Chapter 249
“So, my dear ones, be free.
Meet numerous gods, and believe in the ones you desire.
You have the right to be free. You have the freedom to believe in whatever god you wish.
You shall be free.”
The final task to become a hikikomori goddess: reduce the number of believers who follow me!
As part of this initiative, after delivering the revelation about the freedom of belief, I offloaded almost all the responsibilities of being the Goddess of Life onto Asherath.
The revelation hinted that believers would drift away, so the count of those who believe in me should go down… right?
After that, I began examining the corpse of the headless ogre.
I had Talos bring it to me; time to poke around!
It’s a shame it’s headless, but there’s not much I can do about that.
The ogre’s body was incomparably sturdier than that of an orc. Its bones were as strong as steel, and its hide was tougher than a wyvern’s, so resilient that even iron blades had a hard time getting in properly.
The tendons were incredibly robust as well. If you made a bowstring from these tendons, only someone with outrageous strength could pull it.
Muscles were relatively weaker than the tendons and skin, but “weaker” is a relative term here. The source of the ogre’s incredible strength likely came from its muscles, which could stretch and contract like rubber bands.
As for the internal organs, they appeared significantly expanded compared to those of an orc. The lungs puffed out like balloons, and the digestive organs filled the body to capacity. This much internal mass is necessary to maintain such a physique.
Well, since the internals filled the body completely, if a blade pierced poorly, it would surely damage the organs. But hey, with ribs and muscles acting like armor to protect them… any blade that wasn’t exceptional would struggle to penetrate.
Oh, and there was something mildly concerning: the skin’s chlorophyll.
Back in the goblin days, they could sustain minimal life functions through the chlorophyll in their skin, but that was off the table for ogr.
It could photosynthesize a little, but the energy it produced was too weak to ensure survival. Did it sacrifice survivability for strength? Or was it engineered to be a body that couldn’t seek food?
Well, I can’t say for sure… but it definitely looked like a terrible body.
Other than that… the notably large heart left an impression. A heart this big must be capable of circulating blood throughout such great bulk.
And the most crucial piece: the magic stone.
A fist-sized magic stone attached to the heart. On par with a magic stone from a wyvern or any other dragon-like creature.
Inside the magic stone, I could see clearly that shards of darkness were gathered.
Indeed… I never anticipated such a gathering of darkness.
I took out the hero’s sword and placed it against the magic stone, which caused the darkness within the ogre’s stone to be sucked into the diamonds embedded in the sword.
The amount of darkness within the diamond visibly increased. It was the first time I’d ever seen a single magic stone contribute this much.
For a brief moment, a thought crossed my mind: if I created a goblin farm on the surface and mass-produced ogres, I could gather those darkness shards more easily, right? But… I can imagine the chaos that would follow.
Let’s not linger on useless thoughts. Agreed?
Still, I think I have a rough idea of what these ogres and goblins were made for.
A monster that continues to evolve by absorbing magical power. The greater the group it commands, the more magical power it acquires.
A monster blessed with endless possibilities due to this magical energy.
That foolish creature… wasn’t it trying to evolve further to create a monster more compatible with its own body?
Even the ogre, having evolved from an orc, was already on par with a drake. How much stronger could a monster evolve further?
Imagine if we filled the land entirely with goblins—what kind of powerful monsters would emerge?
I don’t know for sure, but isn’t there a chance that a creature rivaling dragons could be born?
Well, considering that they seem to exterminate any goblins they come across, such a monster is unlikely to appear.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Time flows quickly in this world.
The King of Knights, Lucius Altrius Caesar, passed away at the age of 117. The cause was old age. In an era where the average lifespan was around 60, reaching 117 was quite an anomaly.
After the war with the Greenskins, he transferred the throne to his eldest son once all post-war matters were resolved. For the following ten years, he took pleasure in exploring the nation he had fashioned.
Perhaps he wished to observe the state of the country he founded and ruled; Lucius returned to Sirius, the capital of Romania, after touring with only a handful of attendants, spending his days in silence, utterly disconnected from political affairs.
His return to public life came upon the death of his son, who served as king, from illness.
At that time, Lucius was 82 years old, while his son was 58.
Thus, Lucius’ grandson inherited the throne, and soon after his death from old age, his great-grandson took it as well.
At 117 years of age, Lucius Altrius Caesar—the Knight King—passed away.
A descendant of Arcadia, a hero who arose to protect his homeland, a knight recognized by the gods, a warrior who fought against monsters threatening humanity, the king among kings had departed this world.
Praising such a knight’s greatness, his great-grandson wished for the Knight King’s name to endure through eternity.
King of kings. The most magnificent monarch since the Age of the Gods ended.
As such, his great-grandson took the name of the great nation of yore, calling himself the Romanian Empire rather than the Kingdom of Romania, and posthumously revered the great Knight King as emperor.
From the emperor’s name, he crafted terms for referencing emperors.
The term Kaiser derives from Lucius Altrius Caesar’s name and is used to denote an emperor.
Thus, the hero who created legends departs, but the empire born from those legends continues.
The world rolls onward, cradling countless changes within.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Hmm. Is a life without work truly this exquisite?
A life spent idly, enjoying simple snacks. What a glorious life!
Most responsibilities handled automatically—you couldn’t ask for more convenience!
“Sometimes I wish you’d put in some effort yourself.”
“Not a chance! I’ve worked enough already! I’m going to play! I’m going to have a blast!!!”
“Wow… Regression to childhood… If it becomes known that the Goddess of Life, deemed the greatest among countless deities, behaves like this… I wonder how her believers would respond…”
“I have never once told those believers to put their faith in me! I merely created life starting from slimes and nurtured this world like a gardener tends to their garden!! This world embraces the freedom of belief!
Honestly, it doesn’t concern me whether or not you believe in me! Awaken, beings of intelligence! Be free!”
“That’s the most impressive aspect. This irresponsible goddess… Just because it’s comfortable for her, she hands all humans the freedom of belief… Is she remarkable or simply thoughtless…?”
Asherath, managing the responsibilities of the Goddess of Life in my stead, could only sigh.
Well, what of it? If everything runs smoothly without issues, that’s all that matters.
I get to lounge around comfortably, Asherath can gain a nice chunk of faith, and humans appreciate having a god who faithfully grants their prayers.
Isn’t that a good thing for everyone?
“Is there nothing amiss in the Pantheon?”
“You already know that, so why ask? There’s no problem.”
“I have a general idea, but could issues arise in places I’m unaware of?”
“Is there even a spot where you don’t cast your gaze?”
“Um… deep underground?”
Down there, my sight does not reach.
Asherath simply shook her head at my words.
“Most gods in the pantheon are living in compliance with the situation. Many have lost their divinity or vanished, but they believe they were chosen to remain gods.
Now, with the people no longer adhering to just one god, many are content with the faith they have in the various gods.”
Hmm. Good call on assuring freedom of belief.
“There aren’t any gods trying to escape from the Pantheon, right?”
“No, thanks to the twelve gods, including Sirius, guarding it like a fortress. Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t.”
“Hmm… That’s reassuring. But just to be safe, I’d prefer some means to soothe the grievances of the divine… Hmm. Should I permit them to enjoy themselves in human forms…?”
“Excuse me? Enjoy themselves?”
“Yeah, something along those lines.”
Just as dragons transform into humans to blend into life on earth, wouldn’t it be bad for the gods to have a similar experience?
As long as they’re not brewing chaos, it should be fine.
“…Oh no! I accidentally thought about work!”
“Tch.”
“I clicked my tongue! So loud you could hear it echo!!!”
While I was having this little spat with Asherath,
“I’m back.”
The back door of the temple swung open, revealing a petite girl.
She looked just like me, but with black hair and no horns.
Hades, created to manage the underworld, was here.
“Welcome! You arrived pretty early today.”
“I delegated my tasks to the other gods of death.”
Hades had evolved from a high-intelligence automatic death assessment system, now able to function using one of my incarnations as a physical form.
Like Asherath, she now possessed her own independent body.
Though she claimed she didn’t need it, the example of Asherath existed for her case, too. There’s nothing wrong with having a body.
After gaining her physical form, I decided to allow her to use my temple as her home to assist her in navigating this new world of sensations. I had more than enough empty rooms.
Asherath seemed quite pleased to have someone like a sister to share her time with.
“Hades! Come in!!”
“Yeah, Asherath. I’m back.”
Look at that warm welcome.
The two, looking nearly identical apart from hair color, were getting along splendidly, which creates some… um… unexplainable feelings. But overall, good is good, right?
As I observed Asherath and Hades, something brushed against my senses.
More precisely, it was the sage residing in the deep forest on the surface. I felt something approaching that forest where the sage dwelled.
Someone had entered the forest, a place that one cannot enter without a clear purpose of seeking the sage.
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