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So Shamash herself had no choice but to acknowledge that Baal had passed the test.

Let\'s see. Now that Baal has passed Shamash\'s test... The remaining ones are Thetis and Sagarmatha.

I wonder how the tests for the remaining two will go. I\'m starting to feel a bit uneasy.

I suppressed the rising unease and gently stroked the head of Nyx sitting on my lap.

The timid young goddess. Nyx was still clinging to me, keeping an eye on things, as if the other gods were too overwhelming for her.

"Um, uh..."

"What\'s wrong?"

Nyx\'s voice shrank down to the size of a mouse hole.

I simply continued stroking Nyx\'s head in silence.

A shy, petite young goddess. Mmm, nice.

"Well then, is it my turn next?"

Thetis said as she stood up, and I grumbled softly while looking at her.

"It\'s starting to get a bit tedious, being the fifth one and all."

The other children nodded in agreement, having heard my grumbling.

If I had known it would be like this, I should have just rushed through them faster.

Moreover, since we banned harming life and all that, there wasn\'t any real crisis at all, no matter what they said.

I don\'t know what the remaining tests are, but judging from the previous ones, it doesn\'t seem like there will be any danger of harming life.

They wouldn\'t possibly give a test like "go raid the dwarves\' underground village and bring back some treasure," would they? No, they wouldn\'t do that.

Sagarmatha does have a tendency to dismiss the dwarves, but surely she wouldn\'t give a test against the very beings who worship her as a god.

"My test will be over quickly, so don\'t worry. I\'m just going to the deep sea with you, that\'s all."

"The deep sea?"

"Yes, the deepest part of the ocean. Of course, since I\'ll be going with you, it won\'t be too dangerous."

Hmm... Really?

The deep sea that deep, the pressure must be immense. I wonder if that\'s really okay.

"It\'ll be a bit tough, but to become the king of the gods, there should be no place in this world that I can\'t go."

I glanced at Baal nearby, and he had a self-assured expression on his face.

"Will you be alright?"

"Of course! No problem at all!"

Will he really be okay? The deep sea where not even a speck of light can penetrate.

"Don\'t worry too much. I\'m going with you to make sure I return safely."

Hmm... If Thetis says so, then I guess it\'ll be fine...

But I still have a lingering sense of unease. Maybe I should go with them after all.

However, that thought was abruptly cut off by Thetis\' words.

"Mom is prohibited from accompanying. You understand, right? I\'ll have the other children keep an eye on you."

"Ugh... Alright, I\'ll do that. But you must return safely, understood?"

"Of course."

I really hope they\'ll be okay. Sigh... I can\'t help but worry.

And so, I watched as Baal and Thetis descended into the depths of the sea, while gently stroking the head of Nyx sitting on my lap.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thetis descended into the deep sea depths, accompanied by Baal.

The faint light gradually disappeared, and darkness permeated the space.

In the abyss where the sky was no longer visible, instead of the common fish they often saw above, strange, evolved creatures swam by.

Gazing up at Baal above her, Thetis spoke.

"The king of the gods... Honestly, the one most suited for that position is Mom... But I cannot burden her further, as she already has so much to deal with. While I\'m not pleased with another god taking that seat, I have no choice."

The expression on Thetis\' face was different from before - cold, without a trace of warmth.

"So, I\'ll allow you to become the king of the gods. For the sake of Mother."

"Mother...?"

"Yes. Why, are you surprised that I\'m so different from how I am in front of Mother?"

Baal nodded his head with difficulty in the darkness. The weight of the water pressing down on him was unbearably heavy, making it hard for him to move properly.

"Well, it can\'t be helped. I\'ve always wanted to act like a child in front of Mother. It\'s natural for one\'s attitude to change depending on who they\'re dealing with."

"You\'re a completely a different person..."

Thetis simply chuckled softly at Baal\'s words.

"And... the reason I brought you here is because I wanted to talk to you in a place where Mother couldn\'t hear."

"What kind of talk...?"

"Gaia."

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The small word uttered by Thetis.

"The name you mentioned... is that referring to Mother?"

"......"

"There\'s no need to be so tense. I\'m just trying to confirm, not trying to get angry or anything."

Baal slowly nodded his head.

"I see. I figured as much. Honestly, why are there so many who are infatuated with Mother? It\'s troublesome, you know."

"Infatuated...?"

Thetis let out a small sigh, and a faint current escaped from her mouth and flowed somewhere.

"Well, we\'re not in a position to talk about others either."

"We? What do you mean?"

"Well, we can\'t help it because of the mistakes of the past. Anyway, while you can\'t help but be fond of Mother, it\'s best to give up on the idea of monopolizing her."

"Why? Don\'t just talk to yourself, tell me so I can understand."

Thetis smiled slightly at Baal.

"Because Mother is such a colossal being. There is no being that can monopolize her."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said."

Thetis quietly waved her hand, and a current began to swirl around it.

The current formed a small spherical shape, and it continued to rotate on Thetis\' hand, gradually drawing in the surrounding magic.

"Do you know what magic is?"

"The power that permeates all things in this world, right?"

"That\'s right. The power that permeates all things in this world."

The sphere rotating on Thetis\' hand only absorbed the magic around it, without releasing it.

It was like a prison that only collected magic.

"I used to wonder where this magic comes from and where it goes..."

The sphere continuously absorbing magic began to emit light as the concentrated magic inside it created it.

"Since I was born from the flow, I was able to trace the flow itself. Of course, it was only after many trials and errors that I finally succeeded."

The sphere on Thetis\' hand emitted a silver light and then, with a small popping sound, scattered into silver stardust and disappeared.

"The source of magic, which can be called the lifeblood that sustains this world. Where does it come from? What is its origin?"

As she descended, Thetis reached the deepest part of the sea.

The abyss was filled with darkness, and there was nothing but the oppressive pressure.

And yet, for some reason, she could feel a scorching heat from the depths of the sea below.

Thetis silently touched the ground beneath her feet.

"The source of magic was at the deepest place in this world, closest to the heart of the world."

"The... heart of the world?"

"Yes. The great heart hidden deep within the earth. The enormous, burning heart that never stops beating, sustaining the world."

As Thetis gently brushed the soil, a small amount of sand stirred and rose up.

Along with the sand, the silver particles embedded in it also rose up, briefly illuminating the surroundings before disappearing again.

"That, just now... was that magic?"

"Yes, that was magic."

The sand sank back down, and the light that had briefly illuminated the abyss vanished completely.

"The light of magic, which can only be seen when a large amount of magic is compressed, is so concentrated in this place that it can be seen just by sweeping the floor. This is one of the sources of magic."

"Here...? Wait, one of the sources?"

"Yes, there are places like this where highly concentrated magic seeps out... I\'ve found about eight of them in the sea. They were all close to the heart of the world, like this place, and had a high concentration of magic."

Baal slowly placed his hand on the floor. Beyond the fine sand, he began to feel something through his palm.

A huge flow of power, pulsing with heat.

He could feel the activity of the heart of the star.

"So, why are you telling me this?"

"Hmm. I thought you would figure it out on your own if I told you this much."

Thetis clicked her tongue softly and gathered the magic from the floor.

"This concentrated silver magic is almost the same as the magic Mother possesses."

"The magic of Gaia...?"

"To be precise, the magic that wells up from the heart of the world circulates through the world, and ultimately flows towards Mother."

Thetis smiled slightly and said,

"Mother can be considered the destination of all magic. It seems Mother herself is unaware of this fact. Perhaps, because she holds too much magic, she fails to notice the magic flowing into her."

"..."

"Mother... is far too colossal a being to be monopolized by any individual. So you should give up on the idea of claiming Mother as your own, and focus only on serving as the king of the gods as Mother wishes."

Thetis spoke in a cold voice.

"Mother cannot belong to anyone unless she herself desires it."