Rat God (1)
Sleeping Maybel—or rather, pretending to sleep. Her eyes were closed, but her ears had been twitching slightly for a while now. Ella, stroking her hair, didn't seem to notice.
But she couldn't fool my eyes.
"Asking my daughter? That's too heavy a question for a child to decide."
Ella looked terribly anxious at my words. But you know.
"This child isn't the little kid she was when you parted ways anymore."
I said, watching Maybel's ears twitch faintly.
"It's been quite some time since you left that young girl with the priest in that rural village, yet you still think of her as a child."
Ella looked pierced to the core by my words; she opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.
"She was just a child when you left her, so I get that the little Maybel from your memories is still there. But now, after so much time... well, not quite an adult yet. Anyway, she's old enough to make reasonable judgments."
"Th-that's true, but..."
"She's not a little kid anymore, so shouldn't we let her decide for herself?"
Ella couldn't argue with that. No matter how much a parent loves their child, they can't just choose their fate on a whim. They can offer advice from the perspective of someone who's walked life's path ahead, but they can't live that life for them.
So, the choice has to be Maybel's own. It must be.
"And if Maybel refuses that choice... what will you do?"
"Hm... What do you mean, 'what'? Nothing changes."
I'm not going to force her, like, "You! Become a god!" or anything.
Even without a god for the rat beastkin... things won't change much.
I'll just smash the rat beastkin leadership that pulled those shady tricks, crush their plot to annihilate Armen, and make the whole god-making ritual never happen.
In the end, the rat beastkin, with their future now uncertain... might be a bit pitiful, but I can't play favorites with just one race.
I've already done way too much of that.
"What happens to rat beastkin without a god? I don't know. Maybe they'll find another way to survive, or decline and live like slaves, scorned by other races. I can't worry about that far."
Harsh words, but unavoidable. As the Goddess of Life, I can't keep favoring one race anymore.
Back then, it was because I was so lacking that I acted biased left and right... but now I'm trying to cut back on that.
Ah, is this biased too? Protecting Armen no matter what happens to the rat beastkin... Hm.
Whatever! I don't care! Screw it! Call me irresponsible if you want! I don't care!
It's the rat beastkin's fault! I'm not omniscient or omnipotent anyway!
I just happened to spread life across this world and climbed to a divine position!
No omniscience or omnipotence here! I'm just a silver dragon who can do a bit more than others!
So, I'll just go where my heart leads! Yeah! That's easy!
Whatever results come from that choice, shove it on future me!
Please, future me!
While my mind lightened with those thoughts, Ella's expression grew stiffer by the second.
"That means... you're abandoning the rat beastkin, Dragon Priestess?"
"Weren't they the ones trying to commit the sin in the first place? And you helped ruin their ritual by sneaking Maybel away."
"That's... true, but..."
What? Now that we're talking about her race's doom, is her conscience kicking in?
If that's the case, she shouldn't have thought of whisking her daughter away.
Contradictory. Protecting her daughter as a mother clashes with being a member of a race on the brink of ruin, yet now she can't let go of either.
Her resolve was clear when death loomed, but now that things have oddly improved because of me, she wants to save her race too?
How contradictory. But that's the desire of life too—the wish for something better.
I can't deny that. The situation improved, so all the premises changed.
"Anyway, I have no intention of doing anything directly about your race's future. Let that be clear. All I'm doing is hijacking the ritual to make Maybel a god."
Well, if I really tinkered with it, I could probably make a brand-new rat beastkin god from scratch. But that's a hassle now.
"Th-then, couldn't I take on that heavy burden instead?"
"I don't like that."
"What?!"
What? Why the ridiculous look? I said I don't like it.
Maybel's the one who woke me from sleep, and her intriguing story got me traveling with her.
Handing the god spot to someone else? No thanks.
"My proposal is clear. Either Maybel becomes the rat beastkin god, or they get no god. No other options."
Harsh, but oh well. I don't like it.
Realizing my resolve, Ella fell silent for a moment.
"What... are you?"
"Hm?"
What? She's called me Dragon Priestess all this time, now questioning my identity?
"You seem like the legendary Dragon Priestess, but your words don't fully explain it. Like saying you've made gods for this world yourself."
Hmm... Yeah, hard to see that as Dragon Priestess work. I don't know exactly how she's portrayed now, but as the hero's partner and proxy of the Goddess of Life. A proxy of a god, ultimately.
Such a being casually making gods? Absurd.
"Who... are you?"
I smiled faintly.
"No need to know."
No intention or need to explain.
"Just know me as the Dragon Priestess. Nothing else is permitted. You're forbidden from telling others. No speaking of my identity, no matter what you think. Got it?"
Ella nodded slightly, her face unconvinced. Good. Roughly sorted.
So.
"Maybel, enough pretending. Wake up."
Maybel flinched faintly, eyes still closed. Ella noticed from that, realizing she'd been faking.
"Maybel...?"
"You've heard the gist. Now, your thoughts. Maybel, what do you want?"
Maybel slowly opened her eyes and sat up. Ella watched worriedly, but that changes nothing.
Then, Maybel opened her small mouth.
"I..."
Slowly, but surely. Maybel began voicing her desire.
"I don't really know. I don't know what's right or wrong. I don't know, but..."
"But?"
"If I become a god, I can smash the ones who did that to Mom, the ones who killed Dad—all of them, right?"
Maybel spoke softly. The emotion within... resentment and rage. Flames aimed at those who ruined her family.
"God this, race's future that—I don't really get it. But one thing's clear."
Firm emotion. Unshakable resolve. Ella's face turned regretful watching her.
"I don't want to let the ones who tormented our family get away."
Revenge. Simple, intense emotion. No room for choice with that in her heart.
"Tell me. What do I need to do?"
I smiled faintly at those words.
What happened after... hm, do I have to explain it all?
If I set my mind to it, there's almost nothing I can't do.
Simply put: I smashed everything to bits.
To disrupt the rat beastkin ritual, what I did can be roughly divided into four parts.
First, I set up barriers around Armen's waterways and key spots to prepare for any dangers.
Second, I stirred most of the rat beastkin to guide their collective thinking my way.
Third, I subdued the conspiratorial leadership and locked them in a room with no escape.
And finally... I hijacked their ritual to infuse Maybel with divinity.
Well, infusing divinity doesn't make her a god instantly. She's a living being with a god's presence... hm, closest term might be...
Living God? A bit awkward, but nothing better fits.
Anyway, something like that. Right now, she's a human with a god's power, but after death, she'll ascend properly.
Maybel, now with divinity,
"Th-this is kinda overwhelming..."
"Endure it as a god."
looked down awkwardly at the masses of rat beastkin prostrating on the ground, smiling uneasily.