Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 461

[ You enter the Gate. ]

Right after entering the Gate, Su-ho tensed up.

The Gate’s rank itself was 2-star, but its entry conditions were the highest among any 2-star Gates he had entered so far.

On top of that, the opponent was Hera.

For reasons unknown, she hated Su-ho that much, so the odds were high that the moment he entered the Gate, spears and blades would rain down on him.

However, contrary to his expectations, what Su-ho saw as soon as he entered the Gate were lush green plants, the friendly chirping of birds, and, at the center of it all, a neatly shaped temple.

‘A temple?’

Given the context, the temple in front of his eyes was highly likely to be Hera’s original temple that he had seen half-destroyed outside.

“Hm.”

A brief moment of thought. And then—

[ Blood Armory is activated. ]

[ Blessing is activated. ]

[ Holy Enchant is activated. ]

[ Mana Detection is activated. ]

[ Endurance is activated. ]

[ Enhancement is activated. ]

[ Blacksmith’s Eye is activated. ]

[ Sword Aura is activated. ]

Su-ho immediately armed himself with his own buffs.

‘Who knows what might happen the moment I go in.’

Firmly gripping his Blood Sword as well, Su-ho finally entered the temple.

The inside of the temple was cleaner than he had expected.

It even felt holy.

When he went deeper inside the temple, he saw the back of some woman.

She was wearing a robe pulled over her head and sitting in front of a bonfire, and Su-ho cautiously called out to her.

“Excuse me?”

“...I have been waiting.”

At Su-ho’s call, the woman quietly stood up from her seat and turned her body.

He could not see her face.

The deeply pulled-down hood covered almost everything except her mouth.

The woman spoke.

“It is an honor to meet you. I am the priest serving the goddess and at the same time the oracle who conveys the goddess’s words.”

“I see. Then does that mean I can meet the goddess now?”

“Would you wait for just a moment?”

After finishing her words, the oracle briefly composed herself and then brought together her slender hands.

Then, a light that looked holy began to gather around the oracle.

Flaaash!

With a light like a camera flash, the robe covering the oracle’s face was blown off in one go.

As the deep robe fell away, the oracle’s long hair spilled out and fluttered like water plants.

The oracle’s eyes were not human eyes but were filled with pure white flashes like those of a transcendent being.

Soon, her body began to float lightly, and it was right after her toes rose a few handspans off the ground.

[ ■■ manifests. ]

Su-ho’s eyes widened at the system notification.

Manifest, huh?

Could it be Hera, directly?

Of course, there was nothing that explicitly said ■■ was Hera.

But this was Hera’s temple, and this Gate had been reached through Hera’s temple, so no matter who looked at it, ■■ could only be Hera.

Finding the unexpected development interesting, Su-ho waited for her to speak first.

And at last, Hera, having manifested by using the oracle’s body as a vessel, began to speak out loud herself.

- Lunatic.

‘Well, well?’

At the sudden curse flung out of nowhere, Su-ho felt dumbfounded.

However, apart from that, the voice that echoed as if speaking from within a cave exuded a strange sense of holiness.

Swallowing down his bewilderment, Su-ho spoke.

“Why am I a lunatic?”

- Because you came looking for me in person, that’s why you’re a lunatic. Where do you think this place is that you dare to come here?

“I thought you were going to say something grand... Anyway, can you really pretend not to know like this? When you know perfectly well why I came.”

- Do I have to know?

“It would be better if you did, you know? Otherwise, you’ll just have to sit and watch as I become Hercules without any trouble.”

- What?

At Su-ho’s provocation, Hera, enraged without realizing it, floated the oracle’s body a little higher.

But Su-ho continued talking, unconcerned.

“I’m speaking frankly here. You’ve been watching all along, so you know well. That I am currently the most outstanding Player on Earth. And that no matter what tricks you pull, they won’t work on me.”

- .......

Hera’s brow narrowed.

His tone was a bit rough and provocative, but nothing he had said was wrong.

And while Hera certainly had a fair share of jealousy and envy, she was not stupid.

No, if anything, she was wise.

Hera swallowed her anger and spoke.

- So, what is it you want from me?

“I have something I would like to propose.”

- A proposal?

“Yes. From what I know, I have about nine tasks left to complete. They are things I could resolve one by one as the time comes, but I have more to do than I thought. So I’d like to make you a proposal. Please, by means of this Gate I’ve entered now, let me carry out the remaining tasks all at once.”

At Su-ho’s brazen demand, the oracle’s brow furrowed endlessly.

- Unbelievable. I’m sure of it. You really are a crazy human. Just like that guy.

“That guy” was probably referring to Hercules.

In the current situation, the only one Hera had grounds to keep cursing was that person... no, that god.

Su-ho spoke, unfazed.

“It won’t be a bad deal for you either. No, it will actually be beneficial. This time, I’m the one who proposed it first, and because of that, the tasks can be carried out all at once, so you’ll be able to adjust the system and difficulty legally.”

Su-ho calmly explained what he wanted, and Hera listened to it without getting agitated.

And when Su-ho finished speaking, Hera’s eyes narrowed into thin slits.

It was because what he said made sense.

It was just that the one saying it was Su-ho, so even if he was right, she hated it.

After a brief moment of thought, Hera answered.

- You’re full of confidence.

“If you take away my confidence, there’s nothing left. You’ve seen it yourself, haven’t you?”

- That’s exactly why I like you even less.

“Yes, I’m sure. But you know, I’ve been wondering about this for a while. Why do you hate me that much? When you get down to it, I’m not even the real Hercules, I’m just some candidate inheriting his power.”

He had been curious anyway.

The fact that Hera hated Hercules was a famously well-known story.

But that was Hera’s personal feeling toward Hercules, and there was no way to know why that hostility had spilled over onto other Players.

This was all just a game created by the system, after all.

At those words, Hera answered irritably.

- And why should I tell you about my deep-rooted hatred toward that guy? Don’t get cocky and know your place.

“Honestly... fine. So, what do you think of my proposal?”

- I’ll accept it. As it is, your progress had been seriously getting on my nerves.

“Then please get permission from the system for me. I don’t have the authority to do that.”

- I was going to do that anyway. However, there is a condition.

“What is it?”

- The rewards you would have received each time you cleared a task, I will give them all at once after you have completed every task.

“Huh? Why?”

- You came to me for your convenience, so you should at least accept this much, shouldn’t you?

‘Wow, for someone called a god, she’s really petty.’

No, strictly speaking she wasn’t a god but a Transcendent, was she?

Still, what she said had a point, so he answered that he would agree.

“Understood.”

- I’ll make you regret having the gall to spit out such a proposal to me. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

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