“Huhung~ huhuhung~”
The large eyes filled with starlight were especially shining today. The angels looked in a puzzled manner at Venice, who was humming excitedly. It was because her laughter seemed to come from her heart.
Venice, the god of money—there were very few humans who worshipped. It was because the poor resented the rich, the rich used their wealth, and the clergymen were wary of wealth. Money was something that was hard to be respected. Venice had always existed in solitude.
The reason she always smiled brightly was an effort to keep herself from looking too shabby. However, today she looked truly happy. She seemed several times happier than when she occasionally found rare merchants. They had no choice but to notice.
“Here!”
“……?”
“Hand!”
Slap!
“……”
Venice forced high fives every time she encountered an angel. The reason she couldn’t hide her joy lay in the secret technique in her hand. It was the dual wielding secret technique personally written by Martial God Zeratul. It was the thing that Grid wanted. It was an opportunity for Venice to gain reputation.
‘My status will rise significantly.’
There were many ways to build up divinity. The most representative way was to be worshipped by humans or to build up reputation. It was just that both methods were difficult for Venice. This was why she created a community for all the gods in the world, not just Asgard, and ran the sun carriage.
She didn’t discriminate between gods. She treated them as equal customers regardless of their origin or affiliation. She slowly and steadily developed her reputation by doing transactions and collecting reputation from fees. She also gained additional reputation by leaving the legend that she traded with a famous god.
Of course, the experience of gaining fame using the latter method was few enough to be counted with her hands. Most of the gods who wanted something even if it meant losing their reputation were human gods. What type of story would it be to trade with them? It would be great to trade with the noble gods that everyone in the world knew, but such gods usually didn’t have anything they desired. Thus, they didn’t use the sun carriage.
Martial God Zeratul was unusual in that sense. He was Venice’s biggest customer. Thanks to his delivery of secret techniques, the sun carriage was able to have an assortment of goods.
‘It is literally easy to have an assortment of goods.’
Unfortunately, it was rare for Zeratul’s secret techniques to actually be sold. The reason why Zeratul supplied the secret techniques to the sun carriage was purely to satisfy his desire to show off. The unit price was too high because he provided secret techniques as excellent as possible. In the first place, there was a premium, so the average god couldn’t buy Zeratul’s secret technique even if they wanted to. Yet today—
Zeratul’s secret technique was finally sold. It was even a made-to-order secret technique. It was an opportunity to make a profit in one go that was equivalent to 100 years of business.
The trading target was the Overgeared God. Despite being a newcomer, he was particularly recognized among humans as the protagonist of miraculous achievements and he currently had the highest stock price. Venice’s divinity would rise significantly the moment she left the story that she brokered a deal with the Overgeared God and Zeratul.
‘This is what is called making a big fortune from a single transaction!’
Venice suffered from poverty unlike her gorgeous appearance. For her, the words ‘making a big fortune from a single transaction’ were very strange and exciting. It was like this even though she was the god of money…
“Dear customer! Have you been waiting for a long time? I finally came with the product you wanted!”
Currently, the surface was in a state of war due to the invasion of demons. There were even demons secretly imbued with divine power. Despite this, the home of the Overgeared God was as peaceful as usual.
The capital of the Overgeared Kingdom, Reinhardt—unlike other places on the surface, it was hard to even find signs of war. At this point, the demons seemed to intentionally be avoiding this place. This meant there was something that the demons, famous for their ability to discern between things, was vigilant of. Venice easily identified the cause.
It was the person in front of her—Grid. This person was suppressing the demons’ invasion.
‘His presence has become bigger.’
Venice had recently met Grid. She provided various information and made a favorable transaction. It was close to treason for Asgard, but Venice felt no remorse. The only thing that mattered to her was her dealings with gods, not Asgard. In any case, that was just 10 days ago. It was a short time for humans, so it was a split second for Venice. Yet during that split second, Grid had changed. The symbolic color around his body became even clearer.
‘What is the reason?’
The gods who had enjoyed eternal life since birth couldn’t understand it. How intense were the lives of humans who lived in the moment? They only looked down from a very high place, so there was no way for them to know. On the other hand, Grid knew better than ordinary people. He was a man who had climbed up from the very bottom, where there was no longer a place to fall any lower. His days were the longest and darkest.
“Product? Oh, the martial god’s secret technique.” Grid was outside the smithy. The fortress-like furnace was behind him and it spread out a thick heat around it. The smell of sweat was carried by the wind. In other words, he didn’t come out to meet Venice. Grid had been out here and moving long before she arrived. He also responded to the word ‘product’ like it was insignificant.
By this point, Venice was also uneasy. However, she tried to deny the thoughts that came to mind and kept her smile. “…Yes, it is the product you have been waiting for! Isn’t it a special grade item? You will definitely like it. It is a secret technique that the martial god made with special care!”
Venice hadn’t explained the details of the matter to Zeratul. It was because Zeratul hated Grid. She didn’t mention the identity of the client who wanted his secret technique. Zeratul hadn’t been suspicious. Wasn’t he the martial god? It was natural for the whole world to covet his secret technique, so there was no reason to wonder who his client was. Therefore, the transaction was established.
That’s right. Venice believed the deal was a success the moment she received Zeratul’s agreement. She didn’t think she would need Grid’s agreement.
“Hmm…” Grid’s response as he took the martial god’s secret technique was calm. There were no signs of joy at all.
Venice’s heart sank. It was because Grid’s eyes gradually cooled down as he skimmed through the contents of the secret technique. It was the moment when her anxiety was moving toward reality.
“It is below my expectations. It is like fake goods.”
“Huh?”
“Take it back. I won’t buy it.”
“W-What are you saying…? This is Zeratul’s dual wielding secret technique! It is the product you wanted! I brought the right product!”
“Shouldn’t you be accurate? I just wanted a dual wielding secret technique. I didn’t say it had to be Zeratul’s one. When did I want Zeratul’s secret technique?”
“No…! What type of joke is this?! Why…?! Why are you being mean to me all of a sudden?!”
“What do you mean by a joke? I just don’t like the product. What if it doesn’t meet my expectations?”
“Uh…! Ugh…!”
Was it because her eyes were big? Venice’s expression showed her emotions very well. Her twitching eyes and facial muscles combined to show her embarrassment, anger, confusion, and sadness.
‘Why does the expression ‘poor’ fit her so well?’
She was definitely a goddess with a transcendent beauty. Strangely, she looked better when she seemed to be about to cry.
‘This is crazy.’
Grid, who was temporarily in a daze, hurriedly came to his senses. He was wary that some power in Venice might’ve been triggered.
“Please… please don’t be mischievous and buy it. Please don’t bully me!”
“……”
The stars in Venice’s large eyes shook. It seemed like tears would pour out right away. Grid was almost reminded of the young sole breadwinner of the family. It was strangely a good match that he wondered if this was her true self.
‘No, it can’t be.’
The god of money was non-mainstream when it came to human faith. However, she was a god of Asgard, so the analogy of a young sole breadwinner of the family wasn’t appropriate. Sure enough, it was a type of power. It might be the ultimate in bewitchment skills.
Grid judged and spoke firmly, “I don’t want to buy something worthless. I’m not a pushover.”
Venice seemed unwilling to give up easily, so he even personally demonstrated the dual wielding based on the skill book he received from the Mountain King.
“……” Venice was speechless. She might be struggling with poverty, but she was a god. She had discerning eyes even if she wasn’t particularly familiar with martial arts. “I… I am convinced.”
Venice watched Grid’s swordsmanship for a long time before nodding in hindsight. She was trying to hold back the tears that wanted to pour out. “Your skill is better than the dual wielding described by Zeratul’s secret technique…? Hehe, hehehe…”
“……??”
Was it acting to laugh like a crazy person?
Venice bowed to the puzzled Grid and flew into the sky. In the end, the tears she couldn’t hold back shone under the moonlight like a small Milky Way.
[Tzudan feels sorry for the goddess.]
[Haksen respects Grid’s choice. He explains that technique is the only way to survive.]
[Filewolf says he knows the reason why Highest Point Magic has lost its reputation.]
[Haksen is angry.]
‘I am really thankful to the Mountain King.’
Grid once again realized the value of the skill books given by the Mountain King and smiled. Three legendary skills and one myth rated skill. Among them, the myth rated skill was dual wielding. In fact, Grid wasn’t pleased that he had to give his reputation to get Zeratul’s secret technique. Then he received this like it was fate. Perhaps it was arranged by the Mountain King who saw Grid’s weakness.
In any case, all three of the remaining legendary skill books were helpful to Grid. However, one of them was a bit disappointing. It was a passive skill that occurred when health was less than 30%. It wasn’t an exaggeration to describe it as the return of Blackening due to its excellent power.
The problem was that his health couldn’t be over 30%. Storm of the Fire God, lifestealing, and the effects attached to his items—Grid had many means of health recovery. It seemed difficult to meet the condition because his health kept being restored like he was taking potions.
‘I will think about it slowly.’
First, he had to make sure he was fully adapted to dual wielding. Grid held Gujel’s Dao and the Fire Dragon Sword and started practicing again.
***
“Hrmm… It is almost done.”
Zeratul restored his damaged status with the help of the angels and checked his physical condition. It was very good. His body was light and his mind was clear. It was a great help to reflect on his martial arts by writing a secret technique while recuperating.
‘There is a god that devoted everything in order to gain my secret technique. Indeed… all beings in the world look up to me.’
Tok.
A book fell in front of Zeratul’s eyes as he was smiling with satisfaction. It was the secret technique he had written while recuperating and it contained the essence of dual wielding.
“…What?” Zeratul turned his gaze toward the entrance of the temple. Venice was standing there.
“I’ll return this,” she spoke sharply.
“……?” It was hard to understand from Zeratul’s perspective. The incidents weren’t connected.
Venice drove the wedge in. “My client says he doesn’t need this.”
“…Why?”
”Think for yourself about the reason why.”
It was a rare cold attitude. Zeratul stared blankly at Venice as she turned and left. It was while feeling an unbearable sense of humiliation.
