episode_0066

{ Ah – you’re really heartless. }

I sighed as I looked at the dot letters that came to mind in front of my eyes.

“Looks like he’s really dead.”

I looked around. The huge space, as far as the eye could see, was all white. The floor looked like it was made of clouds and was very soft.

I knew this place well.

“It’s like the afterlife.”

“The afterlife! The word ‘heaven’ suits it better!”

After listening to my thoughts, the person who seemed to be a god or something started convulsing.

“You’re treating me too lightly!”

I looked at the god who was lying on the ground. A woman with short maid clothes and large cat gloves on her hands was winking and striking a cute pose.

Above her head, black cat ears stood up, matching her hair color. Her thighs were filled with harnesses, and daggers and guns were tied to the outside of her thighs. They were probably BB guns and rubber knives.

“So… am I dead again?”

You could say that, or you could say no!”

“Yes?”

“Well..! In short, it means I’ll resurrect you!”

“Do I have to keep hearing that ‘nyang’?”

“You must! Nyang!”

As she said that, she winked and waved her large cat hand in the air, making a fist rise. Why do I want to hit that god every time I see her?

“Hmph. Have you fallen for me? Sorry, but connecting with a god is very difficult! Am I a hidden heroine?”

From her way of speaking, her appearance, and her actions, I could tell. The god in front of me was the epitome of eccentricity.

‘That’s a god in this day and age. This day and age.’

I sighed as I recalled the first time I met that person.

“Hmm, it seems like you have a lot of questions!”

“I didn’t ask anything?”

“It’s natural to wonder if I’ve suddenly become a villain who dies miserably by possession!”

“You could speak without the ‘meow’!”

“Oh, meow!”

As if realizing something, she blinked her eyes round and winked while twisting her body, making my fist tremble once again. The reason I didn’t want to hit her was that even the god seemed to enjoy it.

If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes into you.

I didn’t want to face a god like the abyss.

“Alright, just say what you want to say.”

Since she wouldn’t listen to me anyway and would only say what she wanted to say, I waved my hand roughly and said, “You can just say what you want,” and the ‘god’ chuckled and put her hand into the apron pocket of her maid outfit.

Although the apron pocket was very small, a large cat-shaped glove slipped in.

Snap.

With a sound like uncorking a bottle, she took out a round object the size of an adult man’s head from the pocket. She tilted her head at the squishy-looking thing.

“Ta-da! This is… no, this little guy is the god of the world you’ve possessed! Meow!”

“Oh..?”

“Sob, sob…sob!”

The sound of a child’s crying spread loudly from the white lump. At the same time, a transparent liquid dripped down. It seemed to be tears.

“Meow! I feel bad, meow!”

“Ugh..!”

Like throwing a ball, the god threw the round thing on the floor. The thing presumed to be a god from another world lay on the ground, crying and shedding tears.

“Sob, sob…”

“This little guy kidnapped you because he wants to save his own world, meow!”

“Kid…napped..?”

As I answered with a blank face, the lump stuck to the floor twitched, then slowly got up. More accurately, it rolled.

“Sob…hello?”

In the pure white lump, there were chocolate-ball-like eyes and a small bird’s beak attached. Something that looked like a giant sparrow doll cautiously greeted me.

“Yes…”

Reluctantly greeting me, the magpie doll stood up straight. The magpie doll’s legs were thin and very short, like chopsticks. But it certainly stood firm.

Chirp chirp chirp.

The magpie that had come close to me glanced around me. I ignored the magpie doll and said to the god who was playing games on his phone without realizing it.

“So, what do you mean I was kidnapped?”

“When his world began to collapse, he started to be invaded by the outside world. He wandered around looking for help from the outside, but since no one helped, he kidnapped beings from another dimension in desperation! That’s you!”

The god showed me a game screen with “VICTORY” written on it and said. It seems like he wants to boast.

“If it were someone else, they wouldn’t have been kidnapped… You’ve already crossed dimensions once, so you were kidnapped just like that!”

“No… Even if I go, it won’t stop the destruction, will it? Why me…?”

“I have already seen it. A being from another dimension who saves countless worlds!”

The magpie doll said in a solemn voice. It looked funny because it sounded like a child’s voice.

“Dimensional travel, reincarnation, possession novels, and all that.”

The god looked at his phone again and started moving his hands at an incredible speed. Perhaps he is not playing a music game. The magpie blinked and looked at me.

“And you are an experienced dimensional traveler and reincarnator! Surely you can prevent the destruction of the world and subdue the outsiders!”

The magpie flapped its wings. It was quite small compared to its body.

“I’m counting on you in the future… Kkuak!”

Before the magpie could finish speaking, the god suddenly stepped on the magpie with his foot.

“Is this something to say after kidnapping someone else’s child?”

“S-s-save me…”

I thought it was unexpected to see that.

‘But still, he’s angry?’

At that moment, my liking for the god increased slightly.

“Taking something without paying for it? That’s theft! If you don’t pay the proper price, that’s stealing! And it’s not ‘Please let me live,’ it’s ‘Thank you for the reward!’ That’s the rule of this world!”

The favorability rating went back to negative.

“So, what happens to me?”

God responded to my question.

“You can choose as you wish. If you want to come back right away, you can, or you can stay there. When you die naturally in that world, you can live until then. If you die there, I’ll put you back in your original body in this world! Oh, you can go back to the original world right away, but in return, ‘Lian’ in that world will die as is!”

“…”

“What will you do?”

“P-p-please save our world -… g-guuh..”

“Be quiet!”

Ignoring the gods who had no seriousness at all, I was lost in thought.

“Going back… would be right.”

Why did I treat Iris and the kids well in the first place? It was all to survive.

I also wanted to find a way back to the original world if possible.

If I say I want to go back to the original world now, I can escape the threat and go back home. But -…

“Noah, Jess, Iris -…”

The sight of the children laughing in the cruel world held me back.

“I remember hearing that destruction was underway.”

There was a high probability that things wouldn’t go as I knew them. That meant the children could die at any time.

“Um… Is there any way to bring the children from that world here?”

“It’s impossible!”

The firm answer left me feeling crestfallen. After rolling my eyes for a moment, I held another question in my mouth.

“Then what happens if I die over there like this time?”

“You’ll probably come back here again, and you’ll be resurrected!”

“Hmm…? So, does that mean I won’t die?”

“Unless something special happens, there’s no way I’m going to die. I died because my heart was pierced by a peculiar being, that’s all!”

“Peculiar…? Iris?”

“That’s right. The power that opposes the gods? He has that. Because of that, he broke through my abilities!”

Power?

As I questioned, the god immediately explained.

“Because this guy kidnapped as he pleased, errors occurred in the world. To resolve that, I needed a part of my power, and luckily, you were kidnapped and I lent it to you out of concern!”

“What kind of power is it?”

Power! My eyes sparkled at the word that seemed to give an extraordinary ability. When I did, the god rolled his eyes and said,

“It’s the ability to apply the laws of this place!”

“Laws…?”

“In your terms, ‘comedy filter’? That’s the power! With that ability, even if stabbed with a knife, you won’t die, and you can escape from any danger! If something threatening approaches you, the power activates to remove the danger! Where else can you find such an amazing power?”

After hearing it, it felt like a decent power. As I nodded, the god let out a sneeze and made a “Oops!” sound.

“Come to think of it, it’s time for ‘Love makes meow sounds at the hamburger joint – Am I the cat at the hamburger joint? Nonsense! It wasn’t nonsense?’”

Laying out a dizzying title, the god quickly ran to one side and summoned something. A large TV appeared.