Threshold Between Worlds
I dressed carefully, making sure not to damage the delicate lines of Las along my back, and spoke softly. “I’m all dressed now.”
“Then let’s head back to the dimensional gate. You can release Ekaterina as well.”
“Yes.”
“Puha! As expected, Ekaterina’s embrace is the absolute best for calming the mind.”
Thanks to the comfort of Ekaterina’s breasts, he had grown remarkably serene, and even his expression had transformed. With a serious look, he scanned our surroundings before murmuring in a dazed voice.
“Huh? I can’t see the passage anywhere. Are we in the right spot?”
“It’s right here.”
I reached out and let my hand pass through the wall. He nodded. “Illusion magic, then. Ruya, can you tell it apart?”
“I can barely sense anything unless I get this close. It’s an incredibly sophisticated spell.”
“Hmm. They say elf magic is on an entirely different level, so this must be what a sanctuary looks like.”
While the two of them discussed magic, a girl named Charlotte drew near and stared at me intently. Not understanding why, I simply looked back at her in silence. Her vertically slit pupils drifted slowly up and down. Following her gaze, I realized she was watching Las, who was bouncing cheerfully on my shoulder.
“Las seems quite popular.”
Yeah. At first glance it does look like a small, adorable slime. Still, shouldn’t we get moving soon?
“Excuse me,” I called, raising my voice. “How about we start moving now?”
Everyone’s eyes turned toward me. With the decision made, we followed my guidance and advanced without trouble.
As we passed through walls along the AR-marked path, Las continued to monopolize the group’s affection.
“Ho, I had no idea slimes could be so friendly with people.”
“So cute, nya.”
“Slimes belonging to the material elemental category are naturally gentle.”
“There are slimes that aren’t elementals?”
“Those exposed to magi mutate and become monsters that devour every living thing they encounter.”
What exactly is magi, compared to essence, magic power, or elemental force? These are all new concepts to me, so it’s hard to follow.
“I don’t really understand it either.”
The essence stored and used within a succubus’s magic core is thought to be similar to elemental power. That made sense; the aura radiating from Las after it swallowed the core was clearly essence, yet Ruya had sensed elemental power in it and identified it as a material plane elemental.
“How does magi differ from magic power?”
“Think of it as the ferocious magic power that monsters harbor. Unlike the pure magic power that flows through nature, this kind is toxic to ordinary living beings.”
“Are monsters different from magi, then?”
“We call monsters that possess magic power ‘magi.’ Doesn’t your dimension have any of these concepts?”
“No. There’s no magic or elementals there. Slimes may be gentle, but they’re still basically monsters.”
In truth, I had only learned about the concept of essence after meeting QA and becoming a succubus. Such fantasy-like ideas had been almost nonexistent in the dimension I came from.
“Then what is the elemental power this child is carrying?”
Ruya pointed at Las, who was bouncing like a rubber ball on her palm and playing. The little slime seemed delighted from the contact with her.
Umm. Should I tell her?
How am I supposed to explain that it parasitized my uterus, fused with me, and ate a succubus’s magic core? Just say it’s been living inside me for a long time and carries succubus essence.
“It’s been with me for so long that it seems to have absorbed some essence. Maybe that’s what you sensed as elemental power?”
“Ah, I see. Succubi are lust elementals after all, so it got mixed up? Show me the essence for a moment.”
“Here.”
I spread my fingers and gathered the energy. Pink droplets shimmered on my fingertips. She stared at them intently, then nodded in understanding.
“You’re right. Essence really is similar to elemental power. Though the sensation is a little…”
As she reached out to touch it, her cheeks flushed faintly. I realized too late that essence alone could stir lust when brought close. I quickly dispersed it, and the hazy look in Ruya’s eyes cleared.
She blinked a few times, still dazed, then exclaimed in surprise.
“Wow! So this is that famous aura of fascination. I felt enchanted for a second there.”
“Me too! I want to feel it!”
“It’s too dangerous for you.”
“That’s not fair!”
Gwangnam, who had been watching from the side, shouted that he wanted to experience it too, but Ruya shut him down immediately. The party kept moving the whole time and soon reached the altar-like area where the dimensional gate I had come through waited.
At the sight of the countless statues lined up in rows, they gaped in awe.
“Incredible. Are all of these golems?”
“I’ve never heard of dozens of golems this sophisticated being gathered in one place. What exactly is this location for?”
“Wow~ There are so many Ruyas, nya!”
“They’re all in the shape of elves.”
Gwangnam and Ruya pulled square devices from the pouches at their waists and began clicking away, photographing everything. The dimensional gate, when viewed from atop the altar, stood completely motionless, exactly as it appeared through the camera lenses.
I pointed at it. “This is the dimensional gate I crossed over from.”
“It’s small.”
“Very small.”
“Small, nya.”
“…I’m not small.”
Aside from Gwangnam’s timid addition, the gate really was tiny, just as they said. It was so small that anyone of large build would be unable to pass; most monsters probably couldn’t cross it either.
“A gate this small is extremely rare.”
“Whoa! It’s cold!”
Gwangnam jerked his hand back from the gate with a yelp. As he clutched it and made a fuss, I explained, “The other side is around forty below zero. There’s a blizzard, too.”
“Ugh, I know I have to go through, but now I really don’t want to.”
“According to Elisha’s testimony, this is almost certainly an unconfirmed dimension, so let’s report back first.”
“Good idea. The gate appears to be fixed-type as well. Should be no problem, right?”
They reached that conclusion among themselves and focused on investigating the sanctuary. While they examined the altar, I stood idly with nothing to do. Charlotte approached with quick, light steps and began circling me, sniffing curiously.
Why is she doing that?
She’s a cat beastman, so maybe she’s examining people through scent?
Do I smell like something?
I lifted my arm to check, but I couldn’t detect any particular odor. Charlotte drew even closer, sniffing intently, until she finally pressed her nose directly between my legs. Her eyes narrowed and she purred.
“Grr, the scent of a good female, nya.”
“Um… thank you?”
“But holding your instincts in too much is bad for the body, nya.”
“I see.”
Her ears twitched as she offered the advice. Finally she took one last deep breath right between my legs, then trotted cheerfully back toward Gwangnam.
It’s a little unsettling that she could read my physical condition just from scent.
That must be what animal instincts are like.
Anyway, if I follow them and return once that season ends, it should work out, right?
They clearly know a lot about dimensional gates and called it fixed-type. Since there’s been no fluctuation, that seems the most logical choice.
But why hasn’t a fixed-type dimensional gate been discovered until now? It must stay open in the same place all the time.
Earlier they mentioned this dungeon was discovered relatively recently and is still being investigated. That suggests the dungeon has more than one entrance, and since they said it opened recently, this gate on the altar probably opened around the same time. So right now, no one knows about it except us.
Hmm. We’ve literally become the first people to make contact with another dimension.
Even the gods and archangels who had spent ages researching dimensional gates didn’t know about fixed types, so it seemed we truly were the first.
While I waited for the investigation to finish, Las—who had been so happy earlier but was now separated from Ruya—sat dejectedly on my shoulder. It wriggled again and slipped back into my uterus. Some time later, once the investigation had safely concluded, the group approached me where I stood near the altar.
“The preliminary survey is complete. We’ll return with the data, file our report, and then specialists will come for a more thorough examination.”
“What about you? Will you come with us and enter the dimensional lost person protection program?”
“Protection program?”
“It’s a system designed to protect intelligent beings from unregistered dimensions who accidentally fall into another world.”
“That sounds good. I can’t return right now anyway.”
“Perfect. Then let’s go.”
With Gwangnam leading the way, we retraced our steps. As we walked, Ruya gave me a detailed explanation of the protection program.
“When you apply, the person who brought you is registered as your guardian. The guardian receives subsidies to support the protectee and is obligated to safeguard them until all issues are resolved.”
“So you’ll be my guardian, Ruya?”
“Charlotte and Ekaterina aren’t from the Earth dimension. And we can’t leave a succubus like you in the care of a man like Gwangnam, so it has to be me. Do you dislike the idea of me being your guardian?”
“No, I like it.”
She had a cool, somewhat aloof appearance at first glance, but she was actually a woman who worried a lot and paid careful attention to others. The type who seemed indifferent yet took good care of people.
“First we’ll stop by the administrative office for the registration examination. It’s just simple paperwork and a physical check, so there’s no need to worry.”
“But I don’t know the writing system of that dimension.”
“You only need to answer when the clerk asks questions. They’ll fill out the forms for you.”
“I see.”
It was impressive that translation magic allowed people from entirely different dimensions to communicate the moment they met. As Ruya continued her explanation, she hesitated slightly before asking.
“This might sound rude, but why are you so expressionless? At first I thought it was nerves, but after watching you, it doesn’t seem like that. It feels like no emotions come through at all… almost as if you aren’t quite human. And those eyes of yours are so unusual it feels like I’m talking to a robot.”
As expected, my eyes and blank face had been bothering her.
“You’re not actually a robot or anything, right?”
“That’s a rather long story. There are difficult secrets involved, so it’s hard to explain. But no, I’m not a robot.”
“If it’s hard to talk about, that’s fine. You don’t have some illness or pose any danger, do you?”
“No, I’m perfectly fine.”
She compared me to a robot. It seems that world has machines similar to humans, too. I’m really looking forward to seeing their different scientific technology.
I’m more excited about how many different races there might be.
Succubi were so rare that she found me novel, but the complete lack of hesitation in how she treated me suggested she was accustomed to many different species. Having only encountered succubi and Abaddon as intelligent beings besides humans, both the elf Ruya and the beastman Charlotte felt incredibly fresh and fascinating to me.
“Ruya.”
“Yes?”
“May I touch your ears just once?”
“Eh? Um, ears are a sensitive area, so…”
“I really want to touch them. In exchange, I’ll let you touch my tail.”
“Tail? Where is your…”
I revealed my hidden tail and waved it in front of her. She covered her mouth with her hand, quietly expressing her astonishment. Her eyes followed the tail as it swayed left and right, and she gave a small nod of consent.
The moment her hand grasped the tip of my tail, a sharp tingling shot through the sensitive organ, but I managed to reach her ears safely. Her long ears had bones that could be felt, yet they were soft and pliable. It was as though several jointed segments of cartilage were lined up to maintain their elegant length.
Wow, there are bones running all the way through her ears.
The soft elasticity suggests it’s cartilage.
While I gently played with the ears where the cartilage could be felt directly, the woman touching my tail let out an admiring sound.
“Wow, it’s so soft! It isn’t fur, yet it’s both smooth and fluffy. How fascinating.”
“Please be a little gentler… It’s really quite sensitive…”
“Ah, sorry. I got carried away because it’s a succubus tail.”
Startled by my words, she quickly withdrew her hand and apologized. After tucking my tail away again, I followed them past the area with the robots. We walked for quite some time before arriving at a dimensional gate of normal size.
Gwangnam smiled and pointed at the gate. “It’s a coordinate-type gate connected to the Earth dimension. The two worlds are linked through this.”
“So three dimensions are connected in total?”
“Well, this ruin isn’t a complete dimension but a shattered fragment.”
He checked the pack on his back once more, then walked toward the gate. “Just come through one at a time. I’ll go first.”
“I’m next, nya!”
“I’ll go ahead.”
Gwangnam, Charlotte, and Ekaterina crossed the gate in order, leaving only Ruya and me.
“You go first.”
“Yes.”
Following Ruya’s instruction, I walked up to the dimensional gate. Beyond the shimmering surface, I could see the busy movement of many shadows coming and going.
Now that I’m actually about to step into another dimension, I feel nervous. Whew.
Relax a little. It’s not like you’re being dragged off somewhere terrible. Why are you so tense?
At least it doesn’t show on the outside. In moments like this, being a doll has its advantages.
I took a deep breath, then stepped firmly through the dimensional gate.
A cool, refreshing air—completely different from the stale atmosphere of the temple—brushed against me. The sounds of many different languages and the bustling noise of people filled my auditory sensors to the brim.
The overwhelming vitality made me freeze for a moment. A uniformed woman with animal ears and noticeable dark circles from exhaustion, who was busily writing on a chart, shouted at me.
“Don’t just stand there! Come over here!”
“Ah, yes.”
The square machine her finger pointed toward was being used by beings who had emerged from other gates, passing through one after another. At the table beside the machine sat a strange multi-eyed creature in uniform, tapping buttons while looking at a screen. The animal-eared woman was seated right next to it.