The City of Mages. Procyon was flourishing.
Thanks to the book written by Sia, the skill level of mages had improved overall, and their numbers had increased as well. So it’s only natural that Procyon, a gathering place for mages, would prosper.
Just looking at the size of the city, it had grown more than four times larger than it was 300 years ago. Buildings of various kinds sprang up outside the city, and many people were coming and going in Procyon.
The most significant change in Procyon would have to be the establishment of the Magic Tower.
Originally, a group of mages researching similar types of magic expanded their magic research association into a magical school. As the strength of the gathered magical factions grew, the mages felt the need to congregate in one place for their research.
So they built a huge tower to serve as their Magic Tower.
Hmm… But why a tower? Why of all things? Even before Procyon existed, when it was called Babel, they built towers, and now they’re doing it again!
I’m not sure why… Maybe they think it’s good to build a tower? Or perhaps it’s the mages’ arrogance wanting to reach the sky that makes them build towers? Or maybe they’re just imitating the towers from the Babel era?
Well, it seems there’s no issue about destroying the tower like back in Babel… so I decided to just leave it be.
Anyway, the Magic Tower they built merged with Procyon’s Elder Council, and many tower leaders began to take charge of the overall operations as elders of Procyon.
The seven largest towers became the ones deciding the direction of Procyon.
Well, it was just a matter of transferring the responsibilities of the Elder Council to the tower leaders.
However, compared to the Elder Council, which held a semi-honorary position and thus didn’t have immense power, the tower leaders could certainly control those belonging to their respective towers.
Anyway, among the aptly functioning buildings in Procyon, there was one building that caught my attention.
The building that many people frequently entered and exited was… none other than the library.
A huge library that rivaled other Magic Towers.
According to the founder’s aim to gather all the knowledge in the world, it was a grand library collecting countless books.
The founder of that grand library was… Cecil, Sia’s disciple.
The grand mage known as Cecilia Marigold seemed to be the founder of the grand library.
Cecil was a grand mage, said to be a disciple of Sia. Well… that’s not particularly strange. When Sia ascended as the God of Magic, she passed on all she had to her disciple, Cecil.
Among all those things was Sia’s magical power. Although her initial amount of power was lacking, it was naturally filled when Cecil, showing superior skill compared to other mages, received Sia’s power…
So being called a grand mage was certainly warranted.
Anyway, the grand mage, who became an object of admiration for other mages, decided to inherit her master’s will to gather all knowledge in the world.
Cecil began to construct a grand library by combining Sia’s inheritance with her own accumulated wealth, purchasing books from all over Procyon and the world to keep in the library.
Many mages looked at Cecil as if she were throwing money into the void, saying it was a pointless endeavor, yet she continued to gather books.
As time passed, when Cecil’s black hair turned completely white, the grand library she created transformed into a cradle of knowledge where all the world’s knowledge was collected.
But Cecil was not satisfied with that. Unused knowledge was no different from dead knowledge, and books without readers were no different from piles of paper.
Cecil opened the doors of the grand library to allow others to use it.
Of course, it wasn’t open to just anyone.
You had to pay a membership fee, donate a book to the library, or register someone with the willingness to learn as a member to be able to read books within the library.
These members supported the library’s operational costs, stocked donated books, and passed on knowledge to those thirsty for it.
“Well, you can’t take books out of the library, and if you damage a book, you immediately lose your membership,” she added.
“I see,” I replied as Sia appeared as if she had materialized upon my entrance into the library.
Thinking about it, Sia really was the god of knowledge, having turned her temple into a library.
“How did you come down to the land? Isn’t there a rule preventing gods from descending at will?”
“All libraries double as my temple, so this is how I can come and go. Plus, since I’m of human origin, I’m less affected by such restrictions.”
Hmm… Is that so? After all, a god of human origin was originally on the ground… So she might be a little different from other gods.
But… how did she realize I was here?
“How did you know I was here?”
“It’s your fault for exuding so much magical power while entering the library. You woke up from hibernation and didn’t bother to come find me.”
“Sorry about that. But I thought it would be troublesome if I stayed longer in the Divine Hall.”
I will not be enslaved to work! Why do you think I created fragments to delegate tasks? It’s all so I could laze around!
Right now, that fragment is pressuring me to work, but clearly, I am the main body yet being overpowered in presence… How did it come to this?
“Well… Asherat is kind of scary,” I admitted.
“However, seeing you toil under daily grueling tasks has made me feel a tinge of sympathy. How about you lend a hand occasionally?”
“Lend a hand…?”
Doing Asherat’s work? Listening to the prayers of those who pray to the Goddess of Life?
It’s possible, but… I’d definitely get exhausted.
“If you don’t channel your feelings of frustration now, it’ll become much harder later. It might be good to help a little.”
Ugh… I really don’t want to work. I really, really don’t want to….
Ugh, I guess I have no choice. Asherat is probably quite angry because I ran away. So, calming her down a bit might be necessary.
I really, really don’t want to work, but… it would be a bigger deal if Asherat goes on strike.
Just when I was trying to muster my reluctant spirit,
“Master! There you are!!”
Someone appeared behind Sia.
A woman who looked like a black-haired mage. Someone I had seen before…
“Cecil?”
“I believe this is the first time I’ve met you in person, Tia.”
Sia’s disciple, Cecil, looked like she hadn’t aged a day… Oh wait, it seems she has become something other than human.
Anyway, Cecil, maintaining her youthful appearance, smiled softly at me.
“Sia? Your disciple….”
“Yep. I asked the gods of the underworld to take care of her.”
“Making a deal with the gods of the underworld…?”
From what I can see, Cecil seems to have transformed into something akin to a messenger of the gods.
“Well, that’s thanks to her trial result leading to paradise. Instead of entering paradise, she became my subordinate.”
“The gods of the underworld allowed that?”
“I made a deal. I secretly placed books related to knowledge that might even slightly benefit humans in the trial of the dead, camouflaged among the others.”
“Interesting…”
It seems the underworld is still suffering.
“Master, it’s about time to head back,” Cecil gently reminded Sia.
“Oh, right. Got it. Then Tia, I’ll be returning to the Divine Hall first. While it’s nice to explore the world, don’t wait too long for Asherat. Even her patience has its limits,” Sia cautioned.
After saying that, Sia left with Cecil for the Divine Hall.
Well, about Asherat’s work… there’s no helping it. I wanted to investigate the world a bit more.
For now, I’ll meet Ifrit and think about it.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“You seem peaceful,” I noted.
“Mom, I heard you’d been in a deep slumber. When did you wake up?”
“I’ve only just opened my eyes. It’s been a few days.”
In those few days, I had managed to explore the world to some degree, but…
“Really? Hmm. Since I’ve been ignoring the Divine Hall, I haven’t heard much news about you.”
Ifrit seemed quite nonchalant.
There were hardly anyone crossing the searing desert to visit, and apart from lighting a portion of the flames that were detached in Procyon, there wasn’t much else going on.
After all, they didn’t have any responsibilities like the other children.
“I woke up to check on how you all were doing. Seems you’re doing fine without any problems,” she observed.
“Yep. I don’t have any responsibilities like the others.”
That was typical of Ifrit, bearing the lightest load.
“Oh, by the way, Mom. Did you hear about that funny thing Shamash is doing?”
“Something funny?”
“Yeah. What was it he said? He’s training humans to pass verdicts in his stead?”
“Humans to pass judgments…? You mean judges?”
“I’m not sure of the details. One thing’s for sure: Shamash is trying to offload his work onto humans.”
Shamash’s work…? Passing judgment onto humans?
Hmm… That’s right! That’s a job that only Shamash must do! He’s trying to pass it off to humans!
How envious! I’m so jealous! As the Goddess of Life, I can’t pass my responsibilities to humans! But Shamash’s trying to offload his work! How unfair!
Alright, I’m going to find Shamash. I need to hear the details from him!
