Chapter 22: The first God I see

After wiping off the spilled coffee with the towel Artemis handed me, I listened to the story of the two newcomers… no, gods.

First, the name of the giant man with the missing left arm was Tyr.

God of law and war.

A god I had met in my original world, and someone who had helped my brother.

Perhaps because of that, my favorable impression of him outweighed any aversion.

“But why is your arm…”

“This, I cut it off because of a promise!”

But he was missing an arm.

The Tyr I met in my original world definitely had both arms.

However, Artemis and the other gods also looked different from how I remembered them, so I just let it slide.

After introducing himself, Tyr introduced the woman next to him.

Long, straight white hair.

Snow-white skin and golden eyes.

Every time our eyes met, my heart pounded as if I had fallen in love.

It wasn’t that her appearance was particularly to my liking.

Her skin was so pale it looked as if all the blood had drained from her.

And she was mute, having not uttered a single word so far, so it couldn’t be that our personalities matched.

What is wrong with me?

Does she have some kind of charm ability?

Just as that question arose, a strange name came out of Tyr’s mouth.

“This child is called Hela, the goddess of death.”

A god’s name I’ve never heard before in my life.

I don’t know why I feel attracted to her, but for some reason, I wanted to at least say hello, so I spoke first.

“Uh… um… nice to meet you.”

I greeted her shyly.

But Hela kept her head bowed and didn’t even open her mouth.

Seeing that, Tyr spoke with a rather serious face.

“…She’s a mute idiot due to original sin.”

“Ah… then, Tyr, are you Hela’s husband…?”

“Of course not. I have a deep connection with her older brother, so I’m acting as her adoptive father.”

Thank goodness.

No, why am I thinking this?

The appearance of a god I’ve never heard of, and suddenly my heart is pounding as if I’ve found love?

Besides, she’s the goddess of death, so she wouldn’t have a charm ability.

As I was confused by the incomprehensible situation, Sun Wukong chuckled and said:

“Kekeke, it feels like an Exchange Meeting after a long time.”

“Indeed, lately it’s been all about flaunting wealth or yacha rules.”

Artemis nodded in agreement.

Then she elegantly sipped her coffee and glared at me with cold eyes.

Did I stare at Hela too openly?

I don’t know why, but my gaze is fixed on her.

I barely managed to tear my eyes away from Hela and talked with them a bit more.

First, what I lack right now is ‘coins’ and ‘knowledge’ about this world.

Unlike my wallet, Tyr kindly explained everything.

His passionate demeanor and his cheerful, straightforward attitude were very much to my liking.

I should ask about what Artemis didn’t explain to me.

“By the way, what’s that Colosseum in the back?”

“That’s a place for gods to make bets!”

According to Tyr’s explanation, it’s a building that literally serves as a colosseum.

A place used when gods want to wager something or when they disagree with each other.

Such simple and easy information, why didn’t she explain it…?

Does she have some ulterior motive?

Having been deceived by gods so many times, suspicion began to rise in my heart.

I glared at Artemis with displeasure, but she crossed her arms, pouted, and said cutely:

“Sheesh… Zeus is the real power there, and you’re currently on his bad side! What if you go there and get killed or humiliated?!”

Ah, so she didn’t hide the information with malicious intent.

I scratched my head and made an embarrassed expression.

Even though I teased her by calling her a wallet, she has done a lot for me so far.

And seeing her genuinely worried about me like this, I said something I would never normally say to a god.

“Th… thanks.”

“Wha…!? Say that again!”

“No.”

“Eeeek…! Is it that hard for you?!”

Artemis started to get grumpy and throw a tantrum again.

Tyr, who had been listening to our banter, stared at my face and then made a surprised expression.

“Huh…! I wondered who you were, but you’re the newbie Constellation who stood up to Zeus for the sake of an innocent human! A true benevolent god!”

“It’s not like that.”

What are you talking about…

How can a butcher like me be a good person?

I’ve committed acts far more evil than any villain in the world.

He’s the god of law and war, but his eyesight must be bad.

But Tyr looked at me with sparkling eyes.

The man bowed his head slightly to me with an expression full of curiosity.

“Many gods want to help humans, but they face realistic limitations.
However, your altruistic heart… I swear on my name as the god of war and my remaining right arm! I sincerely believe it was an admirable act that other gods should emulate.”

“….”

Tyr praised me lavishly with sparkling eyes.

However, from my cynical perspective, it was obvious that this was just flattery before asking a question.

Therefore, I remained silent.

But it didn’t seem to matter to him, as Tyr didn’t hesitate to ask me:

“If you don’t mind, may I ask you a question?”

“No.”

“I don’t know anything about your mythology, not even a single line of your story.”

Don’t ask.

But Tyr still opened his mouth and asked me a question.

Artemis and Aphrodite also showed curiosity at his words.

“Come to think of it, I don’t even know your name.”

“That’s right! The beautiful goddess of beauty is asking, so you should answer quickly!”

“Kekeke, now that I think about it, I’m really curious where and how you got your abilities.”

This is troublesome.

Then Sun Wukong looked at me with a monkey-like laugh.

He looked at me with a mischievous smile, as if he had noticed something.

“Kekeke… somehow, you seem like my kind of person.”

Sun Wukong also waged war against the heavens once.

As expected, his annoying intuition is sharp, probably because he learned useless miscellaneous skills and Taoist magic.

Seeing me avoid his gaze and not answer, Tyr, who had ignited this topic, intervened.

“My apologies. You may not want to talk about it.”

“Good that you know.”

“Then, please answer just one question.”

Tyr asked me a serious question.

He says to me:

“You seem tohave experienced war.”

“…….”

I avoided answering with silence.

As I’ve said repeatedly, my victory over the gods wasn’t an achievement.

It was just a dark past where I rampaged like a beast, fueled by anger.

Perhaps because of that, I really didn’t want to talk about it.

But Tyr, as if understanding the meaning behind my silence, continued his question.

“How many did you kill?”

Law and justice.

And Tyr, the god of war, asked.

His question wasn’t simply about how many I killed.

It was a question asked with a sense of responsibility for the domains he governs.

Even if I ignore him again, he’ll surely ask again.

He’s the god of law and war.

Therefore, this time, I tried to answer Tyr’s question.

He keeps annoyingly portraying me as a good and courageous person… just take the red pill and get lost! With that mindset.

So I slightly extended my palm and opened my mouth, then….

‘Uh… um… how many did I kill?’

I closed my mouth again.

The number of gods I killed exceeded three digits, and if I include the humans and souls in the afterlife affected by it….

I stared blankly for a moment, then rested my chin on my palm and pondered again.

Seeing my predicament, Artemis stepped in and mediated the situation.

“Ha! What did he kill! Look at this face!”

“Ugh…”

Then Artemis approached me, grabbed my cheeks, and stretched them.

She roughly shook my pulled cheeks up and down and argued with Tyr.

“Look! This innocent face that looks like it would lose to even an ant! If a hornet appeared, he looks like he would scream and run away! He looks so dazed and dull, what war are you talking about!”

“Kekeke, you can’t win against a woman blinded by love.”

…….

I just kept my mouth shut and let it pass.

I was grateful that she defended me, but I brushed away her hand that was pinching my cheek.

Then I stood up.

“What, are you angry…?”

“No. I’m going to the Colosseum.”

“…You’re going directly to where Zeus is?!”

Artemis, startled, blocked my way.

I appreciated her concern for me, but I passed by her.

“The plan to screw over Zeus is still ongoing.”

If a man draws his sword, shouldn’t he at least cut something?

Since I’m screwing him over anyway, I’ll finish it properly.

And so, I walked towards the Colosseum.

I have to see the Zeus of this world face-to-face.