The Mountain Hates the Sky (2)
“The god of the sky?”
Hwang Dong-kyung's expression shifted to one of utter disbelief as he listened to my story. Well, that was only natural. Anyone would react the same way if you told them you were searching for some unheard-of god.
It might sound like a fairy tale, pie in the sky stuff, but my gut was telling me there was something to this king of the gods.
“No solid leads or anything?”
“I started looking because I got my hands on a fragment of a small stone tablet, but beyond that, I have nothing.”
“No leads at all? And you still thought to chase it down?”
“My intuition's telling me there's something to this name.”
Hwang Dong-kyung still looked half-skeptical at my words.
“Just your gut, huh? Hmm... Honestly, it's hard to buy, but... well, your instincts seem to have some inexplicable power to them.”
He grinned and nodded.
“Might as well bet on this reckless gamble.”
“...I hate to say it, but are you sure? Frankly, the odds of coming up empty are sky-high.”
“What of it? My life's already one big gamble— what's one more? And a forgotten god... hmm. There are plenty of forgotten gods, but a title like king of the gods piques my interest.”
Hwang Dong-kyung let out a hearty laugh.
“Low chance of success, but if it pays off, fame and fortune await. Worth the bet, no?”
I nodded in agreement. I felt the same way, which was why I'd started investigating based on this worthless scrap of a stone tablet. I understood his mindset completely.
Baal and Shamash laid down a bunch of rules and passed them on to the gods. They'd put some real thought into it, from what I could tell. Summing it up roughly:
1. Gods are forbidden from descending to the mortal world indiscriminately. Exceptions for gods whose true bodies reside on the surface.
2. Direct combat between gods is prohibited. Especially the direct plundering of another god's faith.
3. Boundaries are drawn between cultural spheres that gods may not cross, prohibiting incursions into regions where one's faith does not exist.
Spreading faith through believers and influencing other cultures that way was still fair game.
Anyway, that was the gist. The gods had been causing such chaos with their endless squabbles that even the non-belligerent ones were sick of it, and most welcomed the rules.
And then.
“'Violators will face Gaia's judgment.' What the hell is this for?”
“But Gaia is a god acknowledged by all the others. If she hands down the punishment herself, won't they all accept it?”
Shamash nodded along with Baal's words from behind him.
This guy's... using me...
“Mom. Can't we just kick this guy out?”
Sagarmatha, who genuinely hated Baal, grumbled without even glancing his way.
“You were finally resting with me, and now he drags Shamash along to ruin it. I really hate this.”
“Sagarmatha, calm down. It's necessary.”
“But... I hate it, I hate it. Shamash too. Why does she have to come with him and interrupt our alone time?”
Sagarmatha, unusually chatty today. What a handful.
“It'll be over quick, so relax.”
“Yeah... hurry up and finish.”
I let him use my lap as a pillow to settle him down, then turned to Baal and Shamash.
“Let's wrap this up before Sagarmatha gets any madder. So, how are the gods holding up now?”
“Thanks to the new rules, they're behaving. Disputes have stopped, and they're mostly focusing on building up their own strength.”
“That's a relief.”
Fewer conflicts among the gods was good news.
Hmm.
“But there's one request from the gods...”
“Request?”
“Yeah. A request. To Gaia, specifically.”
To me? A request? From the gods? What annoying chore were they trying to dump now?
“What kind?”
“Well... they want you to name them.”
“Name them?”
Baal nodded slightly.
“Wait, names out of nowhere? Don't the other gods already have names?”
That didn't make sense. There was no such thing as a god without a name...
Hmm, or did they just want new ones? Ditch their current names? What was this?
Couldn't they just stick with what they had?
“What a pain.”
“Sagarmatha.”
I covered Sagarmatha's grumbling eyes with my hand. He really hated Baal.
“They said if you do it, they'll faithfully follow the rules.”
“Can't you handle that yourself, Baal? I'm busy.”
“They want Gaia to do it. The greatest god giving them their names, or so they hope.”
I let out a small sigh.
“Greatest god? You're the king of the gods, Baal.”
“Sure, I'm in the position, but I can't deny I'm lacking compared to you, Gaia. You've held immense divine authority since before I even existed. And you have the most believers.”
No, that was back when there were no other gods...
Hmm, first-mover advantage, maybe. What a hassle. I'd cut down on pilgrims, but still so many.
Ugh...
“It's a bit of a chore, but please, Gaia. And if you name them, we can use it to keep the others in line. You said before that your true name holds tremendous power. The other gods heard the rumor and want that power too.”
Hmm. That was just teasing Baal...
And it spread as a rumor? Distorted, even.
Well... just a minor annoyance, no big deal.
“Compared to what I used to handle, it's nothing. Make a list of the gods who want names and their details, and I'll give it a shot.”
Hassle or not, no choice. You asked for names—deal with it. I'll slap on a ton of names from that world's gods.
“I really hate him.”
We ignored Sagarmatha's quiet mutter. Yeah.
“So, when can we get into the records archive?”
“When? Hmm... Need permission, so tomorrow should do.”
“In one day? That fast?”
Hwang Dong-kyung chuckled, stroking his beard.
“A little trickery involved, but yeah. I'll get the permission, then you use it.”
“Me using your permission? Will that work? I don't have a beard like you, and I'm pretty tall.”
“I'll pretend not to hear that racist remark. And the dwarves' records archive isn't what you think.”
Not what I think? Not like a library?
“You'll see tomorrow.”
I just nodded slightly at Hwang Dong-kyung's words.
And the next day.
“Here, got the permission. This'll get you into the archive.”
Hwang Dong-kyung handed me a thin stone tablet. Smooth black surface, about the size of an open book.
Hmm. What was this?
“All procedures handled—just use it. Press the button on the side.”
I lightly pressed the small protrusion on the side of the slate, as he said.
Vmmm.
Light began emanating from the pitch-black slate.
“This is...?”
“The pinnacle of dwarf tech. A data slate... information processing board. Top secret, so keep it under wraps.”
Top secret, huh... Yeah, I'd never heard of dwarves having something like this.
“Tap the book icon, first rectangle that pops up. Then the white bar at the top, type what you're searching for in the space below, and it'll pull up matching titles.”
Following his instructions, I awkwardly manipulated the slate. Letters appeared on the smooth surface.
For starters...
Pretty amazing feeling.
“Select a title, and it'll display the book's contents automatically. Cancel or go back with the arrow at the bottom.”
I fiddled as he described, and the screen flipped through pages...
What an incredible device. If humans had this, libraries would be obsolete.
“It's linked to the records archive, so dig in. Charges with mana—when it runs low, use the mana stones in this pouch. Slot 'em into the little groove on the back, and it'll charge itself.”
Sure enough, there was a small indentation on the back. Mana stone charging... neat.
“I've got business elsewhere. Good luck. Oh, and don't think of taking that slate out of Nidavellir. It's got tracking magic—dwarf hunters will be on you.”
With that, Hwang Dong-kyung left the room, leaving the slate and pouch.
Hmm. No greed. It's unfamiliar, but I'll get used to it.
And so, I began searching through the dwarves' information processing slate.
Start with their records on myths, I suppose.