86th Episode: The Reaper’s Gift
“Where am I…?”
The moment I touched the mirror, I felt an overwhelming sensation of falling. When it ended, and I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in the middle of a pitch-black space.
“Luci isn’t… with me, I see.”
I glanced around and immediately noticed Luci wasn’t there. I licked my lips and began to carefully observe my surroundings. All around, above and below, there was only pure darkness. A space with no discernible beginning or end.
‘The Trial’s veil felt exactly like this bleak atmosphere. Is it the motto of all lesser deities of this world: “simple is best”?’
Just as I was thinking that, a voice echoed from somewhere.
“Wowww.”
“A contractor! A contractor.”
“You finally came to see us.”
I turned my head toward the source of the voice.
… And for a moment, I lost all words and snapped my mouth shut.
‘What is that? A monster?’
A bizarre creature floated in the air.
It was a girl with emerald green hair, wearing a robe. The problem was that there were three heads protruding from the single robe.
Was it an attempt to give personality to identical faces? One wore the jawbone of an animal as a mask, another covered the upper part of her nose with a severed skull, and one had her left cheek hidden.
And then, the sickle.
An incredibly massive… one with a blade spanning at least five meters, floated calmly above those girls like a harvest scythe.
‘It’s not a three-headed girl… they’re just sharing one robe, right?’
A Twin-Headed Ogre I could understand, but a Triple-Headed Maiden? As much as I’ve let my emotional boundaries fall apart lately, such a reality is still hard to swallow.
While I was pondering this, the Triple-Headed Maiden abruptly thrust all three faces toward me.
“Hi! Hi!”
“Listen, contractor.”
“Do you know who we are?”
The robe fluttered as the three faces spun around in mid-air, each face uttering a single phrase as it faced me. It felt like one person’s sentence being split into three.
By the way they spoke, the theory that they were ‘three heads sharing a robe’ gained more credibility.
‘Mimir’s Eye.’
Of course, I wouldn’t just stand there looking at such an extraordinary creature. I scanned its identity immediately.
Dum-dum, accompanied by a slightly heavier tone than usual, a panel appeared.
[Name: Undrethred]
[Nickname: Reaper, God of Time (Past), the Eldest Sister of the Three Fates]
[Error – Out of Norm Entity, Stats Indeterminate.]
[Name: Thanatnix]
[Nickname: Reaper, God of Time (Present), the Second Sister of the Three Fates]
[Error – Out of Norm Entity, Stats Indeterminate.]
[Name: Ceresis]
[Nickname: Reaper, God of Time (Future), the Youngest Sister of the Three Fates]
[Error – Out of Norm Entity, Stats Indeterminate.]
… So the status window split into three parts. The ‘Triple-Headed Maiden’ theory, hitherto established in academic circles, was rapidly losing credibility.
Out of curiosity about what was inside the robe, I swallowed nervously at another fact.
‘Out of Norm Entity…!’
Only after seeing the status window’s error did I realize their true identity.
The Reapers. They were the ones who summoned me here and the lesser deities that had made Plague so nervous.
… Though my image of the Reapers was somewhat different from the ones before me now.
“I’m Undrethred.”
“I’m Thanatnix.”
“I’m Ceresis.”
The three minor gods introduced themselves in turns.
Jawbone mask was Undrethred. Eye-cover was Thanatnix. And the one covering the left face was Ceresis.
The three Reapers looked genuinely glad to see me. The fact that their twelve eyes wouldn’t leave my face was proof of this.
As much as their excessive attention startled me, given the lack of time, I quickly proceeded to get to the point.
“Um, it’s nice to meet you. The reason I came today isn’t anything else….”
But that was as far as I got. My opportunity to speak was taken away.
The three sisters began spinning around while incessantly talking to me.
“Wow, a contractor smells so good.”
“The smell of death is very strong.”
“Isn’t it? You’ve already died over fifty times, right?”
“And yet you’re still holding onto your mind.”
“Amazing. You really are a contractor.”
“Wow, to endure death as a human is incredible.”
“Hey contractor, how do you like my gift? Was it good?”
“Mine was the best, wasn’t it?”
“No, mine was the most useful, right? Wasn’t it?”
A relentless barrage of questions and requests for handshakes rained down on me.
An incredible level of popularity that would put any idol to shame. In an instant, I felt like I might faint.
Pushing away their three intrusive heads, I shouted.
“Hey, friends, wait a second! One at a time, please! I’ll answer!”
And so, instead of accomplishing my original purpose, I found myself drawn into some random chatter among the Reaper girls.
What they were most excited about, most curious about, was none other than this.
“My gift was the best, right?”
“Mine was the most legendary, right??”
“Mine! Mine was the best, right???”
… These could easily be misinterpreted statements, but I hope you won’t misunderstand.
What they were referring to with ‘gifts’ were none other than the exclusive rewards I initially received from Minerva.
Specifically, the Box of the Dead, Izanami’s Heart, and the Ether Flask. These three.
“The Box of the Dead is mine.”
“The Ether Flask is mine.”
“I made Izanami’s Heart.”
Upon listening, it appears the Box of the Dead was made by Undrethred, the Ether Flask by Thanatnix, and Izanami’s Heart by Ceresis.
It seems that the three of them worked hard ‘so that I wouldn’t lose heart,’ which felt incredibly familiar and sent a chill down my spine.
“Hmm… now that you mention it, I think there was an explanation like that somewhere.”
I vaguely remember seeing something like ‘contract item from which Reaper’ in the item descriptions. It was from so long ago that I had forgotten, but those Reapers are the ones before me now.
I looked at the three Reapers with a new perspective. As I did, the strange girls in front of me seemed all the more appreciable.
“Thank you. I wouldn’t have come this far without your help. If it weren’t for you, I would still be dying at Leira’s hands in Halsenberg.”
“Wow, you complimented us!”
“You’re thanking us!”
“Would you please give us more compliments?”
I bowed my head earnestly, and immediately the expressions of the three Reapers brightened. They smiled with satisfaction and pride.
What is this? Despite being Reapers, they laugh very well… their laughter suits them, creating a peculiar feeling.
“Who’s gift was the best?”
“Of course, it was mine, right?”
“No, it was definitely mine.”
Now, I thought, it’s about time I bring up my original purpose.
However, they drew their faces close again, asking me that question.
If I don’t answer this, it seems the conversation won’t progress. I could feel an obsessive something in the gaze of their six eyes. It must be an important matter to them.
“Well, gee, all of them were great. Is there even a debate over which one was better?”
The Box of the Dead played a crucial role in the Elderich offensive; it was a necessary item that made me aware of the fact that I had died once. Without the Ether Flask, I wouldn’t have even considered attacking the sewer. And Izanami’s Heart is an essential item for restoring memories from my past life, significantly reducing meaningless attempts.
“Tch.”
“Hmm.”
“What’s this?”
I said that with the above meaning in mind, but evidently, it wasn’t the answer the Reapers were hoping for. The bright expressions on their faces cooled off instantly, indicating this.
Oddly, it felt like the scythe floating above the Reaper sisters had moved slightly closer.
“Wavering.”
“Two-timer.”
“Human trash.”
Hey, isn’t “human trash” a bit harsh?
Given their friendly smiles moments ago, hearing the phrase “human trash” was quite shocking.
The Reaper sisters stared at me intently and then crossed their arms in the same pose before speaking.
“So, why did you suddenly show up today, O Wavering?”
“Wasn’t it just to play with us, O Two-timer?”
“We’ll help with anything you ask, O Human Trash.”
Their attitude was polite, yet the nicknames remained the same.
What is this? Are they done being mad or not? Confused, I let out a small, hollow laugh.
Time wasted is enough already. I looked straight at the three Reaper’s faces and spoke.
“I’ve come here because I want to upgrade my equipment and also change my class.”
“Oh.”
“Oh.”
“Oh.”
The three Reapers twitched upon hearing the word “class change” from my mouth.
Ding-ding-dang-dang. Their six eyes began to quickly meet each other in rapid succession. With faces that clearly showed their flustered state, they began whispering to each other.
“Whaaat? The contractor hasn’t changed classes yet? Shouldn’t they have done that ages ago?”
“We haven’t dealt with a contractor in a long time… didn’t the youngest one say they’d handle it?”
“No way, you’re trying to unload that on me? Do you have any sense of responsibility?”
“Thinking about it, it’s strange that the contractor has died so many times in the meantime…”
“Minerva will be so angry if she finds out.”
“Could she already know about this?”
“… Maybe we should just use the gift we prepared to gloss over this?”
“That sounds good.”
“Let’s keep it an absolute secret from the contractor?”
Hey, you know we can hear that, right?
Since each of the three was looking in different directions, no matter how quietly they whispered, they couldn’t help but be heard in this entirely open space.
Look at this. It’s not my fault that I didn’t change classes. That the lesser deities handle business more chaotically than military administrative procedures led to this situation.
“Hey, don’t worry. Just stop whispering and give me the class change. I’m sort of in a hurry right now.”
At my words, the Reapers stiffened slightly. They awkwardly scratched their heads and began looking at me with glittering eyes again.
“Wow, a cool guy.”
“Still, the contractor has a lot of poise.”
“Awesome, I’m kind of falling for you.”
Flattery flowed in one after another. The derogatory terms like “wavering” and “human trash” had completely disappeared. These women are utterly unpredictable.
I glanced over such them and shrugged.
“First, what should I do? I’ve heard that class changes and equipment upgrades require trials…”
“H-.”
“O-.”
“N-.”
The Reaper sisters spoke one word at a time like they were playing some kind of dragon game, then they slid a dark box toward me.
When I looked at it with a puzzled face, the sisters proudly announced:
“You don’t need your items enhanced!”
“There’s a gift we prepared especially for the contractor.”
“A special one.”
A special gift?
Bewildered, I took the box. The material is the same as the Box of the Dead… I immediately noticed this just by the texture of the touch.
I reached towards the lock area on the box and then looked up at the Reaper sisters.
“Open it. Hurry.”
“It’s something the contractor needs now.”
“Something very necessary.”
If it’s that necessary for me right now, it’s probably some ridiculously powerful armor inside, isn’t it?
With expectation, I opened the box. And once I saw what was inside, I widened my eyes slightly.
“This is….”
