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“That’s not possible.”

Asherat spat out the words coldly, sharper than an ice blade.

No, I just asked what they thought about elevating Encia to a god, and yet they respond like this!

“Isn’t the Goddess of Life the one who imposed restrictions to prevent new gods from being born easily and to stop the gods from descending directly to the mortal realm? So, to elevate someone just because there are slight changes in magic? That’s breaking the very rules set by the goddess herself.”

Asherat crushed my opinion with a calm and logical tone.

“And when you previously made various beastmen the guardian deities of the divine hall, that was a significant controversy due to overstepping boundaries. I heard that back when I didn’t have a proper personality.”

“W-was that so?”

“Yes! I heard you didn’t mention such stories in front of the Goddess of Life! The opinions of the other gods were said to be rather fierce! Afterward, they reduced the number of gods, which quieted things down.”

D-did that happen? I didn’t know because they were quiet in front of me.

“Then, for this time, it’s special….”

“That’s a no-go.”

With a cold interruption, Asherat shut me down. No, but I said I would grant a wish….

“No matter how much the Goddess of Life grants a wish ticket, there are wishes that cannot be fulfilled. By the way, what even is a wish ticket? Does it mean whatever wish she makes will be granted?”

“Th-that’s….”

“Anyway! I oppose it. Not just me, but the opinions of the other gods would be the same.”

“Ugh….”

“Unless she gains divinity herself and becomes a god, there’s no way for her to become one. So stop having silly thoughts and focus on your responsibilities as the Goddess of Life.”

Thus, the attempt to grant Encia’s wish hit a dead end right from the start. If even my close aide and part of me, Asherat, opposes it, then the other gods would surely do the same.

The resource called human faith increases in proportion to the human population… a resource with a fixed total amount.

Having more gods to compete for that faith means the size of the pie that one can eat shrinks.

The other gods would most likely have opinions similar to Asherat’s.

Ugh. What should I do….

Honestly, I could push forward and ignore the opinions of the other gods, but I didn’t want to do that.

If I acted on my own like that, the other gods might seize that opportunity to place me in the vacant position of the King of Gods. Then I would have to deal with a flood of troublesome matters again.

No way! I refuse to deal with such annoying things! Refuse!!

So, it would be better to find another way.

For example… Encia acquiring divinity herself?

Unlike the chaotic times when gods could be born indiscriminately, nowadays, gaining divinity is not an easy task.

Perhaps due to the raised cut-off for attaining divinity, ordinary faith no longer suffices to become a god.

To establish those conditions… it wouldn’t be easy just to spread rumors like before.

So… hmm. What to do?

For now, I should talk to Encia. Who knows? She might have a good idea.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

“Hmm. So it was like that after all?”

“Really? You had an inkling?”

“Yeah, sort of. No matter how much Tia is the Goddess of Life, there’s no way it would be easy to make a human like me into a god, right?”

Back in the old days, it was easy to do such things! Even twelve times!

“But if I can gain divinity, then I can become a god, right?”

“Hmm. If you can gain divinity, yes.”

Honestly, the concept of divinity was something mysterious that I understood but didn’t fully grasp.

It’s the power that elevates one’s existence to a higher realm through the gathering of many prayers.

How exactly intention works to achieve that, I have no clue, but… what can I do? Even if I can’t understand it, I have to use it.

“So… what are the exact conditions for gaining divinity?”

“To acquire faith and be reborn as a god. In the past, when rumors about the gods didn’t spread far, you could manipulate a rumor just a little to give birth to a god as you wished….”

“Creating a god? If Tia wasn’t the Goddess of Life, that would sound like nonsense.”

“But it happened. And now, it’s simply impossible.”

In this age, knowledge spreads too easily. Even if you spread rumors about a nonexistent god, it wouldn’t be long before the truth is revealed, and the rumors would die down.

It’s good that information spreads quickly, but… that part is a bit inconvenient.

“Acquiring faith… hmm… would just receiving prayers be enough?”

“Usually, yes. When many people pray to that god, their faith is directed towards them.”

The gathered faith serves as the force that sustains the gods’ existences, the driving force behind their miracles, and materials for elevating their divinity, as well as being used as currency for transactions among gods.

I feel like I might have mentioned this before. To put it in game terms, it’s like HP, MP, and experience points—at the same time, it’s also currency.

Acquiring such faith… wouldn’t be a simple task.

Except for me.

“Honestly, if I shared the faith I possess with Sia, who has no faith, she could become a god, but then she’d become a subordinate god totally dependent on me… which would be a difficult situation for Sia.”

“Why would being dependent on Tia be difficult?”

Encia tilted her head, looking confused.

“To put it simply… it would be like being a puppet with a self-awareness?”

“A slave?”

“Yeah. A slave. She would have no choice but to follow my intentions and wouldn’t be able to refuse even if it went against her own desires. It means being a being tied to my collar.”

The beings closest to that state would be… Asherat and Hades, I suppose? Of course, both of them provided a reasonable amount of independence!

I let Quetzalcoatl do whatever she wanted, so let’s skip that.

Those beings would, if I set my mind to it, be absorbed into me in no time if I reclaimed my faith. They could only exist because I allowed them.

To put it broadly… it’s like a puppet with a self-awareness.

Including when I turned several beastfolk, including Maybel, into gods, there were big problems right after I shared my faith with them.

Well, in the end, I unbound them, let each of them acquire their own divinity, and returned them to being under Sirius, going through the troublesome process of distributing faith in multiple steps to solve those issues.

It could’ve ended horribly if I hadn’t carefully managed it… but let’s move on.

“Hmm… I don’t think being bound to Tia is such a bad thing.”

“What?”

“But it’s Tia, not some other god. The Goddess of Life! I don’t think Tia would treat a dependent god poorly!”

Hmm… I can’t deny that. In reality, my aides, Asherat and Hades, are treated with respect.

I just let Quetzalcoatl do as she pleases, so as long as she doesn’t cause major issues, that’s fine.

But they are, after all, derived from me. A part of me. Beings born from my fragments. So in strict terms, Encia, who was a separate existence, can’t be compared to them.

“Still, being tied to someone isn’t a good thing. You might find yourself forced to do something that conflicts with your own desires.”

“I don’t think Tia would make me do such things!”

“That’s true, but… who knows? I might change my mind.”

At my remark, Encia began to ponder deeply. I suppose it’s not impossible for me to change my mind either.

So, don’t even think about something like being tied to a collar.

“Then there’s no choice. We have to change methods.”

“Methods?”

“Yeah. Methods.”

Encía smiled lightly as she spoke.

“The important part is receiving the prayers of many people, right?”

“Yeah. That’s correct.”

“So if I use some means to get many people to pray to me, wouldn’t that also allow me to acquire faith?”

“That’s… true.”

“By any external means, as long as I’m receiving the prayers! Simple as that!”

“I won’t deny that… but how?”

Human emotions are as unpredictable as the wind, so changing its direction to suit my desires isn’t an easy task.

Why does Encia seem so confident in saying that?

“Then here… let’s use the power of the book!”

“The power of the book?”

In Encia’s hand was… the book she wrote, “Basic Theory of Magic by Cientia.”

What does she intend to do with that book…?