Volume 3 - CH 21

The space shimmers as it did when #2 appeared, hoping in vain that the evil god would not come out. It was right next to us.

“I didn’t expect you to betray me. I don’t know how humans think… it’s safer to take away their will and make them puppets. Still, I’m unwilling to waste resources on this….”

I leave them belligerently provoking #2 while I check out their appearance.

The evil god can’t be seen. I know they’re here, but I can’t see their presence. It turned out that #2’s words, ‘visible but unperceivable,’ were spot on.

It is slightly different from the mosaic and looks like noise on a CRT TV.

And if you look closely, no shadows are being cast. It’s opaque without blocking the light. I don’t understand.

The outline and the color are vague. Nothing is known about it except that it is human-shaped, approximately the size of an adult male. …How did I recognize it? Although I could not sense any human characteristics, my brain naturally perceived it as a humanoid. It was an unknown entity.

Can something like this exist in this world? Struck with an inexplicable uneasiness, I asked Patrick, keeping my eyes on the evil god.

“Patrick, what do you see? A flickering humanoid?”

“I’m seeing the same thing you’re seeing. A humanoid? Why did I think like that?”

We seemed to be in the same situation. Patrick was quite confused.

I wish I had said something when I summoned such a dangerous-looking person. While she couldn’t know that she would turn against the evil god, she could have at least informed us to get our equipment ready.

“Hey! We are not ready, it’s our garden, and you could have given us a little more warning!”

“This is why I asked for a larger space. Didn’t I also make sure you had time?”

Yumiela #2 said flatly.

The tension wasn’t that great, was it? Eleanora is nearby, and Ryuu will be back soon.

What should I do? I want to buy some time. Although the evil god is full of mysteries, they seem reasonable. Let’s try to have a conversation.

“Hello. Nice to meet you, evil god.”

“Are you calling me ‘evil god’?”

“Was #2 just calling you an evil god on her own? May I ask your name?”

“Fufu, it’s unusual for someone to ask my name. Listen, my name is xxx.”

……Eh? What?

The evil god stated their name ostentatiously, but I couldn’t hear it. It’s not because their voice is too quiet or their speech is slurred. I’m sure I listened to the voice, but my brain couldn’t recognize it.

“……One more time, please.”

“Xxx. The lesser beings can’t even recognize it. Names are worthless to me. Call me whatever you want.”

Again, I focused on the evil god’s voice, but I still couldn’t make out its name. The sound was impossible for a human to pronounce, not resembling any vowel or consonant. Even after listening carefully, my brain couldn’t register it.

The voice quality is also not clear. The voice has some noise in it, and the gender is unknown.

Is it a he? The tone sounds masculine.

They said I could call them whatever I wanted, so I’d better think of a good name. Calling them evil god is too tasteless. A name that is easy to remember is better than a name that is unnecessarily difficult to remember. Then—

“Then I’ll call you Pochi. Pochi’s gender is—”

“Pochi?! Are you talking about me?! I’m a superior being who manages many parallel worlds, and you called me Pochi?!”

Pochi didn’t seem to like it. They’re the ones who told me to call them whatever I want.

An orthodox name but a good one. Let’s figure out another one.

“Then… Tama-chan.”

“Tama-chan?!”

“No? You’re complaining a lot, huh.”

My naming repertoire is almost running out. They said names were worthless to them, but they’re so picky about it.

It’s not a terrible name, right? I wonder if they don’t like Pochi and Tama because of their peculiar evil god sensibilities.

When I looked at #2, who had gracefully accepted my naming, she was holding her laughter.

“Fufu, you’re the best. I’ll call you Tama-chan from now on.”

“You! How dare you taunt me, a superior being!”

#2 is laughing way too much.

Was it that bad? I turn to look at Patrick.

“Why don’t we just call them evil god like before? It’s up to them.”

“It doesn’t matter if you call me an evil god. As long as I know it refers to me, who cares?”

“That sounds tasteless, maybe another—”

“You stay out of this!”

The evil god got angry with me.

Guess I’ll just have to call him evil god now. If I can’t call him Pochi or Tama, I will have to pull out another name from a naming drawer that was sealed for a long time because it was difficult to use.

“I’ll call you Evil God. The only other names I can think of are Schadenfreude and Kugelschreiber.”

“Hmm? That’s interesting. I’ve thought that I need a name that you guys can understand. From now on, I will call myself Evil God Kugelschreiber.”

Oh, they like it. And a lame one at that. Kugelschreiber is a German word for ballpoint pen. It was also the name of my killer technique in junior high.

If they knew their name was a writing instrument, they would be upset with me. I’ll keep this a secret.

The Evil God Ballpoint Pen should be looking straight at me. But I don’t know where the front is.

“Hey, you.”

“Are you talking to me?”

“You who stand at the top among lowly beings like trash. Come join my ranks.”

“Are you recruiting me?”

This evil god wants to make me their lackey.

Once they were betrayed and saw that #2 was no good, they switched attention to me. They have no regard for others.

“No, I’ll pass. I never know what you’ll make me do.”

“I’ve had my eye on you from the beginning. You from the parallel universe… #2, is it? She was just too easy to control. It doesn’t matter if you change your plan to kill #2.”

“Haa? What do you mean I’m easy to control? You were the one who betrayed me in the first place?! And there’s no way she’s going to kill me!”

“The payback—”

Evil God Kugelschreiber ignores #2’s voice. No matter what he offers me, I will never be swayed!

“—become my servant, I can guarantee you will become infinitely stronger.”

“What?”

“The first thing to do is remove the level cap. After that, the constant battle continues. When you reach another limit, we shall find a way to break through it.”

Infinite level up? Hmm. That doesn’t interest me.

However, it is always good to ask for a few details. Just to get as much information out of the enemy as possible. Nothing personal.

“Details.”

“Hoo, are you interested? I should have asked you from the beginning if it was this easy.”

“Hypothetically, if the level cap was removed, how would one level up after that?”

“To level up, you have to take mana into your body. The most effective way to do this is to keep defeating monsters, pseudo-life forms composed entirely of magic. The same thing you’ve been doing so far.”

The same thing I’ve been doing? Becoming stronger and defeating even stronger enemies? The evil god had invited me to join them as if we were going to fight together, but who was the enemy?

Asking too many questions about getting stronger will only lead to the painful glare I feel from Patrick next to me. Let me ask him about the enemies.

“Who exactly are you fighting, Kugelschreiber-san? The administrator of all these parallel worlds doesn’t have any enemies, right?”

“They’re from the other worlds.”

“……Didn’t you manage all the other worlds?”

“Hmm… how do I say this? I have all the parallel worlds that branch off like a tree in my hands. This world is one of the branches in that tree. And just as there is more than one branch, there is also more than one tree. I’m going to invade another tree.”

Another tree, another world with no similarities to this one, not even laws. In other words, a different universe.

He’s not content with just this world, and he will spread his influence to another universe?

“Am I correct in assuming it’s another universe?”

“Another universe? You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?”

“There are administrators in that other universe, aren’t there?”

“Mhm, you’re supposed to fight them. And my true purpose is not only in another universe.”

His ambition continues. He continued passionately to explain it.

“One day, I thought to myself, is this world really a tree?”

“Yes?”

“Is it possible that I’m just thinking of it as a tree, but in reality, it’s part of an even bigger tree? The possibility of it being a miniature garden-like world created by an even greater being cannot be dismissed. Imagine those guys in that world are looking at this world from above and enjoying it for entertainment!”

“……Um.”

I almost thought of something stupid, but then I remembered. This world was an otome game universe.

Some people enjoy looking at this world from above. I was one of them.

I couldn’t help but make a strange noise, and the evil god wondered about it.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, please continue.”

“In their eyes, I’m just a little plaything playing inside their miniature garden. Like a clown!”

If I tell him that this world is an otome game universe, he will be outraged.

The world I used to live in might also be in trouble. The evil god that has built up its power will invade Japan. Will Japan be invaded by the otome game universe… huh? Is it not that critical?

It lacks a sense of urgency. Saying the God of Electronic World gives a sense of urgency, but rephrasing it as the God of Otome Game makes it seem dull.

The evil god seems so high and mighty, but this is the world of love simulation, right?

This is why this is a storybook world. Yet, the people who live here are alive and can make their own choices. I think that’s enough.

Moreover, the world I used to live in may not be wholly original. It’s possible that I didn’t know about it, but it could have been a manga world where the battle between sorcerers and youkai was going on behind the scenes. My imagination went endlessly with the world I was reading in the manga.

“Assuming we did manage to dominate the world as we see it, that world might as well be a story or another miniature garden, right?”

“Then we’ll rule the world until we rule even the world above us.”

“Above us… what if there is more?”

“I will continue to climb higher, even if it takes me forever.”

There is no end to it. Who can guarantee that you will reach the top after endlessly climbing through the multilayered world?

I can’t keep up with him. Is it possible that he can observe the universe in which Japan I was in?

“Is there really a world beyond that?”

“Theoretically, it exists. Although we haven’t been able to observe it, it exists. Let’s show it to those who take pleasure in watching you and me!”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.”

It doesn’t matter a whole lot. Sure, I don’t like people looking at me from above and calling me cute, crazy, gorilla, or whatever they want. But I have enough trouble with parallel and other worlds, and I can’t be bothered with the world above.

As long as you are happy now, that’s all that matters. There is more than enough happiness to go around inside this world.

Aww, I turned down the evil god’s offer. Can you please go home without a fight?

Feeling impatient inside, I heard someone next to me. It’s Patrick.

“Yumiela… I believed in you.”

Huh? Were you expecting me to be Ballpoint Pen’s lackey?

When he said it like that, it proved he had some doubts. There’s no way I’m going around conquering other worlds.

It was a terrible idea. When I looked at him in shock, he continued.

“No, but when it comes to strength, Yumiela has no boundaries….”

“If I had to do something to get stronger, I would defeat #2 first. Stop talking like I am some kind of battle junkie.”

“Sorry.”

He apologized sincerely, but I didn’t miss the slight tilt of his head.

We’ll talk about this later. Right now, we have to focus on the evil god. He’s a great god and doesn’t get angry quickly, right?

“I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

“You misunderstand me, don’t you? I didn’t ask you if you wanted to be my servant. I ordered you to join my army.”

“What happens if I disobey your orders?”

“I’ll have to eliminate you.”

He was furious.

The evil god’s ambition is no longer something that can be contained in this world alone. We may have to fight him someday, but not now. I live close by, and Ryuu will be home soon.

At this point, let’s lull him into a false sense of security and get him to leave.

“Oh— Evil God Kugelschreiber-sama is incredibly strong, isn’t he?”

“Obviously.”

“Then I’ll see if I can be any help to you if I become your servant….”

“No matter how much power I gather, my power is limited. I don’t want to devote resources to something trivial with limited resources. Simply showing up in a world like this consumes resources. The more power I wield, the more it eats into my resources. That’s why I need a strong servant. I will admit that you’re strong. You can wield your power to your heart’s content for me.”

No, is that the direction you’re going?

You shouldn’t be upset if someone refuses your invitation if you’re unwilling to put in the effort. Let’s try to attack him from that angle.

“Resources are important, aren’t they? It would be best for you to leave without doing anything.”

“That’s right. You get my point. Then I order you to eliminate all of these people on my behalf!”

“Enough of this nonsense! I told you, I’m not your subordinate!”