Chapter 1663 – 1663. God’S Atlantis
Buddha’s begging bowl, jade branch of Mount Penglai, fire rat’s fur coat, dragon’s orb, swallow’s purple jade pendant.
Every single one of them was something I was hearing for the first time.
If even I’m like this, it seems like it’ll be difficult to obtain the above items through normal means.
“What’s the way to get a fire rat’s fur coat? Are there fire rats on the moon?”
Just because I know the original work and its settings doesn’t mean I know everything on the moon. Rather, it’s the opposite. Aside from the major events and settings, there’s more that I don’t know.
“There are no fire rats on the moon! But I know who has the fire rat’s fur coat! We can just borrow the fire rat’s fur coat from them for a bit! If we have the fire rat’s fur coat, we can enter the moon palace!”
Okto said desperately. I could feel his will to live.
“Who has the fire rat’s fur coat? Don’t beat around the bush and tell me clearly.”
“The moon reflected in the lake! That person has the fire rat’s fur coat! I can guide you to them!”
“A deity, huh.”
“Yes! They’re a god with a pretty good personality!”
I crossed my arms. Okto was the guy who hit me in the back of the head. I can’t trust him completely. There might not even be a guy called the moon reflected in the lake. He might be trying to take me to a trap.
‘But I need to take the risk.’
Time is not on my side.
Hanga is holed up in the moon palace, preparing something. I need to enter the moon palace as quickly as possible and subdue Hanga.
‘I’m bad at finding my way. And this is the moon, no less.’
Okto was worth using as a guide. If he gets on my nerves while I’m taking him around, I can just kill him.
“The moon reflected in the lake. What’s that god’s real name? Don’t tell me you don’t know.”
Knowing a god’s true name would be helpful in many ways.
“I know it! But… if I carelessly utter the god’s true name, I might be cursed…”
“Isn’t being cursed better than dying here?”
“It’s Tsukuyomi! Actually, the name was a bit longer, but… I don’t remember.”
“Tsukuyomi. A god with a name, I see.”
As far as I know, Tsukuyomi was one of the three most famous gods in Japan. Though, his fame seemed to be much less than the other two gods.
‘Considering the myths, his personality doesn’t seem to be that bad… It might be good to meet him first.’
Just because he’s a deity doesn’t mean I have to be hostile.
“Guide me to where Tsukuyomi is. If you show even the slightest sign of being suspicious, I’ll kill you right away.”
“T-thank you for giving me a chance. But before we leave, can’t we put the fairies in bunny girl outfits?”
“I can do that much.”
“Thank you so much!”
Okto happily hopped over to the unconscious fairies. He created bunny girl outfits with a *pop* and skillfully moved his cotton-like hands to dress the fairies.
“Hehe… bunny girl outfits are the best!”
I watched Okto’s actions carefully. He touched the defenseless fairies here and there while changing them into bunny girl outfits, but Okto didn’t feel any lust towards the fairies. He was putting them in bunny girl outfits for a reason other than lust.
‘It’s weird for a rabbit to feel lust towards humans, so can I say he’s normal…?’
Okto grinned while looking at the fairies in bunny girl outfits.
‘He’s not normal.’
Okto started guiding the way. I followed closely behind him.
Even though this is the moon, plants grow like on the ground, creatures roam around, and rivers flow. It was quite fascinating.
‘There’s even a palace, so I guess it’s not that surprising.’
A mountain that didn’t fit the moon appeared. Okto entered the mountain without hesitation.
“Tsukuyomi-nim’s residence is at the top of this mountain!”
「You have entered Zone 7,783, the Lunar Mountain.」
「You are an uninvited guest.」
「Delusion surrounds you. The deeper you go into the Lunar Mountain, the more you will lose your way.」
It was right after I read the contents of the notification window.
A thick fog that came from somewhere covered the mountain. The fog was so thick that I couldn’t see beyond 3 meters.
I swung my hand and shot out a gust of wind. It seemed to push away the fog, but a new fog took its place.
This fog was no ordinary fog. It was scattering my senses. At this rate, I really would lose my way.
“Master! This way!”
I lowered my gaze. Okto was waving his hand as if to say, “Come quickly.” It was commendable that he wasn’t running away, taking advantage of this fog. I followed behind Okto.
“Okto. The fog is too thick. I can’t see anything in front of me, but you’re moving forward just fine.”
“Hehe. It’s the fog of delusion. The deeper you go, the more you lose your way. But it doesn’t work on me. I can go anywhere in the moon’s territory.”
Okto was strangely useful.
I continued to follow behind Okto. To be honest, I had no idea where I was going. I had no idea if I was going right or left. My sense of direction was a mess. If it weren’t for Okto, I might have had a lot of trouble.
“Hehe. We’re almost there!”
At some point, the fog of delusion cleared, and my vision became clear. Okto and I had climbed 90% of the mountain.
At the top of the mountain was a Japanese-style mansion. It had a very antique atmosphere. As Okto and I approached, the door opened on its own.
「The Moon Reflected in the Lake (Fake) awaits you.」
“Let’s go! Tsukuyomi-nim is waiting for us!”
“I was always busy fighting when I met deities… It feels a bit awkward to be invited like this.”
I shook off the awkwardness and moved my feet. The moment I crossed the threshold, a clear energy enveloped my body. It felt like I had chugged a refreshing cool drink.
Inside was a Japanese-style garden. It was a garden decorated with sand, gravel, and rocks. The garden, which felt so simple it was almost empty, had a strange charm.
I passed through the garden and arrived at a room. I had been feeling a huge presence since earlier, so there was no confusion about where to go.
I opened the door and entered the tatami room.
A young man was kneeling on the floor. With a neutral appearance, he was brewing tea with a neat posture. His long, white clothes were impressive. I didn’t know the name of the outfit, but it was similar to the clothes that onmyoji wore in creative works.
“Please, have a seat. I’m preparing green tea for you, so please wait a moment.”
Okto and I sat in the seats where the green tea was prepared.
“Thank you for the hospitality, Tsukuyomi-nim!”
Okto drank the prepared green tea without any suspicion. The sight of a rabbit using its front paws freely like a human hand was still hard to get used to.
I stared blankly at the teacup.
Artemis’s oracle flashed through my mind.
‘She told me to be careful of women and poison.’
Tsukuyomi was a man.
“There’s no poison, so don’t worry. But if you still don’t want to drink it, that’s fine. I won’t force anyone.”
“It’s tea served by a god. It’d be a loss for me not to drink it.”
My complete recovery was still on cooldown. If there was poison here, I would die. I had Heavenly Heart, but I might miss the timing.
‘I have the Black Ankh, so I won’t die.’
I lifted the teacup and carefully drank the green tea.
‘It’s fine.’
As soon as I took a sip, I nodded. The flavor and taste of the green tea were on the ordinary side. However, it was clean without any aftertaste. It was the best green tea brewed from ordinary tea leaves.
“Your tea brewing skills are amazing.”
“Haha. I brew green tea several times a day, so my skills have improved like this. I’m glad you’re satisfied. I am Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto. I’m also called the Moon Reflected in the Lake.”
“Chunma.”
“I know that you are fighting against the Moon Flower.”
“How do you know? Did it become a rumor?”
“Unlike the ground, the moon is quite small, so rumors spread quickly. I also know that the Moon Flower has descended directly to kill you.”
“It’s convenient that you don’t need to explain unnecessarily. I heard that one of the five treasures is needed to enter the moon palace.”
“It’s a trick that the Bamboo Princess, who was seduced by the Moon Flower, pulled. You came to the right place. I have the fire rat’s fur coat, one of the treasures.”
“Hehe. I guided him.”
“As expected of Okto. You know a lot. I don’t remember telling anyone that I have the fire rat’s fur coat.”
“Hehe…”
Okto smiled, looking a bit nervous.
I finished the contents of the teacup and put it down.
I deliberately raised my energy. Okto next to me trembled, but Tsukuyomi calmly received my energy.
“Hand over the fire rat’s fur coat.”
“I have two requests.”
“Do you want to die?”
“You are stronger than me. If we fight, I will lose. But don’t think that you will be unscathed. And don’t forget that I am neither on your side nor on the Moon Flower’s side. Not yet, anyway.”
He was saying that he might side with Hanga if the situation called for it.
I clicked my tongue and withdrew my energy. I already had a troublesome enemy, so there was no need to create more enemies.
A smile appeared on Tsukuyomi’s lips.
“Would you like another cup?”
I silently held out my teacup.
“Don’t think so negatively. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Rather, being able to get the fire rat’s fur coat with two requests is a huge benefit for you.”
“That depends on what kind of requests they are.”
“The first request is to kill an Imoogi. It’s secretly sucking the Lunar Mountain’s energy in a nearby underground cave. Okto will guide you to where the Imoogi is.”
“Can’t you do that yourself?”
“Unfortunately, I cannot leave this mountain.”
“Okay. What’s the second request?”
“Do you know about the Moon Mirror?”
“You mean the item that Hanga has. I know it’s an item that can see anywhere the moon shines.”
“The Moon Mirror is not just that. The second request is to hand over the Moon Mirror to me. Of course, you’ll need the fire rat’s fur coat to do that. I’ll give you the fire rat’s fur coat after you kill the Imoogi. We’ll get the Moon Mirror later.”
“You’re being too blatant. Don’t you think that Hanga might be listening and watching our conversation?”
