Mages Are The Housewarming Gifts? (2)

A man quietly bowed his head in one corner of the reception room. The man, who appeared to be in his mid-40s, looked somewhat familiar.

However, there was an issue that needed to be addressed before thinking about the relationship between the man and me.

“Was the position of a representative in the ‘Battlefield of the Gods’ always this insignificant? First, the tower master bombards someone else’s house with magic, and now some unknown person enters without the mansion owner’s permission and disrupts the owner’s activity?”

Despite the sarcastic tone, the man bowed even lower, his head almost touching the floor. With his hands neatly folded over his stomach, he maintained his deep bow and spoke.

“I apologize for disrupting the god’s delegate’s activity. However, it was the will of the three gods, and I had no choice. I arrived a bit late due to my lack of ability, and rudely interrupted the delegate’s activity. I am sorry.”

“Gods? Three? Will?”

“Yes, that’s correct. I entered without permission to urgently convey a message from Ludicer.”

“…What?!”

He certainly mentioned a ‘message’ from Ludicer.

Since entering the ‘Battlefield of the Gods,’ even I haven’t been able to communicate with Ludicer, yet this person can hear and convey her voice to me.

Someone who can enter this place covered in magic circles without any hindrance and remain undetected until they reveal themselves.

A youthfulness that doesn’t match such incredible skill.

When considering all these factors, the individual, or rather the group, that emerged in the ‘Battlefield of the Gods’ was only one.

“…Garden Keeper?”

“It’s an honor to be recognized. Though lacking, I represent those responsible for the Garden of Gods of Exorsus.”

Garden Keeper. They have no names. Everyone is simply called a Garden Keeper.

The Garden of Gods. A space where gods and their representatives can communicate. At that moment of communication, not even Heavenly Gods or Demon Gods can enter without the permission of these two beings.

Those who manage this place are collectively known as Garden Keepers.

Their astonishing abilities, capable of easily blocking an extraordinary strike like just now, are not granted by the gods.

Nor have they grown through training.

Everyone living in the ‘Battlefield of the Gods’ knows them, yet they are beings who do not need praise.

Unlike other gods, they do not perform direct miracles but merely exist.

They are those who have been endowed with power by the Creator.

In everyday life, they praise and follow the Creator like other priests. They are people who try to spend each day meaningfully, grateful to the Creator.

There are no special doctrines, no miracles performed, and each has their own visible tasks.

When the ‘Battlefield of the Gods’ opens, among them, those with particularly exceptional loyalty receive immense power from the Creator and are selected as Garden Keepers to manage the Garden of Gods.

As those who loved and served the Creator with loyalty, they consider being chosen as Garden Keepers the honor of a lifetime.

Therefore, they hold a unique respect for other gods who have gained divinity through the Creator’s love.

They also always treat with utmost respect the representatives participating in the ‘Battlefield of the Gods’ as representatives of the Creator’s arrangement and other gods.

However, they also possess a powerful force capable of toying with most representatives.

Before the regression, it was around 20 years after the ‘Battlefield of the Gods’ had opened. At that time, when I was just starting to make a name as the Strange Star of The Seven Stars, I heard an unbelievable piece of news.

Among the representatives who surrendered and lived in Exorsus, one representative, who was strong enough to be among the top 100 representatives on the Heavenly Gods’ side before surrendering, picked a fight with a Garden Keeper.

The reason was that after surrendering, he couldn’t meet his god in the Garden of Gods, and he was annoyed by the Garden Keeper blocking his way.

At first, he was angry at the Garden Keeper who unconditionally blocked his path, and he uttered words mocking the god and ridiculing the Creator.

Then, he was beaten like a dog on a hot day by the Garden Keeper, who rolled up his sleeves, and later, the rumor spread across the continent that he begged for his life.

They possess such mysterious power and are so devoted to the gods that, from commoners to royalty living in the ‘Battlefield of the Gods,’ the most trusted standard for evaluating the representatives is the reputation given by these beings.

So, when I went to meet Ludicer before, I treated him with respect and utmost care, unlike how I treated others.

“Did you say the Garden Keeper is now… Ludicer?”

“Yes, I have a message from Ludicer. In fact, not only Ludicer but also Aetas and Ister told me to deliver the same message.”

“…Ugh.”

The situation was turning unusual.

Originally, I intended to enslave those trash and make the mages affiliated with the magic tower work for me through contracts, but now it seems that from the gods’ perspective, this is not a trivial issue.

“Is it alright for others to hear this?”

Pointing with my chin at the tower masters who couldn’t understand the conversation between the Garden Keeper and me, where the names of gods were mentioned, I asked if it was okay for them to listen.

Then the Garden Keeper’s gaze turned toward the tower masters, and a killing intent so intense that it even surprised me emanated briefly, only to vanish as if it were an illusion.

“Yes, it’s alright.”

“In that case, please go ahead.”

With my permission, a halo flashed from the Garden Keeper’s entire body, and a woman’s voice, precisely Ludicer’s, began to flow out.

―My envoy and beloved representative who has leaped into the battlefield in my stead. Formally object and visit the Garden of the Gods. Their punishment cannot be replaced by the light sentence of mere death…

As expected! Things have escalated. Of course, I suffer no loss. However, there’s a high possibility of unnecessary attention and hassle.

The confidence gained from entering the ‘Battlefield of the Gods’ and absorbing two representatives was slightly diminished after seeing Violentia’s status window, so there’s a bit of concern.

“Understood. Then may I ask the Garden Keeper to handle their disposal?”

“It would be an honor. I will take responsibility to ensure that you no longer have to associate with such people. And I apologize on behalf of the continent’s people.”

When the Garden Keeper, who had bowed politely and calmly, gestured to the five tower masters, each of them hurriedly stood behind the Garden Keeper.

Though glancing over their shoulder, it seemed like they were desperately struggling to survive.

“When… when will…?”

I snapped out of my reverie at the careful, yet not frivolous, question from the Garden Keeper.

There’s nothing I can do right now. I’m not pleased with letting them go alive without killing them.

However, hearing Ludicer say she’s imposing a punishment worse than death, I decided to let it go.

“I will move immediately. When the gods call, we must set everything aside and attend.”

“Hahaha. Indeed! You are remarkable. How dare I in the presence of such a noble and esteemed person…?!”

Perhaps Aetas or Ludicer, who might be listening to me now, would be baffled?

Regardless, overwhelmed with emotion, the Garden Keeper praised me as the first representative to find the garden of the first god, and I just felt irritated by the countless possibilities until the moment I entered the Garden of Gods.

As we neared the Garden of Gods, the tower masters who were riding in the same carriage started glancing at each other, then suddenly knelt and began to plead.

“P-please, spare us.”

“I haven’t done anything.”

“……”

“How unfortunate, truly. We representatives have no power. When the gods command, we must comply. I didn’t expect it to become this serious. I only heard about it. What can be done? We reap what we sow. Isn’t that right, Garden Keeper?”

“Indeed, wise words.”

“Th-that can’t be!!”

“S-spare us! Please!”

The Garden Keeper, seemingly satisfied with my words, responded with a benevolent smile across his entire face, but then frowned abruptly at the interruption from the group of tower masters.

Those idiots are truly hopeless. They say you become a child when you grow old, but this is worse than a child.

“Yeah, yeah, I want to spare you and keep you as a slave forever, too. But even if I wanted to, I can’t do that.”

“I-I’ll even become a slave. I’ll do whatever you say, just spare me!! Please…”

“It was the crazy woman from the Wind Magic Tower who planned all this. We are not involved!”

“That’s right. It’s all because of her!”

“What did you say?!”

The headache from all sorts of thoughts was pushed aside by the performance of the five idiots.

‘Well, I suppose Aetas, my god, and even the Creator, must have a plan.’

Then I suddenly became curious about why they were pleading like this. Putting aside my worries, other thoughts began to surface.

’Ludicer said death was a light punishment, so something scarier than death should be on the way… No way. I was just trying to scare them, but for her to actually do that…?’

The punishment of the soul. It’s a punishment that Earthlings neither know nor understand.

If it’s similar, it’s like ‘enduring the hellfire for thousands of years’ or something. Even in death, the soul doesn’t find rest and suffers unbearable pain continuously.

The strong durability of the soul actually becomes a disadvantage in this punishment.

A soul with such strong durability suffers until it is worn down and turns to dust, disappearing.

Is this what they are worried about?

Since it’s already mentioned in history, the intuitive fear engraved in their souls might be making them plead so desperately.

Even the master of the Wind Magic Tower, Lubeit, who challenged me until the end, was pleading.