Chapter 41

Anyway, let’s set aside the favoritism towards humans for now. I slightly tampered with the name of Yggdrasil that was floating on the list.

Then it switched to a screen resembling personal message windows, like several messengers.

There really isn’t a separate messenger function, huh.

Sending messages… hmm, it’s not much different from when I sent one to the Lizardman.

Recording and sending the voice… well, this is more convenient without something like a keyboard, right?

I pressed the microphone-shaped button and recorded my words.

“Yggdrasil. Can you hear me?”

“Mom? No, there’s no one around here… Why is a voice suddenly coming out?!”

It seems you can hear me. Looks like it’s working properly.”

“Could it be… directly inside your mind…!?”

“I’ve discovered a pretty useful function.”

If all the children were enshrined as gods… we could easily communicate through this.

Though it doesn’t take much time to visit them directly, it’s still troublesome to go around the world to find the children scattered everywhere.

Especially Shamash… unlike when he first awakened his self-awareness, he moves around wherever there’s light, making it hard to find him.

Looks like Erebus is the same…

“Is this a function that transmits voices from afar?”

“That’s right. Isn’t it convenient?”

“Yeah, it is. Since I’m rooted in one place and can’t move, it’s impossible for me to search for mom. Being able to communicate like this will be very helpful.”

Hmm. That’s true. This function might actually be more for the children than for me.

Since I travel around doing various things in this world, it would almost be impossible for the children to call me.

Well, except for Sylphid who can follow me riding the wind.

“From now on, if you have anything to convey to me, use this method. No matter where I am, your voice will reach me.”

“Yes. If I need mom’s help, I’ll do so.”

Good. That concludes what I needed to say to Yggdrasil.

Should I ask about how things are going as an additional check-in?

“Are there any particular issues lately?”

“Huh? Oh, no. Things are going smoothly. The Elf children haven’t had any problems either. Now that the kids are good at hunting, I don’t have to make fruits as often.”

The Elves seem to be growing steadily. Good. Hmm. They don’t seem to be fighting over their origins like before.

Well, after causing trouble once and Yggdrasil retreating, they probably don’t want to go through that again.

“That’s fortunate. The number of Elves will continue to increase, but you can’t keep making fruits forever.”

“It’s not that tiring though!”

“Still, wouldn’t it be exhausting to produce enough to feed an entire race?”

“Not really! Lately, some mysterious power has been flowing into me, so even if I make several times the amount of fruits, I don’t get tired. Thanks to that, the range my roots spread is also expanding.”

Mysterious power…? Hmm… could it be the faith of the Elves? It seems the belief and reverence the Elves have for Yggdrasil as a deity is becoming Yggdrasil’s power.

Wait, then what about me? The Lizardmen call me the Creator Dragon God and believe in me, yet why can’t I feel such power?

Hmm… perhaps the faith gathered compared to the power I already possess is too small to notice?

Not sure, but… well, it doesn’t really matter. I’m not particularly interested in a negligible amount of power that won’t affect anything.

Rather, Yggdrasil is spreading its roots widely, huh? Hmm… somehow that doesn’t sound good.

I’m reminded of the dragon Nidhogg from Norse mythology that gnawed on one of Yggdrasil’s roots.

“Wouldn’t spreading your roots too far be problematic?”

“It’s fine. Really. It’s not easy to leave marks on my roots. And if I keep spreading my roots, they might eventually reach where Erebus is hiding, right?”

Hmm… does this guy plan to fill the whole world with its roots?

“Anyway, both me and the Elves are growing steadily.”

Yggdrasil confidently declaring this. If they’re confident to this degree, things should be fine, right?

“If anything happens, contact me.”

“You worry too much. I’m not the clueless tree I used to be! I’m in the position of responsibility for an entire race now!”

At Yggdrasil’s words, I smiled faintly.

“When you were in charge of the Green Dragons, didn’t you make quite a mess?”

“Ugh! T-That was because I was immature back then!”

“It’s good to be confident, but be careful not to become arrogant. Understand?”

“Yes…”

Due to accumulated karma or something, Yggdrasil quickly lowered its tone.

Ah, that’s right.

“If you ever need a body that can move freely, let me know.”

“Uh? Are you giving my scales back?”

“Heavens no. I already said I won’t return them until Erebus is found.”

“Then… why did you say that?”

I chuckled softly while hearing Yggdrasil’s grumbling voice.

“There’s a new kind of magic I’ve made. Though it’s not a true Dragon body, it’s a method to connect your spirit to a body that can move freely.”

“That sounds… quite appealing.”

“Hmm. If you need it, I’ll show you next time.”

“Yes! Honestly, I’d like to know right away, but since mom must be busy with many things, please tell me when you come to where I am.”

“Alright. See you next time then.”

“Yes! See you next time, Mom!”

That concludes the conversation with Yggdrasil.

The talk with Sagarmatha was almost identical to Yggdrasil’s, so I’ll skip it.

Just that there are more Dwarves around the nearby mountain, they revere him as a god, and he mentioned it would be nice to have a body to move freely.

Well, since this child doesn’t talk much, we didn’t have much conversation, but it seems he’s doing well without any major problems, which puts my mind at ease somewhat.

And finally… Shamash, whose name somehow ended up on the list of gods.

I called out to this kid, whose whereabouts and actions leading to being listed as a god remain unknown.

“Shamash.”

“…”

“Shamash?”

“Who dares to summon the God of Light so casually! Impudent wretch!”

What is this?

“Shamash.”

“In the name of the God of Light, Justice, and Law! I know not who you are, but it seems you wish to bask in a world devoid of all light!”

“Shamash.”

“To continue committing such blasphemy! Very well! You shall learn the fear of losing light… Wait? Is that… a believer’s voice? No, could it be…?”

“Shamash. How foolish. Young Shamash.”

At my words, Shamash remained silent for a while, then cautiously responded.

“H-Hey… Could it be… Mom?”

“You took long enough to realize.”

“Kyaa! Uh, Mom! It’s just that!!”

I sighed softly.

He originally had a bit of a self-absorbed tendency, but it seems to have gotten worse since being revered as a deity.

I didn’t expect him to not even recognize my voice properly.

“Shamash.”

“Kyaa! Yes, yes!!”

“When you’ve done wrong?”

“Sniff… I-I must apologize…”

“That’s right. Then?”

“I’m sorry, Mom…”

Hmm. Good. At least you don’t turn away from your mistakes.

More importantly…

“How did you become a god?”

“Huh? A god?”

“Yes. You’re being revered as a deity despite not being responsible for a specific race like the other children…”

I mean, the Lizardmen revere me as a god too. The situation isn’t much different from Yggdrasil or Sagarmatha. So why Shamash?

“Well… you see, humans are terribly afraid of darkness, so I started shining a bit of light, and they started revering me on their own…”

“Light?”

“Yes. I couldn’t use much power at night, but by maximizing the moonlight and starlight to make it less dark, they started revering me as a god.”

Hmm… becoming a god by brightening the starlight and moonlight? What’s with that strange judgment?

Normally, shouldn’t they worship someone like that as a Moon God or Star God?

“Then what about being the God of Justice and Law?”

“Hmm… when humans held trials for those who committed sins, they proclaimed that my light watches everything. So when I slightly dimmed the light above the heads of those who sinned, they started believing me as the God of Justice and Law.”

Hmm. Is that really okay? Doesn’t it seem quite dangerous to have someone as deficient as this boasting idiot as the God of Justice and Law?

If you’re the God of Justice and Law, shouldn’t you clearly distinguish right from wrong?

“Anyway, I’ve become quite an impressive existence now! I’m different from the old me who just sparkled! Not the same as Shamash anymore! Not Shamash anymore!!”

“You’re still Shamash, aren’t you?”

“It’s just a figure of speech!”

That cough-like tone. Truly.

What a troublesome child.