Much to my surprise, Mr. Mittens's cat patrols proved to be effective.
If they spotted trouble, they immediately informed the nearest guard
checkpoint and called over the peacekeepers. If they saw something suspicious,
they tailed them and kept an eye on their actions. They also got the attention of
adults when their kids were doing dangerous stuff.
They managed a lot, all without the ability to speak. The townspeople ended
up being so thankful for the cats that nobody minded them being all over the
danged place.
Usually a large increase in the amount of cats would mean fish might get
stolen, or stray fighting would break out... But I never heard anything about
that. Apparently Mr. Mittens was quite the skilled leader... When it came to
cats, at least.
There were occasional incidents where traveling adventurers would try to
treat the cats poorly, but they'd always end up being found in back alleys with
their clothes shredded to pieces. Their bodies were found covered in scratches,
as well. The number of injuries implied they'd been attacked by a considerably
sized group, too. The amount of adventurers that tormented animals for fun
sharply declined after a few of these incidents. Cats were animals, but they
were still capable of retaliation. It seemed like most of the adventurers who fell
victim to these attacks ended up being so afraid of cats afterward that they
packed up and left town shortly after.
Thus, the cats had earned their rightful place in Brunhild.
"What's suspicious about this person, anyway?"
"Well..." Mr. Mittens and I were lurking in the shadows, watching someone
sitting in the guild bar. Fiana was with Sakura at the castle, so Mr. Mittens was
off guard-duty for the day.
This alleged suspicious person was slowly drinking sake at the edge of the bar.
I couldn't see their face, because they were wearing a dirty, hooded robe, but I
definitely considered them female instead of male. That was just my gut instinct
talking, though.
Her hands and legs jutted from the robe, and I could see they were clad in
armored gloves and greaves. That led me to believe she was a knight.
I guess if the cats found her suspicious, then there was cause for concern...
but I didn't think we needed to be so guarded. I didn't want to intrude on her
personal circumstances. She might have had her own reasons for her disguise.
"She's plenty suspicious, but the purrcise thing about her that bothers me is
that... She doesn't smell of anything."
"No scent? Huh..."
"Everyone smells of something. At the very least, there's sweat and body
odor. Purrfume is often used to cover that up, but having no smell at all is
pawsitively unusual."
That made sense enough to me. Cats might not have had a sense of smell as
acute as a dogs', but they could still smell better than humans. From what I
heard, cats used scent to judge the quality of their meals, and also to mark their
human owners with their own smells by rubbing against their legs.
In other words, if the cats found her smell suspicious, then it was probably
suspicious.
"There are three purrfectly valid possibilities here." Mr. Mittens suddenly
raised three of his 'fingers' into the air. He was surprisingly dexterous for a cat.
"Firstly, the scent is being masked with magic. Like maybe with an artifact or
something, meow. Secondly, she's undead. But then she'd smell like death at
least, so that's not likely. She could be a spirit though, that would still count...
And then there's the third option! She could be a Golem or a magic construct.
But I've never seen a Golem her size before. That's why I think option one is
most likely."
There were Golems known as Flesh Golems that were made of bodies, kind of
like Frankenstein's Monster... But they still counted as undead creatures.
They'd surely emanate the stink of death.
If her scent was being erased by magic, I couldn't even begin to think why
she'd do that. I didn't even know a spell like that existed, but there were
definitely Null spells with all kinds of uses. One would use a deodorant-style
magic if they stunk really badly, but this town was equipped with public
bathhouses... If she could afford to drink sake in a bar, she could definitely
afford to take a bath.
"She hasn't done anything, right? All she's done is... lack a smell."
"You're too optimistic, meowlord. If you wait until she does something, then
it's already too late, right? We need to act before then, don't you know that?"
Really...? She's just sitting there drinking sake, it's not like... Oh...? Two drunk
adventurers suddenly walked over toward the hooded woman. It looked like
they were trying to pick a fight. She definitely stood out, so it wasn't too
surprising that she'd be confronted at some point...
I briefly wondered whether or not interfering was the right thing to do.
Just as I was about to make a move, one of the adventurers harassing the
woman was blasted away in the blink of an eye. I was taken aback. He ended up
being flung out of the bar completely, crashing headfirst into the ground. The
hooded women had barely made a move.
The man was pretty damned big and tall, so the woman must have been
packing serious strength to fling him so far.
I poked my head inside again, and almost got hit by the second adventurer,
who was hurtling out the door in much the same fashion. Whoa! I pulled back
and watched in awe as the man crumbled to the ground near his friend. Then, I
looked back into the bar and saw the hooded woman had returned to her glass
of sake, seemingly unfazed by what had just happened. The woman had serious
balls, it seemed.
"Hey, you piece of shit!"
"Who do you think you are, huh?!" The two men stumbled to their feet, drew
their weapons, and tried to get back into the bar. They were completely drunk.
It was time for me to step in.
"That's enough. Take it any further and there'll be trouble. A bar fight I can
understand, but the moment weapons come out I can't accept it. Put your
weapons away."
"What's that, brat?! You a friend of the hooded idiot?"
"Get the hell outta my way! You wanna get messed up?!" They were seriously
treating me like a child. I wasn't a seventeen-year-old anymore, but physically I
hadn't really aged in the last year or so, so sometimes people treated me like I
was still a kid. It added further credibility to the idea that my Divinity had
somehow halted my aging. I might have even become an immortal, but I wasn't
in a hurry to test that out.
"What's going on here?"
"There's some adventurers causing a fuss."
"Wait, that's the grand duke!" A crowd had gathered without me even
realizing it. There were some kids waving to me, even.
"Go get them, milord!"
"You can do it!"
"Go beat them up, milord!"
Wait, no... That's not what this situation is!
I sighed slightly and gave a dismissive wave towards the kids, they seemed a
little disappointed by my pacifistic intentions, but then one of the drunks tried
to slash me.
"Grargh!" I dodged him, but his attack would've missed anyway. His whole
posture was bad and his feet were unsteady; he was steaming drunk.
Either way, he was a risk.
Paralyzing him with a bullet would do the job, but I didn't want the crowd to
think I'd just murdered someone. I decided to take him out conventionally.
I dodged his next attack and touched him with a spot of [Paralysis]. The other
man saw his comrade go down like a puppet with its strings cut. He charged at
me with his blade, but I used [Power Rise] to catch it between my fingers and
snap it off. It was a cheap weapon, evidently.
"What the...?!"
Then, I used [Paralysis] to take the second guy out.
"Hmph..." Just after I took them out, Guildmaster Relisha came out to see the
commotion.
"Your Highness? What's going on out here?"
"Ah... I just took down two violent drunks. They're adventurers, so give them
a formal warning, if you could."
The guild couldn't oversee everyone who decided to become an adventurer,
but they still had the power to punish them if they did something that harmed
the guild's general image. Such punishments could range from taking treasure
away, all the way to revoking a guild card. I'd even heard rumors of a secret
guild assassin squad, but those weren't proven.
"Got it. I'll give them a stern warning. If they do it again, we'll treat them
more harshly. That being said, trying to attack a monarch is a grave offense, and
would usually warrant the death penalty."
"Well, I'll let them go this time." Some members of the guild came out and
dragged the two fallen men inside. They were paralyzed, but they could still see
and hear everything around them. Which probably meant they knew who I was,
now. Their faces had gone completely pale. They looked a lot more sober than
they had a few moments ago.
"I have a question."
"Whuh?!" I let out a startled cry at the mysterious and unexpected voice from
behind me. The source of the voice was the girl who had been drinking at the
bar. ...I didn't notice her at all, what the hell? Her voice is definitely female, but
even so...
"You were referred to as Your Highness and the like. That makes you this
country's sovereign, does it not?"
"Er... Sovereign's a weird way to put it, but yes, I'm the grand duke."
"Then that means you are Morcheezooki Towya. Am I right?" I nodded
awkwardly at the woman's words. Even if her pronunciation was a little stilted.
What the hell is this? Is she another foreign assassin? But she doesn't look like
she's from Yulong...
"We must talk. Privately. I won't take much of your time."
"...Alright." I was a little reluctant in following someone this suspicious, but I
didn't feel any hostility from her. I was also curious in exactly what it was she
wanted to tell me.
It felt strange walking behind the hooded woman, but I was finding it hard to
put into words. It was like following a robot. There was no feeling in the way
she moved.
I left Mr. Mittens behind, and she took me to the eastern area of a nearby
forest, close to a river.
She looked around to be sure there was nobody else in the vicinity, and she
dropped her hood. Her face was fully exposed.
"What...?!" I instinctively jumped back and reached for my gun, leveling the
sights on the woman immediately. The face that my gun was pointed at was
absolutely beautiful; she was one of the most beautiful girls I'd ever seen.
But that wasn't the problem. The problem was her red eyes. Her red eyes and
hard 'hair,' the way the sun glittered and reflected from the top of her head.
The way she shimmered much like the creatures I'd seen in Roadmare, and then
later on in Xenoahs.
"A Dominant Construct...?!" Shit, how did one infiltrate Brunhild?! The sensors
didn't go off!
"Please wait. My intention is not to fight you."
"...What?" You don't want to fight? What?
"I am Lycee. If you are this Mocheyzuki Tooya, then you know Endymion, do
you not?"
"Endymion...? You mean Ende?" He had a name like that? Man...
"Endymion has not yet returned from the space between worlds. The effort
should not be monumental. That is why I would like to request you retrieve
him."
"Retrieve...?" I was extremely suspicious of this chick and had no idea what to
think. Suddenly the girl, Lycee, threw something towards me from beneath her
robe. It was a small triangular prism, around ten centimeters in length.
"If you pour magical power into this... Then Endymion shall be called here,
apparently."
"Apparently?"
"That is what Endymion told me. I have never tried it. I lack what this world
refers to as magical power. He said that if I was ever to be in trouble, then I
needed to seek out the sovereign of Brunhild. Mochizukey Tohya."
What the hell... This chick is definitely a Dominant Construct, so why's she
working with Ende? Isn't he an enemy of the Phrase? Is this a trap, maybe? I
glanced over to Lycee with suspicious eyes, but I read no emotion on her at all.
Still, something about her felt different to the other two I'd encountered
before.
I poured a little of my magic into the prism, but nothing really happened. Is it
broken...?
After that failure, I gradually increased the amount of magic I was pouring
into the prism, until I'd filled it with about a tenth of my total magic. Then, it
shattered into several tiny shards.
"Whoa!" I pulled my hand back from the splintered prism, and the debris
floated up into the air to form a large circle. Ende suddenly appeared inside the
middle of the circle, passing through it almost like it was one of my portals.
"Ah. Touya, huh? About time... You really saved me. If you hadn't done that, it
would've been another half-year or so before I could come back. Thanks... Man,
I'm back now, Lycee."
"I see you've returned, Endymion." Ende smiled as if nothing out of the
ordinary was happening. His scarf fluttered in the breeze as he set foot upon
this world once more.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Man, where should I even start..."
"Tell me everything. I'd like to know all the details from the beginning." Ende
began speaking as he sipped his freshly-brewed tea. We were both sitting in my
castle. Lycee sat next to him, sipping her own tea much in the same way she
had been sipping her sake earlier.
The only other person in the room was me. I wasn't keeping anyone else in
the dark, I just wanted to be sure of the situation first. It was serious.
"That means I might end up talking for a while, is that fine?"
"That's fine. Let's start with something simple. That girl, Lycee. Is she one of
the Dominants?"
"She is, yes." Ende continued to sip at his tea.
"The Dominant Constructs are the highest tier of the Phrase species, right?"
"That's correct. Lesser Constructs, Intermediate Constructs, Upper Constructs,
and Dominant Constructs. Above them there is only the Sovereign. The
Dominant Constructs, as the name suggests, exert dominance over anything
lesser than them. They also have higher capacity for intelligence and emotion.
Well, they're not very good at the whole emotion thing, mostly." He flashed me
a wry smile as he looked from Lycee to me.
"Let me just get one thing straight, then. This girl isn't an enemy, right?"
"The concept of an enemy depends on circumstances, Touya. If you and your
allies decided you wanted to kill the Sovereign, then that would make us your
enemy." Ende glanced at me, a subtle hint of challenge in his eyes.
"Are you one of the Phrase, Ende?"
"I might've mentioned it in the past, but I'm simply one who crosses worlds.
I've been called many things in the past. A drifter, a Shift Walker, l'etranger...
The list goes on. I was born in a world that exists 'higher' on the ladder of
reality, at least compared to this one. I have the ability to traverse worlds, up
and down, but only worlds 'below' my own. I don't have omnipotent power."
So he can move between worlds... That's an incredible power, honestly... Still,
he said he can only cross to lower worlds, but I wonder if that means he could
visit Earth, too...
"During my travels, I found myself on a certain planet. It was the world the
Phrase came from. The Crystal Planet, Phrasia. It was there that I met the
Sovereign Phrase. Though the title is gender-neutral, it might be best to refer to
her as a queen in this sense. She was a woman, after all."
Huh... The Sovereign Phrase is female?
"We spoke with one another about many topics. We spent many years
together on that world... It was nice. Eventually, she, well... She wished to live
with me. I too, wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. But my people, the
Drifters... We simply can't settle down. We can't chain ourselves to one world.
We Drifters are driven by the sense of exploration and freedom that a new
world brings. That's why she decided she would come with me. There are
geniuses in other worlds, after all... And it took her some time, but she came up
with her solution. Her method to traverse worlds."
That makes sense. Just because a world is lower on a ladder doesn't mean it's
necessarily inferior. The scientific advancement on Earth is far beyond the stuff
in this world, but the magitech stuff that can be applied here is leaps and
bounds past some of our stuff. We can't instantly heal any wounds on Earth like
they can here with magic, after all. But still... traversing worlds like that...
"So you're telling me she became the Sovereign Core, breached the boundary
of worlds, started to absorb power from people in the new worlds, and used
that energy to climb upward... Right?"
"Right. Her hypothesis was that if she reached the heights that I originally
came from, she could acquire a method to become an existence like me. Then,
and only then, would we be able to live a full life together. That was her plan."
Ende looked downward, casting a sad frown to the floor. Lycee didn't seem to
pay much attention. She was munching on Lu's cookies like a small woodland
creature. Small, cautious bites. She was fine with the sake, fine with the tea,
and now fine with the cookies... But she ate really slow. I wondered if she had
ever tried these things before. I turned away from her and looked back to Ende
as he spoke up once more.
"The Dominant Constructs protested this, of course. The most vehement of
her protesters was the one that I encountered the other day, Ney."
"You met Ney, Endymion?" Lycee stopped her slow gnaw to question her
companion.
"Hm? Oh, yeah. She's looking healthy."
"I see." Lycee shrugged and began eating the cookies again. She wasn't
expressing much in the way of emotion, but it seemed like she was familiar with
Ney to some extent.
"Yeah. I was attacked after that actually, by one calling himself Gila."
"Oh, that guy? He's a total hothead. He's one of the people after her power,
y'know."
Yeah that doesn't surprise me at all. He seemed like a pompous kind of guy.
"Back to the story... the Dominants protested her decision to travel across
worlds. They all had their reasons, of course. Some were scared for her safety,
some wanted to keep her strength in the world's ecosystem, some simply
wished to take her power for their own. The Sovereign is the lifeblood of all
Phrase, and gives them their supernatural resilience. Without the Sovereign, all
Phrasekind would lose that power. They were scared of what might happen.
None of them realized that all they had to do was agree on a new Sovereign to
keep the species unified. Even if they didn't have the same power she had, they
could still go on. She hoped that they'd come to realize that in time, and left the
world of the Phrase with me at last."
"So it was like you were eloping because her family protested the marriage,
huh...?"
Ende smiled a little bitterly at my comment.
"I guess that's an appropriate analogy, yes. I didn't kidnap her or anything, we
simply wished for the same thing. We did fine for a while. We ascended worlds
together. When her core made a pit stop in order to gather enough energy, I
would while away my days exploring the new world, meeting people and
visiting places. I was alone, but she was with me in spirit. When it was time for
her to move, I would move with her. Once she emerged from the body of the
local lifeforms, I could sense her presence, and I knew it was time to go. But
then one day, something unprecedented happened. The Phrase began invading
a world that we were staying in."
"Wait, wait. You mean the other Phrase gained the power she had to move
across worlds?"
"In a sense, yes. She tried several different methods of crossing the boundary.
The easiest was to tear at the fabric between worlds, and force her way
through. But she and I agreed that such a method was risky, and decided not to
employ it. Shattering the boundary of a world's protective barrier would leave
that world completely vulnerable to external threats, after all. We wanted to
avoid the loss of innocent life in our pursuit of greater heights. That's why she
became a core in a death-like state, and used a more benign method to travel.
But a certain faction of the Phrase back on the home world discovered the
more dangerous path, and began forcibly ripping down worlds to come after
us." What came to mind was the image of Ende running away with the daughter
of a mafia Godfather, and the criminal goons coming after him in violent
pursuit.
Naturally in that kind of story, the hero would be shot to pieces if they were
ever found.
"We left that world before they could find her, and we escaped unscathed.
But we later learned that the world we fled from was completely annihilated. It
was then that I met with Lycee, and she informed me of what was going on.
Since then we've been chased, trying not to stay too long and hoping others
wouldn't get harmed."
"I understand how you're traveling, but what about that girl... Lycee? How
about her?" I didn't get it. If Ende could bring someone with him, then why did
the Sovereign bother entering a near-dead state?
"I can bring one or two people across worlds with me, it just takes a little
longer. But what the Sovereign... What she wished for wasn't simple
movement. She wanted growth, evolution. She wanted to move alongside me,
not just because of me." That made sense enough, kinda. It was more like her
goal was to be reborn, go from Phrase to another being entirely. In a sense, that
made her similar to me. Only I'd achieved it.
But I'd been directly changed by God Almighty himself. If she was slowly
ascending the spiral staircase of world hierarchy, then I'd taken the express
elevator straight to the top and been granted special privileges.
"We'd been ascending the worlds one by one, but they've been lurking
outside each world, getting the timing right and attacking us right as we leave
the protection of the barrier. There are worlds with stronger boundaries than
others. Any time we were in a world with a weak boundary, they'd pour
through and try to reclaim the Sovereign. Many of the worlds were capable,
too. A lot of races from other worlds were capable of fending them off.
Naturally, I lent them my aid as well. Just like I've been working in this world,
too. I've been killing them wherever I can, holding them back and preventing
them from hurting her. Finally, we reached this world, some several thousand
years ago... And it was here that a massive Phrase invasion happened."
That was the great invasion from five-thousand years ago, then... So Ende
really was here back then.
"I had to step in at the time, too. The Sovereign was very close to being found,
humanity was being razed pretty hard. I fought as hard as I could, but I was only
one person. Lycee didn't assist me."
"I have no intention of raising a hand to my kin. I simply wish to see where the
Sovereign arrives in the end."
"She's just like that..." Ende shrugged a bit. Lycee clearly had no intention of
fighting against the Phrase.
"Back then, the boundary protecting this world was completely shredded. The
Phrase poured in, overflowing and destroying everything in their path. There
were Dominant Constructs all over, too. It was a full-scale invasion. Humanity
and the beast races were unable to do a thing. Honestly, I was going to give up.
I was going to find the Sovereign, take her with me, and leap to another world.
But just as things reached their lowest... the barrier was repaired. I don't know
how or why. But I knew that there was something I could do. I used my abilities
to move all Upper Constructs and Dominant Constructs outside the barrier. Just
like I did to Ney the last time, but on a much larger scale. But the strain it put on
my body caused me to lose my powers for five-thousand years. I was no longer
able to traverse worlds. I was trapped between worlds, floating until now. After
I moved us all outside, the people of this world diligently killed all the Lesser
and Intermediate Constructs, apparently. Then, after my powers returned, I
came across you, Touya." Ende's long-winded explanation took me by surprise.
This is a pretty broad scale, holy crap... How many worlds has he been
through, I wonder... Just how long has he been alive...?
"I think it's unfortunate that in attempting to prevent other worlds from
coming to harm, you actually herded danger toward them."
"Indeed. I won't excuse myself here. If we hadn't come here five-thousand
years ago, many people would've survived. We've been sacrificing the safety of
other worlds, of millions of lifeforms, for our own selfish ends. But there's no
way we could stop now. We've come so far, to stop now would be an affront to
our original promise. I will take her with me, no matter what. Even if every
world becomes my enemy." Ende's determination danced along his gaze. He
was determined, but oh so irresponsible. He was selfish, and she was selfish.
They really were only considering themselves. But he acknowledged that and
owned up to it, and still carried on. I couldn't admire him for that, but I could
respect the incredible willpower he required to live with such guilt.
"Now you've heard my story, Touya. What will you do with this knowledge?"
"...Really there's nothing I can do about the situation as it is. This world will
end if it comes to the point where the Phrase acquire the Sovereign Core,
because they'd likely have to slaughter millions to find it. Taking care of you
wouldn't do much, honestly. I don't want the Phrase to kill us. I'll wipe out any
Upper or Dominant Constructs as they come to us. No matter what you want to
do, that's what my plan is." I stared at Lycee as I made my declaration, knowing
full well she probably didn't want her ilk to die. In response, she opened her
mouth.
"I cannot approve, but neither can I stand in your way. If you truly must do
battle with my kin, then I will remain an onlooker."
Guess that means she won't do anything even if I declare war. Good.
"Then you won't complain if I commit genocide against the Phrase?"
"We are the species that moved to attack other worlds to begin with. We are
immoral. If the Phrase must die for their hubris, then I will accept that as my
species' fate." Part of me wondered if she wasn't fighting so that she wouldn't
be killed, too. The Phrase wouldn't go extinct so long as she was alive, after all.
Oh, wait... There'd still be some Phrase hanging around on their home world, I
think. The ones attacking this world are separated from the original species,
after all. Like a rogue force.
"I would like anyone targeting my Sovereign to die. I'm more than happy with
making use of your strength to let that happen, Touya. In fact... I have a
question for you... Are... Are you really a human from this world, Touya?" He hit
me right in the sore spot. But as a Drifter, he could probably recognize some
parts of me that didn't fit here.
"...I'm not, no. I wasn't born in this world. That being said, I can't travel across
worlds like you can. I consider this world my home now."
"You can't pass through worlds...? Then how did you come here...? Oh, were
you perhaps caught up in some kind of natural disaster? A random drifter,
then?"
"Well, something like that..." If you could consider god himself a natural
disaster, then yes.
◇ ◇ ◇
The Sovereign Phrase was in a state that was much like death, so she was
probably unaware of what was going on. In the end, those people who were
pursuing her to take her power away looked like nothing more than creepy and
shameless stalkers to me.
Even so, I feel like if she'd given herself up, the other worlds would've
probably been safe. I think she should've spoken to them more before,
honestly.
Apparently, Ende had advised her on this and had her appoint a successor
before they left, but she was simply too talented a leader for a lot of the Phrase
to accept the new leader. The Phrase home world divided into two distinct
factions. Those that obeyed the will of the new leader, and those that did not.
The ones that did not acquired the power to forcibly travel through worlds, and
began their pursuit of their Sovereign.
It seemed there were geniuses amongst the Dominant Constructs, but none
came close to her in terms of skill. It also seemed like a lot of the Dominant
Constructs had their own goals in regards of what they wanted to do with her,
and they were all in different minds about how to proceed.
Lycee was absolutely intent on not interfering with any side of the conflict.
She moved with Ende, but offered aid to neither him nor her species. Even so,
some of the Dominant Constructs considered her a turncoat.
If you asked me, it was a little hypocritical of them to refer to her as traitor
when they were the ones not abiding by the will of their leader. A bunch of
annoying, hypocritical stalkers.
They honestly felt like children who couldn't bear to be apart from their
caregiver.
I was reminded of something Kousaka had told me, though. That I couldn't let
people constantly depend on me to fix all their problems.
If Brunhild kept on counting on me to fix everything up, they could end up
messing up in the same way as the Phrase.
It wasn't my country. It was the people's country. I pledged to never forget
that.
Ende's Dragoon shimmered in the morning sun as it stood in a field out of
town. I'd finished patching it up, so I returned it to him.
Apparently the sensor board hadn't reacted to Lycee because she was a
Dominant Construct, and our equipment simply didn't have the right
parameters to pick her up. I wanted to use the chance to figure out what kind of
wavelength a Dominant Construct emitted, but Lycee informed me that Phrase
of her level of strength could easily mute those waves, even for other Phrase.
Apparently they kept in a state of no-wave generation in order to prevent
interference with their subordinates. It was like a built-in stealth mode... Lycee
was functionally undetectable, but she wasn't hostile so it was fine. I did ask her
if we could record a sample just in case, but she flat-out denied me. It was a
pain, but I didn't push it.
I called out to Ende.
"What now, then?"
"I'll keep on hunting any Phrase that come through, like I have been. I'll do it
until she's ready to leave this world."
When's that gonna be, I wonder... Even if we spare this world, won't the next
one just be in the same situation?
Nobody knew where the Sovereign would go next. It was likely that even she
didn't know. Ende would continue to loyally follow her, though. He'd keep on
protecting her from her pursuers.
In all honesty, I wanted to wipe out the Phrase while they were still targeting
this world. I couldn't bear to think what might happen if they attacked Earth.
I understand Ende's perspective on the matter, though. If I was forced to pick
between the people I cared about or many people that didn't mean anything to
me, the older me might've been conflicted. But the me right now would sacrifice
countless strangers in order to protect the people that matter.
If someone told me right now that if I didn't destroy the Sovereign Core, then
everyone I loved would die, then I'd fight against Ende in a heartbeat.
If our positions were reversed, I might've made the same decision he did. I
could feel a strange sense of kinship in our philosophies.
Ende clambered into the cockpit. Lycee put her hood back on and climbed
into the palm of the Frame Gear's hand. He let the wheels fall to the ground,
shifting to high-speed mode.
"Well, Touya. I'll catch you later."
"Yep." The Dragoon began to pick up speed, sliding along the ground and
kicking up a dust cloud. Its form slowly faded into the distance.
"Here you were, Touya."
"Oh, Yumina." I turned around to see Kohaku and Yumina. I'd told the others
about Ende and his story the day beforehand. They were surprised, but we still
decided to stick to our current plan. If the Phrase kept attacking us, then we
were going to resist them.
Yumina stood by my side as the tiny Dragoon on the horizon faded from sight.
"If... If you went back to your old world, Touya, then..."
"Hm? What's with that line of thought all of a sudden?"
"I was thinking about it, and... If I couldn't live with you, Touya. I wouldn't
want to go on. I would've looked for a method to travel across worlds as well."
It seemed like she'd been thinking about Ende and the Sovereign. They loved
each other, and that was why they were so determined to be together. It was a
tragedy that their determination triggered so much despair for so many people,
but if I was sent back to my world, I'd do my best to meet with Yumina and the
others again as well.
If I said something like "I'm trying to find a way to travel to another world"
back on Earth, then they'd probably think I was insane. But I wouldn't let that
stop me. Even if I had to resort to suspicious or occult means, I'd try everything
in my power to get there.
If I couldn't live with the girls who meant so much to me, then there'd be no
point in living at all.
I placed my hand on Yumina's shoulder and pulled her into a gentle embrace.
"It's okay. I'm not going anywhere. Even if I get whisked away to another
world, I'll come back to you. I'll ask god, and he'll oblige. I'm sure."
"God, huh... It'd be nice if he listened to your prayers." Yumina smiled softly.
Heh... I'm not kidding, you know.
I'll protect this smile. I'll keep you all by my side, forever. I'll walk to the future
with all of you, hand in hand. I'll do my very best, I promise.
I embraced her tightly as I made my quiet declaration.
"Ah, Touya." We were passing by the training field. Lu was sitting on a nearby
bench and waved to us. She was dressed lightly and had two short wooden
training swords by her side. Elze was sitting on the other side of her, wiping her
sweaty face down with a towel.
Yae and Hilde were having themselves a fierce bout in the training area. Their
training with Moroha had increased their abilities by a considerable amount.
They were definitely masters of their craft at this point.
The other knights were watching them keenly from a distance.
As we walked toward the bench-seated duo, Elze looked down at the ground
and muttered in a dissatisfied voice.
"Hmph... So what are you two doing? Been together all morning...?"
"Late morning. Is uh, everything okay?"
"Yeah, fine. I'm not in a bad mood or anything!" Elze, clearly flustered, wiped
her red face down with the towel again. I could read her like a book. That side
of her was adorable, too.
"Where's everyone else?"
"Linze and Leen were taken off by the doctor. They're up on Babylon right
now, I think. Something about adjusting our personal Frame Gears."
"I'd like my Frame Gear to be built soon, too."
"Now, now. Don't worry. They're cooking up something that'll perform
smoothly, so you just gotta wait a little longer." I gave Lu a smile, but she did
seem a little pouty. I didn't have a Frame Gear yet, either. Mine would probably
be saved for last, though. I could go toe to toe with Upper Constructs even
without a Frame Gear, after all. Plus, everyone knows you save the best for last.
As I quietly gloated about myself to myself, Sakura, Spica, and Sue came over
from the castle.
"Touya!"
"Oh, Sue. Visiting today, are we?" Sue rushed over and tackled me with a hug.
She lived back with her folks in Belfast, but had a ready-to-use portal in her
bedroom so she could visit whenever. She typically visited in the afternoons,
though.
"Mhm. I'm your bride-to-be, you know? I can't afford to neglect my
preparations for marriage. I'm gonna stay here all day today. Also dad gave me
permission to stay overnight, so I'm gonna sleep in your bed tonight!"
"Ehh... Really now...?" All my other fiancees turned their gaze to me. Their
eyes were narrowed.
Sue typically stayed with Yumina when she slept here, so this was a pretty
unusual demand.
"Is there a problem? Do you hate me, Touya?"
"I don't hate you, Sue... It's just a little soon for that. I-It might be bad for my
reputation, too..."
"Your reputation? We're just sleeping with one another..." Sue innocently
tilted her head to the side, it seemed like she had no idea what I thought she
had an idea about.
Welp, I get it. What Sue is thinking about is... different from what I'm thinking
about. Not that I was gonna do anything anyway, though! I began to sweat
slightly, I gave Yumina a sidelong glance, silently begging her for aid.
She noticed and grinned softly. Then she began talking.
"You know, Sue... Sharing a bed with a single man, fiancee or not... Doesn't
reflect well on him or you. You're a noble, remember?"
"Is that how it works, Yumina?"
"It is, it is. That's why we all need to sleep with Touya at the same time. That
way there won't be any issues."
"Waiiit, what?!" What the hell did you just say, Yumina?! There's no way we
can do that!
"Hold on, hold on! Where'd you get that idea?!"
"Why not? We're just gonna sleep in the same bed, right? Is that such a
problem...? Or did you have... Specific intentions for us?"
"...Hmph." I couldn't counter Yumina's perfect attack. I guess just sleeping is
fine...
"W-Wait, Yumina! Does that include all of us?!"
"Of course, Elze. Or do you want to be the only one left out?"
"Mhh... Ghh... I-I mean, in that case I have no choice... B-But... Ghh..."
"I don't mind." Sakura seemed pretty comfortable with the idea... Until I
looked at her face. Despite her calm tone, her eyes were darting around and
her face was beet red. Spica stood next to her with a quiet look of discontent on
her face.
"I-I'm fine with it too, Touya... Let's sleep together, it'll be fun!"
"What're you being so loud for, Lu...?" I quickly covered Lu's mouth, she
seemed to be sputtering in a panic.
What the hell is going on?! Someone help! This is way too extreme! My
prayers were suddenly answered as my smartphone began to vibrate. It was
Guildmaster Relisha, my savior.
"Y-Yeah! 'Sup?!"
"Sorry to bother you, Your Highness. The Kingdom of Ryle has received
readings that suggest a group of a thousand Phrase will soon emerge near their
territory. There aren't any Upper Constructs amongst them. They're set to
appear in around three hours."
"Three hours?!" Typically we had a little leeway, but this had me concerned...
It seemed like the world's protective boundary was weakening again.
"They can't take refuge or send sufficient men in, so... We have no choice but
to ask you. I have permission from the king of Ryle."
"Not a problem. Send me a message with more information and details. I'll
dispatch our knights."
"Thanks." I put my phone down. The hubbub from my fiancees had finally
died down, and now they just had their gazes leveled on me. I was saved by a
set of unlikely heroes. I really owed the Phrase one.
I gathered up the knights and explained the situation.
"The Kingdom of Ryle is expecting a Phrase invasion to the tune of a few
thousand. They're gonna appear in about three hours. We'll head there and
crush them all! Contact anyone who isn't occupied. You have one hour to get
prepared for rolling out! Dismissed!"
"Hoo-rah!" All the knights dashed out to begin their preparations. They shed
their armor so they could hurry out and contact their allies.
I needed to call Lain, Nikola, and Norn on the phone to tell them what was
going on. Then I needed to tell Baba and Yamagata to guard the castle in my
absence. I had to hurry!
"Man, what a pain..."
"Good grief... This certainly is a bit of a mood killer, but... Let's protect the
planet! Let's protect the planet!" Yumina grinned and made a little out-ofcharacter statement as she looked up into the clouds.
A lot had happened since I came to this world. It was rough living here, much
rougher compared to Earth.
But I loved this world. Everyone that mattered to me lived in this world. It was
a world I was proud to fight for. A world I was proud to protect.
"Shall we?" All the girls nodded.
I came to this world with a single smartphone. But now I had countless friends
and partners to rely on.
I'm sure a lot more is gonna happen from here onwards... But I know they'll
help me through it, just as I'll help them. I know it.
With resolve in my heart, I opened up a [Gate] to Babylon.
As an aside, the girls all ended up staying in bed together so they could have a
private chat... I ended up sleeping on the couch that night after I got back...