I'd informed just about everyone possible about the incoming merging of
worlds. I used the world leaders from both worlds, Relisha's guild network, and
Silhouette's Black Cats to spread the word and warn the population of any
unusual circumstances that could spring up.
God Almighty said nothing huge would happen, but I wanted us to be safe
rather than sorry. For that reason, I decided to close off Brunhild's dungeon
islands for the appointed day.
I had a lot riding on the pillar spirits and their subordinates, too. They'd be in
charge of holding back earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and other
such natural disasters. Thankfully, I had enough advance notice to put these
countermeasures in place.
Spirits didn't typically get involved with stopping stuff like natural disasters,
but I asked them to lend me their power nonetheless. I was fairly sure they
didn't want the world to end anyway, so it was all good.
Thus, all I could do at this point was pray nothing bad would happen.
And, after three days... Dawn broke upon a new world.
I woke up before my smartphone's alarm went off. I'd hardly slept, to be
honest. After all, any time after midnight could've been the merger... God
Almighty didn't exactly have an exact schedule for when it was happening.
"Good morning."
"Morning... Are you okay, Touya?" Yumina looked a bit concerned. She
probably saw the bags under my eyes.
We decided that we'd spend the whole day relaxing with each other, waiting
for the event to happen.
Everyone felt uneasy, though. After breakfast, they all gathered in the living
room, reading or playing cards together.
I sat down on the couch and browsed news stories on my smartphone, and
briefly realized that some kind of emergency broadcast system for everyone's
smartphones would be useful. I called Doctor Babylon and told her I wanted to
do that, and she said it would be pretty easy if we used the spirits to generate
real-time information on natural disasters.
It was a little late to make one before the merge, but I decided to make it for
future events. Warnings for tsunamis or wildfires would be incredibly useful.
Just as I ended the call and flicked to the next new story on my smartphone, it
happened. A massive rumble rang through the ground. Everything shook
ferociously. The initial quake wore off, ultimately giving way to a few small
rumblings that persisted in the background.
"It's time..."
"T-Touya..." Sue walked over to me and clung to my side. I knew it would be
okay, though. I had the spirits out there mitigating any damage.
"Touya, look at the sky!" Linze yelled out from the balcony. I walked over
there with Sue clinging to my leg and looked up. The sky was black, even though
it was supposed to be morning. Thick, heavy clouds roamed around the sky
above.
"Wh-What's that light up there?"
"It is beautiful, it is. But it feels strange, it does..."
Lu pointed upward at a strange arc of bright light in the sky. Yae stared
upward with wide eyes.
"Did the sky split?"
"No, it's an aurora. I don't know if they occur in this world, but it's a kind of
natural light phenomenon."
"It's the Aurora Borealis. They're usually localized above the Sea of Trees, but
this is my first time seeing them despite my longevity..." Hilde looked uneasy as
Leen followed up with a basic explanation. Back on Earth, they were seen in the
frozen north, but it seemed to be a bit different here.
We looked up at the sky as the ground continued to rumble, but the rumbling
was so faint at this point that it was kind of like being on a weak water bed.
The sky began to change color. It cycled from red, to green, to purple, and so
on. Eventually, it faded, and rain began to fall. We went back inside from the
balcony.
The rain was fairly light, just a bit of a drizzle. But there was something off
about it.
"It's made of light...?" Sakura muttered as she looked upward. The raindrops
fell and glittered myriad colors as they pattered to the ground.
The rain didn't pool or form puddles; it simply faded into the ground below as
if a sponge was soaking it up. I reached a hand out a window, and even though I
felt the sensation of raindrops on my skin, my hand remained dry.
I put a cup out on the balcony, and none of the rain collected inside that
either. I had no idea what was going on.
"It's some form of liquid rife with magical energy... Similar to ether liquid, I'd
wager... Perhaps the magic in the atmosphere is condensing and falling to the
ground..." Leen murmured to herself, clearly curious. I was glad that it wouldn't
lead to flooding, but I was certainly unsure about what kind of effects this
would have. After all, it could be filling previously magically-barren places with
magical energy.
"Oh, the sky's clearing!"
"Ah, so it is... Wait, hold on!"
I looked up in response to Elze's voice, but I noticed something strange as I
saw the sun's rays peek through the disappearing clouds.
Two suns were hanging overhead. Both of them were slightly overlapping
with each other, too... Like a two-bubble Venn diagram.
Everyone stared up in absolute silence. Slowly, but surely, the two
overlapping suns seemed to merge into each other before releasing a flash of
light.
The bright flash caused us all to close our eyes tight, and when they opened
again, only one sun remained in the skies above.
The gentle earthquakes also ended. I wondered if it was over.
"Open the world map. Project it into the air."
"Understood. Displaying."
The world map wooshed up in front of us, and it revealed what I expected. A
map of a whole new world.
If I were to explain things simply, the Reverse World's map was on the left,
and the regular world's map was on the right. But there were a few parts of the
landscape that had changed.
"Eashen and Egret seem a little further out than they were before... Their
equivalents in the Reverse World are pretty far out, too."
"There's a land bridge connecting Panaches and Refreese... I wonder if that'll
be okay."
I looked up at the area Yumina pointed out. It seemed like the west border of
Refreese now touched the east border of Panaches.
There wasn't a huge overlap of territory, but I was a bit concerned about the
people who might've lived there.
I sent the new map data up to Babylon and had the Doc send out a data
update to everyone. Everyone's phones were probably showing the old maps of
their respective worlds.
Doctor Babylon seemed like she'd been expecting the call.
"How's the situation around the world?"
"Nothing to report. No eruptions or tsunamis or anything. The atmosphere's a
little sparse right now, but it's within stable levels."
The spirits were doing their best, apparently. I made a mental note to prepare
some rewards for them.
After I had the new world maps sent out to everyone, I started scrolling
through my contacts list.
I needed to call the Emperor of Refreese, just in case.
"It seems like we're connected, yes... But the other side is a smaller island
nation, so I'm not too worried. The Queen of Strain informed me that the King
of Panaches is a mild-tempered man, so I'm sure this'll be fine." The Emperor of
Refreese seemed to have a fair understanding of the situation, so I was sure
he'd be able to get by fine.
I was actually more worried about the positioning of the Curiela Kingdom,
which was a nation that was now just a small stretch of water away from both
Belfast and Refreese.
I didn't know anything about that kingdom at all, but I'd probably be able to
get some info from Strain or Gardio.
I breathed a sigh of relief and felt like things might be okay. However,
something rang out, ending that momentary peace. I heard a cracking and
splintering sound from the sky above, like a wine glass being ripped apart.
"Wh-What the?!"
"Touya, up there!" Yumina pointed up at the sky.
Something that resembled a shooting star was tumbling to the ground from
the east. I used [Long Sense], along with my own divine sight, and managed to
grasp its form.
It was a thorn. At least it resembled one. A muddy-gold thorn, some kind of
twisted glass barb flying through the air.
It emanated the same filthy divinity that I now associated with the wicked
god.
"Run Search! That object's landing site!"
"Searching... Displaying." A little marker fell down on my map.
Shit, it's in Regulus!
It was just a bit north-east of the capital city in some open plains. I was only
thankful that it didn't seem to be near civilization.
But there was no real time for relief, it was clearly something sent by the
wicked god. If something like that had fallen into the new world, then I could
hardly leave it alone.
"I'll be back in a minute!" It wasn't too far away, so I used [Teleport] to warp
there. I didn't want to put the girls in danger, so I went alone. Assuming things
were safe there, I'd open up a [Gate] to bring them over after checking it out.
I used [Teleport] to reach Regulus and found myself looking into a gigantic
crater.
The enormous thorn was lodged inside the crater, squirming as it dug into the
ground. Without counting the buried portion, it was at least thirty meters in
length.
"What is this?"
I took a few steps forward before I noticed the ground around the thorn
changing color, almost like cloth stained by water.
The dull-gold hue began spreading, slowly, through the soil itself.
"The very earth is rotting..."
"Ah..."
A mass of soil nearby rose up and took a feminine form. It was the Earth
Spirit. I hadn't summoned her, so she'd used a substitute body from her domain
to communicate with me. Her actual body was probably back in the spirit realm.
"This thorn is emitting a venom that corrodes all it comes into contact with.
Soon enough, the ground here will disappear from this world."
"Disappear? How?"
"Well, this venom does not truly damage. It eliminates. All the soil it affects
will simply have never been, as if vanished from reality itself..."
Huh, so it's not even like melting into magma or something? Stuff just
straight-up gets deleted from existence? Man, what the hell is that wicked god
sending me annoying things like this for?
"My master, look at it."
The Earth Spirit pointed at the giant barb. It began making chiming sounds as
mutated Phrase constructs emerged from inside it. I didn't know whether to be
appalled or impressed.
All the mutants from the thorny barb were Lesser Constructs, at least. They
brandished their bladed limbs and came charging toward me and the spirit.
I quickly cast [Storage] and pulled out a phrasium hammer, then doubled its
weight with [Gravity] and swung it down toward the mutant scum.
They were all crushed along with their cores, leaving their remains to melt
into sludge.
I quickly noticed that more and more mutants were coming out of the thorn,
and no matter how many I mashed, it didn't seem to be stopping.
Seemed like I needed to handle the disease rather than the symptoms.
I mashed a few more newborn mutants before aiming my hammer at the
thorn with a full-powered swing.
I felt the impact when I hit against its surface, and it let out a noise like a gong
being impacted.
Cracks began to run up and down the poisonous barb, splintering here and
there. It shattered into fragments that then fell to the ground. With the thorn's
destruction came the end of the spreading poison, too.
"Damn it. It really shouldn't be so adaptable. This is borderline harassment at
this point."
The thorn's fragments began melting into a thick goop, just like the other
mutants when they died. I assumed it would fade away into black smoke like
the rest of them as well, but I was wrong...
The liquid goop began to condense and solidify until it was a fine golden
powder. The powder began to swirl around in the air as if picked up by the
wind, filling the surrounding area with a muddy-gold light.
"What the heck?"
"A-Aughghaugh?!"
The Earth Spirit began screaming, keeling over in agony before falling prone
to the ground. I had no idea what had just happened. I ran toward her in
confusion, crouching down to hear her out.
"H-Hey, you okay?!"
"I-I'm sorry, I... My master, please run from here... It's... It's..."
The earth that had formed her temporary body collapsed back to the ground
before she could finish her sentence.
"The hell is this?"
I rose back to my feet, but I was suddenly assaulted by a dizzying sensation. I
began keeling over, much like the Earth Spirit just had.
Wh-What's going on here? I can't feel my legs... I can't... Muster strength... I
tried to stand up, but I just slumped forward again. I couldn't find the strength.
A cold sweat formed on my brow, back, and all the rest of me. My breathing
became ragged as my vision blurred. I felt violently ill.
"Ugh... W-Was it that powder...?"
The golden powder still fluttered in the air like a fine mist, almost taunting
me. Breathing in any more of the stuff would be really bad news, so I needed to
escape.
"[Tele...port]..."
My magic isn't working? No, why? Is the powder causing this as well? What
do I do?! I couldn't draw any magic power from inside me at all. I tried again,
but nothing happened. I tried to muster my divinity from within me as a last
resort, but the moment I felt my apotheosis trigger, my body was wracked with
horrible pain. I began vomiting violently, and my entire form paralyzed against
the ground.
"Bwugh!" I rolled to the side, just narrowly avoiding my own puke. I could
look up at the sky at this point, but what I saw made me wish I was dreaming.
"...Th-This can't be happening..." In the western skies, I saw a horrible sight.
Dozens of meteors in the sky, each clad in muddy-gold light. They were falling
down as a group, each likely the same as the thorn I'd just destroyed. Nausea
ran through my body again, and I could do nothing but watch as each thorn
descended.
I tried again to move, but it was futile. There was nothing I could do.
I... I can't even keep my eyes open anymore... What do I do...?
"Gwuh!"
"G-Grand Duke!"
I suddenly saw the hazy image of a girl with pinkish hair. Sakura? Oh... You
must've teleported...
I saw her running toward me, tears in her eyes. It was the last thing I saw
before my vision went black.
◇ ◇ ◇
My eyes felt heavy as I opened them. A familiar ceiling came into view.
I was in my room, in my bed.
"You're awake now, you know?"
"...Hey, Karen."
Karen sat by my bed. There was a mass-produced smartphone in her hands.
I tried to sit up, but my body felt so sluggish I could barely move.
"You should stay laying down in bed, you know? The divine venom only just
left your system, so your strength'll take a while to return."
"...I'm sorry, what?"
"It's a type of poison that can kill gods. I didn't really expect the enemy to
have that kind of thing at their disposal, you know?" Karen grumbled quietly to
herself, arms folded.
Venom... huh? I guess it did feel like I'd been poisoned.
Karen explained that the divine venom was a poison used to kill members of
the pantheon. The stronger the divinity of the target, the stronger the effects
on the body. Apparently, my divine relatives were extremely concerned that the
wicked god had something like that available to it.
That made sense, since the pain only got worse when I activated my
apotheosis.
Apparently, Karen had sensed it, but neither she nor the other gods could
save me. Human bodies or not, they were still divine. They'd have collapsed on
the spot if they came nearby.
Sakura bravely volunteered to rescue me, since she could use teleportation
magic. Apparently, her being a beneficiary of divinity meant the poison affected
her as well, and she'd slept for a whole day.
"She was out a whole day? Wait, what about me?"
"Three days. It was a really big issue, you know? Everyone was so scared that
they barely left your bedside. My little brother sure is a popular guy, you
know?"
Three days... I guess everyone was worried about me. I'll have to say sorry
later.
"So the venom's gone from my body now?"
"Divine venom only takes effect while you're in contact with it, you know?
Now you're out, you'll be fine."
Oh, that's a relief. So as long as I keep away, I'll be fine... Wait. Wait! Didn't I
see a bunch of thorns falling to the ground?!
"Display map!"
"Displaying." My smartphone, which was on the side table, responded to my
voice. It projected the new world's landmass into the air.
"What...?!"
I was at a loss for words. On the western side of the map, on the Reverse
World's side, a portion was missing. Or rather, a portion had basically been cut
off from the main continent.
The north and east of Isengard's territory had been completely eaten away,
isolating it from the rest of the landmass as a solitary, damaged island.
"This can't be..."
"It was the same thing as the one you destroyed, you know? Just lots of them.
They all landed around the Isengard area and the very land itself disappeared."
"So it was those thorns..."
Just as the Earth Spirit warned me, the very earth had been eaten away. The
one I'd stopped hadn't managed to take effect, but clearly, it was dire. Water
had filled in the gaps left behind.
"But why did they only fall down around Isengard?"
"Smaller ones fell in other areas, you know? But according to Regina, most of
them went for this place because something got buried there in the past. She
said that the remains or something might have drawn the thorns there, you
know?"
Karen pointed to a spot on the map, and it all clicked together. It was the spot
where the giant golden tree had appeared a while back. All of that might have
been in preparation for this attack; the golden spores it emitted might have
acted as some kind of marker directing the missiles...
"So what happened to Isengard?"
"...We don't know, you know? The only thing we do know is that the divine
venom is coating the entire landmass."
"The whole thing?!"
"We can't even use our divinity to look over there, you know? The venom
creates interference, like TV static." Seemed like the entire country had been
corrupted with poison that interfered with divinity. There was nothing we could
do. I had wondered why no cities were appearing on the Isengard map, even
though I could make out the new shorelines, but it was probably blocking my
search magic too.
What do I do? I won't be able to use my teleportation, either... Hell, even if I
could I'd probably fall unconscious or die due to the venom anyway.
It'd be easier if I knew a non-divine person with both teleportation and
searching magic, but... I didn't exactly know any regular humans with that level
of talent.
"It's a bit weird though, you know? Divine venom affects gods no matter
what. Even if the wicked god is a mockery with a small amount of divinity, it
should be just as affected..."
"I have a theory about that."
Moroha appeared next to Karen as if out of nowhere... My divine relatives
always had a habit of doing that.
"I always wondered why the wicked god stayed in the gap between worlds,
and why it never actually showed itself. Now I think I get it. It was trying to build
an immunity to the divine venom."
"It was?"
"Yeah, I think bit by bit, it was getting used to doses of the stuff. It's a wicked
god with a murky divinity to begin with, so it might now have a body capable of
withstanding the divine venom."
"...No, I'd say withstanding isn't the right word. I think it imbibed the venom."
Karina walked in from the balcony window. Hey, c'mon! I know you're a
hunter, but couldn't you have used the door like everyone else?!
"...Imbibe? How do you mean?"
"What do weak animals in the wild do to prevent themselves from being
eaten?"
"Huh? I mean, sometimes weak animals form symbiotic relationships with
predators... Or they camouflage themselves to hide, or they move around in
groups instead. Oh... Now I get it."
"Right. By taking in a toxin that can kill gods, the wicked god has rendered us
incapable of hunting it. That was truly a cunning plan on its part, I must say.
After all, now gods and those benefiting from their divinity can't go after it."
Poisonous creatures were divided into two sections in the wild. Those that
used poison to hunt, and those that used poison to keep themselves from being
hunted.
Creatures in the former category were animals like snakes or scorpions. They
used their poison to weaken prey, and it was an effective hunting tool.
Creatures in the latter were more like poison dart frogs or pufferfish. They
secreted a poison that deterred predators from coming near them.
The wicked god had clearly chosen to immerse itself in divine venom to
defend itself. The stronger the divinity, the stronger the effects. But that made
me think of something.
"...Does the divine venom work on regular humans?"
"It'd be ineffective. It's completely harmless to anything that isn't a god or
those benefiting from a god's divinity. But it can eat its way through magic
barriers pretty easily, so even your [Prison] spell couldn't contain it." Moroha
quickly replied. If even spells like that wouldn't work, it was clearly formidable.
Just as I pondered to myself, two other voices piped up.
"S'plenty lucky that the place with all the venom's an island now. Divine
venom's the kinda thing that gets absorbed into the earth an' spoils it. But
Isengard's got sea surroundin' it now, which'll dilute the toxins until they ain't
active no more. That means it won't spread to the rest've the world."
"But it'sh, hic! Still bad! The divine venom'sh corrupting all that land, hic!
We're godsh, sho we can't go there, hic! Sh'like a poison shwamp."
The god of agriculture and the god of alcohol started speaking as they leaned
back on a nearby sofa. I hadn't even noticed them enter the room. Still, it
seemed like the airborne divine venom would soak into the earth in high
concentrations, changing it into a corrupted zone that gods couldn't enter
safely...
That kind of reminded me of a famous American comic superhero who was
weak to a specific kind of rare material...
"What about the citizens of Isengard?"
"Not much, really. The divine venom has contaminated the island, but
obviously, it's not harmful to regular humans. However, it's a dangerous and
lawless zone now. Mutants are popping up all over the island and killing
indiscriminately. We heard this information from a group of survivors who
boarded a boat and arrived on the mainland."
As Moroha spoke, I heard Erik Satie's Gymnopedies being played slowly on a
guitar. The music was coming from my closet.
At this point, I wasn't even going to bother thinking about it. The god of music
was playing sad music while hiding inside my bedroom closet. So what? It
honestly didn't matter at this point.
"You mentioned some of the thorns dropped elsewhere? What happened
there?"
"They were smaller, so only a few mutants emerged from them. The
adventurer's guild worked with various knight orders to defeat them and bust
the thorns. The large ones were all focused on Isengard."
"Is there any divine venom outside of Isengard?"
"The smaller thorns spread some, yes. But it won't harm regular people or
animals and should vanish over time. That being said, spirits won't go near
those places anymore... So the impacted areas will become small, barren
patches of land."
The spirits technically worked as beneficiaries of the gods, so it made sense
they'd avoid places that could kill them.
But that also meant that Isengard wouldn't be blessed by any spirits, either...
That definitely meant that, over time, Isengard would simply become a barren
husk of an island. A place nobody could inhabit at all.
"So, what now? This world's out of God Almighty's domain. It's all up to you
now, Touya."
Karina grinned at me. What now? That should be obvious.
"I'm gonna beat that wicked god. I won't let it do any more damage than they
already have. I'm gonna wipe it out so hard that nobody'll even remember it
existed."
Karina and the others glanced at one another, and they shared grins. I was a
little bit irritated that they'd all expected me to say something along those
lines...
"That's what I like to hear!" Uncle Takeru charged into the room, blasting the
door off its hinges as he yelled.
COME ON. WOULD IT KILL A SINGLE ONE OF YOU TO SHOW UP NORMALLY
FOR ONCE?!
"We're gonna help you all we can, kiddo! So fight with all your might! I'll carry
your body home when it's all over!"
"I-I'm not planning on dying... Also, fix the damn door."
I glared over at Uncle Takeru with an unamused expression. I didn't want him
creating bad omens for the future with baseless prattle.
"Touya! You're awake?!"
The girls showed up, having clearly heard all the commotion. Everyone
charged toward my bed in a huddle.
Gaaah, Sue! Don't get too close! I reached out and grabbed Sakura by the
hand. She had tears in her eyes.
"Thank you. If you hadn't come to get me, then it could've been way worse..."
She slowly shook her head, raising her line of sight to meet mine.
"That's just normal... It's natural for any of us to help you, Grand Duke...
We're your wives, and you're our husband. Please count on us more in the
future."
...You aren't my wives yet, but I'm happy to hear that from you all the same. I
leaned forward and gave Sakura a big hug. As I pulled back, I caught a glimpse
of her smile. She was so darn cute!
"...I'm jealous."
"Well, I guess she deserves it this time around. She was laying in bed for a
whole day after what she did, so consider it her reward."
Sue started grumbling, so Elze patted her on the head. If that was a reward,
I'd be happy to give it out to any of them whenever they wanted...
Still, the divine venom affecting Sakura meant that all my fiancees were in
danger. Given that we intended to beat the wicked god, that was a very serious
issue.
"So, what do we do about the venom? If everyone in this room can't do
anything, then what about our knight order? Will they be affected?"
"That's hard to say for sure, you know? If it's someone completely unrelated
to us, then it should be fine... But even by being affiliated with us, they'll have
tiny bits of divinity in them. The effects will be lighter, probably... But anyone
you're close to can probably be hurt by the venom, too."
Karen grumbled to herself as she folded her arms. Seriously? Even people just
on close terms with me?
"Romantic partners, friends, family, those you've done good deeds for, and
even those who have just benefited from your goodwill... The divine venom will
react to that blessing and eat away at anyone who has it. It's probable that
every single person in Brunhild could be affected by the venom at this point,
given all you've done. Though the divinity would be so small that they'd
probably only suffer nausea, rather than death."
This venom was clearly designed to hurt absolutely everything vaguely related
to the gods. What a horrible thing to be up against...
It could affect everyone I've ever known... Somehow that makes me
uncomfortable. Guess it won't affect people I don't like or people I barely pay
attention to, though.
"S-So is there no countermeasure to deploy against a poison like that?" Linze
timidly raised her voice, prompting Uncle Kousuke to speak up.
"Nothing in the human world, kiddo. S'possible Touya could do what the
wicked god did and take the poison into himself to try and become resistant to
it... But if that happened, none of us or his wives-to-be could ever be near him
again."
"Nope! Denied! Not allowed!" Sue immediately shot that idea down. I wasn't
exactly a fan of that route either.
"We need to think of a way to get around this. And that... wicked god thing?
We can't let it do as it wishes." Lu spoke firmly, but I had no real idea where to
start. If everyone in Isengard was dead, we could've opted for remotely sinking
the entire island, but I had a feeling they wouldn't go down that easy.
"W-Well, I am not sure this is a plan, I am not... But..." Yae turned toward
Karen and raised a hand. I wondered what she was thinking.
"This venom. Does it affect machines as well, does it?"
"Machines? I don't think Frame Gears would work against that, you know?
Even Touya's [Prison] spell gets eaten away. Even if you put a protective barrier
around the cockpit, you'd—"
"Ah, I did not mean Frame Gears, I did not. What about Gollems?"
I stared blankly for a few seconds before realizing what Yae was getting at.
"For example... if there was a Gollem Touya cared about a lot... would it be
affected by the venom and shut down, would it?"
"...Nope, it wouldn't. Gollems fall under the tool category, or weapons, I
guess... At most, it'd become something like a sacred treasure, but venom
wouldn't affect a non-living creature."
Moroha's explanation made sense. Gollems and Frame Gears wouldn't really
be affected by the divine venom. If the venom could affect non-living things,
then surely my clothing or smartphone would've been affected too. But they
weren't.
I saw a sudden ray of light amidst the darkness I'd just experienced. But if it
was Gollems we needed more info on, then we'd have to talk to Elluka. I made
immediate plans to head her way.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Hm... So that divine venom affects anyone Touya likes?"
"Seems like we're in trouble too, Elluka. We probably won't die, but I imagine
we'll get a bit dizzy."
Doctor Babylon grinned a bit as she spoke. Ugh... What a pain...
We obviously couldn't bring up the whole god thing, so we just covered up
the story by making out like it was a regular toxin.
It was just a regular old toxin that happened to exclusively hurt anyone I
happened to like.
It was annoying to admit, but Doctor Babylon was right. It'd affect her and
Elluka as well. If you asked me whether I cared for them or disliked them, I'd
obviously have to say I cared for them... Despite how irritating the little childbodied twerp in front of me was, she was still a big part of my life.
"So yeah, we can't really do anything about Isengard. We can't even send
scouts out there."
"Really? What if we just sent someone from a place other than Brunhild,
then? For example, I'm sure the Black Cats could go in on your behalf. They're
not really related to you, are they?"
"Oh, I guess that's true."
I kept getting caught up in the idea that I had to be the one to fight the
wicked god, but getting others to scout wasn't a bad idea.
"Still, it'll still be dangerous over there. I kind of feel bad asking others to risk
themselves..."
"I get how you feel, but still. Anyway, you said that Gollems won't be affected
by this venom?"
"I did. That's why I'm here to see if you can make a recon-type spying Gollem.
Or if you know any legacy models that can do that." Elluka leaned back,
pondering a while. Eventually, she raised two fingers.
"Two issues with that. First, if we sent out a factory-model, or one I make for
you... it'll be largely useless without a master. You should know this from your
experience already, but non-legacy Gollems aren't really capable of
autonomously following complex orders."
That was true enough. The ones back in the Kingdom of Horn had terrible
coordination. We needed a spy drone that could actually react on the fly.
"Second. Assuming my first point holds, we'd have no choice but to use a
legacy Gollem. But a legacy Gollem with such sophisticated decision-making
skills would need to have had several years of operating experience. It would
have to be a Gollem with several years spent serving a master. Obviously, any
master who has spent that long with their Gollem would have reservations
letting us borrow it for a dangerous mission, right?"
"So you're saying no sensible owner would let us do that."
Most legacy Gollems were dormant once excavated. Since it had been so long
since their creation, they'd lost the memories of their past as well and
effectively became blank slates. They basically learned everything from the
beginning with the help of their new masters.
The three Gollems I owned, Ruby, Saph, and Emerl had also gradually learned
things over time. They were getting better at autonomous decision-making.
There was no way sending those three to Isengard would be good. They had
no strength at all. Even if they were strong, I wouldn't send them if some
random guy came up and asked me to.
Hell, I'd even refuse to sell them.
I doubted that Norn or Nia would want to put Noir or Rouge in that kind of
situation either.
"What now...?"
"We could always find a legacy Gollem designed to be good at spying, and
start teaching it now."
"If we waste time doing that, the enemy could be making their move. We
need to be fast in this."
Maybe our only option to win the race would be going slow and steady... Or
maybe I could just ask the Black Cats if they had scouts available to go in on my
behalf. But if they ended up meeting mutants, they'd need to be as strong as
red adventurers to take them out.
"Well... we could also steal a legacy Gollem."
"I'm not so sure about that one."
I wasn't exactly desperate enough to start committing crimes.
"I don't exactly mean stealing from the innocent. There are a lot of legacy
Gollems in use by criminals, after all... Most legacies started as stolen goods to
begin with, anyway. I'm talking about that kind."
...I guess that'd be kind of okay?
"Hm. I see what you're getting at, Mistress. You're talking about the Death
Wings, aren't you?"
Fenrir, who had been laying down on the floor, raised his head and spoke. I
wondered what he was talking about.
"The Death Wings are a bandit group that is active in the Allent Theocracy.
They've attacked numerous villages, and are quite hard to find. The reason for
this is they seem to have a legacy Gollem built for spying and recon. Exactly the
kind you need."
"Gotcha. You're saying we gotta take that one?"
I felt a bit bad, but Gollems themselves weren't criminals. I didn't exactly
want to use a tool that a bunch of bandits had been using, but I was generally
out of options. Plus, taking out such a villainous group would be a good thing.
"I'd be happy if you did this. The Gollems under that group happen to be my
siblings."
"Seriously?"
I raised my brow at Fenrir, who dutifully wagged his tail.
"They're called Anubis and Bastet. They're not exactly from the same line as
Fenrir, they're just from the product line that succeeded him. You could
consider Fenrir to be their older sibling in that regard."
If they were the same as Fenrir, I wondered if that made them animal-based
models as well. If they were animal-looking, then that'd be good for
surveillance... But I had reservations about the effectiveness of a wolf-shaped
drone if they were extremely similar to Fenrir.
Honestly, things probably would've been easier if Fenrir went to Isengard for
us.
But... Elluka wasn't a member of Brunhild's forces, she was tentatively a guest
of ours. I wasn't shameless enough to ask a guest for help.
Thus, it was settled. We had to steal those legacies from the bandits.
"But where are these guys? A group of outlaws would obviously be hiding
away from the law... And I don't know enough to use my search spell..."
"Snakes slither with snakes. Thieves tend to know each other, right? Don't we
have someone nearby who fits that description?"
"Ah..."
I knew who Doctor Babylon was referring to immediately. And so, I set off to
speak to Nia and the others.
◇ ◇ ◇
"The Death Wings, eh? We've never met with them directly, but we've heard
the stories. They're scumbags who raid villages... They even kill all the men they
can find, then sell off the women and children as slaves."
"While it's true they're thieves like us, their philosophy is based differently.
We don't have any direct connections, but we may be able to tell you where
their hideout is." I was in the Silver Moon, talking with Nia and Est. The two of
them pointed up toward the map I was projecting.
It was a location not too far from the Allent Theocracy, a desert area near
Dauburn, Land of Fire.
"I've heard stories their base is around here. They attack all over, but
obviously, they'd need to keep their loot in one place. It's probably here, on
account of the nearby oasis." Nia jabbed a finger toward a sprawling oasis in the
desert.
"Do the Death Wings have an emblem or anything I could use to identify
them?"
"I've heard their members have tattoos of a winged reaper on their
shoulders." Well, that's simple enough.
"Run search. People with winged grim reaper tattoos on their shoulders."
"Searching... Search complete. Displaying." A few markers fell down on the
map. Some were spread out, but there was a particular area with a higher
density than usual.
"...Your magic is certainly something else. If anyone else had it, I'm sure they
could wipe out thieving bands as a concept..."
"This magic isn't exactly unstoppable. It's just that the Reverse World's magic
is too far behind. You don't have countermeasures for it, not widespread ones
at least. Now the two worlds are connected and swapping information, I'm sure
you'll bridge that gap in no time." People who weren't in the know probably
had no idea about the newly-merged world yet.
I was sure that the two halves of the new whole would have plenty of
arguments with each other... It was imperative that I set up a meeting between
all the leaders, while also keeping an eye on Isengard.
Either way, it seemed like this bandit group had done all manner of awful
deeds, so I had no qualms about going in hard on them. I'd hand them over to
the knight order without a second glance.
Heheh... Fools, I'm gonna trash your home and make off with your precious
machinery...
...No, Touya. Stop! That's exactly how an actual bandit would think!
◇ ◇ ◇
The Death Wings had their base set up in a crumbling ruin by the oasis.
"B-Bastard! Who are ya, huh?! You with the Theocracy?!"
"Nope. But sort of, I guess. I'm here to round you up, either way." There was
one man left standing amidst a sea of unconscious criminals. Obviously I was
responsible.
This guy was clearly the leader. His leather armor was of a higher grade than
the others, and he also wore a fancy cape.
It had taken me but a few moments to isolate the Gollems I was after with
[Prison]. Then I just used [Storage] to stash them. Anubis looked like a black
dog, and Bastet looked like a black cat.
If they'd been using those Gollems to spy, then there was no wonder they'd
always managed to stay one step ahead of the authorities.
The Gollems had attacked me in tandem and shown that they were clearly
suited to assassination as well.
"Y-You here to claim our bounty, then?! H-Hey, I can give you more gold than
the Theocracy's offerin'! No lie, friend! I got more gold here than... Gaugh!" I
shot a paralyzing bullet into the leader's face. I didn't like that sleazy smile on
his face.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll be taking your money and donating it to the
needy. Hope you can rest well in prison knowing your money's going to those
who can actually make use of it." I gathered up the bandits and put them in a
big pile, then I warped them straight to the Allent Theocracy's authorities, much
like how I dealt with the thugs back in Horn.
If I went there formally I'd be able to claim their bounties, but I was supposed
to be doing this covertly and I didn't care for the paperwork.
The idea of a world leader heading to wipe out a criminal group just because
he wanted Gollems was a little much... Plus, I didn't want to upstage the good
people of Allent.
I found the treasures they'd been hoarding and threw them all into [Storage].
I'd use this to give back to the poor and the people they'd hurt. Man, I know
most of this is going to orphanages and stuff, but there's a lot of treasure here...
Maybe beating bandits is more profitable than I expected.
I considered that bandit-crushing could be a good training activity for the
Brunhild knight order. We could also incorporate any appropriated assets into
the monthly pay bonuses, while making the world just a little bit safer. It would
probably be harder to track down bandits that didn't have convenientlyidentifiable shoulder tattoos, though.
I finished gathering up the treasure and headed back out of the ruins; the
glare of the sun shone directly into my eyes.
Ugh... Why's the desert always so hot... Wait... Is that something in the
distance? Something falling this way...? Wh-Huh?!
I jumped to the side, just narrowly avoiding the scythe. One of the stone
pillars by the ruin's entrance was cleaved diagonally, sliding down to the sands
below.
"Beep..." The kicked-up sand around me dispersed, and what I saw in front of
me was a small purple Gollem with a huge scythe in its hands. It was the purple
crown, Fanatic Viola. That could only mean one thing... "Oh my, oh me...
Mommy Luna was sooo sad about all these bandits being gone... But it looks
like I'm lucky after all. Who would've thought I'd meet you here, Tou? Ah... The
red string of fate really connects us, doesn't it? So tightly wound around our
necks... I'd love to pull it even tighter!" The voice came from the woman
standing atop a nearby pillar. She was holding a parasol in her hand.
She had amethyst hair, a complexion like a doll, gothic clothing and a multilayered skirt. Her eyes were two deep pools of insanity, staring intently at me
from behind her glasses.
Luna Trieste. The master of the purple crown... The Frenzied Mistress...
"...What are you doing here?"
"Don't be so mean, Tou! Isn't that obvious? I came here to mulch those
naughty bandits to pulpy paste. I found a village that had every last person all
dead and leaking goopy guts... So I thought I'd come here to see if the nasty
boys wanted to play with me too. But now you're here, Tou! I don't have to
worry anymore!" Luna jumped from the pillar to the sands beneath her and
discarded her parasol.
Or at least, she only discarded the shade part of it. Wh... She was hiding a
sword under there?! She charged at me, attacking me with the sword and
almost treating it like a whip. She was fast. Not quite as adept as Yae or Hilde,
but still remarkably impressive.
I dodged each blow, just narrowly. But they kept on coming.
"Ahahaha! Amaaazing! Beautiful! So lovely! But this isn't fun if I'm the only
one doing it! You gotta fight back, Tou! You need to gouge me, please! Thrust
inside, dig around... Punch me, pierce me, kick me and kill me!"
"Sorry, lady. That's not my kink. [Prison]!"
"Ah?!" I generated an invisible barrier around Luna, trapping her inside.
"Oh my oh me! What's this? Is this your magic, Tou?"
"It's a sealing spell called [Prison]. Those walls won't break unless I want
them to, so you better give up now."
"Violaaa... Can you give it a try, sweetie?"
"Beep." The purple Gollem swung its scythe against the walls, but it was
fruitless. Since I'd mixed a small portion of my own divinity into the barrier,
there was no way they could break out.
Viola's weapon was repelled again, there was no point in them trying a thing.
"Ahaha, wowie! Okay, Viola! You step aside, okay? I'm gonna give it my best
shot, promise!"
"I told you, you don't have a chance here. Now be good and... Wh... What..."
Luna tossed away her sword, and I could only stare in horror as her right arm
began oozing a muddy-gold metallic substance. It began coating her arm, sliding
all the way up to her elbow and hardening until her forearm had become a
golden spear.
"Here goes nothing! Teehee!" Luna thrust out her right arm, and I heard a
crack. In a few seconds, the cracking spread. The [Prison] had completely
collapsed.
"I-It broke! Wowie zowie! That's amazing! Ahahaha, oh... It hurts! It hurts so
bad! Whenever I use this power it's like my body's getting sliced and diced and
mulched and crushed! Ohh... It hurts so bad I might just squirt... Aah... Holding
back is way too hard, you know?" You have to be kidding me...
I stared, unable to believe what I was seeing. Muddy-gold metallic fragments
started sprouting out of Luna's body. She looked uncomfortably similar to the
Dominant Construct Phrase.
But worse still was the fact that I unmistakably felt the divinity of the wicked
god emanating from her insides.
What the hell happened to her?
She has Phrase mutant qualities... She has wicked divinity in her... How?
"You..."
"Hm? You mean this? I got attacked by some mean golden monster! It kept
growing back no matter how many times I smashed and cut at it! It was just like
me, kind of! We kept attacking and cutting each other... And then this
happened! We kind of mixed together, don't really know how! Ahaha!"
"What?!" Seriously? Did the purple crown's regeneration ability react to the
mutant's regeneration and overpower it or something? I don't understand...
"I get a little messier and horrible when I use this power, though... But it
should be okay if I'm fighting you, Tou!"
"Are you serving the wicked god now, or something?"
"Serving the wicked what now? Huh?" Luna looked legitimately confused.
Seemed like she hadn't been corrupted by the mutants, this was just a really
horrible coincidence.
"That power comes from a wicked god, a corrupt member of the divine. You
should expel it from your body, bad things'll happen."
"No way! I wanna use this power to play with you more, Tou! Just like this!!"
The golden spear extended toward me like a certain famous pole weapon. I
quickly drew Brunhild and parried the attack away.
But the spear changed its course as it extended, aiming toward me from
behind. I dodged to the side, and the tip of her weapon pierced the ground.
"Aw gosh... I'm not good at handling my wiggly stabby arm yet..." The motion
she'd used reminded me of the attacks used by Phrase and their mutant
variants. I was not at all happy that an absolute maniac like Luna had gotten her
hands on this kind of power.
As I quietly cursed fate, Viola approached me with its scythe.
I blocked the blow using Brunhild, letting the blade of its weapon sink into the
ground. Viola turned and moved to make another attack, so I aimed a magic
spell toward its feet.
"[Slip]!"
"Beep?!" Viola fell face-first into the ground.
"Ahahaha! Viola, you look so dumb!" I ignored Luna, who decided now was an
appropriate time to start pointing and laughing at her own Gollem, and I pulled
a phrasium broadsword out of my [Storage].
I raised it above my head, imbued it with [Gravity] to increase the weight, and
brought it crashing down on the prone Gollem.
The impact created shockwaves along the ground.
Viola was left in a hideous state, crushed and hacked in half from head to
waist. It wouldn't be able to regenerate that kind of damage. Not easily, at
least.
In truth, I felt pretty bad about it. Viola looked strikingly similar to the red
crown, Rouge, so it gave me cause for brief hesitation.
Plus, even if they were just machines, it's not like I enjoyed causing damage to
things that were arguably conscious.
"Hiyaah! Take this! Viola's-Revenge-Attack!"
"What?!" Luna had changed her right arm into a broadsword, likely to fight on
even grounds with me.
Despite its impressive size, Luna swung it around as if it weighed nothing,
probably because it was part of her body. She came charging toward me with a
horizontal strike.
"[Shield]!" I realized my mistake far too late. Even if it was faint, that swordarm of hers had divinity inside it. An ordinary [Shield] spell couldn't hope to do
a thing.
"Gah!" My spell was shattered, and I was sent flying into a nearby wall.
I should've used my head... Would've been smarter to parry it with a weapon
than try to block it with magic.
Luna leaped over toward me as I tried to get back up. She held me down with
her knees, straddling me until she was fully mounting my body.
I looked up at her eyes, which had a devious fire burning inside them.
"Caught you... Ehehe... You're all mine now. You know, Tou... Whenever I
fight you, my body gets all heated up... I fluster and burn so very easily... Is this
love or something? It's love, right? Oho... Ehe... I have a great idea."
"Huh?! Wh-Hey!" Luna, still firmly mounting my body, began undoing the
ribbon binding her clothes. She started to unbutton her top, bit by bit. I could
see the black lace of her bra peeking out...
"Wh-What the hell are you doing?!"
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. I don't think it hurts for boys on the first time...
But it might hurt for the girl... Maybe even a lot! I want it to hurt a lot..."
"The hell are you talking about?!" Luna looked down at me with a manic smile
on her face. Her breathing grew ragged. She licked her lips in an alluring manner
as she glared down at me like a predator.
Wh-What the hell?! I found myself in a panic, and then my arms were
suddenly seized. I looked up and saw the one grabbing me was a small, purple
being.
It was the Gollem I'd obliterated earlier, Viola.
"Wait... It could regenerate even after being trashed that hard?!"
"You thought something like that could kill Viola? Ehehe. Viola regenerates
faster than me because Viola can't feel pain, silly!" But I trashed the G-Cube and
the Q-Crystal... What gives?! I suddenly heard the sound of something falling to
the ground, so I looked back at Luna. It was her clothing. She was now
straddling me, fully naked, her form backlit by the rising sun.
"AUUUUUUGH?!" My entire body stiffened up from the shock. No other
reason. Just shock. Luna's smile had turned lascivious, and her heavy breathing
caused her glasses to fog up. The hot sun bore down on her naked body,
glistening with fresh sweat.
"Wh-Wh-What the hell is this?! Hold on. What are you even doing?! Stop!"
"Mmf... Don't struggle, it'll feel really good soon..." Luna opened up my shirt
and lowered her naked body down to straddle my bare tummy. My arms were
well and truly restrained thanks to Viola, and I had nowhere to run. Given that
Luna wasn't wearing anything, that meant I was making direct contact with
her... Well... That...
"[T-T-T-Teleport]!"
"Whuh?" I instinctively warped away in order to escape. I hadn't even set a
target coordinate. I just needed to get the hell out. I ended up rolling on the
ground about ten meters away.
That was... Disturbing. I can't even count how many ways that was
disturbing...
"Naughty... You're surprisingly meek, Tou. It's cute."
"Quit it!" I can't handle this. This is way too much for me. This girl is basically
my natural predator. If she catches me again, I'm done for. That's why I'm
gonna run away! I've already dealt with everything here anyway! "Well, see
ya!"
"Ah, wai-..." I didn't hear the end of Luna's complaints. I'd immediately
warped myself to the Theocracy's capital.
I'd planned on warping to a back alley, but I was still thrown off by the
incident. I ended up on a rooftop.
I lay back on the roof, calming myself down as I listened to the hustle and
bustle of people going about their lives. I could hear a lot of kids and raised
voices from some gruff-sounding guys.
"...That was horrible." I felt like a frog cornered by a snake. My heart was
beating rapidly. I was just glad I managed to escape before having something
important taken from me...
I was parched, so I took out some fruity water from [Storage] and gulped it
down.
Whew... That hits the spot. At least I can think straight now.
I-I think I'm gonna go home. I did what I needed to do. I'll have Elluka tune up
those Gollems, but who should be their master?
It's probably fine if Elluka takes them on, since they're from the same
production line as Fenrir. Fenrir should be pretty happy for the company, too.
I was about to head back to Babylon when I remembered the treasure I'd
taken from the bandits.
Oh yeah, since I'm in the capital I might as well see about donating to
orphanages or whatever.
"Let's see... The closest orphanage. Oh, it's right here." I ran a search for
orphanages and a marker fell right down on my current location. I was
apparently on the roof of one.
That explains why I've been hearing kids. Explains those gruff guys, too.
Wait... Gruff guys? I glanced down from the roof.
I saw three thuggish men yelling at a woman, a group of children cowered
behind her.
"The deadline's tomorrow, lady! Might as well pack your shit and get outta
here. Take the brats already!"
"P-Please... Think of the children. If we're evicted, just where can they go?"
"Like I give a shit! Send 'em to the slums or something!" I didn't know the
details but it was clear these people were in some trouble.
These guys sure look like assholes... Oh? What's this? A carriage drawn by
black Gollems pulled up in front of the orphanage. A man slowly emerged from
inside the ornate vehicle.
"Boss!"
"You guys're taking way too long here. It's just some shitty kids, isn't it? Kick
'em out already." The man referred to as their boss took a cigar out and placed
it into his mouth. One of the thugs hurriedly lit it for him.
He was a chubby man, clearly over thirty. He wore a Chinese-style changshan
gown. He had a balding head and some unnecessarily gaudy gold glasses on his
face. His whole image was tacky. He also had a wispy mustache that made him
look a bit like a catfish... But that wasn't the most important thing here... I'd
seen this guy somewhere before. He felt familiar, at least. "M-Mister Zabbit,
we'll get your money! Please have mercy!" The older woman, likely the
orphanage owner, pleaded in front of him. He kicked at her and spat at the
ground in disgust.
Zabbit... Zabbit? "Don't cha touch me with them filthy paws, granny. Don't ya
get it? This is Papillon's turf now, dig? Get the hell outta here, and take those
brats with-"
"OH! THAT'S WHERE I KNOW YOU FROM!" I heard the word Papillon and it all
came together. Ideally, I'd have never heard from this asshole again, but now I
clearly remembered him.
He looked up toward my sudden exclamation, and sheer fear washed over his
face.
Zabbit Grandt. He was one of the leaders of Papillon... Although technically he
was now the sole leader. I'd only met him briefly, so it was fair to say he hadn't
left a strong impression.
Papillon was the underground organization that Silhouette and the other
Black Cats used to belong to.
Zabbit constantly caused Silhouette and her brothels grief because he wanted
control of her information network.
In the end, I cast a curse on the moron in order to make him cool off.
It was a curse that would slowly paralyze him if he or his subordinates
harassed Silhouette any more.
Zabbit took Papillon and fled, though I hadn't expected him to flee all the way
to a neighboring country.
The organization certainly looked sloppier than it used to. From what I'd
heard, though, several other key members left when Silhouette did.
I hopped down from the rooftop, landing in front of Zabbit and his lackeys.
His face paled, but he still managed to open his mouth and yell at me.
"Wh-What the hell are you doing here, huh?!"
"Just passing through. Call it a lucky coincidence. You still causing trouble,
huh? Want me to put a nastier curse on you?"
"Eek!" Zabbit turned and ran from me. It seemed like his legs weren't
paralyzed, at least.
"[Slip]!"
"Bwroagh!" He fell forward and smashed his face against the sidewalk.
"You bastard!"
"What'd you do to our boss, huh?!"
"Shut it. I'm not in the mood to mess around today. [Gravity]."
The three goons yelled out as I made them fall to the ground under their own
body weight.
"Hey."
"Eep... Y-Yes?!"
"How much does this orphanage owe you, exactly?"
"Th-Three platinum coins! I-I-It's a proper arrangement, honest! I have
paperwork!" He took out a document from his breast pocket. It actually looked
legit. Three platinum coins were around three million yen, if I recalled properly.
According to the deed they had to pay up or surrender their property to
Papillon.
"Well, whatever. I was planning on donating money to the orphanage
anyway. Here. Three platinum."
"What?" I casually passed three platinum coins over to Zabbit. Knowing that
greedy bastard, he was hoping to claim the land with shady interest tactics. Too
bad for him. He'd take the money and have to like it.
"All good, right?"
"Huh? Wait, but..."
"Boy, you must really want another curse put on you, huh."
"Nooooo!" I was only making a joke, but it scared Zabbit so much that he
leaped to his feet and ran full pelt toward his Gollem carriage.
"B-Boss?!" I released the weight magic on his three henchmen, and they
chased after him at incredible speeds.
"U-Uhm... Who are you?" The orphanage owner nervously spoke to me.
I picked up the loan deed that Zabbit had left behind, and I burned it to
cinders.
"Just a traveler. I was told to donate money to the local orphanages. I'll be
giving some to the other orphanages too, so don't worry yourself."
"D-Donate? But that's so much!"
"I don't know the exact details, I'm just doing this thanks to an anonymous
benefactor. I've used up three platinum coins to square your debt, but I hope
this amount will help you run the place." I made up a convenient excuse as I
passed seven platinum coins to the woman.
There were five other orphanages in the city of Allen.
I decided to give ten platinum coins to all of them. The money the bandits had
didn't quite make up that amount, but the valuables they'd been hoarding
would likely cover the difference.
The orphanage owner bowed her head to me as I passed out snacks to all the
kids.
Alright, time to hit the other orphanages, then back to Babylon.
I gotta take a break today, honestly. I don't feel like doing anything after all
this crap. I need to clear my head, get some real rest and relaxation.
I shook my head from side to side, desperately trying to erase the naked form
that had been scorched into my mind by the burning sun. I sighed, opening up a
[Gate] to the next orphanage.
◇ ◇ ◇
"We are tasked with investigating the nation of Isengard?"
"That's right, yeah. Don't go too far, though. You need to prioritize your safety
over anything else." The black cat Gollem, Bastet, nodded its head. The black
dog Gollem, Anubis, wagged its tail dutifully.
They were just as good as Fenrir when it came to communication.
"Leave it to me, boss-man! I'll blast them all away! Woof, woof!" I was a little
worried about the dog, honestly. Fenrir seemed to notice that and thwacked his
little sibling on the head.
"Owie! What's that for, bro?"
"You aren't meant to fight anyone. Sneak around and get some information.
That's your priority here, got it?"
"Indeed. Our esteemed brother is right. Please do not go dragging me down."
Apparently, Fenrir was the older brother, Bastet was the middle sibling, and
Anubis was the youngest sibling. Anubis was a little larger in size than Bastet,
though.
"C'mon sis! I won't drag us down. You think I'm that dumb?"
"I really do."
"Hey, don't say that! Dogs are smart!" ...I think there are a lot of dumb dogs
out there... And you're a Gollem, anyway!
Fenrir and his siblings were certainly well-developed in terms of personality,
though.
I wondered if their Q-Crystals were of a higher grade than usual.
"If you're in danger, then run away at once. You're equipped with the means
to do so for a reason." Elluka gently pet Bastet on the head as she spoke.
I'd gotten the two Gollems to prevent her from sending her beloved Fenrir
out to a dangerous place but ended up making her form a bond with the
replacements anyway. Talk about counter-intuitive.
As an apology for the risk, I'd granted several powers to the Gollems.
I'd enchanted them with [Storage], [Accel], [Shield], [Fly], and [Invisible] on
their bodies, along with [Paralyze] and [Gravity] for their claws. There was no
way they could be harmed by regular humans or Gollems anymore.
Apparently keeping in wireless communication with them would be easy, too.
They weren't living beings, so the divine venom didn't have any effect on
them.
It was a deadly poison to me and anyone affiliated with me, so we'd have to
send them off from a nearby country.
I opened a [Gate] and took them to the western shores of Gardio, facing
Isengard.
I tried to use my divine sight to look over at the faraway island, but everything
was obscured by a murky golden mist.
People without any divinity wouldn't be able to see it, and it wouldn't have
any effect on them, but there was no doubt I was seeing traces of the venom in
the air.
"Don't forget to report in often. You'll be scouting for a month. Return here
after a month even if you haven't gathered all the info you wanted to gather. If
you send for pickup we'll send someone immediately."
"Understood!"
"Yessir!" I had a feeling Bastet would be more than fine, but I was still a touch
worried about Anubis.
"Hey, Anubis. Remember to keep quiet over there, okay?"
"Huh? What for? Bwah!" Anubis found himself slapped across the snout by
his sister.
"You dummy! A talking dog would totally stand out!"
"Ohh, that makes sense. Gotcha, no problem! Woofity woof!"
"...Bastet. I'll be counting on you to keep him under control."
"I'll make good use of him. Idiot or not."
"Y-You two are being a bit mean!" Bastet hopped up on to her silly brother's
back.
They then promptly floated away using [Fly].
"Take care out there."
"Will do! Look after our master!"
"Yup, we're off!" Anubis activated [Accel] and blasted away across the surface
of the water at the speed of sound. They kicked up a hell of a lot of water in
their wake...
Didn't I just say not to stand out?! I really hope nobody's looking in this
direction.
After a short time I noticed Anubis vanish into thin air, probably thanks to
[Invisible]. I had a feeling it was Bastet's call, rather than his.
Wonder if they'll be okay...
Still, I had no choice but to trust in them. I had other things I needed to do.
◇ ◇ ◇
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Mochizuki Touya, Grand Duke of Brunhild."
"The pleasure is all mine. I'm the King of Panaches, Rabert Tell Panaches. I
welcome you to my humble kingdom." A good-natured old man with a white
beard smiled over toward me.
He was definitely over seventy, but he had the handshake strength of a man
much younger.
I was at the Panaches Kingdom's royal castle.
I'd been sent over to help them prepare for their meeting with Refreese,
which was set for a few days later.
Refreese and Panaches were the only two countries to become directly
connected by land after the worlds merged.
The northwestern border of Refreese was now fused with the eastern region
of Panaches.
The overlapping land was small, a bit bigger than Brunhild, and was currently
uninhabited. I didn't think it'd cause many issues.
But it was still something the two countries needed to discuss, so the
Emperor of Refreese was set to visit Panaches for a formal meeting.
He'd be coming over thanks to my teleportation, of course. Me visiting
Panaches in advance would also help me establish a good area to [Gate] him in
later on.
I had Kohaku with me, along with our knight order's vice-commander Nikola.
There were a few knights in tow, as well. It was really just a formality, though.
"I heard about you from my boy, Robert. He told me you rode a massive
Gollem, but despite your ferocious strength, you have a humble disposition. I've
also heard you fly around the world for the sake of peace and prosperity, that
you have an honorable and kind nature." ...Ahaha, I'm sounding almost like a
saint here.
I looked toward the prince. He was standing there in his pumpkin pants, next
to his light-blue Gollem.
"That's right, father! Mister Mochizuki Touya is a stellar man, a great man!
He's a great friend as well! A wise and noble man with an open mind! He's
nothing but righteous!"
"...Don't mention it, Prince Robert."
Come on, dude... I know you don't mean anything bad, but you're kind of
raising expectations a little high here. Also, when were we friends?
Norn and Nia definitely said it before, but he's a troublesome prince indeed.
The fact that he's not actually a bad person makes this extra annoying to deal
with.
The blue crown, Blau, was bowing profusely in my direction. It was just about
the only thing stopping me from accidentally muttering about how tone-deaf
this guy was.
Still, even if I made a comment, I had my doubts he'd even register it.
I passed on a mass-produced smartphone to the king as I discussed the
upcoming Refreese visit with him.
The Reverse World nations with smartphones were... Primula, Triharan,
Strain, and Gardio.
Silhouette of the Black Cats also had one, though.
I passed it over thinking it'd be better to have more countries in touch, but
Panaches had been an island nation beforehand so it probably didn't have
much in the way of diplomatic ties. Still, since it was now connected to the
mainland through Refreese, I had a feeling that things would change.
After I finished my meeting, Prince Robert came asking me for a smartphone.
I was honestly conflicted about whether to give him one or not.
He kind of seemed like the guy who'd send you a ton of texts in quick
succession.
Robert had the ability of spatial manipulation thanks to Blau's power. He
could teleport just like me, but the compensation for this power resulted in him
needing to sleep after using it.
I couldn't blame his dad for being so worried about him. It seemed like the
king thought it would be good if his son had a smartphone, so he could keep in
touch with his son.
Prince Robert was born when his father was quite old, so the king ended up
doting on him and coddling him a lot.
Despite that, the prince didn't grow up to be a selfish or stupid person, just
kind of an annoying one. It was clear that he was a good son, and that the king
was a good dad.
Given all that information, I had no choice but to accept.
"Thank you so much! We can contact each other whenever now, can't we?"
"Only text if it's not super urgent, and I'd prefer it if you kept those texts
concise." I briefly considered giving him Norn and Nia's numbers so he could
hassle them rather than me, but I had the mental image of them beating me up
for it, so I decided not to.
"Oh, actually..." There was something on my mind, so I turned to the blue
Gollem by my side.
"Blau. I have a question, if that's okay."
"Query? Acceptable. State intent."
"Do you know about the white crown?"
"White. You refer to Albus?"
It knows the white crown... I didn't expect a lead at all.
"You have memories of it?"
"This unit's slumber did not last long post-war. This unit still contains several
pre-war memories." Blau had been passed down in the Panaches royal family
since before the royalty even existed.
It hadn't slept for as long as the other crowns, and thus had some memories
of the early days.
Click.
"What can the white crown do, exactly? Is it a restorative ability? The kind
that could patch up a barrier?" The two worlds had become one, so I had no
doubts the boundary of the new world was under considerable strain.
If the barrier was broken completely, then this world would have no means of
defense against external invaders.
The phrase... Or rather, the wicked god's army, was basically like that. And I
had no doubt there were other threats in the cosmos, too.
"This unit cannot discuss crown Gollem skills freely. The meister, our
manufacturer, has hardcoded such limitations into us." Hrmph. Guess that
makes sense. If they could discuss those things freely, then stuff like weaknesses
would be easier to find out. The meister guy, Chrom Ranchesse if I recall
correctly... Guess he installed that as a security measure.
"The white crown, Albus, is a special model. It is designed as one of a pair,
complementing the black crown, Noir. It is the ultimate folly, one that will bring
all reality to naught." Well, that's a little ominous. Kind of makes it sound like a
doomsday weapon. I thought it'd be like a white mage with healing abilities or
something... But that sounds kinda dangerous.
Click.
"Do you know where the white crown could be?"
"Negative. This unit had believed it to be located with the black crown."
Maybe I should go talk to Elluka about this, there might be some clues wherever
Noir was unearthed.
Click.
"...Do you need to keep taking photos?"
"This is amazing! I have captured the image of you and Blau on this tiny
device!"
"Ask for permission before taking photos, man. You gotta have proper
manners."
"Oh, I see! Very well! May I take another?"
"No." I curtly declined the prince, who was completely absorbed in his camera
app. Despite his appearance, he was actually pretty smart. He only glanced at
the manual a bit and immediately knew how his phone worked.
I had a feeling he'd probably start mailing me photos or selfies, so I told him
he'd be better off sending those to his poor old dad.
After a little while, the prince started to talk in a more serious tone.
"Actually, Touya. There's something I wish to ask of you."
"...I'll hear you out, at least. But I might not be able to do anything, depends
on what you want." If you ask me to get a selfie with you so you can set it as
your wallpaper, then I'll punch you in the teeth. I know you have no grasp of
personal space.
"My fiancee lives in the Kingdom of Strain. I wondered if you could give her
one of these phones."
"In Strain? Oh yeah, I think I remember the queen mentioning something like
that..." Her niece, I think... It's not like I don't trust her, she's part of a royal
family I have a good relationship with, but I've never met her before.
Then again, it's not like I can't just confiscate the phone if it's misused. The
Touya giveth and the Touya taketh away.
The prince explained that whenever he used Blau's ability to visit Strain, he
often had to sleep for a full day as the trade-off, so he didn't get to speak with
his fiancee much. That certainly sounded rough.
I'd already given a phone to the Queen of Strain, and Princess Berlietta. One
more member of their royal household couldn't hurt.
"We can hand it over ourselves. I'll open up a [Gate] to Strain's castle."
"Wonderful! You truly are a wonderful best friend, Touya! Now I can
introduce you to Ceres as well! Huzzah!" So she's called Ceres, huh. Also, wait.
When did I become this guy's best friend? It's true I don't have a lot of male
friends my age, but still...
Man, with Ende and this guy, most of my guy-friends are kinda... Weirdos. This
might end up being pretty exhausting.
I shrugged a bit before opening up a [Gate] to Strain. I certainly hoped Robert
was appreciative.