Chapter 364

364: The God of Wine, Festivals, and Riots #2

Slish.

Bacchus, clad in a violet robe akin to his hair color, circled me with a wineglass in hand, its contents gently swaying.

He slowly inspected me from head to toe before nodding approvingly.

“Atop the mountain of Delphi was the last time I saw you, wasn’t it? You’ve improved remarkably since then. To have developed so much in such a short time—looks like you’ll become a proper god quicker than me.”

It seemed he was praising me.

As I’ve said many times, I have little resistance to compliments. While insults leave me unfazed, compliments tend to bypass my defenses and shake me to the core.

However, I’ve grown somewhat through the many experiences I’ve had.

Just as there’s no such thing as free charity, praise usually comes with its own agenda. There must be something he expects from me, which is why he’s flattering me like this.

Soon enough, Bacchus spoke directly to me.

“Recently you’ve been building and expanding your shrine, right?”

“Yeah, well that’s true. I was supposed to hold worship today, but couldn’t because all the believers went somewhere else.”

I gestured vaguely around me. Among the prostrate women here, there were quite a few who had previously visited my graveyard shrine to receive shoulder massages.

Lord Bacchus… Your grace has changed! I’m so drunk…

They had once said they’d serve me in gratitude for all time. Having thanked me then, how unexpected to see them switch so completely now.

“Ah, my apologies. It wasn’t intentional. The presence of a deity is something that can’t really be hidden, you know.”

Bacchus sounded quite humble, but it came off as showing off to my ears. Still, I understood.

When word spreads that a god has descended upon Deer Forest, anyone would want to go see it at least once.

Indeed, I had come here for the same reason.

I asked.

“So, what do you need from me?”

“Need? What?”

“Gods have to expend precious karma to appear before humans, right? Surely you didn’t waste that just to see my face. There’s something you want me to do, isn’t there?”

That’s probably why you’ve been flattering me.

As I awaited his evaluation of my reasoning, Bacchus narrowed his goatlike, ominous purple eyes and raised the corners of his mouth.

“You’re sharper than I’d heard. Yes, there is a favor. But before I say what it is, take a look around.”

Slish.

Bacchus spread his arms wide.

“There aren’t even a thousand people here. This is quite serious, you know.”

“Is that so?”

“Under normal circumstances, ten thousand people gathering wouldn’t be unusual. There are so many here who love to drink. This was originally a great city ruled jointly by me and Uncle Pluto.”

Indeed.

Most of the residents of Sodomora are drunkards.

Even when followers or great fires appear in the city, taverns are always booming and one can frequently see passed out drunks lying around on the streets.

As Bacchus said, it was a great city that grew by worshipping the underworld god Pluto and Bacchus. Hearing this from Bacchus himself, I couldn’t help but feel that considering only 1% of the city’s population has gathered here on this Sunday holiday, the number does seem somewhat low.

Feels like lower attendance than an idol concert.

“The faith of the followers has fallen. It’s not just me, Bacchus. Because there hasn’t been a war for years, Mars and Minerva are also losing their strength.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. Even purity and love are fading into laughter, so Venus and Diana are also losing their power. In short, the status of the gods as a whole is shaky.”

“Got it.”

“After Thunderblade took the throne, the world has become too peaceful. There’s no problems, just a reign that seems to go on forever. And this is the problem – that it’s too peaceful.”

Too peaceful, huh? Honestly, having experienced 21st century security, I can’t really agree that Gaia Continent is peaceful.

Still, I have to ask.

“Isn’t it better for the world to be peaceful?”

At my question, Bacchus raised one end of his eyebrow. He looked like he was wondering what I was talking about. Did I say something wrong?

Still, Bacchus soon regained his composure.

“Only through hardship, fear, and terror will people seek gods.”

“Ah, I see. So because the gods have nothing to do, they’re having trouble.”

If the world were completely free of disease and suffering, would doctors be happy?

Of course, as a human, it’s something to celebrate, but from the perspective of being a doctor, it could mean losing one’s job, so ironically, it might not be so pleasant.

Not just doctors, but other professions born from human anguish and suffering like police as well – wouldn’t they be similar?

While I’ve never really questioned these moral and philosophical dilemmas, so I can’t say for sure, but Bacchus’s troubles seemed to resemble these issues.

“With life being so comfortable, belief is weakening and our respect is fading. Of course, part of it is because we’re no longer able to interfere with the lower realm. Still, if this continues, we may decline like the gods of the Winter Continent.”

Grrk.

At that moment, I felt Elpride’s grip on my back. The “Winter Continent” he mentioned probably refers to Albrheim, Elpride’s homeland.

If this continent were to fall, it’d be like trying to s*ck some honey right as it sinks. The thought made me dizzy.

“So what is it you want me to do?”

“Friend, I’d like you to spread the divine work of the gods far and wide on this land. You know, in a way that makes everyone who sees it feel fear and reverence.”

What exactly is he asking me to do?

As I furrowed my brow at his vague request, Bacchus sat back on his throne made of drunkards and continued.

“But the biggest problem of all is the suspicious ideology spreading among the priests. The ones who should respect and worship us most have started to feel hostility towards us.”

“What kind of suspicious ideology?”

“Well, we don’t know exactly. I’d like you to investigate it for us. It’s not bad for a god whose divine authority is growing to learn about such matters.”

Slish.

Bacchus’s voice grew quieter until finally, his story was abruptly cut off.

At that moment, I witnessed a strange sight: his body sitting on the throne began to shimmer like heat waves or shadows, gradually becoming transparent.

“d*mn, there’s not much time. Anyway, meet many priests. As a reward, I’ll give you a bottle of nectar I’ve brewed.”

“Huh? No way! Nectar?”

Nectar!

Isn’t that the item that can exceed my current strength value limit of 15? It seems since he’s the god of wine, he can brew nectar! I nearly started doing cartwheels in excitement.

*

Soon Bacchus disappeared like a hazy wisp of smoke.

When he left, all the drunks sprawled on the ground suddenly came to their senses, clutching their heads.

“Ugh, what’s going on? I don’t feel well…”

Soon Antiope also rose slowly, supporting her forehead.

Because Bacchus had left, his power that had spread across the forest also disappeared, bringing everyone back to full awareness.

Antiope brushed off the dust on her body and said to me.

“So what were you talking about with the great god Bacchus so casually? That’s really impressive, Hassan!”

“You saw that?”

“Yeah! My body was weak, but my mind was clear. Everyone here probably saw it!”

Antiope pointed at the women who were busy putting their clothes back on.

The moment they caught my eye, they shivered like rabbits caught by a hunter and hurriedly hid among the trees and bushes.

“Anyway, we don’t have time for this. I need to meet some priests.”

“Priests?”

I turned my steps to return to my graveyard shrine, leaving the forest full of drunks behind.

As I walked quickly to get rid of the lingering smell of alcohol, Elpride, who had remained silent for a while, finally spoke.

“That god Bacchus. He probably doesn’t have much time left.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like the light of Baldr, he’s flickering out slowly. Probably, all the gods of this continent are in a similar state to Bacchus. Maybe, this continent will fall like Albrheim…”

“Is that really true?”

“Not certain, but… the unstable gods with youthful yet strong powers are being targeted… No, no-”

Elpride muttered ambiguously and stopped speaking as if she had said too much.

Her face was very red and her breathing was growing more rapid, likely because the effects of Bacchus’s realm she had endured earlier were finally catching up to her now.

She’s drunk.

Ding!

“Name: Elpride Desmond Level 35 -> 37

Strength: 12 -> 13

Agility: 11 -> 12

Vitality: 12 -> 13

Abnormal Conditions: Cold Hands and Feet, Irregular Menstruation

Personality Traits: Sadism, Separation Anxiety, Atheism”

I checked her wrist, but aside from leveling up by two, there didn’t seem to be any noticeable status abnormalities.

Her cold hands and feet and irregular menstruation keep recurring even though I try to treat them with acupressure – are they respawning?

“I need to rest a bit in the inn.”

In the end, Elpride said she can’t tolerate her current state and that she’ll return to the inn by the North Gate.

I asked.

“Do you want me to escort you?”

“No. You’re the master of the shrine, aren’t you? Wasn’t today the day of the grand worship ceremony? On days like today especially, you need to stay at your shrine.”

As Elpride said, today is Sunday.

It’s the holiday when believers flood out onto the streets and every shrine holds its largest worship ceremonies.

In other words, it’s peak season for the shrine business. Though I had left Paranoi alone to handle it, I was a bit worried about what might happen in my absence.

Not knowing what might occur made me feel somewhat dizzy.

In the end, I parted ways with Elpride in the central thoroughfare – she headed north while I returned west to my shrine.

“By the way, do you have any idea about this suspicious ideology spreading among the priests?”

On the way, I asked Antiope this question, but she merely shook her head saying “Wasn’t that from what Bacchus said earlier? I don’t really know.”

Then Antiope snapped her fingers as if remembering something.

“Her sister might know. She’s a priestess of the Mars Guild, so she can enter places like a Theological University.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Though I often forget, Hippolyte is also a cleric.

Perhaps she might have information about this matter. If we can solve the issue with the priests, it might help hire more priests to manage the shrine and I might receive a bottle of nectar too.

Screw nectar!

Just thinking that it could break my strength limit of 15 made my muscles already feel restless.

Still, all these thoughts completely vanished when I returned to my shrine. The state of my shrine that greeted me was completely unexpected.

Footprints were scattered everywhere, and garbage was thrown all over. The numerous stone towers that Paranoi had worked hard on, calling them altars, were all toppled and scattered as mere rocks on the ground.

At this, Antiope furrowed her brow and drew the dagger on her back.

“What’s going on? Was the shrine attacked?”

The scene before us, completely devoid of people, seemed eerie and unsettling. I was genuinely shocked. Did some contractors come here? What happened that caused all this chaos?

The first thing I looked for in this mess was Paranoi.

Whatever happened, it was clear that something unpleasant occurred here. Given that the troublesome nymph Paranoi was involved, the probability that she got hurt was high.

“Hey, Paranoi! Where are you?”

I shouted around the spacious graveyard area. It was then that I noticed a rustling sound coming from Paranoi’s office, the small shack in the cemetery.

Creak.

The door opened.

“Lord Hassan! I’ve been waiting, waiting for your return!”

Appearing before me was Paranoi, her appearance torn in several places.

Her neatly combed hair, always maintained tidy by Luna and Antiope, was in disarray, and her brown robe, cleaned daily, had parts torn away, revealing injuries.

“Hey, screw, what happened?”

“The priests came and went! They were utterly cruel and wicked women! But I drove them all off!”

Looking closely, Paranoi’s face was filled with scratches from being pinched and scratched by fingernails.

“For goodness’ sake, senior, why are you injured like this!”

So said Antiope, who looked shocked to see her condition.

“I’ll treat the wounds!”

“Ahuu…”

“Ah, no, there’s not much injury really.”

“No sir! After a fierce battle, I sustained these wounds!”

In an unnatural manner, Paranoi slowly collapsed in front of me.

“However, I, Paranoi, being entrusted with the precious duty of guarding the shrine, managed to protect the cornerstone, at least, even against overwhelming odds, seventeen against one!”

Then Paranoi opened her mouth wide and placed a round sphere on my palm.

The sphere Paranoi placed on my palm was the cornerstone, the precious treasure I received from Ceres, which is central to the shrine and the altar.

“No matter how they pressed, I endured and protected it! They said they would give me candy if I handed it over, but I absolutely refused!”

I imagined Paranoi being harassed by many people. This girl, who is resilient enough to withstand torture as a cultist, showed this rebellious spirit again.

“Hueu…It hurts…”

Finally, Paranoi collapsed to the ground.

“What? Senior, you’re not really hurt. It’s just slight surface wounds. This can be healed with some saliva.”

“Shh, be quiet…! I sustained considerable injuries! It was truly a holy war!”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

Realizing that Paranoi’s injuries were not serious, Antiope took out a comb from her waist and started combing Paranoi’s hair. Amazingly, Paranoi’s appearance transformed back to normal immediately.

“Ta-dah, back to normal!”

“Grreee…!”

Indeed, it seemed, as Antiope said, that aside from the slight disarray, there were no major injuries.

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder about the identity of those who treated this mischievous nymph so cruelly.

Who could have come to the shrine and caused such a ruckus?

Do they have no fear of divine retribution?

Surely, they must be ruthless nymph-haters.

“Paranoi, who did this?”

“Over there…!!!”

Slish.

At my words, Paranoi slowly raised her hand, pointing to the hut she had been hiding in.

That’s when I realized there was someone tied up and struggling inside.

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