第１２８５堀：意図的に伏せられた？ (Part2)
The goddesses, Lilishe and the others, are ultimately nothing more than Luna’s subordinates. While they might possess a better grasp of local conditions and current movements, Luna is the one who surely holds the master files—the full breakdown of every department and the individuals staffing them.
After all, she is the one who inherited this world from the intermediate god and oversaw the selection process. Whether those records still exist today is another matter, but it is undeniably better to obtain that information from her.
Wait. An intermediate god? An intermediate god, you say...
Something clicked into place. A missing piece of the puzzle had finally found its home.
"Say, this might be a bit late to ask, but the 'intermediate god' that you all served before Luna—you’re all talking about the same person, right?"
"?"
The three goddesses tilted their heads in unison at my question.
"Ah, never mind, Hairen. You don't count; the intermediate god wasn't involved in your ascension to godhood."
"Oh, right. I guess so."
That’s true. Hairen became revered as a god only after fighting Aqueno and being forced to utilize a dungeon core. While she was originally the child of a goddess, she hadn't been appointed by the intermediate god, so she had no way of knowing his face.
As for the two who *should* know him...
"Come to think of it, we never really talked about the intermediate god, did we? But I don't think there were two of them, no~."
"Indeed. I am certain there was only one intermediate god for this Arowrito."
"For now, can you describe his appearance?"
"Let's see... he was a rather dapper, middle-aged man who clearly took good care of his physique~."
"Yes. That is how I remember him as well. If anything, he had the look of someone who would solve any problem with brute force."
"Oh, I see it now. And he was bald, wasn't he~?"
"Perhaps his lack of hair was part of his ascetic training?"
"No way~. Thinking back on it now, those hair follicles were just plain dead~."
...So, I’ve confirmed that the intermediate god was bald. Not that that’s the point, but...
"Listening to the two of you, it seems certain there was only one. That means the intermediate god knew that this world was composed of many different continents."
"That's true~. But is that supposed to be a problem~?"
"Why would it be an issue that the god managing this world knew about the existence of multiple continents?"
"Look, in a world that also contains merfolk and fish-men, do you really think he would just decide *not* to create a god for the oceanic domain?"
"..."
Everyone fell silent at my observation.
That’s right. It’s strange. Even if the intermediate god who knew the full scope of Arowrito prioritized humans when appointing deities, there is no reason to ignore the sea. After all, he would have gathered enough information to know that the oceans are teeming with intelligent monsters—merfolk, fish-men, and even threats as significant as the Leviathan. Given the history of this world, leaving such a vast domain without a jurisdictional representative is beyond unnatural.
"Um, maybe it’s just because there was no reason to tell us? I mean, we didn't even know about the gods of other continents, and besides, the ocean isn't exactly an environment where humans can live~."
"That may be true. But if there were a god of the sea, they could have managed those threats, couldn't they?"
"Gods aren't quite that convenient, you know."
Lilishe spoke of the dangers of the sea, and Hairen looked at me as if to say, *what an idiot*. But Senal, seemingly sensing the same sense of crisis I felt, murmured:
"Does that mean the sea was being 'kept at a distance' intentionally?"
"I don't know. Well, the intermediate god was eventually purged, so he was certainly self-righteous. It’s possible he intentionally severed the connections between the continents. From a management perspective, I can see why he’d think it was easier to keep things divided."
Exactly. Just because you allow for interaction doesn't mean development will follow. Hell, without even needing to look at Earth's history, we know that even within a single continent, constant warfare is the norm. Perhaps he did it to ensure no existence could threaten his own position—either way, the answer is lost to time.
"Regardless, thank you all for the information. As Orelia suggested, I’ll check with Luna to see if there were ever any gods related to the sea or water. I’ll likely need to speak with you all again after that."
"Understood~. We’ll try asking Nonoa and the others on our end, too~."
"Yeah, I’m counting on you."
If this is just my imagination, then so be it. But I couldn't help but pray that this wouldn't turn into a massive headache.
Why was the sea avoided? Is there something hidden beneath the waves?