Ch.79Chapter 79

“Heh heh, you’re being too harsh. I may look shabby now, but I’m still a god. Why don’t you listen to my story instead?”

When Wendigo showed strong resistance, Alfodur let out a hearty laugh and tried to persuade him.

He intended to convince Wendigo by recounting tales from the mythical era…

“I’d rather not. What credibility does a story have when it comes from the person himself rather than a third party?”

“Aren’t you curious? I have stories about the man who received the gift of knowledge from me and became a sage, and about the little boy who became king with my advice.”

Alfodur tried to stimulate Wendigo’s curiosity.

There were many ways to create gaps in one’s mind, but few methods were as easy and simple as curiosity.

Especially in a world where the names and records of gods had been ‘banished’ from the middle realm.

What few records remained were passed down through oral traditions from ancestors, so stories from the mythical era would naturally pique anyone’s interest.

… At least, that would be true for anyone other than Wendigo. He had absolutely no interest in the mythical era.

Wendigo crossed his arms and responded indifferently.

“I’m not particularly curious. In the end, heroes always meet tragic ends anyway.”

“Ahem! That’s not always the case…”

Wendigo’s observation struck hard at Alfodur’s complacency.

The end of heroes tended to match their tumultuous lives.

Northern heroes especially often walked bloody paths of founding kingdoms or succession, so peaceful endings were extremely rare.

Particularly when gods were involved, the endings were usually terrible…

Freya recalled the conclusions of the stories Alfodur had mentioned and spoke with a smirk.

“Ah, you mean the stories of Kvas and Gerold? They were both impressive indeed. Kvas became a respected sage with the wisdom you gave him, and Gerold became king.”

“Yes, they both grew to be great heroes. All thanks to my assistance, wouldn’t you say?”

“And then they fell into ruin as soon as you withdrew your wisdom and advice.”

“AHEM!!!”

“……”

Wendigo was dumbfounded.

Was he seriously trying to persuade him with such stories?

‘There’s no one trustworthy in this world. If all northern gods are like him, we’re in trouble.’

As contempt flickered in Wendigo’s eyes, Alfodur hastily defended himself.

“I was foolish then. I thought since I had given them enough time, it would be fine to take back what I had bestowed.”

“No… you’re basically saying you took back what you gave them.”

“That wasn’t part of a deal with them. Naturally, if I lent my power without asking for anything in return, I should be free to take it back as I please.”

His argument was that since it wasn’t a deal, he was free to both give and take away his power.

Of course, Wendigo didn’t accept this argument. It was obvious that Alfodur must have benefited from giving that power.

“They must have revered your name and encouraged people to have faith in you, right?”

“Heh heh, they enjoyed wealth and glory thanks to me, so that’s only natural.”

“So in the end, they were just pawns in your hands. You said there was no deal, but you still benefited.”

At Wendigo’s observation, Alfodur inwardly clicked his tongue.

Some Djin were blinded by arrogance, but unfortunately, the one before him was not like that at all.

Alfodur gave up on making Wendigo his pawn.

He leaned back in his chair and let out a deep sigh.

“Sigh. To think that I, who even deceived Freya, couldn’t manipulate a single Djin. I must be getting old.”

“Gods don’t age. Besides, I wasn’t deceived—you just used underhanded tricks.”

“Freya, that’s what being deceived means. You were deceived.”

“Hey! Whose side are you on?!”

Gulmarg’s clean summary pricked Freya’s pride.

As Freya fumed at Gulmarg, Wendigo intervened in the farce and asked Alfodur:

“If you’re trying to bait me with nonsense, you should leave. If not, propose a more reasonable deal.”

“Disappointing, but I have no choice.”

Alfodur didn’t show any reaction to Wendigo’s pointed words.

Wendigo was impressed by his thick skin.

So this is how shameless one must be to call oneself a god!

“If you pledge loyalty to me and unify the north into a thousand-year empire…”

“Get out.”

“Have you really only lived in the forest? This is etiquette and tradition. Such flowery language is a way of showing respect to the other party.”

“He’s right. Wendigo, you’re too dry and bland.”

Though Freya typically enjoyed seeing Alfodur in trouble, this time she agreed with him.

Wendigo didn’t know how to enjoy the power and gold that came with having tribes from the far north bow their heads and offer tribute.

Build bigger shrines! Wear ornaments made of gold, jewels, and animal horns! While at it, bring in beautiful women as attendants(?)!

“Why build something that will be destroyed after one battle?”

“Wendigo is right. Ornaments, useless to warriors.”

“Arrrgh… Hey! It’s weird that you keep getting involved in every incident in the first place!”

Freya shouted at Wendigo, feeling a blood pressure that didn’t even exist.

A Djin should be…!

“Let’s hear your philosophy on Djin later. Alfodur, what exactly do you want to say?”

“I have no intention of being your enemy. How about forming a cooperative relationship with me?”

At the mention of cooperation, Wendigo pondered.

What benefit would there be in forming such a relationship?

“What do you mean specifically?”

“I won’t do anything that would harm you. I won’t impose harsh trials to temper warriors, nor will I bestow blessings on talented individuals to take them away.”

“And?”

“If you wish, I’ll allow you to seek advice from the gods. Not forcing anything—literally just advice.”

It wasn’t an extraordinary offer, but it wasn’t a bad one either.

If Alfodur was right, it was only natural that new gods would begin to influence the middle realm.

If he was destined to live with gods from now on, there was no need to be on bad terms with such dangerous entities.

What if Alfodur, the central figure among the northern gods, was being friendly?

“At least my people won’t suffer at the hands of gods. And the advice… is quite good.”

“It’s more than just ‘quite good’! There were far more advanced technologies in the era when the term ’empire’ was first used, and even during the Ten Kingdoms period, compared to now.”

Freya spoke to Wendigo, recalling the Old Empire and kingdoms.

It was undeniable that while gods caused many problems in the world, they also bestowed many blessings.

Even farmers didn’t worry about starvation during the time of the real ’empire’—unlike the ragged empire in the south that merely called itself one.

Waterways were open everywhere, and roads from the capital spread throughout the empire’s territory…

“Indeed, the technology of the current era is disappointingly inadequate. While magic has weakened due to the gods’ isolation and the thinning of mysteries… the rest is truly disappointing.”

“So can I also receive advice on technology?”

“It’s not impossible. Of course, it would require sufficient payment, desperate prayer, or exceptional talent.”

Naturally, such things come with a price.

Wendigo looked at Alfodur suspiciously.

“Why are you offering such favorable terms?”

“Let me ask you honestly. How long do you think it will take for us to regain our power?”

“Well, 100 years?”

When Wendigo casually threw out the number, Alfodur burst into laughter. The timeframe Wendigo suggested seemed far too short.

“Hahaha! That’s quite a joke. Do you know how long we’ve been banished from the middle realm?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t even born that long ago.”

“It’s been at least 4000 years.”

They had lived in decline for 4000 years since their most glorious era.

It wasn’t for nothing that the gods had been striving to return to the middle realm.

The fear of losing their power and disappearing had made them desperate.

“While suffering the harshest punishment from the Creator, we realized that we needed to be a little gentler with mortals.”

“……”

Alfodur spoke to Wendigo with a serene face, like an enlightened prophet.

Naturally, Wendigo found this absurd.

After an unimaginably long 4000 years, all they learned was to be ‘a little’ gentler…

‘The Creator was too lenient.’

This is why children’s education sometimes needs to be strict.

If the Creator had taken away their powers instead of just confining them, they would have been begging for forgiveness in tears.

‘Still, there’s no reason to refuse.’

It was a ‘good’ deal where he would receive more than he gave.

Of course, Wendigo wasn’t foolish enough to trust Alfodur. Anyone could predict what was happening here.

Everyone except his own people was a scammer looking to stab him in the back.

Alfodur smiled and blinked his single eye, extending his hand to Wendigo.

“What do you say? A cooperative or friendly relationship with gods who have decided to approach mortals more gently?”

“It’s quite annoying that you ask when you already know I’ll accept.”

Wendigo extended his claw to Alfodur for a handshake.

Alfodur drew runes in the air to create a contract.

Watching this, Wendigo slightly regretted leaving Skadi outside.

It would have been a good opportunity for her to observe, since he himself had no talent for magic.

Alfodur floated the completed contract in the air.

The contract, emitting a brilliant five-colored light, was clearly extraordinary from its appearance alone.

“Now, let us swear. This is an oath to the Creator, so its absoluteness cannot be avoided even by gods… What are you doing?”

Alfodur, who was preparing the oath with a solemn face, was puzzled when Wendigo approached the contract.

Wendigo spoke to Alfodur in a transparent voice.

“I need to read the contract before swearing to it. It’s only natural since I didn’t write it. But… how do I read this?”

While Alfodur was taken aback, Wendigo approached the contract and reached out his hand.

The runes were different from those used by summoners, with an unknown appearance.

Naturally, Wendigo couldn’t read them, but it wasn’t a big problem. When his claw tapped the contract, its contents flooded into his mind like a wave.

Alfodur awkwardly chided Wendigo.

“Heh, heh heh. As you can see from checking the contents, there’s no fraud. It’s an honestly written contract.”

‘Looks like he was going to try something but changed his mind just in case.’

Wendigo glared at Alfodur with a displeased look.

Still, the content of the contract was indeed honest.

As Wendigo and Alfodur swore to the Creator, they each thought to themselves.

‘I should never try to play tricks with contracts on this Djin.’

‘I should never deal directly with this fellow again.’

It was truly a relationship built on (?) trust.

* * *

After they made their oath, no angel of the Creator appeared to notarize it, nor did a brilliant light shine upon their heads.

This world was already made of the Creator’s immeasurable power.

Divine punishment could fall at any time on those under the Creator’s authority.

“Cough. It’s fortunate that our conversation ended at an appropriate time. This body is reaching its limit.”

“If you hadn’t forcibly kept it alive, it would have died already. That’s what happens when you get lost in old stories…”

Having accomplished his purpose, Alfodur’s body rapidly deteriorated.

Blood began to pour from his eyes again, and pus flowed from his torn wounds.

The price for defying the laws of nature and postponing death began to catch up with him.

“Try living with the same face you see every day for 4000 years. You’d be so happy to see a new face that you’d want to do something too.”

“It was quite an informative conversation. I hope our next meeting will be like this too.”

Although there was some anxiety about complex and bizarre events that might occur, it wasn’t a bad encounter.

At least he now knew that such things might happen.

“Yes. I’m glad it was a good meeting. Before I leave, let me finish our conversation. Let’s see… I’ll send a raven when I want to contact you.”

“What if I want to contact you first?”

“Tell a raven that you want to see me. Then I’ll come find you. And also…”

‘He talks more than I expected.’

Alfodur shook his dangling head and kept chattering. He didn’t know when he would have another chance for such a conversation once the connection was broken.

Tear down the shrine and build a temple. A ruler should show dignity rather than modesty for peace around them.

What makes warriors strong is not the carrot but the whip. Carrots should be given occasionally for loyalty…

‘I wish he would disappear soon.’

“And about the summoners…”

“?”

Wendigo, who had been listening to Alfodur’s stories with indifference, became interested when the conversation turned to Skadi and Shir.

“They’re both quite talented. Especially the white-haired young lady—in the old days, she would have been selected as a high priestess.”

“Hmm. You have a good eye.”

Wendigo nodded in agreement at the praise for Skadi.

Indeed, as someone called a god, he had a good eye for…

“She’ll make a good witch.”

Crack.

When Alfodur smiled and uttered this curse, Wendigo summoned an ice sword from thin air.

Alfodur, not understanding why Wendigo had drawn his ice sword, continued chattering.

“She may not be able to embrace mysteries now, but soon…”

Slash!

Wendigo’s ice sword beheaded Alfodur, who was already as good as a corpse.

He couldn’t tolerate the insult(?) to Skadi.

Freya looked at the flying head with a satisfied expression.