Chapter 61
When I was only known by the name of the Creator Dragon God, not many people called out to me.
At most, just lizardmen or dragons. Even then, it was extremely rare, or they would only call me through the Archmage designated as their communication link.
But now, as the owner of the Temple of Life and also taking on the role of the Goddess of Life…
“Please heal my illness!”
“My mother is unwell. Please listen to my prayer.”
“My wounds from the war keep throbbing. Please do something…”
“Oh Goddess of Life! I want a partner! Please give me a pretty, good at housework, kind woman!!”
Countless prayers were pouring in. But that last guy praying! I’m the Goddess of Life, not some Goddess of Matchmaking!!
Ahem. It hit me again how there are just so many suffering people in this world. Most of those praying to me were either sick or had diseases.
Well, it’s not like I can just answer every single prayer.
I thought about replying to a message, just to see if it could work, but unfortunately, it failed.
Sending messages from here doesn’t seem to go through properly. But I can send messages perfectly to the dragons.
Oh, come to think of it, there was a case where a message went through to someone other than dragons.
My message got to the priest, who became a servant of the Goddess of Life and is now advancing from youth to middle age.
When I first replied to that priest’s message, he was so startled that I couldn’t help but laugh.
But since messages manage to get through to dragons and priests, unlike common folks, it seems like if the other party doesn’t have enough faith, I can’t send messages.
Dragons worship me as both the Goddess of Life and Creator Dragon God, so I suppose that makes sense.
Anyway, since I had these limitations on replies, I couldn’t respond to those praying to me, but I did end up helping those who were truly desperate.
I would make those with life-related illnesses or injuries feel slightly better, enough for them to keep their lives from being in danger.
While I can’t respond to prayers, I can certainly grant the wishes of those who are really in need.
In that spirit, as the Goddess of Life taking care of the unfortunate souls, I was wrapping up some business in the afterlife when I received a message from the priest.
“Oh Mother of Life, please lend me your wisdom.”
Can you not call me that? I’d rather be called anything else! It feels like if you keep calling me “Mother of Life,” I’ll end up getting caught and forced to lay eggs constantly.
Even though I’ve never laid eggs in the first place!
Anyway.
“What wisdom do you seek from me?”
“I wish to know the answer to a question that has remained unsolved for a long time. I could not find the answer on my own.”
A question? Really?
This priest is pretty smart among humans, but he wants to know about an unsolved question.
What could it possibly be?
“What is your question?”
“What is life?”
That was a pretty vague question.
Life. Life, huh. Is it the ability of living things to breathe, act, and move?
No, that sounds like something straight out of a dictionary. That’s not the answer he’s hoping for.
That’s a really vague question. But definitely one worth pondering.
What is life?
The most precious thing that can’t be traded for anything else?
Life? Existence? Choices between birth and death?
Here I am, claiming to be the Goddess of Life yet I can’t even give a clear answer to what life is? I’m really pathetic.
So I couldn’t muster a clear answer, and instead, I asked the priest back.
There’s nothing sillier than answering a question with a question, but I couldn’t help but be curious about his thoughts.
“What do you think life is?”
“Are you asking for my thoughts?”
The priest thought deeply about my words and then slowly said.
“Could it not be the driving force for movement? Just as warmth circulates in a living being’s body, their heart beats, and they breathe, a non-living being’s body grows cold and can no longer move.”
Hmm… Is that the idea he has?
Well, it’s not exactly wrong.
“Your reasoning makes sense.”
If you lack life, you just become a cold corpse.
“Life has various meanings. What you’re thinking is just one aspect of life.”
“Many meanings…”
“It could also be the choice between birth and death or something that’s invaluable and incomparable to anything else.”
I took a moment to catch my breath and continued.
“It’s the ability of living beings to breathe and move, and the power that lets them exist as living beings. The definition of life changes depending on who you ask.”
It’s pretty vague, but that’s about all I could say.
No one in this world had really delved into the meaning of life.
Myself included.
“It changes depending on who defines it…”
The priest seemed deep in thought. Hmm, did I pass that one?
He threw a curveball with that tough question all of a sudden!
Speaking of which, it’s really amusing. Here I am, the Goddess of Life, yet I can’t define life clearly.
I can manipulate life force at will and easily amplify others’ life forces.
Yet I’m a foolish deity who can’t precisely define life itself.
If he were to discover just how pathetic I am, would he be disappointed too?
“Thank you, Mother of Life. It feels like the fog obscuring my vision is finally clearing.”
What?
He found enlightenment in my vague answer? Where on earth did he discover that?
Despite my confusion, the priest looked extremely satisfied, as though he had finally found a solution to a long-standing dilemma.
Well… if he’s happy, then that’s what matters. Sure.
Leaving the priest to his thoughts, I resumed the final preparations for the construction of the afterlife.
All seven layers were ready, and the Cloud Whale to return souls was prepped too. Good.
Shall I open the underworld soon?
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