episode_0058

Light spilling from the hallway began to illuminate the dark room. As the figure of a short-haired man, sitting in the room that had been filled only with darkness, slowly became visible, I was greatly astonished. His right leg was gone, and most of his body was wrapped in cloth. Furthermore, even the uncovered parts of his body were full of scars, and he wore an eyepatch over his left eye. Cecilia and I couldn’t close our mouths at the sight of the man, literally covered in wounds.

“Y-You… What happened to your body…?”

“Hmm? Ah… you were greatly flustered by my current appearance. As you can see, I was gravely injured and am recuperating here. I fought a formidable enemy before… When I came to my senses, I was a tattered mess and had arrived in this Ellum Dimension. Merzel, the gravekeeper and caretaker here, saved me.”

“A formidable enemy?”

“Ah… I’m a person who does all sorts of things, you see. Well… I can’t exert my full original strength now, but… Don’t worry. I can replace my severed leg with a machine.”

“A machine…? How can a machine replace a human body part…?”

“Such technology is abundant in other worlds. Well… there are conditions, though. Anyway, the fact that Merzel let you two in here means that one of you met Prosh… and if so, you must be curious about other worlds, right?”

“Prosh? Who’s that, Zeke?”

“An elf I met in Provelitu. She’s gone now, though…”

“Already? Huh… It must have been a long time. It feels like just yesterday that the vibrant fellow was curious about humans and even realized my true identity… How bitter. We even had a pleasant time drinking lemon tea together here…”

“Lemon tea?”

“I’ve brought the tea.”

The moment I was curious about what lemon tea was, Merzel stood behind us, having prepared five teacups filled with tea. We then entered the room and each sat down at the table, drinking the lemon tea Merzel had brought out. Cecilia, placing a hand on her cheek, exclaimed in admiration.

“Oh? This is quite delicious, isn’t it, Zeke?”

“It has a slightly sour taste. But it’s warm, so it does taste good. The aroma is nice too. Isn’t it—”

“Eek…!!”

As I and Cecilia turned to Aria, praising the lemon tea, we saw Aria glaring at the teacup she held with a very displeased expression. Cecilia gasped, and I quickly turned my head away from Aria.

“For Zeke-nim to be satisfied… The only tea that can satisfy Zeke-nim should be the one I serve… Why…!!”

“I-Is it because of *that*, Saintess?!”

“…Aria, then you can just serve me this lemon tea or whatever it is later.”

“…Yes?”

“Right?”

“…Merzel-ssi. How do you brew this tea? Please teach me right now.”

“What…?”

When I said she could serve it to me later, Aria immediately dropped her expression and began asking Merzel how to brew lemon tea. Merzel then started to look a little troubled, but eventually took Aria to the kitchen. Seeing this, Estur placed his teacup on the table and let out a hollow laugh, saying,

“Hahaha… I’ve met a similar person in another dimension, but it’s a relief she doesn’t go to extremes, I guess?”

“Extremes?”

“Yes. There have been cases like this in other dimensions. Like confining the person they love… or killing that person and then themselves… There are all sorts of beings out there, you know. Oh, and of course, I’ve seen other races, not just humans, do such things. Their eyes were so terrifying back then…”

“Um… I still get death glares from that Saintess…?”

“Oh dear… That’s a big problem… Well, I have seen cases like that before. So… you should be careful with yourself, shouldn’t you?”

“What is this old man saying?!”

At Estur’s words, Cecilia flared up, stood from her seat, and shouted at Estur. Estur then let out a hollow laugh and scratched his head. Are all otherworldly beings like this…? No, wait. This isn’t what we were supposed to be talking about.

“Estur. I am the explorer Zeke. It’s true that I’m curious about other worlds. But before you tell me about them, may I ask two questions?”

“Hmm? Yes. Ask whatever you’re curious about.”

“Alright. First. The World Tree revived yesterday. But the World Tree mentioned otherworldly beings and H.S.A—”

“Pfft!! Wha… What did you say?!”

‘Huh…?’

As I was about to ask about H.S.A, which the World Tree mentioned, Estur quickly turned his head and spat out the tea he had in his mouth. Estur’s sudden alarm surprised both Cecilia and me.

“W-What’s wrong, old man? Suddenly?”

“Ugh… *cough cough*… The World Tree revived? And mentioned H.S.A?! Did it perhaps say that some red-haired human killed it?!”

“…?! How do you know that…? Are you saying you know who that human is…?”

“Of course I do!! That person’s name is Revo! My direct superior and the captain of H.S.A’s 2nd division!!”

“…? *Splat*!… Wh-What?!”

Realizing that Estur was connected to the human who killed the World Tree, I was so shocked that I spat out the tea I was holding, just like Estur. At that moment, Aria came over, smiling brightly, with lemon tea.

“Zeke-nim~ I brewed this lemon tea myself~… Eh…?”

“Ugh… W-Wait… D-Direct superior?! Then you’re also H.S.A or something…?”

“Y-Yes… I’m also a member of an organization called H.S.A. Captain Revo told me he personally killed a strange half-human, half-flower called the World Tree in the Ellum Dimension a long time ago, so I knew about it… But how did that plant bastard survive from him…?”

“Um… Zeke-nim? My tea…”

“…Ah, thank you. My head wasn’t working just now…”

My head was very muddled, so I first calmed myself by drinking the lemon tea Aria brewed. Aria then sat next to me, smiling brightly as she watched me drink the tea she had made. I let out a deep breath, looking at her smile, and said,

“Phew… I feel alive again… Thank you, Aria…”

“Hehehe… For Zeke-nim to calm down by drinking the tea I brewed… It feels like a dream…”

“Hold on a second. Old man, you keep calling this world Ellum, but this is the Krentid World, isn’t it? It’s not a different place, is it?”

“Oh… No, no. Outsiders call this place Ellum. So there’s already a name for this world here… Phew… I was surprised too, a completely unexpected story came out…”

“Yes… But what is H.S.A?”

“Ah… It’s an organization that manages dimensions. Under the name of the dimension’s god, Serica-nim.”

“…Manages dimensions…?”

“Hmm… I’ll tell you about this later when I explain about the world. Anyway, that vibration back then was that, huh… I thought it was an earthquake.”

“Estur, did these individuals know what that was?”

Merzel, who had been teaching Aria how to brew lemon tea, entered the room and asked Estur. As Merzel also sat in a chair, Estur told him,

“My superior’s plant ‘bastard’ who died seems to have revived. Wait, then the World Tree…”

“We killed it, so don’t worry.”

“…? Zeke, what exactly did you do when you went into Provelitu? And what’s that greatsword?”

Cecilia, who didn’t know the story of Provelitu, pointed to Trahan on my back. I gave an awkward laugh and scratched my head with my finger.

“Hahaha… I’ll tell you that later. Estur, may I begin my second question?”

“Of course.”

“Do you know someone called ‘Twenty Mana’?”

“…*Sigh*… You seem to experience a lot of things related to otherworldly beings, don’t you? Of course I know him. That man’s real name is Ricand.I.Ru. He’s a man with only his right arm, and he uses a sword. And he has short gray hair…”

“Ah… You don’t have to tell me everything… *Sigh*… I’d definitely believe you if there was proof that other worlds exist… Is there any way you can prove it?”

“What? Hmm… Ellum… no, Krentid World is such a peculiar dimension that I can’t show you the dimensional path… I was going to tell you about this when I explain dimensions, but… A way to prove it… I don’t know if this dimension has such technology, but… Merzel, could you perhaps take that out?”

“Understood.”

As Estur requested something, Merzel stood up, took something out of a drawer, and handed it to Estur. Estur then brushed his hand over the object, and suddenly, light emanated from it. And on the wall struck by that light…

“That’s… a picture, isn’t it? Made of light…”

“It’s a projector… no, a machine called a ‘projection device.’ It’s an object that projects stored images onto a wall to display them. Do you have such a thing?”

“…We might have similar objects, but I’ve never seen such a machine… So other worlds really do exist.”

“Yes, well… The world outside has gone beyond the scope of your imagination, but…”

Estur pressed the machine, and the light from it disappeared. Estur then placed the machine on the table, and Merzel took it and put it back into the drawer. Estur then looked serious and asked us,

“Alright… Now I’ll tell you about other worlds… about the world itself… But before that. Zeke, I’m a little concerned about the Saintess next to you.”

“Me? Aria?”

“Yes… I know how people react when they learn the truth about the world. Some go mad from an unbearable reality, others become reclusive… There were normal ones, but also those who went mad in a bad way. Especially a Saintess with strong faith.”

“Hmm? Are you talking about me? I’m fine. Now, my heart is filled only with Zeke-nim… rather than anything like a god…!!”

“She’s subtly emphasizing it again…”

At Estur’s words, Aria said she was fine and began to stare intently at my face. Seeing this, Estur sighed deeply and let out a chuckle, saying,

“I’m envious. If they were like you, they wouldn’t have gone mad… I’ll tell you about the world. Before that… you might have to discard all your common sense… Besides the Saintess, Zeke, and you, sitting next to the Saintess, are you two alright?”

“I’m fine. I’m confident because I’ve already experienced shocking things.”

“I’m also fine. Isn’t this part of an explorer’s job?”

“Alright. Well then…”

Estur stood up and fetched paper and a pen from a drawer behind him. He then drew a gigantic circle on the paper, and inside it, several smaller circles. Then he drew smaller circles within those circles, and within those smaller circles, he began drawing circles again. Once the drawing was complete, Estur held it and began explaining the world to us.

“This is ‘I’. It is the world itself, encompassing everything. And… the second largest circles within this gigantic circle are what we call ‘spaces’. And the third largest circles within those are ‘dimensions’.”

“That’s unexpected. I thought dimensions would be inside the world… but it turns out dimensions are also included in space.”

“You got it right away… uh…”

“Cecilia, old man. Keep explaining.”

“Alright. What’s inside a dimension is the universe. And we live on a planet within that universe. How is it? Quite vast, isn’t it?”

“…It’s beyond vast… By the way, why did the gods create the world like this? When I studied as a Saintess in Esrad, the gods created the world…”

“That’s the thing… You have to discard the common sense you thought you knew here. That… is the byproduct of an ancient war. A flawed byproduct that hasn’t been erased even now.”

“What?”

Everyone was greatly perplexed by Estur’s words. What did he mean by having to discard common sense here…? As I harbored doubts at Estur’s words, he began writing something on the back of the paper. What is that language…?

“Estur, what language is that?”

“Ah… This is Kajur. It’s the language used by the gods. This word, in human language, means ‘god,’ and in their language, it’s ‘Kaju’.”

“In other words, it’s the language of the gods. But how do you…?”

“I’ll explain about the Kajus. The Kajus didn’t create the world. It’s the opposite. The Kajus were born from the world.”

“W-What?!”

“And Kajus cannot create life or the world. Well… what they *can* create is perhaps a dimension suited to their own attribute? Even then, it’s only one or two, and life cannot exist within them.”

“They can’t create life…? Aria, did you know that?”

“No? But it doesn’t matter even if it’s different. Because…”

“The Saintess’s heart is only for Zeke…?”

As Cecilia said, straight-faced, taking over my words, Aria began to stare intently at me again. Ugh… I have so much to process right now, don’t do this… Anyway… this really is on a level where I have to discard common sense, isn’t it…?

“Anyway, in ancient times, there were beings called Neo-Kajus. To make the world more prosperous, they created their subordinates, the Kajus. But the early Kajus, steeped in arrogance, annihilated the Neo-Kajus who had given them their positions. Afterward, they began to lead the world in a negative direction. Well… they utterly collapsed due to Kajus and various beings who opposed that idea… Later, our Commander, who founded H.S.A, asked Serica-nim, the Kaju of dimensions, if he could make the world more prosperous, and since Serica-nim happened to be short-handed, she permitted the establishment of H.S.A.”

“Why were they short-handed? Wouldn’t that be their area of expertise?”

“That’s the thing… Some of the dimensions in space destroy themselves. If dimensions continue to overflow, space can’t handle them all and sometimes explodes. Well… that’s also due to the karma and various applications of the living beings within that dimension, leading to self-destruction… But despite that, there are mutant dimensions that don’t get destroyed. Our H.S.A is tasked with safely destroying those dimensions to protect others. Additionally, we also secretly protect the world, just like Captain Revo killed the World Tree.”

“…I don’t know… It’s too vast to record… Then, what you were going to tell us earlier…”

“Ah, yes. There are a few absolute taboos in this world that you must never do. If you do them, you can collapse even unrelated dimensions nearby.”

“Taboos?”

“Resurrection, reincarnation, and forced summoning across dimensions are the main ones. Furthermore, possession is also considered a taboo. It doesn’t necessarily destroy a dimension, but who would like having their dignity stripped away? Reincarnation also falls under that, which H.S.A and even the Kajus absolutely detest.”

“Summoning is taboo? But we also… Merzel also uses summoning…”

“Ah, not that kind. I mean crossing dimensions. Literally, the act of summoning an otherworldly being. Dimensions are originally connected to each other through a path called a dimensional path. You can travel between dimensions through there, but there are idiots who ignorantly summon otherworldly beings without this knowledge. They might have achieved everything they wanted and lived peacefully… but the shockwave created by the forcibly made new dimensional path completely shatters the surrounding dimensions.”

“…What?”

“No matter how many warnings we give, no matter how much trust we build, I’ve lost count of how many corpses I’ve seen because of those bastards who do such things as if it’s their daily meal. Don’t you two do that. That’s truly an act of massacre, beyond a crime.”

…Realizing the rules of the world, I thought that abilities weren’t always beneficial. Cecilia, having heard Estur’s explanation, seemed to be in a daze, having thought the same. Aria, however, was different.

“But how could they do things that harm the world so easily?”

“Hmm… Even fertile land can turn into a wasteland if a war breaks out, right? It’s like that. Destruction is easy, but restoration or salvation is difficult. The same goes for nature. That’s why we were trying to stop it with all our might.”

“Phew… Understood. I’ll go record some things in my book to clear my head for a bit. Aria, you’re coming with me, right?”

“Yes~! Of course!”

I clutched my head, took out my record book and pen, and headed outside. What on earth is all this… No, wait. I knew other worlds would be this complicated. But… maybe it’s because it’s too vast… my head hurts. I sat on the stairs in front of the entrance door and began to record. Then my exploration book caught my eye, and I opened it and began adding content to Bosca.

“Zeke-nim? That’s…”

“Twenty Mana… No… Since that man’s identity has been revealed… I have to revise it now. It’s perfect now.”

Having revised Bosca’s description, I closed the exploration book and began recording in my record book. How the world was constructed, the gods… no, the Kajus, and H.S.A, and a few rules. After organizing everything, I sighed and stood up from my seat.

“Phew… The cool breeze makes me feel better… Are you okay?”

“Hmm… Even hearing it, it’s all things that don’t concern me. Only things related to Zeke-nim are important to me…!!”

“…Right… I somehow envy you… Shall we go inside?”

“Why, Zeke-nim?”

As I was about to go inside, I stopped when I saw a room directly below the stairs. Huh? That place was closed earlier, wasn’t it…? My curiosity then began to pull me towards that room, and inside it…

“Oh…? This is the glaive the Sister-nim was using earlier…? This…?”

“Zeke-nim? What’s wrong?”

I stared intently at the glaive hanging on the wall, and seeing something, I was dumbfounded. As I was flustered, Aria took my hand and asked. This symbol… why is it here?

“Zeke-nim?”

“That symbol…”

“Symbol? That symbol on the glaive’s handle? Why?”

“That’s… the symbol used by the angels I saw in Cecilia’s memories…”