The Bitter Taste of Authority
Hera trembled violently as she stared at the Dimensional Lord. A weary sigh escaped him. Her expression is almost identical to Granzoa’s when she lost her virginity. No one would doubt they’re mother and daughter—the same reaction when reason crumbles under repeated crises. It was the same look she’d worn when he saved her from the divine power backlash after she tried to turn the High Elf Queens into subordinate gods and then restored her strength. Clearly, Granzoa was Hera’s direct bloodline. It didn’t matter much, so he pushed the thought aside and turned to the other goddess queens.
“If the rest of you don’t wake up, I’ll do it again.”
“Hic—!”
“Hah—!”
The goddess queens let out startled gasps and cautiously rose to their feet. With a light snap of his fingers, he summoned refreshments and set them before them. The atmosphere was painfully awkward, yet the women still refused to stop trying to separate his divine power. As if the power poured in by a High Lord could be so easily undone.
Gaiana shook her head at their futile efforts and began pouring tea. The Dimensional Lord withdrew from Hera, gripping her waist and hips, then sealed the flow of vitality with his own power.
“Hnnngh—!”
Hera let out a sharp, high-pitched moan as he slid free, her body twitching from the lingering stimulation. Once he was completely out, she panted heavily, finally steadying herself. He lifted her into the air with divine power and seated her in her proper place.
A long table stood before the Seat of Glory, the goddess queens arranged along its sides. Though the divine power fluctuations had ceased, every one of them was desperately trying to minimize the influence of his authority. Gaiana placed a cup of tea before him. He took a sip.
The taste of a bitter life. No wonder it calms me. The sweet drinks and pastries he’d enjoyed as a child now tasted like lies that distorted reality. That was why he’d started drinking this intensely bitter tea—and why he’d come to like it.
If you enjoy bitter tea, you’re already old. Honestly, I’m exhausted. I should’ve stayed a dark mage or a mercenary god. Being the Chief God of the Divine Realm and playing politics with these goddess queens is not for me.
Power was an illusion. The more you desired it, the more dazzling and close it seemed, yet in the end only desert sand remained. The oasis you sought had to be found not with eyes blinded by desire, but with cold reason and effort. That oasis was strength—and survival.
In the end, all power comes from strength. One’s own ability is what matters most. He’d been lucky to reach this point, but he’d faced countless brushes with death from sheer lack of power. In this universe, the Dimensional Lord was far too weak. If a passing Demon King or an Absolute Being with a title decided he was unacceptable, they would come to kill him—and he might have no choice but to surrender his life. No, before that, he would suffer a fate worse than death by judgment.
How depressing. The past isn’t meant for reminiscing. Why did I have to run my mouth back then and end up like this? Even if I returned to the past, I’m tied to him—I couldn’t change anything. The very act of returning would likely trigger a serious crisis. No matter how good the outcome, I’d still face his judgment. He ground his teeth. Still, one day I’ll beat him senseless. I shouldn’t dwell on the future either. I’ll just focus on getting stronger.
Even if he beat his past self, only he would feel the pain. Yet he couldn’t forgive his own foolishness. No matter what the goddess queens tried, releasing his High Lord authority and separating his divine power was impossible.
No matter how strong you are, you can’t overcome a gap of two or more ranks alone.
The Dimensional Lord silently drank his tea, letting Gaiana refill the empty cup each time. Only after a long while did the goddess queens begin to give up, one by one, on separating his power and releasing his authority. They lowered their heads and began to sob. After countless attempts, they had realized it was absolutely impossible.
Only by becoming a Creator God or higher can one separate my dimensional power. Their authorities were immensely strong, but dimensional authority stood at the very pinnacle. Watching them, the bitter taste in his mouth faded.
For the first time in his life, he gave an order to others.
“Pay attention.”
Once the Dimensional Lord gained external control over their authorities, the goddess queens—completely broken—wiped their tears and answered.
“Yes… Please speak.”
The divine power circles in their lower abdomens were now entirely occupied by his dimensional power. This granted him not only external control over their power and authorities, but near-total control equivalent to that over complete subordinate gods—unconscious, absolute obedience. It was something no goddess queen of the Divine Realm could ever accept, yet the despair in their voices showed they understood it was already over.
Whatever they misunderstood, it was time to wrap things up.
“Educate and strengthen my subordinate gods. Do this separately from your duties as Divine Realm Management Lords. The goal is for four Main God-level beings to be able to hold out against one goddess queen.”
“Th-that’s impossible.”
“Four Main Gods could never handle one of us. Maybe if Granzoa were there, but ordinary Main Gods? Absolutely not.”
The Dimensional Lord gave a wry smile at the goddess queens who protested so carefully, unable to hide their unease.
Heh. The true value of combat-type goddess queens lies in their fighting spirit and endless will to struggle. As docile noblewomen, they’re worth less than half. As fighting spirits, they’re below average at running the Divine Realm.
The goddess queens were clearly upright and diligent, but they only maintained the status quo.
With four intermediate-level management-type goddess queens already present, there’s no need to force fighting spirits into administrative roles.
What the Divine Realm needed now wasn’t more administrators—it needed fighting gods and war gods. His consideration for them stemmed not only from the importance of the Devotion Pledge and Blessed Breastmilk for raising his innate divine power, but from the simple fact that he lacked combat forces capable of replacing them.
Recruiting mercenary gods would cost far too much, and the only ones who would take the Divine Realm Management Lord positions at this time are management-type gods. Combat-type gods are too busy fighting to build their own divine realms.
Yet seeing the goddess queens so thoroughly cowed, he worried whether they would fight properly on the battlefield.
The “Era of Great Prosperity” was written on the surface, but the “Era of Great Chaos” was approaching. A comfortable home front is necessary if they’re to fight to their hearts’ content and reap the rewards. Their infamous reputation—having fought countless male Main Gods and even obtained the Lord Slayer authority—would serve as the greatest shield.
Even I wouldn’t want to touch a Divine Realm guarded by these goddess queens.
Of course, they alone couldn’t deter war. They needed numerous powerful forces to support them. This ridiculous Divine Realm—once a top-tier realm yet possessing only about fifty usable top-class fighting gods—was so lacking in strength that it would have to mobilize even his complete subordinate gods still in recovery.
“Anacreon. Artos. Galanthus.”
At the Dimensional Lord’s call, a demon goddess, a goddess, and a transcendent appeared in the audience chamber—one of each. They had been training without fear of death in the underground battle space beneath the Main God Hall, where the inscription “The past is no different from the present” hung eternally. Their clothes were soaked in blood, yet their bodies were unharmed. They knelt before him, hands clasped in salute.
“These are the strong ones who will train you as you wished. Show results.”
“We are deeply satisfied and honored. Training and battling against such powerful goddess queens—our ladies—will let us immediately regain our former prowess and grow even stronger.”
The term “ladies” grated on his nerves, but he allowed it for now as a temporary workplace formality. More than anything, he could feel how genuinely pleased they were.
Well, it’s rare for goddesses to become combat-type goddess queens, and their strength is famous even in the Divine Realm and Demon Realm.
Training among equals had reached its limit, slowing their progress—that was why they had requested this. The goddess queens looked puzzled, then their expressions went blank at the next words.
“With just the three of us, we can suppress one of you. However, the other subordinate gods are far too lacking. To reach the level you desire, combat experience against Main Gods and above is absolutely necessary. It would be even better if those opponents were women like us. The gap wouldn’t be too large, and we could learn much from similar opponents. We are truly grateful for your excessive consideration.”
At Anacreon’s claim that the three of them combined could suppress a goddess queen, the atmosphere shifted. The idea that three mere Main Gods could suppress one of them—something even intermediate Main Gods rarely managed—was a grave insult.
They seem to be holding it in, but their expressions are hardening.
As expected, a black-haired goddess queen slammed her fist on the table.
BOOM!
“Come at us right now! I’ll teach you your place as Main Gods—!”
She shot to her feet, her voice filled with fury, divine power surging with fighting spirit. Her temper clearly hadn’t gone anywhere.
They’ve lived like this for eons. Being cowed was only momentary. I worried for nothing.
To the Dimensional Lord, these goddess queens could be thrown straight onto the Substitute Gods’ battlefield and still return alive.
That’s why the Divine Realm Management Lord is acting like this right in front of me, the current High Lord of the Divine Realm.
The image of them weeping over having their power and authority invaded had already vanished. Fear, it seemed, was gone as well.
“Haaah…”
Letting out yet another sigh, he watched Gaiana refill his empty cup. Her expression had hardened too. The faint sound of grinding teeth reached him—she clearly wasn’t going to let this slide.
Gulp. Gulp.
The bitter tea went down, and his mind steadied.
If I were a mercenary god, I could smash everything when I got angry. But as the Chief God leading a Divine Realm, that’s impossible.
The Creator God had personally told him to manage things well, so he had to find a way. Smashing things when angry or killing when displeased was only possible when he was alone. If the head of a group did that, everything would end.
Position changes everything—the weight of actions is like heaven and earth.
Yet if he let such insolence pass, discipline would collapse, and in time the organization itself would fall apart.
Even if it’s troublesome, I have to discipline them. They’re irreplaceably competent, so I need to soothe them and put them to work.
If he got rid of every competent person who disobeyed or challenged him, only the incompetent would remain—and they would cause accidents that would eventually destroy the organization while he cleaned up after them.
His Master’s words surfaced in his mind.
Human relationships are a headache, so when you’re young and full of energy, working alone seems easier. But when you grow old and your strength fades, you won’t be able to manage alone. Build subordinates and an organization you can use. The competent ones are worth the trouble—beat them down when they get cocky, then take care of them afterward. Keeping them around is maddening, but it’s a hundred times better than cleaning up the constant messes made by the incompetent. If you’re overwhelmingly strong, there won’t be any problems, so you must focus on training.