Chapter 10: The Gods' World – A Premonition That the Stage Is About to Expand
Whatever the reason, the fact that the gods were showing more interest in me was significant. All I had to do was leverage that attention to grow and get stronger.
Amid the five gods peering down at me, Amon, who had been momentarily puzzled, hurriedly bowed his waist and spoke up.
"My lord! It would be wise to accept this commission."
"Why's that?"
"Because the bounty on a Twin-Headed Ogre is enormous!"
"Oh, really?"
I knew ogre bounties were high, but exterminating 300 of them sounded like a hassle, so I'd turned it down. But Amon was talking about their leader, the Twin-Headed Ogre.
"Aigoo, monster corpse prices have skyrocketed lately. Their hides and blood are all treated as war materials now, aren't they? It's only been a year since Espado Kingdom was conquered, and now war's broken out in the north again. Monster and beast hides are worth whatever you can get for them. Especially a Twin-Headed Ogre—starts at a base of 50,000 gold!"
"Huh."
This was unexpected side income. Even without Baron Akaron begging me to hunt them, I had plenty of reason to swing by and deal with the bastards.
Amon grinned slyly as he continued. "Orc corpses, the raw material for light armor, go for a whopping 30 gold each. Red orc hides for knights' leather armor are pushing 500 gold, and dire wolf corpses are at 300 gold. Most have more than doubled."
"That's a big jump. What about ogres?"
"Around 1,000 gold, roughly."
"Damn, that's huge."
It was staggering. A commoner's monthly living expenses were about 10 gold. With a sack of wheat trading for 5-6 silver, one ogre corpse equated to roughly 2,000 sacks of wheat. Currency values varied by region on Karen Continent, and inflation ravaged war-torn areas, so exact calculations were impossible. But in Earth terms, 1 gold felt like about 100,000 won.
By this point, I'd already decided to help Akaron's territory.
But then the gods started saying something ominous.
'What? Take complete control of the giant gods' clan? Ha! As if that's easy. Wait a sec.'
Did I really need to dance to the gods' tune? If I proceeded with conquering the giant gods' clan as planned, they'd surely teach me how to bring them under my command—and grant me the power to match. With the giant gods at my feet, toppling the empire later would be a breeze. Talk about killing two birds with one stone—eat the pheasant, get the egg, one strike two gains.
I was lost in visions of a glorious future when Talos chimed in again.
In other words, since the emperor had issued a decree appointing me as commander, Talos saw potential and came to push me. Couldn't disappoint the gods now.
"Hahaha! Amon, if hide prices are that high, of course I'll help! And we'll squeeze a fat commission out of it too!"
"Heh heh heh, as expected of my lord—ever astute."
This gave me a clear picture of the gods' world. Up close, it wasn't much different from humans scheming away.
Deep into the night. I'd chatted with Amon and decided to take down the Twin-Headed Ogre. But Baron Akaron didn't know yet, so come morning, I'd negotiate and squeeze some gold out of him.
Normally, I'd be asleep by now, but the one-time shop voucher had me mulling it over.
"A shop voucher, huh."
Just one use at the gods' shop, no less. Obviously packed with insane items, I could guess.
My current karma reserves sat at about 15,000. Would that buy something truly useful for my future?
"Sigh, too soon."
Part of me wanted to dive in right away—curious about the gods' shop and excited to see the ridiculous, overpowered goodies. But I knew better than to burn my one shot now.
If I were a subscriber, would I sponsor a protagonist who just did whatever? Nah. I'd back one who charged ahead boldly but hit roadblocks, keeping things tense.
That was my plan. I'd figured out what the gods wanted: smash the giant gods' clan and unlock their sponsorship for a way to unite them under me.
This feels like a quest, kinda.
"Heh heh heh."
A chuckle escaped. Yeah, someone issues a request you fulfill—boom, quest. No other word for it.
So I was in the position of receiving quests from gods. No intention of following their script to the letter.
With that sorted, my mind cleared. Time for bed.
Knock knock.
Just as sleep crept in, someone knocked. Footsteps and breathing said woman for sure.
Beauty trap, maybe?
"......"
No one's offering rice cakes, yet they're yapping up a storm. Gods.
"Who is it?"
"I'm Aria, second daughter of the Akaron house."
I opened the door, and in walked a woman in her late teens or early twenties. My breath nearly stopped. Cecilia edged her out in looks, but that's thanks to divine blessings. Aria's beauty was suffocating without any.
Should I just fall for the honey trap?
"What brings a noble lady into this lord's bedroom? At this witching hour, no less."
"I heard you like beautiful women, my lord."
"What kinda talk is that? No man turns down a beauty. If you don't like 'em, you ain't a man."
"So......"
Shhhk. Rustle.
She started undressing. This popularity... no, the rumors were the problem. The original protagonist was such a playboy that noble houses empire-wide had me blacklisted. Lords strictly forbade their daughters from tangling with me. Plenty of ladies ruined by me in the backstory.
The gods were going wild now.
Tears blurring my vision! So if I pounce, 6,000 karma; if not, 20,000!
These damn gods toying with me like this?
Seducing a maid was one thing—this was different. Not force, just... a man wouldn't refuse, right? But with the gods betting like this, no choice.
20,000 karma? That's something! Never shopped there, but it felt valuable.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Undressing."
"Why are you undressing?"
"Obviously, because I want the empire's greatest knight by rumor to help our territory."
"And you bet your purity on that? I don't know where these rumors started, but I'm not depraved enough to touch a woman who doesn't love me."
"Hm...... That's unexpected?"
She stopped midway and sat on a chair. Tch, might as well finish stripping. Teasing glimpses weren't bad, though.
No bet on exposure, so no need to correct her.
"You came to persuade me, but the honey trap flopped. Now what?"
She bit her lip. Me, the lecher by rumor, not pouncing—confusion and mixed feelings, surely.
Finally, after a long pause, her tiny lips parted.
"To be honest, if imperial troops come from the capital, we'll rack up losses meantime, and it costs 200,000 gold to the crown."
"So?"
"That much money could bankrupt us. And who knows when the crown sends troops. If you handle it, 50,000 gold or so......"
"Hahaha! Highway robbery? 200,000 cost, and you offer 50,000? You think I'm an idiot, miss. Moving the crown takes more than that—bribes everywhere, costs pile up. The emperor ain't dumb. You're neutral faction, not imperial loyalists. No real reason to help."
"Then how much do you want?"
She looked ready to cry. A fallen house's daughter? Obvious fate. Unusable for politics, worthless.
I couldn't uproot their pillar without cause, either. Had to negotiate at a burdensome but fair level.
"100,000. This big bro'll settle it for 100,000 flat. Oh, and that earlier gesture? Not included, you know."