"Is it over...?"
Inside my arms, Halfa, who had woken up at some point, whispered the question softly.
"Yeah, it's over."
"I see. But, Tort, you..."
Her face was clouded with anxiety. My Divine Aura hadn't faded yet. In fact, it had surged to a level higher than I had ever experienced. I had a feeling the energy was flowing in from the other world. Was this power the remnants of the God of Creation, the one who had supposedly perished over there?
"It's okay. This power is—"
"Congratulations, Lord Tort."
A voice cut me off as five figures suddenly materialized before me. Or rather, five pillars of divinity. The Sun Goddess was the one who had spoken. Beside her stood the Spirit God, the Luck God, the Earth God, and the Job God. It was a full assembly of every deity I knew. Strangely enough, they were all kneeling before me.
I suppose it had come to this after all, despite my complete lack of interest in becoming a god.
"Promina! I thought I told you to stop trying to force Ruto into godhood!"
As I stood there bewildered, Ren-kun stepped in to intervene. Garna followed close behind him, her expression suggesting she had plenty to say on the matter.
"What are you saying, Lamuyadas? Force has nothing to do with it. No matter how one looks at him, Lord Tort is a god. He has driven the invaders back to the outer world. He has the achievements to prove it. Denying the truth at this stage is meaningless."
"That's..."
The Sun Goddess lowered her eyes and shook her head. It seemed even Ren-kun couldn't find a retort to that. Do I really look that much like a god? To me, I didn't feel particularly different from before. Well, except for the fact that my power of creation had clearly grown much stronger.
"Tort, you..."
Rei, Mil, Sally, Lowell, Spira, Shiroru, and even the Petit Golems—everyone surrounded me, their faces filled with a pained sort of sadness. They were all under the same misunderstanding, thinking I had truly become a deity.
"I'm not going to become a god," I stated flatly.
The Sun Goddess, still kneeling, shook her head with a troubled expression.
"Regrettably, that is not a choice you can make. One cannot be permitted to live in the human world while wielding such immense power. Furthermore, while you have repelled them for now, there is no guarantee the Silver Invaders have abandoned their designs. We require Lord Tort to take the Head Seat, to unite the gods and stand against the coming threats."
If the God of the Outer World hadn't given up on the invasion, there was a real chance they would come meddling again. The Sun Goddess's concern was perfectly valid.
"Tort..." Halfa whispered, her face looking like she was on the verge of tears.
To reassure her, I gave her head a gentle pat.
"It'll be fine. I've already thought of a way to handle all of that. I'll explain it now."
"What? What in the world are you..."
The Sun Goddess was visibly flustered. This was my opening; I needed to keep the momentum going.
"In short, we just need to remove the divine power from me and have someone else inherit it to take over the role, right?"
"What? Well, I mean, technically yes, but it isn't nearly as simple as—"
"It'll be fine. Just leave it to me."
First, I needed to construct a body. Since the ground beneath my feet had been transformed into a Clover Field by the Spatial Alteration, I decided to use the soil here. Following the same principles as Create Golem, I began shaping the earth into a humanoid form.
A human shape... human... Hmm. It was a Haniwa.
Why does it always turn into a Haniwa? I really wanted to make a more proper human shape this time.
"Ruto... what on earth are you doing?"
"I'm trying to make a humanoid Golem Body, but..."
"Human... oid?"
Ren-kun stared at the Haniwa I had fashioned with a look of pure exasperation. I knew exactly what he wanted to say.
"Didn't you just obtain the power of world creation?"
"I don't really know about that... but I can make a Great Buddha now, at least."
"A Great Buddha..."
Ren-kun glanced over at the Great Buddha sitting atop the pedestal that sealed the rift. Compared to a Haniwa, it was a remarkably well-formed humanoid. I felt like it was a clear sign of my growth.
"That wasn't actually your preference, was it? You were definitely trying to create something else."
"Y-yeah. Actually, I was trying to bring out a Giant Robot."
"How did that turn into a Great Buddha...?"
Ren-kun pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head. After a long silence, he turned his gaze toward the Sun Goddess and her companions.
"Are you seriously intending to make Ruto the God of Creation? Truly?"
"T-that is..."
The Sun Goddess, who had been so adamant just moments ago, was wavering.
His negotiation skills were incredible. Though, it was a bit depressing that the primary bargaining chip was my total lack of design sense.
Regardless, I needed to finish the job. Since making a Golem Body always resulted in a Haniwa, I decided to try pulling something from a Pandora Gift instead. There was still a risk of it becoming a Haniwa, but I figured if I had a clear enough mental image, I could produce it. I searched my mind for a humanoid figure with a distinct, solid image.
The mascot character of a certain fast-food chain immediately popped into my head. Visualizing the character as clearly as possible, I opened the Pandora Gift. With a pop, a clown character with red hair, a white-painted face, and a colorful outfit jumped out.
"Why him? Now I'm just getting a craving for a burger..."
Halfa and the others looked puzzled by Ren-kun's comment. I suppose this character didn't hold the same associations for them.
"Um, Lord Tort. What in the world is that statue...?" the Sun Goddess asked, her voice laced with unease.
I gave her a bright, reassuring smile.
"I'm going to house the soul of the God of Creation inside this."
"What?!"
The shock was so total that everyone's voices synchronized perfectly.
It wasn't just the gods. Even Lowell, Rei, and the rest of the group cried out in unison. They all shared the same "What are you talking about?" expression.
Only Ren-kun tried to stop me, his panic reaching a fever pitch.
"Wait, wait a second! Housing it in that is definitely bad! It's really bad!"
"Isn't it fine?"
I'd heard that gods could change their appearance at will, after all. I couldn't do it myself, but he should be fine.
"Anyway, let's give it a try."
"Hey, wait—!"
I ignored the over-worried Ren-kun and took out another Pandora Gift. Come to think of it, these boxes had really looked after me. This might be the very last time I’d ever use one.
"Bring out the soul of the God of Creation!"
As I spoke the wish and opened the box, something sparkling and brilliant flew out from my chest. At that same moment, the overflowing power that had filled me began to drain away.
I was right. That power really had belonged to the God of Creation. I’d had a nagging feeling that was the case.
"Ah..."
Halfa let out a small gasp as a shard of light flew out from her as well. Though it was incomparably smaller than the light that had left me, it was unmistakably the same substance. It didn't stop with her; shards emerged from Lowell, Spira, Rei, Mil, Sally, and even Ren-kun. These small lights gathered around the core that had come from me, merging into a single point. The radiance grew more intense by the second, becoming so dazzling that I had to shield my eyes.
With one final, piercing flash, the light vanished like a dream. And then—
"O-oh? What is this? Have I... been restored?"
The Clown Statue, which should have been a silent object, began to move its limbs as it spoke.