"I-I'm sorry! It won't happen again!"
Monica knelt on the ground with her hands raised in the air, a pitiful display of repentance.
I picked up the bizarre comic she had drawn and flipped through its pages.
A story about an all-powerful butler devoted to his lady, their relationship blossoming into romance.
Nothing particularly noteworthy—if it weren’t for the fact that the butler was modeled after the curator, who in turn was based on my past life.
"..."
"Your Grace, I-I mean..."
"Enough. I get it. You can lower your hands now."
Monica obediently dropped her arms, sneaking glances at me, trying to gauge my mood.
At least it wasn’t a boys’ love story, I thought grimly. That would’ve been harder to stomach.
Flipping through the pages, I began to understand why depictions of real people in fanfiction had been taboo in my past life.
A romance manga featuring a heavily idealized version of myself, spouting cringeworthy lines...
Thwack.
Unable to endure it any longer, I slammed the book shut.
"So, does this book actually serve any purpose?"
I turned to the Apostle of Wisdom standing awkwardly beside me. He’d been quietly observing, occasionally stealing glances at Monica apologizing like a subordinate caught red-handed.
"Uh... well..."
"You can just call me Rian," he said, trying to put me at ease.
Despite being an Apostle of the Constellation of Wisdom and the wealthiest man on the continent, Rian's official status was no more than that of a commoner student at the Academy.
Compared to the noble-born students and Apostles, his social standing was undoubtedly modest.
"I... uh... I am... I mean, yeah, I am Rian, an Apostle of [Lustful Wisdom]," he stammered, his face twitching with embarrassment.
[Lustful Wisdom]?
Was that the title of the god of wisdom?
Wait. Lustful?
I thought back to the other Constellations I’d encountered and the sins that tainted them.
The Sacrifice Who Overcame Indolence, the Wrathless Magitech Engineer, the Proud Demon King of All.
Sloth. Wrath. Pride.
Lust seemed to fit right in.
[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer wonders if lust and depravity are truly the same.]
"...I guess not."
If the god of wisdom wasn’t corrupted by lust, the situation became even stranger.
A Constellation's title wasn’t just a name but a reflection of their divine nature and authority.
Unlike the investors I’d met so far, who were influenced by sins, other gods tended to bear titles closely tied to their divine essence.
If the god of wisdom wasn’t influenced by sin, then the “lust” in her title was intrinsic to her nature.
The god of wisdom... was inherently a lewd deviant?
[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer shakes his head, thinking there's no way the god of wisdom is that perverse.]
According to him, the god of wisdom was a recluse comparable to—if not worse than—our investors.
Since ascending to divinity, she had never left her domain and had no idea what other gods even looked like.
In fact, the only reason anyone on the surface knew she existed was because of the Apostles who acted on her behalf.
"Got it."
At least I had the Magitech Engineer with me. As eccentric as he was, cracking bad jokes and laughing at them alone, he was more dependable than the Demon God.
"Please inform the others of what we’ve discussed."
“Excuse me, Sir Apostle. You mentioned earlier that the god of wisdom requires this book?”
"Yes, that's correct."
“This book was created and distributed by that young lady over there, but its protagonist is based on a real person."
"A real person, you say?"
Rian tilted his head, murmuring something about the curator.
"Indeed. And unfortunately, the character happens to be someone I serve. For that reason, I can’t simply hand this book over."
As the person in question, I had every right to block its circulation.
"I can pay you," Rian offered.
“Her Grace isn’t looking for money,” I replied with a strained smile.
Using an R-rated book featuring me as bait to meet the god of wisdom?
The whole situation felt absurd.
"What does she want, then?"
Pushing up his glasses, Rian’s lenses flashed ominously.
"I would like to have a conversation with the god of wisdom."
"...With her?"
"Yes."
"May I ask why?"
"I wouldn’t call it a complicated reason."
There was no need to tell him I suspected the god of wisdom might be a victim of the Abyssal sin.
"I’ve long had a question I wished to ask her, something that’s troubled me."
"Hmm..."
Rian crossed his arms, scrutinizing me. Was he suspicious of my motives?
"It’s not a decision I can make on my own. I’ll consult Her Grace."
He raised a hand to his ear, as if initiating a call.
“Yes, it’s me, Rian... No, I found it. There’s just a minor issue during acquisition... Yes, that’s correct. Regarding Her Grace... Understood. Yes, I’ll let him know.”
Although he wasn’t holding anything, he murmured as though speaking into a receiver.
I couldn’t sense any magical interference—was this a form of divine communication?
Given that she was the god of wisdom, long-distance communication wasn’t surprising.
"Very well. She has given her permission."
Dropping his hand, Rian addressed me.
"She will now seek you out."
The god of wisdom would seek me out?
How, exactly, would that work?
Especially for a god who never left her domain.
Suddenly, my vision wavered.
"This is..."
My surroundings swirled as though I were drunk, and my consciousness began to sink into a deep abyss.
When I opened my eyes, I stood at the center of a vast, shadowy temple.
So this was the power of a true god.
Perhaps I’d underestimated the gods, spending so much time with our dysfunctional investors.
But summoning a mortal into their personal realm was trivial for a being of her caliber.
Woong!
A massive statue before me radiated a blinding light.
[You wish to ask me something.]
Was this an avatar of the god of wisdom?
Her divine voice echoed with enough reverence to make me kneel if I hadn’t been desensitized to gods by now.
"Yes, I do."
[What do you seek to know?]
"Have you ever felt as though you were shackled by an overwhelming emotion? Something that bound you, as if it were a chain around your very essence?"
I tried to sense her thoughts as I had with the Demon God before.
But there was nothing.
Was it because this was merely an avatar and not her true self? Or was she truly untainted by sin?
[Why do you ask such a thing?]
"I’ve encountered several Constellations recently. Among them, I discovered 'sins' that corrupted their very being. These sins suppressed their true nature, binding them."
[Suppression... Suppression.]
Her voice trailed off, as though something resonated with her.
[And what became of those Constellations?]
"Through certain methods, I was able to cleanse them of their sins and restore them to their true selves."
[Do you claim to possess the power to undo the chains that bind gods?]
"Yes. Though it is not my power alone. I serve as the Apostle of the God of Dreams."
[The God of Dreams?]
The statue tilted its head slightly.
"That’s correct."
[Impossible. The God of Dreams does not have Apostles. There is nothing in this world I do not know. If such a thing existed, my shackles would... Wait. Could it be?]
The weariness in her voice gave way to excitement.
[Are you truly the Apostle of Dreams? Speak truthfully!]
"...Yes, I am."
What was going on? Why the sudden fervor?
The light before me coalesced into a glowing humanoid form.
Flash!
A young woman emerged, appearing no older than her late teens or early twenties, her posture awkward and arms spread wide.
"Show me!" she cried, her girlish voice utterly contrasting the majestic tone from moments ago. "Show me the knowledge of the world beyond my own!"
I stood there, stunned, as the god of wisdom herself appeared before me.
Not just because she’d manifested so suddenly...
Creak.
...but because she had emerged with something long and metallic protruding from below.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.
Drip.
Drip.