Chapter 20 – A Drinking Party of Fascination (2)
“The game we will play is ‘Find the Key.'”
Thanatos said, lightly waving the key he was holding between his thumb and index finger in front of Hugo’s eyes.
“Find the key… ?”
Hugo blinked, unable to make any sense.
He had never heard of such a game, let alone played one.
“The rules are simple. “It’s a very easy game that even a child can understand.”
Thanatos, with a gentle smile, reassured Hugo, who was embarrassed at first glance.
And the very next moment, the key in her hand suddenly disappeared before her eyes along with a bright light.
“I just hid the key somewhere in this room. If you find it within the time limit, you win. How is it? “It’s really simple, right~?”
Thanatos explained in her soft voice, opening and closing his hand where her key was missing.
Certainly, the game itself was simple and clear enough for even children to understand.
But apart from that, Hugo couldn’t shake the feeling that something was unclear.
It was a mystery why she, the greatest archmage and wealthiest person on the continent, would want to play a game like this with herself.
She could use transfer magic to transfer objects, so she wondered why she went to the trouble of searching through the drawers herself.
“Of course, since it’s a game, there has to be something good about winning, right? Let’s see…”
Thanatos touched his chin as if he was thinking for a moment and then raised one of his fingers.
“How about 100 million gold as prize money?”
Thanatos winked and presented the game’s prize money without hesitation.
Hugo’s jaw dropped when he heard the ridiculous amount that came out of her mouth.
“1, 100 million gold?!”
It was an amount that made you doubt your ears.
The prize money for such a simple game was an incredibly large amount of money.
“Really… ?”
“Do I look like the kind of woman who would lie in a game like this? “I swear on the name of the Goddess of Heaven.”
When Hugo reacted as if he suspected she was joking, Thanatos put his hand on his chest, which was as rich as her wealth, and proved that it was not a lie.
“So what do you want to do? Challenge? Or give up?”
“I will challenge you!”
Hugo was afraid that Thanatos might change his mind about her, so he stammered and shouted loudly.
She was Lee Ji-seon, who I didn’t have to think about for a long time.
If you have 100 million gold, you will get change to buy about five houses that are much bigger and better than the house you just bought.
For Hugo, who came to express his regrets to her friend, this was an unexpected big chance.
“Hehe, I’m glad you seem to have a lot of motivation. Then don’t hesitate and let’s start right now~.”
Thanatos, who put his hand to her mouth and smiled, quickly shouted for her to start the game, and at the same time, Hugo kicked up from where she was sitting.
Then her eyes lit up and she began panting around the restaurant.
Hugo, who was literally obsessed with money, searched for her keys, looking behind picture frames on the wall and under empty plates.
However, no matter how carefully I searched the inside of the restaurant, the key hidden by Thanatos was rarely revealed.
“There are 10 minutes left~.”
Thanatos’ trivial time limit was delivered to Hugo, who was struggling to find the key.
As time was running out and the whereabouts of the key were unknown, Hugo could not hide his impatience.
Even though I felt like I had already searched all the places I could possibly look for, the whereabouts of the one-inch key was still unknown.
“Shall I give you a hint?”
When Hugo, who seemed to have already given up halfway, stamped his feet, Thanatos, who had been staring at him, suddenly said something like that.
Hugo, who did not miss those words that were like sweet rain in a drought, immediately turned his head towards her.
“Hint?”
“I will specifically tell you the specific place where the key is sleeping.”
Hugo, at the mercy of his unfaithful goddess, grabbed back the strings of hope she had let go of.
And then Thanatos slowly raised his arm and pointed to where the key was.
But strangely enough, the place where her fingertips were directed was none other than herself.
“Are you here?”
“Yes… ?”
“The key is somewhere on my body.”
When Thanatos said that while slightly tilting her head, Hugo could not hide his shock and embarrassment.
At first, I thought it was a practical joke, but I couldn’t find any such sign in Thanatos’ expression.
“What’s the matter? Is there any problem?”
“Oh, no…”
Hugo shook his head, trying to hide his perplexed expression.
And then she carefully got to her feet and walked towards Thanatos, who was sitting on a chair at her table.
Hugo hovered around Thanatos, examining her appearance carefully from a distance that was neither too far nor too close.
“If you look at it like that, you won’t get what you want, right~?”
Thanatos made a valid point to Hugo, who was pacing around him in silence.
But Hugo couldn’t do anything more.
“Unless you search for it yourself, you won’t be able to get your hands on the key.”
“B-but…”
“But what?”
“For that to happen, I have to touch Thanatos-sama’s body…”
Hugo, who seemed scared for some reason, fiddled with the hem of his trousers and spoke hesitantly.
“What’s wrong with that?”
But Thanatos looked at her Hugo and lightly shrugged her shoulders as if that was a problem.
As Thanatos maintained her relaxed attitude throughout, Hugo, who was staring at her, felt a tightness in her chest.
And she soon came to one conclusion.
She says she is just being ridiculed by Thanatos right now.
From the beginning, she had no intention of giving the prize money.
She knew that there was no way a coward like her could touch the body of her goddess, so she only played with it as entertainment during her drinking party.
In the first place, before she was a goddess, she was the wife of her friend Ion.
Touching her body carelessly was directly connected to an act of betrayal towards her friend.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Thanatos. Stop playing this game…”
“Oh, now that I think about it, there’s one thing I forgot to mention.”
Just when Hugo was about to give up on a game that had no bright future, Thanatos interrupted him and clapped his hands as if he had been waiting.
“If you don’t find the key within the time limit or give up the game, you will have to pay a fine of 100 million gold.”
“Yes yes?!”
Hugo could not help but show his astonishment on her face at such a ridiculous news.
Thanatos quietly sipped his wine, appreciating my strong reaction.
“Ah, anyway, that’s too…” … !”
“What’s wrong? If you win, you get 100 million, so I don’t think it’s strange at all to give up 100 million if you lose, right?”
“Ugh…”
“Everything in the world inevitably involves reaction. “It’s common sense that any wizard who pursues the truth knows, right?”
Hugo didn’t dare to raise a counterargument to her speech, which could be said to be a straightforward argument, so he silenced her.
Hugo, unconsciously grabbing the hem of her trousers, lowered his head and rebuked her for her own foolishness.
When she heard this fascinating story, she should have been suspicious.
But now, everything was just a belated regret.
Of course, Hugo didn’t have the financial wherewithal to pay 100 million gold.
But even if he told the truth, I don’t think Thanatos would take his situation into consideration.
Hugo had no doubt that he would collect the debt in a way he could not have imagined.
It was already rumored throughout Crezel that Thanatos, the goddess of death, was a ruthless goddess in that regard.
“There are only 5 minutes left now.”
Thanatos, who was staring at Hugo, who was desperately shaking her head, like a cow devil, kindly reminded her of the time she had left.
Hugo searched for a way to overcome this desperate crisis, but there was no way such a thing could exist in this situation.
From the beginning, there was only one option for Hugo.
Hugo slowly walked towards Thanatos, licking his dry lips.
Thanatos then used her magic to slightly move her chair and adjust the direction of her chair to face Hugo.
It was an aggressive attitude, as if he was telling me to come somewhere at least once.
No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t make sense, but no matter how much I thought about it, it was the only option.
“… Excuse me.”
Hugo took a deep breath and immediately brought his trembling hands to Thanatos.
Hugo gently caressed Thanatos’ bare legs in front of him.
The warmth of her skin was transmitted to Hugo through her palms.
Fortunately, Thanatos didn’t show much of a reaction even when Hugo actually touched her body.
Hugo wanted to end this ordeal quickly, so he groped her limbs several times, but he got no results.
“You don’t really think the key is in that place, do you?”
When Hugo carelessly stroked the area that was clearly visible even without touching, Thanatos let out a short sigh and clicked her tongue as if she was sorry.
And then, suddenly, he brought his face closer to Hugo and whispered in his ear with a soft voice:
“The key is. I hid more in the woman’s private parts…”