Ruger watched the peculiar gray mice. The larger ones were a palm long, while two or even three of the smaller ones could stand on a single palm. When they had nothing to do, they liked to stand there flexing their little paws or pulling their fluffy tails around in front of them to play with.
"You stayed because of them?"
It suddenly occurred to Ruger that these low-quality little believers had an advantage of their own.
While others fought to expand their congregations and disputed territory, this fellow's believers could appear openly on other people's islands. Of course, with the simple minds of these little mice, letting them breed out in the wild would surely not work. He might need some special means, or raise them himself for a while before releasing them.
Ruger stroked his chin, becoming somewhat absorbed in his thoughts.
Suddenly, the golden tree that had been spreading before him burst into an even more brilliant golden radiance. It kept growing taller within the light, putting out a profusion of branches.
"These little creatures aren't very clever, and they're nowhere near capable of providing as much faith power as human believers, but I like their innocence and sincerity. I like their simplicity. These gray mice may look no different from others, but they didn't originally exist. I carefully selected several varieties of gray mice and bred these through experiments and druidic abilities," the man said with a smile and a hint of pride. "They're a little smarter than ordinary gray mice, though only a little. Their innocence and simplicity make certain things easier to accomplish."
As he spoke, the man held his arms out to either side and slowly raised them, as though he meant to embrace the entire vault of the Endless Sea.
Without their