Ch.234Chapter 234 – Little Goddess (1)

“God?”

I managed to stammer out in confusion at the sudden statement.

“What do you mean by god…?”

[Sounds random, doesn’t it?]

Dvel said, looking at me.

[But let me be clear. The seal was also created by the Goddess Evgenia to create a successor god to follow after her.]

“…Can one become a god so easily?”

Eve quietly asked in response to Dvel’s words.

[A god is certainly not something one can become just by wanting to.]

Dvel lightly acknowledged.

[But no one has decreed it impossible either.]

“Of course, due to inherent limitations, it would be closer to an imitation, if we’re being precise.”

Rubrum interjected and answered.

“An imitation?”

“Yes. A special condition that fulfills the requirements of godhood.”

Rubrum looked at Eve as he spoke.

“What do you think are the characteristics of a god?”

At Rubrum’s question, Eve fell into thought for a moment.

And I quietly spoke, recalling the words of the divine official who once guarded the seal.

“That they gather faith to grow their power?”

“Correct.”

Rubrum quietly answered.

“That is the characteristic of those you now call gods.”

Rubrum turned toward us.

“More precisely, it’s the characteristic of gods who came from another world.”

“Another world?”

Rubrum nodded.

“All beings that humans here call gods are entities that came from another world.”

At Rubrum’s words, everyone silently focused on what he was saying.

And Rubrum continued in a quiet voice, as if reading from a book.

“Those who came from another world had different characteristics from the native gods. They could gather faith just like the native gods here, and they could convert that faith into power.”

So that’s the characteristic of a god.

But there was something I hadn’t heard before.

“Native gods?”

I asked about this unfamiliar term.

And Rubrum nodded and continued.

“God-like beings who were born together with this world when it was created. Beings who could gather faith.”

And then, Rubrum paused briefly.

“…Except for one, they were all eliminated by gods who came from another world. Before the world was formed as it is now, before dimensions were divided and boundaries were created, in the distant ancient times, it was common for beings from another world to attack native gods.”

Though Rubrum said this, it wasn’t hard to imagine how chaotic that world must have been.

“Except for just one?”

Rubrum nodded at Sera’s question.

“Yes. The only being that the gods from another world couldn’t handle.”

Rubrum nodded and said.

“The one called the father of dragons, the First Dragon. He was the only native god who survived.”

Rubrum quietly said.

“It was possible because he was so strong that beings from another world couldn’t approach him. Eventually, the gods from another world ceased their hostility with him, a native god, and shared rights with him. After that, they began to spread their roots in their own way and increase their faith.”

Like turning to the next page of a book.

Rubrum’s voice paused for a moment.

“The gods from another world increased their faith by targeting the sentient beings that appeared after the native gods. And the First Dragon created, raised, and combined his avatars to create a new race.”

A new race born from the First Dragon.

“As you might guess, that new race is the Dragon race. The descendants of the great native god.”

Rubrum said this and turned his body slightly.

After a brief silence, as if turning pages in his mind, he soon opened his mouth again.

“However, no matter how the First Dragon created his descendants, it was clear that eventually, over the long years, the gods from another world would come to rule this world. This was because the great native god and his descendants could not convert faith into power like the gods from another world.”

While the enemy gradually grew stronger, the First Dragon had no way to increase his power further.

But they wouldn’t just sit back and take it.

“That’s why they created one weapon.”

“A weapon?”

“Yes. A weapon.”

Rubrum paused briefly, then quietly said.

“It’s what you call magic.”

At Rubrum’s words, Beatrice and Asam’s eyes narrowed slightly.

But Rubrum continued without paying much attention to them.

“A power created using mana, a resource that is continuously generated in this world. The dragons wanted to check the gods from another world with this power that temporarily controls reality.”

And then, Rubrum took a breath before speaking again.

“On the other hand, while the gods from another world couldn’t create their own race like the native gods, they could share a power called divine force. They distributed this divine force to sentient beings and added their faith to their own power.”

Rubrum looked at us once more and said.

“This is the background of the birth of magic and religion, and also the reason for the birth of divine arts. It’s the difference between dragons, who can convert this world’s resources into power because they are descendants of native gods, and gods who can convert faith into power because they are beings from another world.”

Rubrum looked at me again and said.

“As such, even Evgenia couldn’t create a new god. Because she, who came from another world, and beings of this world are fundamentally different.”

“So that’s why it would be an imitation at best.”

“Correct.”

Rubrum quietly said again.

“…However, on the other hand, it’s also difficult to simply call it an imitation.”

After saying that, Rubrum quietly asked Eve.

“Let me ask you, girl. What would you call someone who directly exercises a god’s divine force?”

“…A clergy, perhaps?”

Eve answered cautiously.

But it seemed she herself guessed this answer was incorrect.

[Clergy are, strictly speaking, those who can exercise divine force received from a god on behalf of the god.]

“It’s not an appropriate term for those who directly exercise divine force.”

Followers merely use divine force received from a god.

They’re just using what they receive, not handling the power of its owner.

‘Then the term for someone who can directly exercise a god’s divine force…’

Someone who can directly exercise a god’s divine force.

Someone who can use the pure power of a god, not that of followers.

Then there was only one title that could be used.

“Such a being can only be described as a god as well.”

It was the most fundamental point.

One who can directly use divine force.

That would be the god who owns the divine force.

Therefore, if one can use that divine force, they should be called a god.

The point was that since Chris directly accumulated and exercised divine force, she couldn’t be categorized as a mere follower.

“Therefore, while Evgenia couldn’t create a perfect god, she could create a god decent enough to succeed her.”

[Your companion is precisely the suitable candidate to become that god.]

Dvel’s words quietly spread around.

Feeling a slight headache from the sudden influx of information, I quietly said.

“I never heard anything like this from the guardian…”

The priestess who guarded the first seal never said anything like this.

Originally, visiting the seal to absorb divine force was to create something called a stigma with that divine force to nullify the heresy judgment placed on me.

If it was about creating a god from the beginning, then that guardian didn’t tell us everything.

“One shouldn’t assume that a guardian knows all the truth.”

Rubrum quietly said.

“It was a god who planned all this. Don’t expect a god to reveal everything to others.”

Even a guardian protecting an important seal might not know all the truth.

After saying this, Rubrum quietly added.

“Considering her personality, she probably hid from the guardian that the one who absorbed her divine force would become a new god to succeed her.”

“Why do you think she hid it?”

“I don’t know.”

Rubrum boldly stated and then quietly said.

“Even if I wanted to ask, except for my contract with her and some relics, she is no longer in this world.”

Rubrum said it’s impossible to confirm with someone who is no longer in this world.

“Perhaps she was being considerate of her remaining followers who might see it as another blasphemy, or perhaps she hid it out of caution against someone.”

“Caution, huh.”

Rubrum didn’t specify, but that must have been the correct answer.

Considering the location of the seal and how to find it, it could only mean she was cautious of someone.

From the start, in the case of this seal, which was guarded by a dragon, it had gone beyond the stage of consideration.

“The seal has been fabricated in all sorts of ways to avoid detection by other gods.”

And then, Rubrum pointed to himself.

“This is also something the god directly told me when contracting with me, so there should be no mistake on this point.”

“Directly?”

“Yes.”

Rubrum quietly affirmed.

“…She came to me directly while I was quietly sleeping at the edge of the world until the promised day, as per our contract.”

Rubrum’s words ended.

A seal created out of caution against other gods, and guarded by a dragon.

I couldn’t guess just how important whatever was hidden might be.

After pondering for a long time, there was no way to figure out what the seal was hiding.

Instead, I decided to ask about something Rubrum had mentioned.

“The promised day?”

I asked this question wondering if it might be related to the seal.

And Rubrum answered immediately.

“That part is not for you to know. Do not concern yourself with it.”

Perhaps thinking there was no reason for him to explain, Rubrum spoke coldly.

And showing no intention of letting me dig deeper into the topic, he immediately opened his mouth and said.

“To summarize, she had no intention of creating a completely new god.”

[If it was enough to have someone who could succeed her, even if not perfect—someone who inherited her divine force—then that was sufficient for her.]

Dvel said this while looking at me.

[Now, doesn’t this raise a question?]

As Dvel said, this now raised one more point to address.

“Why did she want to create a god?”

If Evgenia tried to create a god with her divine force, there must have been a reason.

And Rubrum, seeming to know that reason, opened his mouth.

“You saw fragments inside the seal, didn’t you? Do you remember?”

“I remember.”

They were definitely fragments composed of Evgenia’s divine force.

According to the guardian, a large portion of that immense divine force goes into maintaining the seal daily, as part of Evgenia’s arrangement.

Recalling this, Rubrum muttered that I had saved him the trouble of explaining, and opened his mouth again.

“Those fragments are Evgenia’s divine force that she fragmented herself.”

And Rubrum said that she divided it into five parts and sealed them, which is what the current seals are.

“The seals exist to maintain the fragments. There is something she arranged within the fragments. However, for that purpose, two conditions must be met first.”

“What conditions?”

“First, all five seals must be released.”

Rubrum quietly explained.

“There are no special conditions for this. It is sufficient for Evgenia’s successor to visit the seals.”

“…And the other condition?”

“A ‘god’ is needed to activate the seal.”

Rubrum quietly said.

“For whatever she arranged, there needed to be a god who inherited her divine force.”

[And the one who has obtained Evgenia’s divine force through the fragments in the seals, thus qualifying, is your blonde companion.]

Dvel’s words ended.

‘A god is needed, huh.’

So that means Chris is the suitable candidate they designated to become that god.

‘…This is a bit unsettling.’

What was unsettling was that Chris’s will wasn’t involved at all in this.

Just as I thought there was nothing I could do about it right now, Rubrum looked at the closed seal.

“Of course, until now, she has been nothing more than a human who can directly exercise a god’s divine force.”

And, with his gaze still on the seal, he quietly said.

“But if she overcomes this trial, then it would be better to call her a small goddess.”

“A small goddess…”

“After all, the seal I’m guarding was adjusted to awaken the suitable candidate as a seed of godhood.”

That’s why the god directly contracted with him and asked him to protect this place.

Rubrum quietly said.

“…How did you know about this?”

“I heard some of the circumstances from that god.”

Rubrum added that he had already mentioned this.

And Dvel, glancing slightly at Rubrum, said.

[And I learned about these facts relatively recently when someone told me such a story.]

Dvel added that at the time he heard the story, it was still at the hypothesis stage.

And it seemed Rubrum also knew who that person was.

“You mean that alchemist.”

At Rubrum’s words, Dvel nodded.

“Alchemist?”

“Someone who visited my lair several decades ago.”

This was someone occasionally mentioned when we came here.

I didn’t know they were an alchemist.

And Dvel finally seemed to remember and quietly said.

[The name was, yes, definitely Maria.]

“Grandmother…?”

Sera’s eyes widened.