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Chapter 517: 「What?! Why Not? Help Me Out!」

Having changed back into our usual clothes, we were guided to a calm, traditional Japanese-style room where we were served tea and sweets. The sweets served were, by all appearances, yokan.1 It looked like yokan, and even Kugi called it yokan, so it’s definitely yokan. Mimi and the others, though, were staring at the mysterious black, square object in front of them, clearly wondering what it was. I mean, if you think about it, yokan kind of looks like something from a dystopian meal, doesn’t it?

「Allow me to explain.」

It was the handsome wolf-eared priest who spoke up. Well, as long as someone explains, I don’t care who it is. Since he seemed to be waiting for my response, I gave a small nod.

「This region, where the Holy Vuelzarus Empire has established its territory, is a unique area where the boundary between dimensions is extremely thin. In such areas, those who carry strong impurities—curses—on their bodies tend to attract undesirable entities from the other side. That’s why, before you were allowed to move freely within the borders of the Holy Vuelzarus Empire, the Purification Rituals and Exorcism Ritual had to be conducted first.」

「The boundary between dimensions being thin, ‘the other side,’ undesirable entities—there’s a lot of unsettling and hard-to-understand terms being thrown around here…」

「Ah, yes… I’ll explain in a way that doesn’t get too long-winded.」

Though he said he’d keep it short, it ended up being a rather long story after all. The tale goes back to the founding of the Holy Vuelzarus Empire, but to avoid dragging it out indefinitely, I had him summarize it considerably.

The ancestors of the Holy Vuelzarus Empire, through some disastrous event in the past, nearly destroyed the boundary between this universe and another dimension. To put it in simpler terms, they almost unraveled the fabric separating our universe from a realm with completely different laws—kind of like hyperspace—and nearly brought about the end of the universe.

While they somehow managed to avoid that catastrophe, the area of space where the tear nearly occurred remains unstable. The citizens of the Holy Vuelzarus Empire have since built their territory around said region to safeguard it. They restricted the passage of foreign spaceships because people carrying impurities—curses—while traveling through that space were at risk of being attacked by interdimensional beings, such as the photon lifeforms we encountered before arriving. So, our guess was mostly right.

Now, onto the main point. It seems that within the Vuelzarus Empire, there are sightings. Sightings of what, you ask?

「A-are there ghosts!?」

「Well, not real ghosts or undead, but similar entities do appear. However, since you’ve all undergone the Purification and Exorcism rituals, I don’t think you’ll encounter them so easily.」

The handsome wolf-eared priest replied calmly, though Mimi was visibly paling. As expected, her expression is growing worse by the second. Despite being surprisingly unfazed by gory, physical horror, Mimi is terrible with horror involving the unknown, or when something invisible starts closing in on you.

「I… I ain’t good with scary stuff.」

「Neither am I… I-Is it really safe?」

「Wiska-san, don’t worry. If the time comes, I can protect you with Spiritual Power, and as long as you’re by my Lord’s side, it’s hard for any kind of spirit or monster to approach you. Besides, Moegi-sama and Konoha-sama will also be acting as our guards.」

「Yes, leave it to us.」

「Such lowly creatures would be easily dealt with in a single stroke of my sword.」

Moegi and Konoha, still sitting in perfect formal posture, each placed a hand on the sword resting beside them. Hmm, reliable. They look more dependable now than ever before.

「Well, when the time comes, help me out too.」

In response, Moegi and Konoha both tilted their heads to the side, looking completely puzzled. They did it at the exact same time, but in opposite directions.

「I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about.」

「Are you joking? Help you? Why?」

「What? Why not? Help me out!」

「If it’s you, my Lord, you could probably wipe out such entities with a flick of your finger. I doubt you would need such assistance.」

「Wait, are they really that fragile? In that case, maybe I don’t need to worry.」

Why everyone is looking at me like I’m talking nonsense? Even Kugi and the wolf-eared priest are stifling grins at this point.

「What would you think if you heard a battleship with powerful main cannons and shields complain about how fragile humans are?」

「Is it really that extreme?」

「Yes, it’s really that extreme.」

Ah, I see… So, I’m that battleship, huh? I guess their reactions make sense then. Still, how was I supposed to know? It wouldn’t hurt if you all were a bit kinder to me, you know.

「I understand the situation. Thank you for going to such lengths for us.」

「No, we must apologize as well. We forced the ritual on you without explaining the situation first. There was a divine decree that it needed to be performed as soon as possible.」

「A divine decree… Right, this country has something akin to fortune-telling that predicts the future, doesn’t it?」

The handsome wolf-eared priest nodded at my words. I don’t quite understand how it works, but I’d heard from Kugi that they have fortune-telling techniques with an accuracy rate of 80 to 90 percent. In fact, Kugi mentioned that her meeting with me was a result of such a technique.

「Uh, so from here on out, can we set our own schedule based on what we want to do?」

「Yes, of course. Please let us know your requests, and we will do our best to accommodate them.」

「Got it. My first request is an investigation into Krishna. Since it’s considered a holy relic or something, I’d like to have it examined by experts. And, while we’re at it, I’d like to have my own technicians involved in that investigation as well.」

This was something we had discussed before arriving here. Not just Tina and Wiska, but even Dr. Shouko had shown interest in psionic technology. Dr. Shouko is a genius knowledgeable not only in genetic engineering and biotechnology but also in nanomachine and materials engineering. I’m hoping she’ll uncover something significant.

「We’ve already received word about that. We’ve assembled some of the top researchers and engineers in our country for this, so we will notify you as soon as preparations are complete. We’d also be delighted to have the technicians who have been working with the technology thus far join in the research.」

「That’s a big help. The only other thing is… I’d like to pay my respects to Kugi’s parents… Wait, what’s with those reactions?」

At my words, the handsome wolf-eared priest looked as if he had just bitten into a dozen bitter bugs all at once. Glancing around, I noticed that everyone—aside from my crew—had the same expression on their faces. Kugi, meanwhile, wore a slightly troubled smile.

「Um, my lord. When I became a priestess—when I became Seijou Kugi—I erased all ties to my past. So, those people no longer exist.」

「…Wait, what?」

I have no idea what is she talking about. Could someone give me an explanation?

「It’s probably not a pleasant subject for you, my Lord, so it might be best not to dig too deeply. In any case, I am happy now. I’ve been treated well by everyone, and every day by your side, I see and experience things I never would have imagined. My life is exciting and fulfilling.」

She spoke with a calm conviction as if to say, ‘Isn’t that enough?’

「…And you’re really okay with that, Kugi? You’re not just giving up or anything, right?」

「Yes. I made this choice myself, and now that my wish has come true, I’m content.」

「Alright, then I won’t pry any further. If that’s what you truly think is best, then I’ll respect that.」

「Yes, I believe that’s for the best. However, if you don’t mind, I would like to introduce you to the people who took care of me during my training.」

「That sounds good. Let’s definitely do that.」

At this exchange, the members of the Holy Vuelzarus Empire seemed to visibly relax. There must be some deep, dark backstory hidden there, but if Kugi doesn’t want me to dig into it, I won’t. After all, blindly uncovering the truth isn’t always the right thing to do.

TN1: Yokan is a traditional Japanese dessert made primarily from red bean paste (azuki), sugar, and agar-agar, a gelatinous substance derived from seaweed. It has a dense, jelly-like texture and is typically shaped into rectangular or block forms. Yokan has been a popular sweet in Japan for centuries, often eaten with tea due to its rich sweetness.