Side Story Chapter 12 – A Wish to the Gods.

There were many.

Too many.

Excessively many.

The number of gods visible right now.

At first glance, it resembled an existing [Healing Succubus South Korea].

But the distinctive feature here was the incredibly long line of street vendors in the center of the passageway.

And at each vendor, different gods awaited customers.

As many as the wishes, the number was staggering.

And as diverse as the types of wishes, so were the vendors.

The size of the stalls and the level of decoration varied greatly.

Moreover, the appearances of the gods were quite unusual.

Perhaps to maximize accessibility.

Most of them took on human forms.

But there were also non-human life forms present.

Some even bore shapes that were hard to describe.

Almost as if they were explicitly flaunting the majesty of being a god.

The overall scene was strange, yet.

It created a subtle harmony that was fascinating.

It felt like looking at a popular tourist city in South Korea frequently visited by foreigners.

“Shinwoo, isn’t it too much…?”

“Yeah…”

“I don’t think the Japan Academy Festival was even close to this scale!”

“I’m glad the sales seem to be doing well, though.”

“What if we end up getting scammed by the minor gods?”

[Just follow me. Everyone, stay close.]

With Piece leading the way, we cautiously moved forward.

Even upon a second look, the number of people was indeed overwhelming.

Would we get swept away in the crowd like this?

Still, they must have gathered in such large numbers because they wanted something so badly.

In that moment, I spotted a man and a goddess at one of the stalls.

The man looked ordinary no matter how you looked at him.

On the other hand, the goddess appeared quite noble.

It was reminiscent of a scene from a Japanese isekai story.

“What do you wish for?”

“I want to see the status window of my deceased spouse.”

A wish that was as ordinary as the man’s appearance.

“Why do you want to check that?”

“I want to know if I was her first and last.”

“Alright. Could you wait a moment?”

“Understood.”

Soon, a status window filled with numerous characters appeared before the man’s eyes.

It seemed he had lived quite a long life, as the contents were extensive.

However, since she had died, the list of words was no longer being updated.

“Here you go.”

The man silently stared at a certain part of the window.

Suddenly, he quietly shed tears and wore a happy smile.

Perhaps he was checking the number of experiences he had gone through.

“Truly, as you said, I was her first and… last…”

“It seems so. So, was your spouse happy?”

It might sound strange, but I didn’t think it was too odd.

Everyone here had precious wishes to fulfill.

Did they really feel the need to judge the importance of each other’s wishes?

It might not matter to others, but it must have been quite important to him.

If that’s the case, it would be right to respect their wishes in silence.

Soon, alongside the slowly disappearing status window, the man’s lingering attachments began to fade.

“I shared a love that was more than enough.”

“What a wonderful pure love.”

“Of course. In the end, I buried her myself.”

It was truly a beautiful moment of pure love.

I peeked just in case that god was scamming, but.

In reality, the number of experiences on the status window was just 1.

The fact that such heartfelt pure love still existed was touching.

If only that number hadn’t increased by one just before the window vanished.

‘……Didn’t he say she was dead and buried…?’

[Ah, f*ck. No way…]

Of course, I decided not to speak about this.

Here was a man with a blissful smile devoid of lingering attachments.

How could I possibly drag him down into despair?

Fortunately, it seemed the heroines hadn’t caught on.

“Husband, why the face…?”

“Just… the sight of someone who lost their spouse is too bittersweet.”

I quietly decided to bury the secrets and regrets I didn’t want to know in my heart.

“It certainly is a compelling topic.”

“Yeah… it feels like it’s still eating into me in another way…”

I’m used to such pain by now.

Anyway, everyone around us was making wishes to the gods.

Each wore expressions of satisfaction as they released pent-up frustrations.

However, wishes aren’t always guaranteed to be fulfilled.

Even if the gods can show various miracles.

It can’t be said that they are omnipotent.

Even Piece, who has the overwhelming ability of regression, has clear limitations.

【I can grant anything except for three wishes.】

“What are those?”

【Murder, mind control, and resurrection.】

Even other gods must have limitations if they aren’t confident in their domains.

“Please make NTR PonPon pure love a major trend in Nobelpia.”

【Anything other than four wishes can be granted.】

Or there could be wishes that are simply impossible to fulfill.

It could be due to the lack of divine power, but.

It might also be due to other conditions.

Some conditions can be noted as follows.

“Please create a world where I can mate with whoever I want at any time!”

〔Aren’t you already living in that world?〕

“Ah.”

A situation where one doesn’t even need to make a wish.

“Then, can I get a girlfriend with this appearance thanks to your divine powers?”

〔Impossible.〕

The state or environment of the wish-maker comes into play.

“What the f*ck…”

〔That’s also impossible.〕

Anyway, the word “wish” sounds too sweet.

Just thinking about it blurs my vision in an instant.

A way to escape from immediate reality.

But one must remember that wishes always come with a cost.

“I want to obtain this amount of money! Can you do it?!”

《Of course. But be aware that you must pay a price along with this contract.》

“What… what kind of price is that…?”

In reality, it was something that didn’t need to be said, and it was quite obvious.

Coming here just meant paying the entrance fee.

Transactions in this place must be settled with what each has.

The word “wish” couldn’t possibly be that light.

《You can never set foot in heaven again!》

“Huh, I expected that much!”

Hence, regardless of the size of the wish.

《It’s 1st tier banking.》

“Ah.”

Every wish must come at a cost.

[……Isn’t that loan sharking?]

‘No wonder they wanted me to sign a contract…’

Despite such a risky cost, people do not stop.

The desire for that wish is just too strong.

It felt like that dreamlike wish was about to become reality.

Even if the flame of cost completely engulfs them.

“Can you grant my wish?”

〈But you must pay a price!〉

“What is that price?”

Even if it means they leave nothing but ashes behind.

At that moment, I saw a woman confidently standing before a god.

And the god demanding a price with an oppressive aura.

〈Offer up your precious life!〉

The content of the price, as well as the hideous appearance of the god, couldn’t be described nicely.

Yet, the woman maintained her confidence without faltering.

She must have a strong mind, being a powerful woman.

“An abortion is possible, right?”

〈……I’ll grant it, just please go away, crazy b*tch.〉

“With this, I’ve scored a designer handbag for free. Thank goodness.”

No, she was just a crazy-ass hunter.

I expected there would be hunters in a crowded place.

But I didn’t expect one to be such a madwoman.

It was almost pitiful for the hideous god facing that hunter.

Still, not every god demands payment.

“Honey! This god says they’ll make me strong without any cost!”

“Oh? Is that true?”

{Of course. I swear by my divine power.}

“Which god are you that can make my wife strong so easily?”

I noticed a couple talking to some god nearby.

The woman had an exquisite appearance and physique, while the man looked sickly thin and frail.

I felt a sudden connection that brought tears to my eyes.

Meanwhile, the god before them took on a human form, with blonde hair and blue eyes.

At first glance, he didn’t seem much different from an ordinary human.

But the sharp light in his eyes suggested he was indeed a god.

{I am the supreme god among the twelve Olympian gods.}

“Ah, f*ck.”

Now that I looked closely, his eyes sparkled like lightning.

He was the top of the Olympian gods, wielding lightning with great ease.

And he showed undue interest in women.

Whether the target was a child, a married woman, or even family, it didn’t seem to matter.

‘That guy is probably aiming for some married woman’s NTR this time…’

[Wise consumption is checking reviews and ratings before making a purchase.]

‘You’re truly insane.’

By now, I thought everyone knew who that god was.

Meanwhile, the man whose wife was about to be NTR’d by a god wore a forlorn expression and let out a deep sigh.

All his negative emotions—despair, resignation, and frustration—were completely embedded in that sigh.

Well, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand his feelings.

No matter how hard he tried, his opponent was the god among gods.

A mere human surely cannot oppose the will of a god.

As an individual, there would be limits to resisting such absurdity.

Then all of a sudden, the man asked the god a straightforward question.

“Do you not get sick?”

{I do get sick, and I endure the pain fully.}

For someone who’s about to lose their wife, that tone was surprisingly calm.

“Good luck with that.”

{……What do you mean…?}

“I had no luck.”

A somewhat meaningfully mysterious smile was the bonus.

‘……Upon closer inspection, there are many spots on that man’s body…?’

[Ah, crazy. No way…]

Now I understood why he looked so sickly thin.

At first, I thought he was in a situation similar to mine.

But now it was clear he was in a much more serious predicament than I was.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the heroines only recognized the existence of the god.

“Shinwoo, should I deal with that f*cker before he causes trouble for us?”

“Let’s just go. He’s going to die soon anyway.”

We decided to just pretend we didn’t see and quickly slip away.

“Is he going to die…? That god…?”

“Honestly, death might even be better…”

There was still a long way to go.

Though it felt slow because of the crowd, it seemed we had been walking for a while.

Yet, Piece, leading the way, didn’t stop her steps at all and kept moving forward.

In other words, it meant there was no god she was looking for here.

“Piece, how much longer do we need to go?”

[We’re quite deep in. I’m sorry, but let’s walk a little more.]

“Understood.”

As we followed Piece, how long had it been?

The overwhelmingly dense crowd in front suddenly stopped our steps.

It was so thick that I momentarily thought it was a wall when I first saw it.

It seemed like we could force our way through if we pushed hard enough, but.

[You must go beyond this point, what’s your plan?]

“We’ve called for the passage staff, so please wait a moment.”

For now, I decided to wait quietly as Ayeon said.

Of course, my situation wasn’t good enough to afford to be leisurely.

But dealing with conflicts now could lead to troublesome issues later on.

The more desperate people are packed together, the more troublesome they become when regarded as opponents.

But suddenly, the chillingly clear sound rang out.

“I will grant any wish.”

As if bewitched, I forced my way through the crowd to move forward.

---