Chapter 187: Otherworld (1)
Chapter 187: Otherworld (1)
When I told my disciples I’d be gone for a while, neither of them paid much mind.
It’s probably because I wander off so often.
Or maybe it’s because they were both sprawled out on their beds, covered in pain relief patches from the aftereffects of their training.
Regardless, slipping out of the house wasn't difficult.
Except for one minor problem.
"Wow, this is the first time I've gone home like this!"
"My ears are ringing. Pipe down."
The fact that a piece of white trash was clinging to my shoulder.
"I'm just talking like I always do! Well, maybe not! But what can I do? It's been thirty years!"
"Yeah, yeah. You're excited, I get it. Just lower your volume."
"Yes, sir!"
With that, the White Fur Ball started squirming and circling around my neck.
"Hum-hum. Going home. Going home."
He was even humming a bizarre little tune.
I felt a sudden, powerful urge to grab him by the tail, swing him around my head, and hurl him into a dumpster, but I endured it in silence.
Al’shel had made a specific request, after all.
* * *
"That, uh, freeloader mascot you have at home?"
"I have one."
"If possible, please bring him along."
"Why? He's noisy. I'd rather leave him behind."
"That mascot is a being that belongs to the self-proclaimed Magic Kingdom. His mere presence will help us reach our destination."
"The way you say 'will help' makes it sound like it won't make much of a difference."
"It's the difference between a 0.01% probability and a 0.1% probability. In the Otherworld, the homing instinct is more important than you might think."
* * *
And when I brought it up just in case, our resident freeloader white trash replied:
'Oh, if it's that, I have Coordinate Designation Magic! Um, well, it fails about 99% of the time, but if we keep firing it off, we'll get there eventually, right?'
In other words, his value had risen more than expected.
From 0.01% to 0.1%. And from there, to 1%.
The fact that the probability was still so abysmal—even with a native of that world and an expert in the field—was pathetic.
But what could I do?
The Otherworld beyond The Hole was just that kind of place.
There was one thing I was curious about, though.
"Un-ho."
"Yes? Was I being too loud again?"
You are loud, but that's not what I'm asking...
"No, not that. I'm just curious about something."
"What is it? The racial composition of our Magic Kingdom? How we live?"
No, I don't really care about that. I'll find out when I get there.
Besides, Un-ho was wrong so often that taking his word at face value would only lead to trouble.
"You said earlier that even with magic, it's only a 1% chance, right? That coordinate magic."
"That's right. Oh, but that's just the success rate for the spell! Even if the coordinates are set properly, you have to get there yourself!"
Let's set that aside for now.
"Then how do you guys get back when your missions are over?"
Un-ho had been rotting here for thirty years, but the other mascots usually went back after a year or so. I doubted they went through such a hellish return process every single time.
Based on that assumption, I waited for his answer.
"The Queen opens the door for us!"
Unexpected words flowed from the white vermin's mouth.
"...The door?"
"Yes! A direct portal to the Magic Kingdom! She does the same thing when she sends us to other worlds!"
...Such a thing existed?
"Then why isn't she opening one for me when I've been invited?"
It wasn't like I was begging to be let in; if they invited me, they should open the door. Right?
From what he was saying, she was a transcendent being capable of designating the location of entire worlds. Could she really not manage one little portal?
I voiced my complaints and grilled Un-ho, The Lowest-ranking member of that world.
"I don't know? Beats me."
Un-ho looked at me with sparkling eyes as if he truly had no clue, swaying his thin waist.
He probably thought he was being cute.
To me, however, it was anything but cute; it was infuriating.
"Fine. I'll send you to another world, too."
"Poyo?"
I grabbed his jiggling belly fat.
I stretched my right leg far back.
And twisted my waist with intensity.
"Poyo-o-o-ok?"
Like a pitcher throwing a baseball, my right arm, shoulder, and waist twisted excessively.
Then, releasing all the tension built up in my muscles.
"Go take a lap outside the atmosphere, you little shit!"
I hurled the piece of trash in my right hand toward the distant sky.
"Po-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o."
Boom.
Perhaps because of the massive acceleration, a sound like a sonic boom echoed as the white trash's voice stretched out and vanished into the distance.
* * *
Inside Al’shel’s office, a place I seemed to be visiting often lately.
Pitch-black coffee sat in front of each of us as we faced each other in silence.
Al’shel didn't speak; he simply opened his mouth and sipped the black coffee.
After a gulp of the black mud flowed down the octopus's throat.
"Now... I have a question before we depart."
Al’shel finally threw the first question at me.
I expected a question about my health, whether I was going to give up, or how I had prepared.
"What is that black rag?"
Al’shel pointed at the black scrap sitting on my shoulder with an incredulous tone.
Hmm. It was nothing special, really.
"You told me to bring him."
"I have no memory of asking you to bring a black rag."
The hell you don't.
Thinking that, I grabbed the black charcoal by the scruff of its neck and shook it in front of Al’shel’s eyes.
"It's Un-ho, a resident of your world. Haven't you seen him a few times?"
"Po-go-ru-rong. It's the octopus monster. Long time no see."
Perhaps the shaking had woken him up.
Un-ho waved a charred hand while speaking in a bizarre tongue.
"...He was white the last time I saw him."
"Things happened. He'll be fine if you leave him alone."
Even for Un-ho, re-entering the atmosphere with his bare body must have been tough.
To think he'd turn that pitch-black.
Regardless of Un-ho’s condition, there was something else bothering me.
My hands were dirty.
As soon as I touched Un-ho’s body, soot rubbed off, making my hands feel gritty.
It was likely because his fur had turned to charcoal.
Glancing at the shoulder where Un-ho had been perched until a moment ago, I saw that it, too, was stained black.
"Hmm. Do you have a washing machine?"
"I don't have a washing machine. Are you planning to wash your clothes?"
"No, I want to wash something small."
"Well, there's a dishwasher next to the pantry... but it's not for that kind of use..."
Before Al’shel could finish, I turned my head.
I spotted a white box next to the sink where Al’shel had brewed the coffee.
Ah, there it is.
Holding the black trash in my hand, I walked over and opened the door.
"What are you trying to do?"
"Puyok. I like water baths."
Good for you.
Following Un-ho’s wish, I opened the dishwasher door, tossed him in, and turned it on.
Whirrrrr.
Splosh. Splosh.
The sound of spraying water and soap suds.
In the midst of it.
"Poyok, detergent in my eyes. Ugigigik."
I heard someone's scream, but I stopped paying attention, returned to my coffee, and faced Al’shel.
"...Is that really okay?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Did I do something weird?
Al’shel stared blankly into my eyes as if he couldn't understand me.
"...If the parties involved are fine with it, then I suppose it's fine."
'Not my problem.'
He soon let out a sigh and spoke as if giving up.
Right. That's the spirit.
"Aaaagh, soap bubbles in my mouth, cough."
Some kind of auditory hallucination filled the office, but it was probably just normal noise being misinterpreted as words.
"...First, let me explain the plan. If there's anything you honestly don't understand, please be sure to ask."
'I don't honestly expect him to remember everything, but I have to say it. Sigh.'
"Go ahead."
The octopus provoked me with his usual monologue, but I ignored it and spoke arrogantly. Al’shel pulled a stack of A4 papers out of thin air and began.
"First, regarding The Hole we will use to cross into the Otherworld. We don't plan on piercing a new one this time."
That's different from what he said last time.
"Last time, you said the ones the enemies pierced lacked stability and duration, so you pierced one yourself..."
"Yes, in a normal situation, it would be right for Seini or me to pierce it. But this time is different."
With those words, Al’shel handed me a page of the A4 paper.
"A Hole that is far safer than a normal one, stabilized, and has no restrictions on entry or exit."
The paper Al’shel handed me had a photo of a familiar place.
"It's the Nanjido Hole."
"Yes. I have rarely seen a Hole as stable as that one in my entire life. It's proof of how foolish those vermin were to let it go berserk."
Al’shel finished his sentence, flipped the page, and continued his explanation.
"With the existence of this Hole, our concerns about consuming a massive amount of power to cross over have lessened. The danger during the crossing—the most perilous timing—has also vanished. Furthermore, we won't need to perform the massive task of piercing a Hole back toward Earth when we successfully complete our journey and return."
'When I first came to Earth, I had a bitter experience being detected immediately while piercing a Hole. Ahem.'
Ignoring Al’shel’s trip down memory lane, I gathered that we had secured a safe passage to travel back and forth.
Honestly, I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.
If it was a Hole stable enough for us to move through freely, didn't that mean enemies could come through it too...?
I pondered that for a moment but soon dropped the thought.
Whatever. They'll handle the control.
Rather than the Management Bureau holding onto it, it was better for The Society—who had more advanced technology in that field—to control it themselves.
"That's enough about The Hole. Let's move on to what happens after we cross over."
Rustle.
The sound of paper sliding echoed, and a page filled only with text appeared.
"What's written here are the precautions for when you enter the Otherworld. I've copied the educational materials from within The Society for now..."
At those words, the octopus caught my eye for a brief moment.
"...You won't read it. Moving on."
For once, he was doing something I liked.
"Now, this is the important part. As you know from having been to the Otherworld once, the first problem occurs after crossing over. The maintenance of self and the discontinuity of space-time."
I knew that all too well.
If you let your guard down for even a second, there was no guarantee you'd remain yourself.
And the person holding your hand could vanish instantly, only to return much later.
Of course, there was a countermeasure for that...
"We have the Reality Anchor."
Why not use what we brought to use?
"Yes, the Reality Anchor. It's a fine device. It will likely maintain its effect near The Hole or near other worlds."
As he spoke, Al’shel pulled a Silver Sphere from his robe and placed it on the table.
The Reality Anchor, looking exactly as it did when I last saw it, boasted its silver radiance as it tilted slightly.
"However, this alone is not enough."
"Hey. I brought you exactly what you wanted, and you're saying it's not enough?"
Why don't you just ask me to tear down the Management Bureau’s tower while you're at it?
"Hmm. It seems you've misunderstood. The output of the Reality Anchor is sufficient. As I said, it's more than enough near The Hole or near other worlds."
Grin.
A gruesome smile spread across Al’shel’s lips as his tentacles, stained black, squirmed.
"But you see, Mr. Lee Ha-ram."
Tap.
He leisurely swung a tentacle and touched the Reality Anchor.
"We aren't going to the Otherworld just to hop through a Hole."
Tap.
Again.
"What we are trying to do is find another world that exists somewhere within the vast Otherworld."
Tap.
Again.
"And at some point, we will set foot in a certain place. A place so far removed from any world that it receives no influence from them—a place composed of chaos without any order."
Tap.
Click.
The Reality Anchor, pushed past its threshold of friction, rolled slightly and hit the glass of the table, making a clear sound.
"The true Otherworld. A place where a Reality Anchor is meaningless."