Chapter: 267
Um… This is a big problem.
Perhaps I have created something that could change the world.
“Let me try again! Just one more time!!!”
“Get lost! It’s my turn!!!”
“I’ll give you as much faith as you want!!!!”
“Step back! I said step back!!!”
The chaos unfolded in the Pantheon’s square. Countless deities were clinging to Asherit.
At the center… there was the prototype device I created.
“Wait! I said it’s just a trial version, so let’s keep it to one time each!!!”
“I don’t care about that!!! Show me my believer! Let me see the world through my believer’s eyes!!!”
“Ugh! Seriously!!!”
Asherit forced back several gods who were stubbornly sticking around and, after settling the situation somewhat, looked around and said.
“It’s barely even finished! Today is just a trial version! It’s a test!! Chill out and wait!!”
“Making us go through this and telling us to wait is too much, don’t you think?!”
“What do you want me to do!!! The Goddess of Life is busy working hard on it, so just wait quietly!!”
Isn’t mass production still far away? Right now, I just set up a test to observe the reactions, didn’t I?
Why does it feel like we’re starting mass production already? There’s still plenty of stuff that needs tweaking!
“Then I’ll have to ask the Goddess of Life to hurry up with it!”
“B-but what if the Goddess of Life gets angry? She might cancel the creation if she finds it bothersome…”
“Ugh… Given her personality, considering how she’s already reduced a significant number of gods… I can’t deny that.”
Why is my personality being questioned! Isn’t this a pretty decent personality?! The gods were pushed too far, and that’s why they got reduced!!
Ugh. Did I make this thing for no reason? Hmm…
Ah, I don’t know! For now, I’ll just mass-produce a prototype with minimal functions and distribute it! I’ll gradually upgrade it to higher performance!
That way, complaints should disappear!
What the heck is happening! The workload keeps increasing!!
All I want is to laze around and do nothing! But as soon as I do anything, the workload just piles up… Ugh…
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The prototypes I created sold like hotcakes to the countless gods.
Wait, how is a device that doesn’t even have a proper name selling like this? What even is this?
Gods who tried the prototype set up in the square bought it without hesitation, and as word of mouth spread about the experience, everyone lined up to try the demo and buy the prototypes, creating a continuous cycle of purchasing.
It amazed me with a 100% market share in prototype purchases among most gods.
What is happening here? This is terrifying… They only tested it a little, yet it’s causing such explosive reactions—was there really that little entertainment for the gods…?
On the bright side, since it’s just a prototype, they were merely observing from the believer’s perspective, so I could churn them out quickly without any major issues.
The one regret is… that I still haven’t given it a proper name. Hmm… let’s come up with a temporary name. Since it’s a machine that allows you to experience human life… Life Experience Device? Hmm, that sounds too stiff.
Since it’s designed for experiences like VR—uh… no, it’s not a virtual reality, so VR won’t work. Full dive… dive…
Since it’s a device that dives into life, how about Life Diver? If I shorten it, it’s LD…? Hmm. Should I go with that? Just a temporary name for now.
And to prevent the gods from getting too over-invested, or addicted, I’ll set it up so they automatically exit when their vicar falls asleep. The final version will let them enjoy it more properly.
Thus, development on the device, temporarily named “Life Diver,” proceeded smoothly.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Initially, the Life Diver, LD, was created for the amusement of the gods… but as time passed, an unexpected effect started to emerge.
While observing from the believer’s perspective through LD, a growing attachment to humans began to form among the gods.
Originally, for the gods, humans were merely subjects for collecting faith. Resources. Workers. Labor. Tools for evangelism, and so on. However, through LD, it seemed they began to experience and spend time from the viewpoint of each believer, developing attachments over time.
Well, even if it’s an attachment, it’s towards something they consider inferior… it’s like treating them as pets.
Thinking about how, before this, humans were viewed at the level of crops for collecting faith…
Ahem. In any case, it’s undoubtedly a good thing that the gods began to care for humans. It means humans tortured by the gods’ nasty prophecies might stop existing.
But.
“Please! Goddess of Life! Revive my believer!”
“No.”
“Please! I’ll do anything! Please!!”
“No means no!!”
It’s quite troublesome that gods who had developed too much attachment to humans are starting to ask me to revive those whose lifespans have run out.
I understand their feelings! But what’s not allowed is not allowed!
“Is that so…?”
“I would consider it if it’s something like healing before death, or curing illnesses, or mending injuries. But asking to bring back the dead is utterly impossible! Got it? Now go! Don’t disturb the development!”
Development needs to proceed further! Like point restrictions for avatar creation! Features for sensitive gods to limit sensory experiences!
There are bugs causing the sound to cut out or occasionally flipping perspectives, and bugs that make them pop out of LD due to sudden pain! Those need fixing too!
Additionally, for gods with fewer believers or those who only engage in serious training and miss out on fun, it’s important to set up a shared service for believers belonging to the Church of Life!
After all this, if gods watch LD only to see humans nearly dead, I need to add a target-search function that allows them to reset LD until they get their desired subject!
And, for the special LD that surpasses level one, I’d consider implementing microtransactions for faith to allow external support!
There’s a mountain of tasks! Why do I have to listen to these childish requests from gods!?
Where’s Asherit! Asherit!!! Shouldn’t you be dealing with the gods instead of me!!! Argh! Damn it! You’re too deep in LD!!! That rascal!!!!
I forcibly pushed away the clingy god who was begging and pulled Asherit out, who showed no sign of exiting LD.
“What?! Wh-what’s happening?!”
“What do you mean, what’s happening? You’ve abandoned your responsibilities and are just lost in LD!!”
“Uh, um… so….”
Asherit stumbled over their words. It seemed they were aware they had done something wrong, especially as I was upset.
“Do you know why I’m angry?”
“Uh, yes… it’s because of LD, isn’t it…?”
“It’s not just because you did LD that I’m angry! I’m angry because you’re neglecting your responsibilities just to indulge in LD!!”
Upon hearing this, Asherit fell silent.
How ridiculous! Even the prayers of believers that Asherit should be handling are now piling up on me!!! I can’t just put aside the believers’ prayers while developing!
Thanks to that, I’ve become somewhat accustomed to multitasking, but this isn’t right!!!
“I-I’m sorry…”
Asherit quickly shrank, and usually, they’d nag me to do my tasks, but the roles have completely reversed now.
Well, it just shows how deeply Asherit is immersed in LD.
Ah! That’s it! Maybe I should add a feature to work while doing LD… but would that cause issues?
It could potentially break full immersion, but at least it would prevent tasks from piling up… Hmm. Maybe I’ll make it a feature usable for high-tier devices.
“Anyway, don’t slack off on your work. Got it?”
“Yes… I’m really sorry.”
After scolding Asherit, I returned to the lab where I was developing LD.
“Hmm… is this it? Is this what it is?”
“P-please stop. If the Goddess comes… ugh!”
There stood Freya, looking flustered, beside a childlike god I had never seen before near the LD I was developing.
Who is that…? A god I’ve never seen before.
The little god had fluffy white hair, bright innocent sky-blue eyes, and resembled a young child.
Um… wait, could it be?
“Cloud Whale?”
Upon hearing their name, the little god’s eyes widened, and they quickly hid behind Freya.
“I’m s-sorry! I won’t touch recklessly!”
“Cloud Whale! Hiding behind me doesn’t actually hide you!!”
Hmm. I had a suspicion, but it really is Cloud Whale…
Did they gain the ability to transform into a human? Well, given they were responsible for birthing new life, they probably possess a significant amount of power.
It’s just that… probably due to having the intelligence of a young child, they couldn’t fully take on a human form. After all, they are the oldest among the gods under my domain as the Goddess of Life.
Their role in birthing all life is not small at all.
“I won’t get angry, so come out here.”
“R-really? You won’t get angry?”
“Yeah.”
At my words, Cloud Whale cautiously stepped out from behind Freya.
That appearance was undeniably a cute little girl.
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