“Hey, sis. Are we really cursed?”
The small young girl, with white hair and red eyes, asked in a timid voice, an unusual appearance that couldn’t hide her adorableness.
In response, a girl who looked like she had raised her spoke with a stern expression.
“Who said that?”
“The priests, of course…”
“Hmm. Those people who got their wallets stolen from me?”
As she spoke, Sif poured out wallets from her arms. Although there were no gold coins, the wallets were filled with sparkling silver coins.
That was too much money to be rolling around in such a crumbling home.
“What kind of god can’t even stop a follower from getting stolen? The Goddess of Purification’s words are all nonsense, so don’t worry about it.”
“Okay!”
Sif nodded with satisfaction at the sight of her younger sister, Lif, who couldn’t take her eyes off the pile of silver coins.
…I watched the entire scene in mid-air and queried,
“Wait, while food might be scarce in Babylon, what use is money that can’t be spent outside? Why did you steal it?”
As soon as I asked, the surrounding scenery turned gray and froze.
In the paralyzed world, I could still hear the voice I had just been listening to.
“Because it sparkles?”
Then, out of nowhere, a mysterious woman appeared.
Sif, who had just been a girl, was now a non-human God of Thieves, grinning.
“Do you know why gold and jewels that you can’t even eat are expensive?”
“Because they’re rare?”
“It’s because they are rare and shiny. If you didn’t know before, remember it now.”
Her informal tone lacked any of the transcendental air typically felt when meeting a higher being, whether I’d previously encountered her or through messages left behind.
Yet, was it because this was her domain? Or perhaps some godly authority?
Sif, reading my thoughts, rested her chin on her hand and laughed merrily.
“Hahaha! Don’t make such a face. I’ll explain everything. I called you here for exactly that.”
“I’m not sure what face I was making.”
“A face where you just found out that your companion got kidnapped, and instead of reassuring them, the culprit is just sharing their sob story endlessly?”
“……”
“That’s the face.”
The God of Thieves summoned a mirror from the air, and inside, I saw my own terrifying expression, struggling to hold onto my patience and not properly smiling.
…However, did she think my complaints were justified?
Not long after, the scenery in the mirror changed, reflecting Ellie, Lydia, and Benny.
Far from being tied up, they were well-dressed, lying on a good bed, and sleeping peacefully.
At that moment, the tight tension that had been building up snapped!
“Fuh…”
Well, at least I was relieved to know they were safe.
All that remained was to get them back…
“I’ll return them if you watch until the end. The game ended the moment you came to find me. Right now, how should I put it? It’s a sort of award ceremony? So don’t be in such a rush. Everything is necessary.”
“…I understand.”
In any case, there was nothing I could do. Even if I tried to put my hand through the mirror, it would just bounce off the surface.
Reluctantly nodding my head, the frozen world regained its vitality, and before I knew it, the God of Thieves had vanished.
Sif and Lif, revitalized along with color, began to accelerate their schedules, summing up months of events into just a few seconds.
Sif continued to steal all sorts of things: starting with money, food, simple weapons, and more.
The only difference was that her skills were improving, and the items she was stealing were becoming bolder.
In a way, it looked like she was smoothly blossoming her talents… but I knew. That wasn’t an easy story at all.
Babylon.
The first entertainment district on the Pan Continent, and the first harem.
Even before the God-slaying War began. Long before the men and women’s perceptions were turned upside down… during a time when the sexual concepts familiar to me from Earth were rooted.
One day, a human thought: We need more dopamine in our lives. The reign of gods is noble and peaceful, but it’s also boring.
He wanted to create a space filled with all kinds of stimuli, including alcohol, gambling, sex, and everything else.
Needless to say, this was quite an unusual concept in an era when gods existed and governed mortals according to their doctrines.
Setting aside right and wrong, there were strong rules backed by transcendents who could enforce them.
However, he was quite talented, and with help from fortune, he managed to create the first entertainment district of humanity without the help of gods.
A city that no god could dare to stake a claim in; an achievement built by a human king trying to match a deity.
Thus, it was named Babylon.
Most gods found Babylon’s existence fascinating and admired it, but some were intensely displeased.
Prominently among them were the God of Justice and the Goddess of Purification.
These siblings saw through the hidden nature of lawlessness behind the glamour and deemed it necessary to dismantle it.
However, given that there were many gods to consider, openly demanding their involvement would be a sight to see, so direct action could not be taken.
…Thus, the God of Justice defined all pleasures occurring in Babylon as evil, while the Goddess of Purification decreed that anyone wanting to die in their prime and go to heaven after death must not set foot in Babylon.
That was not entirely a lie. It was just very much an exaggeration and stated very firmly.
And that alone was sufficient. The gods of old were no different from the rules of the mortal world.
Slowly, the foot traffic to Babylon dwindled, and eventually, that once resplendent city, renowned as the first entertainment city, began to decline.
Ultimately, it became a wasteland filled with beggars, delinquents, and gaunt prostitutes.
The ban on entering Babylon made it devolve into something akin to a prison where sinners were pushed in.
Though it was a transport hub, the dwindling resources of Babylon, unsuitable for farming, continued to be reduced, while people kept filtering in from outside. Even the worst of criminals.
It didn’t take long for Babylon, which had turned into a prison, to become a living hell.
To survive, people killed one another and would open their legs for a piece of bread, and when hungry, would even resort to eating their own children…
Sif and Lif were born in such an era and in such a city.
Sif’s theft was a struggle to maintain the dignity of herself and her younger sister in a life resembling a cesspool.
As some might have guessed, Sif and Lif’s story ends in tragedy.
For a person to become a god, such trials were needed, and Sif’s greatest trial was the absence of her only younger sister.
A shadow loomed over what appeared to be an exhilarating and happy story that seemed like it would go on forever.
The Goddess of Purification was secretly plotting to use Babylon without her brother, the God of Justice knowing.
For some delicate divine reasons, she sought to obtain the faith that she lacked from humans blinded by fear of curses and sins.
Thus, the cult of purification periodically demonized Babylon and those living within it, and when necessary, they did not shy away from quite cruel acts.
As both a scapegoat and an excellent source of faith, the people of Babylon were periodically sent food by zealous followers to avoid starving to death.
The God of Justice, who understood none of the proper circumstances, merely thought his sister was doing the right thing and was pleased…
But one cannot hide problems indefinitely.
The inner thoughts of the Goddess of Purification, as well as those of Sif, the shadowless master thief, could not remain hidden.
The cult of purification, irritated by Sif’s presence, even deployed champions to ‘purify’ the suspicious areas of Babylon… and in the process, Lif was brutally murdered.
Enraged, Sif stole a life for the first time, rather than merely goods, and the follow-up events are predictably straightforward.
This is a tale of how an excellent assassin brings down a cult.
Eventually, the furious Goddess of Purification descended herself to punish Sif; however, the feats accomplished were so incredible that it was hard for the God of Justice to believe they were committed by a mere human.
Knowing all the truths, while the God of Justice fought with his sister, the Goddess of Purification, Sif saw an opportunity and stole the heart of the Goddess of Purification. And without a moment’s hesitation, swallowed it whole.
The Goddess of Purification regretted her greed and perished, while the God of Justice grew furious at the sudden death of his sister, whom he only intended to scold a little, and Sif, even after becoming the God of Thieves by stealing from a goddess, could not bring back his deceased sister.
An ending where everyone is unhappy. That was the past that Sif showed me.
Even though I already knew the contents and examined them once more, I still couldn’t grasp the intentions of the God of Thieves, and for a moment I frowned.
“Did you see everything?”
As if pausing the world, Sif reappeared after showing me running away from the God of Justice.
“Yes. So can you return my companions now?”
“Sure. But we have to check if you really saw everything, right? I’ll return one person for every question you answer.”
“……”
As I gripped my dagger, prepared to fight if necessary, the God of Thieves gave a wry smile.
“Excellent. If something is truly precious, it’s important not to lose it in the first place.”
With a light snap of her fingers, my sleeping companions began to pop out one by one from beyond the mirror.
“Ellie! Lydia… Benny too!”
Urgently gathering them close and laying them beside me, I quietly watched as the God of Thieves looked on.
Finally confirming that all three were safe, I let out a sigh of relief, and the God of Thieves asked,
“Now, can I say the rest?”
“…Yes. Please do.”
Perhaps it was because I had finally retrieved the three, I nodded wearily with a more relaxed tone, and the God of Thieves continued.
“Jonah, you knew my mythology and understood my feelings. Coincidentally, you are even walking a similar path… So, you could become my successor.”
“Huh?”
“My heart has stopped, but it hasn’t rotted.”
Saying this, the God of Thieves, Sif, pointed to her chest with her fingertips, wearing the form of a puppet.
Just as it had been for her, now I would consume the heart. It was as if she hoped I would devour the divinity within.
However, perhaps having relaxed a bit too much, the words that came out of my mouth were entirely different.
“Flat.”
“……Would you kindly call it optimized for stealth?”
Oh no.
