Published: August 25, 2025
Today, three chapters are posted simultaneously.
This story is the first chapter.
Although there was a little unexpected incident at the end, dinner and the drinking party finished safely. After tidying up and returning to my room, there was really nothing left to do... but it was still a bit early to sleep. I hadn’t drunk much alcohol, and I wasn’t feeling sleepy.
“Right.”
Since there was quite a bit of the alcohol I had planned to drink at the party left over, I thought I might share some with the gods. I took out a book from the Item Box, then poured mana into it, and my vision was wrapped in white light. It was exactly the same as the church’s chapel. There was no discomfort at all going back and forth.
In the next moment, I saw a low table standing alone in a pure white space, with Wilieris and Glimp sitting in front of it.
“Good evening. Is it just the two of you today?”
“Welcome. Everyone else has gone out for now.”
“Please, have a seat first.”
Prompted by Glimp, I sat down in front of the table, and as if it had been there from the beginning, a tray with tea and baked snacks was naturally placed before me.
“Thank you for the warm welcome despite the sudden visit.”
“You’re always welcome to come by more casually. After all, Felnoberia went through the trouble of making and handing over the Divine Artifact.”
“The system is set so you can’t come when it’s inconvenient for us, so don’t worry about that. But tell me, what brings you today? Is there something going on?”
“Oh, right.”
I first explained the purpose and took out some refined sake we brewed with the goblins from the Item Box. Then I also brought out glass sake cups and snacks I had made through alchemy, and the three of us began drinking together.
“I’m not sure if it suits your taste, but there’s enough for everyone... well, depending on how much Tekun drinks, it might not be enough.”
“This is quite a fine gift.”
“Indeed.”
“I’m glad you like it. When I first thought about it, I wondered if it was okay to just give leftovers.”
“We don’t mind that. Even if it’s still rough around the edges, it’s a good sake made with effort and creativity. The enthusiasm of the goblins who made it is definitely in there. Above all, drinking it directly like this is special.”
“Directly?”
“We receive many excellent offerings all year round, but we rarely get to taste them directly. Trade between the divine realm and the mortal world is basically impossible. There are exceptions, but they require large-scale use of power, so they can’t be used for offerings.
So we create replicas that perfectly imitate the taste and texture through our power and receive the 'feelings' of those who gave us the offerings.”
“Yeah, as long as the feelings are there, anything is fine.”
I see... If that’s the case, I might bring some more from time to time. Since I’m always indebted to them, and we’ll probably keep making goblin sake. Besides, considering that refined sake has the “record of being offered to gods,” it might have some benefits when using cursed arts.
Just as these selfish thoughts crept in, Wilieris smiled.
“I’d be happy if you brought it, but please do so within reasonable limits. It might help as an image when using cursed arts, but it won’t have much effect.
By the way, it seems you’ve gotten quite used to cursed arts in such a short time?”
“For now, I’ve learned the basics—purification of miasma and fundamentals of curses. The teacher is good, and it seems suited to me. Right now, I’m stuck on recreating lost magic.”
“Oh, that’s natural. That magic wasn’t made to be used by modern (.....) humans.”
Glimp, smiling contentedly as he savored the sake, spoke in a way that caught my attention.
“Modern humans? So you mean ancient humans? Is there some difference between them and us?”
“Ah, where should I start to make it easy to understand...”
“If you’re going to talk, it’s better to start from the premise.”