Chapter 315

315 God of What #2

“Umm, sorry to bother you again, but let me take a final look inside your mouth. Could you open your mouth a bit wider…?”

In response to the middle-aged healer’s question, I nonchalantly opened my mouth as he was sweating profusely.

“Ahh.”

The healer inserted an iron rod inside and shone a lightstone around.

“…Hu, hmm, there doesn’t seem to be any cavities. The examination is now complete, so you can close your mouth.”

I stood up and picked up my shirt that I had put aside. As much as it could be called a shirt, it was just a rough white fur covering.

I asked,

“So, what’s the verdict?”

“Um, well… As we had suspected, it does seem to be the Divine Awakening Syndrome…”

“Ahh.”

“Starting to hear sounds more clearly, becoming more sensitive to certain smells, or being able to see small letters that you couldn’t before are all common symptoms.”

“In that case, how long will these symptoms last? Could they possibly last a lifetime?”

“It’s just a temporary phenomenon due to divine awareness. It could last anywhere from a week to up to a year…”

“A year? That’s way too long.”

I slightly furrowed my brows. At the thought of spending an entire year in this situation, where it feels like the volume and brightness have been turned up to maximum, I couldn’t help but wonder if I might just go crazy.

“Is there no way to shorten it? Any treatment, or something similar?”

“Well, the fact is, there hasn’t been much discovered yet about the Divine Awakening Syndrome…”

Thump, thump-.

The sound of the healer’s heartbeats became increasingly louder in my ears. His forehead, half-uncovered, was continuously dripping sweat, and his breathing turned rough.

There’s no illness. This man is simply afraid, and the target of his fear is quite obvious. There’s no one in this clinic except for me and this elderly healer, so it was certain that this man was undoubtedly scared of me.

A bulky Samaritan, looking like a barbarian, whose next move might involve swinging a cudgel to break someone’s skull. Indeed, it’s quite terrifying.

Thinking this, I decided it would be best to leave this poor man before all his hair falls out. Before stepping out of the clinic room, there was one more thing I wanted to ask.

“Just in case, is there anything else you would like to add?”

“Hiiik-! Please have mercy!”

“Uh?”

“I have a daughter attending university and an elderly mother. I can’t… I can’t go to Tartarus first!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Are you asking if I should leave a message or a last will and testament? Forgive me if I, unknowingly, have acted disrespectfully…”

“Ahhh.”

I began to understand what the man was trying to say. Though it feels odd to adjust, I’m not simply a barbarian anymore now.

It has been two days since I received a mysterious revelation on top of Delphi Mountain.

By now, the strange rumors about the Samaritan have spread far and wide in Delphi. Speaking of what kind of rumors-.

“Revered Hassan, successor of the Spirit Realm, known for your vast generosity and compassion. Please, have mercy on me…”

Precisely like this.

The round back of a person lying flat beneath my feet, trembling in fear. The sobbing shoulders. The pleading voice. The frightened eyes –

A long time ago, the God of Light once told me that these kinds of sights were the scenery of gods, and I could finally understand what he meant.

“Raise your head. I forgive your sins.”

“Is, is that true?”

“Of course, it’s true. Just don’t sin and live well.”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

I left, with the man continuing to bow repeatedly on the floor until I had gone. My neck and back itched like crazy, it felt as if I was going to d*e.

It has been two days since I received the oracle on top of Delphi Mountain.

There are still many issues as I try to adapt to my new identity.

*

“Hassan, what did they say at the clinic?”

As I returned to our lodgings, Luna greeted me.

“Just, you know, they confirmed it was the Divine Awakening Syndrome. It’s the usual stuff: I can hear sounds better, see small letters more clearly…”

“So, does that mean Hassan is truly becoming a god? That’s incredible!”

“Is it?”

“Why do you seem so uninterested? It’s amazing! Nothing’s changed? Can you fly in the sky? Change into animals? Maybe multiply gold like Pluto can?”

“Well… I don’t think I can do those things…”

“Honestly! If it were me, I’d be so excited every day testing my new abilities that I wouldn’t be able to sleep!”

While I replied indifferently, the truth is, I had tried alone various times on rooftops or similar places when Luna wasn’t around.

I’m supposed to come from a bloodline more impressive than a gold spoon.

Spider in the Mirror!

Prajñāpāramitā!

Hassei!

But nothing happened.

The miraculous divine awakening was great, but my life didn’t seem much different. sh*t, it just led to more disappointment.

So, as I slightly slumped my shoulders,

“Hassan, here’s a gold coin! Can you double it?”

At that moment, Luna pulled out a small, round object from between her chest. It was a gold coin of the Kingdom with the image of Jupiter, the King of the Skies.

Gold.

Gold.

By the periodic table –

Anyway, what an impressive resonance.

Even more perfect because it came from the warm area between her br*asts. Could there be a more perfect scene?

I took the gold coin warmed by Luna’s heat into my hand.

I had been feeling a little disheartened just a moment ago, but suddenly I started to feel extremely good. Is this the magic of gold?

“Hassan, maybe you’re the god of gold! Quickly, try to double it!”

Luna shouted excitedly towards me, showing her full trust in the potential I possessed.

Perhaps, could I really do it?

Doubling the gold coin?

Hassan, the god of gold, I should be able to do it.

I cupped my hands together and inserted the gold coin between them, trying to give it all my strength.

Double into two! Become two! Multiply!

I silently recited a strange spell in my heart as well.

After that, when I spread my hands again, the gold coin was still shining alone on my palm, exactly as it had been in the beginning.

“It doesn’t work.”

“That’s strange. I’ve heard that people who awaken to their divinity often unlock a single power. What kind of god are you, Hassan?”

Luna’s emerald green eyes, crystal clear as always, looked at me. I couldn’t bear the purity of her gaze, so I slightly averted my eyes.

“Well, I’m not sure.”

What kind of god am I?

Really the god of disease? No, that was just a joke.

Honestly, I still have trouble believing that I am a god or becoming one.

Except for the way people treat me now, my life hasn’t changed much from what I mentioned before.

Ah! Luna suddenly shouted as if she had realized something.

“By the way, what if your power is to k*ll people? Like you can stab them in the heart with a sword and k*ll them!”

“Uh, nope.”

No, can’t anyone do that even without a special power like that?

But Luna was shouting so cheerfully that I simply nodded her off.

In matters of love, I’ve come to realize that sometimes there’s a need for infinite positivity.

Speaking of love,

Come to think of it, do I even need to reach the Gold Tier now that I can marry Luna soon?

Thinking about it made me feel extremely happy.

Now everything seems confusing, but I believe that as time passes—whether it might take days or weeks—I will gradually get used to this atmosphere. After some time, perhaps I can bring up the topic of marriage to Luna?

I imagined Luna in a wedding dress.

She would look incredibly beautiful in a flowing white gown.

In a white church or shrine perched on a hilltop where everyone blesses you, white doves flying over us as we get married.

I also envisioned myself legally and rightfully taking that dress off from her.

My desire surged merely from imagining it.

Honestly, given how we’ve been adventuring with women around and haven’t had the time to think of having a daughter, my desires have already reached the brink of what should reasonably be called ‘lust.’

I’m getting healthier. There are plenty of beautiful and cute women around, and yet I can’t even touch them due to hesitations. It’s quite torturous.

sh*t, it’s incredibly frustrating.

But is this kind of life coming to an end now? Still, it’s not all smooth sailing.

I still vividly remember the words that the God of Light had told me.

Among his many prophecies, there was this one terrifying statement: someday, I would k*ll the first family member or the person I love with my own hands.

The first family member. Someone I love.

Could this refer to Luna, who is to be my first bride? Why was such a prophecy given?

It’s so horrifying.

“Aahh! Paranoi! We said you can’t eat candies without permission!”

Just then, I was pulled out from my thoughts by Luna’s shout. Looking around, I saw that Paranoi had been caught by Luna in the act of pulling honey candies out from a small jar.

“Uhuh…”

“Lavaski honey has a high sugar content! Eating more than two a day will decay your teeth!”

Luna grabbed Paranoi’s mouth—accurately speaking, jaw—and pressed her cheeks.

“Muah!” As Paranoi’s mouth opened wide, two candies round like eyes rolled out and fell on the floor.

And they kept rolling.

And rolling.

Two of them, mind you.

“Paranoi! You put two candies in at once didn’t you?”

Luna exclaimed, clearly upset. The trembling and nervously rambling Paranoi,

“W, well, it wasn’t me…! They, they got replicated inside my mouth! This, this is Hassan-sama’s blessing, the Squirrel Storage!”

“Huh?”

Luna glanced at me while Paranoi kept stuttering. Though she didn’t explicitly say it, her questioning gaze asked whether it was really true.

Did I give Paranoi any such divine blessing?

Divine blessing, huh.

If I truly become a god, would I also bestow blessings like other gods have done to me? Would I receive offerings and tithes?

That would be pretty cool.

As I thought this, Luna clapped her hands together with a “snap.”

“To replicate in the mouth, right? Then let’s try with a gold coin! Maybe it will duplicate into two!”

“N, no-!”

Paranoi looked at me. The pleading look in her eyes was pitiful, but this was her fault for trying to raid Luna’s candy jar without permission.

“Paranoi, if you swallow, don’t forget that it’s not allowed.”

Eventually, Luna placed the gold coin into Paranoi’s mouth.

“It tastes terrible…! Eeeek.”

“If it works, from now on, you’ll eat gold coins daily, Paranoi! I’ll buy you more candy!”

“Hiiik!”

“Come on, replicate it into two! Is it done? Should be done by now, right?”

Thus, Luna inserted her fingers into Paranoi’s mouth and pulled out one coin. Then, she became quite astonished.

Me, quite shocked as well.

An absolutely impossible event just occurred.

“What? This, this is a silver coin! Where did my gold coin go?!”

“What the… Did something strange just happen?”

Both Luna and I thoroughly inspected Paranoi’s mouth, which was wide open. I had personally seen Luna place the gold coin into Paranoi’s mouth.

And yet, when it came back out, it became a silver coin. This was just a bizarre and miraculous phenomenon.

“Will it, will it change back to gold if we put it back inside?”

Luna took the silver coin she just removed and carefully reinserted it into Paranoi’s mouth.

“Urgh, terrible taste…”

In the end, Paranoi spat out the coin with a “Bweeh.” We couldn’t help but be incredibly astonished once again.

“I, what is this? Hassan, didn’t you see we clearly inserted 1 silver coin? This…,”

This time, the silver coin had turned into a measly 1-copper coin.

1 gold coin typically has the value of about 10,000 copper coins.

And yet, inside Paranoi’s mouth, it had de-evolved into a 1-copper coin! d*mn it, wouldn’t it be more accurate to call this de-evolution rather than evolution?

Is this even possible? Similar to how candies melt inside the mouth and gradually shrink, could it be that the value of the coins was also melting and shrinking inside Paranoi’s saliva?

That was the only plausible explanation we could think of.

Due to this, Luna, who lost her precious gold coin, was nearly driven mad with anger.

“Paranoi! Spit out the gold coin! Hurry! Did you hide it somewhere inside your mouth? Were you waiting for this whole time to steal my gold coin!?”

“N, no, I don’t know anything about it…!!!”

Paranoi’s shrill screams reverberated through the entire inn. Just when I was considering stepping in, someone entered the room.

“The nymph’s screams are echoing through the entire inn. The recent movement for eliminating nymph ab*se or whatever it’s called is gaining traction in the council. Whatever you’re doing, it might be wise to stop.”

It was Hippolyte.

“And Hassan, I’ve delivered the letter to the Royal Castle as you requested. Once the Thunderblade puts his seal on your documents, you will have the authority to build a shrine and become its owner.”

“Is that so?”

Not being knowledgeable about the kingdom’s administrative system or the religious affairs of the world, I had requested assistance from Hippolyte, a priestess of Mars, to handle the paperwork for me.

According to her, demi-gods or young boy gods who have awakened their divine essence all need to report to the castle and obtain approval.

Though it’s a formality, I guess it’s a way of showcasing the authority of the castle, where the earthly steward of Jupiter resides.

“But I’m not sure how easily the approval will come. Apparently, the castle doesn’t seem too keen on increasing the number of highly revered deities, let alone being the son of Pluto, the god of cults…”

Hippolyte trailed off.

So I had to ask,

“Why does the cult of the Triple God Pluto face persecution as cultists?”

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