Chapter 159

Ba’al was struggling hard to handle the various issues arising among the gods all over this world.

Sometimes with force, sometimes with threats, and occasionally by splitting a god in two—his frantic efforts running around were… hmm. If I had done that, it would’ve been truly exhausting, I thought.

And so, having dumped the responsibility of being the king of the gods onto Ba’al, I spent my leisurely time continuing personal research.

The main focus of my study? Creating an automated prayer response device to automatically answer prayers.

Responding to the numerous prayers directed at the Goddess of Life might seem like a minor task, but it was one of the most voluminous jobs out there.

The volume was enormous, yet the work itself was rather simple: ensuring the health of the petitioner’s family, preventing illness, or extending lifespans… though lifespan extension wasn’t allowed. Hmm, nope, can’t do that.

Most of what I dealt with were prayers for the sick, which could be resolved simply by keeping them healthy or preventing further ailments.

Even then, I only handled the truly desperate prayers or those from deeply faithful individuals—but even so, the sheer number of humans meant I was constantly overwhelmed.

But not anymore! Today is the end!

Finally! I’ve completed it! The artificial intelligence to automatically process human prayers! In other words, the Automated Prayer Processing System!!!

Oh man, it took quite the struggle. With no pre-existing AI or anything, creating an entity to handle prayers on my behalf was no easy feat.

Using the faith in the Goddess of Life—which holds little value to me—I created a virtual Goddess of Life to act in my stead, powered by said faith.

Of course, it has no physical form; it’s more like an AI assistant working tirelessly within a corner of my mind.

Its function is straightforward: detect a prayer, identify the person praying, analyze the content, and if deemed appropriate, resolve the prayer accordingly.

Even such a simple function is enough to handle countless prayers!

Thus, I’ve managed to offload part of the overwhelming workload I faced!

“What are you daydreaming about? Focus on your work already!”

“Ah, yeah.”

Of course, creating the Automated Prayer Processing System to handle things automatically doesn’t mean I have nothing left to do.

I’m currently in the underworld, helping manage the souls of the deceased.

“Honestly, the sheer number of humans is becoming a problem, but lately, too many humans are dying. Moreover, very few die of natural causes; most are victims of conflicts between the gods. It’s troublesome. So troublesome!”

Listening to Keres’ grumbles, I couldn’t help but give an awkward smile.

I understood her implication—why don’t I handle things directly instead of dumping tasks on someone like Ba’al, thus creating these problems?

But what can I say? Ba’al is still a young god who needs time to grow into his responsibilities.

If I had continued managing the affairs of the king of the gods, I wouldn’t have had the free time to help here in the underworld—or the leisure to develop the Automated Prayer Processing System for the Goddess of Life.

So, I’m not doing anything wrong!

“Well? Hurry up with your work. Your hands have stopped.”

“Huh…?”

“What’s this ‘huh’ nonsense? Do you think acting cute will get you off the hook?”

“But even so, couldn’t you try being a bit nicer since I came here to help?”

“As long as the Goddess of Life hasn’t fulfilled all her promises to us, I’ll keep acting this way. You clearly promised to create a place for dragons after death when we agreed to let you become the manager of the underworld, right?”

Ah, that.

Since it wasn’t urgent, I had postponed it, but there haven’t been any elderly dragons passing away yet.

“That won’t take long to make, so don’t worry.”

“Really?”

“Would I lie to you?”

Well, I might if the situation called for it, but not now. Besides, creating a dedicated afterlife for dragons isn’t that difficult.

“In that case, I’ll trust the Goddess of Life. And if possible, could you send reinforcements to the gods of the underworld?”

“No, that’s impossible.”

“Eh?”

At my words, Keres’ expression crumbled, revealing deep despair.

“Isn’t there a new generation of gods emerging? Couldn’t you bring one of the death-related gods here to the underworld?”

Keres’ faint hope-filled question went unanswered—it simply couldn’t happen. Because death gods no longer come into existence.

“There’s already you guys, the gods of death, whose roles are well known. No more death gods can be born.”

Gods arise from humanity’s fear and longing for the unknown. But regarding the afterlife, pilgrims of the Temple of Life have revealed enough information already. There’s no room for another death god to naturally emerge. Even if humanity’s fear of death grows, it only strengthens faith in the three managers of the underworld, not spawning a new death god.

“Well, unless we artificially create one, that is.”

Like how I made the automated prayer processing system, perhaps an automatic afterlife trial assistance system could help.

Anyway, naturally producing another death god is unlikely. Unless humanity starts imagining a new death deity, it’s unlikely—very unlikely.

“So… could we bring another god here and make them a death god?”

Bringing other gods here and drafting them as death gods? Hmm… not impossible, but…

“Unless they consent, it’d be tough.”

Because gods are stubborn creatures, much like frogs who never listen!

“In any case, I’m developing an AI assistant for administrative support. With some adjustments, it might reach a performance level suitable for use in the underworld, reducing your burden somewhat. When that happens, your workload should lighten a bit.”

“That’d be great. But what exactly is this ‘artificial intelligence’?”

Hmm. Artificial intelligence. Guess I need to explain that first.

“It’s like fabricated intelligence. Not born naturally, but crafted by human—or divine—hands.”

“Artificially created? But if it wasn’t made by people but by a god, why call it artificial? Hmm…”

As I explained, Keres seemed to recall something.

“Isn’t that similar to Talos?”

“Eh? Talos?”

Why did Talos suddenly come up?

“Talos was also created by the goddess but possesses intelligence, right?”

“Talos?”

No way. Talos is just a golem.

I never gave him any kind of intelligence…

“Whenever he goes up to the surface to rest from work, his eyes seem to express fatigue. Sometimes, seeing him standing still makes me envious. I even think about switching places with him occasionally.”

“Wait, I don’t remember giving Talos any intelligence…”

“Well, he might not have the ability to speak, but you can tell from his gaze, can’t you?”

D-did he? Maybe he did, or maybe he didn’t.

I’m unsure. Hmm, uh…

If Talos really does possess intelligence…

Then all this effort I put into creating artificial intelligence… what was it all for?!

“If that’s true, there’s no time to waste. Let me step away briefly.”

“Wha-what?! Lady Goddess?! Lady Goddess?! What am I supposed to do alone?! The other two are on vacation because you said you’d come today?! I’m stuck here alone?! There’s too much work for me to handle alone?! Lady Goddesssssss?!”

Leaving Keres’ cries behind, I headed toward Talos, stationed at the entrance to the underworld.

If what Keres says is true… then I could enhance the performance of the Automated Prayer Processing System.

Perhaps I could even create an AI capable of making its own judgments and decisions! So!

I hurried towards the entrance of the underworld.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The giant of black rock. Guardian deity of the Underworld. Talos.

The colossus guarding the underworld, crafted by the Goddess of Life.

The first golem and the first created deity.

Talos has many achievements, but the most famous must be defending the underworld against the Demon King’s army.

Back then, the underworld existed as part of this world, albeit in an environment harsh for living beings.

To the Demon King, who sought to disrupt the world, it was a place that couldn’t be ignored.

Thus, the Demon King sent trusted subordinates and countless demons to invade the underworld.

But they never entered. The mighty army of the Demon King, twisting the gates of the underworld and descending below, could not pass through the gate guarded by Talos.

That army, wiped out by Talos’ hands, constituted the Demon King’s main forces. Had those forces remained intact, humanity likely wouldn’t have lasted long.

Thanks to Talos’ indirect aid, humanity managed to survive.

– The Created Deity. Talos.