Ch.190Death Is Not the End – Complete

“…Mmm.”

In the morning, as the dawn light chirped, I deliberately ignored the distinctive smell that stung my nose and emerged from the bathroom after thoroughly washing myself.

I seemed to have dreamed something I couldn’t quite remember, though I did recall that memories of everything I’d experienced had quickly flashed through my mind. In truth, even that recollection was quite faint, more of a feeling than anything concrete, but anyway.

It was good that I had washed up and changed clothes, but the thought of lying back down on my thoroughly soaked bed felt unpleasant, so I took the tea set from my room and went to the terrace. I planned to leisurely drink tea and pass the time until morning.

“Phew…”

Sitting in the terrace chair and sipping hot tea, a warm breath naturally escaped my lips. My insides felt warm too, reminding me of those sayings about warm water being good for the body. Ironically, I had always preferred cold water for the cooling sensation it provided, but as I aged, my preferences seemed to have changed.

The weather was pleasantly warm without being hot, just cool enough to feel refreshing while sitting still. With my mind relaxed thanks to the weather, I looked beyond the fence and thought how beautiful the street looked bathed in the dawn light.

Perhaps that’s why, as I took in the peaceful scenery with my tired body, my eyes began to close on their own. Peace might seem boring in a way, but there was nothing bad about it. I preferred peace to noise. Especially since I’d lived such a boisterous life to make up for what I’d missed, this couldn’t be better.

“Mmm…”

Now that I was just an old person with nothing to do, wouldn’t it be okay to sleep whenever I wanted? Of course, even when I was young, I often slept whenever I wanted, so it wasn’t anything new… but I thought I could be a bit shameless about it now. I let my closing eyes be, until I fell completely asleep.

.

“Good job.”

What?

Suddenly, after falling asleep and waking up, I was greeted by a scene that felt unfamiliar yet incredibly familiar.

A sky perpetually tinged with a soft golden light, never permitting the sun to rise or set. Marble tiles spread throughout, buildings reminiscent of Greek and Roman mythology comics I’d read long ago, and even the man rubbing his sleepy eyes right in front of me.

“Ah… Lord Hypnos?”

“Yaaawn… Yes, it’s me. It’s been quite long, but you’ve done well managing everything until now. Thanks to you, there haven’t been any problems.”

The man… no, the god Hypnos gave me an eye-smile while letting out his usual languid yawn. For a moment, I wondered if this was a dream, but a light pinch on my arm confirmed it was reality. It hurt a little.

“Me being here means…”

“Yes. You died. Died in your sleep. Not a bad way to go—just your time was up. In other words, you lived out your natural lifespan.”

Right. I’m dead.

I had expected to die soon, but I never thought I’d die in my sleep like this, so I felt dazed, as if I’d been hit hard on the back of my head. Of course, it was much cleaner and better than suffering and dying slowly, but it still felt somewhat empty.

“…I see. Dying in my sleep feels a bit strange, but I suppose I was lucky in a way.”

“Indeed. The benefits of dying in one’s sleep are well known. Anyway, good job once again. Would you like to get some sleep now?”

Hypnos rubbed his half-closed eyes forcefully and pointed to a corner. It was the door to my room where I had spent my time cleaning and living leisurely before reincarnation. This meant that immediately after death, I had flown straight to the center of Hypnos’s domain, to his home.

“It feels odd to go back to sleep right after waking up.”

“Really? Sleep is never enough even if you sleep and sleep again… Is it just me?”

Watching Hypnos yawn with drowsy eyes, I secretly thought that yes, it was just him. Among all the gods, he was famous for sleeping the most—naturally so, since he slept 22 hours out of a 24-hour day. Moreover, he was such a heavy sleeper that he wouldn’t wake up unless there was a considerable commotion, which made living with him quite comfortable and appreciated.

“Well, I spend more time awake. Anyway, would you like me to make something for you before you go to sleep? My cooking skills have improved a bit from my time over there.”

“Hmm? Isn’t eating before sleeping bad for you? What was it called… reflux esophagitis?”

“Doesn’t that not apply to gods?”

“…Ah.”

Hypnos clapped his hands with sleepy eyes and nodded vigorously as if he’d had a great revelation.

“Then make me some sweet toast for the first time in a while. It’s tasty and convenient.”

“Sure. Would you like milk with it?”

“That would be nice. There’s some milk that Demeter squeezed and sprinkled, so serve it with that.”

The idea of the goddess of abundance squeezing and sprinkling milk seemed absurd, but here, such occurrences were perfectly normal. The gods, trying to alleviate their boredom, often engaged in eccentric behaviors.

“Alright. Please wait in the living room for a moment. I’ll have it ready soon.”

“Sure…”

I turned toward the kitchen as Hypnos trudged off to the living room. Contrary to the easy assumption that the facilities in the gods’ dwelling would be outdated, a modern kitchen came into view. From the refrigerator to the gas range, water purifier, and even a container-like massive time-freezing storage… quite diverse.

Diverse, but fortunately the layout hadn’t changed, so I took out ingredients, sliced them, toasted bread, and made two substantial toast sandwiches before heading to the living room. I carried two plates of toast and a bottle of milk on a tray.

“It’s ready. Please eat.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

Hypnos grabbed the plate and immediately began chewing the toast, then flicked off the milk bottle cap with one finger and drank the milk refreshingly. He still ate hurriedly as if trying to get to sleep quickly, but his expression was noticeably brighter, indicating he liked it.

“Mmph! It feels good to eat something after so long.”

“After so long? How many days have you gone without eating?”

“Well… I haven’t eaten a single meal since you went over there.”

I knew gods wouldn’t die from not eating and didn’t really get hungry, eating merely for pleasure, but still, to go that long without eating anything. It was a testament to just how much of a sleep-focused god Hypnos was.

“Goodness. You should have eaten something.”

“It was bothersome without someone to prepare it for me. Anyway, eating something sweet has improved my mood. Thank you.”

“No need for thanks. I should be thanking you.”

Thanks to being picked up by none other than Hypnos, I had been able to live very leisurely, and even if Hypnos happened to wake up while I was asleep, he never disturbed me. Because he valued sleep so dearly, he respected mine just as much as his own. How could I not be grateful?

“Mmm. Well, I’m going to sleep now. Having a full stomach makes me even sleepier.”

As Hypnos yawned languidly and rose from his seat, I also got up, thinking I might read a book after clearing away the empty plates and bottle. But suddenly, Hypnos made an “Ah!” sound and turned leisurely toward me.

“By the way, a guest will be coming soon. Please keep them company in your room.”

“What? A guest—you mean a god? And you want me to just keep them in my room?”

I was startled by the instruction to keep a guest in my room, but Hypnos simply waved his hand and went into his room, leaving only the words that it would be fine. It was quite a troublesome situation, but I decided to finish washing the dishes first. And since a guest was coming anyway, I thought it would be better to wait in the living room reading about the impact of praying mantis kung fu on the ecosystem.

So I waited in the living room, reading a book. After a while, I could see the corridor leading from the living room to the entrance turning a soft red color, indicating that a guest had arrived. Here, instead of a doorbell sound, the floor color changing to red signaled someone’s arrival.

Hmm. I stood at the entrance to this massive mansion, cleared my throat lightly, and slowly opened the door while bowing my head. It was natural to bow to a god of higher rank than myself.

“Welcome. Lord Hypnos has just gone to sleep, but if you have business…”

“Jion? Is it really you, Jion?”

Jion? There’s no one in this neighborhood who would call me that?

I was momentarily very confused, but soon realized that the voice was one I had heard many times before.

“Helena…?”

When I quickly raised my head to look, I could see Helena staring with wide, surprised eyes. Additionally, Eve and Ellen were there too, covering their mouths and with tears welling in their eyes.

“Ellen and Eve too… what’s going on here?”

Moreover, I could now see that my reflection in the marble door wasn’t my previous appearance, but that of Jion Altram. Could this also be one of the rewards for successfully completing my assignment? My confused mind was quickly clearing, and I wondered if the traits I had acquired were also still intact.

“It’s a bit of a long story to explain here. Could you guide us inside?”

“Ah, sorry. Of course. Come in.”

If these three women were the guests Hypnos mentioned, what could this mean? With such thoughts, I guided them to my room filled with bookshelves packed with books. All three widened their eyes in surprise, especially Eve, who seemed to have lost her composure at the sight of unexpected books, still thirsty for knowledge as ever.

“So. What’s going on?”

“Well, it’s…”

Helena, being the most authoritative among the three, took it upon herself to explain rather than delegating to others.

As a result, I learned that without my knowledge, they had cast spirit magic that bound our souls together so we wouldn’t be separated even in rebirth, and because of that, their souls were drawn to the divine realm. Afterward, they were caught by the gods observing the continent and faced judgment over life and death, but rarely, a unanimous decision was made to let them live. The reason? They had provided good entertainment.

However, it didn’t make sense that I, who should have died first, knew nothing about this. This was because the gods, who were already aware of the spirit magic, had reversed the time sequence to resolve the issue. I knew that in the divine realm, anything could be done without limitation, but hearing that they had reversed causality sent a chill down my spine.

Of course, the fact that these three people wanted to be with me like this was also chilling in a way, but on the other hand, I could understand it, so it wasn’t that shocking. It just felt like I’d caused another incident.

“I see. I understand, but that ‘good entertainment’… surely not…”

“…Breeding. Embarrassingly, many deities watched us breeding…”

Seeing Helena answer with a face flushed bright red, I felt my own cheeks burning with embarrassment and misery. I never thought they would have seen even that, so it was quite shocking.

“Haah… Since they’ve already seen everything, there’s nothing we can do.”

I sighed briefly, relieved to have survived a crisis that could have burned my soul. Though human life is said to be just once, it would be painful if women I had deeply cared for disappeared without a trace.

“Um… Grand Duke.”

“Grand Duke? I’m already dead, so there’s no need to be so formal. Just call me by my name.”

When I stopped Ellen from using the title she was accustomed to, she seemed deeply moved and her eyes welled with tears. Given that she had come to the divine realm, she must have cut short her remaining lifespan, yet she looked surprisingly innocent for a woman who had committed such a heavy act.

“Then… Lord Jion?”

“It would be better without the ‘Lord’ too, but let’s change that gradually. We have all the time in the world anyway.”

In the divine realm, there are only gods and non-gods; social distinctions between humans and elves have no meaning. Helena seemed to know this and showed no displeasure; rather, she smiled as if relieved to be free from social constraints.

“Um, Grand Du—I mean, Lord Jion. Those books over there… may I take any of them out?”

While we were talking, Eve, who seemed to have forgotten everything else at the sight of so many books, asked with sparkling eyes. She didn’t seem particularly surprised by our reunion, probably having calculated it would happen this way, but she appeared to have lost her senses at the unexpected sight of the books. I smiled wryly and nodded once.

“Sure. Take your time. Take your time.”

As I said earlier, time is what we have plenty of in the divine realm. Knowledge can be created in books, food as food, tools as tools, anytime.

But I had been inwardly frustrated at the thought of spending most of that long time alone… so it was truly wonderful to be able to spend it with loved ones. My plans to practice asceticism might have gone out the window, but…

With the thought that since things had turned out this way, I might as well enjoy it without worrying about appearances, I pulled on Helena’s arm as she sat beside me.