“The idols made in our image that can usually be found around the world are rather… How do I put it… I guess in the words of you Japanese, the closest thing would be those ‘doujinshi’ of yours.” [Gayn]
“…Wow. Okay. That’s a pretty crazy example you’re giving there.” [Ryouma]
“You made our idols in our image after seeing us and talking with us face-to-face, right? Unfortunately, for most people, that’s simply impossible, so they have no choice but to make do with the descriptions that have been passed down and supplement the rest with their imagination. That’s why, no matter how impressive a rendition of us may be to humans, we can’t help but be easily irritated by them.” [Kufo]
“In the past, the humans were a lot closer to us, so there were a lot of people who could see us and feel us, but now, the renditions of us are a complete mess. Depending on the place, they would swap our genders around, and sometimes they would even turn us into something that’s not even human anymore!” [Rurutia]
“There are even those who’ve started turning us into gods from another religion. I know that they can’t help it, but there’s just way too many idols going around that don’t look like us one bit.” [Tekun]
“To be honest, the genders of gods are a pretty vague thing in the first place since we can change ourselves into whatever form we want if we really wanted to, but our current appearance is our most natural and relaxed form. That’s why there’s no point in going out of our way to transform ourselves into something else. And while the power of the gods might be capable of practically anything, its influence is too great. Use it too much, and the only fate that awaits the world is destruction. Changing our appearance isn’t so important that it’s worth the risk.” [Gayn]
“I see…” [Ryouma]
So the gods have their own worries too, huh…
“Alright, I more or less get what the ‘Idol Craftsman’ title is about. So, I guess the obvious next question is ‘should I hide this title from others?” [Ryouma]
“Given your personality, I think you’ll be better off hiding it. Craftsman-related titles appear when a work made with us as the subject is able to achieve a certain level of quality, so people possessing such titles do appear from time to time, but these people are still often invited by various places and people, like the nobles and the church.” [Tekun]
“After all, possessing a craftsman-related title is the same thing as being a craftsman acknowledged by the gods. A carpenter or any construction related craftsman would be invited to build temples or other related facilities. The clergy won’t treat them poorly, but they’ll definitely want to keep them. It’s also a chance to make it big in life for normal people.
Well, if it’s a proper clergyman, then he’ll definitely try to avoid being forceful, so it’s not like you won’t be able to refuse if you found yourself in such a position. And in the worst case scenario that you end up getting eyed by some weird guy, you can just hide behind the duke’s family. I don’t think it would really be a problem for you.” [Kufo]
“I never planned on spreading word of my new title anyway, but I’ll be sure to take care.” [Ryouma]
“That would be for the best. Tekun may have said that craftsman-related titles appear from time to time, but what he didn’t mention is that the idol craftsman is an exception. Due to the various reasons we mentioned earlier, the Idol Craftsman title hasn’t appeared in a long time~” [Rurutia]
Rurutia just said that without a care in the world. Maybe she’s a little tipsy, but regardless, after hearing that, I can’t help but be more vigilant about the title.
“Depending on how you play your cards, you could use it to negotiate with the church. But that would only be possible if an opportunity presents itself. Anyhow, it’s not really something you should worry about too much. If you just take things in stride and act as if you don’t have a title to hide, people won’t find out about it either.” [Gayn]
“You got that right. After all, any human is bound to get a title or two as long as they live.” [Tekun]
After hearing Gayn and Tekun say that, I decided not to mind the title.
But are titles really that easy to come by?
From the sound of it, it seems as if there are people who received titles even without them personally bestowing it.
I was curious, so I asked them about it.
“That’s right. There are two kinds of title given to people. One kind is given by us directly.” [Tekun]
“And the other type is automatically given when the conditions we set beforehand are cleared. To put it in Earthling terms, it’s like those bots in those social networking services you have back there.” [Gayn]
“A bot? That’s another modern term…” [Ryouma]
“Because that’s really is how it is. There are a lot of ubiquitous ones among the titles given out automatically… Remember how the bride and the groom gets a ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ title on their status board? That’s something that happens globally, and the number of people who get those titles even in just a single day is crazy. We may be gods but that doesn’t mean we can distribute those titles one person at a time. There’d be no end to it.” [Gayn]