It had been a week since the open campus.
On my day off, I went to practice sorcery in preparation for the attackers.
Suddenly, a mysterious black vortex appeared in front of me.
"W-what is that?"
No way, the attackers are already here!
I hurriedly took out my Absolute Spear and prepared it, and then Kuuya-san came over to me.
"Wait. That portal belongs to Ikkaku-sama, just like last time."
"Eh?"
"I said I would use my body to contact Reimei-sama, didn't I? That's why Reimei-sama moved so fast."
"I-I see."
As soon as I lowered my weapon, Ikkaku-san emerged from the vortex.
"It's been a while, Yuuya-sama."
"I-it's been a while…"
As usual, Ikkaku-san exuded an aura of serenity, and I felt terrible.
Then everyone gathered, including Night and the others from inside the house.
"Woof!"
"I thought I felt a strange presence again…"
"H-hey, Yuuya-sama! Could it be that one…"
"Oh… this is Ikkaku-san. I told you earlier about Meiko, the one from the underworld."
When I introduced them, Ikkaku-san bowed his head reverently.
Lexia-san and the others also bowed their heads and immediately noticed something.
"W-wait a minute! Why is someone from the underworld here? Could it be related to Meiko?"
"N-no, it's not about that…"
I hadn't told Lexia-san and the others about the parallel universe yet, so I didn't know how to explain it to them.
…If possible, I didn't want to make everyone uncomfortable, and I wanted to keep quiet…
Then Ikkaku-san, perhaps sensing my feelings, offered a helping hand.
"Actually, now that the situation in the underworld has calmed down, my Lord… Reimei-sama wants to thank Yuuya-sama again, so this time, I have come to pick him up. Yuuya-sama, can you spare some time?"
"Y-yes, I'm fine!"
"Um, can't we go with you?"
When Lexia-san said this quickly, Ikkaku-san shook his head apologetically.
"I'm sorry, but the underworld is the land of the dead. It is a place where only the dead or those with spiritual power can go…"
"I see…"
"Spiritual power was Yuuya's newfound power, wasn't it? It's outrageous to hear again… that it also allows you to go to the underworld."
"So, Yuuya-sama. We will go there as soon as possible. Is that okay?"
"U-um!"
The moment I was about to nod at Ikkaku-san's words, Meiko raised her voice.
"C-can you take me with you?"
"You are…"
Ikkaku-san's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly smiled and nodded.
"If it is you, it should be fine. I'm sure Reimei-sama will be rather pleased to see you."
"Thank you very much!"
So it was decided that I would go to the underworld with Ikkaku-san… but if the attackers came while I was away from this world, it would be a problem.
That's why…
"Ouma san. Please take care of everyone."
"Hmph. I have no choice…"
"And Night, too, please."
"Woof!"
"Buhi! Buhi!"
"Pi! Piii!"
"Hahaha. Of course, I'm counting on you two."
After being amused by Akatsuki and Ciel raising their voices to compete with Night, Me and Meiko went to the underworld for the first time in a long time.
＊＊＊
Around the time Yuuya left for the underworld.
At the Nittei Academy, Kamiyama was given a certain document by Shirai.
"Here is the information on the student candidates."
"Thank you for your hard work."
The document given to Kamiyama contained detailed information about the students of the Nittei Academy, along with their portraits.
"This is good. With this, I think we can form a school idol group at our academy."
Yes, Kamiyama was thinking of forming a school idol program at Nittei Academy as well to compete with the school idol program being promoted at Ousei Academy.
In order to select the members for this project, she asked her butler, Shirai, to gather information about the students.
Then Shirai opened her mouth.
"I gathered both male and female students as you requested. Is that okay? Ousei Academy was supposed to be an all-female group…"
"That's fine. It is true that Ousei Academy is currently working on a female school idol project, but since we are talking about the eccentric of the Kitaraku family, I am sure that he has male idols in mind as well… If that is the case, we should prepare both groups from the beginning. Besides, it might be a good idea to make a mixed-gender group!"
Kamiyama was ahead of the others because she knew about Ousei Academy's student council president, Kitaraku.
While looking at the information gathered in this way, Kamiyama looked frustrated.
"…Our school is full of wonderful people, but there is no one who can compare to Yuuya-san…"
Originally, Kamiyama wanted to bring Yuuya to the Nittei Academy.
But Yuuya, who was enjoying life at Ousei Academy, refused, and she gave up in tears.
And Kamiyama, who was looking for an eye-catching talent to start the school idol project, felt frustrated that she did not have someone like Yuuya at hand.
"I'm sure that eccentric will probably use Yuuya for the job… I wish I could bring him in somehow, but it will be difficult…"
Thinking that much, Kamiyama let out a single sigh.
"Besides… I don't think the school idol project will be the end of it."
"What do you mean?"
"I understand that the school idol project serves as a promotional tool to attract students to Ousei Academy, but I think it's a little too important for that purpose alone. From what I've heard, they're really into having Kanade Utamori from Star Productions write the music for them…"
"Well, then, there is a rumor."
"Rumor?"
Kamiyama tilted her head at Shirai's words.
Shirai nodded her head.
"Yes. I don't know how true it is, but I heard that… Ousei Academy is going to establish a new public entertainment department."
"Public entertainment department!?"
Kamiyama's eyes widened at those words.
"I see… the school idol is just one of the perfected examples, and the real purpose was to establish a public entertainment department, right? Surely, if school idols are successful, it will be easier to establish a public entertainment department as an example of success… What? Perhaps, as a stepping stone to that goal, a cooperation with Star Productions?"
"What do you mean?"
Shirai asked, not quite understanding, and Kamiyama calmed down a bit as she continued.
"…Listen. If they want to establish a public entertainment department, they'll need teachers to teach this subject. However, the Ousei Academy, which is just an ordinary school, does not have the know-how. …Therefore, by partnering with Star Productions, who participated in the school idol project at Ousei Academy, Ousei Academy will be able to invite Star Productions' talents to teach the subject."
"I see."
"And since Star Production does not have a training school, they will use this opportunity to focus on training the next generation of students. That would make Star Productions bigger, and the Ousei Academy, which is affiliated with them, could become bigger as well!"
As soon as Kamiyama said that, she immediately gave the order.
"Shirai! Now go and find an entertainment agency that can compete with Star Productions! And contact them to set up a public entertainment department at our school!"
"Understood."
With that, Nittei Academy also began the process of establishing a new public entertainment department.
＊＊＊
When we reached the underworld safely, Meiko looked around nostalgically.
"…It looks like the restoration of the underworld is really over. It calms me down…"
Just as Meiko said, there was a calm atmosphere in the underworld that we visited for the first time in a long time, probably because the various restoration works had been completed.
The traces of Meiko's spiritual power outburst had also been beautifully restored.
While looking around, we followed Ikkaku-san and arrived at Reimei-sama's place.
"Welcome! And… it's been a while."
"…Long time no see, Reimei-sama."
Reimei-sama's eyes lit up when she saw me, then she shifted her gaze to Meiko and smiled kindly.
"By the looks of you, you seem to be in good health."
"Yes! In the present world, not just Master but everyone has been good to me!"
When Meiko first arrived, I wondered what would happen to her, but now she was taking perfect care of Lexia-san and the others and had learned to behave exactly like a maid.
"Umu, that's good. Well… I don't know what that outfit means, but…"
Reimei-sama herself seemed to have nothing but doubts about Meiko's transformation into a maid.
"Well, that's okay. Anyway, I'm sorry to start so early, but let's get down to business."
"You heard what Kuuya-san said, didn't you?"
"Yes. Well, I have an idea who might have attacked you."
"W-what on earth could that be…?"
"Maybe… it was someone wandering in the Between Worlds."
"Between Worlds…?"
I just tilted my head at the unfamiliar words.
"Yes, that's right. First of all, in order to explain this 'Between Worlds,' it is necessary to know what a 'world' is."
Reimei-sama paused after saying that.
"Earth, where you live, and this underworld are worlds that are confined to a single vessel called space."
"Eh?"
"It's hard to explain… but in the present world where you live, there are stars, galaxies, and the universe. Is that right?"
"Y-yes."
"And the box of space that contains all of this is a world."
"Huh…"
As I tilted my head, not quite understanding, Reimei-sama looked at me for a moment with a hint of spiritual power in her eyes.
"Umu... just now, I read Yuuya's memories and knowledge. If I were to explain it in a way that comes close to this picture, I would say that the universe you live in is contained in a soap bubble. Would that work?"
"I-I see…"
The scale is too large for me to fully understand, but I have a vague idea.
The world we live in is surrounded by something like a bubble.
"And the space in which the world exists like a myriad of soap bubbles is the Between Worlds."
"….."
I was struck by the sheer magnitude of it all.
In other words, could it be that the soap bubbles in our world and the other soap bubbles in another world are parallel worlds?
Reimei-sama had an apologetic look on her face as I was confused.
"I would like to give you a more detailed explanation, but we don't have much time. Let's just assume that you understand 'Between Worlds' and proceed."
"Y-yes."
"In Between Worlds, there are those who cannot exist in their respective worlds or who have been rejected by their respective worlds."
"Rejected? What do you mean by rejected?"
"Simply put, the scale of their existence is too great for the world to bear. Earlier, we compared the world to a soap bubble. If a person with a large scale of existence enters the bubble, the bubble will burst, and the world will be destroyed. That is why the world bursts those who are too big in order to defend itself.
"The destination of the bubbles is 'Between Worlds,' and there are other worlds floating around it, aren't there? Won't those worlds be attacked?"
"Well… I've never set foot in that 'Between Worlds', so I don't know the details."
Reimei-sama reigns as the Lord of this underworld, and I doubt she can afford to go to the Between Worlds.
"But the fact that you were attacked indicates that the people in the Between Worlds have the power to interfere with the inside of the world that is floating around in there. Conversely, if they could easily destroy the world from the outside, they would have done so from the beginning. Maybe they are using this momentary interference to undermine the inner world so that they can interfere from the outside."
"I see… but if the enemy is in such a place, what should we do?"
If the enemy is in an incomprehensible place like Between Worlds, there is nothing I can do.
Reimei-sama predicted that the enemy could only interfere for a moment, but even with that, they could do a lot of things, which is why the 'me' from the parallel world lost, and that world was taken away from him.
But I can't just sit back and wait for them to come back.
Then Reimei-sama opened her mouth with a grim expression on her face.
"…There is a way to get to the Between Worlds."
"Eh?"
I was surprised by these unexpected words, and Reimei-sama continued.
"With my power, I can send you to the Between Worlds."
"Well then!"
"But then! I don't know if you'll be able to come back."
"Eh…"
Reimei-sama's words made me hold my breath.
"W-what does that mean…?"
"As I said, I can send you to the 'Between Worlds,' but you will need my power to return from the other side. But as you know, I am the Master of the underworld, so I cannot move from this place."
"….."
"Besides, I do not know what kind of place 'Between Worlds' is. I don't know what kind of power those people, whose existence is so great that the whole world has rejected them… could use."
There is no way to return home, and their power is unknown.
Normally, one would not take on such an opponent recklessly.
But in my mind's eye, I saw the image of the other 'me' fading away.
"Don't worry… you're stronger than me… so protect everyone──"
That's what the other me had entrusted to me.
That's why──.
"Reimei-sama. I am asking you, please. Please send me to… Between Worlds."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
I nodded strongly, and suddenly a warm feeling spread over my right hand.
I looked at the touch and saw that Meiko was holding my hand.
"I've never heard of parallel worlds or Between Worlds before… but I'm going there with you."
"Eh, b-but…"
"I was saved by Master. Besides… now I am one with Master."
"Meiko…"
"I don't want you to forget, but I'm here too, you know?"
Then Kuro, who had been quiet lately, unexpectedly called out to me.
Yes… Kuro is with me.
I'm not alone, and just knowing that I'm not alone makes my heart lighten.
Reimei-sama, who watched our exchange, let out a sigh.
"You seem to have made up your mind. The boundary line between the dimensions that existed in Between Worlds has probably disappeared this time… But is there anyone who can repair it…?"
While Reimei-sama made a somewhat offensive remark, she clapped her hands vigorously.
At that moment, waves of mystical and spiritual power spread out from both of her hands at once.
"I'll say it again! If I send you over there, I don't know if you'll ever be able to return to the present world!"
"Please!"
I've been saved by many people in my life.
Therefore, when the world is in danger… I want to fight to protect everyone.
Hearing my words, Reimei-sama nodded and put her hands, which were filled with tremendous power, on the ground.
At that moment, the waves of mystical and spiritual power intertwined and enveloped the bodies of myself and Meiko──and we were sent to the Between Worlds.