Victory's Clingy Hero Worship
The Victory Goddess is a total maniac... right!?
……………
The Victory Goddess smiled. She reached out and grabbed my shoulder.
Why, why is she doing this? All of a sudden.
My head was spinning. The Victory Goddess in my mind was never like this woman. But right now... she seemed like a completely different person.
For starters, the skinship was way too intense. She pressed her upper body fully against mine, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at me. Our faces were so close that if I just leaned in a little, our lips would touch.
Why is she suddenly being so aggressive?
"Um, excuse me."
"Yes, go ahead."
The Victory Goddess smiled. With far more enthusiasm than before. Looking at her expression, I realized something: I had no chance of prying this goddess off me. To resolve this, I'd need someone else's help. Like, say, the two goddesses across the table, arms crossed and watching us.
I shot a pleading look at the Family Goddess and Love Goddess, packing it full of help me. Our eyes met.
But the Family Goddess shook her head.
"Give up. She goes nuts whenever she sees a hero."
"......Pardon?"
I blinked blankly, and the Love Goddess chimed in.
"To be more precise, she's got a hero fetish. Better watch out so she doesn't eat you alive?"
Hero fetish...?
Never heard that term before. If it was true, it was one hell of a unique taste.
"A fetish? Me?"
The Victory Goddess shot back in an indignant tone.
"I simply 'enthusiastically' adore and sponsor heroes. And I'm a virgin goddess who swore her chastity to the sacred river, you know."
"Oh, that oath?"
The Love Goddess smirked.
"Of course she'd keep it. Virginity stays intact as long as you don't go there."
Ugh...
I wasn't some hardcore Confucian who believed in no mixing of sexes, but this was still wildly inappropriate with a guy right here.
And sure enough, the Victory Goddess's face flushed bright red. Though unlike when she was dealing with me, this time it was pure anger.
I half-expected them to grab hair and brawl right there in the cafe, but it didn't happen.
"......Hoo."
Surprisingly, the Victory Goddess took a deep breath and regained her composure. Then—
"Jealousy doesn't suit you, does it?"
With a beaming smile, she hurled a verbal dagger at the Love Goddess.
"......What?"
"It's not my fault your husband's ugly. No need to be jealous."
The Love Goddess's eyebrow twitched. She looked seriously pissed, but she quickly schooled her expression and snorted. Like they'd made a pact that whoever snapped first would lose.
"Hah, what a mouth on you. No wonder your baby-maker's got cobwebs—gotta turn sour eventually."
Gasp...!
I couldn't believe my ears. I felt more embarrassed just hearing it. Even as trash talk, come on—they were goddesses. Was this okay?
The Victory Goddess's face burned even redder. She fired right back at the Love Goddess's jab.
"And someone who can use all three holes... wastes them on nothing but cheating?"
"......What did you say?"
Oh god, this is insane.
The Love Goddess's eyes sharpened. Their gazes clashed in midair, sparks flying invisibly. The air grew heavy, an unseen pressure squeezing in from all sides. It was getting hard to breathe.
Who would speak first this time? What barb would they throw next? The tension filled the cafe.
......Ugh.
Was this what staredowns between gods felt like? Stuck in the middle, it was pure agony and embarrassment.
I glanced across the table. From what I knew, the Family Goddess ranked highest among the three. Maybe she could stop this—
Uh...
The Family Goddess was just staring at her phone screen, arms still crossed, face screaming done with this. Clearly not her first rodeo, and she had zero intention of intervening.
This is driving me nuts. Gotta stop it somehow...
If I let this go, a real fight might break out. Gods-only-know what that would lead to, but it wouldn't be good. And I'd get caught in the crossfire, obviously.
If the Family Goddess wouldn't step in, no choice—I had to.
I took a deep breath. And spoke up.
"If there's any misunderstanding, allow me to clarify: I'm not a hero."
My sudden interruption drew both goddesses' eyes to me instantly. Even the Family Goddess looked up from her phone.
I swallowed hard. No taking it back now.
"Sure, I sacrificed my life and activated the bomb collar to meet my end. But that was..."
Hard to continue. How to put it?
"That was just... something I could do because I knew that dying as Moon Yujin would bring me back here to you goddesses."
All three goddesses stared at me. Silence hung heavy.
I pressed on through it.
"So I'm no hero. I just did what needed doing."
"""........."""
Everyone went quiet for a beat. Then—
The Family Goddess shook her head slowly.
The Love Goddess clicked her tongue.
"Tch, a humble hero brooding on top of it all. Hits her type right in the feels."
"......Pardon?"
Totally not the reaction I expected.
And finally, the Victory Goddess. Her eyes sparkled even brighter as she pressed closer.
"You absolutely have the makings of a hero."
"No, that's not what I—"
"No interest in my favor?"
She hugged me. Or rather, yanked my head between her breasts. My face sank into her soft, warm, sweetly scented cleavage.
"Guhk...!"
Can't... breathe. Literally.
I twisted desperately, turning my head to snatch a gasp of air. As I barely pulled my face free, a sudden realization hit.
"Um, Victory Goddess? One question."
"Yes. Ask away."
"If I accept your favor... does that end this trial?"
"Of course. But is that truly what you want?"
"......Hmm."
She clearly had no intention of letting me escape easily.
I could guess why the Victory Goddess was acting this way. If she truly admired my 'heroic' actions, then quitting the trial without clearing it would look utterly unheroic.
In that case...
"How about this, then?"
"Tell me."
The Victory Goddess looked at me with shining eyes.
"I want to revive the ones who died in each world."
Han Minseo, Yeoreum, Ma Hyuksu, and Moon Yujin. Zerk Makerberg was fated to die to Kang Haneul or Baek Sehee anyway, but flip that around—maybe if I'd done a little better, he wouldn't have.
If the Victory Goddess used her transcendent power to bring them back, or let me continue... maybe I could make things work with those vicious yet pitiful women.
"......What do you think?"
The Victory Goddess grabbed my hand.
"That's a very appealing wish! Worth a shot."
"No, you know that's impossible."
The Family Goddess cut in.
"Reviving the dead right there in their worlds? From other worlds? No single god can do it alone. Even pooling all our power might not cut it."
"That's..."
The Victory Goddess trailed off, and the Family Goddess pointed accusingly.
"And you, derailing things like this is cheating. Keep it up, and I'll hang with the Hunt Goddess instead."
"......"
'Not playing with you anymore!' Pretty childish threat for goddesses. But it seemed more effective than I'd thought.
The Victory Goddess sighed wistfully.
"Truly a shame."
She let me go.
"But after the trial ends, sure. Find me then. I promise my favor and sponsorship."
"......Okay."
I nodded.
……………
A brief silence fell.
In the end, my talk with the Victory Goddess fizzled into a harmless fiasco, no big gains. Still, I gleaned some info: if the three goddesses combined forces, they might revive the bodies I'd possessed upon dying.
If I ever cleared the trial, reviving them could be on the table. They weren't biting now, though.
Hm. Time for it, then...
Now for the talk I'd planned originally. The one buried under their bickering.
"Um, goddesses? I have something to say."
All three turned to me.
"You said you'd give me special abilities. But mental corrosion? That's not right."
"Why? It was top-tier power in that world's humanity."
The Family Goddess tilted her head.
"No, it was way too hard to use. I had no clue what to do with it."
My voice sharpened a bit. Couldn't help it—pent-up frustration from that last world.
"Mental corrosion messed up Kang Haneul, and she ended up smashing my leg. Baek Sehee went weird too. In the end, both were about to betray humanity because of me..."
I kept venting, but the Love Goddess interrupted.
"That's on you for not using the ability right."
"Pardon?"
"Ridiculously strong powers are tough to wield, obviously. But that doesn't doom you to a bad end, does it?"
The Love Goddess crossed her arms.
"If you'd figured it out quick and used it right, you could've played both sides. Just your skill and will that fell short."
"Hold on, that's too harsh. Moon Yujin was passive by nature to begin with."
The excuse slipped out.
"Not a total asshole, so he couldn't exploit it selfishly. And I got dragged down by that too."
"But you could've acted differently."
The Love Goddess replied flatly.
"Sure, you felt his influence. But you weren't the full Moon Yujin. If you'd gone selfish, managed your harem like a pro, it would've worked. If I'd possessed him instead, I'd have built a harem easy."
'Exploit it selfishly.'
Those words stabbed deep.
But—
"I... couldn't do that."
I just couldn't. That was my honest heart.
"Even knowing it was mental corrosion from the start, I wouldn't have manipulated people like that."
"......Hah. So frustrating."
The Love Goddess raised an eyebrow. Looked like she had more to say—
But then, a soft sensation brushed my side.
......Huh?
It was the Victory Goddess.