Chapter: 143
“The sky is the highest, right? It’s the greatest, being above everything! So why won’t you praise me?!”
The sky-colored brat whined and flailed around. Baal.
Seeing that little brat, I let out a sigh.
“I have a lot to say, but first, let me ask you one thing. How did you find me here?”
“Auntie Shamash told me.”
A-Auntie…
Calling Shamash “auntie”… This kid is no ordinary brat.
“Call her ‘sister,’ not ‘auntie.'”
“No way! Considering her age, she’s obviously an auntie!”
“Well, yes, she’s older, but…”
By that logic, would I also be called an auntie?
I’m used to being called “Mom,” but “auntie” is a bit much for my taste.
“So just praise me! Grandma!”
“G-Grandma…”
That was an unexpected strike.
I might need to pat myself on the back for not bursting into flames at that moment.
“Don’t call me grandma…”
“But if it’s just about age, you’re practically an ancestor!”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Attacking with age is pretty low… This kid is something else.
“Come on, deep breaths… Phew…”
It’s just the words of a clueless little brat. Just like a puppy that doesn’t know to fear a tiger.
If I get mad about this, it’ll mean I’m a petty god who gets riled up over a clueless kid’s comments.
So, for now, I’ll let it slide.
“It’s not just about age. Wouldn’t you get upset if someone called you a little brat?”
“But it’s true, isn’t it? An auntie and a grandma.”
“It’s fine to say that in front of Shamash or me, but be careful saying that in front of other kids.”
Shamash probably thinks it’s silly to get mad over that, but other kids might take it seriously and get really mad.
Anyway…
“Did you really come just to ask for one praise?”
“Yep!”
Even though I’m the highest deity, other newly born gods usually hide just from seeing me, but this brat actually sought me out.
Is he fearless? Or just plain brave?
“If you want some praise, you should probably do something worthy of it first. I can’t just praise you for what you were born with.”
Sure, I might compliment his cute looks—calling him handsome or beautiful—but praise should be for achievements, right?
Just being the god of the sky doesn’t earn you praise.
“Hmm… Something praiseworthy…”
The little sky-colored brat thought hard about my words, then opened his mouth with a bright expression.
“I’ll be great! I mean… I’ll be the King! The King of the Gods! Then Grandma will praise me, right?”
“I said to stop calling me Grandma…”
“But if I don’t call you Grandma, then what should I call you?”
“I do have a name, you know. But I won’t tell you.”
At my words, Baal puffed out his cheeks in a huff and said,
“Why won’t you tell me your name?”
The reason for not revealing my name?
I don’t have a particular reason, but… Hmm. Let’s add a bit of flair here to tease this little one.
“The truth is, my name is sealed.”
“Sealed?!”
“Yes. The power of that name is so immense that it could drive even weak beings mad and kill them just by hearing it.”
“Go mad and die…?”
“It’s the same for gods. If they hear or say my name, their divinity would break, and they’d lose their status as a god. So, I sealed my own name.”
Of course, that’s all a lie.
I’ve never told anyone my name, and it doesn’t have any of that power.
Since I’ve never been called by that name, how could anyone know what it’s like?
“So, do you wanna know my name?”
I gave Baal a sly smile and asked, and he started to tremble, turning a pale shade.
He must be imagining all the doom that awaits him if he learns such a dreadfully powerful name.
Hmm. I meant to scare him a little, but this reaction is pretty entertaining.
“Then! I can just call you something else!”
“Hmm?”
Another name?
“Like how Auntie Shamash calls you Mom, or how you’re called the Mother of Life—that’s fine, right?”
“But those aren’t names.”
“Exactly! So I can just call you something other than your name! As long as it’s not that scary name, any other title works, right?”
Nodding slightly at Baal’s reasoning, I realized it’s not a scary name to begin with.
“So, I’ll come up with another name for Grandma!”
“Please stop with the Grandma…”
It seems Baal didn’t hear me at all and shouted in excitement.
“Gaia!”
“Hmm?”
“I’ll call you Gaia! That way, it’s all solved, right?”
“Solved, you say…”
And how did he even find out about Gaia?
That name is definitely from another world, but strangely enough, names from that world keep popping up, even those I didn’t give.
“I’m calling you Gaia! No more Grandma! Can’t call you by name either! And I don’t wanna call you the Mother of Life! Gaia! I’ll call you Gaia!!”
The sky-colored brat continued with his whining, and I let out a little sigh.
“Suit yourself. Do what you want.”
By the way, Gaia… Wasn’t that the goddess of the earth in Greek and Roman mythology?
Time to look it up on Wikipedia.
“In Greek and Roman mythology, the goddess of the earth. The earth itself. The world itself.
She is the goddess of creation and the mother of the world.”
Hmm… Oh… Wait, what?
Look at that! That matches up with me quite well.
Sure, I can overlook the goddess of the earth part, but the goddess of creation and the mother of the world…
“She is said to be the source of life, existing since the world’s birth, embodying the world and the origin of matter, as well as the very laws governing the world. She has the power to create new beings and establish the world. She’s referred to as the goddess of creation and life, presiding over oracles, prophecies, and oaths.”
Hmm… What’s this? It’s practically me.
No, that can’t be right! I’m not a goddess of the earth! I’m just a silver dragon who makes a bit of this and that!
But… Why are there so many similarities? Why? It’s obviously a god from another world, right?
As I was deep in thought, a small voice broke through my musings.
“Do you not like the name Gaia?”
Baal looked anxious and timid. Hmmm… This little brat making that face… I really don’t like it.
Well, the affairs of that other world don’t matter much. That’s their world. This is mine.
It’s a different world, so let’s draw the line.
“I like the name Gaia.”
“Really? You mean it?”
“Yup.”
At my simple reply, Baal swung from despair to delight. He’s truly just a child.
Hmm. Yes. If I raise this kid well… maybe I can slightly lessen his devotion to me, huh?
As the god of the sky, he fits the title of King of the Gods pretty well.
He has a bit of a cocky side to him, but that can be adjusted through proper upbringing.
If I keep being the supreme god, I might really end up becoming the goddess of life itself.
Alright then. Let’s raise this little brat.
Let’s shape him into the god of the sky, and shove the responsibilities back onto him.
This way… my workload might just lighten up. Yeah, let’s do that.
For the sake of my peaceful life. Aim for that lazy lifestyle!!
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Gaia. The Mother of All Earth.
The onset of that name appeared during the era when countless gods were born into the world.
It was the moment the age of the gods began.
While the ancient deities, including the Mother of Life, existed before this time, their realms only covered portions of natural phenomena.
In the gaps left by them, a new generation of gods emerged.
Gaia was one of those new deities.
Numerous theories surround the background of her birth, with the most credible being the theory of the four primal attributes.
According to this theory, the ancient gods of fire, water, wind, and earth maintained the world’s balance.
Originally, Sagarmatha, the sacred mountain of the dwarves, belonged to the earth attribute, but due to opinions that a mere giant mountain god couldn’t oversee the entire earth, it was demoted—some say due to conflicts with the dwarves—and thus a new earth god became necessary, leading to the birth of Gaia.
…
However, the following faith in Gaia was absorbed into the worship of the goddess of life.
In the end, the name Gaia became one of the alternate titles of the goddess of life rather than the earth goddess.
– From “The Age of the Gods,” author unknown.
It’s said that the book contained plenty of claims that were later denied or had uncertain authenticity, and most of it was eventually recalled and destroyed.
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