58. Hatching with a Small Cry
What she, as the administrator, had to do was simple.
She would compare the lives of the gods beyond this screen, from their present to the eventual end they would face, with their own lives.
If there was someone she liked, she would choose them.
[…….]
It took her over a decade to observe the tribal gods of the green orcs who ruled an empire.
It took her another decade to observe the Pharaoh of Egypt on a certain blue planet.
She tirelessly surveyed and examined numerous gods in this vast universe.
After a hundred years had passed, she suddenly felt someone’s gaze and looked up.
An old man was looking at her.
“Hmm. You still haven’t made a choice.”
[That’s correct.]
“Well, a hundred years is woefully insufficient time. Look further. Time is abundant.”
With those words, the old man returned to his diligent hammering.
After scrutinizing countless gods for a while, she soon shifted her gaze to the next screen.
The next god was also notably peculiar.
Swooooosh-
Beneath the vast ocean.
Breathing heavily, the tribal god sleeping in the deep sea resembled a giant female figure akin to a human.
Information about this tribe was also implanted in her mind.
Delving into her inner memories, she soon recognized the strange god’s tribe.
‘Kraken.’
There are numerous gods.
Among them, she seemed like a god of destruction.
Having long settled in this sea and slumbering, she was an extremely distinctive presence.
When she appeared, inevitably, a civilization would be destroyed, and the planet would sink into the sea.
Thinking about how most other gods sought to rule over their followers, she was a rather peculiar goddess with not a single follower.
Although she was a very large cosmic being, rationality was hardly felt.
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She was a god who took pleasure in demolishing the surrounding universe solely driven by instinct and destructive joy.
Fascinating indeed.
This god was exceptional among many gods.
However, she didn’t resonate with her.
Therefore, she moved on, transitioning to the next screen.
The next god was a completely different being from a different perspective.
Human. Just a small, ordinary human.
Simply human.
[Waaah! Mom!]
[…….]
As the screen had started playing from the middle, it was unclear why the boy was crying.
But she understood.
The parents who were once his guardians had vanished.
That was why the boy was crying.
She began to quietly observe the boy’s life.
There were no twists and turns.
Although the house inherited from his parents seemed to provide shelter without issues, as his assets dwindled, he experienced financial difficulties and bouts of depression.
Among the few acquaintances of the boy, if one hadn’t provided support from behind, his modest life could have ended long ago.
Calling it a divine life would be overly unfortunate, just a mundane existence like that of any other human.
Swoosh.
She raised her hand to zoom in on the screen.
The face became more detailed.
Every night, the boy cried under the blanket, gazing at the faces of his parents in the photo.
As she silently watched that scene, her pupils twitched ever so slightly.
She stirred the ‘creativity’ part that originally didn’t exist within herself, intentionally suppressed.
Finally, she realized.
She was looking at this young boy.
For a long time.
The boy’s life could have branched out in many directions.
The future is not singular.
He could have lived as a mere mortal, become a pitiful god lamenting in this dark world, or even lived as a god in communion with the administrators.
And if she wished, she could even see the boy’s ending for herself.
However, she chose not to.
Intentionally, she prohibited access to that part.
Instead, she turned her head to look at her creator.
[…….]
The administrator, who had been silently gazing at the boy crying for a long time, finally spoke after hundreds of years.
“Ours, the creators of the sisters.”
“Hmm. Why is that?”
Even at that moment, while creating a new administrator, he stopped hammering and raised his head.
His eyes, tired from countless ages, turned towards her.
Swoosh.
Administrator.
She raised her hand and pointed at one of the many screens, saying,
What was visible there was the boy crying while looking at his parents’ photo.
“I choose this one.”
Upon hearing this, he was greatly intrigued.
“Oh, really? Surprising.”
[Surprising?]
“Yes. You creatures are generally thirsty for strong stimuli. Drawn more towards beings that are big, strong, and have destructive desires. Especially if they’re beings as short-lived as humans. I actually thought you’d choose the god from the previous screen.”
The previous screen was the great destroyer.
Their administrator, who had gathered all the world’s intellect, spoke of following an almost non-existent primal existence, even more so than intellect.
However, it was not entirely wrong.
Indeed, there were hardly any beings as fitting for the role of a god as she was.
Rather, the most pure desire was truly a divine trait that a god should possess.
The destroyer was truly one of the most pure beings.
To say that it was not holy but evil was nothing more than the perspective of feeble beings living on Earth.
After a moment of silence, she added.
[I was merely curious about how the child would grow.]
But was there something about her words that pleased him?
The old man revealed a smile.
“Very good reason indeed. From now on, he is yours. You know well that it cannot be changed or undone, right?”
[Of course.]
The final moment.
Her gaze turned towards the man who had created her.
Their gazes met in the empty air.
[Creator.]
“Oh.”
[Thank you for giving me the opportunity to choose. It was a satisfying time, Hephaestus.]
At those words, the old man’s eyes briefly showed surprise before bursting into laughter once again.
“Indeed, you are different.”
***
Hummm!
The forest in the square.
A deep flapping sound echoed above the sky.
The source of the sound was simple.
It was the Nightbuzz Queen Bee, tirelessly moving back and forth between this flower and that, energetically shaking her large, yellow abdomen without showing signs of exhaustion.
Was that why?
Lately, new flowers had begun to bloom all over the square.
Moreover, from somewhere unknown, completely different new species had also emerged.
Although they were still just a few blossoms here and there, their numbers would increase in the future.
It was a piece of good news.
Upon seeing this, the young dragon lounging in the grass field, Mwamwa, yawned and muttered as he looked up.
[That fellow doesn’t seem tired at all. Constantly flying around all day.]
Yet, that fellow was also tirelessly eating.
Dragging around a sack of potatoes to fill his appetite, his laziness was unmistakable.
The Queen Bee began expanding her hive.
Inside, she began cutting mushroom chunks to build hexagonal walls.
This, the form was a bit different, but I had seen it before.
Perhaps anyone would feel the same.
“They are indeed making a punishment room for the kids.”
Observing this closely, it was truly a mysterious and unparalleled sight.
The closest person to this scene was none other than him.
In fact, he was always right beside, ready to lend a helping hand.
[Phee!]
“Ah, got it. I got it.”
At that moment, the lad grumbled.
Pushing him away with his front paws full of yellow fur, he pointed outside.
It was a request for more mushroom clusters.
Mushrooms were precious resources for constructing the hexagonal room in this house.
[Phee….]
Quietly handing them over, the lad, once again, affectionately nudged his head in a flurry.
It was an expression of closeness.
He was quite charming.
With that, it was impossible to dislike him.
The hexagonal beehive was steadily expanding.
Before long, it had grown to three beehives.
It was the result of the lad’s relentless dedication to expansion.
Around that time, the breeding of the bees also began.
***
“Hu-am-“
It was a moment when, as usual, he rose and looked into the world inside the refrigerator.
It seemed like nothing out of the ordinary had happened overnight.
The elves were fine.
Moamua too was sleeping by the World Tree.
Next was a newcomer who had joined the square.
He checked on the Nightbuzz Queen Bee.
She must be sleeping well.
During this early morning time, it was the only time he could rest.
“……!!”
Han’s pupils dilated.
“This, this is?”
Inside the hexagonal beehive.
There was a pure white egg.
Han stuttered as he asked.
“This, is that right? Is it?”
In response to his question, the system answered like this.
[Congratulations.]
“Oh, oh!”
It wasn’t a misconception.
The queen bee had finally given birth to new life!
***
It was some time after that the elves rose.
“Let’s get started again today.”
Lately, the elves had been busy as well.
It was for the expansion of the mushroom house that continued daily.
Stretching and loosening their bodies, Zion, Irina, and Muamu entered the queen bee’s chamber.
“…!”
Zion, with surprised eyes, pointed upwards.
“Everyone, look up there!”
The ceiling.
There was something in the hexagonal bee chamber.
It was a white, fluffy, round something.
“Oh?”
Muamu’s eyes lit up as she discovered it.
“That’s an egg.”
“An egg…?”
“Yeah. I’ve eaten something similar a few times, so I know it well. Sometimes when you dig up dry soil thinking something might come out, you find something like that. Very tasty. Especially when roasted over a fire, it tastes just like fried eggs. Savory, like it’s been boiled in salt.”
“I see.”
Muamu, satisfied, shifted her gaze back to her appetite.
[…?!]
Had they heard that sound?
The queen bee, who had been concentrating on decorating the house, suddenly snapped her head and shouted fiercely.
“Buzz off!”
With her honey-drenched yellow foreleg, she nervously pushed Muamu away.
There was clear hostility.
Muamu, pushed outside, muttered in confusion.
“Why are you acting like that? Suddenly, I can’t figure it out.”
“Well, um.”
The elves turned their heads.
Even they were driven out in turn.
Only one was allowed to remain inside.
***
Around evening that day.
Han, amidst his busyness, didn’t forget his role.
He surveyed the areas around the city and explored any potential external threats.
This, too, was Han’s duty.
After continuing essential perimeter patrols for a while and confirming there were no issues, he returned to the square.
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“…Huh?”
Crack. Crack.
A transformation was taking place within the white egg.
Occasionally shaking, or with faint knocks as if something inside was tapping, signs of movement were emerging.
The egg was cracking.
It was the moment of hatching.
[Bzzz!]
And with a feeble cry, appeared.
[Nocturnal Rabbit Bee.]
[A Baby Drone Bee.]
Unbelievable!
It was a small nocturnal rabbit bee!