Ch.94Chapter 94

The Troublemaker, the Woman Who Loves Barren Land, the Mischief-Maker of Broken Crowns.

Just skimming through the titles referring to Jurtur, anyone could guess she wasn’t exactly a benevolent god.

However, in ancient times, there were quite a few who worshipped Jurtur as a deity.

She shared her power more generously and equally than anyone else.

The criterion was none other than… pure fun.

To be more specific, she enjoyed watching people obtain what they wanted and then gradually fall apart.

The sight of someone who had already achieved what they wanted but couldn’t stop walking toward their own cliff was truly…

“I don’t care about your twisted tastes. Just tell me the solution quickly. At this rate, your precious toy will disappear from my stomach.”

“Tsk, you don’t understand the beauty of desolation that comes from the delusion of doing the right thing.”

“The world decided to call that being a psychopath.”

Wendigo countered Jurtur’s claim with cold, icy eyes.

There’s a saying that from afar it’s comedy, but up close it’s tragedy—and he absolutely refused to get caught up in the aftermath of that tragedy.

Jurtur looked pitifully at Wendigo, who was missing out on half of life’s experiences, and began to slink closer.

Wendigo reflexively reached for his ice sword…

“Are you going to keep acting like a baby!?”

“Should I welcome a god of calamity with open arms? Explain why you’re approaching.”

First impressions are crucial for trust.

As a god favored by madmen and quite mad herself, Jurtur’s first impression was naturally poor.

Come to think of it, if she hadn’t given power to Isabel, none of this troublesome business would have happened.

Jurtur seemed to understand this much, sighing as she crossed her arms.

“I can’t help it. To check the soul that went into your stomach, you either need to figure out how to vomit up the soul…”

“I’ve never dry-heaved before. Wait, isn’t it strange that the soul would be in my stomach when it entered through my mouth?”

“…or I’ll have to find the soul myself.”

Jurtur grinned while wiggling her fingers. From her blatant attitude, Wendigo realized she was clearly enjoying the situation.

The problem was that they needed to check what effect the soul he had swallowed might have…

Gulmarg approached Wendigo and whispered.

“Can’t we just kill this one? God, we know one too.”

“Eh? The god you met wasn’t just me?”

Jurtur jumped onto Gulmarg’s shoulder and looked at them both with a surprised expression.

When she behaved so rudely, Gulmarg grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and threw her away. Jurtur, as if expecting this, did a somersault in the air and landed gracefully.

‘It’s frustratingly disappointing that she landed safely.’

Wendigo inwardly clicked his tongue in disappointment and thought about the god he knew.

Certainly, Alfodur could be considered a god who was favorable to him, but…

“That fellow isn’t exactly reliable either.”

Alfodur was, to put it kindly, a meticulous strategist, and to put it unkindly, a con artist who would steal your nose while closing your eyes.

Of course, contracts made in the name of the Creator God were absolute, but one couldn’t overlook that there were always loopholes in the world.

As Wendigo looked disgruntled, Gulmarg nodded.

Come to think of it, neither side was particularly known for being nice.

Jurtur, unable to contain her curiosity, raised her hand high and asked Wendigo.

“Who’s the god you met? There aren’t that many losers in the North who are as unwelcome as I am.”

“Alfodur. They say he used to be the king of the Northern gods… Oh, that’s quite a nice expression.”

Jurtur grimaced at the mention of Alfodur’s name and glared at Wendigo.

Wendigo took pleasure in this obvious display of displeasure.

Sometimes mental violence can be stronger than physical violence!

“Ugh… my ears are going to rot. Of all the gods you could have met, you met him.”

“I heard he’s the youngest god. Are you on bad terms with Alfodur? Perhaps you call him big bro… You really hate that, don’t you.”

Until now, Jurtur hadn’t cared whether she was threatened with an ice sword or thrown away, but referring to Alfodur as her brother seemed to be quite an insult.

Jurtur glared at Wendigo like an angry wildcat.

She clearly disliked being associated with Alfodur that much.

She gritted her teeth as she recalled old memories.

“Big brother to someone who takes away the toys I worked so hard to create? Blech, I’d rather be that to you guys.”

“We’ll have to decline that as well.”

Wendigo and Gulmarg simultaneously grimaced and politely declined.

While they didn’t want to antagonize a god, they didn’t particularly wish to be on familiar terms with one either.

What if they got caught up in troublesome affairs?

Jurtur stared at Wendigo with a sullen expression before breaking into a grin.

Come to think of it, if Wendigo and Alfodur were on good terms, wouldn’t Alfodur dislike it if she left her mark on Wendigo?

“Hey. I’ll handle this cleanly, so let’s find my toy quickly!”

“Let’s make a contract first.”

Faced with her aggressive demeanor that suggested she might make him open his mouth at any moment, Wendigo told Jurtur what needed to be done first.

He wasn’t naive enough to make a verbal contract just because she was a god.

Of course, this might damage Jurtur’s pride as a god…

“Huh? Of course we should.”

“?”

As if stating the obvious, Jurtur looked at Wendigo with a bewildered expression.

Wendigo stared blankly at Jurtur, suddenly made to feel like someone without common sense.

In fact, one of the reasons Jurtur could be worshipped by many followers was that she was truly a straightforward god.

She would grant requests, bestow what she wanted to give, and then consistently maintain a hands-off approach.

Setting aside her eccentric tastes, there was hardly a god as fair as her.

“Scams are for gloomy types like Alfodur. I don’t engage in such boring activities!”

“…I really can’t tell if you’re good or bad.”

“If we’re being specific, I’m bad. I only give power to those who are going to fall apart.”

Having proudly declared herself an honest jerk, Jurtur made a contract with Wendigo in the name of the Creator God.

A contract stating that she would check Wendigo’s condition and take Isabel’s soul without causing any other harm.

As soon as the contract was made, Jurtur climbed onto Wendigo’s shoulder.

“Now, could you open your mouth wide?”

“…Do I really have to open my mouth? If you’re a god, there should be a cleaner method.”

Wendigo was also uncomfortable with the idea of having a hand inserted into his mouth.

How many people in the world would be okay with someone shoving a hand down their throat?

However, Jurtur firmly shook her head.

“Unfortunately, if I were my old self, it would be possible, but my true form isn’t in the middle realm right now~ So such high-dimensional methods are difficult.”

“Wendigo, don’t worry. I’ll kill her the moment she shows any suspicious behavior.”

Gulmarg tried to reassure Wendigo by raising his stone club and beating his chest.

Certainly, Gulmarg could probably blast Jurtur away in an instant.

“…I’m counting on you.”

“Well, this is the first time I’ve been threatened with murder.”

Jurtur exclaimed in disbelief as she concentrated.

Using a temporarily created body to analyze souls was harder than expected.

Wendigo steeled himself and opened his mouth wide toward the sky.

* * *

After a while of waiting, mentally vowing never to put strange things in his mouth again.

Jurtur wiped away beads of bright red sweat and pulled her hand out of Wendigo’s mouth.

At the tip of her hand was an eyeball that looked exactly like her own, moving around rapidly, wet with some unknown black liquid.

“Hmm…”

“That’s ominously unpleasant. Is the condition that bad?”

Jurtur leaned on Wendigo’s shoulder and, in a manner that didn’t match her childlike appearance, stroked her chin in contemplation.

Naturally, Wendigo grew concerned.

If a being called a god was deliberating this much, the problem might be serious.

After much consideration, Jurtur reached a conclusion.

“Well… it seems my toy has disappeared.”

“Are you saying I absorbed it?”

Wendigo felt a tightness in his chest, as if he had eaten rotten meat.

The thought of having even part of a strange woman’s soul like Isabel mixed with his body was quite disturbing.

Jurtur tapped Wendigo’s head with her finger and asked him.

“This head. It’s not yours, is it?”

“Wendigo, should we kill her now?”

When she suddenly questioned the ownership of his head, Gulmarg raised his club, ready to swing it at any moment.

Where in the world would someone’s head belong to someone else?

Surely this god must be planning something strange…

“Well, it seems that way.”

“!?”

Gulmarg was greatly surprised to discover he had held a prejudice(?).

To think there existed beings in the world who used someone else’s head as their own.

While Gulmarg was recovering from the shock, Jurtur nodded and spoke.

“Even saying the toy has disappeared is just a guess. It was hard for me to see inside with my eyes.”

What Jurtur saw inside Wendigo’s mouth was an endless darkness.

A cold, damp space that continued on and on… at least she could be certain it wasn’t a physical space.

If such a space existed in reality in the middle realm, it would be called a demon realm.

“You’re not just making excuses because you ran out of power while giving it to Isabel, are you?”

“You’ve been banished for too long, but the difference between mortal power and divine power is like heaven and earth. Besides, you easily defeated her!”

Jurtur strongly denied it. In fact, Wendigo knew she was telling the truth.

He just found it difficult to accept that his body contained some strange space.

How could anyone believe that an unknown space existed in their stomach?

‘This is not something I can just… dismiss as inevitable.’

Wendigo generally tried not to pay much attention to his own existence.

He knew that the deeper he dug into himself, the more questions would arise.

Wendigo, who always prioritized the present, tried not to question things as much as possible…

But after hearing such a story, it was inevitable that he would feel some need to take at least a little interest.

Meanwhile, Jurtur’s interest waned significantly when she realized that part of her toy had disappeared to an unknown place.

“Hueeeh… I stuck my hand in your mouth but couldn’t find it. My toy…”

“…Jurtur, you’re like a child.”

“I want to live as a kid forever~ Happily doing whatever I want!”

“So is this the end?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t seem like I can learn anything more by checking your stomach further, and I don’t think a weak woman’s soul like Isabel’s could survive in there anyway.”

As she nodded, Wendigo instinctively felt that the contract between him and Jurtur had ended.

From now on, Jurtur and Wendigo would be strangers…

“Wait. We still have a deal to complete.”

“Huh?”

Jurtur, who was about to dissolve her hastily created body, was puzzled when Wendigo stopped her.

She had informed him of his condition, and she had given up on finding part of her toy, so the contract was cleanly concluded…

What did he mean by saying there was still a deal to complete?

“Oh.”

“Yes. Since I cooperated in finding the soul, you should give me something good in return.”

“Wait, wait, wait! That’s not right! I didn’t get anything in the end!”

“Are you planning to cheat like Alfodur? Despite your rudeness, I cooperated properly… how disappointing.”

Wendigo pressed Jurtur by mentioning Alfodur.

He judged that comparing her to Alfodur, whom she so despised, would be quite effective.

His prediction was correct. As soon as that name came up, Jurtur gritted her teeth and shouted.

“No matter what, don’t put me in the same category as that guy! Fine. But since I didn’t get anything either, I’ll just tell you where it is. You’ll have to find it yourself!”

‘Is she actually a nice person?’

Wendigo was beginning to understand why people worshipped her.

This one, despite her taste for creating chaos in the world, wasn’t truly malicious!

Jurtur, still grumbling, picked up a stone from the ground and cut it to make it flat.

She engraved a pattern on it and handed it to Wendigo.

“Here, take it. I’ve marked the location of a treasure I lost long ago on this pebble, so go find it later.”

Wendigo thought the pattern engraved on the pebble resembled a compass.

That thought wasn’t far off, as when he moved the pebble around, the engraved pattern moved rapidly, pointing somewhere.

“You’re certainly much more honest than Alfodur.”

“Of course. I live as I please, but I don’t lie.”

Jurtur snorted and then became engulfed in flames.

She was thinking of returning to find interesting toys.

As she gradually turned to ashes, Jurtur called out to Wendigo as if something had occurred to her.

“From now on, my toys won’t come near your territory!”

“Oh, thank you. Is this a kind of favor?”

Wendigo was surprised by Jurtur’s unexpected consideration.

Honestly, he had expected to encounter her a few more times.

So he had been wondering how to extract treasures from her next time…

“Not really? If my toys wander around your territory, I think you’ll smash them, so that’s why.”

Jurtur wanted to see the story of a soul falling apart, not to see it get smashed by a Djin.

If such a person wandered around Wendigo’s territory, they would die before she could enjoy the story.

Jurtur didn’t want that.

“……”

Of course, this was an absurd answer to Wendigo.

Having said what she needed to say, Jurtur completely turned to ashes and disappeared, and Gulmarg stared at the ashes for a moment before saying to Wendigo.

“Wendigo, I think staying around you is a good choice after all.”

Because strange and interesting characters always appear around you.

Wendigo felt as if he could hear words that Gulmarg hadn’t even spoken.