Finally Home!
Wow. I was finally back home. Honestly, I only went to the movies to get a look at my own appearance, but so many things happened in such a short time.
Still, I made it back safely. Good job, me. I’m not entirely sure if bringing that dangerous dragon lady along was the right call, but at least we’re all here.
I’d been worried about what excuse I’d give if we ran into Gyeoul on the way in, but fortunately she seemed to be fast asleep.
Oh, right—I could have just asked Rebecca to cast an invisibility spell on herself. That idea only occurred to me now. Well, we got inside without incident, so that’s what matters. The real problem is what I’m going to tell Gyeoul when she wakes up tomorrow. How do you explain a dragon and a werewolf suddenly living in the house?
That’s how the four of us ended up sitting together in my room—technically the female “me’s” room in this world, but anyway—and talking things over.
The other “me” spoke first.
“Should I explain?”
“No, I think it’s better if I do it.”
From Rebecca’s perspective, I was the master, so it made sense for me to take the lead.
“Um… Where should I even begin with this?”
“Please speak comfortably, Master. I am your eternal servant, after all.”
Ugh. She was a being I had created, yet having someone so overwhelmingly powerful act like this in front of me felt incredibly strange.
“Rebecca. I still carry memories of the times we spent together in my previous lives.”
!!!!
Rebecca’s face filled with overwhelming emotion.
“You finally remember me, Master! Those days were so very, very long…”
To see Rebecca Ignis display such raw feeling. I probably shouldn’t have pretended to remember everything back there, but the situation had been urgent. If she had wiped out Karen Erzsebet and every other vampire, the entire vampire society would have come after us.
Not to mention Bathory would have grown suspicious. If I could keep borrowing Rebecca’s power, fighting every supernatural being on Earth wouldn’t be a problem, but there was no guarantee I could do so indefinitely. Besides, I didn’t want to watch the beings I had brought into existence die.
“But I don’t remember all of it.”
“Pardon?”
Don’t look so devastated. You’re an Upper God, powerful enough to stand toe-to-toe with the chief deities of most dimensions, yet your expressions are this varied?
“What I mean is, my head contains fragments of the countless past lives I shared with you—including the very first time we met. The problem is, I don’t have every single memory.”
“Ah…”
“Still, in this life I remember you at all, which is already different from before! If we spend time together again like we used to, maybe all those shared adventures from our past lives will eventually come back to me?”
“Yes, Master. I am your eternal maid. I will serve you faithfully in this life as well.”
I let out a long breath.
Yeah, there was no reason to be scared. No matter how powerful Rebecca was, she still saw me as her master.
As long as that remained true, she would keep listening to me.
Wait. If that was the case, didn’t I just gain an insanely overpowered trump card? Even if my delusions kept turning into reality and spawning more powerful beings on Earth, Rebecca could handle all of them. Did that mean I no longer had anything to worry about no matter what appeared next?
“Rebecca, how is your current physical state? Do you still possess the same rank you had back in the dimension where we lived together?”
“Master, you truly do remember me. Unfortunately… the answer is no. I am deeply sorry for disappointing you.”
What? Why?
“When I crossed dimensions to find you, I was intercepted by the other Upper Gods. The previous dimension had no other Upper Gods, and I had already annihilated every deity who interfered with you, so nothing stood in my way. But this dimension contains many powerful gods. I was forced to form a contract of restrictions with them. I am truly sorry, Master.”
Huh? There were gods in this dimension?
Ah.
Right, of course. That had been part of my delusions too. In that case, even Rebecca would struggle if she had to face them all at once.
“It’s all right. If anything, I’m the one who should apologize. I caused you to accept those restrictions. I’ve failed as a master.”
“Ah, no, Master! Please don’t say such things. Everything I am belongs to you~.”
“Then what exactly were the restrictions you accepted?”
“My power has been limited to roughly that of an ordinary adult dragon. In addition, I am forbidden from involving myself in worldly affairs that do not concern you, Master.”
Hmm… That was pretty harsh. An ordinary adult dragon would be weaker than Bathory, wouldn’t it?
The world where Rebecca and I had spent time together in my original delusion was a different fantasy dimension. I had named it Thermopylae. In that world, because of what happened between us, Rebecca had annihilated every god except one. That was why, even though those who fully possessed divinity were normally forbidden from interfering in mortal affairs, Rebecca had been able to live as my maid while retaining her full Upper God divinity without issue.
This dimension, however, was crowded with powerful Upper Gods, so restrictions were inevitable. Still, the fact that they had permitted even this much suggested they feared Rebecca considerably.
Even so, having a powerful being who obeyed me and cared for me was nothing to complain about. With Rebecca here, I wouldn’t have to worry about incidents like nearly being hypnotized and kidnapped by Monica earlier.
“At least I won’t have to go through anything like that again now that Rebecca is with us.”
The other “me” seemed to be thinking the same thing and spoke the exact thought I had.
“Master. Who is this woman? She also calls you Master. She does carry a similar soul scent to you, yet…”
“Ah. Right, I forgot to explain. You can think of her as me from another world. She’s essentially me, only female. She should have memories of you too.”
“A female… Master?”
“Yeah. I’m also your master. I remember you too, Rebecca. It’s been a while.”
“Two Masters… But a female Master… That won’t do. Master is supposed to be connected with me…”
It must have been quite a shock for Rebecca. In all the countless years she had followed my reincarnations, she had never once married me, shared my bed, or carried my child.
When I finally recalled her and we restored the relationship from our first meeting, her greatest wish had been to be with me. Of course, that was also a setting I had created.
She must have believed the long-awaited moment had finally arrived when I remembered her, only to learn there was another “me” of a different gender. On top of that, I had told her my memories were incomplete.
I really had written a cruel scenario. After searching for more than ten millennia and finally having the chance to unite with the master she served, she couldn’t. The story of our first meeting in my delusion had been a tragedy for her as well, so I was at fault. If she ever learned the full truth, it would cause huge problems. Still, she wouldn’t betray me since I was her master… right?
Maybe with time she would grow used to the situation.
Wait. Rebecca had crossed from another dimension to find me. Did that mean other characters from my delusions in different dimensions could also cross over if they searched for me?
Hold on. Who among them could actually cross dimensions? I couldn’t think of anyone offhand. If even more showed up, I wasn’t sure I could handle it.
Inside an enormous structure, countless mages hurried back and forth, meticulously checking their spells.
Beyond them, a silver-haired woman sat upon a lavishly decorated throne.
She leaned against a sword that radiated sacred light, its blade planted point-down into the ground.
“Morgoth. How far have preparations progressed? How much longer until the magic circle can be activated?”
“Yes, Your Majesty! It has reached approximately ninety-five percent completion. Taking previous trial and error into account, we should be able to activate the circle safely in roughly one more day!”
“Huuu. I’ve waited so very long. Now I can finally go find Dad. Just wait a little longer, Dad. No—honey♥. Hehehehe.”
The hero of this world, yet a warrior who had lost both her father and her beloved, muttered to herself with a dreamy smile.