After handing over the rough blueprint of the afterlife to Talos and pushing off the expansion work - Talos's expression seemed incredibly sad, but that must be my imagination. When does a golem have expressions? - I watched over the dragons, the Life Givers.

It seemed they were bored in their corners, as a considerable number of dragons had gathered, which was quite a spectacle.

[Hiiieeeekkk?! Creator Dragon God?! Why, Creator Dragon God?!]

[Lord! This is different from what you said!! You said the Creator Dragon God wasn't here!!! I have to get out of here!!!]

[O noble Creator Dragon God. Please look upon us with your merciful heart. O noble Creator Dragon God. Please look upon us with your merciful heart. O noble Creator Dragon God. Please look upon us with your merciful heart.]

Ha-ha-ha. What a mess.

The only thing I could say while watching this chaos was,

“Do not be afraid.”

A phrase that was entirely not reassuring.

“I know what you fear, but my presence here is not for that reason. I am here just to ensure that what you are trying to do is properly accomplished.”

I looked around at the gathered dragons and said,

“So do what you must do.”

The Dragon Lord, agreeing with my words, spoke up.

[As the Creator Dragon God has said, we must do what we have to do. We don't want to waste our lives dozing off in dark caves where the sunlight doesn't reach anymore!]

[That's not too bad though!]

[Shut that guy up!!]

Ignoring the clueless dragon who was being targeted by the tails of the surrounding dragons, the Dragon Lord continued speaking.

[If we perform this task well, the Creator Dragon God will no longer extract us from our bodies to turn us into spirits! Thus, we will gain freedom!]

No, I'm not going to do that. This guy... He knows I won't get angry about that anymore and is using it to control the dragons...

[From this day forth, we will be called the Life Givers, and the Creator Dragon God will entrust us with the task of caring for the many lives in this world! We will be the workers who freely roam the world and nurture the tree of life according to the will of the Creator Dragon God!]

The task I entrusted to the Lord was merely to neutralize the rising malice from the ground, but why is the story going in that direction?

This guy... is sneakily expanding the scope of their assigned tasks...!

What's the intention? Surely he doesn't have a perverse hobby of increasing his workload!

[Now, O Creator Dragon God. Those who will follow your will have gathered, so please say a word to them.]

Huh? Suddenly turning the attention to me?

I'm not sure what he's hoping for, but... might as well play along.

"I'll be cheering you on, so do your best."

At the same time, the roaring voices of numerous dragons filled the world.

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

“So, what's the scheme?”

“Scheme?”

The Dragon Lord, polymorphed into a human form, calmly smiled and said,

“I just wanted to offer a different choice to my kin who were inclined to do nothing.”

“There was no need to involve me in that.”

“No, it was necessary.”

The Dragon Lord continued in a light tone,

“The last of the dragon era. The scene shown by the Creator Dragon God... became a strong bond for the surviving dragons. The sight of countless dragons losing their bodies and turning into spirits at your mere gesture... even thinking about it makes me tremble.”

I thought that was a bit harsh, but... it was what they had wanted.

Even knowing the outcome. It was what they had wanted.

"If that's the case, so what about the other dragons? They would think that if they fall out of your favor even slightly, they will end up like those spirits."

"I said I won't do that anymore."

"Even if you say so, it won't resonate the same with the other dragons. In such a situation... Voila. A new task has emerged."

"A new task..."

It must mean the task named Life Givers.

"A task directly ordered by the Creator Dragon God, named by you, and even supported by you. By doing this task... the dragons will have a faint belief that they won't be abandoned by you."

"I wouldn't abandon them in the first place."

"Even if you say so... it's different for the other dragons."

Are you saying the dragons were too scared to come out of their corners because of me?

Hmm... Indeed, I might have been a bit harsh back then...

"Anyway, now the dragons will start to move a bit, so I hope you continue to support them. If you do, all the dragons will move as if they were your limbs."

At those words, I nodded slightly.

Indeed, there wouldn't be a creature stronger than dragons on this land. Their usefulness would be unparalleled.

Though, I would have to worry about the balance of the world possibly collapsing due to their overwhelming strength.

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

Thus, the dragons began to neutralize the land brimming with malice... the land named the Dragon's Tomb, with their life force.

The dragons, who greatly increased life force with magic and washed away the malice with the increased life force.

While observing such dragons, I researched the condensed malice and also created a spring that would restore the life force of dragons who used too much of it.

A spring whose water was effective whether drunk or poured on the body. This spring was proving to be of considerable help to the dragons who had excessively used their life force.

But, building buildings around such a spring and eventually creating a grand temple... what's all that about?

Moreover, they offered me the best room in that temple. I'm a bit grateful, but I think this isn't necessary...

Well, it's not something I should worry about.

While conducting various research and observing the dragons' work, the Dragon Lord, with an urgent expression, opened the door to the room I was staying in.

"Creator Dragon God, the dark spirits are gathering."

"The dark spirits?"

"Yes. I've heard their numbers are countless. One of the dark spirits mentioned doing the task you assigned..."

At the Dragon Lord's words, I nodded slightly. It seems they have followed my instructions to gather as many dark spirits as possible.

"So many of them, it seems they have properly carried out the task I assigned."

It's good to have many hands on deck, so it seems they've brought a lot.

"Where are these dark spirits?"

"I will guide you."

Following the Dragon Lord's guidance, I headed towards the Dragon's Tomb.

[Creator Dragon God, we have carried out the task you assigned. Please give us the next instruction.]

I discovered a scene where numerous dark spirits, including shades, had gathered.

This is quite a spectacle. The land has completely turned into darkness.

"It's truly amazing. The malice cannot even approach the dark spirits."

"I'm a bit curious if other spirits are the same, but the priority is what we need to do first."

Approaching the largest spirit in front, Shade, I said,

"You've gathered quite a lot. Do you know how many there are?"

[We have gathered so many that counting them would be meaningless. We hope our efforts will be of help to the Creator Dragon God.]

Shade spoke politely. I looked at Shade and smiled slightly.

"The place where you'll work is still being prepared, so there's nothing to do right now... Un. For now, it might be good to learn how to transport souls."

[Transporting souls?]

"Yes. The task I'll assign to you is to bring the souls of the dead."

Right now, I don't have any souls to show you how it's done, but I'll have to teach you once I get some.

Ah, right.

"And for you, as the representative of the dark spirits who will be doing the tasks I assign, I have a gift."

[A gift, I am truly honored.]

I took out an item made using condensed malice.

A large scythe, entirely black, from the blade to the handle.

Un. Indeed, if you're a reaper, you'll need a scythe!

[This is….]

"It's a scythe made by materializing condensed malice. It's a weapon made for you, the leader of the dark spirits who transport souls."

I handed the large scythe to Shade, and Shade carefully accepted it.

As expected. A scythe that might be dangerous even to hold for other creatures has no effect on the shade, a dark spirit.

That aside, it suits him just as I thought.

And here's one more gift.

"I will give you a new name. You, the leader of those who transport the souls of the dead, will henceforth be called Thanatos."

The god of death from Greek mythology. That was the name I was giving him.

[Thanatos... my new name.]

"Yes. I look forward to working with you, Thanatos."

The dark spirit, who lost his name in life and was called a shade, now bore the name Thanatos and seemed very moved, bowing his head towards me.