CHAPTER 38

Goddess of Wealth

After leaving Ishtar’s room, I return to Café du Cerceus and surprisingly find Seiya and Aria still talking.

What the…?! I thought Seiya would have already started training!

That isn’t the only thing that’s odd, though. Seiya is clearly in a bad mood.

“Is there really nothing that can be done? What if I practice a hundred hours a day?”

“I already told you, Seiya. It’s simply not possible, even for you.”

As Seiya falls silent, I approach them with a beaming smile.

“Hey, Seiya! There are only twenty-four hours in a day, you know!”

Seiya glances at me, then briefly sighs. I’m wondering what’s going on when Aria suddenly speaks up in his place.

“Rista, Seiya wants to train under a deity with the power to prevent curses, but that’s just not possible.”

“A deity with a power to prevent being cursed?”

Jonde then chimes in from the side.

“The Vengeful Empress Celemonic in the southern continent of Kress is known as the Walking Calamity. They say she can put powerful curses on her opponent. I have no idea what kind of curses they are, though.”

Oh. In other words, Seiya wants to prepare for Celemonic.

“But, Aria, why can’t Seiya learn from that deity?”

“There are some things that you just cannot do no matter how hard you try. For example, Seiya will never be able to use your healing magic no matter how much he trains. This isn’t about talent or effort. This is a problem of inherent characteristics, and powers to prevent curses are from the same branch as your healing magic, Rista.”

“Oh, that makes sense! That’s too bad, huh?”

It doesn’t hit me until I say it aloud:

“Wait! So couldn’t I just learn how to do it, then?!”

“Y-yes, that’s actually what I recommended to Seiya, but he doesn’t want to do that.”

Without even looking in my direction, Seiya says in disgust:

“Don’t even try. It won’t end well.”

“You don’t know that!”

“I do. I can hardly remember you ever being useful.”

“I mean…sure—I guess, but…”

Seiya turns on his heel as I stumble over my words.

“Anyway, it looks like I need to come up with a new plan.”

As Seiya speedily walks off, I yell to him:

“Oh…! Seiya! Great Goddess Ishtar said she wanted to talk to you!”

Without saying a word, he lifts a hand in the air in an annoyed manner. While he can be curt, I’m sure he’ll go talk to Ishtar, knowing his personality. A few moments go by, and Aria lets out a bitter laugh.

“Well…this is Seiya. I’m sure he’ll come up with a different way to seal a curse.”

This still doesn’t make any sense to me. All our problems would be solved if I learned that skill!

“Aria! I’m gonna do it! I’m gonna learn that move!”

“What?! But Seiya…”

“It’s for just in case Seiya isn’t able to find something else to prevent being cursed! But if Seiya ends up finding a replacement even after I learn how to seal curses, then I just won’t bother him! What do you think?”

“Well…yes, I suppose you could.”

“Right? So introduce me to the God of Sealing Curses!”

I stare at Aria with an earnest gaze until she eventually nods, and I feel a fire roar to life within me. For the most part, all I have done during Seiya’s training sessions is prepare his meals. I acted more like his caretaker than someone who backs up the Hero, but my time to shine has finally arrived! I can do this! I’ll truly be able to help Seiya once I learn how to seal curses!

While I’m brimming with excitement, Aria turns to me with a serious gaze.

“All right, Rista. Go gather all the money you have lying around your room and come back when you’re done.”

“Okay! I’ll be right back! …Wait. What?!”

“Listen, Rista. Learning how to seal curses from the God of Light would be ideal, but unfortunately, he’s out saving another parallel world right now. Furthermore, our second candidate, the God of Luminosity, Dazma, is out as well. That leaves us with our third candidate, the Goddess of Wealth, Baldr. I can introduce you to her, but to be honest, I don’t really know much about her…”

I walk through the vast Divine Forest alone, following the directions Aria gave me. My destination is in the opposite direction from where Mitis trains and where Zet resides in the Well of No Return. Eventually, the forest opens up, and I find myself standing before a residence with a tiled roof. Most buildings in the unified spirit world look similar to Western medieval architecture in Seiya’s world, but this one is very close to a Japanese temple in style and feels slightly out of place. I walk past the carp-filled pond and open the rattling wooden door.

“Excuse me? Is anyone home?”

The floor in the room before me is covered with tatami mats. There must be dozens of them. In the very back of the dojo-like room stands what appears to be an Eastern-style altar. In the center sits a person who appears to be meditating.

“Um… Excuse me? Are you Madam Baldr, the Goddess of Wealth?”

She faintly opens her eyes at the sound of my voice.

“…Yes, my dear. I am Baldr.”

She gets up and slowly walks over to me. The goddess is a plump woman who appears to be in her middle years. She is robed in a loud, glittering gold kimono with various types of jewelry and rosaries around her neck and wrists, which jingle with every step she takes.

“Now, child, what is on your mind?”

“W-well, uh… Right now, I’m in the middle of saving a parallel world…and I was wondering if you could teach me how to seal curses.”

Her face suddenly brightens with a smile.

“With my secret ritual, you would be able to seal any monster’s curse before they even cast a spell. You would even be able to remove anyone’s curse in a snap, my dear.”

“R-really?! That’s amazing! Please teach me your ways!”

“Of course! Become my pupil and obtain the power of the universe!”

Thank goodness! Getting her help was a lot easier than I thought it’d be!

“So, Madam Baldr, how long will it take to learn this secret curse-sealing ritual?”

“That all depends on you, my dear. Show me how badly you want it.”

“I’ve never been readier for anything in my life!”

This time, I’m going to be there for Seiya! With that thought in mind, I’ve clenched my fists in front of my chest when…Baldr’s face suddenly clouds over.

“Yes… Now express those feelings monetarily. Your entrance fee will be one thousand goddon.”

After seeing her rub her fingers together, gesturing for money, I scream:

“What?! That’s what you meant by showing you how much I want it?!”

Baldr’s expression hardens even more.

“Do you want to save that world?!”

“Y-yes, but…! But an entrance fee?! That’s…!”

Goddon is the currency used in the spirit world. While we borrow Brahma’s powers of creation to make the necessities, we need to offer compensation for fashionable clothing made by the God of Art or luxurious houses created by the God of Architecture. That’s where goddon comes in.

“If you cannot afford the entrance fee, then this conversation ends here.”

Baldr turns her head away from me.

…I peer into my wallet. In addition to the money that Ishtar gives me every month, I get paid as a reward every time I save a parallel world, leaving me with thirty thousand goddon in total. I slide out a thousand-goddon bill from my wallet.

“O-okay, I’ll pay. Here…”

“Oh! What generosity! Thank you, my dear.”

She swipes the bill out of my hand like she’s mugging me. Anyway, let’s just get the training started!

“No, thank you, Madam Baldr! I’m looking forward to training under you!”

But after that, she grabs a big vase and waddles it over to me.

“This vase will increase your divine energy for sealing curses even more! And for just four thousand goddon, it is yours!”

A-a vase?!

As I stare at the vase, at a loss for words, Baldr takes out a small box and shows me countless trinkets.

“I also have curse-sealing rosaries and rings along with countless divine items that can help against curses!”

I-is this deity—?!

“Oh! Do you also happen to know of any other deities worried over curses? If you have one of your friends enroll, you could get an introduction fee as well! Then they could introduce two of their friends and—ahem—then your divine energy will increase tenfold!”

I stare at what appears to be a point card after she forces it into my hand.

Ahhhhhh!! This old lady is a con artist!! This is not the kind of training I expected!

After mustering up the courage, I stuff the point card back into her hands.

“I am not interested in any divine items or getting my friends involved! Besides, isn’t there a rule that you can’t bring divine items with you to the human realm?!”

“After your purchase, all you need to do is equip the item or have it somewhere near you, and the curse-sealing properties will rub off on you! Even if you unequip the divine item and go to one of the lower realms, the effects will last three days!”

R-really…? Because I’m finding it really hard to believe anything you say!

As I turn a dubious stare at the middle-aged goddess, she raises her voice with more enthusiasm.

“Anyway, divine items are essential when sealing curses! You can only start training when you have one of these!”

Normally, I would leave without buying anything. My guilt over causing so much trouble for Seiya when he fought Grandleon is what’s keeping me here.

If this can help me help Seiya, then…!

I end up paying a total of 29,000 goddon and purchasing the divine items she showed me. Most of my money is gone now. After equipping the rings and rosaries I bought, I pick up the vase with one hand and ask Baldr:

“So now we start the training, right? Let’s do this!”

But Baldr doesn’t even glance in my direction as her eyes lock on the goddon with rapt attention.

“The training is over.”

“What?! B-but…!”

“The training ended when you completed your purchase, my dear. You may go. Thank you for your patronage.”

My rage reaches its peak as I watch the plump deity count the goddon while humming.

“The training ended with my purchase, my ass! All you did was force me to buy your shitty rosaries and vase!”

“Eek?!”

The old hag squeals as I hold her by the lapel and give her a piece of my mind.

“Y-you sound like some sort of ruffian! I had no idea you were a thief?!”

“Who d’ya think you’re callin’ a thief, ya fraud! Just give me back my goddamn goddon!”

“Not so fast! I will not simply stand here and let you call me a fraud!”

Baldr rushes over to the altar and comes back with a wooden box that was being used as an offering. Inside the box is a doll wearing a kimono. It reminds me of the Japanese people in traditional garb one might see in Seiya’s world, but its hair is longer than its entire body. It’s a bit creepy.

“This is a cursed doll. Its hair grows little by little every night.”

“Y-yeah, I do feel something ominous about it, but…why would something like that even be in the spirit world?”

“I ordered it to practice sealing curses. After receiving the powers of the divine items, you simply have to chant the spell like this.”

Baldr then holds out a rosary over the doll.

“Begone, curse! Hey, heeey! Hey, hey, heeey!”

I watch with bated breath, but nothing happens. It just looks like some old lady who’s yelling and out of her mind. After a few moments go by, I grab Baldr by the lapel once more.

“All you’re doin’ is screaming, ‘Hey’!”

“P-please calm down! Look!”

A few seconds go by before I hear a light rustling, followed by every last black strand of the doll’s hair falling out.

“Th-the doll’s h-hair’s…?!”

Pointing at the doll’s smooth, bald head, Baldr proudly argues:

“See? The curse has been broken! This is my true power—the power of the secret curse-sealing ritual!”

“But all you did was make the doll go bald!”

I feel like the doll’s deep-seated grudge has only gotten stronger…

“I have another doll, my dear! You give it a try!”

“Huh…?!”

She places a similar-looking doll before me, so I try to do as she did.

“B-begone, curse… H-hey, heeey…”

“You have to chant harder! You need to be more energetic! Pretend you’re at a concert and you’re cheering! Scream like you just jumped off the stage and dived into the crowd, only for security to get mad at you!”

“…?! You’re asking me to act like a self-centered jerk?!”

Feeling pressured, I desperately shake the rosary while yelling as loudly as I can.

“H-hey, heeey! Hey, hey, heeeey! Hey, h-h-heeey!”

Rustle! Rustle!

The doll’s hair begins falling out until she’s completely bald.

“Yes!! It’s bald! I made it bald!”

“Yes, you did! Congratulations!”

“H-hold on! Was all I learned how to make a doll go bald?!”

“This is the divine power of holy magic! You have mastered all I have to teach and completed your training!”

“That’s it?! Is this really all I need to do?!”

Not only did it not take long, but I feel like the quality of the training is way lower than what Seiya usually does. And what exactly did I even master anyway? Sensing that this isn’t going to lead to anything good, I look back to find Baldr already kneeling before the altar while saying something to herself with a serious expression.

“Oh, goddon. I need more. I must have more goddon by any means…”

I feel like something is wrong as I watch her. Baldr is a deity who lives in the spirit world, so why is she so overly obsessed with goddon?

That’s when I notice Baldr gazing at a picture on the altar of a young man who could be her son.

D-don’t tell me that’s actually her son…?

So I ask her:

“Hey, Madam Baldr, can I ask you something? Why are you so obsessed with goddon?”

“Well, dear…that’s because…”

Her lips sneeringly curl.

“I want to save enough goddon to make the Baldr residence even bigger! Then I am going to live here with this handsome god—with Apollon!”

“What the…?! That’s the reason you’re so obsessed with money?! You greedy old hag!”