Chapter 48

To everyone's surprise, Sui Xiong and the savage races of the Gray Stone Mountains got along very well. "Everyone had a wonderful time" was the perfect way to describe it.

The savage races weren't particularly evil by nature. Their conflicts with humans were mainly over living space. If a human god and a group of human adventurers had come, they would naturally have flown into a rage and fought to the death. But their visitors were a Jellyfish God and his mount—when Lei learned of this description later, he lodged a solemn protest, but it was ignored, and Sui Xiong continued to live on his head—and this god was friendly toward them. So why shouldn't they show some goodwill in return?

Of course, Sui Xiong didn't tell Lei that the main reason he was friendly toward the savage races was that he had sensed divine power emanating from their priest.

It was similar to the divine aura of the god who had helped him before. According to the God of Redemption's records, this meant that the priest worshiped and served one of that god's lesser god subordinates: the God of Fertility.

Thanks to the God of Redemption's records, Sui Xiong had already learned a great deal about the gods of this world. For example, he knew that the god who had helped him when he clashed with the Sleepless God in White Leaf Village was called Morani. Morani was the chief god of the Wild Pantheon, honored as the Steel Lion. He was a kind god who liked to travel among mortals and stand up for the oppressed wherever he went. He also had several lesser gods under his command. One was the God of Fertility, Zhuogeng, known as the Wanderer of Abundance. Zhuogeng could turn any wasteland into fertile farmland and was a target many pantheons were always trying to poach.

According to the God of Redemption's records, the God of Fertility had no church and merely shared the faith of the Wild Pantheon. But judging by this priest, that "lack of a church" probably only applied to the human—or, more broadly, humanoid—world. Among the savage races, the God of Fertility seemed to be quite popular.

Sui Xiong hadn't seen the God of Wilderness again since their encounter in White Leaf Village. But in his heart, he had long since come to regard the god who had lent him a hand despite being a passing acquaintance as a friend. And a friend's subordinates were friends too. That was why he had shown goodwill to those Fierce Goblins, who had a distinctly ferocious air and seemed neutral, if somewhat evil.

Sui Xiong understood that the savage races had no choice but to fight humanoid races to defend their living space. They fought such wars for their people's survival. Perhaps that made them evil, but it certainly wasn't something they should be condemned for.

In any case, defending one's family and resisting invasion were not wrong.

He wasn't some immaculate white lotus, an unfeeling hardliner, or one of those twisted do-gooders who would offer the other cheek after being slapped. He completely understood and supported such actions. If he ever established a divine kingdom, he would never turn away followers who behaved this way just because they belonged to a different alignment.

Warriors shed blood in life. How could they be left to shed tears after death?

This also made him question the effects of the Eye of Alignment Appraisal spell. Perhaps the spell itself assumed a certain point of view... Considering that it came from the God of Redemption's records, and that the God of Redemption's followers included only humans and some humanoid races—not the savage races—it wasn't very surprising that the spell worked this way.

Even gods couldn't escape the thinking that "your hero is my enemy"!

After leaving the Fierce Goblin tribe, they camped outdoors to rest, and Sui Xiong shared these thoughts with Lei.

"Your way of thinking really is strange. Gods naturally have their own races, and where there are races, there are loyalties. It would be unreasonable for a god not to consider things from the perspective of his own race," Lei commented. Then he added, "Of course, that doesn't apply to you. Jellyfish aren't intelligent beings, so you don't have a 'racial perspective' to consider. Perhaps those savage races are more interesting and easier for you to relate to than we humans are."

Sui Xiong fell silent. He wasn't actually a jellyfish; he was a human—but not a human from this world.

As a transmigrator, his innate perspective wasn't all that different from a jellyfish's. To him, the various intelligent species—so long as their appearance didn't clash too badly with his aesthetic sense—really weren't all that different.

"This world is so vast, and the savage races don't take up much space. Why are people still trying to take it from them?" He couldn't help muttering to himself, then immediately realized how ridiculous the thought was. How could anyone ever be satisfied? Forget this otherworld, where the various races were as numerous as the stars. Even back on Earth, where everyone belonged to the same species, among people with the same yellow skin and black hair, friends could turn against each other in the blink of an eye.

Even gods probably couldn't do anything about that...

In a foul mood, Sui Xiong didn't say a word during the next few days of travel. He focused on his research, using it to pass the time and clear his mind.

Not long afterward, when Lei finally reached the edge of the Gray Stone Mountains, Sui Xiong's research paid off.

"Your Majesty... what is this?" Palin asked, puzzled, as Sui Xiong's projection suddenly appeared and handed him a strange object.

It was a small, thick, flattened disk, its surface patterned with colorful spirals that wound outward from the center. Beneath it was an ordinary wooden stick that served as a handle. A careful sniff revealed an enticing sweet scent, like candy.

If there had been an Earthling there, they would have stared in astonishment. Wasn't this just a lollipop?

"I designed it just for you. It should keep you from suffering the effects of low vitality," Sui Xiong said with a smile. "Give it a try and see if you like it."

It really was candy?!

Palin tentatively put the strange candy in his mouth. A warm, sweet flavor melted across his tongue, soon spreading a comforting warmth throughout his body. It swept away the exhaustion he had built up over days of battling account books, and filled him with a profound sense of satisfaction and happiness, as if he had done something good as a child and received praise from his parents. He couldn't help smiling.

The young mage held the special candy in his mouth and was silent for quite a while before coming back to himself.

"This candy... is amazing," he said. "It tastes wonderful, and it works well too."

"That's all that matters." Sui Xiong burst out laughing and brought out a big handful of colorful lollipops. After a moment's thought, he cast a spell, wrapping each candy in a layer of equally colorful waterproof paper. He tied a pretty little red bow around the bottom of each wrapper, then shoved the whole lot into Palin's hands.

"Don't worry. Take your time eating them. I've got plenty more!"

With that, he laughed and his projection vanished with a pop.

The research had been a huge success! His product had earned a glowing review from a customer! He deserved to give himself thirty-two likes!

Sui Xiong was in a great mood after successfully inventing the "lollipop," and he started joking around with Lei again.

Lei, however, wasn't used to it. He had actually been quite satisfied with the time when His Majesty the Void Mask had remained silent. Everything had been quiet, calm, and peaceful. Now this obnoxious jellyfish had started chattering away and spouting nonsense again, making him feel that "good times never last." There was nothing he could do about it, though.

Sui Xiong didn't care whether Lei liked it or not. Since transmigrating, this was the first time he had met someone who didn't look up to him, someone he could talk to as an equal—and who also had plenty of free time.

Gerald and Palin had both become fanatics. Even if Sui Xiong said the sun was square, they would only think that mortals were terribly shortsighted for failing to see the sun's true shape despite looking at it every day. He could discuss practical matters with people like them, but there was no way to talk about worldviews, philosophies of life, or values.

Satan and Rod weren't so fanatical, but they were sensible and cautious. On matters of core beliefs, they would certainly follow the crowd. There was no point hoping they would offer anything especially unusual or valuable.

As for the three dragons, Frost's thoughts were plain enough: "All lesser creatures are trash. Only our great dragonkind is the sole ruler of this vast world," or something along those lines. His views offered Sui Xiong no useful perspective at all. Sleet's thoughts were something like, "Ugh, this is such a bother. Can you stop talking to me? I want to sleep..." That was what she said whenever Sui Xiong tried to talk with her.

Snowflake, on the other hand, was a complex and thoughtful person—dragon, rather—with an independent personality and deep insight. But she was busy. Ever since taking on the role of "strategist," she had been analyzing the actions of the gods in the various pantheons over the years, trying to understand their thoughts and plans so she could prepare for Sui Xiong's diplomacy before he became a god. If he dared to bother her with impractical topics, she would probably glare at him with a cold gleam in her eyes and say, "Keep causing trouble, and I'll kill you, god or not."

As for Phil, the armored being, Sui Xiong had once tried to chat with him while he was busy in the flower garden of the temple, which had already been converted into a dragon's lair. Phil thought for a moment, then said, "I once met—I mean, I only heard about—a noble-born, brilliant, virtuous person, a true child of destiny. He spent all his time thinking about these questions and eventually went mad, becoming a great demon who wanted to destroy the world. He died at the hands of someone who never thought about such questions. And the man who killed him became depressed and lost for a long time after he began thinking about them himself. Clearly, thinking about these questions does more harm than good."

Having said that, he paid Sui Xiong no more attention.

As for the gods, Sui Xiong could certainly contact them now, but he absolutely didn't want to discuss these topics with them.

After all, these topics were rather sensitive, and he had no idea which might offend the gods. Until they knew each other well enough and he was powerful enough, it was better not to confide too much in a casual acquaintance.

After considering everyone, Lei was the only suitable person to talk to.

"Say... suppose a hundred people went to sea on a ship, and the ship broke and began to sink. The lifeboat could hold only sixty people. The remaining forty fought desperately to get aboard, but if they did, the lifeboat would sink. A kind and highly skilled ranger was guarding the lifeboat. Should he let everyone sink together, or force the remaining forty to their deaths?"

"...I hate these damn questions!"

"But don't you think they're meaningful? Don't you think questions like these let us think deeply about kindness and human nature?"

"I'm not interested!"

"Maybe my question wasn't realistic enough. Let me try another one: there's a paladin who's in a predicament where he has to eat human flesh to protect others..."

"Get lost, you evil god!"