“Once again, welcome to the Sanctuary. I am Promina. I believe you know me as the Sun God.”
The goddess offered a gentle smile and tilted her head. In the Church, the Sun God was worshipped as the Chief God, but judging by the way Ren-kun and Garna acted around her, she didn't seem to be their superior.
“Promina acts as the coordinator for the gods,” Ren-kun explained.
“Strictly as my father's proxy, mind you. I'm quite exhausted from having such a heavy responsibility thrust upon me, simply because I happened to be born first.”
Apparently, the Sun God was the very first deity the God of Creation had brought into existence. In human terms, she was the eldest daughter of the pantheon. Because of that, she’d been saddled with the role of representative. She acted reluctant, but considering how much she had obsessed over her theatrical entrance earlier, she seemed to be enjoying the role quite a bit.
“First, I must offer my thanks. Because of you, our long-standing conflict with Garnalava has finally been resolved. Thank you.”
As the Sun God spoke, countless voices echoed through the white expanse. High voices, low voices, gravelly voices—there were all kinds, but every single one of them was offering words of gratitude.
As we stood there in shock, Ren-kun explained what was happening.
“They aren't showing themselves, but the other gods are watching. Originally, everyone wanted to come out and greet you together, but I managed to hold them back.”
Ren-kun grumbled about just how many of them there were. The voices of thanks were still ringing out, so it seemed a truly massive number of gods were grateful. If every single one of them had swarmed us... yeah, that would have been overwhelming. Some of them sounded pretty high-strung; if things had gone sideways, I might have been mobbed without even knowing why. I really owed Ren-kun for his intervention.
I nodded to Ren-kun in thanks and then turned back to the Sun God.
“It's fine. I'm Ren-kun's Apostle, after all.”
I’d ended up with the gratitude of a whole pantheon, but I’d really just been doing my job as an Apostle. More than that, I’d just wanted to help Halfa in her role as the Maiden of the Destiny God.
Perhaps sensing my awkwardness, the Sun God gave a little chuckle.
“Regardless of your motives, we are delighted with the outcome. We simply wished to convey our gratitude directly, so please do not let it trouble you. I would like to offer some sort of reward, but...”
The Sun God shot me a probing look. Seeing that, Ren-kun let out a sigh and shook his head.
“He already said he doesn't need anything, so just leave it at that. It's not right to force things on people.”
“That may be so, but I have my divine reputation to consider.”
“Who are you trying to impress? Promina, you worry about the strangest things.”
It seemed they were bickering over our reward. Ren-kun had actually asked me beforehand if I wanted anything. I didn't have any particular desires, so I’d told him it wasn't necessary.
I’d just fulfilled my mission, that was all. Besides, a reward from a god sounded like it would be way too over-the-top...
“In that case, if something ever comes up, please just lend me your strength then.”
“Is that so? Very well, we shall leave it at that.”
The Sun God nodded at my suggestion. She looked a little dissatisfied, but this was a fair compromise.
“By the way, Tort. Why don’t you take a moment to review your Divine Vocation?”
I’d thought we were finished, but apparently there was more.
“Divine Vocation... what was that again?”
“It's that 'Divine Protection of the Job God' thing. Technically it's not actually a divine protection, though,” Ren-kun answered.
Right, that. I’d received the Divine Protection of the Dungeon Explorer as soon as I became an adventurer. If I remembered correctly, it boosted my dexterity and made it easier to level up skills like Trap Disarming and Lockpicking. My dexterity was high enough, but I felt like I hadn't been using those specific skills much lately. Recently, I’d been using golems for almost everything—exploration and combat alike. If I could get a protection for a golem-related job, that would be much better.
“True. I'll check it once we leave.”
“Oh, there's no need for that. If you're willing to review it, I'll call the man in charge. Seluus!”
The Sun God called out to the heavens, and suddenly, a white-haired old man was standing right next to her. He had a sharp, aquiline nose and a stern gaze—he looked quite imposing.
“Did someone call for me?”
“Don't give me that. You were watching the whole time, so you already know what's happening.”
“What? I have to maintain the stylistic beauty of the moment.”
Despite his stern looks, he seemed pretty laid-back. He let out a “Kakaka!” laugh at the Sun God’s sharp retort.
“Jokes aside, I am Seluus—the one you call the Job God. Now, about swapping your Divine Vocation. Let's get right to it.”
The Job God clapped his hands, and a massive screen appeared before us. It was covered in rows of text. I assumed it was a list of my potential vocations, but... there were so many!
“Incredible. It's rare to see someone with such a vast array of options.”
“There are way more than before!”
“The candidates for a Divine Vocation can increase or decrease. In your case, your various experiences have likely caused new aptitudes to sprout.”
I scanned the list as the Job God explained. There were dangerous ones like Thief and Assassin, but also things like Capable Assistant and Master Cook. Oh, Golem User and Golemancer were there, too. If I was going to switch, those were the ones.
As I was narrowing it down, the Sun God let out a shout.
“Oh! There it is! I found it!”
Looking incredibly excited, she pointed to a specific spot on the screen. Written there were the words: ‘God of Creation (Egg).’
Wait, what? That's a vocation?
Since when is ‘God of Creation’ a job?!
Ignoring my confusion, the Sun God gave me a beaming smile.
“It's just as I thought! Tort, you really have inherited my father's power! In that case, there's no reason for me to be the coordinator anymore! From this day forward, you are our leader!”
Wha—Whaaaaaaaaat?!