Volume 6 Chapter 3 Was Ivan Called!？
"These sweets and tea are delicious."
"You really do seem like a grandpa."
The hero's mansion is really big.
From the start, they knew there would be a hundred people in the Luster Report, so they picked this place because it could fit that many.
If something is missing, they can just fix it. They have the skills to do anything they need.
The underground part is especially crazy. Or maybe it's just scary.
No matter what they do underground, it never messes with the surface.
So, it has been changed a lot.
Still, they didn't change everything. The garden also got a few updates.
They built a small wooden shop there. That's where they make Japanese sweets.
People started sitting on a wooden bench next to the shop to eat the sweets.
Some maids are good at making the sweets, but they don't want to sell a lot of them.
So, they just make some for fun or for the people here.
...But even if they say they don't want to make many, everything is built with Luster Report standards.
So, they make them really fast.
Because of that, this place is kind of like the "sweets area" on the mansion grounds.
Sumeragi likes it a lot and comes here often to eat something.
He is tall, handsome, and looks calm. He wears a kimono, has a sword on his belt, and his long black hair is tied back with a string.
It looks cool to see a guy like that smiling while eating sweets.
"What are you saying, Nou-Nou? Good food is always good, no matter how old or what gender you are."
"No, I'm not talking about your feelings. I'm talking about how you act. I don't know what you usually do, but you act like an old man from the countryside."
"Well, that's because I'm two thousand years old."
"...Oh. Okay."
The Five Divine Gods came into this world two thousand years ago.
Sumeragi is one of them, so he really is that old.
But still, he only looks like he's in his late twenties.
"Whoa... ah, my back..."
"Why does your back hurt just from standing up off a bench?"
Sumeragi's back made a small cracking noise when he stood up.
He has good posture, but still...
"Well, I've been sitting in the same spot for a long time lately."
"Lazy bones."
"I'm a god, remember? I can't move around too much. Also, my magic power is super stable, so I don't have normal body needs."
"But if your magic is so stable, your back shouldn't go 'crack' when you stand, right?"
"That's normal for the Five Divine Gods. Arzent, for example, just stretches a little and his arm makes a 'snap' like he hit a metal bar."
"What's wrong with your body?"
In this world, magic power is something that wants to stay stable.
Humans can make "images" into "things that help keep stability" using their special nerves.
So, being sure about things is really important for strong people.
Also... no human can say a word stronger than "god."
When you understand that, using a god's name gives super-strong stability.
The dungeon called "Thy Name" gives the person who clears it a permanent god name.
Of course, once people know that dungeon exists, they also know that calling yourself a god doesn't mean anything unless it's from that dungeon.
Horace made something called "Deus Ex Machina," and it also has a god's name.
But Horace just gave it that name—it doesn't mean it's fully stable.
That's how it works.
One of the Five Divine Gods, from the dungeon "Thy Name," is Sumeragi—the god of Iron-Cutting.
Even though he knows how magic power works, his body still goes "crack!"
Also, Arzent, the God of Provisions, crouches down with no shame like a pitiful old man... well, maybe that's okay.
"Horace, are you here?"
"Huh?"
The person at the front gate was Ivan, the Guild Master of "Worldsworn."
"Was Horace just here?"
"Probably not."
"Then can you give him a message for me?"
Sumeragi put his empty warabi mochi box and tea cup in the return bin and walked toward the gate.
"Sure, I guess. Looks like you came to see Horace?"
"...Who are you?"
"I'm Sumeragi. I'm one of the Five Divine Gods—the God of Iron-Cutting."
"Buhfff!"
Nousa burst out laughing.
She was probably thinking, "You really just say that like it's normal?!"
"Oh. You're..."
"Eh, you believe me!?"
"Horace told me on the phone. He said, 'Some old god guy came over.'"
"...Do I really seem that old?"
"Do you care?"
"It's not something I feel bad about, so I might as well own it."
"I see..."
Well, once you hit two thousand, you stop caring.
...Though, most people never reach that age anyway.
"So, why are you here today?"
"I came to see Horace. I got this. You can say Horace got it too."
Ivan showed a paper. It was an invite to the "Blood Duel Cup."
"...Wait, is that just a temporary one?"
"No, it's real."
"Why did Mr. Ivan, an adventurer, get it?"
The Blood Duel Cup is supposed to be a battle to find the strongest in the Bloodline Nation.
In Divine Blood Travels, the Bloodline Nation and adventurers are clearly different.
So why did I get an invite?
"Hmm... I think the world conference staff are the real hosts of the Blood Duel Cup. Valzeil might not even know, Ms. Nousa."
"...It doesn't feel like there's much space between you and someone like a king."
"He knows my father."
"Eh... ah, I see..."
Valzeil's dad, the last king, knows Sumeragi.
He doesn't really get it. But with stuff like this, you'd need to ask from the start to the end to really understand.
There's no point in asking here.
"Anyway, with how the event works, it's not strange for adventurers or the Theocracy Nation to join."
"Is that okay?"
"Yes. When I made it two thousand years ago, it was called 'Maximum Fest,' and there were no such limits."
"..."
"..."
"...Huh?"
"You made the 'Blood Duel Cup?'"
"Didn't I say that?"
"No one talks about that kind of thing."
"I see... Well, I've joined before, but I never won..."
"...?"
"Anyway, even if Ivan joins, it's fine. People just think only those from Bloodline Nation can join. But if you check the rules, that's not written anywhere."
"...I'll check that later myself."
"Still... so you're joining too."
Sumeragi nodded with a big smile.
"The child of Apollyon, the Military Nation... This will be fun."
"...Haa."
Sumeragi kept smiling. But no matter what, he is the "God of Iron-Cutting," one of the "Five Divine Gods."
In other words, he's walking history.
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