Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 60

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Chapter 60 – Gentle-Mannered Group

The time was about 10:00 a.m. on my watch.

After leaving Paisa-san’s weapon shop, where I ended up staying for almost two hours, I sat on a bench near the church with a skewer of meat for a snack and some fruit, which I had bought for the first time.

The selling price of the equipment I brought with me was 100,000 beeke.

On the way to the church, I remembered that he had given me the leather armor for free, and when I told him that I didn’t need the money after all, it was a repeat of the last time.

The mysterious negotiation between Paisa-san and me broke out again.

In response to Paisa-san, who said 300,000 beeke for everything――

“If you buy from me at a high price, you’ll have to sell at a high price, right? If that’s the case, please buy them cheap and give them to a newbie hunter at a lower price!”

――The strong straight-line burst out, somehow managing to silence Paisa-san.

“U-ugghh…”

I couldn’t help but grin at Paisa-san, who couldn’t think of the next word.

I still don’t understand why I feel like this when I get less money.

Well, a dismantling knife is probably a hard weapon to get your hands on, especially at first, even if you want one.

I couldn’t even afford one without the money from the mayor.

It seems that used knives don’t come around very often, so even three knives would have made a small contribution.

For this reason, if I ever get involved in the Grant business, I will not hesitate to ask Paisa-san, and in the end, it will be a win-win relationship.

“Whew, it’s a beautiful day…”

I chewed on the meat skewers while looking at a family with flashy hair taking a walk with their small child and blurting out how peaceful it was.

There were bad people in this town, but it’s the same no matter where you go, in any country, in any town.

It’s just a matter of proportion.

In that sense, the town of Bezart is really peaceful.

It is a country town in the best sense of the word.

Time passes slowly, and I can enjoy a relaxing vacation.

“(I still have a fishing rod in my room. I didn’t catch any fish last time. Maybe I’ll try again next time I go on vacation…)”

With that in mind, I decided it was time to go, so I went to the entrance of the church with the fruit in my hand.

At the entrance, the young sister I had first called was sweeping the floor.

“Hello~!”

“Ah! You’re the one who came the other day, aren’t you? Maryse-saaaan!”

“(T-too fast! It’s too fast! Does this girl hate me?)”

I was amazed at how quickly she passed the baton, but I couldn’t help but follow the young sister as she rushed into the church.

As I followed her, I saw Maryse-san wiping the benches in the chapel, and I called out to her.

“Hello.”

“Ara, little boy. What are you doing, dressing so casually today? Are you trying out for a job again?”

“No, no, no, I don’t think a few days of training will help me. Today is a simple prayer to the Goddess… or rather, just a prayer. I had a day off today, so I came by.”

“Well, well, aren’t you a religious boy? Maybe you should become a priest when you get tired of being a hunter.”

“Hahaha…”

I can’t even say that I have the Oracle skill for priests anymore, so I give her the fruit I brought to apologize for the last time and for wanting to pray a little longer.

“It doesn’t look like anyone’s here right now, but… I have some concerns of my own and some things I want to clear up, so I’d like to pray a little longer. Is that okay?”

“It’s usually crowded after the bell rings at noon, so this time should be no problem. There are times when you have to worry about your choice of job, aren’t there? If someone comes in, I’ll call you, and you can go ahead and pray until you’re satisfied!”

“Thank you. I don’t know if this is good, but you can all eat it if you like. I am especially sorry for the priest.”

“Don’t worry about it… Or rather, these are rapor fruits, aren’t they? They were expensive, right?”

“Eh? Hmm… Well, there’s no special problem, so don’t worry about it.”

“Even the old man doesn’t mind, and he feels bad about it too… but we will all be very grateful for the gift. When you finish praying, you can call me. I’ll cut a piece for you, too!”

“Thank you very much! Well, I’ll go pray first.”

I told her and went in front of the statue of the God.

I made my way to the circular spot where I had kneeled last time.

Not that it has anything to do with the fruit, but I’m sure Maryse-san will be able to handle it even if I have to stay in the prayer position for a little longer now.

So, let’s begin…

(Goddess～I’m ready～it’s okay anytime…)

Then I hear a kind of loud, mixed voice, although it’s rather unclear since I’m not using my Divine Communication skill.

“Call… okay….”

They said something about a barrier, and I’m sure they’ll call me when the rest of my consciousness flies to the other side.

I meditated with this thought in my heart, and it was no different than before.

Without feeling anything particularly strange, I heard a pleasant voice from in front of me.

“It’s okay!”

This voice is Felin-sama.

I opened my eyes and saw three women I had never met before standing in a quiet landscape, just as it had been before.

“I know some of you have already spoken to me, but… it’s nice to meet you; my name is Loki.”

I greeted her calmly, but inside, I was not so happy.

I was in pain because my heart was pounding so hard.

“It’s nice to finally meet you. I am Liste, the Goddess of commerce.”

“I am Felin, the goddess of fertility!”

“Fufu, I am Firill, the goddess of life!”

――This is what it means to be in awe.

“(As expected. They are all as frighteningly beautiful as those three, though from a different lineage.

Liste-sama has long, shiny hair like silver thread and long, slit eyes that seem to have been swept away by the attribute of beauty. She looks like an intelligent, slender beauty who would look great with glasses.

Felin-sama, on the other hand, has short, reddish-brown hair with a lovely charm that seems to focus on the cute side. Her body, however, is quite selfish. Ah, the view of her thighs is dazzling.

And Firill-sama, with her light brown loose perm… gives off a gentle and healing atmosphere, but her body is too selfish here! W-what are those breasts? …Her face is at a level that would make idols run barefoot, but she is… terrifying… All three of them are just too terrifying…

This is exactly the kind of person I want to beg on my knees. I once went to a club in Ginza where my boss took me, and I was shocked at how many surprisingly beautiful women there are in the world that aren’t on the surface… But if these goddesses join me, I’m sure I’ll cry and want to go home. The day a secret goddess club is created is the day it will be a gift from God to the world.)”

“Lo-Loki-kun! You shouldn’t worry about it!”

“Extremely beautiful, you say… Gosh! Fufu, fufu.”

“Do you like big ones? Even though you have a cute face, Loki-kun is still a boy, right?”

“Huh? So-so-so-so-so-sorry! Just for the divine punishment! Please spare me the divine punishment…”

“Divine punishment is Ria’s exclusive domain, so don’t worry about it~? And I don’t think anyone is angry with you.”

“Yeah, yeah! Since we’re being praised, there’s no reason to be angry!”

“It’s enough that you call my body, which is poor compared to theirs, slender. Please come this way.”

With that, I was led by the hand to a round table and four chairs on the lawn.

As soon as I sat down in one of the chairs, I immediately smelled a good aroma…

I looked up and saw a steaming cup of tea in front of me. Judging by its color, it seemed to be black tea.

I wondered when it was made because it was not there when I sat down.

It’s a mysterious phenomenon, but this is the realm of the goddesses, so there’s no point in even thinking about it.

I enjoyed the smell of the tea and thought it would be a good idea to suddenly put my mouth on it.

“Thank you for taking the time to come all the way here, even though you must be very busy.”

“No, no, no. When I was first brought here, I wondered what was going to happen… After we were able to reconcile, I wanted to meet all of you as well, so it’s okay.”

“Yes, yes! That’s exactly what I thought! How did you survive after you snapped at Rigal and Ria? That’s outrageous!”

“Those two don’t have a calm temperament, you know! That’s why we were cautious at first and approached Loki-kun with those two and Alicia, who was the falicitator~”

“I heard something about how I was called. I am an outsider who did not enter through the proper channels, so I think it is only natural that the goddesses who run this world would be wary of me.”

“That is very kind of you to say. I have heard that it is not a skill that will cause a great catastrophe in the world, so you can rest easy now.”

“Yes, yes! We are interested in Loki-kun and your mysterious skills and knowledge, you know!”

“You have information that we don’t know, information that relates to the very foundation of this world, right?”

“What do you think? I don’t know how this world was created. However, from what I’ve heard, I think you know even more about your own skills than the goddesses do.”

“It’s frustrating~ just like Ria said, even if I look directly at your soul, my Divine Eye won’t be able to see through it!”

“Even though we can read your thoughts, it’s a strange thing, isn’t it~”

“Huh? I thought it was just my consciousness here, but now it’s the state of my soul!”

I looked at my body as soon as I was told, but I was wearing normal clothes, and my skin was not transparent, so I could not feel it at all.

It would have been more accurate to say that my whole body had flown away.

“That is true. We just pulled the soul out of the body and invited it into our realm. It is impossible for us to do that with the body.”

“So now there is a defenseless, empty shell of a body left in the church…”

“There aren’t many people who would do anything bad in a church, so I think it will be okay. We also cast Space-Time magic.”

“(T-that’s too appropriate…)”

“You mean the time between this world and that world is different?”

“Yes, yes! We can’t stop it completely, but the passage of time has slowed down considerably, so as long as you don’t stay here too long, you should be fine!”

“And before it becomes a problem, it will be difficult to maintain just the soul, so you will be forced to return to the lower world.”

Hmm…

It seems like they are using some kind of advanced magic, and I have no idea what they are doing.

I can only think that it is as expected from the goddesses.

After that, we had a cup of tea and a very peaceful time, like an extension of small talk.

I tell them what I know from my status screen, and they tell me that reading thoughts and extracting souls are actually skills.

I was so excited to hear this that I wondered if I might be able to use it someday. But I was told that there are many special skills that are only given to goddesses.

Even if a race of people could acquire such skills, the difficulty of acquiring them is usually proportional to their effectiveness, so I was sadly informed that skills of incomprehensible levels are impossible to acquire for people with short life spans.

It would be exciting to have a skill that could only be acquired by a long-lived species.

When I heard the story about lifespan, a simple question came to my mind.

“Don’t the Goddesses have a concept of lifespan?”

“Because we are the administrators of the world, Felza-sama has given us the special skill of Immortality.”

“A skill that none of the races can attain.”

“I see. That’s why you have such a beautiful figure that people want to worship you forever… This Felza-sama is very chic indeed. No wonder people go to churches. I mean, the statue of the God is so far from the real thing that I’m quite dissatisfied with it.”

“””…..”””

“I wish there was a camera in this world so I could put your faces on the wall of the room where I am staying… Hmm? Would it work if my phone worked? No, no, the development is…”

“””…..”””

“Is there any skill in the world that can take a picture or video and print it?”

“””I don’t understand!!”””

“Is that so… unfortunate… very unfortunate…”

“Finally, you don’t just think it; you said it out loud!”

“The more I read your thoughts, the more I am embarrassed by the truth…”

“I don’t know what to do when you praise us so much!”

All three of them blushed and looked a little embarrassed, and their appearance was so precious that I felt like I was about to faint.

But as if to drown out the atmosphere, Liste-sama asked with a straight face.

“It’s about time, isn’t it? Loki-kun, I would like to ask you one last thing.”

“Eh? W-what is it?”

The look of determination in her eyes made me prepare for what she was going to ask me.

“What was the name of the world you came from?”

“Hmm? I don’t think the world had a name, but… I lived in a country called Japan. In a larger sense, I was born and lived on a planet called Earth.”

“I see… you were also born and lived on the planet Earth…”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“No… but I think it would be a good idea to tell Loki-kun something about it.”

“Earth is one of the worlds that Felza-sama administers.”

“According to Felza-sama, that world is ‘the most successful one that Felza-sama manages,’ and we sometimes invite the souls of Earthlings to emulate that example of success!”

“Does this have anything to do with the fact that Ria-sama was worried… about this world being abandoned before?”

“Ugh… it hurts when you poke that point…”

“I’ll be honest with you. As you say, this world’s civilization has been stagnant for a long time due to its reliance on magic and skill.”

“It seems that this world will continue to stagnate and come to an end… That is why this world needs the wisdom and knowledge of Earth, which was able to build an advanced civilization without relying on magic and skill.”

“Is it possible that the hero Takuya is one of them?”

“Ara, you already knew that, didn’t you? He is one of them.”

“I see… Maybe, but that person is from the same hometown as me. In other words, I think he is Japanese. Just from his name.”

“I see. He seems to be spreading a lot of knowledge about Earth, so it’s worth the extra effort.

I see.

I see, I see, I see!

The purpose of the Goddesses, the treatment of the otherworlders, and what is required of them.

――I feel like all the dots are connecting.

The presence of glasses, which I had seen before at the inn and which did not look like those of this civilization.

For some reason, the plates and forks are made of wood, but only the cups are made of glass, an uncomfortable dining scene.

It is understandable if you think that this is the result of knowledge that people from another world, people from Earth who happened to come to this world, knew and partially used.

I see. So that’s how it is.

――But if that’s the case, is that why I was summoned?

I don’t have any technical knowledge.

I don’t even know how to make glass, and I’m not supposed to have any knowledge that could cause a revolution in the world.

“(Hmm… what am I being asked to do… and why through a superior god instead of the Goddess?)”

It seems to be the same administrative world, and if that’s the case, maybe Acorn is Felza-sama, but I have no idea why he brought me directly to this world.

“Loki-kun, there is no need for you to be worried. The people we have brought to this world are only contributing to this world with their known knowledge, and we are not forcing them to do anything.”

“Yes, yes, yes! We just want them to enjoy their new life and leave something behind for this world… That’s all we want!

“We know that there are things you can do and things you can’t do for the race~. So just do what you can!”

“What I can do, huh…?”

“It’s a little absurd to ask Loki-kun, who says he was forcibly abducted, but if there’s anything you can do to raise the level of civilization in this world with the knowledge you have… I’d like to get your advice.”

Seeing the three of them bow to me like that, I felt a little sorry for my lack of knowledge.

“O-of course! To be honest, I don’t have much knowledge. I don’t know what I can do, but if there is anything I can leave behind, anything I can notice, I will help you with it.”

“Thank you very much. Especially since I, the Goddess of Commerce, am primarily responsible for the knowledge of otherworlders, so if you need anything at all, please feel free to consult me.”

“Wait a minute, Liste? You’re not going to monopolize Loki-kun by saying that, are you?”

“Even if he consults with Liste, it doesn’t mean much since you can’t directly interfere with the lower world, right? Isn’t there another purpose?”

“There isn’t, is there? In order to spread useful knowledge, it is necessary to have the power of business, you know? If I do not help him, who will?”

In front of me, the three Goddesses were making a fuss.

While smiling at such a sight, I try to think about what I can do in this world――

Why was I, a mere salesman with no knowledge of making things, called all the way to this world?