Chapter 121

Coachman’s Association.

In order to drive a carriage, it is mandatory to demonstrate one’s abilities as a coachman at this association and receive a permit.

It’s similar in function to a driver’s license.

Jake is undoubtedly a citizen of Luna, so my judgment is that his records are available here.

“It’s been a while since I’ve visited, the roads are a bit confusing. If I turn this corner, it should be— Yikes!!”

I crossed a maze-like alley and turned the corner.

At that moment, a foul smell of horse dung so strong it could make one discard any doubt about having come to the right place, pierced my nose.

The road leading straight to the Coachman’s Association headquarters was stained with horse dung and urine.

Even though this place is hidden away in an out-of-the-way spot, there wasn’t a single trace of anyone cleaning up after the horses…

There’s such a thing as negligence.

I was worried I might step in it, so I tiptoed around the filth and barely made it inside the building.

“Welcome~ Oh my, and who is this? Isn’t this the Priest?”

A 30-year-old male employee with a scruffy beard recognized me and came forward barefoot to greet me.

However, when I narrowed my eyes and maintained silence,

The employee, fully aware of what that implied, began to fidget nervously.

“Ah, ah~ There were quite a few horse droppings on your way here, weren’t there? It happened when we went out yesterday for a large-scale horse deal. It’s not like it’s been left unattended for long! We were planning to clean it right after lunch! Yes~ Yes~”

The employee excused himself with the air of someone who’s always attentive to public hygiene, save for one slip-up yesterday.

“The way you handle dirt is quite impressive.”

“The sun was so strong…”

“Hey, Lezzie.”

“Ahhh! Yes, Priest.”

“I came for an inspection, and this is troubling. Haven’t you heard?”

“What, what do you mean?”

“The more you talk nonsense, the higher the fine. How about shutting down your business?”

“Ahigoo! Ahiigoo!!”

The employee fell flat on his bottom as if struck by thunder.

Lying there, he repeatedly muttered that he was doomed, and somehow his awkward overacting managed to lighten the heavy atmosphere quickly.

“Hmm… What’s your name?”

“I’m Castor, the counter clerk here…”

“Good, Castor. If you cooperate with me, I’ll overlook this matter.”

“Say the word!!”

The moment he saw a way out, Castor sprang up like a jack-in-a-box and lit up with enthusiasm.

I smirked and pulled out a memo with Jake’s basic information from my pocket and handed it to him.

He immediately understood its meaning, went into the record room, and returned with a thick book.

“I’ll check the Coachman’s Association registration right away.”

“Good. I’d like to know the residential address.”

“Yeess! Let’s see… 44-year-old Jake. 44-year-old Jake.”

Castor, licking his fingers, quickly flipped through the book, confirming member names.

The finger checking each name suddenly lost its way and began to wander aimlessly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Uh… Nothing…”

“There isn’t? How can that be.”

As I didn’t believe it easily, Castor turned the membership directory 180 degrees to show me.

Jason, Jayhawk.

Sure enough, Jake’s name wasn’t there.

Why?

It was strange. The one who had accompanied me during the first and second labors, why wasn’t his name in this register?

“Strange. I’ve known Jake for nearly a year.”

“Hmm, but what can we do if he’s not there. Could it be that he’s secretly practicing as an illegal coachman?”

“No, that’s not it. I clearly saw his driving permit with my own eyes when he entered another city.”

“Driving permit? Pfft~ That can’t be true.”

“Are you saying I hang out with ghosts? It’s a fact.”

“Ghosts? Ah~! Just a moment!”

Clapping his hands, Castor went back into the archive and soon returned with another membership directory.

Placing it on the table with a thud, it was clear how long it had been untouched as the dust piled up on the book.

“Cough! Cough! Wha, what is this?”

“It’s the records of former coachmen who were marked as deceased. If he isn’t among the living, he must be among the dead.”

“… …”

It’s not that Castor’s thought process struck me as particularly accurate.

I had just conversed happily with Jake a few months ago; his name couldn’t possibly be in the death register, right?

“Let’s see… Jake. Jake. Ah! Here it is.”

Under the finger pointing at the bottom of the page was clearly the name I was looking for.

And beneath that name…

A small portrait identical to the Jake I knew.

My confident belief that he wouldn’t be there shattered like glass.

Though I should’ve been glad I found him…

Why was Jake’s name in the deceased register?

“The dates are like this, and the death site is… Okay. Priest.”

Castor handed me a memo with Jake’s information.

A strange feeling of dissonance between my knowledge of the past and this unbelievable reality caused a wave of dizziness.

I clutched my throbbing forehead and checked the memo again.

Deceased Jake.

Death site: Temple.

“Really. Hmm… Could there be another possibility?”

“Yes. No name duplicates exist. Based on the timeline calculation, he’s been deceased for about 300 years, and it says here that he peacefully passed away after offering some kind of tribute to Lady Artemis.”

He handed me another memo with further details of the remaining specifics.

The Jake I was acquainted with had been dead for 300 years.

What happened?

Was he just a ghost from the Underworld visible only to me?

No, no.

That couldn’t be possible.

At least Iris, who was on the carriage with me, was a witness.

Then who was the Jake I had conversations with?

Who was the one with whom I had fierce debates and arguments over policies and taxes?

“Khehehe! Ark, come on in!”

His hearty laughter still rings so clearly in my ears.

I feel dizzy, and as I start to think I’ll never see Jake again, my body feels drained of strength.

“Hold on, what does ‘died after offering tribute’ mean?”

“Yes. It’s a custom. To enter the Underworld, one needs netherworld money; in the past, people would present their treasures as offerings to Lady Artemis in exchange for the coins needed to live comfortably in the afterlife. My grandfather used to do the same, my father told me when I was young.”

“Why?”

“Uh~ why? Well, when a person dies, they become a resident of the Underworld, and the coins help them live comfortably there. It’s a trade-off between the happiness of the goddess in the present and the citizen’s peace in the afterlife… Isn’t that really cool?”

Castor started to enthusiastically recount the stories he’d heard about this beautiful tradition.

But his words no longer registered in my ears.

It felt like I had been thrown into the open sea and was being sucked into a whirlpool.

“Excuse me… Priest? What should I…?”

“Just a second, hold on…”

Castor, trying to sensibly ask what to do next,

I politely raised my hand to stop him.

I need time.

Time to process this situation.

Can you believe it?

That Jake, who I was almost living together with just a few months ago, has been dead for 300 years?!

This is a hundred times scarier than the ghost stories I heard during the 1-night-2-day camping trip with Artemis.

I can’t believe it.

No, I refuse to believe it.

There’s definitely some kind of trick involved.

Twins?

Alias?

Or is “Jake” not a real name but some metaphor for something else?

I need to check the temple’s family registers first.

I must uncover the truth, by Artemis’s name!

“Castor, thank you!”

“Ah~ Priest! Just a moment!”

Castor grabbed my shoulder as I hastily turned back toward the temple.

After telling me to wait a moment, he went to a small storage behind the reception desk and came back carrying a small object, placing it into my hand.

When I opened my palm, there was a small silver ring.

“Hehe, this is my gift for all the hard work you’ve done, Priest.”

“Is this bribe? You really want to receive the caning instead of paying the fine?”

Trying to give it back, Castor waved his hands and stepped back.

“Nah! It’s not a bribe! Strictly speaking, it’s lost and discarded property!”

“Lost and discarded property?”

“Yes~ So many passengers leave items on their carriages.”

“And? Shouldn’t you return it? Why give it to me?”

“That’s the law. We keep lost items for six months; if the owner doesn’t come, we are allowed to dispose of them freely. If a small ring like this can help Priest in any way, wouldn’t that be great? Hehehe…”

After six months, if the original owner doesn’t claim the item, the property rights are forfeited and it’s up to the manager’s discretion to dispose of it.

Impressed by Castor’s shrewdness in exploiting the legal loophole to win my favor,

Despite his slyness, he wasn’t particularly annoying in the effort to impress.

“Alright, thanks. I’ll put it in the temple treasury for use during the end-of-year citizen festival.”

“Oh~ Priest, do whatever you wish! I am but humbly grateful if this silver ring could wipe a single sweatdrop from you. Uhehehe.”

With a flutter of his hands like a fly, Castor curried favor with me and escorted me to the entrance of the association.

The Coachman’s Association is a fairly important organization in serving the Goddess.

Wouldn’t it be okay to slightly bump up their shared budget for the next year?

Even though the stench of horse dung hits me as soon as I open the door…

Ah, let’s just bear it.

“Uhhh. Priest~ Please walk safely. This ring is far more meaningful in your pocket than in the hands of someone like me.”

“Huh?”

I froze mid-step.

Though it wasn’t Hera’s divine command, the forceful feeling that something just changed after Castor’s words…

“Castor, what did you just say?”

“What? I just said that this ring would be more meaningful in your care.”

“Meaningful.”

What?

This silver ring.

“Ring, and meaning… Ah!”

Like finding a needle in a desert.

I’ve reached a truth I thought was impossible.

“Ah! Ahh!! Ahaaaa!!! Why didn’t I think of this before?!”

“What? I don’t understand…”

“Copper ring! Copper ring!”

“I didn’t give you a copper ring, it was a silver one.”

“AHAHAHA!!!”

Idiot.

In fact, I don’t think the word “idiot” captures how stupid I’ve been.

Why did I assume gods transform only into animals?

Zeus and Hera into small birds,

Athena and Arachne into spiders,

Artemis into stags.

All those countless animal-related Olympian stories,

All that overwhelming information actually turned into misinformation.

How stupid of me not to think beyond these examples…

Even dragons in novels can polymorph into humans!

The bearded, good-natured coachman Jake…

He… no, she!

was the Goddess Artemis.

“Finally, I’ve found the last condition C!”