1.
A bell rang like mad.
Ding… ding…
"A spirit…?"
Ruby tilted her head as she stared at the bell.
Who knows, Ruby.
It was probably several orders of magnitude above a spirit.
"I-I’m going to bed."
"Okay. Sleep well."
Ruby fled with trembling eyes.
She would probably sleep in Mama Dolores’s arms tonight.
She really was still a child. It must have frightened Ruby.
Anyway, the bell was still ringing like crazy.
My ears were starting to hurt.
I rose from my seat and approached the bell.
You only needed to ring it once.
Someone had terrible manners.
Still, finding out that I could receive a god’s summons even outside the Tower was good news.
Maybe it was because I could use the Inner Tower community.
Solau had contacted me yesterday after I touched Solau’s pendant.
Though that had only happened once.
Just as I was about to place my hand on the bell—
Flash.
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[The Divine Bell has received a response.]
[An oracle has arrived.]
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"……"
A window appeared before my eyes.
An oracle had arrived.
Though I wasn’t sure whether it could really be called an oracle.
Wasn’t this more like a crafting support application sent to an Heir of Fire?
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[Oracle]
[Storm Empress Pamola ▸ Formal Blacksmith L]
『I-I-I-I’m first! I’m first, right?』
『Wow, the rumor was true? The Heir of Fire has returned? I’m sorry, dwarf, for not treating you better until now!』
[Remaining Oracles: 1 / 3]
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A rumor?
Word had gotten out that the Heir of Fire had returned?
[You know, the thing inscribed in the sky.]
Ah.
I had heard it was inscribed on the floor where the Sun Dwarves lived.
Apparently, it had drawn the attention not only of people, but gods as well.
The bell had barely rung, and everyone was already rushing over.
"I can’t reply, though."
According to the professor, it was a one-way communication device.
Before I could even react—
Flash.
Flash.
More windows began appearing.
Commissions? They were nice, but rather than taking a commission to make just anything—
‘Gaia.’
I had to make her divine accessory.
Or, well, Caelu, the father of those siblings, might not be bad either.
Still, Gaia was the top priority.
The principle behind making a divine accessory was simple.
According to the professor…
You thought of a god and crafted the divine accessory that god desired. If you brought it to their temple and offered it, an identical object would be created in the divine realm.
They said it was reflected in their divine standing and benefited them in many ways, which was why they craved them.
In other words, if I made a divine accessory here and offered it at a temple, then from the gods’ perspective, a custom-made item they needed would be delivered to them.
And by praying at the temple, I would receive equipment containing the blessings that god could grant.
It wasn’t exactly a mutually profitable deal, though.
As I skimmed through the textbook again, I looked at the warning written beneath it.
『Remember this, Heir. Forging divine accessories is never a matter to be taken lightly. The effort required is truly immense, and thus you, a Formal Blacksmith, are limited to one per year.』
Making a divine accessory took an enormous amount of effort, so I could only make one a year.
That surprised me.
In other words, I had to accept a commission that would determine my business for the next year.
I absolutely couldn’t just sign on with anyone.
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[Oracle]
[God of Fate Velu ▸ Formal Blacksmith L]
『You must prioritize my request. I ask this of you.』
『I apologize for having paid little attention to dwarves all this time.』
[Remaining Oracles: 1 / 3]
─────────────────
[Oracle]
[God of Steel Sideru ▸ Formal Blacksmith L]
『……It has been fifty years. Fifty whole years that I have waited.』
『Though I admit that I have paid little attention to the Sun Dwarf race in recent times.』
『For you to have returned, truly…』
[Remaining Oracles: 0 / 3]
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[Oracle]
[Goddess of Lust Lustia ▸ Formal Blacksmith L]
『Oh, don’t worry, little one.』
『You are only a Formal Blacksmith for now, after all. I shall raise you sweetly and tenderly until you become an elite, the finest of artisans.』
『I’ll make you very happy… Would you like to come to my temple?』
[Remaining Oracles: 0 / 3]
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Wow, there were seriously too many.
Messages kept flooding in before my eyes without stopping.
What was interesting was that, perhaps because they were gods, they were all rather confident.
Among them, gods whose names alone seemed higher-ranking were more assertive, while gods who appeared to be lower-ranking were more cautious.
Besides.
"But why are they all apologizing to dwarves?"
Every one of them included something about not having paid attention to us until now.
It seemed like squeezing in even one apology was causing them to run out of their allotted oracles.
Whatever.
Forget the other gods.
If they hadn’t cared until now, they shouldn’t come crawling over for scraps just because the situation changed.
"G-G-G…"
Where was Gaia?
As I scrolled down through countless oracle DM windows, one caught my eye at the very bottom.
─────────────────
[Oracle]
[Goddess of Earth Gaia ▸ Formal Blacksmith L]
『It has truly been a long time since there was an Heir of Fire. Solau will be delighted.』
[Remaining Oracles: 2 / 3]
─────────────────
"Oh!?"
There it was. My business for the next year.
It had been buried beneath the mountain of orders.
She was the only one who hadn’t apologized over the Sun Dwarves.
If I was going to sign a contract, I should sign one with a major corporation.
Looking only at the message, you might wonder whether this was really a commission.
She hadn’t asked me to make anything, nor had she said what she would give me. All she sent was a message saying it had been a long time.
But beneath it—
[Accept]
An [Accept] prompt was displayed below.
"There’s no reason not to."
I accepted the commission.
Beep.
And the instant I did—
Crumble.
The bell standing on the ground shattered and crumbled apart.
"Fuck…?"
As though it had done enough, it completely broke apart.
I’d worked so hard to make that…
─────────────────
[You have accepted the Goddess of Earth’s commission.]
[The medium has been consumed, and your connection with the god has been directly established.]
[Your remaining oracle limit has increased to 5.]
[You may exchange three messages to confirm the commission.]
─────────────────
The medium had been consumed.
So it wasn’t reusable…
But my regret was brief, and joy swiftly took its place.
In the end, didn’t this mean I had formed a connection with Gaia?
"Nice."
I lightly clenched my fist in delight when another window appeared.
─────────────────
[Oracle]
[Goddess of Earth Gaia ▸ Formal Blacksmith L]
『There must have been requests from countless children, yet I never imagined you would choose this mother.』
『The heavenly realm is in quite an uproar.』
『They call you the future and hope of the dwarf children…』
[Remaining Oracles: 4 / 8]
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This felt completely different from the gods who had been clamoring and fighting over the order just before.
Even just reading her words made me feel remarkably at ease.
I wasn’t actually the future and hope of dwarf children. I was just a human.
But this wasn’t the time to space out.
I had three chances to discuss the commission.
It seemed to work similarly to DMs.
It looked like if I sent a message, it would reach her.
I immediately opened the DM window and prepared to type.
"Hmm."
Carefully.
What should I do?
She probably didn’t know I was a child.
"Yuna, I’ll say it roughly, so… um, you can translate it appropriately, right?"
The useful function of an AI little sister.
Make what I said sound suitably formal.
[Yep, can do.]
Tap tap tap.
"I want to make earrings, and I want to imbue them with Lady Gaia’s divinity. Please allow it."
Yuna began to render the words I had chosen.
『I wish to craft earrings that contain the power and will of the Great Mother Earth. With reverence and respect, I wish to offer them to Mother.』
Wow, she translated it like that…
My half-hearted words had been translated into formal language.
After a moment—
─────────────────
『I never imagined that an Heir of Fire would take an interest in this old mother.』
『Though there is a child who presides over fire, you have deliberately sought out the earth. How could I not be grateful? This is truly extraordinary and astonishing.』
『This land, too, has been quite lonely for some time.』
『Thank you, child. Thank you so very much. So please, I leave it in your hands.』
[Remaining Oracles: 0 / 8]
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"…What’s with the long letter?"
Gaia’s remaining oracles disappeared along with a lengthy letter of thanks.
Did that mean she didn’t need materials or anything?
It took me a while to read, and the conclusion was…
"Thank you for making it…?"
Ultimately, that long letter only wanted to say one thing.
Thank you, so please take good care of it.
"Sheesh."
Was it really that unusual for me to choose Gaia?
I didn’t know much about the culture of gods, so I couldn’t be certain.
"First, I have to make it."
I picked up the wreckage of the shattered bell and stood.
A god’s accessory.
Something that would determine my business for the next year.
I looked up at the late-night sky.
The full moon shone down on me.
"It’s because of you, isn’t it?"
For some reason, it didn’t look quite so beautiful to me.
2.
Most floors inhabited by races in the Tower had a temple.
The Sun Dwarves were no exception. There was a temple on the eighty-ninth floor as well.
Yet although their temple was grand… it was old.
It was closer to a traditional temple that received only the bare minimum of repairs.
It was also a place gods rarely visited.
But it had not always been so.
The Sun Dwarves’ temple had once been a place countless gods competed to visit.
But after the Heir of Fire vanished—
The gods realized they could no longer obtain what they wanted here.
…One by one, they stopped coming.
Whoosh.
Even when other temples bustled with prayers and crowds, dust only continued to gather on the eighty-ninth floor.
At least, that had been true until yesterday.
"……?"
The old dwarf priest of the eighty-ninth floor temple could only doubt his own eyes.
The brazier of fire that announced divine oracles was spewing flames like mad.
Fwoooosh!!
Fwoosh!
The flames emitted by the temple brazier soon became sheets of crimson paper, words inscribed upon them.
Rustle.
One sheet.
Rustle, rustle.
Two sheets, three sheets.
Before long, the words entered the priest’s sight.
─────────────────
[Goddess of Fire Ignia]
『How can a child of fire… an Heir of Fire, sleep in the embrace of earth?』
『There has never been such a thing in the history of the Sun Dwarves. Why would an Heir of Fire do this?!』
─────────────────
"…Lady Ignia…"
The priest swallowed dryly.
The Goddess of Fire was the faith with the largest following among the Sun Dwarf race.
But in recent times…
Rustle.
The crimson papers showed no sign of stopping.
『How could I not have waited for this child?』
『Yet the moment he awakens, he forsakes his own mother and seeks the embrace of earth.』
『……I am hurt. So very hurt.』
The priest could not bring himself to continue.
Then—
Boom!
The temple’s massive doors opened.
A man walked inside.
"I hear something quite entertaining happened last night."
"…Ricardo."
The old priest hurriedly bowed his head.
High Chieftain Ricardo said nothing as his eyes scanned the crimson papers pouring down over the brazier.
Countless gods were clamoring.
‘Why had he not chosen them?’
And also—
‘Forgive them for neglecting the Sun Dwarves in recent times.’
The corner of Ricardo’s lips twisted.
‘…Too late.’
Far too late.
"Isn’t it laughable?"
Ricardo spoke in a low voice.
"When gods stop visiting a temple, consequences follow."
Crops no longer ripened in the fields. Blessings of all kinds disappeared.
Put simply, the race gradually dried up.
A race that lost its prosperity could only slowly wither away. Resources ran dry. Supplies were exhausted.
And to that starving, impoverished race—
Who had come to them?
"…Back then, who was it that extended a hand to us?"
Ricardo’s eyes narrowed.
"Was it the gods? Or was it—"
Swish…
"The Company?"
The old priest could not bring himself to answer.
Because the answer was obvious.
The reason they had sold the future of their race to mere outside merchants—
The reason most dwarves had no choice but to be tempted—
Was simply that they had been too poor.
If the Tower had not opened, the Sun Dwarves would likely have gone extinct.
"And now, after all that…"
Ricardo looked at the brazier.
Even at this very moment, crimson papers continued to pour down.
『……I am hurt. So very hurt.』
An oracle sent by Ignia, the Goddess of Fire.
She should have watched over the Sun Dwarves.
Yet even while commanding the greatest number of followers, she had turned her back and pretended not to see as the race withered away.
"…And now you say you are hurt."
The man laughed quietly.
"How very godlike of you."
Ricardo’s gaze turned to the countless papers above the brazier.
The god chosen by the new Heir of Fire was not the God of Fire, but Gaia, the Great Mother Earth.
A god who showed mercy without discrimination to every race in the Tower.
And one of the few gods who, even when everyone else turned their backs on the Sun Dwarves, never withdrew her hand from them.
"It is no coincidence."
Goosebumps began rising across Ricardo’s body.
An Heir of Fire should naturally have sought the Goddess of Fire.
Yet the future of their race had chosen Gaia.
‘It means he knows.’
Who had truly stood by their race, and who had abandoned it.
That Heir had already weighed it all.
"……"
After remaining silent for a long time, Ricardo spoke.
"Offer a prayer of benediction."
The temple’s only possible reply to a god.
Convey the race’s position to all the gods.
"The Heir’s will is the dwarves’ will."
The temple on the eighty-ninth floor had originally been a place chiefly devoted to the Goddess of Fire.
But there was no hesitation in the High Chieftain’s voice.
"If the Heir has chosen earth, then we too shall make room for earth."
Ricardo walked toward one side of the temple.
A small statue of Gaia stood in the corner.
"…If that is the Heir’s will, then so be it."
Ricardo slowly bowed his head before it.
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