The Imaginary Space
In the imaginary space—a realm of absolute darkness and madness permitted only to the Outer Gods—Cartesia, its master, sat atop Popurus and calculated the time. …This is tough.
The Ether concentration on Alcatraz far exceeded her expectations. Enduring it for long was difficult. She would either have to sever her contract with Idel and flee, or exploit other Outer Gods to extract more Fron. Thanks to that, Popurus had been reduced to a crawling Fron vending machine.
“Give me more.”
“Graaaagh!”
This was still not enough. She needed to form Bonds with even more Outer Gods to secure the conditions that would let her remain at Idel’s side indefinitely.
Cartesia, who had kept her eyes closed, rose to her feet. Her target was prisoner number 888887—a girl single-handedly contending with twenty Outer Gods. The girl resembled Idel, yet was somehow different. Her estimated Fron tolerance was roughly three hundred thousand, and two hundred and ninety thousand of that was already filled. At this rate, the girl would soon die.
It was not mercy, but Cartesia decided to pull several weak Outer Gods from the girl’s brain and turn them into her own servants. Every young Outer God her hand touched screamed and transformed into a girl. It was Cartesia’s Transformation skill. She captured five of them and implanted them into Idel’s brain. Idel’s Fron count remained NULL. What had been a single supply had become six. The replenishment rate was naturally six times higher. Only now could she breathe a little easier.
“Hey. Do you want to die?”
The voice belonged to Sapaul. Thrusting forward a face that resembled a monitor, he had invaded Cartesia’s imaginary space and now radiated razor-sharp hostility.
Cartesia smirked and took a step back. “I have to eat and live too, don’t I?”
“Are you picking a fight with me right now?”
Behind Sapaul, crimson wires burst out like whips. It looked as though a brawl between Outer Gods was about to erupt. Sapaul examined the stats of the captured and enslaved Outer Gods. Every one of them was weak. Weakness was sin. There was no need to sympathize.
In contrast, Cartesia on her home ground was reasonably strong. Having finished his assessment, Sapaul withdrew his tentacles.
“If this weren’t your place of exile, you would already be finished.”
He vanished. The galaxy containing the Alcatraz planetary system was both Cartesia’s front yard and her prison. A lonely Outer God unable to leave this place—yet in exchange, she wielded overwhelming authority and dominion within the galaxy. Even a high-ranking being like Sapaul would lose in a one-on-one fight if he challenged her on her home ground. In fact, his intrusion could be seen as him daring to rampage in her territory.
At that moment Idel yawned and spoke. “For the third thesis… I should just dive straight into building the Graviton Bomb.”
An email had arrived for Idel. The moment he stepped out, they would make him a graduate student regardless. Therefore, he should focus on calming his mania. That was the message. All of it was Idel’s scheme—the sight of a man who would defy even the laws of the nation and the fate dealt to him. Cartesia felt considerable interest in that defiance.
Yet she could not remain in one place forever. So she set a mission.
Leave Alcatraz Prison
📍 Deadline: By the end of this month
🎁 Success Reward: 500 Fron
⚠ Failure Penalty: Pregnancy
“Isn’t that a bit too cheap?” Popurus grumbled.
He—no, she now? At any rate, thanks to the Bond, Popurus had become a maid covered head to toe in ribbons.
“Shut up.” Cartesia yanked the leash around Popurus’s neck.
When she came to her senses, this was the situation. At some point she had begun looking after the convenience of the human called Idel.
“Looking at it that way, you’re not an Outer God at all. You’re more like—urk, ack.”
“I told you to shut your mouth.”
Bound by the Bond, Popurus could not resist. It was then that something fell in front of Cartesia, who had been watching Idel without pause. A coin had suddenly appeared in the imaginary space. A golden coin that was both the grace of a Constellation and food for the Outer Gods.
The contractor of the God of Wealth and Investment has sponsored you with 2000 coins.
Cartesia blinked blankly. It was so sudden that it felt absurd. Who would dare sponsor her?
“Ahaha! Coins! It’s coins!” The Outer Gods, including Popurus, sprang up. Though they had been turned into shabby human maids fluttering with ribbons, Outer Gods remained Outer Gods.
“Hand over the coins!”
“Once I regain my power, trash like you will be nothing!”
“Goodbye, you half-wit!”
But they did not know. The Bond produced by a Descartes-type Outer God was harder and crueler than anything else in existence.
“Stay still.”
Thud!
At a single commanding word, the charging Outer Gods slammed their heads into the ground and prostrated themselves. Their thoughts, behavior, tone—everything had been rewritten.
“M-Master.”
“Please bestow coins upon us worthless ones.”
“We were wrong…”
Before anyone realized, they were clinging to Cartesia and begging desperately. Betrayal? Revenge? What were those concepts again?
Cartesia clicked her tongue. The Outer Gods, steeped in slave mentality, rolled across the floor.
“Master, please don’t abandon us.”
“Coins! Give us coins!”
The sight of them drooling like rabid dogs was beyond pitiful—it was downright repulsive. To think these things were still called Outer Gods. If she herself were caught by the Bond, would she end up the same?
For now it didn’t matter. Her heart-equivalent organ was pounding violently. This was her first donation, and the first time she had felt this way. Shaking off the Outer Gods, Cartesia approached the pile of coins. As she swept the gleaming gold pieces with her hand, she traced the memory back using her unique skill, Trace Mind Reading. She discovered whose gift it was.
…
His younger sister. Idel’s younger sister. Not content with merely awakening, she had awakened a Constellation and even donated money to Cartesia. An entirely unexpected, unlooked-for result.
Still, having received this much, she had to give something in return. That was Cartesia’s cardinal principle.
Rustling the gold coins lovingly in her arms, Cartesia’s gaze turned toward Idel.
Cartesia had given me only fifteen days. I had to leave Alcatraz before then. It was about time anyway. The second semester was about to begin, and Rustilla had already returned. The professors’ opinions were converging as well.
In other words, they would make me a grad student. Whether it carried legal force or not, that alone was enough. Besides, I had already done everything I could. Lingering any longer would only damage my reputation. A person must know when to step back.
I organized the computer and everything else. In the middle of it the door burst open and someone entered.
“It is I, young master.”
It was Sonia.
“Are you preparing to vacate the room soon?”
“Yes.”
“I anticipated the timing. Allow me to assist.”
We cleaned what needed cleaning and packed everything that had to be shipped.
“Doing this reminds me of that day.”
“Right after Father scolded me?”
“Yes. You suddenly declared you were cleaning your room and sorted through your entire collection.”
Sonia looked at me and smiled faintly. It was such a natural smile that I almost mistook her for human.
“That was when you began to change, young master.”
Her voice was calm and soothing. Strangely, it put me at ease.
“One never knows how human affairs will turn out. Still, it would be nice if you maintained just a little more restraint, young master. This Sonia worries about that one thing.”
“That’s true.”
“Please speak.”
“If I became perfect even in everyday life, you’d be out of a job.”
I shrugged. Sonia let out a small laugh.
“Then I shall correct myself. Please continue living exactly as you are from now on.”
…
“Uff. Done. The luggage is all packed.”
“Yeah, looks about right.”
I brushed off my hands and checked my mail. One had arrived from Professor Feynman.
A rice cake had fallen straight into my lap. I couldn’t help laughing. The message ended with a warm wish for my healthy return.
“Young master, let us go back. Miss Seti and Miss Rustilla will be waiting.”
It was truly time to say goodbye to Alcatraz. I had been here about a month. Short, yet long enough to grow attached.
“Student, are you finally leaving?”
The warden and Guard Vizel had come out to see me off. I straightened my expression and smiled.
“Yes, it seems I’m fully cured.”
“Good. Please do leave. Take care of your health.”
“I will.”
“I heard the Ether Belt repairs are complete as well. There should be no more invasions by Outer Gods or recurrences of mania. Student Idel, you worked hard. This is goodbye for good.”
Both men looked utterly exhausted. Their haggard faces made them seem possessed by Outer Gods. They must have suffered greatly. At least while I was here, their burden had been a little lighter. After all, I had handled all that brutal administrative work for them.
“Go safely!”
“It was nice meeting you—let’s never see each other again!”
“I won’t see you off far, Idel von Rheinland!”
It was oddly touching. Receiving their farewells, I strode out of Alcatraz with my head held high.
And then—
“Hey, you there.”
A woman’s cracked voice stopped me. Black hair, black eyes. The girl who had endured the men’s sticky gazes every dawn during roll call was calling out to me.
She walked up and said, “You. Who are you?”
“Me? Idel von Rheinland.”
During confinement we had only been called by prisoner numbers, so we never knew each other’s names. This was the first time I had given my name to a fellow inmate.
“Idel… Idel…”
The girl repeated my name, then frowned. She stared straight into my eyes as if searching for something. At that moment I felt a clear sense of incongruity. This girl was no nameless extra. Above all, the gap between her manic state and her normal demeanor was far too large. It felt as if she were flipping a switch on and off to control her sanity.
“Ah, no. This can’t be.”
The luminous light in her eyes faded. At the same time the guards readied their batons. It looked like my fate was to be beaten senseless and dragged back to my cell.
Just in case, I spent 100 Fron and opened the parameter window.