Chapter: 190
After much deliberation, the King knelt before the Queen and Asterios, begging for forgiveness.
Asterios was taken aback by such a sight and didn’t know how to respond.
“How can you show that shameless face of yours?”
The Queen didn’t seem inclined to forgive easily.
“Your Majesty….”
“You didn’t listen to me when I told you time and again, and now you think I’ll accept your apology just because you’re saying it now?”
The King was silent, like a speechless fool, unable to utter a word. If he had any conscience at all, he wouldn’t have anything to say.
“No, but how could I know my grandmother was a beastman? My mother never mentioned it even once.”
Hmm. No conscience, it seems. Despite everything, he’s still talking.
Is it that one becomes shameless when in the position of a King, or is this just who he is?
“Regardless, you thought of me, your wife, as an adulteress! Was I merely that little of a woman to you?!”
“W-Well, at that time, I was shocked that the child—no, the boy—was born with horns…”
“You just called him a monster again! He is your son! What kind of father calls his child a monster?! You foolish man!!!”
The King fell silent in the face of the Queen’s strong words.
Truly, he can rule a kingdom but can’t manage his own household.
“Well, I suppose the third party should gracefully exit now.”
I said, pulling Asterios, who was nervously watching the couple quarrel.
“Then, as promised, I will take Asterios with me.”
“What?! What do you mean?!”
“It’s a deal with your husband. In exchange for resolving the issue, I’ll take this boy with me.”
At my words, the Queen looked utterly bewildered and began yelling at the King again.
“What does that mean?! Why on earth would you agree to that?! He is only 14 years old!”
“Well, it’s just that… you see…”
“Don’t stutter! Speak clearly! What does that even mean?!”
The Queen glared at the King as if she were about to eat him. At this rate, I thought it might be best to intervene before I felt too sorry for him.
“Well, even if I take him, it’s just to keep him company while we explore the world together. After a year or two, when we’ve wandered around enough, I’ll return him, so no need to worry.”
“But… we just got reunited… can’t you give us a little more time?”
I left the sulking Queen behind and turned to Asterios.
“Your mother is saying this. What do you think?”
Asterios, despite his large size, hesitated and spoke in a very small voice.
“If… if it’s alright, I would like to spend a little time with my mother. Even a few days would be good.”
Hmm. He may be bigger than an adult, but he’s still a child at heart.
Well, being thrown into a maze at such a young age, he must long for the comfort of his parents.
In that case…
“I’ll give you seven days. After that, you must come with me.”
“Seven days….”
Asterios nodded meekly, but the Queen looked displeased.
“After years apart, only seven days…?”
“If you don’t like it, I can leave right now.”
At my somewhat harsh words, the Queen sighed and nodded, resigned.
“It may be a short time to catch up after so many years, but I should be satisfied that you’ve brought him back from the maze. Very well.”
Finally, the Queen seemed to understand, shaking her head. Complaining further wouldn’t change anything anyway.
Then…
“I will return in seven days. Prepare to leave by then. Oh, and try not to be too harsh on the King.”
That fool must have worried and suffered quite a bit too, after all.
Although the results of that worry have plummeted into disaster.
With that, I left Asterios behind and exited the palace.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
One week.
A short time, yet for some, it feels long.
During the time I allowed Asterios, I called out:
“Shamash.”
“Yes, Mom! You called for me!”
Shamash appeared as if waiting for my summons, seemingly prepared to answer at any moment.
“It’s been a while.”
“About 300 years. It’s not that long, though.”
“Right, it was 300 years. But you managed to sense where I was?”
“Of course. It’s your business, after all. I felt it while watching the trial of the rat beastmen last year.”
The trial of the rat beastmen?
Ah, was it when they were judging the leaders of the rat beastmen along with Maybel’s grandfather?
Thinking back, Shamash’s name was on the verdict back then.
“I was watching that trial and sensed your presence nearby. I figured if you didn’t call me, there must be a reason, so I remained silent.”
“I see.”
Well, Shamash would likely keep an eye on most trials. It’s no surprise they would quickly catch on if I were nearby.
“So, have you been doing well?”
“Yes, I’ve been busy. Over time, the number of humans keeps rising, but crimes don’t seem to decrease. It’s exhausting to oversee all the trials happening here and there. I wish I had three bodies to handle it all.”
“Well, everyone has those kinds of thoughts.”
In reality, I have created split bodies to handle the work.
If I hadn’t done that… I definitely wouldn’t have had the luxury to take a long nap.
“How about the Pantheon?”
“Um… I have both bad news and worse news. Which would you like to hear first?”
“Bad news and worse news?”
Isn’t it typically good news and bad news?
“In that case, let’s hear the bad news first.”
“First the bad news… Baal has been split into several pieces.”
“Hmm? What does that mean?”
Why on earth did Baal get split apart? Wasn’t he supposed to be diligently working as the King of the Gods?
“Well, the incident started with what you call ‘splitting.’ The method of dividing the divine realm into parts began it.”
“Why?”
“It all began when Baal, overwhelmed with too many responsibilities, saw your split body working as the Goddess of Life and decided to follow suit.”
Hmmm… Just because he split himself doesn’t mean it should lead to trouble.
Even splitting the divine realm shouldn’t inherently be a problem; well… ah.
“Baal is in a different position than I am.”
“Yes. You were a powerful being even before becoming a god, so splitting your divine nature wouldn’t be a problem. Even if the power of the divided body is significant, it’s just a grain of sand in a vast desert compared to your true body.”
“But Baal is not the same.”
Baal was a god born from the faith directed towards the heavens. His true essence could be considered the vast sky itself.
That sky holds no power. It merely extends endlessly.
Thus, when Baal, a god born from the faith of the sky, splits his divine essence, it’s only natural he becomes weaker.
“Baal divided his divine essence into splits. And he sent each one to the different factions of the gods.”
“By factions of the gods, do you mean like Olympus?”
“Yes. Olympus, Ennead, Asgard, and Lokapala… and several others. However, it seems there was a mistake in the splitting process… The total divine essence of the given splits ended up being similar in size to what Baal had remaining for himself.”
“What?”
To divide the divine essence into similarly sized portions. If so…
“If the splits were to revolt, wouldn’t he be unable to suppress them?”
“Yes. Baal thought his splits wouldn’t unite, and they indeed didn’t, but… another problem arose, leading to trouble.”
What an idiot.
So there’s another problem? Did something else go wrong?
“Then, where is Baal now?”
In such a situation, I need to ensure that the new problem gets resolved one way or another.
Whether by beating it down physically or by persuading, I have to pressure Baal’s splits back together again.
“There’s even worse news, though. Baal is… currently in a state where he is scattered and has lost his divine essence, with only his spiritual essence remaining.”
“What?”
No, why did that happen to him? What on earth could have occurred?!
Did something like an apocalyptic crisis strike while I was asleep?! It has to be that! Why else would Baal be in such a state?!
“While you were asleep, many things happened. Among them was an enormous explosion deep under the sea.”
“Under the sea?”
“Yes. An explosion occurred deep in the ocean. Fortunately, with Baal and Thetis at the center, we managed to unite our strengths and prevent a major catastrophe, but…”
Shamash shook their head slightly.
“We could hold out somehow, but Baal, weakened from splitting his essence, couldn’t completely endure. We told him repeatedly to retreat, but he stubbornly rejected it…”
Shamash sighed.
“He insisted it was his duty to protect this land while you were away, and ultimately, he ended up shattered. At least we managed to preserve just his spiritual essence.”
“Ugh…”
I could only sigh softly.
“As a result, while the world was safely protected, by chance, a new continent even emerged from the sea… the cost was quite heavy. Since then, the position of the King of the Gods has been vacant.”
“If such a significant incident happened, surely I would’ve heard about it upon waking.”
“They kept it a secret. If the tale that the world almost perished were to spread, it would cause panic among others. And since they managed to avert that disaster somehow…”
“While Baal sacrificed himself, huh?”
Shamash nodded.
“That fool was just unlucky. He weakened himself by splitting. If he hadn’t divided his essence, he would have been able to endure it with strength to spare…”
I could only let out another sigh at Shamash’s words.
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