradually return to human form.
“I decline the offer of help. Even standing up seems impossible if I have to rely on others.”
Now, I will not entrust my fate to anyone.
I will live on my own.
“Very well.”
Deron, now fully in human form, smiled.
“Do as you wish.”
It was a warm smile, for some reason. I blinked.
“You have come to the underworld while still alive. I’ll overlook it.”
So, I’ve been caught.
I clicked my tongue softly.
“But you will indeed pay for the soul.”
Deron’s strange finger pointed to the glass vial in my hand.
“If you don’t offer any payment, you cannot take the soul.”
“Payment, huh.”
I hesitated for a moment, rolling my eyes in apparent difficulty before asking slyly.
“You must insist on receiving it, right?”
“It goes without saying.”
Deron replied coldly.
“I know it was because of Kyres. But that, too, is fate.”
“……”
“Moreover, if I don’t receive any payment, they’ll come running to knock on the door of the underworld, too.”
That made sense.
Anyone would come pleading to bring back their loved one if they died.
If Deron doesn’t take payment, he’ll surely face great trouble in the future.
“At least, a deal was possible because it was you.”
Deron clicked his tongue.
At that sound, I bit my lip tightly.
“Then, what will you give me in return?”
Suddenly, he laughed.
“…What?”
Deron seemed puzzled, furrowing his brow.
“No, it’s like this.”
I raised the vial containing Arkin.
“Even obtaining one human soul requires payment, right? Then, how much is it worth to perform the work of a god on your behalf?”
As I pretended to be innocent, Deron’s face froze in an instant.
Of course.
No matter the circumstances, it was Deron’s fault that Kyres escaped.
Moreover, I suffered losses because of Kyres.
I even sent that damned creature back to the divine realm.
The finishing blow came from Pendrade, but still.
Wasn’t it fundamentally my achievement?
“When I was first injured because of Kyres, Detmé mentioned compensation….”
Surely, Detmé made promises at Stella’s mansion.
I said so, glancing at Deron.
Detmé and Deron were the first and third gods.
However, there was a strange tension between them.
Even though they didn’t snarl at each other, there was a subtle sense of rivalry.
Well, it’s a miracle for siblings to get along well anyway.
When I mentioned Detmé’s name, Deron’s expression subtly changed.
“…Did she say she would give you compensation?”
“Yes!!”
I nodded vigorously.
“She even said I could expect it since I’ve been working for her.”
“She did?”
Deron sent me a suspicious look, but my laughter didn’t falter.
Why, it was true!
“That’s right.”
Deron muttered softly, then nodded his head.
“Fine. I shall pay the price. However…”
Deron’s peculiar finger pointed at Arkin again.
“You seem to have no intention of paying the value of that child’s soul, so I’ll deduct it.”
Ugh, I inwardly clicked my tongue.
‘Still, there must be something I can get from Deron.’
I had never expected compensation to be readily offered.
Ah! With my thoughts racing, I widened my eyes.
“Just so you know, don’t ever try to make a constellation.”
Once, a human was gravely injured due to the carelessness of a god.
The person went to the god’s temple with aching limbs to protest.
The god, after witnessing their plight, admitted their mistake and promised compensation.
‘That person wanted their illness cured and a lifetime’s worth of money to live comfortably.’
Who wouldn’t want that?
Considering it’s money from a god, it wouldn’t be a mere pittance.
The person dreamt of a bright future and grinned from ear to ear.
But it wasn’t a god.
<I’m sorry, I’ll make you a constellation and give you the power to light up the night sky.>
“……Yes??”
Before the human could refuse, he flew up to the sky and became a constellation.
‘If there’s a problem, the god did give something good.’
But for that person, it was the worst compensation.
As I looked at Deron, wrinkles formed at the corners of his mouth.
“I’m not that foolish.”
Was he?
Deron, one of the oldest gods and usually residing only in the underworld, frowned as I gave him a skeptical glance.
“I know what you’re thinking, but I have a wife.”
Ah!
That’s right, he did have one.
I relaxed and smiled broadly.
Then, I straightened my neck and glanced around discreetly.
“Come to think of it, where is she?”
“She’s asleep.”
Deron replied shortly, his expression tightening.
“Don’t think about waking up my wife.”
It was a rare show of affection from a god in the divine realm.
Since I had no intention of waking her up, I nodded.
“So, what will you give me?”
I prompted Deron.
No matter how much I’m protected by the power of the gods.
The longer I stay, the more my body adapts to the underground, making it harder to return to the surface.
Moreover, by now, the knights and Betty and Liena should have arrived.
‘It’s worrisome.’
How surprised would Betty and Liena be if they saw me collapse again?
I should hurry and go to comfort them.
“Hmm.”
Deron hesitated for a moment and then took something out.
“Let me give you this.”
“…What is this?”
I blinked as I looked at the gift clenched in my hand.
Looking here and there……
What is this, really?
“You’ll know when the time comes.”
Deron gestured as if to say goodbye now. My body began to float again.
“Deron, just one question before you go!”
I desperately threw out a question, and Deron narrowed his eyes for a moment.
“That’s right.”
He nodded immediately.
* * *
“Gone?”
After Lottie disappeared for a while.
A god with long brown hair and a weary face opened the door to the dining room.
It was Ferné, the daughter of Detmé, the god of abundance, and Deron’s wife.
Then she checked the food on the spot where Lottie was sitting.
“This time, the attempt to feed her failed again?”
“Ah.”
Deron nodded his head and waved his hand.
Then the long dining table disappeared in an instant, and a suitable-sized table appeared.
It was a table where the two could sit comfortably without a head seat.
“Uhm.”
Approaching his wife with an alarm, Deron pulled out a chair for her to sit.
As Ferné naturally sat down, food appeared in front of her.
They were all foods Ferné liked.
“Too bad.”
Ferné chuckled again as she sipped her nectar.
“I wanted to ask how you felt about meeting your mother recently.”
“I’ll bring her back.”
At Deron’s words, Ferné smiled and nodded.
“You might have gotten angry. Why did you bother to bring her back after she went away?”
Answering, Ferné lightly spun the glass she was holding.
The dark ruby nectar swirled violently and disappeared between her lips.
“Oh, it’s delicious indeed.”
As a satisfied smile spread across Ferné’s plump cheeks, a smile also appeared on Deron’s face.
“By the way, what did you give?”
“It’s nothing special.”
As Deron refilled Ferné’s empty glass with nectar, he said.
“I gave the power to fortify will.”
“Power?”
At Ferné’s question, he nodded his head.
“There’s a reserve for now, so it’s okay, but in a few years, all the nectar accumulated in the divine realm will be depleted.”
Saving it and drinking only when necessary would make it last longer, but the gods didn’t do that.
Most of them were like Kyres, drinking and enjoying themselves.
Some gods even stacked cups full of nectar-like towers and knocked them down.
Or enjoyed expensive games like bathing in nectar.
They were ridiculous.
Some gods didn’t like such a sight of the divine realm, and some even supported Lottie when she started her strike.
One of them was Detmé.
“If all the nectar is depleted, can the gods live as they used to?”
It wouldn’t be a catastrophe if there were no nectar.
The time given to the gods for closure was very long.
However, those who were already halfway addicted to nectar wouldn’t be able to endure for long.
And they would come looking for Lottie.
“So I gave her the power to protect herself.”
The strength to uphold that firm determination she had shown him until the end.
A power to support her in small ways.
At Deron’s response, the thick lips of Ferné formed a smile.
“My husband is wonderful.”
Ferné’s response brightened Deron’s pale complexion in an instant.
Clearing his throat as if slicing a steak for no reason, Deron threw the words.
“Still, I should have asked about Detmé once, if, um, her feelings have softened a bit lately…”
“Hahaha!”
Ferné laughed heartily at Deron’s words.
And she laughed brightly.
“No way.”
“.…”
“…Remember when we met last time? She came with a millstone, saying ‘I’ll comb your face with millet!!’.”
And what Detmé brought her wasn’t ordinary millet, it was millet made of jewels.
It was an offering from Detmé’s followers to her, whose symbol was a grain of wheat.
In short, it meant they’d just yield.
“Ahem.”
Deron lowered his head feebly.
It was only natural, considering the sin he had committed.
“But still, it’s nice that you treated that child well. Since Mother also likes the child, wouldn’t she give you a few points?”
“Do you think so?”
But as soon as he said that, Ferné, who had been looking at him as if he were cute, offered him a glass of nectar.
Clink, in the underground, where only the two of them were, a clear sound echoed.