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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Divine Bidding War
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The clear numbers began to shimmer and change shape.
‘Wow. The God of Judgment just raised the reward to thirty-two thousand… Ah! And just as I say that, the Goddess of Peace has raised it to thirty-five thousand!’
I grinned and diligently announced the rewards from the two gods.
By openly pitting them against each other in an auction—no, a competition—the already high reward money ballooned, seemingly without limit.
The God of Judgment, thirty-eight thousand.
The Goddess of Peace, forty thousand.
The God of Judgment, forty-five thousand.
The Goddess of Peace, fifty thousand.
Now, the numbers were changing so fast I didn't even have to announce them anymore.
There wasn't even time to read them properly.
The two gods were clearly grinding their teeth, locked in a battle of wills.
Isn't there a saying that when whales fight, a shrimp's back is broken?
But sometimes, when whales fight, the shrimp gets to feast.
‘And today is that day!’
The thrilling reward battle between the two gods I was watching was slowly starting to tip in one's favor.
The winner was the God of Judgment.
It was a result I had somewhat expected.
The Goddess of 'Peace' has an image of disliking conflict, so I figured she would back down first from such a draining battle of wills.
‘The God of Judgment has offered 120,000 coins as a reward.’
I coolly accepted the quest from the God of Judgment.
◈Quest◈
Punish the impertinent maid who ignored the Saintess. You must demonstrate the Saintess's authority to the world with a harsh retribution.
-Client: The God of Judgment / Lesa
-Objective: Punish the maid, Hanna.
-Reward: 120,000 Heaven Coins
‘And the Goddess of Peace offered 110,000 coins...’
While I was at it, I decided to accept that one too.
◈Quest◈
The Saintess's mercy knows no bounds. Spread her fame by showing magnanimity and forgiving the sinner.
-Client: The Goddess of Peace / Kodia
-Objective: Give the maid, Hanna, a chance to atone for her wrongdoing.
-Reward: 110,000 Heaven Coins
‘To be honest, I planned to accept both from the start!’
Heaven Quests only provide a broad objective; they don't specify the exact method.
So, if I punish Hanna appropriately as the God of Judgment requested, and then also accept the Goddess of Peace's request by giving her a chance to atone…
‘I can knock out both at once!’
Seeing me grin, Axel narrowed his eyes.
He had a look that said, *There she goes, scheming again.*
Feigning ignorance, I ignored his stare, tucked the Quest List into my clothes, and looked at Hanna.
“Bring back the Elpinade money you stole. If you've already spent it, you'll work to pay it back.”
“A-are you giving me a chance to work? You truly are the Saintess!”
“Yep. That's wight. I'm the Saintess, so I'll be genewous and give you a chance.”
At my words, Axel frowned, while Hanna beamed.
“But who would hire a maid who dawes to steal fwom the master she serves…?”
I pretended to think for a moment, then clapped my hands as if a great idea had struck me.
“Ah! The Elpinades own mines, wight? You can work there and earn money. There's no money to steal there, either. Wight, Axel?”
“A-a-a mine?”
Hanna's face turned deathly pale.
The mines were a harsh workplace where even able-bodied men struggled to work and quickly gave up.
Moreover, the gold and diamond mines owned by the Elpinades were stuck in the barren northern part of the continent.
For Hanna, who had lived her whole life as a maid in a noble house without ever doing truly hard labor, it would be no easy task.
“If you work for about ten years, you should be able to pay back all the money you stole, don't you think?”
“Ten years? She'll have to work for thirty.”
Axel corrected the period I had roughly guessed.
“Th-thirty years!”
At the immense length of time, Hanna's face went from white to blue.
“Yep. If you work hard and weflect for thirty years, I'll let you start a new life afterwawd. 'Cause I'm the Saintess, and I'm genewous.”
It wasn't a lie.
If Hanna truly managed to endure thirty years of repentance in the mines, I was willing to acknowledge her grit and help her start a new life.
Not that an embezzler who bullied a child would have that kind of perseverance.
‘So, how about it?’
I asked the gods who were surely watching from Heaven.
I'd thrown Hanna into the mines, which would be a living hell for her, so that was a clear punishment.
At the same time, I promised her the gift of a new life if she repented and endured for thirty years, so that was forgiveness.
It was a solution that satisfied the quests from both the God of Judgment and the Goddess of Peace.
As if in response to my conviction, two system windows appeared before me simultaneously, without any delay.
[Heaven Transmission]
(Notification) Quest Success!
Congratulations. 120,000 Heaven Coins have been awarded as a reward. Would you like to claim them now?
[Yes/No]
[Heaven Transmission]
(Notification) Quest Success!
Congratulations. 110,000 Heaven Coins have been awarded as a reward. Would you like to claim them now?
[Yes/No]
This was the moment a quest that I thought would net me 30,000 coins at best ended up delivering a massive reward of 230,000 coins into my hands.
I giggled and tugged on Axel's pants.
“Gweat, Axel! Let's go to the temple now!”
To extend my life!
* * *
I hugged Oinky, the piggy bank Axel had made for me, and boarded the carriage heading to the temple.
People unfamiliar with magic might think you can just zip through space with something like teleportation, but that was a spell so difficult you had to risk your life to even attempt it.
One wrong move, and you could face the horrific situation of your head ending up here, your torso there, and your limbs somewhere else entirely.
‘That's why even mages favor carriages and horses.’
Watching the scenery fly by outside the window, I started humming to myself.
I guess this is why they say a person's peace of mind comes from a full wallet.
‘As for how many coins are in my pocket right now...’
The 50,000 coins from the first quest reward, plus the 230,000 I just secured, for a grand total of 280,000 Heaven Coins!
‘If I donate all of this, I can secure an additional twenty-eight months of life.’
The thought made me feel much more at ease, even though I was still on borrowed time.
Axel seemed dumbfounded that I was so cheerful about securing less than three years of life.
“You're still on a timer. What's there to be so happy about?”
“Axel. Why are you so negative?”
“Huh? Of course I'm negative. How can anyone be positive about this situation? You have less than three years left.”
Axel crossed his arms and asked wryly, so I just shrugged.
“Geez. If you think about it the other way, it means I definitely won't die during that time. It's a subscwiption period guawanteed by the gods.”
“What? How can you interpret it like that…?”
“Ah! Or maybe it means I'll die as Lesia and be weincarnated again? That's interesting.”
As I brought up this sudden new possibility, Axel's face crumpled, and he gave my head a light flick.
“Interesting, my foot.”
I glared at him resentfully for the sudden attack, but he just scoffed as if to say *nice try* and turned his head to look out the window.
“And don't talk so easily about dying. Coming from someone who's already died once, it doesn't sound like complete nonsense.”
His tone was impassive.
Before I could respond, the carriage neared its destination.
“I can see the temple.”
I moved closer to the window and looked outside.
At the end of the road, a magnificent temple building came into view.
Its pure white exterior gave it a sacred atmosphere.
