Ignoring the two bickering silver-haired lolis, the man with black hair and eyes met the gaze of the golden-haired, golden-eyed girl.
"The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, Sun Wukong?" Su Mo spoke first.
"Yes! I didn't expect a great personage such as yourself to know my old title," the girl replied with a slightly pleased nod. "You can just call me Wukong, or Little Kong. But... how should I address you? The One God? The Savior? Or another title?"
Clearly, she had researched Su Mo's Divinity in detail and knew that the "Lord of Christianity" was merely his most commonly used persona, not a representation of his true essence.
"Just call me Su Mo," he said casually, not minding the formalities.
"Understood, Your Excellency Su Mo." The girl went along with it but did not omit the honorific. Though she was informal by nature and unbound by worldly rules, in her heart, Su Mo was the type of person who deserved extra respect, both in terms of power and status.
After replying, she seemed to remember something, and immediately bowed deeply and sincerely. "Speaking of which, there is something I've always wanted to thank you for, Lord Su Mo. I finally have the chance. Thank you!"
Seeing the girl, who in myth was supposed to be lively and mischievous, acting so polite and well-mannered, Su Mo was slightly surprised. "The Demon Lord who once wreaked havoc in Heaven is now so courteous?"
At Su Mo's teasing, the golden-haired girl scratched her cheek, a little embarrassed. "That was all in my immature past. Compared to the kingly might you showed when you intimidated the billions of gods, the past deeds of us Seven Great Demon Kings were nothing more than child's play."
After her modest remark, the golden-haired girl spoke with great sincerity. "As for my thanks just now, it is on behalf of my little sister, to express my gratitude to you. I received a letter from her. Little Jiaji was fortunate enough to have your aid, Your Excellency Su Mo, which is how she escaped from the hands of the Asura King."
Aside from Su Mo's refusal to save Little Garden with a mythological cosmology, Sun Wukong's impression of him was extremely positive. The origin of this favorable impression was little Jiaji's lavish praise and flattery of Su Mo in her letters.
Even a girl as clueless about love as Sun Wukong could tell that her youngest sister had fallen head over heels.
Coupled with his kindness toward Jiaji, the Seven Great Demon Kings almost naturally saw Su Mo as one of their own, and Sun Wukong, despite her conversion, was no exception.
Seen through this natural filter, and with Su Mo repeatedly shattering the pantheons' worldview, it was only natural for Sun Wukong to hold this hero, whose achievements far surpassed her own, in high esteem.
If Su Mo's recently revealed ideas hadn't been so shockingly unorthodox, he probably could have beckoned, and Sun Wukong, who already admired him, would have joined his banner.
"Little Jiaji?" Su Mo recalled the Garuda Demon King he had rescued and shook his head. "There's no need for thanks. Saving her was between her and me. Ultimately, it was at Indra's request. I was just helping Shiroyasha out."
"Even so, as her sworn elder sister, I must thank you." The golden-haired girl shook her head as well, a hint of self-reproach in her eyes. "Protecting my little sister was my responsibility. It was my failure that allowed little Jiaji to fall into that trap. If you hadn't intervened, completely crushed the Asura clan, and prevented the tragedy, no amount of regret from my brothers and sisters would have been enough."
"Little Jiaji's gratitude and admiration for you are her own affair. Our gratitude, as her sworn siblings, is ours!"
Such righteous and straightforward words, and such sincere emotion, were hard to refute.
"Alright," Su Mo nodded, then looked at the girl before him with an amused, teasing expression. "Since you put it that way, you must have come here to express your gratitude, and not to protest against me, or even become my enemy, right?"
"..." At these words, the golden-haired girl was rendered speechless, unable to get a word out.
She was normally an eloquent speaker and could have found room to argue, but deep down, she had her own code of conduct and knew she was in the wrong.
So, after a few seconds of stiffness, she lowered her head guiltily, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "S-Sorry!"
However, despite her shame, she forced herself to look up and express her will. "I am truly grateful for your help with little Jiaji. But when the safety of Little Garden is at stake, I cannot turn a blind eye."
She took a deep breath, lifted her head, and looked at Su Mo with determination. "Emotionally and morally, I am in the wrong. But I cannot let personal feelings sway my judgment like the decadent gods and buddhas."
"So, in addition to thanking you, I am here to question you!"
"Afterward, you can punish me however you see fit, humiliate me as you wish, but I will not give up until you answer my questions."
Facing this powerhouse who surpassed the billions of gods, who had defeated Humanity's Last Embryo without a scratch, who stood above all gods and buddhas, the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, with a mere 3-digit Divinity, puffed out her chest and met his gaze head-on.
Her eyes were as bright as the morning star, displaying a will that would never compromise or surrender, even if it meant death on the spot.
Even among the billions of gods, those who could stay true to their own will and display such a noble posture could probably be counted on one hand.
Facing the girl's awe-inspiring interest, Su Mo leaned back on his throne, his left hand propping up his cheek, and spoke in the nonchalant tone of a king. "State your question."
"Why would you watch someone die and do nothing to save them?" The girl got straight to the point without any preamble. "You already have a safe method to save Little Garden, so why do you insist on such an unrealistic and dangerous path?"
This was Sun Wukong's view, and also the shared view of the billions of gods. Even gods like Sun Wukong, Indra, and Zeus, who had once supported Su Mo in the face of Humanity's Last Embryo, were now confused and hesitant after learning of his decision.
His idea was simply too dangerous; a single misstep could lead to the destruction of all of Little Garden.
"An unrealistic and dangerous path?" Hearing the expected topic, Su Mo asked back, disinterested. "Are you talking about supporting anthropocentrism? Choosing to create a human-side Origin?"
"Precisely!" Sun Wukong nodded.
"As a Celestial Spirit-side Origin candidate, why would you oppose a human-side Origin candidate?" Su Mo questioned. "Is there some conflict between Celestial Spirits and humans?"
"No, that's not it! That's not the problem." Sun Wukong shook her head and quickly explained. "Although I am a Celestial Spirit-side Origin candidate, I'm not interested in the debate between anthropocentrism and theocentrism. I don't care whose theory it is, as long as it ensures the continuation of Little Garden."
"But humans are too weak right now. The foundation of the human-side Origin is too fragile to support a complete cosmology. With the final deadline approaching, for the sake of Little Garden's continuation, shouldn't we choose the more complete and mature mythological cosmology as the final answer?" she said, naturally stating the argument that all the billions of gods agreed with.
Even Kurma, standing to the side, stopped her squabble with Shiroyasha and nodded in approval. After speaking, both of them focused their gazes on Su Mo, awaiting his answer.
To this, Su Mo countered with a question. "The human-side cosmology is too weak. Who told you that?"
"The World-Honored One. But isn't it a fact?"
"A fact? A fact that the gods use to deny the growth of human history?" Su Mo shook his head. "To date, the two great Demon Lords born from human history have both possessed power that even the combined forces of all the pantheons could not resist. In the face of this fact, to still believe that human history is weak is nothing but the arrogance of the gods."
"..." Su Mo's perspective left everyone slightly stunned.
"But aren't both of those Human Last Embryos God Species?" Kurma scratched her head, confused. Wasn't their strength the strength of the gods?
"Idiot! Without the backing of human history, their true forms would be nothing more than ordinary 3-digit beings," Shiroyasha, who understood Su Mo's thinking perfectly, immediately lectured Kurma with a smug air.
The backing of human history was a far more crucial factor than their status as gods.
"But even so, at the current level of human civilization, it's impossible for them to have the ability to overcome the apocalypse, right?" After a few seconds of thought, Sun Wukong was still not convinced. "Modern society can't even overcome natural disasters. How could it possibly handle an apocalypse that surpasses them?"
The common belief among the gods that human history was not qualified to bear hope was both arrogance and a reflection of reality. Compared to the gods, even twenty-first-century humans were far too fragile.
"Mhm, mhm!" Hearing this, Kurma nodded eagerly and waved a petite fist.
"Little Kong-Kong is right!" She was relieved she had brought Sun Wukong along. Otherwise, she would have been completely defenseless against Su Mo in a verbal debate.
She had heard that Sun Wukong was also an eloquent speaker. Judging by her sharp mind, she should at least be able to go toe-to-toe with Su Mo.
Just as she was thinking this…
"Foolish." Without a hint of condescension, Su Mo gave his objective assessment.
"Your Excellency Su Mo?" The golden-haired girl wore a look of astonishment, clearly not expecting Su Mo to suddenly resort to a personal attack.
Before she could ask, she heard Su Mo's follow-up. "Have you never been to school? Don't get defensive, I'm not insulting you. I'm asking if you have a modern educational background related to human technology and history. A high school education counts."
"I..." The girl puffed out her chest, ready to retort at the first sentence. But at the second, her chest immediately deflated.
The traditional education she had received was mostly related to magical arts. She really had no knowledge of modern schooling. "I haven't... why do you suddenly bring this up?" she asked, puzzled.
"Technological explosion," Su Mo said in a flat tone. "If you understood the meaning of this phrase, you would understand that to modern humans, all the opinions of the gods are meaningless."
"Huh?" Sun Wukong blinked and looked at Kurma in confusion, seeking help from the Full Authority Domain.
However…
"What are you looking at me for?" Seeing the silver-haired loli's clear yet clueless eyes, Sun Wukong silently retracted her expectations.
Never mind. I'm a vocational school graduate, at best. Lady Kurma is a kindergarten dropout, at most!