Ch.302Iron Fortress Sturm (2)

“What do you mean by ‘big collapse’? And what’s this about Laplace’s minion?”

Ireh raised her voice. Both she and I were hearing most of this information for the first time.

“Let me explain the big collapse first. The cause of the big collapse is that there’s too much mass in this world. When the force of the universe’s expansion cannot overcome the gravitational pull of mass and contracts back, the world will end.”

“What does that have to do with Laplace?”

“Laplace controls causality. In human language, fixed causality means something is conserved. Think carefully. What is best conserved in your human studies of nature?”

Ireh muttered blankly.

“…Mass, energy.”

Mass is energy. Energy is mass.

They are essentially the same.

It was obvious that this universe consists of matter and energy, dark matter and dark energy. The claim was that each of these components formed Laplace’s doom, monsters, and incarnations.

“These monsters are scattered not only throughout your universe but also here where we live. They are grateful beings that allow us to exist and think, but they are also factors that cause destruction. And.”

“And?”

“Laplace constantly watches and enjoys our suffering from a world that spans at least 11 dimensions. To borrow your human expression… yes, like a sociopath.”

Rustila and Zernya looked incredulous.

To think there was a final boss that even the outer gods feared.

An ordinary person would have gone mad from this revelation. It was like saying there were gods above gods.

This justified Stern’s proposal that would follow.

“Therefore, we should join forces rather than fight. I have called you here to propose this and to negotiate what we should establish as inviolable.”

“You want us to join hands with you outer gods?”

Zernya was the first to raise her voice.

“Don’t be ridiculous. How could we possibly trust you?”

“The fact that I don’t immediately crush you for such impertinence shows that I respect you. Don’t you think so, insignificant one?”

Kuuung.

Stern descended slightly. It was a subtle movement, but enough to calm Zernya’s sharp reaction.

“Besides, you’re already cooperating with outer gods. You there.”

One of Stern’s countless tentacles pointed at Sonia.

“You originally had a body of steel, then became Darwin’s body, while still under Descartes’ control. How curious.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“It’s good to receive help from outer gods, but your master is too clumsy. If you were originally a machine, it would be more advantageous to protect your master by cooperating with our forces.”

This was his approach. Stern was responding to questions from the women except me, trying to shake their resolve.

This was just the first step.

The stage of easing tension through conversation.

When silence fell, Ireh asked again.

“You mentioned earlier that I learned from Laplace’s minion. Who exactly are you claiming taught me?”

“Well…”

“Eidel?”

“Perhaps.”

“Nonsense!”

Rustila and Zernya raised their voices.

“Even a passing dog wouldn’t believe that Eidel is connected to Laplace! You really did call us here to drive us apart, didn’t you?”

“Drive you apart? I merely mentioned one of countless possibilities. When did I claim certainty?”

“It’s definitely not Eidel.”

“Laplace deals with causality, and the world’s destruction is related to gravity. Someone exceptionally intelligent who tries to create something using gravity would be sufficient to become the King of Incarnation.”

Incarnation, King.

Two important words appeared at once.

“Incarnation means an outer god has settled in a mortal body and completely assimilated. A King is when a mortal transcends the constraints of mortality and becomes a new being.”

“According to you, Eidel is an incarnation of an outer god. But that’s wrong. What’s attached to Eidel is from the Descartes system.”

Kung, kung, kuung.

Stern’s body shook. He was laughing.

“Returner Ireh Hazlen. You should know. If the host body can withstand it, outer gods of different species can attach to the same vessel.”

“You… how dare you say such things about Eidel!”

“Judging by your reaction, further discussion would be meaningless. It would be best to take time to organize your thoughts now.”

Srrr.

Stern disappeared beyond the sand cloud. Soon, the outer god’s space was released. When we came to our senses, we were sitting at the same dining table where we had been eating.

“…What was that?”

Everyone looked as if they’d been hit on the head with a hammer.

Then we heard giggling.

It was Matonica.

“So, how was your conversation with the exalted one?”

“All he did was slander Eidel. I never want to meet such a being again.”

“Wow. Don’t be like that. You probably won’t find anyone as gentlemanly as him before or after this. So think carefully about whether to form an alliance or perish together. I’ll be back in four days. Bye~!”

Pwoooo.

Matonica’s divine form disappeared.

We had to take this matter seriously. We put our heads together to review what had just happened.

After all kinds of reasoning.

The conclusions were summarized in three points.

“First, that outer god proposed an alliance with us. He’ll likely discuss specifically how he can help us next time.”

“Second, Laplace exists in a different dimension from other outer gods. Since he spoke in singular form, there’s probably only one entity, and it’s directly related to gravity or the Big Crunch theory of the universe.”

“Finally, Eidel…”

The four women’s gazes converged on me.

I could see Ireh’s pupils trembling particularly noticeably.

“Are you Laplace?”

“Yes.”

“He’s definitely not.”

“Eidel, don’t joke around. We’re being serious here.”

“Even if the young master were Laplace, I would have no choice but to follow him. The young master is my everything, and I’ve come too far to part ways with his fate.”

“Thank you, Sonia.”

When I patted Sonia’s head, she leaned her shoulder against me. Rustila and Zernya’s eyes widening was a predictable reaction.

“Sonia, you.”

“You still haven’t given up on Eidel?”

Sonia tilted her head.

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“This is driving me crazy. I can’t trust this outer god or that one, and now an incarnation is coveting my husband…”

“Miss Zernya. Have you already forgotten why I became an incarnation?”

“T-that’s…”

“It was to protect the young master. I hope you won’t doubt my sincere devotion.”

Zernya made a pained sound.

That’s when Ireh stood up.

“Whether Eidel is Laplace’s incarnation or not doesn’t matter. If he’s Laplace’s minion, the world will end no matter what we do, and if he’s not, we just need to do our best to struggle through.”

“To say the world will end no matter what we do…”

“It sounds a bit scary when you put it that way.”

My wives, and this world, were gradually realizing.

The existence of the end.

We can’t know exactly when it will come. But it’s certain to be within decades at most. It could be as soon as next year.

My daughters Lucia and Anya will be growing up during that time. I can’t teach despair and destruction to children who are just beginning to flourish.

With that thought, I went to the room where the babies were. Anya, who had just woken up, was frowning.

“Waaaaaah!”

“I’m sorry, my princess. Did daddy startle you by coming in suddenly?”

While I was comforting Anya, her mother came running. Lucia also woke up and burst into tears. Rustila rushed in too.

“There, there.”

“Baby, don’t cry.”

I couldn’t calm the children no matter how I tried. Mothers really are different.

Me, connected to Laplace?

It makes me laugh.

What part of a father who created these two adorable daughters could possibly be Laplace?

It must all be the outer god’s machination.

***

Stern was an outer god skilled at driving people apart with plausible words.

Ireh knew this very well.

Eidel being connected to Laplace? An unheard-of notion.

It was probably a statement aimed at increasing her doubts.

That this cycle’s Eidel was a possessor from the outside world, that he was desperate for gravity-related research, that his Pron value was “unknown,” that he was showing abnormally outstanding achievements.

Everything fits perfectly if forced into the single word “Laplace.”

It was impossible not to be suspicious.

But.

‘I’ve been saved.’

As Sonia said, she had come too far. She had come to admire him, and eventually to love him.

There had never been a happier cycle than this one.

Even if, by some chance, Stern’s words were true.

This was now Ireh’s only lifeline.

So she could boldly declare.

That timelines where he betrayed her and the universe would be less painful to her than timelines where he was gone.

Taking a deep breath.

Ireh stepped forward.

“Everyone gather around. Let’s discuss our strategy now.”