「And so, ye who hear me. Be free.
Approach many gods, and believe in the one you desire.
For ye have the right to be free, the freedom to believe in whichever god you choose.
Ye shall find your freedom.」
The last task before becoming a hikikomori goddess: reducing the number of believers who follow me!
As part of this, I delivered a revelation about the freedom of faith and handed over almost all duties of being the Goddess of Life to Asherat.
I left a vague message for my believers to drift away… Will the numbers of those who believe in me decrease? Right?
Afterward, I began inspecting the headless ogre corpse.
Since I had Talos bring it here, I might as well poke around a bit.
It’s unfortunate it doesn’t have a head, but there’s nothing to be done about that.
The ogre’s body was incomparably sturdy compared to an orc. Its bones were steel-like, and its skin was as tough as wyvern hide—so strong that even iron blades wouldn’t properly pierce it.
Its tendons were incredibly resilient too. If we made bowstrings from these, only someone with monstrous strength could draw them.
The muscles were relatively weaker compared to the tendons or skin, but they were still pretty impressive. The source of the ogre’s incredible strength likely came from these elastic muscles that stretched and contracted like rubber bands.
The internal organs felt expanded compared to an orc. The lungs, which inflated like balloons, and the digestive system that filled the body cavity—all necessary to maintain such a massive frame.
Though, if a blade slipped in wrong, it could easily damage the vital organs since they’re packed inside. But the ribs and muscles acted like armor, making it hard for ordinary blades to penetrate.
Oh, and something caught my attention—the chlorophyll in the skin.
While goblins can perform photosynthesis through their skin to sustain minimal life functions, ogres couldn’t do that.
There was some photosynthetic capability, but it generated such a minuscule amount of energy that survival wasn’t guaranteed. Was this a trade-off for power? Or was the body designed this way because it couldn’t exert effort to find food?
Not entirely sure, but it was quite a ruthless design.
Other than that, the heart stood out—it was much larger than a human’s. To circulate blood throughout such a huge body, the heart had to be this big.
And most importantly, the mana stone.
A fist-sized mana stone attached to the heart. Equivalent to wyverns and lesser dragons.
Inside it, dark fragments gathered visibly even at a glance.
Indeed… I didn’t expect THIS much darkness to accumulate.
I pulled out the Sword of the Hero and placed it near the mana stone. The dark fragments within the ogre’s mana stone were sucked into the diamond embedded in the sword.
The increase in darkness inside the diamond was visible to the naked eye. For one mana stone to boost it THIS much was unprecedented.
A fleeting thought crossed my mind—if I created a goblin feeding ground on Earth to mass-produce ogres, wouldn’t it be easier to collect dark fragments? But then again, I can guess what would happen if I did that.
Let’s stop thinking about useless things. Yep.
Still, I think I now understand the purpose behind goblins and ogres.
Monsters that absorb magical power and continue evolving. The more followers they gather, the more magical power they gain.
Monsters brimming with endless possibilities through magic.
Could he have been trying to continuously grow these monsters through evolution until they became suitable flesh for his own body?
Even just the ogre evolved from an orc was powerful enough to rival a drake. How much stronger would further-evolved monsters become?
If the entire land were covered in goblins, how mighty a monster might be born?
Not entirely sure, but isn’t there a possibility that a creature rivaling a dragon could emerge?
Of course, since goblins get slaughtered on sight, such a monster will never come to be.
—
Time flows swiftly in this world.
Knight-King Lucius Altirius Caesar passed away peacefully at the age of 117. The cause of death was old age. In an era where the average lifespan was around 60 years, living to 117 was exceptionally rare.
He transferred his throne to his eldest son after concluding all post-war affairs following the war against the greenskins and spent the next decade traveling around the country he had built.
Perhaps wanting to observe the nation he founded and governed, Lucius returned to the capital of Romania, Sirius, after touring with only a small entourage, spending his days quietly without involving himself in state affairs.
He reappeared publicly only when his son, who had been king, passed away due to illness at the age of 58, when Lucius was 82.
Later, after his grandson inherited the throne and eventually passed away, followed by his great-grandson ascending, Knight-King Lucius Altirius Caesar passed away peacefully at the age of 117.
Thus, the hero of Arcadia’s lineage, the protector of his homeland, the knight acknowledged by the gods, the warrior who fought against the monsters threatening humanity, and the king who established a grand nation, departed to the world beyond death.
In praise of this great knight-king, his great-grandson wished for his name to endure forever.
The greatest king after the Age of the Gods, thus his great-grandson declared Romania not a kingdom but an empire, posthumously honoring the great knight-king as an emperor.
Taking a portion of the emperor’s name, the word “Caesar” became synonymous with emperor, derived from Lucius Altirius Caesar.
And so, the legendary hero passed, while the empire born from legend continued.
Carrying countless changes within, time continued to flow.
—
Hm. A life without work is this beautiful, huh?
Savoring the simple snacks I made while lazing around—life is perfect.
With most tasks automated, it’s unbelievably convenient!
“Sometimes, it’d be nice if you did some work yourself.”
“Nope! I’ve worked enough already! Time to play! Play to my heart’s content!!!”
“Wow… regression to infancy… if word got out that the most revered Goddess of Life among countless gods acts like this… how would the believers react?”
“I’ve never once told anyone to believe in me! I simply created life starting from slimes and nurtured this world like a gardener tends to their garden! There’s such a thing as freedom of faith in this world!
Honestly, whether or not you believe in me makes no difference to me! Enlightened beings! Be free!”
“That’s the most amazing part about you. This utterly irresponsible goddess… handing over freedom of faith to all humans just because it suits her… Is she brilliant or just thoughtless…?”
Asherat, handling the duties of the Goddess of Life in my stead, could only sigh.
So what? As long as everything runs smoothly without issues, that’s all that matters.
It’s comfortable for me, beneficial for Asherat who gains a significant portion of my incoming faith, and good for humans who receive faithful responses to their prayers.
Isn’t this a win-win situation for everyone?
“Is everything fine at the Divine Hall?”
“You know the answer yet you ask. There’s absolutely nothing problematic.”
“I roughly know, but isn’t there a chance for problems to arise somewhere I don’t know about?”
“Do you even have any blind spots?”
“Hmm… deep underground?”
Deep underground escapes my vision.
At my words, Asherat merely shook her head.
“Most gods residing in the Divine Hall are adapting well. Many gods have lost their deity status or disappeared, so those remaining consider themselves chosen and live contentedly.
Humans on Earth no longer solely worship one god, so many gods are satisfied with receiving faith.”
Ah, indeed, granting freedom of faith was a good decision. Yes.
“Are there any gods trying to leave the Divine Hall?”
“With twelve gods, including Sirius, guarding it like an iron fortress, no one can escape.”
“Hmm… still fortunate. Still, it’d be nice to have a means to quell any complaints from the gods… Hmm. Should I let them experience life as humans for amusement…?”
“What? Amusement?”
“There’s such a thing. Such a thing.”
Like dragons transforming into humans to blend into the world, it wouldn’t hurt for gods to have such abilities.
As long as they don’t cause chaos, it should be fine.
“…Oops! Thinking about work without realizing it!”
“Tch.”
“She stuck out her tongue! Loud enough for me to hear her sticking her tongue out!!!”
While bickering with Asherat like this, time passed.
—
“I’m back.”
The back door of the temple opened, and a petite girl entered.
She looked just like me, except with black hair and no horns—Hades, created for managing the underworld.
“Welcome back. You’re quite early today.”
“I offloaded my work to other gods of death.”
Hades, originally designed as an intelligent automatic death evaluation system, now possessed a physical form, one of my avatars.
Like Asherat, she gained independence and lived in her own body.
Though she claimed she didn’t need it, since Asherat also had her own body, having one wouldn’t hurt.
After obtaining a body, Hades experienced unfamiliar sensations, so I allowed her to use my temple as her home. There were plenty of empty rooms anyway.
Asherat seemed pleased to have a companion akin to a sister.
“Hades! Welcome back!!”
“Yeah. Asherat. I’m back.”
Look at that warm welcome.
Despite identical appearances except for hair color, seeing them get along like this gives me an indescribable feeling. But hey, if it’s good, it’s good, right?
While observing Asherat and Hades, something triggered my senses.
Precisely, I sensed something approaching the forest where the wise sage resides.
No one enters that forest without a clear purpose to meet the sage.
