Elves and Dwarves (3)
Well then, before the elf and dwarf representatives arrive, shall we have a quick chat about this and move on?
"Kyuu?"
About this little mouse-like beast that's putting on a cute act right in front of me. I lightly nudged the tip of the beast's nose with my finger, toppling it over as it gazed up at me with those big, sparkling eyes.
Well, its appearance is undeniably cute, but still. A naturally born god in such a tiny, adorable form? It's downright bizarre.
"Kii!"
The beast let out a shrill squeak in anger. But even that was just cute. I gently scratched the top of its angry little head with my index finger, and it quickly calmed down, looking pleased.
Despite fooling everyone with this adorable facade, this beast used to rampage around by shapeshifting into all sorts of animals... It was a god born from the faith of the beastkin.
The beastkin wondered why they were different from other humans. Why did parts of their bodies resemble animals? They wanted to uncover their origins, but... they found nothing.
Maybe it's better that way. If they learned their ancestors were humans shoved into beasts, wouldn't they want to die?
Anyway, unable to discover the truth, the beastkin imagined it: the first beast that lusted after humans, loved them, mounted them, and bore half-human, half-beast offspring. Their ancestral god, born from imagining that first beast.
Well, in the end, it went from beast-fucking to human-fucking... or rather, getting fucked by humans. Whatever.
Thus, a beastkin origin myth that strayed just a tiny bit from the facts. A primitive myth formed through word-of-mouth stories. And the result was this little beast right here.
Of course, being an oral tradition without proper records, it was full of holes. To explain why beastkin races varied so much, the first beast became a beast god that could transform into any animal.
Plus, the legends emphasized its mysterious powers, turning it into a thick-headed brute with animal-level intelligence.
Thanks to that, this idiot beast ran wild like a monster, shapeshifting into every animal imaginable, and we had to beat it down alongside the Hero.
For a god, it only had slightly more power than monsters, so we realized too late it held faint divinity—nearly turning the Hero into a godslayer...
But we caught it just in time. Safe.
After physically convincing the unresponsive beast god, we tamed it and kept it around. Well, I'll tidy up the beastkin myths properly into a real god someday when I have time.
For now, it's serving as the Hero's mount and bait or whatever. As a pet, though, its cuteness is pretty satisfying.
Yep.
"You seem to like that one quite a bit."
"Hm. It's a young god that hasn't been around long. Of course it's cute."
As long as it doesn't show its beastly nature, it's endlessly adorable! Hm... but a tamed beast is still a beast, isn't it?
Anyway, after spending a fun time with the speechless beast, the elves and dwarves arrived—each leading their armies into a standoff.
Hm... I clearly said to send representatives. How did it turn into an all-out war?
And the tension between them is thick. It feels like arrows will fly if you blink.
They really don't listen, do they?
"Both sides, fall back and widen the distance."
In the end, it was up to me to sort this out.
"At this point, why not just fight it out here? At this range, even your precious arrows won't go far."
"Interesting. Elves may favor bows, but do you not know our melee prowess is no slouch?"
The elves and dwarves ignored me, glaring at each other. Dwarves in heavy metal armor, gripping axes and shields. Elves in light garb, bows in hand.
Ah, the front-line elves are unstringing their bows, which extend into staff-like shapes. Impressive length.
Then they summon spirits to infuse the staffs. Nice. Quarterstaffs empowered by spirits for devastating swings.
Even armored dwarves wouldn't handle those easily.
But.
"Is my word not law?"
I sighed at the elves and dwarves. As the two races poised to clash, I irritably amplified gravity across the area, including their armies and representatives.
"Behave, you idiots."
"Guh?!"
"Wh-what is this?!"
"What else? The goddess's wrath. You fools."
A simple spell adding gravity to a region, turning the air itself into weights crushing their bodies. Light for me, but not for them—like being wrapped in massive anchors. Hard to move.
"G-guh... You...!"
"For now, the proxy of the Life Goddess. Her agent."
"The goddess's... agent...?"
The representatives endured the pressure somehow. Impressive.
"Well, ready to talk now?"
They could barely stand. I spoke lowly to them.
"On behalf of the Life Goddess, I've come to end the war you're about to start. I've already spoken with your gods—Yggdrasil the world tree and sacred mountain Sagarmatha. No veto rights."
I notified the two races.
"Racial wars are forbidden. But we can't erase the conflict, so select representatives for a non-lethal duel."
"Non-lethal? This isn't child's play..."
The dwarf representative grumbled. I piled on more gravity. He buckled, knees hitting the ground.
"If you want to die, I can turn you into a puddle right now."
"Guh...!"
Dwarven bodies are tough, huh. I ramped it up to flatten him, but he held.
Short but sturdy, like a true dwarf.
"Those horns... that silver hair... that insane power... Could you be...!"
Hm? The elf representative seemed to recognize me.
Hmm... Doesn't look that old, but maybe older than appears? Elves live long, but after centuries, shouldn't there be some aging?
"Are you the one who taught us elves spirit arts?"
Hmm... She really remembers? Good memory.
Recalling something from centuries ago. But right now, I'm not the Life Goddess or Genesis Dragon—just her agent...
Can't answer honestly. Let's see...
"Same existence, different person."
"Same existence? Different person...?"
"The one who taught elves spirit arts was another proxy of the Life Goddess, like me. The Dragon Priestess. Same essence, but a new being reborn as needed."
Hm. Is that vague enough? No, add more.
"This body is human, after all. Can't live centuries like you elves."
Layer the lies.
"So the one who taught you spirit arts was a Dragon Priestess from generations before me."
"Dragon Priestess...!"
Build the mountain of lies. Direct actions by the goddess's agent, the Dragon Priestess. The Life Goddess merely watches from the heavens, bestowing grace.
Division of roles. One person, two roles! This lets me intervene freely as the Priestess while maintaining divine dignity.
Shallow, but it works!
"I have knowledge of what past Dragon Priestesses did, but not their personal memories. It's like reading someone else's records. Same essence, different being."
"Same essence, yet different... I see. I apologize for our rudeness."
"Hm. Good, as long as you get it."
Keep layering the lies until everything's fooled—except me.
"Wait. That Dragon Priestess... has she been active since ancient times?"
The dwarf rep, kneeling, spoke up. Tough, still has breath.
"Didn't she give much to us dwarves?"
I nodded slightly.
"One even named your race 'dwarves'—something like 'underground sages,' right?"
"Indeed. So the Silver Wisdom's true nature was the Dragon Priestess."
"Silver Wisdom?"
"A dwarf legend. We thought it mere flashes of insight, but it was the Life Goddess's proxy..."
Hm. Passed down that way among dwarves.
"Hm... I don't plan to advertise it, so keep it secret if possible?"
I smiled and released the gravity.
Though asking for secrecy like this... it won't stay secret! With thousands of elves and dwarves here, it'll spread.
Rumors of the Dragon Priestess—not Hero's companion or maid, but true agent!