I Can See the Comments on the Doomed Novel - Chapter 169



The Final Tea Party

Olympus was busy preparing for the event.

Is it something that seems obvious in a way?

After all, it’s a festival involving countless deities and players.

Hestia, drenched in sweat, came over to me and complained.

“Phew, it’s so chaotic. Who on earth suggested this?”

“…Even someone like you, Hestia, has to work.”

“Oh my, of course! There aren’t many named deities in Olympus. Everyone has to contribute fairly.”

Indeed, even a god like Hephaestus is famous for his diligence.

Each deity has their own role, so it’s probably rare to find a god who just idles away.

“Hmm, but still, it seems the alcohol is the problem.”

“Alcohol?”

In Olympus, the drink known as ambrosia is famous.

It’s said that anyone who drinks it can become a god.

With such an extraordinary substance, what could possibly be the issue?

“I don’t know why, but all the alcohol we had saved up has completely run out. Did someone steal it?”

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“Maybe someone got too excited and drank it all secretly?”

“Well, that could be possible.”

For an ordinary human, no matter how much they drink from a barrel, there would be limits.

But this is undeniably a world of mythology.

Giants and large beings can be found everywhere.

“Wait, isn’t this a big deal? As far as I know, if a god’s food or drink is consumed, that person becomes a god too.”

“Oh please~ Do you really think that’s possible for us? At best, it might just slightly increase our magical power. There’s no significant effect.”

“That’s different from what I know.”

“The myths known in the dimension Ji-hoon lives in differ from ours. Well, in a way, that’s only natural, isn’t it?”

If mythology were to be perfectly reenacted, it would indeed be a mess like no other.

After all, this is a world where the chief gods like Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades have vanished.

The common knowledge I have doesn’t apply here at all.

“Anyway, the problem is replenishing the missing alcohol. The festival is just around the corner.”

“Hmm, isn’t it easy to get alcohol? I think we could just buy some.”

“Absolutely not! To present some mediocre alcohol at a gathering of all the gods? Even if everyone else agrees, our Olympian gods would never allow it.”

“Ah, I see.”

Greek mythology is also a mythology that is deeply obsessed with wine.

Among the twelve gods, there is a god of wine.

In fact, even humans who manage wine are elevated to the status of gods simply for taking on that duty.

It seems there is a tremendous pride in wine.

“Ugh. I suppose I’ll have to find it elsewhere. Still, I can’t ignore the quality and price… It won’t be easy to find the perfect vendor. I’m already so busy, I wonder if I’ll even have time to check properly.”

“Is there anything I can help with?”

At my question, Hestia just smiled brightly.

“It’s fine. You have to participate in the competition, right? Go have a strategy meeting with the kids.”

With that, Hestia gave me a gentle push on the back.

Scratching my head, I moved to where she suggested.

As I approached the center, Yuria was sharpening her sword.

She tilted her head when she spotted me.

“Hm? Didn’t you say you were helping Hestia?”

“I got kicked out. She said to take a break since there’s a competition. She told me to go talk with you guys.”

“Ha ha! That makes sense.”

Yuria chuckled at my words.

“It’s a festival held to represent their own mythology, after all. If we, as outsiders, suddenly show up to help, we’d only be a nuisance.”

“I just felt awkward about only eating, so I wanted to do something.”

“Maybe she hopes we’ll focus on preparing for battle? After all, it’s a matter of the throne of Olympus.”

“Hmm.”

Saying that, it does seem likely.

This competition must be more important to the gods than we can imagine.

“But Hestia doesn’t seem like the type to be obsessed with such power.”

“That might be true. Or perhaps she simply intends to maintain her dignity as a well-known goddess.”

Either way, we have no intention of taking it lightly.

The prize from Olympus is none other than Pandora’s box.

I have no idea what’s inside, but it undoubtedly holds significant value.

Whether it will elevate us or lead to some other outcome, I can’t say.

But I had a vague feeling that it was something we absolutely needed to obtain.

“Well, it shouldn’t be a problem for us.”

It’s a bit awkward for me to say this, but our team’s strength is quite formidable.

Starting with myself, I have experience defeating Cain, the contractee of Apollo.

I should be able to win against most opponents without much trouble.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I should let my guard down.

We don’t know how the tournament will unfold.

Should we hold a strategy meeting to prepare for any situation that might arise?

“By the way, where did the others go?”

“They said they were going to grab some snacks.”

“Huh?”

I widened my eyes slightly.

“After eating such delicious food until we’re stuffed, they’re going to eat more?”

The meals served at Hestia’s temple are incredibly tasty.

Perhaps it’s because they’re the kind of food a goddess eats; they’re luxurious, and the ingredients are top-notch.

So everyone must have eaten heartily.

Do they really have room for snacks too?

“Well, I don’t know for sure, but I’ve heard there’s a separate stomach for snacks.”

“What kind of creature is that?”

“Who said anything about snacks?”

I flinched at the sudden voice from behind me.

Yuri quickly lowered her head and resumed sharpening her sword.

What a traitor.

“Oh, you’re back?”

As I turned my head, I found the women looking at me with sulky expressions.

What on earth did they hear?

Eve, with her eyes slightly glazed over, spoke up.

“Ji-hoon, did you think of us as nothing more than pigs stuffing ourselves with snacks?”

“No, I didn’t say anything like that.”

It’s so unfair.

In a world where a moment of carelessness can turn the protagonist into trash.

I picked up the basket that Eunbyeol had brought.

“I brought some snacks as a favor. Whether we’re using our heads or preparing for a fight, we need to eat something, right? Am I wrong?”

“You’re absolutely right.”

Eunbyeol said with a playful tone as she set down a plate filled with honey-infused treats and fruit juice.

After all, in this world of Greek mythology, it’s hard to find manufactured goods.

Instead, these natural dishes tend to be incredibly delicious.

Perhaps it’s because the blessings of the gods touch them directly.

“It’s better to have something to eat while we discuss our strategy, don’t you think? Since we have it, let’s all enjoy it together.”

We gathered around, centered on the snacks.

We picked up the sweet treats one by one and popped them into our mouths.

“Mmm~ So good!”

“I can’t believe I can eat such sweet snacks to my heart’s content. I’m so happy!”

The girls savored the snacks, their faces lighting up with blissful smiles.

Watching them, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Aren’t you all nervous with that competition coming up soon?”

Hana, still chewing on her snack, looked at me as if to say, “What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t it pointless to be nervous ahead of time?”

“Is that so?”

“Of course! Besides, a lot has happened during this time, hasn’t it? At this point, we’re not going to get worked up over a fight.”

Indeed, there had been many battles and wars with this group.

Most of them were life-or-death situations.

So, asking us to feel nervous now would be a bit much.

“And no matter what happens, Jihoon will figure something out, right?”

Eve said, gulping down her fruit juice.

She looked so cute that I couldn’t help but ruffle her hair.

I wondered how everyone had grown so dependable.

I wasn’t the only one who had matured through destruction.

“Of course, we need to have a strategy meeting. We might have to send only some of us out to fight.”

“In cases where we fight separately. That does sound risky.”

At this point, the others were strong enough on their own.

Still, it’s true that without me and Yuri, the core of our combat strength, our fighting capability would drop significantly.

“I’ll just escape on a boat if things get out of hand.”

“Oh, right. Hena received a ship from Hella, didn’t she?”

Naglfar, one of the powers Hella wields,

is a ship that flies through the sky, and while it may not look like much, it’s quite large.

Just pushing it forward would be intimidating enough.

“I’ll take that ship and head up. Everyone else can make their way up there on their own.”

“That’s a good plan!”

“But if it’s too big, won’t it become a target? There are enemies that use fire arrows like Apollo, after all.”

At Yuri’s concern, Eunbyeol jumped up.

“Leave that to me! I can block everything with my shield!”

Her proud stance made everyone burst into laughter.

“If it’s enemies coming from afar, I can take them down with divine power, so it’s no problem. I can also provide some buffs, though they might be lacking.”

“If that’s the case, our roles will be overwhelming. Right, Jihoon?”

“True. If we lose, we’ll get a mouthful of complaints.”

At my words, everyone began to chat joyfully about various topics.

Most of it revolved around our journey.

I recounted the story of when Yuri and Hena first met. The tale of Hena saving me by smashing a zombie with a fire extinguisher, and how Yuri had thrown me aside when she first saw me. For some reason, Yuri seemed proud of this part, and everyone even applauded. It seemed I had no allies in this.

Hena, while talking about our time at the Destruction Hotel, described how cute Yuri looked when she was being all shy, which made Yuri’s face turn bright red.

Eunbyeol referred to me as a hero for saving her when she was captured by the zealots, and Eve, who was watching, explained the whole process in detail, causing everyone but me to burst into laughter.

It was a delightful time, just sharing stories.

And this was also the last time the five of us would gather to talk.