Goddess of the Magic City (4)
Goddess of the Magic City (4)
"W-what do you mean by that?"
An unimaginable, outrageous pillow talk.
I stammered, feeling a tension beyond what I feel during sex.
"What's there to be so surprised about?"
However, Thanatos twirled her hair around her finger and shrugged her shoulders.
"You've already been doing it with Demeter, haven't you?"
"......?!"
Her words, delivered as she narrowed her sparkling ruby-like red eyes, pierced my heart.
Just like a thief whose feet give out, cold sweat broke out all over my body.
"H-how did you know?"
"I had a conversation with Demeter yesterday through communication magic. She desperately tried to act like nothing was wrong, but it was obvious at a glance that her condition was strange."
Thanatos twirled around (binggeureu), lay face down on the bed, propped her chin on the mattress, and continued speaking.
"So I coaxed it out of her and made her confess everything. About who she's been doing what with lately, and who asked her to do such a thing~."
Thanatos alternated crossing and uncrossing her smooth legs, looking at me with an enigmatic gaze.
It seemed like pure admiration, or perhaps intense disgust.
"Don't worry. I haven't told anyone. I made Demeter keep her mouth shut for now, so it probably won't leak to the other goddesses."
"......."
"So in the end, you couldn't change."
Thanatos couldn't hide her pity for me as I remained silent.
In a low voice uncharacteristic of her usual refined and noble demeanor.
"Do you want me to get pinned down by another man and howl like Demeter?"
She asked in a calm voice that contradicted the content of the question, but I couldn't answer this time either.
But from the moment I didn't answer immediately, the answer was as good as given.
"Then I'll do it."
Thanatos wore a benevolent expression like bright moonlight illuminating the dark night.
"R-really? But you said you hated it..."
"I still hate it the same."
Thanatos had a habit of fundamentally looking down on all men other than her husband Ion Rayhard.
It could be seen as a goddess's characteristic arrogance, but in Thanatos's case, she always wore a smile, which somehow made it even more chilling.
"But still, what can I do? If even Demeter, the epitome of innocence, did it, I can't not do it, right? Otherwise, my nanggunnim might end up loving Demeter more than me."
"That won't..."
"Can you swear it won't happen?"
Thanatos cut me off sharply and asked, her face close to mine.
Overwhelmed by her serious gaze, I cowardly held back my words again.
"That's right. I can't stand you paying more attention to the other goddesses than to me. Well, that's not the only reason I'm going along with your tastes."
"If there's more than that..."
"I don't want to see you suffer anymore."
Facing me, Thanatos raised her hand and caressed my cheek.
"Do you know how pitiful it is to see you desperately pretending that everything is fine and that it's not a big deal? Surely you didn't think Demeter was the only one who genuinely worried about you?"
Thanatos, her face slightly pouting, buried her face in my chest.
Feeling her warmth, I once again realized what a pathetic and pathetic person I was.
"That's also why I pretended to be interested in those thugs we ran into on the way here. I wanted to subtly test your true feelings."
Thanatos lifted her face slightly and looked at me with a mischievous expression.
"And sure enough, when I was just a little nice to those thugs, your pants immediately twitched?"
I had no words even if I had a hundred mouths.
I thought I was hiding it, but I never imagined she saw it all.
I tried to hide it, but as expected, I was in the palm of Thanatos's hand.
"Seeing that, I was convinced. 'Ah, to love this man, I must love his tastes as well.'"
"Thanatos..."
"Don't bother apologizing. It'll only annoy me."
At that, I had no choice but to shut my half-open mouth.
"No matter what tastes you have, you are my beloved husband. So you could say it's only natural for me, your wife, to adapt to you."
"Yeah, thank..."
"But."
Just as I was about to absentmindedly express my gratitude, Thanatos pressed her long index finger to my lips.
"You'll have to give me the right to choose the other man."
Thanatos slowly removed her finger from my lips and gave a seductive wink.
Seeing that, I swallowed a gulp (kkulkeok) and opened my mouth with difficulty.
"...Do you have a man in mind?"
"Hmm, let's see~."
Thanatos tapped the bedsheet with her finger, deliberately taking her time.
She gave off a thoughtful air, but it seemed she already had someone in mind.
I racked my brain, mobilizing Ion's memories and the knowledge from Purepan, but I couldn't think of a single man who might appeal to Thanatos.
"What about Hugo?"
Thanatos, who had been amusingly watching my impatience, suddenly murmured.
At the completely unexpected name that came out of her mouth, my eyes widened like lanterns.
"Hu-hugo...?"
Because that was none other than my friend's name.
*
Hugo Davram.
He was just an ordinary wizard you could find anywhere.
Neither his basic mana capacity nor his understanding of magic was outstanding in any way.
The reason such a man chose to walk the path of magic in Crezel, where wizards were a dime a dozen, was because it was his only livelihood.
'Haah, what am I going to do about this month's rent...'
Since childhood, Hugo was a below-average man who could do little compared to others.
When friends gathered and divided into teams to play, he was always the type to be left unchosen until the very end.
Hugo was aware that he was fundamentally incompetent.
Even if he wanted to deny it, his life of sighs until now was undeniable evidence.
Even when taking exams, he often failed because he carelessly missed one or two simple questions.
There was even a time when he made a foolish investment and absurdly lost all his assets.
As a result, even his only small house had fallen into the hands of loan sharks, and he was left completely destitute.
A perfect example of a pathetic man with neither skill nor wits.
For Hugo, who was stuck in such a loser's state, the sudden dinner invitation from his friend and hero Ion was nothing less than a lifeline from heaven.
It was a connection that could be called the sole success and greatest fortune in his utterly pathetic life.
That was the unbelievable friendship with the hero Ion Rayhard.
'I hope the conversation goes well.'
Just because he grew up in the same village as Ion as a child, Hugo gained the enormous backing of being the hero's friend.
But that didn't mean Hugo reaped huge benefits from his relationship with Ion.
Because Ion, as befits a hero, was fundamentally upright and just in character, and never accepted any kind of favoritism.
Of course, being a friend of the hero could in itself be a tremendous advantage in living in this world.
Unfortunately, Hugo was completely clueless about that sort of thing.
'Should I have brought something...'
Hugo simply regarded Ion as an incredibly successful, accomplished hometown friend.
Unconsciously, he kept some distance from Ion to avoid feeling unnecessary deprivation.
But in the worst situation like now, where even his home was gone, he had no room to care about such petty pride.
Hugo planned to meet Ion this time and ask for help.
If Ion refused, he intended to kneel and appeal to their old friendship.
He was that desperate.
"Welcome, Hugo. I've been waiting."
As Hugo followed the servant's guidance and arrived at the spacious dining room of the most expensive mansion in Crezel,
Ion, who was already there, greeted Hugo warmly.
"Long time no see, Ion."
"Yeah, it has been..."
Hugo exchanged a light handshake with Ion and gave a somewhat businesslike smile.
And just then, a person standing behind Ion approached Hugo, radiating an undeniable strong presence.
"Long time no see, Hugo Davram."
"Th-thanatos-nim...?!"
"How many years has it been?"
Thanatos, the owner of this mansion and one of Ion's wives, the goddess.
When she spoke to him amiably, Hugo failed to hide his fluster in time.
He carefully gazed at Thanatos's undeniably too-beautiful face, trying not to be rude, and inwardly swallowed his embarrassment.
Because it was the first time in his life she had welcomed him with such a warm voice.
"L-let's sit down first."
Ion pointed to the long table laden with a feast and gave an awkward smile.
Hugo was a bit bothered by Ion's seemingly urgent demeanor, but soon thought it was his imagination and obediently followed his suggestion.
"I've been counting the days until today~."
And so began the fateful dinner that would be forever etched in Hugo's memory.