I seriously did it. I brought my Mum into this realm to help me negotiate with a god. I know how that sounds, but I just didn't know how to help myself beyond that. This was the smartest idea I could come up with. It was smart, wasn't it? Was it?

"I TOLD YOU TO GET LOST!!!" (A)

No, he doesn't seem all that willing to have a mediation. Instead, he gathers a lot of soul energy and converges it above his head.

Wait. Mum!

No! No, no, that won't happen! I don't allow it!

I concentrate and promptly the orb of power over Aurea's head vanishes, collapsing as if it gets sucked away from the inside. Then another thought, and Aureas becomes absolutely still. I walk closer, my gaze not wavering away from him.

"You can do to me whatever you want! Shout at me, insult me, even punch me if it makes you feel better! But if you ever target my mother like this again, then I'll make sure you know what mistake you just made. And this for eternity! UNDERSTOOD?!!" (I)

Of course, he's intimidated, I can feel it, but still defiant like the rowdy teenager he is. Just then, I notice that he's still not moving. I quickly realize that apparently I literally shut off his ability to move. Fortunately, it only takes a thought of mine to put an end to this restriction. Quite impressively, Aureas manages to stay straight without any too-intense reaction to having been paralyzed.

"You. What purpose do you have in bringing this, this demon to my abode?!" (A)

"Half-demon. And it was an accidental corruption. Also, last time I checked, this was my place!" (I)

I'm quite ready to put him in his place. Being neglectful and bad at his job is one thing, but attacking others, that goes too far. Suddenly, I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Iori, I appreciate the support, but I think being confrontational isn't going to help here." (S)

...

Okay, she's the expert. I force myself to calm down and retract the tentacles I grew here.

"Alright, Mum." (I)

Mum shows her trademark smile and extends a hand for a shake. Of course, Aureas refuses to take it.

"What is the purpose of this?!" (A)

Seems like Aureas finally lost his calm.

"We want to figure something out together. I heard you were occupied from your position recently, so maybe there's a way we can work something out that everybody will be comfortable with." (S)

Unfortunately, discussing this calmly doesn't seem to be his thing.

"I won't give in! This is my realm! My duty and no one else's!" (A)

"Then where lies the problem? If you want to take care of this by yourself, you just need to do so." (S)

"I'm reigning over my realm as I see fit! Not everyone deserves a blessing for every action." (A)

"Iori. You said there was an issue with his acting as a god. Can you elaborate, so we can together figure out the problem?" (S)

"Well, Soraja said that he barely left this place since quite a while. He won't give any blessings at this point, doesn't interact with his believers, or do anything at all that would reassure the People." (I)

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"Now that you hear this, what do you have to say in your defense?" (S)

Aureas looks defiant, but for a short moment, it seemed like he was dejected.

"Soraja can do those public acts very well by herself. I'm obviously not needed." (A)

"But the People created you back then! It was their hopes and wishes that brought you into existence. So obviously you are important to them!" (I)

"This sounds generally like a good thing. Aureas, are the People, if that's actually a term, actually bad to you?" (S)

"What would you know?! For the People, I am only a convenient shortcut to get good at what they want. Some believe that they deserve to be incredibly gifted solely based on their offerings. And the worst is, they wish for proficiency in the most ridiculous areas. Do you have any idea how many requests I got for prowess in specific areas that I don't dare to mention openly?" (A)

Oh, I can tell. Looks like he is quite done with them.

"Then what would you suggest instead? I'm sure one can figure out a solution that you'd be happy with." (S)

"I don't need a solution! I want you gone! All of you! So my peace may be restored and I can finish my game!" (A)

Okay, this is where I snap.

"So is that it? You want to just give up here? Holing yourself away in this room until everyone stops believing in you and you cease to exist?!" (I)

"Might be for the better. I heard that it's quite common among those supposed to be responsible for this world to just stop caring." (A)

Sure. I probably should have expected this argument. Not like I can really retort to it. Nonetheless, I feel quite agitated to hear that from this guy.

"I don't need to get berated about my behavior from the one who stole my gaming console!" (I)

I point at the bed where he didn't manage this time to get it away before we entered.

"Says the one who not only abandoned this world but laid it to waste!" (A)

"Stop this right there!" (I)

"What exactly do you expect me to do when you tear down every progress I have made in this world? How I build things up only for you to stomp them back into the ground! It's all meaningless! All the death and destruction I couldn't avert! My whole existence nothing but a cruel joke! All only because of you!" (A)

I don't wanna hear it!

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!" (I)

"Grmbl"

"Do you have any idea how this is to me?! Not even a month ago, I was a completely normal girl! I went to school, played video games, read mangas, slept in! Now look at what I'm dealing with here! A rebellious teenager god who refuses to do the thing his people created him for! I'm supposed to manage worlds, save people, and interact with creatures of overcosmic scale, is that a joke?!! Why does anyone think that I should have this kind of responsibility? Yes, maybe I laid your world to waste, and do you want to know why?" (I)

"Grmbl"

"Iori." (S)

I can barely hear my mum. Everything around me feels like a black haze, a whirling surge that jumbles my emotions.

"Y-yes?" (A)

"Hah, no reason! It just happened! Involuntarily! Because I had a mental breakdown! Yep, this is what your world can expect from me if I don't pay attention to it. Do you seriously want to find out what happens if I do? Do you want to win this argument against me and get me to break down another time over the regret of how many people I killed? Is that what you want?!" (I)

"GRMBL"

The world shakes. I can feel it. How my distress causes the ground to rupture. I know it's wrong, but how would I stop my own distress if things are already this far?

"Iori, please calm down." (S)

Suddenly, I feel my mother's warm embrace, and the surge ebbs down, my wild emotions slowly settling. The quake below us does the same, while I do my best to keep the rage contained.

Yeah, in truth, Mum was here for me, not him. And what can I say, it works.

"I, I'm trying, you know? I know I'd be a terrible goddess. I really shouldn't be. As bad as you think you are, you are infinitely better than me. I can only try to mitigate my influence on this world. That's the best I can do." (I)

It hurts to admit all this, but this is how I see myself. Maybe in a hundred years or so, I will be able to take care of such big things as the fate of a world, but that is certainly not yet the case. If there is anything positive about what just happened, then it's that Aureas seems far less inclined to challenge me now.

As I'm sufficiently calm by now, Mum turns back to Aureas.

"Iori isn't harboring any ill will toward you, Aureas. You shouldn't believe that for a moment. The opposite might be the case. You are both quite young to take such responsibility onto yourself. Maybe you can lean on each other to shoulder it together." (S)

Wow. Mum is really good at this. Though, maybe she got something wrong.

"Ehm, actually Aureas is already a century old." (I)

"Seriously? He certainly doesn't look that way." (S)

"Hey, I can hear you!" (A)

"Well, I'm fourteen, what's your excuse for being irresponsible?" (I)

Hah, I got him! He has no retort to this.

"What even do you want from me?!" (A)

"What Mum said. That you take care of the People in my stead. I may have created them on accident, but now that they are there the least I can do is make sure they have a good existence." (I)

"Sigh. But it is so hard dealing with them!" (A)

"Are you sure about his age?" (S)

"That's what Soraja told me." (I)

"You know I have no idea who that is either." (S)

"Hey!" (A)

"Look. You can start slowly. Start looking more closely and offer a blessing on the person's actual virtues. If you give everyone what they want it's obvious they'll take it for granted." (I)

"Looking closer?! Do you have any idea how many of them there are doing so already?!" (A)

Nobody said being a god is easy.

"Maybe Soraja can help you there? She's quite good at networking. How about you resume your duties, and in exchange, I'll let you keep my gaming console?" (I)

Even though that thing was frickin' expensive. I may not have used it as much recently, having been occupied with life and such, but still, I liked it. It probably doesn't compare to the fate of my world, but still, it was nice to have around.

Now he looks forlorn at this little plastic box.

"What about we hang out for a game once in a while?" (I)

"... Fine. Deal." (A)

I did it! I actually did it! I did something responsible as the creator of this world!

"But if you truly want to help, as you said, then maybe you could take care of this cult of Oroi? Those guys are a bit of a hassle to deal with." (A)

. . .

Excuse me, what!?!

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