I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 104
CHAPTER 104
“Divine realm?”
Whether Pendrade understood the seriousness of the situation or not.
He pushed aside the lyre he was holding and asked again.
“You, didn’t you have a somewhat decent relationship with the gods?”
“If a one-sided relationship is considered decent, then yes, it’s a decent relationship.”
I smirked.
“To be honest, I didn’t have much thought about it until now.”
Yeah, I didn’t have any particular thoughts.
Just busy surviving.
I was so focused on the goal of making Nectar that there was hardly any room for other thoughts.
But this life was different.
And now, I’m sure of it.
“Pendrade.”
I hugged my knees and looked at my friend.
“Do you know why I declared a strike this lifetime?”
Even if Pendrade just woke up, he wasn’t slow to catch news.
He must already know that I declared I won’t make Nectar anymore.
“I don’t know.”
As I expected, Pendrade shook his head.
“But I don’t think it was a bad choice. The current gods are too arrogant.”
He laughed as he said it.
“The creator gods created this world and merged with it. But what are the ones occupying the divine realm doing now?”
Pendrade’s eyes gleamed coldly.
“Aren’t they just fooling around?”
“But they used to do various things back then.”
“That’s right, they did.”
Pendrade swept his long red hair and continued.
“But not anymore. The power of the gods is gradually diminishing in the mortal realm.”
It was true.
When I just started my first life, the influence of the gods was much stronger than this.
Just hearing the name of a minor god was enough to make people prostrate in fear.
‘It couldn’t be helped.’
With just a gesture of theirs, the earth erupted, seas formed castles, and lightning struck from the sky.
People revered and feared such supernatural powers.
But the influence of the seemingly eternal gods began to weaken over time.
The reasoning of sentient beings accelerated this trend.
“Back then, we gradually became able to explain phenomena attributed to the gods rationally.”
As the awe of the gods waned, so did their power.
But there were still occasions when the gods truly performed miracles.
Until then, the power of the gods had not weakened to that extent.
But, inevitably, there came a decisive event.
Exactly.
“Evil gods.”
My eyes sank deep.
“With the emergence of beings opposed to the gods, it became even more difficult for the gods to influence the mortal realm.”
As a result, the power of the gods weakened even further.
“And it’s my speculation.”
With my face partially buried between my knees, I looked at Pendrade.
“It seems that evil gods were responsible for immortality.”
“Huh, what?”
Pendrade, who was half-slouched in his chair, sat up.
“Is that true?”
“Yeah. When I went to the underworld this time and mentioned that name.”
I didn’t utter the name.
Instead, I began to write the name in the air.
“Ah, me.”
Pendrade seemed to try to remember the name, so I stopped my fingers.
“Don’t say it.”
It was just a name.
But even Deron suffered greatly because of it.
Understanding my warning, Pendrade covered his mouth and nodded.
I continued to write in the air.
[Anatascius.]
It was a name that could be pronounced in the current language.
It didn’t have any particular meaning.
If you wanted to interpret it, it could mean ‘happy laughter,’ maybe?
But if this were written in the language only gods used.
[The one who lives eternally.]
“Ha!”
Pendrade’s face twisted oddly, then soon filled with excitement.
“Yeah, that’s it, it felt strange. Really strange.”
Originally, the gods were supposed to live eternally just by existing.
But at some point, their immortality ended, and a finite life lay before them.
“Did they chase away those who manage their immortality themselves?”
“That’s possible.”
I hesitated to leave the remaining letters in the air, afraid they might be a clue to summoning evil gods, so I lowered my hand into the air.
“We may not know the exact situation, but you and I both know the legends.”
A god fell to a mortal, lost, and fell into the mortal realm, merging with evil to become an evil god.
“I want to know exactly what happened, Pendrade.”
Pendrade’s golden eyes, understanding my intentions, narrowed.
“The Dragon Lord is unavailable right now. Seems like he’s up to something.”
Tsk, Pendrade licked his lips lightly.
“I went to him as soon as I woke up. I got shut down too.”
“When do you think this will end?”
Pendrade shrugged lightly.
He didn’t know.
“Anyway.”
He leaned towards me. His excited golden eyes resembled those of a reptile.
“This time, I’m determined to overthrow the divine realm.”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm.”
Seemed like he was enjoying just the thought, Pendrade hummed a tune.
Yeah, he’d be excited.
He was none other than the one who hated the gods just as much as I did.
“But you can’t just overthrow the divine realm. You’d need someone who knows the divine realm well.”
Ah! Pendrade’s eyes widened.
“Are you going to join forces with an evil god?”
“What?”
Why suddenly suggest joining forces with an evil god?
Seeing my puzzled expression, Pendrade also widened his eyes.
“You’re not going to team up with an evil god?”
“Why would I do that?”
In what twisted scenario would I ever do that?
“……?”
“……??”
Question marks began to fill the air above our heads again.
Ah. Realizing one thing, I spoke up.
“Do you remember my disciple? Lionel, I mean.”
I didn’t talk about Lionel to anyone else.
But I casually mentioned it to Pendrade once.
“I remember. You were so drunk, scattering the alcohol like stars in the sky.”
“Don’t remember that nonsense.”
“Got it.”
As I clenched my fist, Pendrade immediately lowered his head.
“Anyway, is your disciple involved with evil gods?”
“Yeah, he’s still alive.”
“……?”
Pendrade’s expression changed in an instant.
He hesitated, tilting his head before asking.
“Just curious, but, he’s your first-life disciple, right?”
I nodded, and his expression became even more peculiar.
He wasn’t clueless.
He would quickly realize who Lionel had been with and survived until now.
“Is that… okay? Isn’t it dangerous?”
Who treats someone else’s disciple like a hazardous material?
As I clenched my fist again, Pendrade immediately draped his arm over my shoulder.
“No, it looks dangerous from the get-go!”
“What’s so dangerous about it?”
I glared at Pendrade with folded arms.
“It’s obvious he was tricked by those evil gods to create this situation.”
Lionel might have a slightly twisted personality and a flawed character, but he was still good at heart.
And honestly, what’s wrong with having a slightly twisted personality when your face is so straight?
“……?”
Ignoring Pendrade’s subtle gaze, I continued.
“And you know what? Evil gods are mysterious.”
The more I thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.
If the god responsible for immortality must have held quite a high position even in the divine realm, why would he submit to a mortal?
And why would the god of submission despise the evil god to the point of stealing its name?
‘The evil god mentioned that he is interested in me.’
“Our gods are interested in Wanderer. Very interested indeed.”
Didn’t the dark elf we met at the slave auction say something like that?
‘That’s probably because I’m the successor of the evil god.’
I bit my finger nervously.
When I received the insignia from the god, I was so overwhelmed by the fact that I could continue my research in herbalism that I glossed over the part where the seat of the 12 gods was vacant.
But afterward, I had always been curious.
Why was the seat vacant, especially the one among the 12 gods?
It was a high position in the divine realm.
So why promise me that seat?
‘I always wondered, but now I finally found the answer.’
It was because it was the seat of the evil god.
As it was the position held by the evil god responsible for immortality, it couldn’t be given to just anyone.
That’s why the god promised it to me, to groom me as the successor of the evil god.
“……”
As my gaze sharpened, Pendrade interjected.
“So, because evil gods have their peculiarities, you won’t consider them as comrades?”
“Yeah.”
I wouldn’t even consider them as comrades, let alone breaking their heads.
“And there’s no need to find a god who knows the divine realm well.”
As I answered the belated question, I glanced down at my hand.
On the index finger of my left hand was a black ring, whose origin I couldn’t recall.
It was a gift from the underworld.
“I already have my allies.”
I clenched my fist tightly.
“The power of the evil gods has grown significantly stronger.”
Conversely, the power of the divine realm had weakened.
“Someday, the world will turn upside down.”
I could sense that the time wasn’t far off.
With my head resting on my knees, I looked up at Pendrade and grinned mischievously.
“When that happens, I’ll overthrow both sides. How about that?”
Wanna join me?
It’ll surely be fun.