novelraw Chapter 188
Chapter 188
The War of the Gods—Ragnarok. Odin had once heard a prophecy from a seer that the world would be destroyed. It foretold that Loki’s three children would bring about its end. In response, Odin went after Loki’s children.
Fenrir was chained so tightly that not even the gods could break it, and Hel and Jörmungandr were abandoned as soon as they were born. Hel was sent to the underworld, and Jörmungandr thrown into the depths of the sea.
Ironically, those actions became the very reason Loki and his children, filled with resentment, attacked Asgard and ended up destroying the world. If Ragnarok is still ongoing, the relationship between Odin and Loki must be at its absolute worst.
So of course, Odin wouldn’t like me—someone backed by Loki—even if I managed to clear the Ginnungagap Dungeon. From the very start, I had been nothing more than a pawn in Loki’s game. I asked with a dejected expression.
“Are you really going to destroy the world?”
「The Capricious One: …」
Thinking about it, I realized how foolish I sounded. Loki destroying the world was basically inevitable. And if Ragnarok really is happening right now, it’s probably already too late to stop it. This was truly the worst. Even though I’d barely escaped death, the world was still doomed.
On top of that, without even realizing it, I had become a pawn for the very force causing that destruction. And now the rumors had spread to other Constellations as well. I could be killed anytime, anywhere, without even a chance to defend myself. I can’t live like this. I struggled so hard just to survive, and yet the death flags still haven’t disappeared!
「The Capricious One: That’s up to you now.」
“Yes?”「The Capricious One: Because you’re the hero who’s going to save the world! ᕦ(•ᗜ•)ᕤ」
“…”
Was he out of his mind? I really started to doubt this god’s sanity. A hero who was going to save the world? Me? I had never heard a joke that absurd.
In the end, I didn’t think it was worth replying and just let out a long sigh. I even considered closing the system window. Then, as if it could read my mind, the system window started flickering again.
「The Capricious One: Wait, wait!」
「The Capricious One: You should at least hear me out.」
“…”
「The Capricious One: Anyway, I’m not that much of a villain, okay? If I wanted to destroy the world, do you think I’d be helping you like this? It would be easier to just leave things as they are.」
“Hmm.”
That made sense, too. Loki should have been interfering with me—if he had really been opposing Odin like in the myths. But was that really the case? Could things have been different from the myths? The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to know Loki’s real intentions. Was his goal truly not to fight the gods and destroy the world like in the myths?
No, maybe at first he had never meant to destroy the world. It was only because Odin and the other gods, having heard the prophecy, had oppressed his children and imposed terrible punishments on him that he became a villain.
That may have led to the world’s destruction, but it didn’t mean he had evil intentions from the start. Perhaps after the world had reset, he regretted destroying it and thought about getting back at the gods in a different way.
I would probably have done the same if I had been him—if I had gotten another chance for revenge. But that was just my guess. Loki’s real intentions could have been different, and he might even have been lying to use me for his own purposes. Ironically, I couldn’t just trust what he said.
“So, you have no intention of taking revenge on the gods of Asgard?”
「The Capricious One: …」
He went silent again. Anyway, he always stayed quiet whenever a question put him at a disadvantage. I really didn’t understand why he thought I would trust him like this. I narrowed my eyes, and the chat window popped up again—more urgent this time.
「The Capricious One: I can’t tell you everything right now, but…」
「The Capricious One: If there’s one thing I can say for sure…」
“…?”
「The Capricious One: We’re definitely going to be the heroes who save the world!」
“…”
There he went again with that hero talk. I let out a deep sigh.
Hero or whatever—what I really wanted was to survive and return to my original world. That was all I wished for. I never really wanted to be treated like some hero or admired like a protagonist. I wasn’t the type to enjoy that kind of attention. No sooner had I thought that than new words appeared.
「The Capricious One: And once all this is over!」
「The Capricious One: I’ll grant you one wish.」
“Just one…?”
「The Capricious One: …」
Just one? After working me to the bone, he had only granted me one wish? That had been really stingy for a god. I stared at the chat window as the words began to appear one by one after the ellipses.
「The Capricious One: Then…」
「The Capricious One: Two wishes…?」
“…”
「The Capricious One: Three…?」
“Hmm.”
Three wishes, huh? What is this, Aladdin? Did I just rub a magic lamp? I shook my head at the silly thought.
“Can you send me back to my original world?”
「The Capricious One: Hmm, that’s…」
“You can’t?”
「The Capricious One: No, it’s just…」
Even a genius like Sim Dante had managed to do it… and yet a god couldn’t? As that thought crossed my mind, I narrowed my eyes. The chat window flashed again, almost as if in protest.
「The Capricious One: God isn’t almighty;」
「The Capricious One: That human’s success was basically a one-in-a-million chance;;」
「The Capricious One: Hoping for the same stroke of luck again isn’t easy;;;」
“But still, he succeeded twice, didn’t he?”
According to Sim Dante, he had attempted it once before and succeeded. It didn’t seem right to call it merely a simple stroke of luck.
「The Capricious One: Then, hmm…」
「The Capricious One: He just got insanely lucky! o(^▽^)b」
“…”
「The Capricious One: Anyway, fine.」
「The Capricious One: If you help me, I'll send you back.」
“Really?”
「The Capricious One: A god doesn’t go back on his word~」
“Hmm.”
Hearing him speak so confidently made me suspicious again. Earlier, he had said it would be difficult. His contradictory words didn’t feel trustworthy. It was obvious he was just saying things to take advantage of me. Still, I was curious about Loki’s real intentions. I needed to know so I could prepare for the future. After organizing my thoughts, I spoke again.
“What should I do?”
At that, the chat window pinged, as if it had been waiting for me.
***
Morning came. I hadn’t gotten much sleep after talking with the god all night, but surprisingly, my mind felt clear.
“Ppii, ppi!”
“Oh, right.”
Yong-sun, who had been sleeping peacefully, woke up and let out a long cry.
I took a magic stone from the inventory and fed it to her. She wagged her tail excitedly as she ate the finely crushed red magic stone.
Come to think of it, it was about time to go pick up Yong-sik. He had calmed down a lot after going berserk in the Ginnungagap Dungeon, but he was hospitalized just in case. I decided to do a full check-up on him, both because I was worried he might have pushed himself too hard and to see if it was okay for him to stay in human form.
“When you’re done eating, shall we go pick up Yong-sik?”
“Ppiik! Ppik!”
“Okay, okay.”
After stroking Yong-sun’s head, I got ready to leave. Since the hospital was inside the Odin Guild, I probably didn’t need to report to Yeon Seung-won.
Click.
When I opened the door and stepped out, I saw a long corridor. Originally, only Kang Yoo-hyun lived on the second floor, but after Yong-sik became human, my room had been moved to a bigger one on the second floor as well.
As I walked down the corridor, I couldn’t help glancing sideways—it was right where Kang Yoo-hyun’s room was. After clearing the Ginnungagap Dungeon, I hadn’t seen Kang Yoo-hyun much. The main characters had gotten even busier once the constellations’ existence became widely known.
Kang Yoo-hyun, in particular, had started making a bigger name for himself, leading the Odin Guild and clearing various dungeons and quests. Unlike me, just a temporary member of the Odin Guild, it seemed Kang Yoo-hyun and Kang Soo-hyun rarely returned to the accommodation.
Lately, he hadn’t even been asking me to use the Sweet Sleep item. I guessed that using it consistently had really improved his mental state. Somehow, I had ended up helping the protagonist overcome his trauma without meaning to. I felt a little guilty, like I’d taken over Director Oh Seo-hyun’s role.
“Ahem, ahem.”
I cleared my throat for no particular reason and went down the stairs. When I reached the first floor, I saw that only one person was lounging in the living room.
“Yi-jin-ah!”
“Yeah, did you sleep well?”
It was Eden. As soon as he saw me, he came over, and I looked up at him while holding Yong-sun. Unlike me, Eden's contract had been completely burned, and he no longer had any ties to the Loki Guild.
He could have officially joined the Odin Guild, but he was refusing, saying he wouldn’t sign unless I did first. I kept telling him to just join officially first, but he wouldn’t listen. Since there was nothing I could do while he was being stubborn, I didn’t press the matter.
“Where are you going?”
“To the hospital.”
“Let me come along.”
“Sure.”
I answered lightly and left the accommodation with Eden. The hospital wasn’t far, and soon we were in the lobby. We were about to take the elevator to Yong-sik’s room in the hospital when—
“Eden…?”
“…?”
“Eden… is that you?”
A quiet voice came from beside me. I turned and saw a woman I’d never seen before, her eyes widening in surprise as she looked at Eden.