Ch.358[Epilogue] Even Across Dimensions (2)

[RE 000. Prologue of the Epilogue]

The outer god of Laplace, ‘The End’, had brought the universe to the brink of extinction.

However, humanity still had hope. The name of that hope was science. People held their positions, expecting that cutting-edge scientific weapons would eradicate the evil from this universe.

Ireh lost consciousness at the final moment. Therefore, she had no idea what happened next.

“Where am I…?”

A familiar ceiling. When she came to her senses, she was in a hospital.

Sunlight pouring through the window tapped on Ireh’s eyelids. Having just awakened, Ireh examined herself once before turning her eyes toward the window.

The sky was clear without a single cloud.

She could hear people talking and birds singing.

The sensation of being alive was vivid. It didn’t feel like the life flashing before her eyes at the moment of death. Ireh had died tens of thousands of times, so she could distinguish that subtle difference.

“Ah…”

Finally, humanity’s resolve had driven away The End.

A happy ending.

A peaceful era without outer gods had arrived.

“Del…”

Ireh hurriedly went out into the hospital corridor. Despite the nurses’ attempts to stop her, it was no use.

“Del! Eidel! Where are you!”

Ireh searched every corner of the hospital. The nursing android in the lobby shook its head.

“He has passed away.”

“Don’t say such nonsense!”

With the belief that he must be alive somewhere, she rushed outside. Without even completing discharge procedures, she circled the Stellarium campus several times.

However.

No matter where she looked.

There was no sign, let alone sight, of Eidel von Rheinland.

Could it really be true?

After continuing to wander around, Ireh eventually collapsed from exhaustion. She sobbed for hours in the middle of the street, like a girl who had been rejected.

“I don’t need this kind of peace…”

This wasn’t the happy ending she had wished for.

***

[RE 001. Peace Without You (1)]

The war was over. With the harmful outer gods driven away, the status window had also disappeared.

People who had shown signs of madness were gradually being cured. The collapsed infrastructure was being restored, slowly but surely. The world was moving in a better direction.

It was a time when everyone was envisioning a new future. Yet there were those who couldn’t escape the past.

Notable examples were some religious fanatics, the former vessel Matonica, and those who had lost loved ones in the final battle.

Ireh boarded the shuttle with her tired body. The destination was the Rheinland family home. The reason for going… there wasn’t really any grand purpose. Just that the people she wanted to meet were there.

Before she knew it, while lost in thought, she had arrived.

As she headed to the dock, a woman with white hair and golden eyes greeted Ireh. Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes had lost their sharpness.

Nevertheless, her noble bearing remained unwashed.

“Welcome, sister.”

“Seti.”

She was Seti von Adelbein Rheinland.

“Your dark circles are severe, child. You should rest a little while you work.”

“I can’t do that.”

Seti replied weakly.

“Because I have to rebuild this family.”

To create the gravitational bomb, humanity had consumed most of its resources and goods. The Federation’s treasury was depleted, and the ten great families, including the Rheinlands, had fallen.

In the midst of this, Seti had become the interim head of the family.

“This ship is where our family stays. If I don’t work hard, we’ll have to sell even this. So I must do my best.”

“You’re admirable. Truly admirable.”

That was all she could say.

“Come in.”

Seti guided her. As they entered the entrance hall, Seti briefly told the story of how she became the head of the family.

“Do you know those two people gave up their succession rights as soon as I showed them the debt documents?”

The two people. She was referring to Brian and Catrick, Eidel’s half-brothers. They had come to compete for the position of the next family head but gave up the succession competition after learning about the family’s situation.

The former head, Arnold, approved Seti’s position as the family head. Now she was the head of the Rheinland family, but Seti insisted on keeping the word ‘interim’ in front of her title.

“Those two aren’t even family.”

“Everyone’s going through a tough time. Just try to understand.”

“If they abandon us because of money, they can’t be trusted even in normal times. Those kinds of people are swayed by money. They don’t control it.”

Ironically, the current wealth gap in the Federation was smaller than ever before. In a world where, except for a few politicians, the concept of privilege had disappeared.

“…I miss my brother.”

Seti wiped away her tears and opened the door to the main bedroom.

There were people in the bedroom. Three women and two children. The two children were babbling earnestly, moving their short tongues.

“Dada.”

“Papapa.”

Seti sighed and opened her mouth.

“Sisters, Ireh is here.”

No response.

“I said Ireh is here? Come out and say hello.”

She felt like screaming, but Seti couldn’t do that. What fault was it of her nieces?

Fortunately, a woman in a maid’s uniform staggered to her feet. The other two women still showed no signs of moving.

“Welcome, Miss Ireh.”

“Hello, Sonia.”

Sonia rubbed her bloodshot eyes and bowed her head.

“Have you been crying all night?”

“…I’m embarrassed.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Now that I think about it… it’s already this time. Please wait a moment.”

Sonia opened the refrigerator and prepared food with the remaining ingredients. It wouldn’t be a luxurious meal. The price of food ingredients hadn’t stabilized yet.

Nevertheless, Sonia’s cooking skills were excellent. She brought out the maximum flavor from ingredients that could be purchased cheaply. She delicately controlled the fire and accurately seasoned the soup.

“It’s not much, but please enjoy.”

“Thank you, I’ll eat well.”

Ireh put down her spoon after just a few spoonfuls.

“Does it not suit your taste?”

“No, it’s delicious. It’s delicious, but I just don’t have much appetite today.”

“I understand.”

Sonia hung her head. Her gaze was on the soup she had made.

“…I miss my husband.”

After the meal, Ireh entered the main bedroom. Golden and silver hair were sprawled and tangled like yarn.

Rustila and Zernya were busily awake. The two women were holding each other’s children and muttering meaningless words.

“This is my child with Eidel. The proof of me and Eidel…”

“Who does she take after to be so determined? Look at those distinct features.”

It was somewhere between maternal love and madness. Sonia, who had followed, took a breath and spoke.

“They’ve been like this since the young master disappeared.”

“They don’t work?”

“They do work. They need to earn money to raise their daughters. But that’s as far as it goes. On weekends, as you can see…”

Sonia’s voice trailed off. It was a miserable feeling. Ireh took a brave step forward.

“What are you all doing right now?”

Her tone was firm.

“Will Eidel come back if you do this?”

The two wives turned their gaze. Eidel. They reacted reflexively to that word.

“This isn’t good for the children either. It’s time to stop living like invalids.”

“Sister.”

Zernya smiled vacantly.

“Aren’t we allowed to grieve?”

Her eyes were dead, but the corners of her mouth twitched.

“It hasn’t been long since Eidel died. Can’t we stay like this a little longer?”

“We don’t know if he’s dead or alive. I…”

“You told us yourself. The logs recorded in the equipment showed that Eidel’s coordinates disappeared at some point. That’s as good as dead, isn’t it?”

“…I said it’s possible. He might be in another world.”

“Put aside the abstract talk.”

Zernya put down her daughter Anya and stepped forward to Ireh. Then, in a voice as cold as frost:

“Sister, I’m a doctor. I know about death better than anyone.”

That’s what she said.

Zernya wasn’t insane. Rather, she was struggling because she wanted to go insane, wanted to forget everything.

The same was true for Rustila. She breathed heavily as she looked at photos taken during her dating days with Eidel over and over again. She didn’t even try to engage in conversation with Ireh.

“I, I never dreamed I’d become a mother at this age. So I was happy.”

“Zernya…”

“And I never dreamed I’d become a widow at this age.”

Clear dew formed in her amethyst eyes, then fell in two straight lines.

“Fool. Foolish husband. I wish I had died with you. If Anya hadn’t been born, I would have followed you by now…”

Zernya couldn’t finish her words. She cried silently. She was careful lest Anya see her crying and cry along with her. She was worried about forming an unhealthy attachment as the child grew up.

So Ireh embraced Zernya. She lent her embrace. Since she was most familiar with the pain of loss, she decided to accept and endure the resentment.

“Mo, mom. Mom.”

It would get better someday.

So, for now, they had to wait.

Until time healed everything.

***

[RE 002. Peace Without You (2)]

Whether it’s rejection or bereavement. People are deeply shocked when someone they love leaves them.

It didn’t take long for Rustila to break down after Zernya. She was even more at a loss than Zernya.

“I, I’m a soldier…”

She had joined the military to protect the country and humanity and had become a general. She had protected everyone she could protect. But why, at the very end.

“The person I loved most, hnngh…!”

“No. It’s not your fault. Rustila, it’s not your fault.”

Ireh spent half a day calming Rustila down. Because she was the older sister. Because she was older. Because she was a regressor who had experienced countless cycles.

She felt a sense of duty to take care of them. It was a feeling she had after seeing Seti quickly recover her mental health and return to daily life under the comfort of her parents.

Sonia felt the same way about that. To Ireh, who came to the Rheinland main ship for several hours every day and then left, Sonia proposed:

“Miss Ireh, I think we can barely function if you’re here. Would you please live with us?”

“Really? Is that okay?”

“I’m begging you.”

Sonia bowed her head. Ireh hesitated before nodding.

In fact, she had wanted to stay on the Rheinland main ship continuously. However, she had been conscious of her position as Eidel’s mistress.

Ireh ended her studio apartment life and became a new member of the Rheinland family.

And so, a widow who had never married came into being.

***

“…”

I stopped reading after chapter 2 and rubbed my face dry.

The “Eidel” I knew was a one-time villain. But the remake that suddenly appeared seemed to contain the story after I was possessed, and after creating the gravitational bomb to defeat “The End.”

I shook my head. For a moment, I wondered if I had gone crazy. It was absurd that a physics graduate couldn’t think rationally.

A novel should first be viewed as a novel.

The development was frustrating, and I was afraid to press chapter 3, but since it was a novel I was attached to, my finger clicked the “Next Chapter” button.

And I couldn’t help but get goosebumps when I saw the page that came up.

[RE ???: This chapter does not exist.]

The smartphone screen darkened to dark mode and displayed the following sentence:

[“It’s been a year and you’re only looking now? You lazy youngster.”]