Chapter 145

Well, what’s this nonsense about Gaia’s partner or whatever? Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?! And after dissing me by calling me grandma and all!

Could it be… a grandma complex?! Grandma?! GRANDMAAAAAA?!?!

Something like that shouldn’t even exist!

Hmm, now that I think about it, Greek mythology did have quite a bit of that stuff. Gaia from Greek-Roman mythology married her son Uranus and gave birth to Cronos, then later married Poseidon who was both her great-grandson and grandson… And she also had kids with Zeus, though he wasn’t a god but a human.

Beyond sibling incest or mother-son incest, the terrifying Greek myths where they even marry grandmothers. Too scary… Luckily, this world doesn’t have that level of incestuous mythology.

Cough. Let’s get back on track.

I sighed quietly while looking at Baal, who seemed clueless about what he’d just said.

Why is this guy provoking fights when he should be persuading the other gods, especially since it involves me? It’s like dealing with easily excitable children.

Thanks to that, the kids froze solid, even Shamash who was somewhat friendly with Baal.

“Ga… ia…?”

That frozen atmosphere finally thawed thanks to Shamash’s innocent question.

“What’s Gaia?”

“Maybe one of the newly born gods?”

“Hmm…”

The kids looked confused by Baal’s words.

That’s right! Since Baal himself named her Gaia, the kids wouldn’t know what it means!

Great! If I play it cool, we might be able to move past this somehow!

Just as I thought that, Baal opened his mouth.

“Gaia is none other than─”

“This guy, being the god of sky, named the vast lands of this world Gaia. He probably wants to create a new goddess of earth…”

I quickly interrupted Baal before he could say more.

“No, not exactly…umphumphum!”

“Now that I think about it, this world’s massive continent didn’t have a proper name. How about using his name as inspiration and call it Pangaea, meaning all lands?”

I rushed to speak before Baal could interrupt again.

This ridiculous excuse might actually work… There’s no harm in trying!

But then…

“Hmm. Definitely, if he’s the god of sky, his partner can only be the earth.”

“That makes sense! The image of sky and earth meeting to create this world!”

“Also, this world’s giant continent didn’t have a name. Pangaea sounds good.”

Somehow, the kids accepted it without questioning.

Phew. I thought I totally messed up, but it worked.

“But isn’t there already a goddess of earth here?”

Ifrit grinned mischievously, glancing at Sagarmatha beside him.

“I don’t like brats.”

“Too bad! Brat! The tallest mountain doesn’t like you!”

“So, the partner I desire isn’t you─”

“Now now, we have much to discuss. No time for idle chatter.”

I cut off Baal again, grabbing his neck and pulling him back.

If he says Gaia is my title now, the situation that was barely under control will blow up again. My ambitious plan to make him king of the gods will completely fall apart from the start.

We need to keep moving forward somehow!

“Anyway, I’m considering making this guy king of the gods. What do you think?”

“Hmm… Do you need our opinions? Or are you asking us to support him?”

Shamash’s question made me respond calmly.

“Not asking for support. Just seeking your evaluation of whether he’s fit to be king of the gods.”

If I randomly pick any newly born god and declare them king… Hmm. These kids would probably respect my opinion and listen, but that’s not right.

We can’t decide such an important position so lightly.

A carelessly chosen king will surely cause problems later.

To get these kids to recognize him as king through persuasion is the better approach.

“Evaluation?”

“Yes. If you evaluate and recognize him, then he would be worthy of being king of the gods, wouldn’t he?”

My naturally born children from phenomena.

Children who existed as gods before the other gods were even born – the first generation gods.

They possess overwhelming power compared to other gods and can freely manipulate natural phenomena themselves.

If these children recognize him, other gods’ recognition will naturally follow.

“Hmm… Evaluation… But we don’t know much about him.”

Sylphid pouted slightly.

“I’ve had some interaction with him, but if you’re asking if he’s worthy to be king of the gods… Hmm. I’m not sure.”

“Yeah. Not sure.”

Shamash and Sagarmatha’s responses. Hmm, asking for evaluation when we know nothing is perhaps too early.

“In that case, how about this?”

Thetis spoke up in the situation.

“We don’t know him, but mom wants to make him king, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then, how about we give him some tests to make us recognize him?”

Tests?

“No, not exactly tests, more like trials. If he successfully completes them, we’ll recognize him.”

Hmm… So it’s like trials. Like Hercules’ labors?

“Indeed, that might make things easier.”

“Right, to be king of the gods, he should be able to solve any problem.”

The other kids started agreeing with Thetis. Definitely, asking for blind recognition is harder than this approach.

Maybe I was rushing things. Probably because I panicked when Baal started talking about being Gaia’s partner.

“Then, what happens next?”

Baal, clinging to me, asked quietly.

“These kids will give you tests. If you pass, they’ll recognize you.”

“Tests? Hmm. Sounds troublesome…”

“Still, solving them will make you king of the gods, so it’s worth doing, right?”

Baal thought for a moment, then nodded slightly.

“Yeah, I’ll try.”

Good. Baal has some willingness to participate, now it depends on what tests the kids come up with.

“Then let’s adjourn here. We need more time to think about the tests.”

“Agreed.”

“It’s been a while since we all gathered. I want to eat mom’s delicious food!”

“I feel like having vegetable dishes. Fresh and crunchy ones.”

“Isn’t it fine for the god of plants to eat vegetables…?”

“Elves have been eating too much meat… They’re getting tired of it. We need to fix their picky eating habits…”

Delicious food. Now that I think about it, the kids who lost their dragon bodies haven’t all gathered like this in a long time.

“Alright, let’s make something special since it’s been a while.”

I need to feed them dishes they can’t find in this world!

It also shows my request for them to look after Baal who aspires to be king of the gods!

—–

A few days after feeding the kids and Baal a satisfying meal.

The kids came to me after preparing individual tests, looking confident. They seem to be competing on who can create the hardest test.

Hmm. That’s not good. Baal might just quit halfway through difficult tests.

“Hey! Mom needs to give a test too!”

“What? Me too?”

“Yes! We decided it’s unfair if only we give tests!”

What? Without any preparation? This is too sudden!

“Of course, we anticipated mom wouldn’t prepare, so we brainstormed together!”

Don’t do that kind of preparation!

“The test given in mom’s name will be suitable for mom, the goddess of life!”

Hmm, this feels ominous.

“Exactly, the immortality test! During other tests, no living being should be harmed!”

Immortality… Immortal… Ugh… My head…

No, more importantly, if one of the kids’ tests requires killing something, isn’t this contradictory? Is it okay to give such a test?

“Ahh, we carefully selected the tests considering that. None of them require killing.”

“Hmm. Then it should be fine… Hmm…”

No, wait.

If there’s no condition on what living beings shouldn’t be killed, stepping on a bug while walking could disqualify someone.

This needs adjustment.

“Let’s add conditions to what living beings shouldn’t be killed.”

“Conditions?”

I nodded slightly and continued.

“Let’s limit it to humans and similar races. Animals and monsters are okay to kill.”

“What about beastmen? They’re half human, half animal. What about them?”

“They count as humanoid races.”

That’s species discrimination, Sylphid.