Tokyo Soft Rice King.

Akira Kuroba found himself falling into a personality cult, regarding Grandpa Kobayashi as an omnipotent savior.

However, there has never been a savior, nor do we rely on gods or emperors. To create human happiness, we must rely entirely on ourselves... That's what the Internationale says.

"So I will give up my human identity as Kobayashi Tokuman and become a local deity as the Daoyin Daijin, cultivating the land here, helping people who come to worship solve some of their troubles, and continuing to serve the people."

It seems that Grandpa Kobayashi really has no intention of interfering in mortal affairs anymore.

Well, isn't it pretty good?

"However, if we're talking about unfinished business..."

Grandpa Kobayashi thought for a moment and then said to Tomita Hoken, who was standing next to him.

"Hmm, let's go out a little later. Could you let me talk to Kuroba-kun alone for a bit?"

Tomita Hōgen immediately understood his teacher's meaning, clapped his hands, and smiled as he spoke to Ame-no-Hikaru and Kuroo.

"Alright, my lords, thank you for your hard work. Let me take you to rest first."

However, the uncle was completely ignored and could only smile wryly as he asked Kuroba Akira for help.

Kuroba Akira patted Ameha Hikaru's head, who was sitting right next to him, and said...

"Xiao Guang, you can go out first. I'll be right out."

"……Um."

"Dealing with Kuroo is much simpler," Tomita Hogen said meaningfully.

"Regarding your payment... I think it's about time."

"Oh! This is important, meow! Then I'll head out first, meow! Shirako, come over later too, meow! I've also prepared a New Year's gift for you, meow!"

"understood."

New Year's gift?

I still have a share?

It's not dried fish, is it...?

After the two people and the cat left, the two people, one big and one small, started talking.

Grandpa Lin paused for a moment before asking.

"Kuroba-kun, what is your view on gods as a special kind of being?"

"Ok?"

"Because I can see that you have no reverence for the gods."

"Um... I just feel that although gods are called gods, they are not omnipotent; on the contrary, they are subject to human control in every way..."

"Hehe, just as I thought, no... you're even better than me. After all, for a long time after I came into this world, I made the mistake of relying on past experience."

What exactly constitutes the error of empiricism?

"I mistakenly thought that this world was the same as our world, just a few years apart."

"Uh...isn't that right?"

Kuroba Akira thought to himself, "They're basically the same, just separated by fifteen years."

"From a historical perspective, it is indeed very similar, but it would be strange if it were similar, because there are no 'intelligent beings other than humans' in our world, right? Perhaps the term 'gods' has dulled your senses. For example, if aliens suddenly descended upon our world, do you think the world, or rather history, would still be the same as before?"

"That...that can't be right."

Wouldn't that turn it into The Three-Body Problem...?

"Gods are actually the same as aliens, except they are 'native aliens'. They are beings so different from humans, yet their history unfolds in much the same way as ours. Don't you find that strange?"

"It's truly incredible that the historical processes of a world with gods and a world without gods are almost identical..."

However, Akira Kuroba was able to give a reason.

"But this is because the gods cannot appear in front of the public, which is why the course of history has not changed much."

“That’s right. The accumulation of subtle differences only causes a slight deviation in the historical years of the two worlds, but history itself does not change much. Ultimately, this is because the gods are a secret known only to a very small number of people... or rather, they are ‘slaves of the powerful.’”

This is similar to what Saotome Fuyumi said; indeed, those who understand the gods can see through their true nature.

"That's why I said I made an empirical error, thinking that gods were high above us... but in fact, in this world, gods are also oppressed beings."

"Where there is oppression, there is resistance..."

"That's right. However, the gods' survival depends on human faith, which is actually a kind of 'parasitic life,' and they lack their own channels of expression."

"Do you want to... release the gods?"

"It's not that noble, I just want to repay a debt of gratitude."

"To repay Blacktail for saving my life."

"Yes, that's something I couldn't do before I died... but now that I've been resurrected as a god, I can see some hope again."

Tokuman Kobayashi is not an ungrateful person.

"I want Kuroo to gain true freedom."

Chapter 381 The Gods' Interdimensional Live Broadcast

"Of course, I'm not talking about unconditional freedom. After all, freedom without constraints is not true freedom. But all the gods, including Black Tail, don't even have the most basic 'personal freedom' right now."

Kuroba Akira immediately understood what Grandpa Kobayashi meant.

“After I became a god myself, I realized that the reason I could go to the real world at will was because the public’s perception of me was that ‘Little Lin Dewan is a real person.’”

Sure enough, he wanted the old gods to be able to leave the other world without restraint, just like him, a new triune god, and move around freely in the mortal realm.

"However, most people's understanding of gods is still that 'gods are fictional beings,' so gods can only move within their own 'circle of faith.'"

Old gods like Kuro-o, whose souls can only come to the mortal world, can at most possess small animals, and they cannot leave the sphere of their faith.

Kuroo is a Japanese deity who can only reside in Japan, specifically in the Shikoku region and Tokyo.

Moreover, she was able to come to Tokyo because someone built a shrine there... In other words, her faith spread to Tokyo.

However, turning old gods into new gods is currently impossible, so the issue to be addressed is the 'scope of faith'.

Simply put, it's about raising public awareness and popularizing the existence of deities.

“I understand. You want to make gods a publicly recognized entity, so that they can move freely in the real world.”

"That's exactly what freedom is. It's not just limited to the birthplace of the faith, but to the whole country, or even the whole world."

This was the best way Little Lindwan could think of to repay a debt of gratitude.

The reason he told Kuroba Akira alone was because Kuroba Akira was also someone who was resurrected thanks to Kuroo's grace, and was the current agent.

"So, Kuroba-kun, would you please help Kuroo with me?"

"I'd be happy to help! I was able to have a second life thanks to Kuroo, and I want to repay her."

However, Kuroba Akira still had some concerns about this.

"But is it really okay to let the public know about the existence of gods?"

"What's wrong?"

"Gods would grant people's wishes in order to collect faith, but once people become aware of the existence of gods, then wishes will turn into desires... Gods will become tools to fulfill wishes."

"That's right, so the corresponding system was created for this purpose."

Grandpa Kobayashi probably already had a solution in mind, but then he suddenly changed the subject and asked Kuroba Akira a question.

"Kuroba-kun, the ability that Kuroo gave you must be more than just the ability to see, right? Because I haven't used it, I don't know the details of the ability."

"Yes, it can also replicate talents and even exchange talents, but there are also limitations and side effects."

"I see. The ability to copy and exchange are indeed very useful abilities. As expected of Black Tail, the powers he possesses are of very high quality."

"Speaking of which, the agents I've met so far... although I've only met two, I've noticed that their abilities are all related to people. Is there some kind of limitation, or is it a commonality?"

"There are no restrictions, but gods do grant their agents human-related abilities under certain conditions. There are two reasons for this. One is that the purpose of gods in choosing agents is to collect faith, so they grant them abilities that are more suitable for gathering faith. The other reason is that such abilities consume less faith."

"Hmm? Does using abilities consume faith?"

"Of course, every time you use your ability, you consume Blacktail's faith, but it gains more faith, so it can achieve a 'positive return'. However, if you are given a more powerful and complex ability, the expenditure will exceed the gain when you use it, and then it will be a loss."

It's such a realistic reason...

But thinking about it, it makes sense. If the faith were strong enough, Blacktail would have become human long ago and wouldn't still be possessing a cat.

To put it bluntly, faith is the capital upon which gods rely for survival, so it should be used sparingly to maximize its benefits.

"Another reason is that ability is also a 'benefit' given to the agent. The agent can use this ability to obtain wealth, power, and social status. Therefore, the relationship between the deity and the agent is not one of superior and subordinate. In fact, the agent may not even be a believer. In my opinion, the two are more like 'partners'."

"really……"

Akira Kuroba felt that Kuroo was more like a friend, but in reality, he didn't show Kuroo any respect.

They probably have more respect for Mr. Kobayashi than they have reverence for Kuroo.

"When gods send agents to help collect faith, they usually use a combination of kindness and severity, granting special abilities and other benefits. However, if they fail to complete the task or use their abilities to do things that do not align with the gods' wishes, they will be cursed. So it feels a lot like a game."

To put it simply, collecting faith is like a task given by a system; there are rewards for completing it and penalties for not completing it.

It really does resemble a game.

"However, in the era of the divine right of kings, when power was highly centralized, the status of gods and their agents was reversed. Gods became tools for those in power to consolidate their rule, and the constraints on their agents became ineffective, leading to their enslavement... But I digress, and that's all in the past."

This is because when a person's status reaches a certain level, they no longer need to do the dirty work themselves.

As long as one does not violate the rules of the gods, one will not be punished by them, and the gods become mere tools.

Then, the one who turned the divinely ordained emperor into history was this burly man in front of us.

"So, Kuroba-kun, why do you think I've never used the ability that Kuroo gave me?"

"Is this... because you disdain using your abilities?"

"Haha, I'm not as noble as you think. The reason I don't use it is because I'm a coward."

"Hey?"

"Perhaps it's because in the era I was born, many things didn't go as planned, so I really hate the feeling of having my life and destiny controlled by others..."

Young Kobayashi opened his right hand, then slowly clenched it, as if he wanted to take control of his own destiny.