第３５０堀：教えて女神様！！ （駄目神） (Part2)
"Oh, shut it. You lot have already dumped everything on me, haven't you? Stop whining and try to be at least a little useful."
" "Yes! We are terribly sorry!! We will do our best from now on!!" "
I’d be grateful if you actually did that.
"Honestly, you... what kind of nerve do you have, making a goddess apologize?"
"Don't talk to me about nerve. But, I'm going to record these names, alright?"
"Fine by me. Like I said before, you'll run into these people eventually. They’re quiet for now, but once Weed becomes a major power, there will be quite a few gods frowning in our direction."
"No, there can't be that many. There are only four of you, right? So, which one is it? Who’s dissatisfied with us?"
"Hmm... who was it again? Lilishe?"
"Yes. The Sword God, the Magic God, and the Beast God have all descended and are managing their own nations, so they don't exactly view Weed in a favorable light. I suspect they are jealous that you, Yuki, have been granted the favor of Lady Luna..."
"Huh? Favor?"
"Ah, no, I mean that is how it appears from the outside."
"Ah, I see."
"Spare me. As if I’d take a nagging man like him as a husband. Oh, found it. This is more important right now, isn't it?"
With that, Luna handed me a sheet of paper. Every name on it was crossed out with a diagonal line. Among them were the names of Hifi and Comet.
I see. So this is the registry of gods and Dungeon Masters on the New Continent.
"...Wait, there are so many!! There are nearly fifty of them, for heaven's sake!!"
A quick glance tells me there are about twenty-five gods and twenty-five Dungeon Masters. Just how many Dungeon Masters did they produce and fail with? It looks like a discount store that got carried away opening branches and ended up having to close them all down later.
"We were feeling our way in the dark, too. Though, as you can see, as far as my records go, they’re either out of contact or completely wiped out. In that sense, it means we didn't have enough people, or the quality was just poor."
"True, even if I confirmed some were dead, Comet’s case proves that isn't exactly reliable..."
"Exactly. If they’ve been resurrected as undead, there’s no way to tell. I’d know if they contacted me, but I can’t search for them from my end."
"Can't you contact the active dungeon cores?"
"You know the answer to that, don't you? It's not impossible, but it might just make them more vigilant. Plus, the message would go to unrelated dungeon cores as well, revealing that a high-ranking goddess like me has come to the New Continent. Whether they believe it's true or not depends on the receiver, but it’s unlikely to turn out well."
"Fair point. Since they're active, there's a chance someone other than a Dungeon Master might see it, and I have no idea how they’d use that information. Not a move worth taking."
Now, what to do?
I have the names, but the information is so old that there's a possibility they’ve been resurrected, like Comet. And it’s not even certain that a Dungeon Master is behind it all. It’s possible they’ve delegated some of their Dungeon Master abilities, like I or Comet did.
"...Come to think of it, Comet."
"What is it?"
"During your lifetime, did you ever cross paths with other Dungeon Masters?"
"No, not at all. I often heard rumors about some dungeon or another being conquered, though."
"Oh, so they *were* being conquered?"
"I suppose so. Oh, I did have those girls with the 'Other Swords' handle the conquering for some of them. I wanted information on other dungeons, after all."
"And the masters of those dungeons?"
"No, I never met them. They seemed to be just dungeons for farming, so I just recovered the dungeon cores."
"I see."
Hmm.
There’s no way for me to investigate this until whoever stole the dungeon core delivers it to their base. I should consider it a win just to have obtained the registry.
"Oh, right. Those girls with the 'Other Swords' were involved, so they might know some of these names. Why don't we show them and ask?"
"That's true. And if that's the case, the King and Chancellor of White Forest might know something too. Should I show them as well?"
"Hahaha. They might faint if you show them a registry of gods and Dungeon Masters."
"That's a distinct possibility."
Well, I have to return to White Forest anyway, and I have an obligation to report the White Forest situation to Roday alongside Samantha's sister, Runo. There are plenty of other things to do, so I'll leave the thief who stole the dungeon core for now.
I’ve got a tracker on them, so there’s nothing more I can do at the moment.
"Alright. Thanks, Luna."
"Mhm, mhm. Slurp..."
Luna was already eating the instant noodles Hifi had made for her. I’m starting to worry about this goddess's dietary habits.
Frustratingly, someone in the comments section already pointed out the same thing.
Damn it!!
Well, that aside, those of you who know my style probably understand that this is a "definitely for later" kind of situation. The suspicious rumors Kirue gathered might be related, too...
Maybe that’s the next topic.
But first, I’ll investigate this New Continent registry!!
Come on, let’s see who pops up!!
And, unrelated to that, I bought "If You Say I Should Work, I'll Work - Tori" on the PS Vita digital store on the 17th.
As always, it’s amazing how much you can earn with Hikky.
The game system is fun, so it’s a win.
Though I still think the landlady is a total sadist.