Chapter 173

Chapter 173 -- Increased To 6 Silver Coins

I decided to make the next set of offerings to the Gods and Goddesses a bit earlier than I really had to. When I was late they sent me oracles and yelled a lot and I'd really rather not have to listen to their endless complaints.

Ahem. "Everyone, can you all hear me?" As soon as I called out my ears were filled with incomprehensible babbling from the many freeloading deities I was obliged to cater to.

"Hey, you should know I can't understand what you're saying if you all talk at once. Please speak one by one." I said as politely as I could. The undecipherable garble cut off suddenly. That's better, I nodded to myself.

"Me first, me first! Hey you, ah, ah, ah, that Sanke? Isn't it a wonderful store? You did great choosing that store, you know! Good job, you! Anyway send me cakes and sweets from the Sanke store. Sanke cakes! Sanke sweets! Send me all sorts of goodies!"

Deplorable Goddess Ninril-sama was maybe getting a little bit too excited. I sighed, did I really expect anything else from her? I was still a little disappointed. She was a Goddess after all, shouldn't she be more dignified?

"It's me next." Was that voice Hephaestus-sama? "I know your unique Skill can level up and when it does you can choose a tenant shop for your store. Anyway I did some digging around and it seems that in your world liquor stores can be tenants." There was a pause and what sounded a bit like someone gulping saliva. Well yeah, I'd seen liquor stores in big supermarkets and high-class shops back home. What was he going on about though?

"The next time you'll get a tenant store will be when you get to level 40 so you should level up as fast as you can and get to level 40 quick then choose a liquor store for the next tenant."

Hold on, I'm not intending to level up so quickly. Are you trying to twist my arm?

"That's right. You can get to level 40 real quick if you go all out and then you should add a liquor store as your next tenant." That sounded like Vulcan-sama. "When you do that, we can get more different kinds of other-world booze. I can't wait, wah ha ha ha..."

Uh oh, not going to happen. I had no plans to do anything that would increase my levels, they were fine just the way they were right now thank you. I just wanted to have a normal quiet life, well as quiet as I could given my circumstances.

"You get your next tenant store at level 40?" Agni-sama chimed in. "If that's the case you should go conquer the dungeon again. Hurry up, hurry up and go and level up quick, then choose a liquor store as the next tenant."

You're wanting me to dive into dungeon again, Agni-sama? Really? Uh, which part of "no way" don't you understand? You're deciding my next tenant store is going to sell liquor even before I know if that's going to be one of the choices.

"Hey, you can't just decide that the next tenant is going to be a liquor store just like that!" Was that Kishar-sama? Thank you for standing up for me! "The next tenant should be a pharmacy, obviously." she declared. Oh, Kishar-sama... "I also saw the stores in the world other-world-guy-kun came from. Drug stores in his world sell lots of cosmetics and a bigger range than the ones he can get for me right now. The next tenant absolutely MUST be a drug store."

Had Kishar-sama been investigating pharmacies in my world? She really wanted the next tenant to be a drug store but I wouldn't find out what I could choose until I reached level 40, there might not even be a drug store in the selection menu?

""""Hurry up, level up, hurry up, level up, hurry up, level up"""

The chanting from the various deities became louder and louder.

"Please stop brow-beating me, Hephaestus-sama, Vulcan-sama, Agni-sama, Kishar-sama, it's impossible for me to level up quickly even if I wanted to. I'm content with my life right now, I don't want to level up further just so you can get stuff from another tenant store."

"Are you serious? You're in the dungeon city right now, you could dive into the dungeon again and you'd reach level 40 in no time!"

"That's right. Dive into that dungeon and reach level 40 quick. Then you can choose a liquor store as your tenant right away.”

"Hey, you've got total total status nullification and Perfect Defence. Man up, will ya?"

"I agree. I think a liquor store is okay for later but if you quickly level up to level 40 you can select a pharmacy as the tenant store.”

Hephaestus-sama, Vulcan-sama, Agni-sama and Kishar-sama were being selfish but that was nothing new. I decided to put my foot down.

"Well, I'm tired of repeating myself but I'll say it once again, I am not planning to raise my level." I paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "If you keep on pushing me to raise my level just so you lot can get offerings from another tenant store I will stop making these offerings completely. You can take back your blessings and we can go our own way from now on."

When I said that, Hephaestus-sama, Vulcan-sama, Agni-sama and Kishar-sama quickly changed tack.

"No, that's not a good idea. Absolutely not. I won't tell you that you should raise the level anymore."

"That's right. You don't have to raise your level."

"Oh, oh. You don't have to raise your level, really."

"That's right." Kishar-sama finished up. "Eventually your level will rise by itself, we just have to be patient, that's all." That last part sounded like it had been squeezed out from between gritted teeth but I took it as acceptance. I didn't get away with it completely though as Kishar-sama moved the negotiations in another direction.

"However, in exchange for not insisting you raise your level for us, couldn't you double the 3 silver coins limit on your offerings~?" Uh, Kishar-sama?

"Oh, that's a good idea."

"Kishar, you do say some good things sometimes."

"She really does."

"Since other-world-guy's store already has a Sanke I don't care who the next tenant will be, but it's a good idea to double the three silver coins limit anyway, you know."

"...doubling is good."

All of the Gods and Goddesses agreed with Kishar-sama's wheedling. I felt the trap closing in around me.

"It's a really good idea even if I say so myself." Kishar-sama said smugly. "But Vulcan, what's with that 'sometimes'? I always say good things~"

The pressure was on, should I double the three silver coins limit to six? Well, I'd been earning a lot lately, and I had to admit the deities had given me their blessings and Skills so...

"Okay. I'll set the limit at 6 silver coins from now on. In exchange you'll stop demanding that I quickly raise my level."

I heard loud cheers and squeals of delight from the heavenly realm. Are they really Gods and Goddesses? I let them continue celebrating for a bit more then interrupted.

"Right then, quiet down and tell me what you want for your offerings, one at a time please. Make your mind up quickly, there's a lot of you to get through now."

"Yes, yes, yes, be quiet you lot!" Deplorable-sama #1 ordered. "Sanke cake! I want cake from the Sanke store! I want all of them!" Yeah, it's easy for you to say you want everything in the store, Ninril-sama...

"Ninril-sama, 6 silver coins isn't nearly enough to buy everything in the Sanke store." I pointed out.

"Nuuuu, is that how it is?" She sounded disappointed but rallied quickly. "Ah well, can you show me the cakes I can choose from then?" Ah, she wanted to see the Net Super listings. This was a step up, it seemed Deplorable-sama #1 was capable of learning something, at least when it came to cakes and sweets.

"Okay then but remember there are others waiting to receive their offerings so please make your choice quickly." I told her. There was a loud chorus of agreement from the other Gods and Goddesses.

"I understand, you know!" Petulant-sama said. "Now show me!" Giving in, I opened the Net Super to the Sanke store menu while Ninril-sama peered over my shoulder from wherever the Gods hung out.

"If you want to eat various kinds of cakes, look at these ones here." I opened the cut cake menu and pointed to the various pieces of cake listed.

"Muhhh, that's amazing! Everything looks delicious!" I could almost feel her drooling on my shoulder as I converted the prices on the screen to this world's currency in my head.

"If you choose from the pieces of cake shown here, you can have 15 of them since they're all 4 copper coins." That was close enough, I figured. Ninril-sama squeaked in delight at my words, making a very suspicious noise. I wondered, not for the first time, if she was perhaps a little too enraptured by my world's sweets and cakes.

After a longish silence she finally declared "Ahhhh, I can't choose between them!" The mutterings in the background increased in volume and anger so I quickly decided to intervene.

"If that's the case, why don't you just try them all, in order from the top? I'll make you an offering of the first 15 cakes listed here today and next time I'll send you the 15 cakes after that."

"Oh, that's a good idea! That way I can completely conquer Sanke's sweets!" Ninril-sama squealed again. I quickly ordered the first 15 pieces of cakes in order from the top of the Sanke store listing before she could change her mind again... and done!

"Right, who's next?" I was getting tired and my politeness levels were dropping rapidly. Tough.

"Next is of course is me." That sounded like Kishar-sama. "My stocks of shampoo and hair treatments are getting low and I want some more. Can you show me what you can offer to me?" Ah, Kishar-sama wanted to look over my shoulder at the Net Super too. What a pain... but showing the Net Super to Ninril-sama but not Kishar-sama wasn't going to work so I opened the Net Super's menu to the pages with hair care products and pointed to the items on sale.

Kishar-sama started peppering me with questions, "Would this one suit my kind of hair?" and "What kind of scent does this one have?" and so on. I was no hair care expert of course, all I could do was read out the descriptions beside each item on the menu while the muttering from the other deities impatiently waiting their turn increased in volume.

"Oh, everything looks soooo good, I give up! I never realised this other-world had soooo many kinds of shampoo and conditioners and hair treatments. And the different scents too, oh my! I really can't decide!"

Why is it that women can't decide what to buy when they're out shopping? I remembered the times I had been dragged along by my sister to act as her luggage porter when she visited a department store. It had been terrible! This was taking too long...

"Oh, hurry up!"

"Yeah, you're spending too much time choosing."

Uh-oh, the Gods of Booze were getting frustrated but Kishar-sama was not to be rushed.

"What should I do? I like the scent of shampoo and conditioner I'm using now so I can't dismiss it entirely..."

I decided to give her a bit of a push. "In that case, why not stock up on more of the same shampoo and conditioner as before? Then with the extra silver coins for this offering you can buy some other shampoos and conditioners as well. It would be good to try other things too."

Kishar-sama wasn't totally convinced but I sensed she was wavering. "Maybe... Depending on how I feel...".

One last effort. "How about this new product?" I knew that would get her attention.

"Is it really new? Doesn't that mean it's better than before?" Kishar-sama asked, obviously intrigued.

"Well, since it is a new product, it's bound to be better than before. Look, they've added new ingredients."

"Then I'll take it!" Yay for 'new ingredients', I thought to myself. "Hummm, are there any other new products I should look at?"

"Well, yes I think so." I pointed at another hair treatment. "This one looks like a new product. Is this okay?"

"Yes, then that one too please."

"Okay, this and this and this, that's a refill of your usual shampoo and conditioner plus these two other new sets, at two silvers each." I selected the items and put them into the online shopping basket.

"Next please." I rolled my shoulders to ease the stiffness building up in them. This was hard work, harder than cooking for the Gluttonous Trio in some ways.

"Agni here. I want to order booze again but I really like the beer you've been sending me so make half of it beer and the other half will be different sorts of booze and wine as before.''

"Does Agni-sama not need to see the menu?" I asked.

"I'm fine. It's more fun to drink it than choose it. Having the taste be a surprise is good too."

I see, that made sense in its own way. I wished all of the Gods and Goddesses were like Agni-sama. However it meant the choice was up to me... Okay, first up was the beer. I decided on a six-pack of 'A' company's premium beer and a six-pack of 'K' company's premium beer topped up with a six-pack of 'Y's beer from Sapporo. I added in a few small-brewery bottles of beers from Yamaguchi, Niigata and Yokohama for variety. The order was topped up with American whiskey, French rosé wine and Italian red wine and that was it for Agni-sama's offering.

"Next..." My bed was looking more and more inviting.

"Ruka. I'll have the same as Ninril." Oh, Ruka-sama sounded a bit more assertive than usual.

"So Ruka-sama wants cake from the Sanke store as well today?" I asked. She usually wanted regular food as well...

"Yes, cake today. Like Ninril, all different."

I wondered why Ruka-sama only wanted cake this time but she had probably been looking at the Sanke menu with Ninril-sama earlier, and it was quite an impressive display after all. Ruka-sama liked sweets too, of course. To keep things simple I chose fifteen pieces in the cake menu starting from the top for Ruka-sama just as I had done for Ninril-sama. Yosh, one more offering down!

"Next..."

"Hey, it's us two next." It was the booze-hound combo of Hephaestus-sama and Vulcan-sama to round everything off. "We're after whiskey and vodka like last time and we'll let you choose what we get same as always." Vulcan-sama said.

"But we wanta see what you can offer us. Let us see it, hey?" Hephaestus-sama added.

Yeah yeah. I opened the Net Super alcoholic drinks menu to the page listing whiskies as Hephaestus-sama and Vulcan-sama looked over my shoulder too. "These are the whiskies I can offer you." I explained.

"Huh, that many? Wow, I'm totally lost." Vulcan-sama said.

"The other-world whiskies are really awesome, aren't they? So many kinds, what makes them different?" Hephaestus-sama asked.

"Well, they're all whiskies but but the taste is subtly different depending on where it's made and who makes it. Different people like different types and flavours." I explained.

"So that’s how it is. Amazing! I want to drink all of them but we're on a limited budget." Vulcan-sama said.

"Ah. That's right... can you increase your budget for offerings some more?" Hephaestus-sama asked.

"Absolutely not. I just increased it already, remember?" I answered sourly.

"Cheh." Don't click your tongue at me, you booze-hound Gods.

"So then, which ones would you recommend?" Vulcan-sama asked.

"Hmm, I don't drink whiskey so much..." I scanned the listings looking for inspiration and one prominent entry caught my eye. "Ah, this one maybe? It's a bit more expensive than most of the others but it's recommended and I've heard that this whiskey was rated the best in the world." The was S company's famous whiskey, made in Japan. It had made the news headlines when it won an international award and colleagues at work who were into whiskies had mentioned it as being particularly tasty.

"The world's best whiskey..." There were a pair of loud gulps, perfectly synchronised.

"I'll request the best whiskey in the world then." Vulcan-sama said. "You choose something different."

"Ah, of course. When I heard that it was the best whiskey in the world I couldn't wait to drink it." Hephaestus-sama said.

Yeah yeah, get on with it will you?

"Let me see, all the liquors from different worlds are delicious, but I remember this black bottle was good."

"This black bottle here?" I pointed to to S company's famous black bottle whiskey.

"That's the one." Hephaestus-sama agreed.

"It sure was delicious." Vulcan-sama said. "For my next choice, this one with the picture of the bird on it, that was tasty."

Picture of a bird, picture of a bird... Was this the one Vulcan-sama was referring to? I pointed to the American whiskey with the bird on the label.

"Is this the one?" It was quite popular as a mixer in bars in my world, I remembered.

"Okay, will I add these two bottles to the offerings as well?" I received two thumbs up from the boozehounds. I did a quick calculation in my head before announcing, "You have four silver coins remaining between you. What else do you want?"

"What about some vodka?" Vulcan-sama asked so I opened the menu to the page with vodka.

"There aren't many different types of vodka." Vulcan-sama said, sounding somewhat disappointed. He was right, only four types were listed on the page. The selection of vodkas from the Net Super was quite limited.

"Yes, it's very strong but it's not as popular as whiskey."

"Which ones are new?" Vulcan-sama was beginning to sound a bit like Kishar-sama... I looked at the listing, pointing to various vodkas in turn. "I sent this one and this one to you last time." I thought for a moment, then pointed again. "That one I sent you the time before so THIS one here is the only you haven't tried yet."

While I was talking I could hear the two boozehounds muttering to each other. "The one with the blue letters, that's one I haven't tried yet? Then I'll have that too." Vulcan-sama announced finally.

"This one with the blue letters?" I pointed at the Russian 'S' company's bottle.

"That's right." He confirmed so I added it to the shopping cart. That was three whiskeys and two vodkas, leaving one silver coin.

"You have one more silver coin for offerings, what do you want? There are no other vodkas that you can buy but there are some other whiskeys."

"Then, whiskey please." Okay, I looked down the listings at the lower-priced offerings and found a 700 ml bottle of whisky, the one from Scotland with a white horse on the label for a single silver coin. Finally the order was complete so I paid for it all and waited for the items to appear before me. It only took a few moments to sort out the various offerings onto the depressingly-familiar cardboard altars before I clasped my hands and closed my eyes.

"Please accept these items." I prayed out loud, silently thinking "and let me get to sleep." I heard the usual cheers of the Gods and the Goddesses as the items on the altars disappeared.

“Sanke, Sanke, Sanke !!!"

"Oh, this will keep my hair beautiful~"

"The world's best whiskey! Yahoo!!"

"Let's get to drinking, God of Blacksmiths!"

The babble died away abruptly as usual and I stretched... Haaaa~ I was tired, exhausted from explaining everything and showing them what they could get. It had been a real bother. I collapsed on my bed, intending to go to sleep right away.

――― Just then in the heavenly Realm.

"Hey, God of Blacksmiths."

"What?"

"That other-world-guy said we shouldn't force him to level up, but I think we should do it anyway."

"Oh. Are you thinking what I'm thinking, God of War?"

"Yeah. We saw a lot of different kinds of booze today but what if he had a liquor store in his shop? We'd be able to choose even more kinds of booze then.''

"Umu. Now we know they exist in his world I can't stop thinking about them."

"Too true. However, if we tell him to raise his level, he'll threaten to stop making offerings again so I was wondering if he could get him to raise his level and acquire that tenant store in secret. He doesn't check his own status too often, you see and even if he did notice another extra Skill we slipped in without telling him it's unlikely that he'd get really angry since it's not something too bothersome."

"That's a good idea. What is the Skill you were thinking of?"

"Ah. If we give him this one, his level will rise quickly even if he doesn't work hard at it."

"Gahaha"

"Ahaha"

"Gahahahahahahaha"

"Ahahahahahaha"

"I'm looking forward to him reaching level 40."

"Yup. When that happens, the tenant will be a liquor store."

"Of course."

And so Mukouda-san acquired a new Skill without realizing it.

[ Skill ] Double experience points (XP)

Double each XP earned. Having this Skill means your level will increase quickly.