Chapter 36. City of Dionysus (6)
Jooheon raised an eyebrow at Cynthia’s words.
She thought they could cause trouble for the Majesties above her?
“You mean the guy we just saw and this Delaira person?”
Cynthia’s expression stiffened at the names.
Just hearing them seemed to drain the warmth from her face.
“...Yes.”
Majesty Yoo Jaeha raised an eyebrow.
“Delaira?”
“Never heard of her.”
“What kind of bastard is she?”
Cynthia’s voice lowered.
“She’s Betrayne’s partner.”
“The Majesty of Civilization and Prosperity.”
“Betrayne is carefully nurturing her right now.”
“And I’ve been supplying the harvest.”
Jooheon muttered mockingly.
“What, does she eat the stuff you offer her?”
“Is she some kind of pig?”
Cynthia burst out laughing for a moment, then bit her lip.
“She’s important to the Majesties.”
“Why?”
“Agriculture was one of the forces that marked the beginning of civilization.”
“So Delaira has the potential to erect structures that symbolize civilization and use the power of abundance to extend lifespans.”
“Human lifespans.”
“Artifact lifespans.”
“City facilities.”
“Anything.”
Jooheon nodded.
“So that’s why she matters.”
Then he frowned.
“But extending human life is one thing.”
“Artifact and infrastructure lifespan?”
He looked puzzled.
“Doesn’t this world have restorers?”
Then he paused.
“Ah.”
“Do you need a Majesty-level restorer?”
Cynthia’s expression stiffened for a brief moment.
“...There was one.”
“Only one among the Executors.”
Her next words came almost as a whisper.
“But he ran away.”
Jooheon slowly turned his head.
Majesty Yoo Jaeha crossed his arms and pretended to yawn while looking away.
It was painfully obvious.
Jooheon thought:
So it was this bastard.
“They started investing in Delaira because she can extend Artifact lifespans in place of the restorer who escaped.”
Jooheon finally understood.
So that’s why Rulebook suddenly interfered.
This world supplied harvests to Delaira.
Of course they didn’t want Jooheon destroying it.
They were cultivating it like a farm.
“Then one more thing.”
Jooheon’s gaze pierced Cynthia.
“Your Dionysus Artifact.”
“I have one too.”
Before becoming Majesty, Jooheon had acquired a large number of Greek mythology Artifacts.
Dionysus had definitely been among them.
“So how can the same Artifact exist in two worlds?”
“Does every worldline have its own copy?”
Silence.
Then Cynthia answered.
“...No.”
“Artifacts are unique existences.”
“There is only one across all worlds.”
“One?”
Jooheon frowned.
“Then why are there two—”
His words stopped.
Cynthia’s eyes drifted toward empty space.
“Yes.”
“There’s only one Artifact.”
She continued quietly.
“Only the ability was extracted.”
Jooheon’s expression slowly twisted.
“By who?”
“Betrayne.”
The air seemed to turn cold.
“He infiltrated different worlds and stole only the abilities.”
“Then he extracted those abilities...”
“And recreated them himself.”
Cynthia looked down.
“That’s what my ‘Dionysus Artifact’ is.”
A chilling silence followed.
Jooheon understood immediately.
“Then the one in my world is basically an empty shell.”
Cynthia lowered her head.
“At least my Dionysus Artifact is.”
“I heard you protected your world with Zeus’s Artifact.”
“If that’s true, then apparently even Betrayne couldn’t extract abilities from Chief God-level Artifacts.”
Now it made sense.
Before becoming Majesty, Jooheon had collected many Greek mythology Artifacts.
He had sealed most of them because they resisted too fiercely to be useful.
But even then...
Their power had always felt oddly weak.
The Dionysus Artifact he owned mostly made people feel good and produced alcohol.
At the time, he had assumed it was sabotage from enemies trying to prevent him from becoming Majesty.
Majesty Yoo Jaeha chuckled.
“I knew that bastard was sneaky.”
“So that’s what he was doing.”
“Too bad for you.”
It was meant as mockery.
But Jooheon looked pleased instead.
Because what Cynthia had just said meant—
If I recover the stolen abilities, my Artifacts can become stronger.
They were already powerful and useful.
How much stronger could they become?
The Dionysus Artifact here intoxicated an entire world and created the Madness Gauge itself.
If he could bring that power back...
He could protect his own world even better.
Cynthia noticed his interest.
“You seem very interested in Greek Artifacts.”
“Of course.”
“The more famous an Artifact is, the stronger it tends to be.”
“Better-known myths usually produce stronger abilities.”
Greek Artifacts also happened to make up a large portion of Jooheon’s collection.
Cynthia continued.
“Delaira also possesses a famous Greek mythology Artifact.”
“That’s why Majesties holding Greek Artifacts bow to her.”
“Betrayne is investing heavily in her too.”
Jooheon’s interest immediately sharpened.
“Oh?”
