Chapter: 162
“Ah, so the archaeologist who said he would never see my face again has come to seek me out. What’s the reason?”
Hwangdonggyeong’s words were laced with a hint of sarcasm. Back then… well, he had a point.
After all the hardships I went through to get that relic, I’d be furious if someone just snatched it away with money and a letter, right?
But that was then, and this is now.
“I’m looking for something, but I need help. I can’t do it alone.”
“Hmmm… I don’t know what you’re searching for, but the fact that you came to me means it’s no ordinary item. Alright, do you need money?”
“It’s not just about needing money. I’ve heard that the dwarves have a record repository that only a select few can enter.”
At my words, Hwangdonggyeong looked a bit surprised.
“A record repository? Why are you looking for that?”
“The information I’m after… is knowledge that hasn’t been recorded for humans. I’ve heard the dwarves have such an obsession with their records that they outshine human imagination, so I was wondering if there might be something there that humans have forgotten.”
“Hmmm…”
Hwangdonggyeong stroked his golden beard, deep in thought.
Will he really let me into that record repository?
I’m not sure. It’s a 50/50 shot… but Hwangdonggyeong might have some other conditions up his sleeve.
“There’s no precedent for a human going into the record repository… but since you returned the Ground Crusher, I’ll give it a try.”
“Really?”
“But there’s a condition.”
“A condition?”
Hwangdonggyeong’s golden eyes locked onto mine.
I could see the greed hanging out in the corner of those eyes, but with no choice left to me, I had to go along with what he said.
“Make me your patron.”
“Patron?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what you’re chasing after, but seeing you come to me—someone you said you’d never meet again—just to hunt for clues suggests it’s no ordinary thing.”
I couldn’t find the words.
Would Hwangdonggyeong even believe me if I said I was looking for clues about the King of the Gods?
Or is it even okay to mention that being so casually in the first place?
“Half the rights to whatever you find. If you agree, I’ll pull some strings to help you as your patron.”
“Half…”
“Whether it’s a tangible item or intangible knowledge, I want half the rights. Of course, I’ll do my best to assist you in whatever you need, and I’ll pledge financial support if necessary. For a skilled grave robber—uh, I mean archaeologist like you, that’s worth it. Something like the role of a co-discoverer, how about that?”
Hwangdonggyeong’s lips, hidden beneath his golden beard, curved into a greedy smile.
Should I really accept this greedy dwarf’s proposition?
No, no. I don’t even have a choice here, do I? What am I even fretting over?
If I don’t take his hand, I’ll end up with nothing, and if I do, I’ll have the backing of one of the richest dwarves around.
I had no room to hesitate.
“Fine. I promise. I’ll give you half the rights to what I find.”
“Great. You made the right choice.”
Hwangdonggyeong extended his short arm, offering me his hand. His hand, no longer used for hammering stuff for ages, had barely any calluses. It didn’t feel very “dwarfish.”
I didn’t turn down that greedy hand.
“So, can you tell me what you’re looking for?”
As expected, here we go.
I casually glanced at the door behind me.
Is it alright to blab freely in this room? What if someone overhears?
“Hmmm. Are you worried about your voice leaking outside?”
Hwangdonggyeong must have sensed my unease because he pressed something on his desk.
A faint magical barrier then wrapped around the walls.
“What’s this…?”
“A trick to keep secrets. Inside this barrier, your voice won’t leak. It cost me quite a bit, but it does its job well.”
Indeed, a barrier using magic stones. So dwarven!
So, in this secretive space, I laid it all out for Hwangdonggyeong about what I was looking for.
—
A year passed. Time spent once more with Sagarmatha.
Well, it wasn’t too shabby… sometimes other kids came over to play.
Sagarmatha, however, often wore a disgruntled face whenever other kids popped by.
“Aren’t those your siblings? Why the long face?”
“But Mom, I should get you all to myself…”
“Oh come on, I’m not some exclusive item to be monopolized.”
I gave Sagarmatha a gentle tap on the head.
“Well, thanks to that, I’ve had a nice, leisurely time doing various things.”
I had automated some of my duties as the Goddess of Life, tidied up elements related to the Lizardmen under the Creator Dragon God’s jurisdiction, and Cloud Whale, strangely enough, started doing his job correctly, maturing to some extent.
Maybe the problems caused among the different races were overshadowed by the various godly mix-ups, as the inter-species conflicts have been quite calm lately. Occasionally the kids would come over to hang out.
Hmm. I should’ve automated things sooner. Convenience truly is king.
As a result, unless Baal drops by asking for help, I’ve been blissfully relaxed.
“Gaia!!”
Just like now.
“Baal, did I not repeatedly tell you to give me a heads-up before showing up?”
Thanks to that, Sagarmatha sitting beside me is now livid. Her face is flushed and ready to blow, looking like a volcano about to erupt.
“Enough of that, help me! I can’t take it anymore!!”
“Hmmm? Can’t take it anymore?”
“Those moron gods! They’ve gone beyond squabbling among themselves and are now starting territorial wars!!”
Territorial wars…? What the heck is that?
“What the heck did they do to kick off a territorial battle?”
“I didn’t do anything! They just started fighting over territory like a bunch of idiots!”
What in the world is going on?
“Calmly tell me the details.”
I gently tugged Sagarmatha to rest her head on my lap, covering her eyes with my hand to keep her from exploding with anger, and then I asked Baal.
“Well, you see…”
—
After hearing Baal’s explanation, I pieced together the gist.
There’s this ongoing land grab war among the gods, where they’re stealing each other’s faith from humans.
Gods, by nature, gain strength from human devotion, so the more believers they have, the stronger they get.
Thus, the conflicts arise among gods desiring more faith, and Baal, the King of the Gods, has been mediating these squabbles.
But now, the gods have started forming alliances with others from similar cultures, cozying up, and plundering the faith of different gods.
It’s what you’d call a “religious war,” I guess?
Even if Baal suppresses and punishes individual gods, those in alliance continue to cause havoc, and if he tries to restrain too many at once, other gods start stirring up trouble in the chaos.
While explaining, Baal was getting more heated, and I had to intervene before he actually zapped everything with lightning bolts.
“I get it now. It’s like a game of territorial control strategy, akin to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”
“Romance of the Three Kingdoms? A territorial control strategy game?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
Looks like Baal is facing an uphill battle trying to manage this religious war of stealing and being stolen.
Hmm. It’s pretty much like “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” With Baal as the emperor-like King of the Gods, it makes sense.
“Anyway, with the gods throwing punches, a lot of humans are getting caught in the collateral damage too. I keep trying to mediate, but it’s never-ending, and I don’t know how to fix it!”
Geez, these gods sure bring a boatload of headaches. If only they could argue through spreading faith instead of getting physical.
Even physical clashes among believers should be off-limits. Setting a safety mechanism like that would surely help to mitigate issues.
“Maybe I should just restrict the gods from showing up on the mortal plane…”
“Wouldn’t that backfire? What if the peaceful gods become a problem as well?”
I nodded at Baal’s logic. So what’s the game plan then…?
“Let’s set up and announce rules.”
“Rules?”
“Yup. If there are rules in play, we can punish those who break them. If some of the allied gods cause trouble, we can collectively hold them accountable. They won’t dare act recklessly then.”
“Will that be enough?”
“If it’s not enough… Can’t you just fry the gods that undermine the authority of the King of the Gods with some lightning?”
To be honest, these gods have caused chaos more than once.
It’s getting tiresome, and it’s high time we slap some sense into them.
Setting rules would provide us some justification for keeping them in check.
“You can ask Shamash for help with the rules; she’s the expert on law and regulations. Once the rules are set, I can help you announce them.”
“Okay! Thanks, Gaia! I’m off now!”
With that, Baal strode out of the room looking way cheerier than he did when he came in.
Well, I doubt having rules will make the gods suddenly behave themselves.
As long as they don’t exploit loopholes to stir up chaos, I’ll consider it a win… But I trust Shamash’s expertise to draft the rules meticulously.
Should things still be problematic down the line, I could always raise barriers to prevent the gods from manifesting in the mortal realm.
Even if some gods end up losing their faith by being cut off from humans, it’ll be the fault of those who started the mess.
The gods that caused all this nuisance are the ones in the wrong.
“Mom.”
“Hm? What is it, Sagarmatha?”
Sagarmatha, resting her head on my lap with her eyes closed, spoke softly.
“I really dislike that guy.”
I gently patted Sagarmatha’s head, softly replying, “Don’t be too harsh. If it weren’t for him doing the job of King of the Gods, I wouldn’t have this leisure time.”
If I had been in Baal’s position…
The only gods remaining in this world would have been me and my kids.
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