The Sovereign Rises part 2

Wh-What was that?" I was in Belfast's magical research division, talking to

Charlotte. What I'd just asked her caused her to stare in disbelief and drop

some of her papers on the floor.

"Like I said, would you like me to show you how to use Spirit magic?"

"H-Huh? What? P-Please slow down... Spirit magic? Touya... Er, Grand Duke...

Are you telling me you can use it?"

"Yeah, look at this." I called out a spirit from the wind family, Sylph. She was a

tiny girl about the size of a pixie. I brought her out specifically so that Charlotte

could easily get a grasp of what a spirit was like.

"Why is this happening?! Why can you use it all of a sudden?! I dedicated my

life to studying it and... And you just show up and use it?!"

"...A-Ah... Sorry..." The genius woman in front of me immediately broke down

like a child. It seemed my casual way of doing it was a little insensitive.

Charlotte's assistants came over to calm her down. Her assistants seemed to

be wearing copies of the translation glasses I'd given to Charlotte forever ago.

After a while, Charlotte stopped bawling and regained her composure. She

started asking me questions while staring at the Sylph.

"It's a spirit... A real one... You know, when I was a little girl I actually saw a

spirit once. That's why I wanted to research Spirit magic to begin with! I'm a

little sad it's through your power and not mine, but I'm really happy to see

another after so long..."

That was interesting. I never knew why Charlotte had started her studying to

begin with.

"I've made an agreement with the elemental pillar spirits, the ones that are

far higher in rank than this little one. We'd like to spread Spirit magic across the

world again. Would you help us, Charlotte?!"

"I'll help! I'll help! I'llhelpI'llhelpI'llhelp!!!"

Charlotte leaned in close and started flailing madly. Easy there, Charlotte!

Your words are breaking apart.

The other researchers calmed her down again and I started to write the

fundamentals of Spirit magic down on a nearby blackboard. I almost felt like a

school teacher.

"So, there are pillar spirits, then specialized spirits under each of those, and

then a tier below that are the dependents, creatures within an elemental

family. Pillar spirits pretty much never make contracts with humans, so Spirit

magic is usually achieved by contracting with a specialized spirit or an elemental

dependent... I'll call those ones lesser spirits. Anyway, you need to form a

contract with a lesser spirit or a specialized spirit to use Spirit magic." Charlotte

and the others jotted down my words into their notebooks.

"The most important thing to remember when contracting with a spirit is that

they are not summoned beasts. You are to stand on equal footing with them,

and treat them that way. Ultimately, what'll count when it comes to being a

good contractor or not, is your capacity to see spirits as potential friends." I was

the celestial spirit king now, so I didn't need to worry about forging any

contracts individually, all spirits naturally obeyed me.

It would also be impossible to use Spirit magic against me, as no spirit would

dare try to harm me.

...Well, I did have my doubts about that point. Those crying guys came to

mind, for one. But it was better not to worry about it.

"Spirits typically cannot be noticed or seen, but they're in the world around

us. If you want to speak with spirits, then you need to be versed in spirit

tongue. If you try speaking in that language, then they should reveal their form

to you."

"Oh! Is that the same as Ancient Spirit Script?"

"It's similar, but not quite the same. Ancient Spirit Script was like a derivative

language made in ancient times. The proper meaning of the words probably

wouldn't get through to the spirits if you tried speaking that language." The

pillar spirits and most of the specialized spirits did speak the common tongue,

however.

I took out a book from [Storage]. The title was "True Spirit Tongue." It was an

instructional linguistic manual I'd made in Babylon's workshop, with the help of

a few spirits.

"If you read this, you should be able to have a conversation with a spirit. I'll

let you have it."

"A-Are you sure that's okay?"

"It's just fine. In exchange, I'd like you guys to make a public effort toward

getting people friendly with spirits. It's important that humanity and spiritkind

get along, things are going to happen in the future that makes it a necessity."

When the worlds combined, the spirits would find their jobs stretched, and

there'd be trouble. Natural disasters and ecological changes were highly likely

to happen.

As the celestial spirit king, I'd granted some of my divine power to the spirits

in order to strengthen them for the time being. But that wouldn't last too long

into the future, so the people of both worlds needed to form lasting bonds with

the spirits in order to increase their power.

That's what Karen told me, at least. It wouldn't be super relevant for a while,

but it was important to plant the seeds.

But if I was going to manage the new world that this place would eventually

become, I had to get it handled.

Spirit magic definitely wasn't used in the Reverse World, either. So it was

likely that the art was completely lost over there, too.

There were surely spirits doing stuff over there as well, but their contact with

humans seemed to be minimal. That's why I decided to focus on cultivating the

relationship in just this world for now.

"So, shall we test out whether you can form a contract? Charlotte, what

magic schools did you have an aptitude for, again?"

"Um... I have five. Everything except dark and null." Five was pretty

impressive... Leen had six, and she was a fairy. Charlotte was clearly an

exemplary human, it seemed she wasn't the court magician for no reason.

"It's your first time, so you'll probably call on a Lesser Water or Wind Spirit.

The spirits of the wind family are all naturally curious, and the water family is

made up of gentle and calm spirits, so they're the easiest to contract with."

"Okay... I'll try to call out a Lesser Water Spirit, then." We went outside and

walked toward the fountain in the courtyard.

Calling a spirit for the first time required the proper medium. In the case of a

Lesser Water Spirit, all you really needed was a body of water.

Charlotte took out the book I'd given her and started reading out the passage

about water summoning.

After she spoke, the water from the fountain stopped flowing, coming

together in mid-air to take the form of a Lesser Water Spirit. She was an

Undine. As small as the Sylph, except she had a mermaid tail instead of legs.

Charlotte was completely flustered at the sight, leading the Undine to just

stare at her.

"Hey, don't forget the contract."

"A-A-Ah, yes! U-Uhm...!" Charlotte shakily flipped through the pages and

began to awkwardly speak the spirit tongue.

If one were to translate it into common, it would be something along the lines

of "Oh spirit, I'd love it if we could become closer. I would love to become your

friend. Please take a chance on my humble self." Or something like that.

Contracting with a spirit was more about what was felt than what was said,

really. Even if Charlotte had said it fluently, if she didn't mean it then her

feelings wouldn't impact the spirit at all. In a way that was similar to humans,

you could typically tell when someone really meant something.

The Undine floated in the air for a little bit before swimming forward, smiling,

and touching Charlotte's hand.

She then swam through the air, completing a few laps around Charlotte

before landing on top of her hand again and vanishing in a flash of light.

The flash gave way to a tiny blue crystal in Charlotte's hand.

"Um... Grand Duke? What's this?"

"Good work. You formed the contract, she likes you. This is a spiritual stone.

It's basically the proof of your contract. If you ever need her, hold the stone in

your hand and call out for her."

"O-Okay!" Charlotte closed her eyes and held the spiritual stone close to her

bosom. As if reacting to the silent call, the Undine jumped out of the fountain

and began to swim circles around Charlotte again.

"It'll be tougher to call her out somewhere without much water because she

needs a certain amount to manifest her form. But you should be able to

manage so long as you have a cup's worth or so. What she can do for you

depends on how much your friendship progresses."

"O-Okay! I'll do my best!" Charlotte giggled as she played around with the

Undine. Her research assistants then attempted their own contracts, calling

forth another Undine and a Sylph.

"Those spiritual stones should be kept on hand, though. Don't lose them. You

can probably attach them to a ring or a pendant, just try not to damage the

stones when you do that." They weren't really listening, they were just playing

around happily with their spirits. I guess it was understandable, though. They'd

basically fulfilled a lifelong dream.

"What's all this, then?" The king of Belfast came out into the courtyard.

Queen Yuel trailed behind him, carrying little Prince Yamato in her arms.

I told them that I'd taught Charlotte and the others how to use Spirit magic,

prompting stares of disbelief. Then they just shook their heads, sighed, and said

nothing about me could really surprise them at this point.

I had planned on giving out copies of the book to other countries as well.

Charlotte and the others left with their spirits, seemingly excited to go and

play back in the lab. I was pleased for them.

"Wow... Yamato sure got bigger!" I looked over at the infant in Yuel's arms,

prompting his father to give a broad grin.

"That's right, my boy! He's a happy, healthy lad! Check out these photos I

took earlier, here! Take a look!"

The king took out his smartphone and started cycling through an entire album

of baby pictures. He... certainly seemed enthusiastic. I was almost getting

Xenoahs Overlord vibes.

I could understand his excitement since he seemed like he'd always wanted a

son, but I wondered if he planned on keeping photographic evidence of every

day of Yamato's life.

...I wonder if I'll be that kind of dad. Hopefully, I learn from these old coots and

don't make the same mista— Hhgh...!

...What the... What was that feeling just now...? Did it come from the queen?

No... It's coming from Yamato?

I felt something strange emanating from the little prince, like a pulsing

heartbeat. I asked if I could carry him for a moment. His magic power was fairly

standard... He seemed healthy... But something about him felt wrong all of a

sudden.

The cooing baby rolled around in my arms, happily playing. I decided to

channel some of my divinity into my eyes and use my divine sight to see if that

would help identify what was throwing me off. When I did... I saw something

that made my blood run cold.

My entire body shook, and I handed the prince back to his mother.

"Something wrong, Touya? You look a little frazzled."

"Huh? Oh... N-Nothing... I was just... Just a bit scared since I didn't want to

drop him."

"Pfft, don't be ridiculous my lad! How are you gonna cope when you and

Yumina have a baby, eh? You better get used to it now before it bites you in the

butt later!" The king laughed out loud, but I couldn't force myself to join in. I

was torn on whether or not to tell him what I had just discovered.

My divine sight had revealed something. A physical abnormality inside the

prince's heart. I... I couldn't deny what I had seen. A Phrase Core.

Within that boy's body was the entity that an entire species had been

hunting. An entity that caused untold bloodshed across countless worlds. Prince

Yamato was an unwitting host, being fed on by the Sovereign Phrase.

◇ ◇ ◇

"No way..."

I told Yumina and my other fiancees about the situation with Prince Yamato. I

didn't have enough courage to tell the king and queen of Belfast.

After she heard me out, Yumina simply slumped down on my bed. Her face

was pale.

"...Is... Is there nothing we can do?"

"Well... We could do something. Since I used divinity to see it, I could

probably use [Apport] in my Apotheosis form to pull it out of him. It's possible

that might cause some internal bleeding, but if we had recovery magic ready

immediately, he'd be okay... There's just one problem." The girls looked at me

expectantly. This was a serious issue, so I decided to just say it.

"The moment I take that core out of Yamato's body, an army of Phrase will

likely emerge in the vicinity. At the very least, that's what I expect. That's why

we'd have to do it somewhere where we could mitigate the damage... Like the

ruins of Yulong." The Sovereign was hiding itself using Prince Yamato's

heartbeat. If that cover was removed, then every Phrase across all reality would

immediately be able to zero in on the Sovereign's signature. They'd end up

crashing against the world barrier, and would probably draw some mutants in

for good measure.

"Can we not destroy the core the moment it is removed, can we not?"

"I doubt it could be destroyed so easily. And frankly, I want to avoid

destroying it. That would cause us major trouble." Ende would become our

enemy if I did that. He wouldn't ever forgive me for murdering the person he

loved.

I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up killing Yumina and the others, one by

one, to give me a taste of his grief. That's what I'd do in his situation at least.

There was also that one female Dominant Construct, Ney. She was loyal to

the Sovereign, so she'd definitely try to avenge her. Well, we were enemies to

begin with so nothing much would actually change there.

"Then what do we do?! We can't just keep the core inside Yamato!"

"Please calm down, Yumina. I have an idea... Look at this spell, first." I

reached out my hand and pointed it toward the table in my room. Then, I

triggered a spell I'd learned from one of the books that Palerius had left behind.

"[Prison]."

A blue-hued white cube suddenly surrounded the table and began shrinking.

It kept on reducing in size until it was around three centimeters in diameter.

"This is my Null spell, [Prison]. It can seal anything inside it regardless of

whether it's living or dead. It's like a Space-time spell coupled with a sealing

spell, basically. The power of this prison is also charged with my divinity,

meaning that nothing could get in from the outside. Not unless it was a god at

least. It also makes it the perfect safety bunker." It was different from storage in

that it still occupied physical space, and could trap living beings inside.

The tiny die-sized cube was partially see-through, so everyone could plainly

see the tiny table trapped within.

I was capable of altering the size of the prison, and everything inside it would

shrink proportionally. It was basically an inescapable jail or an impenetrable

shelter.

I could even tweak it so only certain things could pass through. For example, I

could prevent the flow of air through the space, forcing the person to choke to

death inside, or I could allow it so cooked meals and water could pass through,

so anyone I kept trapped would be fed and watered. I could even tweak it so

only one sex could pass through. Blocking all males from entering and making it

a female-only space, for example.

The only trade-off to this tweaking was that the larger the prison, the weaker

the effect it had.

"[Release]."

The moment I said that, the die shattered to bits and vanished, causing the

table to reappear where it was, in its complete original size.

"There are different methods you can set to open the prison, too. If we take

the Sovereign Core and put it in here when we get it out, we should be okay."

Everyone sighed in relief. Even Yumina seemed appeased by this answer.

Using my new spell, we'd be able to make sure Prince Yamato was okay.

But the real question would be what to do with the core when we had it.

If the Phrase were after it, there was always the option of just handing it over

to them and hoping they'd retreat.

But it wasn't like the Mutated Constructs would leave if we did that. They

were completely following the wicked god, after all. In the worst case scenario,

the wicked god's group would steal away the core from the Phrase after I

handed it over to them. I really didn't want to make a situation where the

wicked god grew any stronger.

There was always the option of just handing it over to Ende. After that, he'd

take the core with him to another world, and the Phrase would follow. That

would ensure they'd leave this world alone, but the wicked god would still be

an issue.

Plus, I wasn't too keen on the idea of just forcing the issue away on to

another world.

"That's not something a future world patron should be doing..." I sighed

quietly and decided that using [Prison] on the core and figuring it out later was

the best course of action.

I needed to speak with the king of Belfast, and his wife. I could hardly do

anything to their little boy without warning them beforehand. I didn't really

want to admit it, but there was a tiny chance something could go wrong in the

extraction... I didn't want to risk anything without them knowing.

I let out a small sigh. I really didn't know what to tell them...

"What do you mean?! Does this mean the Phrase were trying to kill my son

this entire time?!"

"Not exactly, no. The Phrase have no idea that their target is inside him. But

once they are aware, they'd definitely target him." If I had to make a guess of it,

it was a case of bad timing. The Sovereign's previous host must have died

around the same time Prince Yamato was born. According to Ende, the new

host was typically selected as random, so this was all just a terrible coincidence.

Queen Yuel was visibly shaken, she held her infant close. Just to be sure, I'd

cast [Prison] around the room we were in, in order to prevent any outsiders

from listening to this sensitive information. The only people in here were

Yumina, myself, Yamato, and their parents. As far as I knew, the only thing

other than myself capable of breaking down the [Prison] would be the wicked

god itself.

"Father, please calm yourself. Touya can remove the core from Yamato. We

just came here because we obviously couldn't do such a thing without your

consent. Please understand."

"I-Is that truly the case? Then... You can save my boy?"

"Well, to be honest, even if we left the core inside of him he'd grow up

healthy and happy. There's nothing indicating that the Sovereign has any

negative effects on him. But it would be better to remove it. Even so, I can't

guarantee that he won't be completely unharmed by the procedure... Is that

still okay?" He was still a baby, so his parents had final say. I didn't even want to

consider the worst case scenario, but I felt like they deserved my honesty.

The king of Belfast stared into my eyes, and slowly he spoke.

"...Very well. We ask that you do it. Little Yamato is in your hands, Touya."

"Very well... In that case..." I disabled the barrier around us and opened a

portal to a barren wasteland in the middle of Yulong. This might've been seen

as an overreaction, but I didn't want to take any chances. If the Sovereign's

signal was released in Belfast, that could have spelled disaster for the entire

nation.

I then activated [Prison] once more, sealing the five of us inside. The

protections around the box would hopefully prevent the Phrase from

immediately noticing the Sovereign.

"I'm gonna do it, then." I channeled my divine sight and looked toward the

sleeping prince. I clearly saw it, hidden in a tiny corner of the boy's heart. It was

a tiny, regular icosahedron, about the size of a cherry. Alright... That should be

exactly where it is... Now or never...

"[Apport]."

The tiny crystal then appeared in my right hand. I quickly used my left hand to

apply Healing magic to the baby, while using my divine sight to check the inside

of his body for any abnormalities. There weren't any. I decided to cast

[Recovery] as well, just to be safe.

I let out a sigh as relief washed over me. The baby just cooed and babbled as

if nothing had happened.

"Okay, it's fine now. I got it out."

"You did?! Amazing! You hear that, Yamato?" The king ran toward his son and

gently grabbed the little guy by the hands, running his fingers over them. He

looked like he was on the verge of tears. Queen Yuel and Yumina also had teary

eyes. I was glad everything went okay.

Whew, that was actually way easier than I thought. Guess I got worried about

nothing!

Now all I had to do was handle the Sovereign Core, and everything would be

fine.

"Wh... What?!"

Or so I thought. When I opened up my closed palm to look at the crystal, it

was transforming... Or rather, growing.

Crystal structures began to spread out from the core like icy outcroppings,

rapidly expanding. I threw it to the ground before it took hold of my hand.

"Touya... What is happening?!"

"I think the Sovereign is waking up?! Either way, this is bad news!" I couldn't

release the [Prison] or the Phrase would immediately discover our location.

I had no other option. I changed the settings of the box to remove Yuel,

Yumina, Yamato, and the king from it, then warped them back to Belfast

through a portal. I stayed alone just outside the box, watching the crystal

structure continue to grow inside.

The crystal lump in front of me was already the size of a small child, and it

wasn't slowing down. Gradually I could see nuance in its form, and it began to

take the shape of a humanoid body.

It was a female, with soft curves. Crystal material wrapped around her and

took the form of a regal dress. She had long hair that draped down past her

shoulders.

The transformation was almost complete. What was standing in front of me

was a feminine Dominant Construct. She looked about my age. The dress she

wore sparkled as a dull white-blue light emanated from her body.

I'd seen a few Dominant Constructs so far, but none of them had nearly as

much elegance and poise as this one. She was the very picture of royal grace.

Her eyes, an icy blue, slowly opened up.

She blinked once or twice, then stared at me. Eventually, she seemed to

register me as another lifeform and opened her mouth.

Her mouth moved, but I heard nothing. That was my fault, though. The

[Prison] I'd erected was soundproof.

The Sovereign noticed that I hadn't reacted to her words, so she just tilted her

head, and then shrugged. She didn't seem hostile, at least.

"...If I remember right, Ende said she isn't much of a fighter." I worked up my

resolve and took a step inside.

As I got closer, I couldn't help but notice the girl was a little nervous as well.

She fidgeted with her hands before trying to speak again.

「@#...@$n/※o,#h@jimem@◇sh⊇i＊t≒e」

What? What is she saying...? Oh, right... She does come from another world

entirely. Ney and Gila used words like that one, if I recall...

I could use the [Translation] spell to give her knowledge of my language, but

that required physical contact.

I didn't know if the Phrase understood the cultural importance of a

handshake, but I held my arm out anyway.

She seemed wary of me, so I smiled to show her I wasn't hostile. That

might've worried her more, given my smile was kinda forced.

Somehow my gesture worked because she reached out and grabbed my hand

with both of hers. Her hand was cold, but definitely soft.

"[Translation]."

I quickly activated my translation magic, passing my own magic power

through her hands, creating a neural link that should've triggered a shared

recognition.

"Can you understand me now?"

"Hm?! I... Yes. Yes, I can." The Sovereign, with a shocked expression on her

face, slowly began to talk. I was glad that the spell worked.

"I'm Mochizuki Touya. I am a grand duke, and I rule over one of the countries

in this world."

"...Oh... Then I do beg your forgiveness. It seems an introduction is in order on

my part. My name is Melle. I am the Sovereign Phrase, former world leader of

Phrasia, a far-off Crystal Planet."

There was no doubt about it. She was the one they were looking for, standing

right in front of me.

The Sovereign.

◇ ◇ ◇

"How'd it go?"

"No good. She didn't react to me at all, she's just despondent." The Phrase

Sovereign, Melle, was currently in Babylon. She was living inside the Rampart

castle.

This might've seemed a little rash, but we were currently keeping her

confined. Her castle room was closed off by a [Prison], preventing her from

leaving, and preventing the Phrase from detecting her.

The [Prison] was imbued with my own divinity so it wouldn't fade away even

if I went to the Reverse World. It was basically a shelter with no entry or exit

points for anyone I didn't want to have them.

I wasn't really worried about her escaping, though. I was more worried about

her mental health.

After I met her, I told Melle the whole story of her people up until that point.

I told her about how a faction that didn't follow the new Sovereign splintered

off from Phrasia, composed of the individuals she'd left behind to govern the

place. About how they'd also gained the ability to cross through worlds.

About how they had committed genocide on countless worlds, all in the

pursuit of either claiming Melle's power or to bring her home.

About how Ende and Lycee had been crossing worlds along with her, keeping

a secret eye on her.

And about how, after arriving in this world, the Phrase known as Yula gained a

new power, and used it to corrupt members of his own species to a new goal.

When I finished my story, I noticed that Melle looked utterly horrified, and it

seemed the psychological toll on her was far too great. She became despondent

due to shock.

She was a Phrase, so it wasn't like she'd die if she didn't eat or drink, but

seeing her in that state made me think I'd said too much, too harshly. Nah,

scratch that. I'd absolutely said too much, too harshly.

"Where are you, Ende... It'd be really nice if this was one of those moments

you'd pop up out of nowhere like you usually do..." Ende wasn't showing up on

any of the maps when I used my searching magic, he was probably in the gap

between worlds or something.

It wasn't like all of this was Melle's fault, but it was true that it originated

from her actions. I didn't want to tell her that this was her burden to shoulder

alone, or that she needed to pay me reparations for the grief she caused, but it

was still undeniable that countless people had been murdered by the Phrase.

To be honest, though, the ones that were directly responsible for this mess

were the stalkers that had been trailing her this whole time.

If it were possible, I'd want her to persuade the Phrase to leave this world

alone, along with other worlds too. She'd completely revived from the

Sovereign Core, so it wasn't impossible.

But if she continued to sit there, depressed and unresponsive, it didn't seem

like a likely course of action...

"Touya... What do you plan to do with her?" Yumina frowned gently. I'd told

the king and queen of Belfast that I'd successfully sealed away the Sovereign.

That wasn't exactly a lie, to be fair.

"What do you think, Yumina? The Phrase race is our enemy, right? Should I

kill her? Should I seal her away somewhere forever?" I asked her a question

that had a bit of a harsh tone to it, but I didn't want to seem like I hadn't been

thinking about the hard stuff. I needed to figure out what to do with Melle.

I valued Yumina's insight, too.

"I... I think I understand how she might be feeling. I fell in love with someone

from another world, as well. I think in her case... She was desperate. Desperate

not to be separated from her beloved. She became so engrossed in being with

him that she failed to see the bigger picture. She lost sight of what it would do

to her people. I think that while the situation is tragic right now, it's not like we

can't fix it."

Yumina reached out and grabbed my hand as she spoke. I looked at her face,

and she softly smiled. Her mismatched eyes stared back up into mine.

"She came here on a path that caused chaos in its wake, that much is true.

But you can help her, Touya... I'd like to see you try."

"Alright. I'll try my best, then."

"Please do, Touya... It goes without saying that we'll support you, too." I

smiled at Yumina, but couldn't help but think she'd seen right through me. She

really did have me wrapped around her little finger. Part of me worried I

wouldn't be wearing the proverbial household pants much in the future. Well...

It wasn't like I didn't already know that.

I wondered if I'd make a good god if I couldn't even make a call as simple as

that without help.

"Oh, also... If you see Ende, please give him a stern talking to at the very least.

A man can't just leave his beloved alone to suffer like this... That's no good at

all! Actually, hit him for me."

"...I don't know if it's as simple as him just bailing on her." Yumina's reaction

was understandable from her perspective, but it wasn't really fair. It wasn't like

Ende knew she was here, and that was partially my fault.

That being said, I was a little annoyed at him for other reasons, so maybe

smacking him around a bit would help me work through some stress.

Either way, Melle was in the care of Liora for the time being.

I'd used [Program] and my own divinity to create special restraints and

instructed Liora to use them to hold Melle back if she attempted to commit

suicide. But I hoped it wouldn't come to that.

There wasn't much more we could do with her for the time being, at any rate.

I just had to hope she'd get better in the future.

My business with the spirits was concluded, too. If the two worlds ended up

coming together, which they likely would, then there wouldn't be any major

environmental issues.

There were still a couple of issues, so I headed out to the farmland to speak

with uncle Kousuke. Of all the gods in Brunhild, I trusted his words the most.

It wasn't like the other gods weren't trustworthy, but he was the most down

to earth.

"Well, it ain't like the worlds're gonna overlap on each other or somethin'.

They'll just be connected an' right next to each other. Probably accessible by

the sea." Kousuke took off his garden gloves and laid them down neatly as he

spoke. He set them side by side as if to demonstrate a point.

I see... So none of the landmasses will actually touch, they'll just be in parallel,

and accessible to everyone.

"If it wasn't fer that wicked god feller, it'd just be brushed off as suddenly

discoverin' a new continent... Well, I guess it'd be hard to explain why the

landmass was an exact mirror image."

"So... You think it might not be as confusing and catastrophic as it could be?"

"Sure... But that'd only be if there weren't a wicked god about. See... Once

the merge goes ahead an' happens, the world ain't gonna be under the old

man's protection no more. The wicked god an' its ilk are gonna be able to pour

through without much stoppin' them." There'd be a mass attack from the

Mutated Constructs. At the very least we'd be able to use Melle to keep the

regular Phrase at bay.

The Mutated Constructs made themselves stronger by absorbing the regular

ones, so it'd be better to have them clear out as soon as possible.

"Well, I wouldn't worry much if I were you, son. If you think yer gonna

shoulder this all alone, that's the only thing that'd be yer downfall. Think about

it. You planted plenty of seeds in this world. Seeds of hope an' trust. Now

they've grown up, an' will bear fruit. The wicked god won't have an easy time

fightin' you, I'm sure." I was happy to hear that from Kousuke. He was pretty

wise and worldly, but I guess he was a down-to-earth kind of god. I wished that

the annoying drunk and the chatty love goddess had more of his insight.

"Still... I am a teeny bit worried. Y'think the folks in that there Reverse World

can defend themselves from the Phrase and the other ones? Those Gollems

good enough at fightin'?"

"Well, there are some Gollems that can defeat them, I think. I'm not sure

overall, though..."

I hadn't really thought about it. The crowns and certain other Gollems would

be able to beat Mutated Constructs, but if an Upper Construct somehow got

into the mix, I wasn't sure if they'd be able to win. With that in mind, I decided

to head to the Reverse World and see if I could arrange more allies.

In terms of Reverse World allies, I had the Red Cats... And there was also

Elluka, the Gollem Technologist. There was also her Gollem companion, Fenrir.

She was apparently a one-in-a-million genius in that world... At least that's

what I'd been told. I had some serious reservations about how good she

actually was when I remembered how silly she looked with those thick glasses,

messy hair, and tattered clothing.

"Didja think've somethin'?"

"I think so, yeah."

"Then get yer ass goin'. No rush, but sittin' around won't fix anythin' either.

Crops ain't gonna grow without gettin' watered."

He was right. I decided to go to the Reverse World and try to explain the

situation to Elluka. She probably knew about Gollems with the right kind of

power we needed, anyway.

"Alright, I'm heading off."

"See ya when I see ya. Good bounty to you."

Uncle Kousuke took up his sickle and headed back to work. I was about to

engage my divinity and travel to the Reverse World, but I stopped myself. I

decided to quickly head back to the castle and tell my fiancees where I was

going. I didn't want them to worry, after all... I'd been doing that too much.

Still, it was possible that they'd ask me to take them with me...