Ch.231Outside. With You at the End of the World (Complete)

“No!”

Carisia denied my question with that bright smile still on her face. She playfully stuck out her tongue and winked at me as I stood frozen in bewilderment.

“You don’t have anything else to do today, right?”

“Well, that was a good idea though.”

“You’ve been lounging around and resting every day lately. Isn’t it about time you went outside for a bit?”

“But I like doing nothing the most…”

This was a literal statement of fact. I’ve always preferred lounging around in my room above all else.

Carisia shrugged and took my hand.

“Let’s go see the world you changed.”

“You mean Etna City?”

“I heard that’s still stuck in Elysion and can’t be moved?”

***

In truth, Etna City remained immobile for different reasons. The Hydra Alliance’s armed forces controlling the remnants of the old Ten Towers system were more efficient when stationed near Elysion.

It also helped that the control system for the magical circulation system governed by the Ten Commandments was located at Hydra Corporation’s headquarters in Etna City.

Kaicle, who had become the chief administrator of the magical circulation system, greeted the two visitors warmly as they arrived holding hands.

“Oh, Chief Secretary. It’s been a while. And the President has returned quickly, just as you said.”

“What President? I’ve already stepped down. Mr. Lampades will be upset.”

“Since Hydra Corporation has evolved into the Hydra Alliance, the highest position is now Chairman. The title of ‘That President’ still belongs only to you, sir.”

Ortes tilted his head and asked:

“Oh? What about Miss Arabel?”

“She’s denying reality by calling herself the Acting President. She’s just waiting for the President to return and take back his authority.”

Carisia burst into laughter. Considering that during the Hydra Corporation days, even seeing the corners of her mouth turn up was rare, this was truly a dramatic change.

Ortes sipped the coffee Kaicle had brought and asked:

“By the way, about Miss Kore from the Divine Faith Order.”

“Ah, the Divine Priestess? She’s left the expansion of the faith to other orders and is focusing on taking care of the fallen—”

“I knew her as Kine’s older sister¹. How are the two of them getting along?”

“…?”

Kaicle’s eyes filled with confusion. Ortes turned to Carisia. She too blinked as if hearing this for the first time. Her golden sparkling eyes were still beautiful.

Ortes shook his head to clear his thoughts and asked again.

“…Perhaps, did I never mention this to you?”

“No.”

Ortes nodded. Since he had noticed the connection between the two just before the final battle with the Demon King, he must have missed the opportunity to mention it.

“When I looked at them with my eyes, they seemed to share the same parents. Since both of them have extraordinary talent with divine power, I figured they must be family.”

“You’re only mentioning this now?”

“It’s not like I have a hobby of stalking people, and how often do I get to see others with these eyes of mine? I happened to notice it when I had my eyes fully activated right before the final battle with the Demon King, but I forgot about it.”

Carisia let out a laugh. She knew well that this person had built mountains of misunderstandings by not saying things that should be said while saying things that shouldn’t.

Seeing it burst out like this was freshly amusing.

Kaicle shrugged.

“I did notice the Divine Priestess looking rather anxious whenever she saw Miss Kine. So that’s their relationship. The two have grown closer since the Divine Priestess conducted funeral prayers for the Bacchus Order followers that Hydra Corporation had been keeping.”

Judging by Kore’s expression when looking at Kine, it seemed that Kore was aware of their relationship.

But Kaicle surmised that upon seeing Kine’s prosthetic arm—a wound that existed because she couldn’t protect her—Kore felt she had no right to claim her position as family and was keeping it to herself.

“I hope the two of them get along well. After all, they’re each other’s only family.”

Ortes expressed sympathy for both Kine and Kore. Kine had lost everyone in the Bacchus Order who had been her family, and Kore, despite reuniting with family, couldn’t easily approach her.

From someone who knew the bitterness of being alone in the world, it was natural to hope that the two would support each other.

“Mr. Lampades seems to be handling things better than expected. What is Mr. Knemon up to?”

“He quickly stepped down from his position as one of the Ten Tower Masters and is focusing on rebuilding the Tabning Magic Tower. Actually, Mr. Lampades tried to stop him, but he managed to escape quite skillfully.”

“Knemon is good at running away. He’s excellent at submitting resignations and fleeing. He was like that during his Solver days too.”

As Ortes said this, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. To others, it might have seemed suspicious enough to think Ortes held a grudge against Knemon.

But Carisia could tell it was an expression of reminiscing about pleasant times past. Kaicle, who had been listening quietly, burst into laughter.

“Is that what the Chief Secretary says? Miss Niobe has been looking for you.”

Ortes turned his head.

“She says you inspired her dream and then made it come true, but disappeared without taking anything in return.”

“Come to think of it, Ortes, wasn’t your specialty luring people in and molding them to your taste?”

At Carisia’s teasing, Ortes shook his head.

“What are you saying, Carisia? What have I done?”

“Wasn’t it because of your preferences that I speak formally and wear uniforms all the time?”

“…That’s slander.”

Kaicle found the transformation of these two both perplexing and delightful. What greater irony could there be than if the people who changed the world couldn’t change themselves?

“So, President. I’ve prepared what you asked for.”

“What I asked for?”

Ortes asked back. He knew that while he had been cooped up at home rolling around, Carisia had been actively moving about and pulling strings here and there.

But even Ortes didn’t know what she was working toward.

“Mr. Lampades and Ms. Astrape were a great help. You mentioned some reference points, but it would have been impossible without their assistance.”

“I heard that Astrape had talent in the sacred arts of the Aigio Order?”

“Not quite a demigod… but there are rumors she carries divine blood.”

Ortes’s expression grew more puzzled at the conversation between Carisia and Kaicle. Something that required Lampades, Astrape, and Kaicle working together?

Was it some kind of massive purge of the Ten Towers remnants?

He felt the urge to use his eyes, but Ortes restrained his impatience. Carisia had turned her head, put a finger to her lips, and playfully smiled with a “Shh.”

“This way, please.”

The place Kaicle led them to contained an unexpected object.

A mass of immense magical power burning white. Something Carisia once despised so much.

“The White Light…”

“Now, Ortes.”

Standing before the White Light, Carisia spread her arms and smiled. Ortes felt a sudden chill run up his spine.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to detonate it?”

“Correct!”

“Didn’t you abandon that idea because detonating it would destroy the dimensional barrier? What about Elysion’s magical circulation system?”

Kaicle shrugged and answered.

“That’s why we needed quite a long time to calculate how to extract just the White Light. The White Light is now completely independent from the extra-dimensional barrier, so detonating it won’t affect the circulation system.”

“Carisia. Why now, after all this time?”

“I just realized I still want to destroy it!”

Ortes grabbed the back of his neck. That bright smile was genuinely sincere. He was certain of it without even needing to use his eyes.

“And you know what?”

“What?”

“If we want to go beyond dimensions, we need to break down the dimensional wall, don’t we?”

***

While Carisia had readily accepted the frustration of both her and Ortes’s wishes, she wasn’t satisfied with that.

There must be a way to fulfill both their desires.

Destroying the White Light. Returning home.

With Carisia’s support, Lampades and Astrape continuously explored extra-dimensional coordinates through the old Eidolon facilities.

At the end of that long search, coordinates that seemed to match “Ortes’s home dimension” were finally output.

Carisia decided to obtain the initial propulsion force for dimensional travel by detonating the White Light.

***

Kaicle had slipped away at some point. Left alone, Carisia hugged my arm and exclaimed:

“That’s how things turned out!”

“But, Carisia. That means you’ll be in my homeland…”

“Ah. Getting there the first time is the problem, but coming back is simple. Once we have exact numerical coordinates instead of estimates, the resources needed decrease exponentially.”

I laughed helplessly. To think that now, after all this time, I could return home.

“I’m glad it’s today.”

“Pardon?”

“Today happens to be exactly one year since our retirement. Our retirement anniversary!”

Her expression as she said this looked so innocent.

“It will probably be a boring place for you, President. It’s quite ordinary in many ways.”

“Still, there’s something I can only do there.”

“Something you can only do on Earth?”

World domination? Since Earth has no explicit supernatural abilities, if Carisia set her mind to it, she might actually be able to conquer the world single-handedly.

“I need to meet your parents and greet them.”

That was completely unexpected.

“Your appearance here might be a bit different from there, but that’s nothing magic can’t fix. We’ve been living together for a year now, isn’t it about time we visited your parents?”

I couldn’t easily respond to something so completely outside my expectations.

Carisia took my hand.

“Now, Ortes.”

Finally, with the detonation of the White Light ahead of us, having found the path to your homeland.

“Are you okay now?”

The same question I had asked this morning. Then the answer should be the same too.

“No, I’m not okay.”

With a comfortable smile I can only show in front of you, I answer with my true expression.

“I’m not just okay, I’m happy.”

Hearing my answer, Carisia pulled on my tie. Lips meeting lips. The exact same situation as when she stole our first kiss on the first day we lived together. Who would have thought I’d be on the receiving end of a proposal?

I quietly closed my eyes and imagined. Imagination solely my own, excluding omniscience.

A life captured by the white-haired Hydra seemed like it would be nothing but joyful.

“…But did you really have to detonate the White Light?”

“It’s a hobby!”