Electronic Version Special Story: Twilight of the Gods
Kusanagi God was satisfied.
The shrine had been rebuilt, larger in scale than before. High-quality furnishings had been selected. Most importantly, priests dedicated to serving Kusanagi God had been appointed.
Every morning, these priests would offer prayers to Kusanagi God before beginning to clean the shrine. Thanks to their efforts, the shrine was always kept in a pristine condition, successfully exuding a solemn atmosphere. This was a state unimaginable in the past.
Even the rock with Kusanagi God’s sword embedded in it had been polished to a shine.
Today, too, a confident adventurer had come to try pulling out the sword.
Though he seemed to be a man with great confidence in his strength, his face turned red as he attempted to pull out the sword, ultimately failing.
“As you have failed, I will collect the challenge fee of one gold coin,” announced the priest standing beside the rock.
The adventurer, looking frustrated, handed over the gold coin.
“Thank you very much for your patronage,”
the priest said with a smile as he received the coin.
[…………]
Kusanagi God felt somewhat uncomfortable with this exchange.
Originally, no money was required for the trial of pulling out the sword. However, at some point, this trial had come to require payment.
Of course, Kusanagi God had questioned the priests about this.
[Is it really necessary to charge money for attempting to pull out the sword?]
The priest replied:
“O great Kusanagi God, money is necessary to maintain this shrine. Without funds, the shrine would only fall into decay, and we would have to leave to make a living. Does Kusanagi God not need us?”
His expression was one of deep concern. Of course, Kusanagi God couldn’t say they were unnecessary.
[……I see. I understand,] was all Kusanagi God could say.
However, the number of people challenging the sword was increasing day by day.
While present at the scene, Kusanagi God could see as far as the vicinity of the shrine, where many banners had been erected.
These banners read:
“A sword worth 100,000 gold coins! Challenge fee is only 1 gold coin!”
As a result, recently, even those without confidence in their strength had been challenging the sword, motivated by the potential monetary gain.
Kusanagi God wondered if this situation was truly what they had desired, but seeing the priests working so happily, it was too late to tell them to stop.
There was one more thing that concerned Kusanagi God about the surroundings.
A shop had opened near the shrine, selling something called “Kusanagi Manjuu.”
These “Kusanagi Manjuu” were selling well.
The priests were busily making them—green buns with edible grass mixed into the dough for coloring, filled with sweet black bean paste.
Kusanagi God had once asked a priest, [Hey, what’s that?] but due to some misunderstanding, a large quantity of “Kusanagi Manjuu” was offered before them.
Having no choice but to try them, Kusanagi God found them quite delicious. Since these bore their name, they didn’t feel too bad about it.
While there were a few concerning points, overall, Kusanagi God was satisfied. There were many worshippers, and faith in them as a god was growing.
However, why did the clothes worn by the priests have “Trao Trading Company” written on them?
Aegis God had been spending all their time in the art museum named after them. In fact, they hardly ever returned to their own temple. Nobody would come anyway, and even if someone did, they had prepared about ten krakens as caretakers, so no one would be able to reach the inside of the temple.
Even so, the exhibits in this museum never ceased to fascinate, no matter how many times they were viewed.
Paintings depicting Aegis God, sculptures modeled after Aegis God, stained glass featuring Aegis God as a motif, music themed around Aegis God.
It was magnificent. This was undoubtedly the world’s finest art museum.
Aegis God would not acknowledge the existence of a superior museum, and if there were one, they intended to crush it.
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In any case, the Aegis Art Museum was thriving.
It was especially popular among aspiring artists and magicians who revered Aegis God.
(How devoted they are. I am pleased.)
Aegis God was impressed by those who diligently visited the museum to appreciate the artworks themed around them.
And when the mood struck, they would bestow revelations.
These revelations consisted of merely emanating a slight presence and gently breathing divine breath upon the chosen ones, but those who received it would jump for joy and run out of the museum at full speed.
(How refreshingly innocent.)
Aegis God was satisfied with the reactions of those upon whom they had bestowed their grace.
However, as being completely naked seemed a bit much, Aegis God wore a white garment while in the museum. Being a goddess with a base in the sea, their hair appeared wet.
The Aegis Art Museum was bustling today as well.
There was talk that “something appears,” which was very popular among those interested in such things. The museum had incorporated this into their promotional strategy, announcing “Today’s Sighting Information” outside the museum.
According to the sighting information, while inside the museum, one’s surroundings would suddenly become pitch black, and they would sense a presence behind them. Upon turning around, there would be a woman with wet blue hair wearing white clothes standing at close range, breathing warm breath upon them.
This was reputed to be terrifying even if one knew about it in advance.
If it were just something appearing, it would only be scary, but without exception, those who encountered it experienced an improvement in their abilities, so magicians and artists frequently visited.
The Aegis God-shaped cookie pastries sold outside the museum were also popular.
It had become famous as a tourist attraction, drawing visitors from both within and outside Osria.
However, there was a notice posted at the entrance:
[We cannot guarantee the safety of those who display disrespectful words or attitudes towards Aegis God in the main building.]
There was also a rumor circulating that a person who had mocked a painting of Aegis God had died of a mysterious illness three days later. However, this was actually a false rumor spread by Trao to ensure smooth operation of the museum.
A group from the Trao Trading Company, led by Rio, had arrived at Nimue’s illusory lake.
Their purpose was to cultivate the Black Lotus, as Trao had promised Nimue.
However, Rio had another mission. It was to recover the hundred suits of mithril armor sleeping at the bottom of the lake.
Trao had deduced that Nimue had no attachment to the armor itself, so they plotted to take back the mithril armor sunk in the lake.
(What a petty person.)
Although Rio found the task of reclaiming armor that had once been given away very distasteful, it was indeed a business in the sense that it was an easy way to make a profit.
So, upon arriving at the illusory lake, Rio immediately entered into negotiations with Nimue.
First, when Rio held up the bottle containing the raw liquid of the potion at the shore of the lake, Nimue appeared without hesitation.
“It’s been a while, Lady Nimue,”
Rio said, bowing respectfully.
[Who are you? It doesn’t matter, just hand over that bottle to me.]
Nimue had completely forgotten about Rio.
Rio felt a little disheartened by this fairy-like attitude but decided to get straight to the point anyway.
“…I am a messenger of the one who previously exchanged a hundred fairy armors with you at this lake. I’ve come regarding the cultivation of Black Lotus. This bottle is an offering to you, Lady Nimue.”
Saying this, Rio presented the bottle of raw liquid to Nimue.
[Ah, you’re a messenger of that rude man. I’ve been looking forward to the Black Lotus cultivation. Start immediately.]
Nimue carelessly received the bottle and urged Rio to begin the cultivation. Fairies seemed to be true to their desires.
“Well, you see, Lady Nimue. Actually, Black Lotus is a plant that struggles to grow near metal, so we were wondering if we could retrieve the armor at the bottom of the lake?”
Of course, this was a blatant lie concocted by Trao. Rio thought even a child wouldn’t fall for such an obvious lie, but they decided to at least try saying it.
[Is that so? Then hurry up and retrieve the armor. And start cultivating the Black Lotus quickly.]
Nimue didn’t notice the lie. Or rather, she seemed indifferent about the armor from the start.
And so, Rio deployed the personnel she had brought into the lake and began a large-scale armor recovery operation. What was pulled up from the bottom of the lake was not only the mithril armor that Trao and his group had thrown in, but also many vintage armors that had presumably been cast in before that. However, as Nimue showed absolutely no interest in these either, Trao Trading Company recovered all of them.
Of course, after that, the cultivation of Black Lotus began, and it was a splendid success.
As a result, the illusory phantom lake was transformed into a deplorable environment where Black Lotus flowers ran riot, and the fairies were in a constant state of intoxication.
Rio and the others promptly withdrew, and the recovered armor was put up for auction, bringing enormous profits to Trao Trading Company.
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