Mna.
“Speak, O great one.”
Hmm… just calling out.
I’m so happy right now that I just wanted to call you.
I couldn’t have imagined this kind of leisure until recently.
Who would have thought I could lie down and rest quietly using my knees as a pillow at the bottom of the lake?
Normally around this time, I’d be running across fields, clutching my starving belly…
“To hear that the great ancient being is happy brings me great joy.”
You humans are so strange.
When people saw me, most would either run away or attack, but only you remain calm in my presence.
Regular beasts, those with wildly free features, tyrannosaurs, mammoths—none of them appealed to me. But you were different.
That’s why I liked it.
“Is that so?”
Yeah.
I like you humans who take care of me.
“To take care? Perhaps we should say ‘worship’—as outsiders to your lake, it is only fitting.”
Hehe… is that right?
If Mna says so, then it must be correct.
Right.
Humans, thank you for your worship.
“Your grace is boundless.”
…Mna’s heartbeat. Sounds nice.
I wish this moment would never end.
I don’t want to be hungry again. I don’t want to be tired again. I don’t want to go back to those times.
I wish you humans would keep worshiping me forever.
So I can remain comfortable like this forever.
That kind of…
Undoubtedly, it will be difficult.
Like the Tyrannosaurus and mammoth before—eventually, no matter how many believers you have now, they’ll all vanish.
But I still hope you’ll stay for as long as possible.
“…Was it they who first worshipped you?”
Hm?
What do you mean, Mna? Why are you smiling?
I’m being serious here.
“Great old being. Who was it that first built the city of worshipers that stands before you?”
City?
Why, of course the great Sajejang Mna built it for you.
“Then, who is it that Mna, meager as I am, worships so greatly?”
Who Mna worships…
Of course, it’s me.
“To say that even the stars may bow to you, and yet you question such trifling matters. How could I not laugh? Please forgive me.”
Ah, so that’s why you were laughing?
But Mna…
Unlike what you’re saying, I’ve realized through experience so far that it’s not as simple as that.
At times, Mna seems to overestimate me too much.
Being a god? Without Mna, I might not have been able to carry it out.
“Great old being, please answer but one thing.”
Hmm?
Why the serious tone?
“Why do you believe you must wait to be worshiped?”
Then…?
“It is not so. If the world does not worship you, then make them worship you. You have the power to break the world, so surely reshaping it would be but a small task.”
Umm. Can I really do that?
If Mna says so, then there must be some truth to it.
“Do not think. Just act. That is what it means to be a god.”
… Right.
But I hope that day never comes.
I’m just so happy relaxing and chatting with Mna at this moment.
Because right now, this exact moment, is the happiest.
“Gaao…?”
Hm?
Something feels strange.
For some reason, Mna is becoming blurry.
“Gaao…”
Hmm, Mna? Isn’t that…?
Unusually forward for you.
Mna? Mna…? Why aren’t you answering?
—Snap.
A sudden unfamiliar sensation woke me up.
“Ga, gaao?!”
Kan Hana had my horn firmly in her mouth and was sucking on it enthusiastically.
Eh, that’s unexpected.
I don’t remember it hurting the last time my horn was bitten, so why am I sensing it now?
Mna, who was before my eyes just a moment ago, has long vanished.
Ah…
It was all wonderful, but just a memory from the past.
If I ever rested since waking up here, I might have thought I was dreaming because it felt just so vivid.
For how long had I rested?
Looking around, it doesn’t seem like I’ve been out for very long, but my physical condition is actually in pretty good shape.
The fires have completely subsided, some of the fatigue has lifted, and hunger… alas.
Since waking up here, this is when I’ve felt the most at ease.
Considering I’m not even wearing my sleeping robe, this is rather impressive.
It’s somewhat astonishing that the large fire has completely calmed down.
It must’ve contained the energy worth almost thousands of years.
Kan Hana’s capabilities must be quite exceptional.
Eh?
Wait a moment…
Isn’t it true that since awakening here, over half of the breath countdown was handled by Kan Hana?
Then, ultimately, isn’t the outcome a net zero?
… No, this is ridiculous.
These thoughts are attempting to drive a wedge between my human memories and Kan Hana.
If I accepted this logic, I would suddenly feel wronged and intensely dislike Kan Hana.
I deliberately closed my eyes and ignored it.
Strange, until just now, Kan Hana only seemed admirable, yet suddenly she’s irritating. But this must be flawed reasoning.
Hmm.
Rather than dwell on this, I looked around.
Cleaning crew… No, that’s not right.
They don’t seem like cleaning crews from what I’ve seen them do.
After all, I’ve only witnessed cleaning once, and that was the end of it.
Anyway, those men in black jackets were encircling us, guarding me and Kan Hana who was asleep, cradling me.
Alright.
They’re acting pretty well without bothering me.
But… contrary to the black jackets, I don’t see a single one of those in white robes.
The annoying ones who ran off after I saved them keep coming to mind.
They were wearing white robes too.
Looking into their eyes, there wasn’t even a speck of respect.
I genuinely wondered…
What are white robes even for?
Based on last time when they were eaten by the strange puppy, they seemed physically weak.
And looking at Kan Hana, their intelligence seems limited.
And those annoying types… their personality doesn’t seem well-developed either.
I thought white robes signify priests, but upon reflection, they were unsuited to be priests.
Even by today’s standard priest robes, scanning the entire building… the only one who demonstrated even an apprentice priest’s level of ability was Kan Hana.
Yet somehow, those in white seem to occupy higher positions.
There are two possibilities.
Either the skill level of today’s believers is unrealistically, embarrassingly poor, so they appear competent.
Or none of the humans here, including those in white, are even my believers.
Is there anyone who can summarize and explain this issue well?
Tonton-i the snake… while he knows this place better than me, he has a vocabulary only slightly better than beasts’. So even if he explained, it probably wouldn’t help much.
Whatever.
It doesn’t matter.
Either way, the believers aren’t functioning as they should.
A believer who can’t even pray isn’t really a believer.
Why am I even being a god?
I spread my intent throughout the area.
Whereas before it would’ve required focus, now, in this state resembling Divine Mode just by slightly raising my horn, I could easily spread my intent across the entire area.
Content.
You have one day from this moment.
Gather before me within 24 hours.
Those who don’t will be cast off as non-believers and excommunicated immediately.
End.
“Gaao”
I buried my head back into Kan Hana’s arms.
With a ‘ding’ sound, my horn slipped out from Kan Hana’s mouth.
Then, as if missing something, she smacked her lips in her sleep.
I covered my face with my wings, suddenly feeling annoyed.
“Uh…”
Even in sleep, this girl’s facial expressions are quite expressive…
…But I feel like I’ve forgotten something.
Hmm…
What was it that I forgot?
It’s such a minor detail that I can’t recall.
It must be trivial.
—
The small snake was trembling.
How long had it been since its progenitor told it to hide and wait?
‘You have one day. Gather before me.’
The progenitor’s calling intent resounded, causing the small snake to squeak joyfully and rush out immediately.
However, there was a big problem.
‘Time limit. One day. Cannot approach. Big trouble…’
Dozens, perhaps hundreds of bipedal beasts surrounded the progenitor with defenses so tight not even an ant could penetrate.
The small snake, emboldened by a bead from the progenitor, didn’t fear regular bipedal beasts much, but these all carried flame-spewing sticks.
The small snake couldn’t find the courage to break through the crowd of bipedal beasts.
There was nothing to do but hope an opening would appear within one day—and just as it was about to hide and wait—
An intent came from somewhere.
The small snake was startled.
This intent was clearly not the progenitor’s.
‘Waaaah…! No, progenitor! I’m listening properly, but can’t create a path here…!’
It was the first time the small snake had ever encountered intent outside of hearing it occasionally from its mother and siblings.
Even though the intent was resonating quite nearby, the small snake could respond directly, despite never meeting the source.
‘Intent? Intent? Where?’
‘I-Infeasibleeeh… Eh? What? Who’s there?’
The other side sounded just as inexperienced with intent.
A small snake filled with a rare sense of kinship.
‘I. Deliver. Message by intent.’
‘Whoever you are, can you help me? If you come here, just pull down one lever, and I’ll do anything…!’
Anything.
Though it sounded quite appealing at a glance, the small snake, having learned several painful lessons from the progenitor, suspected if this was some kind of trick.
‘Anything. Exactly what?’
‘Well… if I have to be exact, I can go anywhere! No matter where you are, even if you’re surrounded on every side, I can still reach Lake Ness if I know your location! What do you think?’
The small snake looked toward the progenitor surrounded by bipedal beasts far away.
Even if it doesn’t understand how it could pass through, surely if it could appear suddenly, it would surely gain the progenitor’s praise?
‘Affirmative.’
‘Wow! Then you’ll help me? Is that a promise?’
‘Promise.’
And so, the small snake’s adventure began.
