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Meibel had become the God of Rats, but right now, there wasn’t much she could do as a deity.

Was it just unifying the opinions of the rat beastmen who believed in her and getting a bit stronger from their faith?

She didn’t particularly have any powers, nor did she possess the strength to perform miracles. For now, she felt like just a bit stronger rat beastman.

However, the more rat beastmen that believed in Meibel, the stronger she would become. But that wasn’t the case right now.

“Becoming a god… I thought something would change drastically, but it really hasn’t.”

“It’s because you still have a living body. You’ll feel the difference more after you die.”

“Well… I’ll experience that once my lifespan runs out.”

With a living human body, there were limitations, after all!

Anyway, after Meibel and Ella took control of the rat beastmen, the first thing they did was punish those who were the leaders of the rat beastmen.

Those who had tormented many by being enchanted by the suspicious voice that echoed from underground.

Those who had caused the death of Meibel’s father and Ella’s husband.

Those who had intended to commit mass murder in the city of Armen as a sacrifice.

After undergoing an interrogation that was harsh enough to be called cruel by Ella, they divulged their entire plan.

They had truly intended to poison the water supply of Armen and had several contingency plans prepared.

If poisoning the water supply failed, they planned to incite conflict with other city-states and start a war, and then secretly open the city gates.

If that didn’t work… they even had a plan to collapse the towns and sewers situated beneath Armen as a last resort, causing Armen to sink into the ground.

The voice from underground had promised that if the ritual was successful, they would protect the rat beastmen, and grant immortality to the leaders who executed the plan.

It seemed that only the leaders had received such a promise, and the others were unaware of this fact.

Well, now they were all busted, trapped in prison with broken bones.

Aside from that, they had managed to gather all the information about their plans. Now that there was no more information to squeeze from them, they had become utterly useless.

Thus, the leaders revealed all their conspiracies to the other rat beastmen, and the punishment for them was… naturally, execution.

The crimes they had committed were severe, and perhaps the act of proceeding with their plans while hiding the truth led the majority of the rat beastmen to agree with their punishment.

Amid those being punished, it was somewhat surprising that Meibel’s grandfather was among them.

Rumor had it that they had tried to arrange a marriage between Meibel’s father, who was the smartest among the rat beastmen, and Ella, a famous adventurer, to create Meibel who would become the body of the god. Hmm.

Wait a minute. Does that mean they let their own son die? They used their child to create the god of the rat beastmen?

No matter how much it was for the species, pushing their child into such matters and letting them die?

That’s downright terrifying.

Anyway, those who had schemed were all put to trial in the name of Shamash, the god of law and justice, and sentenced to death according to Shamash’s judgment.

In the final moments, Meibel’s grandfather tried desperately to survive, invoking their blood relation, but… Meibel wasn’t about to waver at the sight of her grandfather’s pleas.

In fact, she became even angrier at the realization that her grandfather had tried to harm her and her mother.

Well, once those who plotted were executed and things were roughly wrapped up,

“This village… what should we do moving forward?”

“This rat hole of a village?”

“Yes. Since it was made for their conspiracy… we have to do something about it.”

Hmm. That’s true. There’s no benefit in sticking around in such a village.

It’s underground, so you can’t farm, and being isolated means you can’t engage in commerce. If you try to do anything, Armen won’t just sit back and watch.

What’s more, this village was created for a ritual. It’s no longer needed.

“It seems best to just abandon this village and move to a better place.”

“That’s what I think too?”

“Yeah. Right.”

But even if they moved elsewhere… deciding where to go is… hmm…

“What about near the village you grew up in?”

“Huh? That countryside village?”

It’s a bit remote, but I think it’s a decent place for cleaning up the situation.

“Well… hmm… but…”

“Is there something you don’t like about it?”

“No. It’s just… it’s a familiar place, but… is there a place nearby where we can gather the rat beastmen?”

Hmm. A place to gather them.

“If there isn’t, we can just make one.”

At my words, Meibel looked a bit shocked, then nodded as if it made sense.

“Yeah. Well, can the Dragon Priestess really not do the impossible? You make everything happen instantly; that’s how it should be.”

“Does that sound a bit sharp?”

“No. I just wondered if the Dragon Priestess has something that’s impossible. For beings like us, everything feels tough, but you handle it easily.”

Hmm. Well, I do have abilities like that.

“I’m only doing what I can do. I’m not omnipotent or anything.”

“If that’s not omnipotence, then what is?”

“Um… well…”

What does omnipotence even mean? Is it being able to do anything? If you can turn the impossible into possible, does that make you omnipotent?

Can I even be considered omnipotent when I couldn’t discipline the unruliness of a child I regarded as my own?

“I have impossibilities too.”

“I can’t believe that.”

Seeing Meibel shake her head slightly, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

After that, Meibel began to contact the scattered rat beastmen to gather them as much as possible and started moving to establish a city for the rat beastmen.

Some rat beastmen doubted the living goddess, some followed with suspicion, and some welcomed her greatly.

They arrived at an area slightly away from the countryside where Meibel grew up. No, more accurately, it was a place that had recently been transformed into a plain.

Originally, it had been a fairly dense forest. But the trees from that forest had been uprooted by my magic, processed into lumber, and stacked neatly.

In this newly made plain, Meibel gathered all the rat beastmen who followed her.

The number was ten thousand. Excluding those who didn’t follow Meibel, the number of rat beastmen who followed her was ten thousand.

Rat beastmen who abandoned their past, their hometown, and everything to gather there upon hearing that the God of Rats had emerged.

To feed all of them, Meibel borrowed a pouch that produced food infinitely, filling her people’s bellies.

With many gathered, Meibel shouted to the rat beastmen in their new territory.

“We are a weak race.”

Her low voice spread across the clearing. The voice of a young rat beastman. That voice penetrated deep into the minds of the rat beastmen.

Even those who doubted, those who were apprehensive couldn’t help but accept Meibel’s voice that dominated their kind.

“The God of Rats, who had bound the beastmen, has become the Guardian Deity of the Divine Hall, yet we are still shunned even among our kind.”

Should this be seen as racial discrimination? Among the beastmen, discrimination based on races had begun to arise.

“But now, that has changed. The faith of the rat beastmen gathers unto me, and the divinity of the god of rats dwells within me. Now, I shall become the god who nurtures and protects the rat beastmen and live for our kind.”

Meibel looked around at those gathered.

“Therefore, I will redefine our race here. Not just any ordinary beastmen, but those who are sheltered by the god of rats. I would like to give us a new name. The name Rattkin.”

Rattkin. In other words, the blood of the rat.

Emphasizing the differences from others, that was the first step to unify the community. Giving them a new name.

“And on this land, the newly transformed plain, we will build a city for our Rattkin. This city will be named Rattkinia. It will become the land for the Rattkin.”

Well, I kind of came up with the names Rattkin and Rattkinia. But it seemed Meibel was quite fond of them.

Anyway, with that, the rat beastmen got a new name, and they would start living in their new land.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

“Somehow, we’re getting back.”

“The rat beastmen are surprisingly diligent and effective at work.”

“They’re not rat beastmen; it’s Rattkin now.”

The newly settled Rattkin began to thrive more than expected.

And Meibel had also gained a new power.

“This power is quite helpful too.”

Meibel said while looking at the dowsing rod in her hand.

The new ability that Meibel had gained was the power to find what she desired.

The power to seek out new springs, fertile lands, and mineral veins was proving to be of great help to the rat beastmen.

Moreover, the Rattkin were surprisingly good at farming. Although they consumed a lot, they managed to keep up with their eating.

Ah, and by the way, the pouch that produced food infinitely had already been returned.

While it was great to fill up the Rattkin, Meibel thought it was problematic that the full Rattkin were doing nothing.

Those who don’t work shouldn’t eat. Meibel valued the saying she learned from the priestess in the temple highly.

“These crops are mainly grown in the eastern regions. While they need a lot of water, with your abilities, it should be fine.”

“Yes! I can find plenty of places where water springs forth. Thanks to that, the Rattkin can survive! The leftover amount can be traded with others for necessary items!”

After all, in this age, food is the priority.

Anyway, the Rattkin city of Rattkinia began to take shape.

If they continue to grow under Meibel’s protection, it should become a decent city.

“But by the way, what happened to your hammer?”

“Huh? The hammer? Mom took it. Since I carry this dowsing rod instead of the hammer, Mom said she’d use it. Later she might return it to the dwarf who made it…”

Returning it? Hmm.

Well, it was quite a good item, but it wasn’t something that a future goddess like Meibel needed.

 

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