God (6)
Putting aside the favoritism toward humans for now. I lightly tapped Yggdrasil's name floating in the list. The screen switched to what looked like a private message window from one of those various messenger apps. There's really no dedicated messenger, huh. Sending messages... Hmm, not much different from what I sent to the Lizardmen. You just record your voice and send it. Well, without a keyboard or anything, this is probably the most convenient way. I pressed the microphone-shaped button and started recording.
"Yggdrasil. Can you hear me?"
"Looks like you can hear me. It's working properly."
"I found a pretty handy feature, you see."
If all the kids ended up enshrined as gods... I could communicate with them easily through this. It doesn't take that long to visit in person. But still, tracking down kids scattered all over the world is a pain. Especially Shamash... Unlike when she first awakened her ego, she flits around anywhere there's light, making her hard to find. Erebos seems to be the same...
"That's right. Pretty convenient, isn't it?"
Hmm. Yeah, I suppose so. In a way, this feature might be more for the kids than for me. Since I'm the one wandering around doing this and that, they can hardly ever call out to me. Except for Sylphid, who could keep up. That kid could ride the winds to follow me.
"From now on, if you have something to tell me, use this method. No matter where I am, your voice will reach me."
Good. That should wrap up what I need to tell Yggdrasil. Hmm. Maybe ask how she's doing, too.
"Anything new going on lately?"
The elves seem to be growing steadily. Nice. No more fighting over origins like before, apparently. Well, after that incident when Yggdrasil hunkered down, they probably never want to go through that again.
"That's a relief. The elves' numbers will keep growing, and you can't keep making fruit for them forever."
"Still, feeding an entire race like that has to take a toll."
Strange power...? Hmm... Faith from the elves, maybe? Their belief in Yggdrasil as a god must be empowering her. Wait, then what about me? The Lizardmen call me the Genesis Dragon God and worship me, so why don't I feel anything like that? Hmm... Maybe compared to my own power, the faith they give is too insignificant to notice? I dunno... But whatever. I'm not particularly interested in power that's barely a blip.
More importantly, she's spreading her roots far and wide? Hmmm... That doesn't sit right for some reason. Makes me think of that dragon from Norse myths gnawing on one of Yggdrasil's roots. Nidhogg, was it?
"Your roots? Won't spreading them too far be a problem?"
Hmm... This kid plans to fill the whole world with her roots, huh.
Yggdrasil declared confidently. If she's that sure it's fine, maybe it is.
"If anything happens, contact me right away."
I smiled faintly at Yggdrasil's words.
"When you were in charge of the green dragons before, it was a total mess, though?"
"Confidence is good, but don't get too arrogant. Got it?"
Maybe because of her past karma, Yggdrasil backed down quick. Oh, right.
"If you ever need a body that can move freely, just say the word."
"Hey now, no way. I said I wouldn't until we find Erebos."
I chuckled softly at Yggdrasil's grumbling voice.
"I've got this new magic I made. It's not a dragon body, but it lets you connect a spirit to a freely moving form."
"Yeah. If you need it, I'll tell you next time."
"Sure. See you next time."
Alright, that wraps up the chat with Yggdrasil. The conversation with Sagarmatha was pretty much the same, so I'll skip it. Dwarves multiplying around his mountains, them worshipping him as a god, he'd like a body to move freely... Not much talk since he's the quiet type, but he seems to be doing fine, which eased my mind a bit.
And finally... Shamash, who for some reason has her name on the god list. I called out to that kid, whose whereabouts and deeds remain a mystery.
"Shamash."
"Shamash?"
What the heck is this.
"Shamash."
"Shamash."
"Shamash. Foolish child. Silly little Shamash."
After a long silence, Shamash's voice came through cautiously.
"Took you long enough to figure it out."
I let out a small sigh. She always had a bit of a narcissistic streak, but getting worshipped as a god seems to have made it worse. Who knew she wouldn't even recognize my voice properly.
"Shamash."
"What do you do when you've done wrong?"
At my low voice, Shamash squeaked out in a tiny voice, like she wanted to crawl into a hole.
"That's right. So?"
Hmm. Good. At least she doesn't dodge her mistakes. Anyway.
"How'd you end up a god, anyway?"
"Yeah. You're not overseeing a race like the others, but here you are, getting worshipped..."
I'm getting worshipped by the Lizardmen too, after all. Situation's no different from Yggdrasil or Sagarmatha. So why Shamash?
"Light?"
Hmm... Became a god by brightening starlight and moonlight? What kind of weird judgment is that? Normally, wouldn't they worship a moon god or star god in that case?
"Then what's this about being the goddess of justice and law?"
Hmm. Is that really okay? Worshipping this narcissistic, sparkly kid—who's sorely lacking otherwise—as the goddess of law and justice? Seems super dangerous. Shouldn't a goddess of law and justice properly discern right from wrong?
"You're still Shamash right now, aren't you?"
Her tone sounded like she was clearing her throat with an ahem! Truly. What a troublesome kid.