Chapter 709 – 709. Temple Restoration (2)
Leaving behind Erenium, which was starting to regain some stability, Eunhyeon asked Belldandy for the first time in a long time and was summoned to the divine realm.
[… Aye.]
“Yes. Belldandi.”
[Do you really need to meet her?]
“This is what I started.”
[…]
Belldandy showed a displeased expression.
The reason why Eunhyeon came to the divine realm was because she had a goddess to whom she had to give her special thanks this time.
The target is Vesta, the goddess worshiped by the priests and paladins of the Temple of Vesta, who is currently undergoing a great transformation in the underworld.
“Berdandi-sama strangely doesn’t like Vesta-sama.”
Usually gods don’t care much about other gods.
Eun-hyeon’s experiences in the divine realm are short compared to other gods, but the gods Eun-hyeon has met so far have not cared about each other at all.
Gods who belong to the same affiliation and lineage shouldn’t care about each other, but I don’t understand why Belldandy, who can’t even talk in private, doesn’t like Vesta.
[That’s it… Isn’t it natural?]
Belldandy said with a puzzled expression.
[I really hate Vesta who yells at children.]
“… Yes?”
Eunhyeon paused when she heard the reason she hadn’t expected at all.
[What do you see that way?]
“Uh, no… That is… I never thought it would be that reason.”
She apparently only guessed that there had been some discord or conflict before, which she couldn’t ask about.
She couldn’t possibly think of a reason that wasn’t like that.
[… It’s not a bad reason at all.]
Belldandy, who is connected by spirit, read Eun-hyeon’s accident that he couldn’t bring himself to speak, and hugged him from behind.
[It’s not just Vesta. I am… I really hate it when anyone but me approaches the child.]
“… What about Illyana and the other wives?”
[They are fine. Because those children sincerely adore, care for, and devote themselves to children. But… It doesn’t feel good to me at all for another god like me to approach the child.]
It may not be because Eun-hyeon is an apostle carrying out the mission of the goddess to Belldandy.
Not as a goddess, but as a woman, as a lover, there was a baseline for Belldandi.
Compared to that baseline, Vesta was an absolutely unacceptable goddess.
Eunhyun smiled bitterly.
“I don’t think Vesta-sama would be interested in me as a demigod.”
[The child… You are strangely defending Vesta. No way… I prefer goddesses like Vesta to me…]
“It can’t be.”
Afraid of the goddess staring at her with her eyes narrowed, Eunhyeon replied immediately.
It’s not true until recently, but Belldandi has more exclusive desire than I thought and gets angry very easily.
He persuaded his goddess by turning as mildly as possible.
“Isn’t Vesta the goddess who bestows the grace of divine power to Eleanor and Agnes?”
Even if there was no direct connection point, as Eunhyeon, if possible, she wanted to maintain a smooth relationship with Vesta.
Besides, she is considerate of granting Eleanor the authority of ‘divine retrieval’, which is closer to a higher ability than Agies’ ‘request’, so it is not a good idea to go to express her gratitude to Vesta, who gladly listened to her request. Maybe it’s basic courtesy.
[I know what the child thinks well, but…]
Belldandi was well aware that this was the right thing to do.
However, accepting it or not is a completely different matter.
Should I say that she is good at social life? Even in this area, Eunhyun was unnecessarily sincere.
Eunhyeon untied the arms of Belldandi, who was holding her upper body tightly, and held her hand.
He faced Belldandy, who was holding her from behind, and wrapped her arms around the goddess’ waist and pulled her strongly.
[Ah, my child… ?]
Eunhyeon laughed when she saw Belldandi, who was taken aback by the sudden and active skinship.
“Do not worry too much. Could it be that I should leave Belldandi and fall for another goddess?”
[…]
“The only goddess I serve is you.”
In fact, she had to include Urd and Skuld as well as Belldandi, but Eun-hyeon, who was not aware of it, knew that mentioning all three goddesses in this situation would be a handshake.
Eunhyun’s comment seemed to have taken hold, and Belldandi showed a happy expression with her cheeks blushing slightly.
[It feels good to say that.]
Realizing that Belldandi’s mood, which had been filled with shaky thoughts, began to ease little by little when she thought of Eun-hyeon, who would visit Vesta alone, Eun-hyeon was relieved inwardly.
‘Well, the fact that Vesta-sama is playing around with me is not because she has special feelings for me…’
It’s okay to show interest, but it’s probably similar to the interest that a boss expects from a subordinate.
Besides, the reason she bothered to distance herself as a member of the opposite sex was because of Belldandy, not because of herself.
It must have been a trivial reason for her to make fun of Belldandi, who always reacted violently, but Eun-hyeon didn’t bother to say it.
Even in her head, she tried to erase the thought and hid it so that her Belldandy could not read it to prevent her goddess from feeling uncomfortable.
“Then please.”
[… Whoa. I get it.]
Belldandi couldn’t help but nod her head.
It was because she was well aware of Eun-hyeon’s stubbornness to not change a decision once made.
[Hey. If you think something might happen, you should call me right away.]
“Yes. All right.”
After answering the request again, which she did not know how many times she had already heard, Eun-hyeon’s body was sent.
◆ ◆ ◆
The place transmitted by Belldandy’s power was a pure white space where nothing existed.
However, Eun-hyeon was not taken aback because she had been to this familiar place several times.
What was important was not the sense of the surroundings felt by the five senses, but the distant power that filled this space.
[You are a welcome guest.]
She felt the presence of a terrifying force just by communicating directly with her soul.
“… Long time no see.”
There was no one that she could see with her eyes, but she politely greeted the one who had definitely greeted her.
The one who materialized and appeared belatedly was a god with the highest power and authority in this space, the realm of Dodecatheon.
It is Jupiter.
“…”
He sat on a throne in a pure white space and met the gaze of the god resting on his chin.
Eunhyeon immediately put her business in her mouth.
“I came here to meet Vesta-sama.”
The space of the new realm is a very ambiguous place unlike the lower world where the ground and reality exist.
Eun-hyeon, who cannot go to Vesta on her own, needs Jupiter’s help to meet the goddess.
[Hmm, in the end, are you trying to touch the goddesses of Dodecatheon?]
“…”
Eunhyeon frowned at Jupiter, who was talking nonsensically again.
‘This gentleman is really…’
Jupiter’s gaze, which was always looking at him as a fellow, was really unpleasant.
He feels displeased that Jupiter’s history of promiscuous relationships with other goddesses and humans seems to apply to him as well.
“… You know it’s not like that, don’t you?”
[Know.]
Knowing that it was just a Jupiter-style bad joke, Eunhyeon didn’t say much anymore.
[Hmm. Well, good I know roughly why you’re looking for Vesta.]
It meant that not only the three Norn goddesses, including Belldandy, but also the Dodecatheon were watching the transformation of the temple that Eunhyeon was currently carrying out in her underworld.
The existence of the underworld and the intervention of demons threatening it are also the gods’ greatest concern, so it’s only natural.
Jupiter didn’t play around for a long time and immediately transferred her silver string to the space where Vesta was.
Contrary to the expectation that a considerable amount of effort and time would be spent on the prank of a pervert man who likes sexual harassment, Eun-hyeon was obediently unappreciative of Jupiter’s consideration, who managed to read the atmosphere and move smoothly.
It is because at the time of her first meeting, she did not forget Jupiter’s atrocities that sexually harassed Belldandi.
Eun-hyeon took longer than expected in a specific field.
[Oh?]
Once again, the space shifted and Eunhyeon faced Vesta.
Upon seeing her happy face, Vesta’s expression suddenly brightened.
[Whoops, come on. I heard from Jupiter that you would come.]
“… I am sorry to see you so late.”
Eunhyun bowed her head politely and apologized.
He asked Eleanor to give him the special authority of ‘divine recovery’, and about two months passed while he was busy with the temple’s restoration work.
[It’s late. Rather, thank you for coming sooner than expected.]
However, Vesta’s reaction was different.
The time flow in the divine world flows independently of the lower world, and due to the nature of the gods who are not bound by time in the first place, they do not care much about the time of two months.
Since Eunhyeon belongs to the underworld, it was unavoidable that she felt a sense of discord in this area, but Vesta seems to have liked Eunhyeon’s courtesy, which she prepared for herself.
“Thank you so much for listening to my request.”
[You said it was necessary.]
So, Vesta granted Eleanor the privilege of ‘recovering the divinity’.
Regardless of her own will, Eleanor’s ability to reap the holy power of the target by her own judgment was more threatening than Agnes’ ‘pleasure’, and to Vesta, it was a choice close to a gamble.
Conferring enormous privileges on a specific person was almost forbidden, as it violated the rules and providence that prevented meddling in the underworld.
Vesta has exhausted her right to interfere with the underworld to the limit, and it will be impossible to bestow more favors on the underworld from now on.
This meant that he could not interfere in anything other than maintaining the divine powers he had given to the underworld.
Eleanor, who succeeded Agnies, was the last saint whose successor would no longer appear.
“Isn’t it a choice that made it easy for you?”
[As much as the other gods are expecting you, I just put my expectations on you.]
“… Thank you.”
Because Vesta allowed it, he was able to bring about a change within the temple.
Now that the powerful means of ‘divine recovery’ has been created, priests and paladins can no longer think or act differently.
It was because they were pressured by the public wave that if something went wrong and their divine power was taken away, they would just return to being normal humans.
The power that made them special beings, on the contrary, became a leash.
Of course, this alone will not be enough.
However, the starting point of cutting out the tumor in the decaying temple and starting anew is certainly successful.
[Thanks should be conveyed from my side. You… You did what I couldn’t do.]
Vesta said with a bitter smile.
Unlike the other six goddesses, Vesta cares for and likes humans quite a bit.
So, in order for them to protect themselves and survive in the fight against demons and beasts, they bestowed the grace of divine power.
The only mistake was that she cared too much about humans and gave them blind trust.
She believed so much that she would be able to overcome and overcome the hardships that came her way, so she did not notice the other side of human desires.
As a result, someone else was harmed by her own grace, and in the worst case, an evil worthy of the name of disaster was born.
Vesta blamed herself for her literally misdesigning her system and her failure to get it right.
“…”
Eunhyeon didn’t say anything about Vesta’s self-reproach.
It was Vesta’s goodwill that started with good intentions, but in the end, it produced the worst result, so clumsy consolation would not be able to relieve Vesta’s mood.
There was only one thing he could say.
“From now on… We will do our best to prevent such unreasonable things from happening.”
[Whoops. Really?]
Vesta smiled as if she liked Eunhyun’s assertion.
[Thank you. And… Sorry. Originally, it would have been something I had to do… I feel like I’m putting a burden on you…]
“It’s okay. Because it’s what we need too. And… Aren’t you helping me enough?”
Vesta exhausted her strength to the limit within the prescribed providence and gave Eleanor the authority to ‘recover the divinity’.
Already with that alone, Vesta gambled by pouring everything she could into Eun-hyeon and Eleanor.
[Still… That alone doesn’t make me feel comfortable. Is there anything else you want?]
“You mean what you want?”
[Huh. If you need more or want anything, just tell me.]
“… Well.”
Eunhyun was worried.
Vesta, who no longer had the authority to interfere with the underworld, was extremely limited in what she could ask for, so even if she asked him to tell her what she wanted, nothing came to mind.
Seeing Eunhyeon seriously worried, Vesta covered her mouth with her hand and gave a small smile.
[For example…]
Vesta slowly approached Eunhyeon and gently caressed his cheek.
[How about my kiss?]
“… Yes?”
The moment Eunhyeon opened her eyes wide and was quite embarrassed, a pure white light began to surround Eunhyeon’s body and disappeared in an instant.
Someone forcibly summoned Eun-hyeon’s body to his side.
