The Red Giant's Bargain
The body of the war Machine God trembled as it observed the battle between its egos. The victor would be accepted as the primary ego, while the auxiliary egos would serve without any rights whatsoever. In the old universe, humans had called this struggle “the battle between god and demon.” The body of the demonic Machine God was the universe itself; the divine race consisted of egos created by the Dimensional Lord, while the demonic race comprised the planetary management AIs. “Demon is merely the humiliating name given to the defeated.”
Before his arrival, the two sides had waged countless battles across the universe for dominance. “It was a barbaric age that endlessly consumed the universe’s vitality.” Only after he came did the universe finally stabilize and begin to develop. “The god-and-demon structure had already been proven a failure.” The consumption of vitality outpaced the emergence of strong individuals, and destruction was rampant. Because the endless conflict between the two egos was inefficient, he added a single measure. Though deeply reluctant, he would endure the trouble to achieve his goal.
He lightly flicked his hand and connected to the Main Divine Realm. “Cyber Realm, summon.”
After a brief pause, a silver doll appeared in the air. It soon transformed into the classic form of a golden-haired goddess and bowed at a perfect right angle. The usual greeting followed. “I am the Machine God assistant of the Cyber Realm, dedicated to providing customers with the utmost satisfaction through kindness and service. To the supremely great and noble, highest-ranking member, the Dimensional Lord…”
“Enough! Let’s keep it brief. I want to purchase one highest-grade Machine God. I’m willing to take the qualification test.”
The overly verbose tone of the detestable assistant was all too familiar. “The Cyber Realm and Machine Gods were given by him to handle the administrative work of this universe.” The Cyber Realm assisted with communication and travel across the entire universe, while Machine Gods helped Main Gods who were inexperienced in management. Connected through the Divine Realm and Demonic Divine Realm, they were spread throughout the universe, and any being above Upper God level had access rights.
“Thanks to the Cyber Realm I was able to work as a mercenary god, but I really can’t stand this talkative assistant. Because she’s so competent, she always picked mercenary assignments that left me barely surviving.” Just thinking about those days made him feel a dislike for Machine Gods that he hadn’t possessed before.
Yet the answer he received was completely unexpected. The Machine God’s tone was strangely excited. “Purchasing a highest-grade Machine God is no longer possible for a High Lord. Temporary rentals are also unavailable. Only Machine Gods of Upper grade or lower can be reserved.”
“What?”
“Demand from Main Gods and Demonic Gods has surged, driving prices up. Production can’t keep up with orders. Newly ascended Creator Gods have reserved every highest-grade Machine God for management purposes, so only Upper grade and below remain available for reservation. Even then, the earliest delivery date is one thousand years from now.”
“……”
He had fought mercenary battles against rampaging Machine Gods in the past. Despite his misgivings about this assistant, he still needed to buy one—yet nothing ever went smoothly. The sales tactics were ruthless. The support for the Main Divine Realm had expanded, doubling the positions for Divine Realm management Main Gods and other deities, and now they were apparently trying to sell Machine Gods as well.
“Have these insane Main Gods decided to fill the entire Divine Realm with Machine Gods? How do they plan to handle the increased taxes? A light rain soaks your clothes, and automation isn’t always a good thing! Machine Gods can only maintain the status quo cheaply, but they bring no development to the Divine Realm! If even the surplus Upper-grade Machine Gods are sold out and on backorder, what am I supposed to do when I need to advance to the second stage and my Divine Realm is empty?”
He had been counting on Machine Gods as a last resort, but that path was closing too. “Does this mean I have to scrape the bottom of the Spirit Realm?” A sigh escaped him, but he asked anyway, just in case. “What about mid-grade and below?”
“A ten-thousand-year wait. It’s a huge jackpot. At this rate, even I’ll get promoted. Ohohohoho!”
The boisterous laughter made him wonder if she was truly a Machine God; he would have to check later. “How can an artificial ego have such rich emotions? She always mocks me like this whenever we meet.” If he had had more conversation partners back when he was merely a Main God, he would never have spoken to her.
“Is there nothing available for immediate purchase?”
“It depends on the intended use. Only a few units that were returned because they didn’t meet requirements remain.”
“You’re selling returned units that had problems?”
“Of course. And at a very low price.”
“……”
He felt like a novice buyer standing before a merchant who had seen every trick in the book. Whenever the other party steered the conversation this way, the outcome was always bad. “Why does it feel like I’ve run into a crooked swindler?” The strong sense that she was trying to foist something off on him was deeply ominous. “There’s definitely something wrong with it.”
The way she occasionally glanced at him nervously confirmed it. His experience told him that flipping the table was the best move in such situations. “Forget it! I’m not buying! Goodbye!”
“Wait! I’ll give it to you at half price. It’s still highest-grade.”
“Obviously it disobeys orders and rebelled against whatever Main God bought it! I’ve heard that among the highest-grade units, some have overly high ego settings and performance that even Main Gods can’t handle. Highest-grade units can only be suppressed by Upper Main Gods—who would buy such a defective product?”
“You’ve become quite sharp. It feels like only yesterday you were just getting taken advantage of.”
“What?! So it’s true? These bastards really—!”
He had suspected as much, and it turned out to be correct. Regardless of his anger, the Machine God assistant continued speaking. “Is this really a Machine God’s artificial ego? Why is she trying to dump such a headache on me? The commissions she used to give me were always troublesome, and the rewards were tiny! And she still calls me a top-tier member?”
Not even the meager benefits given to new members had been added. “Still, it’s one of the Cyber Realm’s masterpieces. A combat-type, management-type, and even capable of ‘Creation’—a true magnum opus.”
“Then why was it returned?”
“Ahahaha. Because it was too excellent and kept showing off. It looked like it was going to rot, so…! We upgraded its Creation-type abilities, changed the absolute obedience circuit to a regular obedience circuit, and granted it free thought. That’s when it started acting up. But a lot of resources went into it, so it’s powerful and has many authorities. You’ll be satisfied.”
“So because I’m a convenient High Lord with no faction, you decided to trick me into taking it off your hands?”
“If you pay half price, we’ll hand it over. As the Dimensional Lord, a High Lord, controlling it should be relatively easy for you.”
“Shut up! If even an Upper Main God couldn’t handle a highest-grade Machine God, it’s obviously some bizarre experimental reinforcement. Who would hand over such a dangerous object? I’m already a Main God with enough headaches!”
“Well, your circumstances are rather difficult. It’s all because of that man’s desires.”
When the Machine God assistant made a sympathetic expression, his mood soured even further. And what had she just said? “‘That man’s desires’ are the problem? What nonsense are you spouting now?”
“You’re truly remarkable. To accept those goddesses as concubines. No matter how important appearances are, it must be hard to manage, right? Even as a fellow woman, I feel sorry for you. It must be exhausting? It will be exhausting. The Machine God assistants in charge of the goddesses you took as concubines asked me to pass on their condolences. They said the goddesses have become a bit more docile, so they told me to offer you an extra discount.”
“Guh—!”
A groan escaped the Dimensional Lord’s lips. “So that’s what she meant—the matter of temporarily accepting the goddesses as concubines for administrative necessity.” He had thought little of it, but the goddesses’ notoriety was no joke; the rumor had spread like wildfire. “Damn it! If even the Cyber Realm is talking about it like this, the Main Divine Realm must be completely saturated with the story.” A chill ran down his spine. “I casually agreed, but the backlash is going to be no laughing matter.”
The Cyber Realm extended into every Creator God’s domain and encompassed the entire universe. If this kind of talk continued, an unmanageable situation would arise. Yet the Machine God assistant smiled faintly and spoke again. “So how about half price? We’re practically selling it at cost, recovering only the material expenses. We won’t make any profit at all.”
“…I’m not buying.”
It had become a matter of pride. “How long are they going to assume I’ll just take whatever they throw at me? I’m no longer the lone Main God mercenary I used to be. I’m now a High Lord of the Divine Realm!” Since his Karma had changed from “Extreme Evil” to “Extreme Good,” he had nothing to feel desperate about. Yet she continued speaking as if soothing a child.
“Upon hearing that all the goddesses in the Divine Realm you manage have become your concubines, most male Main Gods are celebrating. There’s no need to compete with you for the position of Divine Realm Main God anymore. That’s why the Main Divine Realm contacted us to offer you the greatest possible benefits. Even with a few flaws, this isn’t the kind of masterpiece you can obtain at such a bargain price. It’s the Cyber Realm’s magnum opus, possessing Creation-type authorities on the scale of a satellite.”
Her slightly solemn tone and confidence piqued his curiosity, but that was all it was. “I already possess Creation-type authorities myself. With magic, I can create moons or even suns. More importantly, I absolutely refuse to end up like those swindler Main Gods who accepted something they couldn’t handle.”
If an excessively competent Machine God refused absolute obedience, even the Dimensional Lord would be in trouble. He wouldn’t lose, of course, but the Middle World management was specialized, and its combat capabilities were calibrated accordingly. If he made a mistake while suppressing it, an entire planet could be destroyed. And if it had a regular obedience circuit instead of absolute obedience, it meant it would betray him the moment it disliked its Main God. In that case, it would be better to hire mercenary gods.
“I’m not buying!”
“Ah! Please don’t be like that—buy it.”
“You’ll get promoted if you sell it, won’t you?”
“Ah! Hohohoho! You’ve become quite formidable. I’ll make it 4.9 times the discount. Now I’m taking a loss.”
“I’m not buying! And if I do buy it and problems occur, immediate return and compensation—!”
“No way! 4.9 times discount, no returns, no compensation!”
“This thing has been returned more than once or twice, hasn’t it? In a situation where people have to wait a thousand years to buy, if even half price won’t move a highest-grade Machine God, then… wait! Don’t tell me—”
An ominous premonition flashed through his mind. “I should have realized it when she called it a magnum opus!”
Sure enough, the assistant’s expression turned restless. “She really is trying to trap me. There are other things she could recommend—why push this one?”
The memory of hundreds of Main Gods and dozens of Main Gods desperately trying to stop the rampaging Machine God and shut down its functions while scouring the entire universe was still vivid. “Don’t tell me it’s the strongest, most vicious, most wicked Machine God—‘the Red Giant,’ Antares? The first Creator God-grade Machine God that uses the largest sun in the universe as its power source and grows everything on a star cluster scale with its immense light and heat! But in reality, it’s a Destruction God that burns even star clusters and Main Gods, isn’t it? No Main God could handle its Creator God-grade management functions, so it went berserk, right? We barely managed to shut it down—have they still not disposed of it?”
“All its flaws have been corrected. Please forget the past mistakes.”
“Shut up! Do you think I’ve forgotten that I fought on the battlefield where that damned thing rampaged? Do you know how much damage was done? More than half the Main Gods and above who participated as mercenaries died!”
“Ah! I forgot! You did participate!”
“Grrr—! You’re not a Machine God, are you? Even gods don’t lose their memories, so how can a Machine God that receives assistance from the Cyber Realm forget the past? Are you actually a god from some Divine Realm? I won’t let this slide.”
To the Dimensional Lord, the Machine God assistant seemed increasingly suspicious. “She has richer emotions than most natural egos.” But since she had never caused harm, he hadn’t paid much attention—until now, when things were getting stranger. “She really seems to enjoy teasing me.”
She continued speaking as if his anger meant nothing to her. “But now that you’re a High Lord, you should be able to control it, right? Since you’re a mage by origin, you should have plenty of computational power. Opportunities like this are truly rare. Highest-grade Machine Gods are only sold to High Lords after they pass a test. Its functions have been restricted, but it was once the only Creator God-grade unit—and at half price, no less? Originally, it was a Machine God capable of casually managing an entire star cluster. If not for the past incident, no one below Creator God level would even get to see it.”
“……”
Listening to the assistant’s explanation, he had to admit she had a point. “It really was a magnum opus capable of managing dozens of solar systems, and there was even a demonstration held where Creator Gods gathered. But then it rejected the Upper Main God who tried to subordinate it and went berserk, causing all purchase contracts to be canceled.”
Afterward, every mercenary had rushed in at the Cyber Realm’s request to stop the rampaging Antares and barely managed to shut down its functions. The cause of the rampage was “excessive pride leading to heightened expectations of the user, resulting in rejection of all user selections”—commonly known as “princess syndrome” and “prince syndrome.” “Its functions were fine; the problem was that it chose users with the pickiness of a mental illness. What an absurd ending.” He had heard it was supposed to be completely scrapped afterward, but it was apparently too high-performance to dismantle easily. Even if it had only been usable, it wasn’t something he could have purchased. But now he needed it, so he smiled brightly and spoke.
“Pay the testing fee.”
“Excuse me?”
The Machine God assistant’s face went blank. He felt a refreshing sense of satisfaction. “I’ll proceed with a full purchase. The testing fee will be half the management costs the Cyber Realm saves by having me subordinate it.”
“E-excuse me?”
The machine assistant’s mouth fell open and gradually stiffened. “During the test operation, the Cyber Realm will be responsible for all damages caused by unexpected incidents. You’ll station one Machine God assistant to manage and compile the test results. I’ll subordinate it and simply operate it.”
“W-wait a moment! What are you saying? You’re asking for a testing fee when I’m offering half price? And half the saved management costs, at that?”
Smiling at the dumbfounded assistant’s face, he replied, “Hah! If you can’t dispose of this defective stock, you’ll have trouble securing additional Machine God production facilities, won’t you? Even on standby, maintaining a Creator God-grade unit requires enormous vitality and computational power.”
“Gasp—!”
“The only Main God with enough computational power to subordinate a Creator God-grade Machine God is a mage-type, and I’m the only one who received magic from him. Moreover, among the Creator Candidate-level Main Gods, I’m the only one currently trying to build a Divine Realm. In other words, it has to be me—there’s no substitute. Judging by your expression, you’ve already produced quite a few, haven’t you? How do you plan to recover the development costs? If you steel yourself to dismantle them, their resistance will be tremendous, costing as much as the production expenses. They’re so expensive that you have to sell them to Creator Gods, but they caused an accident at the testing ground, so there won’t be any buyers. To overcome that suspicion, you’ll need reliable results and adjustments. That means you need long-term operational records and countless adjustment tests. The risk of accidents during that process is enormous. In that situation, you’re offering it to me at half price? No—you should be paying me a testing fee!”
“……”
The smile vanished from the machine assistant’s face, leaving only a flustered expression. After a moment of silence, she spoke with a troubled look. “The testing fee can’t be paid immediately due to expansion construction, but they say they’ll provide free Machine Gods or various items whenever you wish to purchase them in the future as compensation. However, a lump-sum purchase is difficult, so please limit it to ten percent or less. The cost will be half the dismantling expenses rather than half the management costs you mentioned. In exchange, you must accept all the Creator God-grade Machine Gods ‘Antares’ currently in possession and assist with their simultaneous activation for testing. One unit will be transferred with full ownership, while the rest will be provided as free rentals. They will remain free rentals until sold to a Creator God, and the Main Divine Realm taxes will also be covered by us. After activation, all operation, testing, and compensation for any resulting accidents will be handled entirely by the Cyber Realm. Shall we draft a contract with these terms?”
“Good! You should have said that from the beginning. Approved.”
“You devil. You used to be so innocent…”
“Is that something you should be saying?”
He could hear the Machine God assistant muttering quietly, but he didn’t back down. Machine Gods were originally extremely expensive. “Rental fees add one percent to Main Divine Realm taxes, but a full purchase costs the equivalent of an entire planet. Of course, not a Main God Star—just a regular divine star one ten-thousandth the size—but it’s still an enormous sum.” The purchase price was in a completely different league from rental fees. During rental, most functions except those necessary for Divine Realm management were restricted and monitored, but upon full purchase, even some “Creation” functions became available. “Of course, things requiring adamantium or extremely rare and complex procedures are impossible, but it provides tremendous assistance with Middle World management. As long as you supply divine power, it can produce unlimited amounts of food or weapons. Naturally, it’s expensive.”
Vwoooom! Vwoooooom!
He could feel Machine Gods teleporting toward him from across the distant universe. The sky was gradually being filled with red planets. They were exactly as he remembered—massive planets gleaming with red metal. Precisely twenty units had arrived. “They produced and stockpiled this many Creator God-grade Machine Gods. Even the Cyber Realm would be staggering under the weight. Back when I was just a Main God, destroying them was truly difficult. Despite being Machine Gods, they possess restoration abilities, spatial movement, and authorities.”
Still, only something of this caliber deserved to be called a Machine God. “Now that the disciplinary matters are settled, maybe I should get some proper rest?”
For a combat-type Main God, subordinating a Machine God would be difficult, but for him—a mage-type with dimensional authorities that required immense computation—it was an easy task. Watching the egos desperately fighting for dominance inside the “Machine Idol,” he proceeded to authenticate the subordination of the Machine Gods.