Chapter 59

The Cloud Whale continued to drift through the sky, devoid of any intelligence.

Hmm. Well, what difference does it make if it has intelligence or not? As long as it properly spreads souls, that should be enough.

Though… occasionally, it’d be nice if it could follow a story or two. But there’s nothing much to be done about that.

There’s no way the Cloud Whale will suddenly gain intelligence with a poof!

Wait, hold on… maybe it is possible?

After all, the Cloud Whale gained its current form thanks to human faith.

If we use this fact cleverly, couldn’t I mold it into the type of deity I want?

For instance… giving the Cloud Whale a bit of intelligence, having small birds act as subordinates by sharing portions of its soul, something like that.

And by setting a flight path for the Cloud Whale… making it fly to the northern edge at regular intervals would make it easier to transfer processed souls from the Underworld to the Cloud Whale.

I did feel a tiny pang of guilt for tinkering with the Cloud Whale to suit my tastes… but what can you do? We don’t even speak the same language.

At least if it were an intelligent being, I’d try to persuade it, but you can’t expect that from an animal-like existence that doesn’t understand speech.

Thus, I paused my work of filling the first layer of the Underworld with rivers and headed toward where humans lived.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Humans kept increasing in number.

Many were injured, many fell ill, but humanity’s greatest advantage—numbers—remained steady.

These people of the Age of the Gods lived by forming various city-states.

To put it simply… it felt somewhat similar to the ancient Greek polis system.

Trading with other city-states, sometimes engaging in disputes, these city-states slowly grew in size.

Among them, Arcad, the largest city-state, was ruled by descendants of the humans I once gave a crown to.

Hmm. Since I handed over such an item, this much assistance is only natural. Anyway…

I polymorphed into a human form, hiding my horns and changing my hair color to blend in as an ordinary person.

Well, while maintaining a cute appearance, of course.

Honestly, it might sound like self-praise, but my polymorphed form feels slightly unfair.

An appearance so charming that it instantly wins favor. If it weren’t for the youthful age, entire cities might have swayed!

Anyway, I made my way to the entrance of the city-state Arcad.

Many people were waiting at the entrance to be checked before entering Arcad. A few armed guards were carefully inspecting each individual.

Most were travelers or merchants, oh! And look, there are dragons who’ve polymorphed into human forms mixed in up ahead!

“For what purpose do you come?”

“We are givers of life, traveling the world to spread the great one’s will.”

The guard nodded in understanding upon hearing the dragon’s words.

“You serve a deity, then. Welcome. Is this your first time in Arcad?”

“Ah, yes, it is.”

“If so, you might not know where to stay. Our king has built accommodations for those who serve the same deity. Please head there. Let me assign someone to guide you. Fenit! Over here!”

A guard approached.

“Escort these guests to the temple and return promptly.”

“Understood.”

With that, the dragons, accompanied by the guards, entered the city much faster than the surrounding merchants.

Hm. It seems dragons visiting this city isn’t a recent occurrence.

Well, when you’re wandering the world and doing some volunteer work like healing and sharing stories from other cities, it’s hard not to be welcomed.

Plus, with their true forms being dragons, their strength is beyond question. Should bandits attack, it’d be the bandits’ lives to worry about.

Hmm. Sending dragons out into the world was a good decision, it seems!

As people lined up and were questioned one by one, my turn gradually approached.

When it was finally my turn…

“Child…?”

The guard furrowed his brow upon seeing me.

“No, why is a child alone? Where are your parents?”

The guard seemed incredibly flustered. I responded calmly.

“I’m an adult.”

“An adult? Young one, lying is bad.”

“It’s really true. Unfortunately, I lack anything like an ID to prove it.”

We’re still in an era without resident registration. Not to mention, that concept is far off in the future. At most, it’s achievable in ancient city-state scale societies.

“Hmm… This is highly suspicious, but I suppose I’ll have to trust you. Be warned, though—if you cause even the slightest trouble, you’ll never see sunlight again. So be careful.”

“Don’t worry. I merely wish to investigate matters concerning the deity.”

Despite lacking proper identification, the guard let me pass. Hmm… must be because of my looks.

Thus, I entered Arcad, one of the largest human cities.

Passing through wooden walls and gates, I saw unpaved wide roads surrounded by tightly packed mud houses.

These homes had wooden pillars and temporary walls, completed by applying mud to create walls and roofs.

Looking around, I can sense a slight advancement. Humans have moved beyond huts to build houses like these…

Moreover, a primitive market thrived in the central square, engaging in barter trade. Ho… quite active commerce…

The city was developing nicely, but not everything was heading in a positive direction.

“There! War captives! Their strength is unmatched—they can handle any task effortlessly!”

“Hey, sir! Need a pretty female slave?”

I saw people selling others as slaves.

Slavery, huh… hmm…

While it’s not particularly pleasing, raining fire wouldn’t be wise either…

After all, slavery persisted for a long time on Earth in other worlds too. In an era where the concept of human rights doesn’t exist yet, this is perhaps natural.

Still, it’s not appealing.

Ignoring the slight dissatisfaction growing in my chest, I began gathering information about the Cloud Whale as I wandered through the city.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – –

“The great whale floating in the sky. The Cloud Whale.

Its massive body passing below brings forth new life.

Thus, couples hoping for children pray to the Cloud Whale to bestow new life.”

This was the entirety of the sparse faith surrounding the Cloud Whale.

Hmm… naturally occurring faith tends to feel like this, doesn’t it?

It’s not very specific, leaving plenty of room for intervention.

Thus, I started spreading rumors about the Cloud Whale.

First, regarding the Cloud Whale’s subordinates.

“The pure white birds flying in the sky are the Cloud Whale’s subordinates, delivering new life across the continent on behalf of the Cloud Whale.”

Since the Cloud Whale is quite large and fast but insufficient to distribute souls across the entire continent alone, let’s add subordinates.

Like storks bringing babies, these white birds deliver souls to places the Cloud Whale cannot reach.

Next, let’s give the Cloud Whale some intelligence.

“The Cloud Whale possesses the intelligence of a child and finds great satisfaction in bestowing life.”

Let’s start with childlike intelligence. Giving too high an intelligence might lead to unpredictable actions. Somewhere between beast and human-level intelligence should suffice for now.

“The Cloud Whale awakens at dawn, circles the world until evening, then heads northward to rest under the night sky.”

This part ensures it stays close to the Underworld. While the Underworld isn’t fully complete yet, once it is, processed souls will need to be returned to the Cloud Whale. It’d be troublesome if its flight path were random.

“The Cloud Whale is the deity of birth, bestowing new life, thus cherished by the deity of life.”

Finally, let’s solidify the role of the Cloud Whale in faith. Rather than aimlessly adding various beliefs, clearly defining its role would be better.

Hmm… and regarding the deity of life… well, let’s loosely tie it back to me.

After all, the dragons acting as “givers of life” revere none other than me.

Leaving such a significant value like life unattended and letting some strange entity become a deity would be problematic.

Let’s secure minimal control over the parts I need to manage.

Let’s see… putting it all together, the faith in the Cloud Whale would look like this:

“The great whale floating in the sky. The Cloud Whale.

Possessing the intelligence of a child, the Cloud Whale is a cherished existence of the deity of life and takes immense pride in bestowing new life as the deity of birth.

Awakening at dawn, it circles the world until evening, then heads northward to rest under the night sky.

Around its massive body, white birds, the Cloud Whale’s subordinates, always hover. These birds act as messengers, delivering new life to the world on behalf of the Cloud Whale. They must not be harmed recklessly.

Those who desire new children, pray to the Cloud Whale. It shall bestow new life upon you.”

Does this sound right? Good. Now let’s spread it.

Thus, the newly refined faith in the Cloud Whale began to slowly but surely spread throughout the city.