The Gods' Amusement (3)
The little child flinched slightly, glancing nervously at me. The Cloud Whale. Though no longer in her whale form, her childlike spirit hadn't changed much.
"Looks like you've finally figured out how to take on a human shape."
"Y-yes... that's right..."
"She's been working hard to change her form all this time. Then something new popped up, but a massive whale like her couldn't use it anyway."
Ah. True enough. Since it was sized for humans, a gigantic Cloud Whale wouldn't be able to. She probably couldn't even fit inside to begin with.
Hmm... Most gods these days live in human forms, so I figured human-sized was the way to go. I hadn't anticipated that issue.
"But now that you've taken human form, you should be able to use this device, right, Whale?"
"Mm. Probably."
I beckoned lightly to the Cloud Whale, and she shuffled timidly toward me.
"Want to give it a try?"
"Can I?"
"Of course."
It was made for the gods, after all. A subordinate deity under the Goddess of Life, tasked with distributing souls and overseeing births—she certainly qualified. The only concern was...
"No issue with you using it, but if you get too hooked and neglect your duties... that could be a problem."
"Don't worry about that! Freyja and the angels will handle everything!"
Freyja nodded slightly at the Cloud Whale's words. It felt just like parents watching over their child.
"Like this? How do I use it?"
"It's still in development, so it's unfinished. Let me see... I have a spare prototype..."
I grabbed one of the LDs tucked in the corner of the temple and set it down in front of the Cloud Whale.
Hmm... Needs to be lighter too. Instead of a bed with a lid, something more portable... Maybe a head-mounted VR style? Later for that.
First, let her try it.
"Made plenty extras, so you can take one right away. Set it up in your temple and it'll be ready to—wait. Don't you not have a temple?"
"A temple? I don't have one."
Hmm... Right. As a subordinate under the Goddess of Life, drifting through the skies to distribute pure souls... she didn't have a fixed temple. Couples praying for children went to the Life Church instead.
Hmm... When I offered to build one before, she said she was always wandering the skies and didn't need it...
"That's a problem. No temple means nowhere to put it."
"Even my angels are stumped! They're lesser deities but proper gods, so they're not sure if they can accept it."
Hmm. Lesser deities without temples... yeah, tricky.
Alright. After adding features, fixing bugs, and setting rank limits, next goal: miniaturize the LD.
"For now, I have plenty of empty rooms in my temple. Use one. Install it there and go ahead."
"Thank you! Goddess of Life!"
The Cloud Whale bowed with a joyful smile.
Hmm. Cute! She had that vaguely endearing vibe even floating blankly through the skies in her massive whale form, but this human shape had its own charm!
"Any empty room is fine. Take the device, set it up, and use it. And Freyja—the angels... we'll think of a separate temple they can use. That might be better."
"Yes. Thank you!"
So Freyja and the Cloud Whale... hmm. Not a whale anymore. Should I give her a proper name? Calling her "Whale" forever feels off.
Hmm... Maybe a new name?
"Cloud Whale."
"Yes?"
"Don't you want another name?"
"Another name?"
Like the other gods... she needs one too, right? A human-given title like "Cloud Whale" lacks a certain divine dignity.
"Never really thought about it."
"Just being called Cloud Whale might make gathering faith less smooth."
"I don't really need faith. Nowhere to use it anyway."
No time to spend faith when you're drifting the skies daily. Makes sense.
"No issue doing your duties in human form?"
"Huh? Oh, no. Doesn't affect my work at all."
"Then how about wandering the skies only by day, and staying in the Pantheon at night? Angels can handle soul distribution... Might even make it easier for them to find you without you roaming everywhere."
"Mm... I'm fine either way. If Freyja and the others are okay."
Freyja smiled faintly. "If you're in one place, it'd be easier for us. No issue with your work, so we're good."
"Settled then. Roam by day, stay in the Pantheon at night."
No point in faith if you lack time to use it!
"And to help you gather it more smoothly... I'll give you a new name."
Hmm. Something life-related, birth-related... angel-related maybe...
"Sandalphon?"
A powerful angel, guardian of fetuses and pregnant women. And considering her true form as a massive cloud whale... it fit the descriptions of Sandalphon's towering stature too.
"Sandalphon...? That's an odd name."
"Don't like it? I can think of another."
She shook her head. "Didn't say I hate it. Thank you, Goddess of Life. I'll treasure the name Sandalphon."
The human-form Cloud Whale—now little Sandalphon—beamed brightly. Such a radiant smile.
And so, the Cloud Whale—er, Sandalphon—moved into my temple. After iterations upon iterations refining the LD.
"It's complete!"
After several prototypes with new features, I finally nailed it. The new head-mounted LD, covering eyes and ears, restricted functions by user rank. Same device for all, but unlocks varied by user detection. Unified production skyrocketed efficiency.
Added a god list and faith amounts checker—minor stuff! Also, favoriting users... er, marking key humans, with bonus effects. Like a god-blessed human. Angels' favorites get a guardian angel vibe. Not wish-granting, just minor buffs: slight luck boost, better health, perks in a god's domain. Vague stuff.
Gods can micro-donate faith for more, but baseline buffs are there!
Plus avatar-customized human creation, baby monitoring, targeted human selection... etc.! Rank-locked for all gods, distributing solves everything.
Mass-produced identical LDs and handed them out to every god. Now they'll be hooked—no living without LDs!!
The Pantheon gods became LD addicts. Searching humans by criteria, favoriting... er, key-marking to watch. Observing joys and sorrows deepened their attachment—humans no longer toys or pets, but cherished beings.
Gods grew deeper emotions toward humans. I nodded faintly at the unexpected feature's side effect, but appreciated their affection.
Unless something major happens, gods won't harm humans now. Even Asherit got hooked and slacked off!
Whatever chaos the gods' pastime caused, I curled up leisurely in my room. Time for sleep... nothing should happen.
"Genesis Dragon!!"
My thoughts shattered from the desperate voice seeking me. For real, let me rest! Just a bit!!