Chapter 21: The exchange of the Gods

As soon as I opened the front door, I saw dazzling gold.

Instead of concrete, the hallway was made of gold so pure that it reflected my face.

A luxurious place adorned with white marble and beautiful gems.

I cautiously walked down the hallway.

“Luxurious.”

I looked around as I moved forward.

Surely, at the end of this hallway, there would be many gods.

As I was taking a deep breath to control my anger, along with a slight nervousness, I heard a familiar voice from behind.

“Hey, pervert robber!”

“…Wallet?”

“Don’t call me that!”

Artemis, kicking the back of my thigh and acting grumpy.

Then she naturally moved next to me and walked down the hallway side by side.

“You actually came, as promised?”

“That’s the promise. Hmm!”

“What’s with that weird tone?”

It seems gods don’t know about human memes.

As we walked together, I looked at Artemis’s attire.

Not the revealing hunter outfit that looked obscene, but a neat Greek-style women’s garment.

Is this a formal occasion?

I tugged at my black short-sleeved t-shirt and asked:

“Should I have worn a suit?”

“Why bother? There are plenty of scumbags here who’d make you look like a good catch. Why dress up?”

“But your… I mean, your outfit looks formal.”

“Hmph! I don’t want to expose my skin to those kinds of people!”

Artemis, whose hostility towards gods, not to mention the Greek ones, was no less than mine.

I liked that about her, so I chuckled and agreed.

Artemis asked me:

“But why are you wearing such a tight shirt?”

As she said, my t-shirt was made of a clingy material.

Not regular fabric, but a short-sleeved shirt like Under Armour, which reveals the body’s contours.

Artemis playfully tugged at the fabric on my side and asked:

“You want to show off your muscles that much?”

She said it playfully, but she was half right.

It was really because of my muscles.

“My chest and lats are too big. If I wear regular fabric clothes, the stomach area becomes baggy.”

“Seriously.”

To put it simply, it’s like a woman with a large bust wearing a regular t-shirt.

Because the chest is too big, the fabric drapes down like a curtain, making the fit look strange.

It becomes rectangular, like those pictures of bodybuilders in suits that circulate online….

Of course, my waist is thin, so a tailored suit might not look bad, but… at least a regular t-shirt was out of the question.

We chatted as we strolled down the hallway.

Before we knew it, we reached the end of the hallway, and a large double door appeared.

“Are you going to make a lady open it herself?”

“The wallet owner should open it.”

“Ugh… why are you my master?!”

I wish she’d add the word “wallet” in front of that….

Anyway, I placed both palms on the doors and pushed them open.

–Creeeak

Despite its large size, the door opened very smoothly.

And what unfolded before my eyes was a space where numerous gods and Constellations were walking around.

There were fairies only 15cm tall and giants over 10m tall.

A place with handsome and beautiful people, as well as those who were ugly or made you question if they were even human.

Artemis stepped in front of me and spread her arms wide.

“This is the Gods’ Exchange Meeting! Welcome, newbie!”

“…….”

“Hey! React already!”

It was so magnificent that I wondered if Atlantis in its heyday looked like this.

A splendid and grand appearance, like something out of mythology.

And a modern aspect, like a market where people buy and sell things.

And balloons and dessert cafes… uh….

Well, yeah.

It’s a bit cheesy, but it has the atmosphere of a mythology-themed amusement park.

I walked past Artemis.

“Hey, you!”

She shrieked, angry at being ignored.

But she still followed me, pointing things out.

First, we went to a market-like place where people were buying and selling things.

“Here, you can buy and sell abilities or items to bestow upon your Incarnations.”

It feels like an exchange in an online game.

Not a place where things are officially sold in a shop, but where users trade among themselves.

And fairies, not gods or Constellations, were managing the shops.

As I looked around, intrigued by the strange sight, as if I had entered a fairytale world, my gaze fell on the section where abilities to bestow upon Incarnations were being bought and sold.

And among them, one stood out.

“Precognition?”

“Yes! It’s a lower-tier version of precognition! Just before a crisis, you get a hunch and can know in advance!”

A child-like fairy chattered in front of me.

She enthusiastically explained which god originally had it and how it was a really, really good ability.

Even if it wasn’t a sales pitch, it seemed like a very useful ability….

It would be quite useful if Ham Yui or Kang Arin had it.

So I was about to buy one, but….

“250,000 coins!”

“…….”

“Huh? This is an incredibly cheap price! It’s an A-rank ability!”

I glared at her, but the little fairy just tilted her head cutely, as if she knew nothing about fighting.

Well, if you could lower the price with threats, everyone would just sweep up items without paying.

It seems to be protected by the system or some other method.

So I crossed my arms and looked at Artemis next to me.

“…Th-th-th… this bastard?”

“Why, what. I didn’t say anything.”

Tch, did I drain her wallet too much…

So, I bought two Precognitions for my Incarnations with ‘my money.’

The purchased abilities, like TMs in Pokémon games, disappear after being used once on an Incarnation.

So stingy.

I grumbled and moved on with Artemis.

As we looked around and toured, Artemis handed me an ice cream.

“Here, eat this.”

“Thanks.”

Chocolate ice cream.

As I said before, the Gods’ Exchange Meeting has a strong amusement park feel.

There were even places selling coffee and all sorts of sweet desserts.

We walked around for a while, as if on a date, and then decided to take a break.

A coffee table near a cafe.

We sat there and rested together.

I took a bite of the ice cream I hadn’t had in a long time and said:

“Somehow… it’s very ordinary.”

“Why?”

“The hallway from the entrance was decorated with gold, right?”

It was somehow very disappointing.

Gods gathering for a wild orgy.

Dopamine addicts gathered in a colosseum, enjoying the splattering blood….

I wasn’t expecting that, but isn’t this too ordinary and wholesome?

“Ha, there are some who play like that.”

“I see.”

“That’s how it is.”

We fell silent for a while.

We had run out of things to say….

I looked around and pointed at a building with a grand and imposing presence, built far away.

A place that looked like the Colosseum in Greece.

“What’s that?”

“…Don’t mind it.”

Artemis didn’t answer.

Come to think of it, she also said she’d tell me the conditions for fulfilling my wish.

Just as I was about to ask her various questions, filled with doubt…

“Cutie☆!”

Aphrodite suddenly squeezed in between me and Artemis.

She jumped onto the table and slid across it… her large breasts acting as brakes, stopping her midway.

After struggling for a bit, Aphrodite collapsed on the table like a limp fish.

Then she turned her head, looked at me, and winked.

“Dessert is ready! Eat up!”

“This crazy woman!!”

“Aack!!”

Artemis stepped in and elbowed her in the side, making the goddess curl up like a pill bug.

Then she rolled over and collapsed on the floor like a deflated balloon.

Is she dead? I wondered, but she suddenly jumped up.

Then she pointed at me and asked:

“Hey! If the goddess of beauty implores you to eat her like this, isn’t it polite to take off your pants first?”

Is that polite?

Artemis sighed and slapped her forehead.

Judging by her reaction, it doesn’t seem like it….

–Thwack!

“Aaack!! Who hits a goddess on the head with their fist!”

“It’s embarrassing, so just stay still, slut goddess.”

“It’s not slutty, it’s love!”

Seriously, they play well together.

As I watched the bickering gods and took another bite of ice cream, another figure approached.

“Kekeke… as expected, you’re having fun.”

A man suddenly squeezed in between us and sat at the table.

Barely over 180cm tall, wearing ornate golden chainmail.

A golden coronet on his head, shaped like a grasshopper, and shoes that looked like they were woven from silk.

Messy brown hair like animal fur and fiery golden eyes.

Although a man suddenly joined them, the two women continued their conversation naturally.

“If your side is so lonely, why don’t you ask that monkey to do it?”

“Eek? I’m not into bestiality…”

“Ookyaaak!! I don’t want to either!”

Monkey? Don’t tell me…

I looked at him with slightly surprised eyes.

“Great Sage, Equal to Heaven?”

“It’s been a while since I heard that name. Just call me by my Buddhist name, Sun Wukong.”

Why does he look so human?

No.

He doesn’t just look ‘like’ a human; he has the appearance of a ‘real’ human man.

The Sun Wukong I killed… I mean, met, was a stone monkey with human proportions.

As I was surprised, Sun Wukong chuckled like a monkey and said to me:

“Kekeke… you helped my Incarnation, so I have to repay you.”

“Incarnation? You mean Baek Taeyang?”

“Correct.”

So he was that guy’s Constellation.

Sun Wukong approached me and held out his fist, as if there was something inside.

As Sun Wukong signaled me to look closer, I leaned my face towards his fist.

When the monkey opened his hand, what came out was… a middle finger, raised high, unafraid of heaven, or rather, the Godslayer.

He chuckled with a mischievous grin.

“Here~ a gift from this king.”

“….”

I hear monkey brain soup is delicious.

As I was thinking that, coffee spilled onto my head with a clattering sound.

My messy hair was covered in bitter coffee grounds.

Just as I was about to turn around, wondering if someone was picking a fight with me….

“Ugh….”

A beautiful woman who had fallen was stammering, not knowing what to do.

And the moment I saw her face, my heart started to pound.

So much that my face turned red….

“Holy crap! Are you a necrophiliac?”

“Huh?”

“Why aren’t you looking at me, the goddess of beauty, but blushing at that corpse?! I won’t tolerate this!!”

Aphrodite shrieked.

And Artemis looked at me with cold eyes.

Sun Wukong chuckled playfully, as if enjoying the situation.

I have no idea what they’re talking about….

At that moment, I heard a man’s voice.

“I’m sorry!!”

A well-built man, 230cm tall, with his left arm missing, approached.

He bowed his head deeply in apology on behalf of the beautiful woman.

Of course, it would have been fine if it ended there, but he bowed his head so forcefully that…

The coffee table between them shattered as his head collided with it.

“…….”

“Oh, I’m so sorry for the damage!!”

And he was about to bow his head again, but… not knowing what disaster might happen, I grabbed his forehead and stopped him.

Are there no normal gods?

I wanted to finish the Exchange Meeting quickly and go home….