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

Chapter 42: God (7)

Justice. The right way.

Indeed, what is the right way? Even for me, who has nurtured life for unimaginable years after ceasing to be human, it was a concept I couldn't grasp.

What is right? What is justice? All of it felt vague.

But could this simple, self-absorbed, and troublesome child be responsible for such a difficult concept?

I think it's unreasonable.

[Anyway, I am now quite remarkable! It's okay for Mom to praise me! When the small and weak humans fear the darkness, they call my name!]

Well, I can understand the title of the god of light... since I knew that child is no different from the light itself.

What worries me is the part about being the god of justice and law.

"What do you think justice is?"

See. No thought whatsoever.

"What do you think is right?"

[Of course, that I am beautiful!]

Is this kid really okay to be the god of law and justice?

[Anyway! Now that I've become so great! I'll rule the world in place of Mom!]

Hmm?

"Shamash. What are you talking about?"

[Mom has been nurturing the world even before we appeared, right? I don't know how long it's been... but it must have been a tremendously long time! But that's not okay! Mom needs a rest too!]

"Rest...?"

Do I need that...?

The world is vast, and there are many lives. Creating an environment where all those lives can live without major problems is not an easy task.

But I thought I was doing it well, splendidly.

Rest? me...?

You're good at joking.

[No matter how great Mom is, it's tough to keep going without rest. So, let me rule the world and give Mom a break!]

Hmm... It seems you've been thinking about that for my sake. I guess she wasn't just a naive child with a blank mind after all.

But that's impossible.

"How would you rule the world?"

[How? Hmm... I'd just sprinkle warm light around.]

"And?"

[And? Uh, hmm... Just set some rules and execute those who don't follow?]

"Anything else?"

[Else... Uh... They'll just live well on their own, won't they?]

At Shamash's words, I sighed softly.

"That's why it won't work."

[What? Why?! If everyone just lives well on their own, there's no problem, right? Even if they quarrel a bit, I'll scold the wrongdoers! Isn't that enough?]

"It would be nice if the affairs of the world could be resolved so simply."

It would have been so convenient if just cracking the heads of wrongdoers and punishing them was enough to make everything OK.

"Then let me pose a problem. If two women were arguing over a baby, each claiming it as their own, what judgment would you make?"

The widely known judgment of Solomon. A wise decision using the motherly instinct of the mother who wanted to save the baby. It's not a difficult question, but what answer will Shamash give?

[What? Two women and one baby? Uh... Hmm... Is it two moms? Having two moms would be nice, right?]

Two moms...

"That's not it. Among the two women, one is the baby's mother, and the other is a thief who coveted the baby. But no one knows who the real mother is and who the thief is, so what would your judgment be?"

[Um... Only one is the real mother... Hmm...]

After pondering for a while, Shamash hesitantly said,

[I'd order the beheading of the two women who called upon a god for such a trivial matter.]

"Are you serious...?"

[I haven't finished talking yet. First, I'd make such a judgment, and if it seems like we're really going to behead them, the baby thief, not wanting to die, would confess to being the thief, wouldn't she?]

Uh... um... Why does that seem convincing?

[Since the god of law and justice was called upon, it must be a trial with a heavy crime. Anyway, the baby thief goes to jail, and the baby's mother takes the baby home. Wouldn't that work?]

"What if the baby's mother says she's the baby thief?"

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[Then wouldn't she be disqualified as the baby's mother? She'd be giving up the baby to save her own life.]

"Then... if both refuse to give up the baby until the end?"

At my words, Shamash pondered for a moment before slowly speaking.

[That's really difficult. Well... there's no choice. Since we can't determine which one is the mother and which one is the thief, we have to behead both. The baby will probably go to an orphanage, but it's an unavoidable sacrifice.]

Wow... a psychopath... No, I thought I had provided enough emotional education when they were young, but how did they become such a heartless child?

[Well, there are countless humans anyway. One more dying won't make a difference. Honestly, I think by the time they called upon me, the god of law and justice, for such a trivial matter, they were both prepared to risk their lives.]

Um... Is it the difference in position between the king of humans and the god of law and justice? The position of humans and gods is vastly different, after all. A difference in perspective... Hmm...

I'm not sure. While Shamash's words seem somewhat right, I also feel that it shouldn't be this way.

[If not this, then we would have to resort to threatening to split the baby in half, but if both refuse to give up the baby, then the innocent baby would be the only one to die, right?]

Uh, umm... Is that how it works?

Thinking about it, Solomon's judgment was strictly based on the assumption that the baby's mother would cherish her baby... If the mother lacked such maternal love, the thought alone is horrifying.

[It's either killing the innocent baby or killing both the baby's mother and the baby thief. One of the two. Plus, if the mother can't be determined by the threat of splitting the baby, then the poor baby will just die...]

"Is that how it works?"

[Yes. Perhaps it would be better to definitely kill the baby thief, even if we don't know who the baby's mother is. It's better to kill an innocent person than to let a criminal go free.]

No, that last statement is really dangerous. What happened to the principle of presumption of innocence?

Uh, umm... Is it seen differently from a god's perspective? Do you think it's okay for one of the many humans, like ants, to die?

This needs to be corrected. If she is not careful, she might end up with the terrible outcome of killing 100 innocent people just to punish one criminal.

Alright! Let's correct Shamash, even if it means beating some sense into her. The principle of presuming guilt is not okay. Even if it's a time when human rights don't exist, it's not right for the god of law and justice to think this way!

Ah, is it because human rights don't exist that she think this way...?

The concept of human rights will be born much later in the future.

It might not be strange for Shamash to think this way. Yeah....

But still, it needs to be corrected. Um. I can't let innocent humans be killed.

[If it's such a vague issue, perhaps it would be easier to create a method to distinguish lies from the truth, Mom. Could you please help with that?]

"Hmm? A request?"

[Yes. When making judgments, there are really a lot of criminals trying to deceive me with lies. I wish there was a way to read their minds and detect lies.]

Reading minds and detecting lies... Hmm...

It doesn't seem too difficult to read thoughts.

Yes. Since she has already ascended to the position of the god of law and justice, instead of arguing back and forth, it would be better to provide a means to make judgments more easily.

But that doesn't mean I shouldn't correct them!

"Indeed, having such a method would make judgment easier."

[Right? Please, Mom! With that, I can conclude human trials on my own! It won't bother you with the world's affairs anymore! We can clearly distinguish right from wrong!]

"Alright. I'll see what I can do to create such a method."

Creating magic to read and verify thoughts shouldn't be too difficult. I've already created magic to connect different bodies and minds... Just need to modify it to temporarily, one-way read thoughts.

That aside.

"While creating that method is one thing, I can't just overlook sacrificing innocent people to punish criminals."

[What? But... there are so many people in this world. They keep calling me to judge their cases. It's faster to just kill those who are definitely guilty and interrogate those who are uncertain, and if they confess, kill them. Killing a few more won't make much of a difference in the number of humans.]

"That's why it's not good. Rather, you should thoroughly distinguish the weight of the crimes committed and let humans handle the lighter crimes, and you only deal with the serious crimes that involve life. That way, your workload would decrease."

[But... then the number of trials I get to watch would decrease! Watching trials is so much fun!]

Watching...?

[Shamash. Appear before me.]

I summoned Shamash with a low voice filled with power.

Then, in front of me, a dazzling mass of light began to take shape. I grasped that form with one hand and created an avatar.

Then, a blonde young girl appeared in front of me. It was Shamash, in human form.

"Uh, Mom?!"

Surprised by suddenly gaining a physical body, I swung a fist filled with power towards the top of Shamash's head.

Thud!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thus, to punish the errant god of light, the Creator Dragon wielded its power.

And for a moment, the world lost its light.

Thus, an eclipse occurred in the world.

- Inscribed on an ancient stone tablet by a Lizardman.