"Little Will, we finally meet face to face," Sancus greeted with a smile. "We don't have much time, so I'll cut the long story short. I am Sancus, the God of Contracts, and I am very pleased that you always choose me to preside over the oaths that you have made in Hestia."
"The pleasure is mine, Sir Sancus," William replied. "I am also very happy to meet you."
The two exchanged a few more pleasantries before Sancus decided to tell him the purpose of his visit.
Sancus patted William's shoulder, "It was quite unfortunate that I wasn't here in the Temple when you arrived. If I was here, I would have also given you a parting gift before you entered the Cycle of Reincarnation. Fortunately, another opportunity has arrived so I'm here to give you the gift I wasn't able to give you before."
Sancus waved his hand and a wooden box materialized out of thin air. He held it with both hands and presented it before William.
"Inside this box is an amazing and very powerful artifact," Sancus explained. "However, it is currently sealed so I can't show it to you right now. But, rest assured that this artifact will be of great help to you in the future. Once you equip this artifact, you will practically become immune to depression."
"Immune to depression?" William's face became serious. "Such a thing exists? This sounds like a very powerful artifact."
William of all people understood how hard it was to fight depression. When he was suffering from his disease, he was constantly depressed. If not for his brothers and sisters, who were always there to encourage him from the orphanage, he might have already given up.
Sancus' smile widened as he continued his explanation about the benefits of his "artifact".
"Not only immunity to depression, but it also raises your stamina and vitality drastically. You can even say that you will become peerless after you use this artifact. But, wait! There's more!"
Just like a scammer, Sancus used his expertise as the God of Contracts to close the deal.
"If you accept this gift of mine, I'll also throw in a freebie," Sancus waved his hand and a golden Rubix Cube appeared in his hand. "This cube is called a Pocket Cube that will allow you to catch any monster of the Centennial Rank and below. You can only use it once, so use it wisely."
William wasn't a fool. Although the God of Contracts was giving him gifts he knew that "No Lunch was free in the world". This is especially true in a place like the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods.
"Sir Sancus, what is the catch?" William crossed his arms over his chest. "You are giving me these precious artifacts, is there something that you want from me?"
William understood that there is not a free lunch in this world, especially coming from a God.
"Yes, there is," Sancus replied honestly. "I want you to keep this as a secret between the two of us. Don't tell this to anyone. Not even Gavin, Issei, Lily, and David."
"Why?"
"Because, you are my only hope."
Sancus sighed as he looked at the red-headed boy. His pleading gaze was so pitiful that William couldn't help but scratch his head. On one hand, he didn't want to offend the God of Contracts. On the other hand, he felt that the sealed artifact was something very dangerous that he didn't dare to accept it.
Seeing his hesitation, Sancus decided to use his trump card.
"Okay, how about we compromise?" Sancus proposed. "I will send this artifact to you through the God Shop using an anonymous name. I will be honest with you, this artifact cannot stay in the Temple of the Gods because the seal will be undone in four years.
"I also don't want it to be released in a random world because it will cause civilizations to multiply at a rapid pace. This is something we Gods don't want to see. As long as it is inside your mail, it will remain inside it even after the seal is broken."
Sancus came clean because he could tell that William wouldn't accept the wooden box until he revealed everything to him. Clearly, he had underestimated the boy's intelligence and decided to just spill the beans.
"But why me?" William asked. "Can't you send it to other people?"
Sancus firmly shook his head. "I don't trust others, as much as I trust you. After all, you are someone that has received the blessings of Four Gods. I am not a good judge of character because I am the God of Contracts. I must be impartial at all times.
"However, Gavin, Issei, Lily, and David are my friends. I believe that all of them have better eyes than me and are good judges of character. This is why, I can only ask this of you, William. Safeguard this artifact for the sake of the entire multiverse."
William glanced at the wooden box in Sancus' hands and sighed. "Sir, since you already said this much, can you please, tell me, what is inside the wooden box?"
Sancus nodded his head. "The name of this artifact is…"
William started to sweat buckets as Sancus revealed everything to him. In the end, William decided to flee, but the God of Contract grabbed his leg and wailed like a child. No matter how much William tried to get rid of him, the God stuck to him like a leech.
In the end, William and Sancus reached a compromise. The red-headed boy agreed to allow Sancus to send him the artifact through mail. William had no intention of retrieving it no matter what happened, and Sancus was fine with that.
The God Shop Mail had no expiration, so they didn't have to worry about the artifact breaking free even after the seal expired.
As additional rewards for William's consent, Sancus gave him five more Pocket Cubes that would allow him to capture any Beast that was Centennial Ranked and below.
"Sir Sancus, I have a question," William said with a serious expression. "You said that the Pocket Cubes can capture beasts that are Centennial Rank and below. Can it also capture Demigods?"
"Demigods?" Sancus rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Aren't Demigods usually of the Calamity Rank? This is only good for Centennial Ranked Beasts."
William decided to explain his meeting with Kasogonaga, while the God of Contracts listened with great interest.
"Even though they are Demigods as long as their strength regresses below the rank of Centennial Beasts, they can be captured," Sancus said after careful consideration. "However, I advise you to not catch Kasogonaga."
"Don't worry, I have no intention of catching it," William stated. "Kasogonaga had already been imprisoned for thousands of years. I don't want him to be imprisoned again. It is so pitiful."
Sancus nodded his head in appreciation. "At least you have a conscience. As expected of the boy that my friends have chosen. Well then, please, don't tell this to anyone."
"Understood." WIlliam promised.
Sancus patted the boy's shoulder one last time before disappearing from the palace of the Goddess of Lust. William sighed because he had become the owner of a hot potato. Of course, he had no intention of retrieving the artifact from the God Shop Mail.
The God of Contract told him that if an item wasn't retrieved from the God Shop after a hundred years had passed, it would be automatically returned to its sender.
By then, Sancus would have gathered enough Divinity from his followers to seal the artifact once again for another thousand years.
After weighing the pros and cons, William agreed to the condition because the Pocket Cubes were a temptation that was very hard to resist. It gave him an option to capture beasts that didn't belong to the herd.
Also, Sancus said that it would always succeed in capturing any beast as long as the target was of Centennial Rank and below.
William had the uncanny ability to always face strong monsters out of the blue. Even with his powers, fighting these beasts would require a lot of effort on his part. If he could capture these beasts from the get go, it would save him a lot of effort and time in order to subdue them.