Whether You Call Me a Guardian Dragon or Not, I'm Going to Sleep

Standing at the first gate of the Afterlife, the statue of black rock overlooking the souls passing through the gate with the Grim Reaper. Talos.

I stared intently at Talos standing guard at the first gate.

Hmm... this guy is supposed to have intelligence? I didn't really design him with that in mind, though.

Could Keres be mistaken? Or did a bug somewhere cause intelligence to emerge?

Hmm... if intelligence really has emerged... if it has gained a mind...

Was the time it let the young girl who came to revive her parents pass through also not just a temporary malfunction, but an intentional act?

Did it develop compassion and send that girl further into the Afterlife?

I don't know. I really don't know. So...

"Talos."

I should check this once.

When I called out Talos' name, Talos silently turned his head to look at me.

Inorganic eyes. No sense of emotion can be felt in those eyes. It's hard to believe this Talos has emotions, intelligence.

But I can't help but confirm it.

"Do you have intelligence?"

I asked Talos the question, full of expectation.

"......."

But Talos gave no answer.

Hmm... well, that's to be expected.

For a simple stone golem to have gained intelligence, that would be nonsense, wouldn't it? No matter that I am the Goddess of Life... if intelligence could be created that easily, then all the things I've made so far should have gained intelligence as well, right?

Yeah. It was just nonsense after all. I must have been hooked by Keres' meaningless words.

"As I thought, that's impossible."

I buried the faint disappointment welling up in my heart, and placed my hand on Talos' sturdy leg.

If Talos really had intelligence... it could have been a great help─ At that moment, Talos faintly twitched.

"......?"

"......"

"Hey."

Another twitch.

What in the world...

"Talos."

Talos remained motionless this time. Hmm...

Well, let's just give it a good hit and see.

I've cast a spell that allows it to regenerate, so it's fine.

So...

I struck with a suitable amount of force.

Bam!!

"Hoo..."

Blocking my fist is Talos' black greatsword. The immensely huge greatsword was holding back my punch.

Hmm.. I don't think I gave Talos the kind of artificial intelligence that could freely block attacks when I created it.

I just had it follow simple commands, didn't I?

Which means

"Talos. Have you been deceiving me all this time?"

I feel just a tiny bit of betrayal. Clearly this golem, which I made without much thought, has gained self-awareness on its own, and has been keeping it a secret from me.

I'm just a tiny bit displeased, but oh well, I'll let it slide.

The important thing now is to further examine the artificial intelligence that has spontaneously emerged in Talos.

"If you're honest about it now, I won't get angry. From when did you gain self-awareness?"

Talos still did not answer my question.

Hmm... Exercising the right to remain silent? Seems it still doesn't feel like talking.

I clenched my fist again and raised my arm. A good hit should loosen its tongue!

But Talos shook his head in what seemed like panic, and started pointing to his own neck with his finger.

Neck? Why the neck... Ah, it means it can't speak because it has no vocal cords.

Right, a robot carved from rock wouldn't have vocal cords.

"You should have told me upfront that you can't speak. Why did you pretend to lack intelligence?"

If you had just revealed earlier that you have intelligence, things would have been much smoother. I've been struggling to create an artificial intelligence, when the sample was already here.

Analyzing and investigating this existing sample would have made the difficulty level much lower.

"......"

Talos began making various gestures and movements, seemingly wanting to convey something, but I couldn't make out what it was.

It's entertaining to watch the huge colossus move its body so dynamically, but I can't really understand it.

Vaguely pointing to the ground, holding up three fingers, and then lying down on the ground, Talos.

Hmm... Three things underground... Is it referring to the three gods of death?

And lying down... Collapsing? Falling?

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"The three gods of death stretch out?"

Upon hearing my words, Talos shook his head slightly, then pointed to his own chest with his thumb, and then pointed to the ground, spreading three fingers. Hmm...

Himself and the three gods of death. Hmm. Hmm...

Ah! Could it be!

"Did you pretend to be unintelligent because you thought you'd work until you were as stretched as the Death Gods?!"

Talos then nodded his head slightly. Wow, this guy.

It seems that just like the three gods who are constantly being torn apart for the judgments of the Afterlife, he also remained silent about having intelligence, fearing that he would become a slave to the work.

How vexing...!

"But your assigned task is different from theirs in the first place! The gatekeeper of the Afterlife and the gods of death cannot be the same! Even if you have intelligence, I wouldn't have you take on that role!"

Talos then placed his hand on his chest and swept it down, as if relieved.

Hmph. How vexing. Truly vexing!

Well, even though I find it vexing, I can't really use this guy for the Afterlife's judgments. After all, he can't even speak.

I wonder if modifying him a bit could make him able to speak, but... Hmm, it might not be possible to modify him right away due to the regeneration magic.

Anyway, that's a hassle, so let's leave that aside. Instead,

"I won't have you take on the work of the gods of death. Instead, I'll have to investigate you a bit."

"......!"

At my words, Talos stepped back hesitantly. I wonder what he's so afraid of now.

"Don't worry, it'll be over soon. Just lie down and look at the ceiling, and it'll be done."

I won't completely disassemble and investigate you, you know! I just want to examine the artificial intelligence a bit!

But Talos was still uneasy about that, and kept distancing himself from me.

Clang!

My magic-created iron chains wrapped around Talos' body, restraining him.

"Alright, let's take a look at your back."

No, I don't really need to look at your back. I just need to investigate the details of your body, that's all.

And so, I thoroughly examined Talos' body to investigate how his artificial intelligence was created.

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Investigating Talos did not take very long.

Most of the statue parts remained unchanged, but I was able to discover a strange crystallization of magic concentrated in his chest cavity. I did not put this in when I created Talos, but for some reason, there was this peculiar magical crystal at the center of his chest. Perhaps this is what awakened Talos' self-awareness.

The crystal resembled a magical stone, but its composition was completely different. At the core was my magic that I used to create Talos, and it was surrounded by a dense concentration of magic.

When I touched the magical crystal, I could sense Talos' will, so this seems to be the core that formed his artificial intelligence.

Hmm... If the magic I used to create Talos has coalesced like this, then... could it mean that any object I create with my magic could potentially awaken self-awareness like Talos?

For example... a hero's sword?

No, no, that's probably just a unique case with Talos.

He is a massive humanoid figure, made with a great deal of my magic, and is known to humans as the gatekeeper of the Afterlife, so he has likely gained a certain degree of faith. That process may have led to the awakening of his self-awareness.

Anything else would be unreasonable. Maybe.

I stood up, ignoring Talos, who had fallen to the ground and remained motionless.

Ahh, good.

Now I should combine the information I gathered from investigating Talos with the automated processing system to create an even more sophisticated divine being.

First, I'll make a divine being to assist with the work of the Afterlife.

Most souls take a long time to have their entire lifetimes reviewed, which slows down the processing of judgments, except for those with extremely deep transgressions that require close examination.

A created divine being that can automatically summarize and organize this information, like an interactive AI in another world, would greatly aid the work of the afterlife!

This is what was created, the High Intelligence Auto Death Evaluation System. Shortened to Hades.

If you think the English sounds strange, please overlook it. I first attached the name Hades and then roughly matched the initials, so I didn't really think about the grammar!

"What is this?"

"It's like a secretary to assist with your work."

Keres, who had become half-dead due to the overwhelming workload... Ah, half of her body was already a corpse. Ahem.

Keres, who had almost become a complete corpse due to me skipping work to complete Hades, looked at me with distrustful eyes.

"This black obelisk?"

A black obelisk made by cutting and smoothing the black rocks of the Afterlife. It is placed behind the chairs of the gods of the afterlife, so that the souls receiving judgment cannot see it.

"If this obelisk functions properly, it can greatly reduce the workload of the afterlife."

"It's hard to believe the words of a goddess who didn't do her work properly."

"Ah, it was a step back for two steps forward."

Ignoring the grumbling Keres, I placed my hand on the black obelisk.

Here, I will put... my magic that will be the power source, and a part of the faith directed towards the Goddess of Life. And specifically [The end of life and the new beginning that follows death] woven together and placed into the obelisk.

Woooong.

A small tremor can be heard from the obelisk. Good, it's working properly.

After a short time, a girl with an appearance almost identical to mine appeared on the black obelisk.

The difference is that her hair is black and she doesn't have the dragon's horns.

Well, to be precise, it's a kind of avatar or manifestation that I've created by separating a part of myself as a goddess... So it's natural that it resembles me.

[High Intelligence Auto Death Evaluation System, Hades. Activating. Beginning work assistance.]

The black-haired version of me on the black obelisk spoke softly in my voice.

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