Ch.164Chapter 164

Silence settled over the conference room.

In such a situation, one would expect a heavy atmosphere to permeate the room, yet somehow there was an undeniable sense of cheerfulness.

No, rather, some were even unable to suppress their fond smiles as they looked at someone.

Receiving all those gazes, Muyeon, who had inadvertently become the protagonist of this conference room, was covering her eyes with both hands, looking as though she had been burned white.

“T-Tanthyn.”

“…Yes.”

“…How did I end up being dragged into this conference room?”

“Well… I think it’s because your master said it would be good for you to hear the meeting contents while you’re here.”

“Th-this is torture! I-I can’t even escape like this…”

As Muyeon gradually shrank down and spoke in a whimpering voice, the people here seemed to enjoy her reaction.

…Well, most of these people are probably close to their 40s, so if they think of it like watching a drama, there’s nothing more entertaining than this.

Seeing this, I thought that in the end, everyone is the same.

“Well, that’s that. Now we need to continue with the meeting.”

“Wait, Commander! We haven’t seen Tanthyn’s answer yet!”

Scene, they say.

It really does seem like they’re just watching a drama.

Besides, Mushin, isn’t she your daughter?!

Why are you trying to bury the suffering child even deeper?!

“Uuugh…”

Feeling that if this continued, Muyeon’s face would go beyond red to completely black with rage, I raised my hand first.

“Please respect her right to privacy.”

“What?! How can you say that after coming this far?!”

“Even trashy romance novels don’t end like this!”

They really are something else.

The Vice Commander, seemingly thinking they had crossed a line, slapped the table three times to get everyone’s attention.

“That’s enough. We came here for a meeting, not to fulfill the desires of fools. Let’s start the meeting now.”

At the Vice Commander’s words, many people grumbled with dissatisfaction, but it seemed they couldn’t easily ignore the Vice Commander’s words, and the executives finally calmed their excitement.

Phew.

It seemed I had somehow succeeded in preserving Muyeon’s dignity.

“Well then, I think it’s time to summon the Outer Gods to this place.”

Hmm.

With Aghartha’s power, it should be fine.

I wasn’t the only one feeling tense; all the executives were swallowing dry saliva with anxious looks in their eyes.

Each one of these beings could destroy Rondan more easily than chewing gum if we failed to handle them properly from the start.

At least, that’s how the executives perceived them.

“First, please cover your ears.”

No one could help but be disturbed by the sound of the party whistle.

I warned them in advance because I had seen many cases where people with weak mental fortitude fell into irreparable states just from hearing this sound.

The executives seemed to know what it was, as their eyes widened.

“Is that the horn whistle?!”

“You mean you’ve been communicating with the Outer Gods through that all this time?!”

“What formidable mental strength…”

I smiled somewhat nostalgically at these novel reactions that now felt oddly familiar.

Really, so much time has passed since I first woke up in that underground prison.

Back then, I had no idea what to do.

Now, thinking that I was facing the Giant of the Snow Mountain and stopping The Princess, I felt a new sense of emotion.

While everyone covered their ears with both hands, the Knight Commander, Vice Commander, Mushin, and the White Mask did nothing.

Perhaps they wanted to see how I summoned the gods.

Well, they’re people with exceptionally strong mental power.

They should be fine.

Thinking this, I put the party whistle to my lips and blew.

Peeeeee!

With the cheerful sound, I felt my mind space empty all at once.

By the time I felt that sensation, five lights had already burst out around me.

And they all gradually materialized, each taking on their own form.

Bell.

Fiore.

Faura.

Zumiya.

And Aghartha.

It would have been nice if Nutrice had come out too, but given her personality, she probably decided it would be too difficult to face these five.

If she had formed that level of bond, there’s no way she wouldn’t have appeared when I blew the party whistle.

The gods, having materialized, landed on the floor and then, as if rehearsed, instantly jumped somewhere.

…For some reason, they had shrunk considerably and were now clinging to various parts of my body, growling at the executives as if on guard.

Huh?

And it seemed this miniaturized appearance wasn’t visible only to me, as the executives all showed surprised expressions before unanimously saying:

“Cute.”

#

According to Aghartha, who had claimed a spot on top of my head:

Due to the brazier, it was very difficult for the greater gods to be summoned directly to Rondan.

It’s similar to when Bell tried to force his way through the brazier’s protective barrier after hearing the party whistle I accidentally blew.

Above all, they wouldn’t be able to communicate with humans in their original forms.

So they had to choose one of two options.

Either give up their identity as gods and manifest in human form like Aghartha had done.

Or drastically reduce their power and manifest in a humble form.

“So that’s why you all look like this.”

Aware that their power had been greatly weakened, the gods were all growling at the executives.

Due to their reduced size giving them proportions like something out of a cartoon, they just looked cute, like puppies growling.

Only The Cook remained quiet with a worried look.

“Tanthyn, who is that with deer antlers sprouting and wriggling on your shoulder?”

“This is The Gardener.”

“What? The Gardener isn’t an Outer God!”

“As it turns out, The Gardener was an Outer God.”

I ended it with a simple explanation, feeling that going into detail would only deepen emotional rifts.

After all, saying that this child was actually the greater god who had been killing humans indiscriminately, and that the original Gardener was someone else, would only make the atmosphere awkward.

Since I confirmed it, the executives just nodded as if they roughly understood and left it at that.

“Then what is that black octopus-like thing on your head?”

“That’s The Chronicler.”

“And the one on your other shoulder?”

“That’s The Dragonslayer.”

“…Then what’s clinging to your waist?”

“That’s The Watcher.”

“And the one at your ankle?”

“That’s The Cook.”

The executives’ faces seemed somewhat clouded with concern, clearly finding the reality different from what they had only heard about.

Well, unless Aghartha releases her authority, these beings probably can’t cause much harm to the executives anyway.

“S-so what do you want to do?”

“…The Commander said he wanted to talk with you.”

It was Fiore, trembling anxiously.

The Knight Commander approached me but seemed to notice the gods trembling and stopped, asking from where he stood.

“I have something to ask you.”

At the Knight Commander’s words, the gods all tilted their heads and looked at him.

Ah, wait.

They’re too cute.

It’s really like looking at puppies.

The Knight Commander suddenly made a “kuh” sound, cleared his throat, and composed himself.

“We are going to stop the Giant of the Snow Mountain.”

“…That would be impossible.”

Zumiya muttered.

Since the Knight Commander couldn’t hear her small voice, he shook his head at me, asking me to relay the message.

“What do you think about stopping the Giant of the Snow Mountain? I think if you use your powers in the right places, we can definitely stop it.”

At my words, the gods all put their fingers to their chins and fell into thought.

I’m not sure how they were so in sync, but they were so cute that I didn’t mind.

Then Faura spoke up.

“…I think it’s good, I do.”

“Faura.”

“You’re not trying to kill her, right? If it’s just persuading her to resolve this situation… I think that’s actually good.”

At The Cook’s words, the other gods nodded seriously as if in agreement.

That’s right.

Even if they’re on the frozen land, the gods can only survive there, not live happy and fulfilling lives.

If we can reestablish the interaction between gods and humans that existed in the past empire, they could find that happiness again.

And as the first step toward that, we need to persuade the Giant of the Snow Mountain.

“They say it’s fine. They’ll cooperate.”

“Good. That’s great.”

The Knight Commander nodded.

But for some reason, after saying that, the Knight Commander just returned to his seat without saying anything more.

“Commander?”

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t we going to formulate a strategy for what to do next?”

When I asked, the Knight Commander tilted his head.

“You should do that.”

“Pardon?”

“We can’t communicate with the Outer Gods. For something like that, wouldn’t it be better for you to talk with them and come up with a strategy? That’s what I think.”

At the Knight Commander’s words, the other executives nodded in agreement.

Uh.

Hmm.

Should I call The Huntsman later and plan our movements together?

I was thinking this when:

“Tanthyn. By the way.”

“Yes?”

One of the executives raised a hand and spoke.

“Didn’t you say there was one more Outer God? I only see five here.”

Ah.

So it comes to this after all.

I wanted to be considerate and not call her, but given the situation, I have no choice but to summon her too.

I put the party whistle to my lips and blew, but something that was about to appear suddenly disappeared with a “poof.”

“Huh?”

Is she refusing right now?

Feeling stubborn, I gripped the whistle and blew out all my breath.

Then, as if being forcibly dragged, the light fluctuated drastically like a stock chart, shrinking and expanding repeatedly.

And then, as if being forcibly expelled:

“Aack!”

She was thrown out and landed on the floor.

Nutrice rubbed her head, expressing pain, and then, as if sensing something uncomfortable, turned to look at me with eyes full of fear.

More precisely, she was looking at the gods.

“Ah, aah.”

Nutrice’s look of despair was quite impressive.