The Rat God (3)
Maybel had become the Rat God, but right now, there wasn't much she could do as a god. Unifying the opinions of the rat beastkin who believed in her, and getting a little stronger through their faith? She didn't have any particular divine powers, nor the strength to perform miracles. For the time being, she just felt like a somewhat stronger rat beastkin. Still, if more rat beastkin came to believe in Maybel, her power would grow even stronger. But not right this instant.
"I thought becoming a god would change everything… but it doesn't feel that different."
"That's because you're still alive. It'd hit harder once you're dead."
"In that case… I'll experience it after I live out my natural lifespan and die."
The living human body had its limits, after all! Anyway, after Maybel and Ella brought the rat beastkin under control, the very first thing they did was… punish the former rat beastkin leadership.
The ones who had lured so many into suffering by heeding the suspicious voice from underground. The ones who had killed Maybel's father—Ella's husband. The ones who had tried to massacre the people of the great city of Armen for use as sacrifices. They underwent interrogations harsh enough to be called torture at Ella's hands, and spilled every detail of their plans.
They had truly intended to poison Armen's aqueducts, and they had multiple backup plans besides. If poisoning the aqueducts failed, their contingency was to incite conflict with other city-states, start a war, and secretly open the city gates. If that didn't work… their final resort was to collapse the underground village and sewers where the rat beastkin lived, dragging all of Armen down into the earth with it.
The voice from underground had promised to protect the rat beastkin in exchange for a successful ritual—and immortality to the leaders who carried out the plan. I hadn't known about that promise. Apparently, it was only made to the leadership, so the others were in the dark.
Well, now they were all beaten to a pulp with broken bones, locked away in cells. They'd spilled every last detail of their schemes, so there was nothing left to extract. They were useless now.
The leadership was forced to confess their conspiracy to all the other rat beastkin, and their punishment… was, of course, execution. Their crimes were that grave, and most rat beastkin approved—perhaps because of the added offense of hiding the truth while pushing their plot forward.
It was a bit surprising to see Maybel's grandfather among those being punished. From what I gathered, he'd tried to pair Maybel's smart father with the renowned adventurer Ella to produce Maybel as a vessel for the god. Hmm. Wait a minute. Doesn't that mean he got his own son killed? He used his child to create the rat beastkin god? Even for the sake of the race, sacrificing your own kid like that? Terrifying.
In any case, those schemers were all tried under the name of Shamash, the goddess of law and justice, and sentenced to death per her judgment. In their final moments, Maybel's grandfather tried to plead blood ties for mercy… but Maybel wasn't one to waver at the begging of a grandfather she'd never even met. If anything, learning that her own flesh and blood had plotted against her and her mother only fueled her rage.
With the conspirators executed and things more or less wrapped up…
"What should we do with this village from now on?"
"You mean this rat hole?"
"Yeah. It was built for their schemes, after all… so we have to do something with it."
Hmm. Fair point. A village like this was nothing but trouble. Underground, so no farming. Isolated, so no trade. If they tried anything here, Armen wouldn't sit idly by. And above all, it had been made for that ritual—which they no longer needed.
"I think it'd be best to abandon it and move somewhere better."
"Yeah, I figured."
"Mm. Exactly."
But even if they moved… where to? Hmm…
"How about near the village where you grew up?"
"Huh? That rural spot?"
It was a bit remote, but not a bad place to get things sorted.
"It's… um… but…"
"Something wrong with it?"
"No. It's familiar, so that's fine… but is there a place around there to gather the rat beastkin?"
Hmm. A gathering spot.
"If there isn't one, just make one."
Maybel blinked blankly at my words, then nodded like, of course.
"Right. As if the Dragon Priestess has any limits. You snap your fingers and make anything, solve everything on the spot."
"Ouch, those words have thorns."
"No, I was just wondering if there's anything impossible for the Dragon Priestess. Things that are a huge struggle for us, you handle in seconds."
Hmm. Well, that's the level of power I have.
"I only do what I can. I'm not omnipotent or anything."
"If that's not omnipotence, what is?"
"Mm… dunno."
What is omnipotence? Does it mean being able to do anything? Turning the impossible possible? Could someone like me—who couldn't even rein in the child I treated like my own—call herself omnipotent?
"I have my limits too."
"I don't believe it."
I could only give a wry smile as Maybel shook her head.
After that, Maybel sent word to rat beastkin scattered across the land, met with them, and began gathering as many as possible to build a city for her kind. Some doubted the existence of a living god and refused to believe. Some were suspicious but followed anyway. Others welcomed her with open arms.
They arrived at a plain a short distance from the rural village where Maybel had grown up. Well, more precisely, a plain that had become one just recently. It had been a dense forest before—but I'd uprooted all the trees with magic, processed them into lumber, and stacked it neatly. On this new plain, Maybel assembled all her followers.
The number: ten thousand. Excluding those who rejected her, ten thousand rat beastkin followed Maybel. They had abandoned homes, hometowns, everything, at the news of their god's emergence.
For them, I created a bag that produced endless food and lent it to Maybel. She fed her future people to their hearts' content and gathered them together.
With so many assembled in their new home, Maybel cried out to them.
"We are a weak race."
Her quiet voice scattered across the open field. The voice of a young rat beastkin. It burrowed into the minds of her people—doubters and skeptics alike. No one could resist the voice of the one who commanded their species.
"Once the beastkin god who bound us beastkin became the guardian god of the Pantheon, we were shunned even by our fellow beastkin."
It was like racial discrimination, in a way. Discrimination among beastkin based on species.
"But now, things are different. Your faith has gathered in me, and the divinity of the Rat God has taken root within. From this day, I am the god who will shelter and nurture the rat beastkin, living for our race."
Maybel looked around at the gathered crowd and continued.
"To that end, I will redefine our race here. No longer just ordinary beastkin, but those sheltered by the Rat God. We will take a new name: Ratkin."
Ratkin. In other words, the bloodkin of the rat. Distinguishing themselves from others to unite the community—this was the first step: a new name.
"And this land. On this new plain, we will build a city for us Ratkin. Its name shall be Ratkinia—the land of the Ratkin."
Well, I came up with Ratkin and Ratkinia on the spot, but Maybel seemed to love them. And so, the rat beastkin gained a new name and a new land to live on.
"Things are somehow coming together."
"The rat beastkin—no, Ratkin—are more industrious than I thought. They work well."
"Ratkin, not rat beastkin."
The Ratkin settled into their new land better than expected and began thriving. And Maybel gained a new divine power.
"This power's been a huge help too."
Maybel looked at the dowsing rod in her hand as she spoke. Her new ability let her find whatever she sought—new springs, fertile soil, ore veins. It was a boon for the Ratkin.
And the Ratkin turned out to be surprisingly good at farming, despite their huge appetites.
"This rice from the paddy plants is kinda amazing, though. It needs a ton of water, but the yield is insane."
Same land area, rice outproduces wheat. Thanks to that, they could meet the Ratkin's massive food needs. Oh, I'd already gotten back the infinite food bag. It was great for filling bellies, but Maybel worried full Ratkin would slack off. Those who don't work, don't eat—she took the temple priest's words to heart.
"It's a crop mainly grown in the East. Needs lots of water, but with your power, no problem."
"Yeah! I can find water sources anywhere. That's how the Ratkin survive! We trade the surplus for what we need!"
Yeah, food's priority one in this era.
Anyway, the Ratkin city of Ratkinia was starting to take shape. Under Maybel's protection, it'd grow into a fine city.
"Speaking of, what happened to your hammer?"
"Huh? The hammer? Mom took it. Since I'm carrying this dowsing rod instead, she said she'd use it. She plans to return it to the dwarf who made it eventually…"
Return it, huh. Well, it was a fine weapon, but not something for a god like Maybel.
