Chapter: 155
The events that followed were so smooth that it hardly needed any explanation.
I dove into the dreaming mind of the sleeping king of Arcadia, spun a decent story, and off we went with the first beast… Sirius.
In the midst of this process, it seemed the king of Arcadia was peculiarly moved; there was some cleaning and repair done on Sirius’ temple, but that’s just a minor detail.
What’s more, for some reason, it feels like not just Sirius, but my own faith has also gone up… Hmm. Is this how it works when a god directly appears in a human’s dream? I guess an ordinary human’s mind reacts like this when facing a god.
From now on, I should probably refrain from appearing in dreams directly. I only showed a tiny bit of divine glory to make him believe me, yet the king of Arcadia ended up developing quite a hefty faith!
Of course, it could also be because I’m a bit of an oddball among all the gods.
Anyway, with Sirius cradled in my arms, I took to the skies.
“Alright. This is the entrance to the Pantheon where you’ll be living from now on.”
“Woof!”
There we were at the entrance to the Pantheon, perched atop fluffy white clouds. I set Sirius down there.
“Let’s see. First things first, we need to create a place for you to live.”
A doghouse… Nah, that won’t do. You’re a god, after all. A doghouse would look awful.
Since you’re a god, your living space must be a temple. So, let’s build a temple shaped like a watchtower looking over the entrance.
If anyone not a deity tries to come through, Sirius needs to be able to bolt out immediately!
Thus, the simple yet pure white temple was designed to be open, so Sirius could leap out from anywhere!
Sure, the inside is fully visible, making it look vulnerable to attacks, but hey, you can’t have it all.
Not that I think Sirius would easily get caught off guard even if there were an attack.
“Alright, from now on, this will be your home.”
“Woof?”
“What do you have to do? Just hang around here and keep unauthorized folks from passing through, chasing them out if necessary. Though, there aren’t any authorized ones yet…”
At my words, Sirius tilted his head, a look that seemed to say, “Why not?” But what can I say? We just built this place!
For now, we’ll restrict it to beings with divinity… should I make a list?
I actually had the perfect thing for making a divine list—a messenger for gods that I haven’t used much lately.
The only hiccup is that lately, the number of gods has skyrocketed to the point that the list is about to explode!
It’s as if they’re trying to assign a god to everything in existence!
“Anyway, your role is to act like the guard dog of the Pantheon.”
“Woof! Woof!”
Sirius barked as if to say, “Leave it to me!” But since he’s still a bit of a wimpy pup due to not having enough faith, it’s just cute!
I patted Sirius’ head, sharing the faith that had collected within me.
Sure, it was a pretty wasteful way to do things, but what can you do? Transferring one’s faith to another is inherently wasteful in nature.
Anyway, after quite a chunk of my faith evaporated…
“Woof!”
Sirius was able to transform into a massive wolf.
Well, being the first beast, he’s not tied down to a single species, but since his name comes from the Canis constellation, his default form seems to be canine.
I guess that’s pretty appropriate for a guard dog. And lucky for us, it looks like he can transform as he pleases, so that’s no problem!
“I’m counting on you from here on out, Sirius.”
“Woof!!”
And just like that, I secured the watchdog and guardian of the Pantheon.
Now to tidy up the inside and prepare for Baal’s coronation as the king of the gods.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
As for the coronation preparation, there wasn’t much to it.
Just… making a crown to symbolize Baal’s authority?
Since he’s the king of the gods, I figured a plain crown wouldn’t cut it, so I made something a bit special.
A laurel crown made of lightning.
The shape isn’t much different from a laurel wreath, but the material? Lightning woven into a crown!
Whoever wears this crown will wield lightning as their weapon!
Sure, it’s sort of a tribute to Zeus from Greek and Roman mythology!
Though it’s meant to be light-hearted imitation, the crown’s effectiveness is no joke.
A crown that can generate and hurl bolts of lightning like javelins. Its strength is on par with actual lightning—so naturally, it’s powerful!
Plus, lightning has long been seen as a symbol of great harvests. It reacts with nitrogen in the air, creating fertilizer to help plants grow well.
Just like Thor in Norse mythology is revered as a god of the harvest, you could say the lightning god is akin to the god of bountiful harvests.
For humans, abundant food is a lifeline extension. Thus, the lightning god is perfectly fitting for the title of king among the gods.
That said, it’s not something just anyone can wield.
The crown has so much power that if one isn’t suited for it, they can’t even put it on their head!
One needs to have a natural affinity for lightning, as well as strength enough to wear it.
Honestly, since it was made specifically for Baal, it would be a bit of a mess if any other gods could use it.
As I admired the completed crown, Nyx, who was lingering behind me, mentioned in a quiet voice,
“It’s dazzlingly crackling…”
“Well, it is lightning.”
The white lightning bolts sparkled as they formed the crown, a lovely sight in its own way.
Speaking of which…
“Nyx, how long are you planning to stick to my back?”
“Uh, can I keep hanging on?”
“You’ve been doing that for days! Isn’t it time you let go?”
I didn’t mind the shy, dark-haired beauty clinging to me too much, but if it keeps going on for days, it could become problematic.
I do have a private life, you know.
“Oh, uhhh… Yes, I’ll let go after the coronation ceremony…”
Nyx replied in a somewhat deflated tone. I felt a little guilty, but what could I do?
I can’t have her riding on my back forever!
“Anyway, it looks like preparations are mostly done.”
There were several temples built in the Pantheon, and yes, they were all my handiwork.
While I was at it, I built temples for the kids too. They’re a tad smaller since there isn’t a main deity in them…
Ah, but I did make Shamash’s temple a bit bigger than the others. As the god of light, justice, and law, his domain differs from the other kids’.
And even if Baal becomes the king of the gods, Shamash’s significance will remain unchanged.
“So, should we start summoning everyone?”
And let’s gather all the other gods while we’re at it.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The Pantheon, a place exclusively accessible to the gods.
Its existence was practically a secret, but one by one, the gods began to arrive.
Following distant voices, they headed to the higher realm above the clouds.
Riding on a vibrant rainbow that only those with divine status could see, passing by the towering wolf guarding the clouds, to the entrance that opens at the crossroad of day and night, leading them to the world above the clouds.
They followed the kind and noble voice that called forth all the gods, entering the realm meant just for the divine.
And thus, the doors of the Pantheon, the sanctuary for all gods, swung wide open.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Wow. A lot more turned up than I expected.
I sent out a mass message to the other gods using the divine messenger, Godtalk, but this is way more than I thought would show.
“It’s time.”
I watched as Baal emerged from the back room, freshly changed into his attire.
His pure white outfit and sky-blue hair mingled together, reminiscent of the very sky.
Yet for some reason, a deep furrow of worry had settled on Baal’s face.
“Is something bothering you?”
“Yes… There’s a concern that doesn’t seem to have an easy resolution.”
“What kind of concern is it?”
At this critical moment of becoming king of the gods, what kind of problem could he be grappling with?
“It’s something I can’t speak of with Gaia.”
“And me?”
What sort of issue is so troubling he can’t confide even in me?
Well, it probably isn’t anything too significant.
“I can’t quite understand what kind of concern someone about to become king of the gods could have, but… do you really think it’s necessary to worry about it?”
“Huh?”
I gently placed my hand on Baal’s head and said,
“You are destined to become the king of the gods. In other words, you will stand above all the other deities.”
“……”
“I don’t know what concerns you might have, but don’t you think that the power that comes with being king should help resolve those worries?”
As the supreme god, at the moment Baal occupies that title, I’d say only I and my children are worthy rivals.
And with his passing of trials, there’s practically no one left who could oppose Baal.
“As king of the gods, you have the right to claim everything in this world.”
“Everything in this world…”
“With the capacity to grasp something so vast as the king of gods, what troubles you have now are undoubtedly trivial in comparison. So why stress over them anymore?”
If Baal, who has so many duties ahead as king, gets tangled up in such trivial worries and forgets his responsibilities, that could be quite an issue for me!
“Mm… Thank you, Gaia.”
“It’s nothing. Just a small thing.”
“Thanks to you, I’ve come to a decision. I really appreciate your help.”
Bright smiles blossomed on Baal’s face as he said that.
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