Satou"s here. When I saw the folk tale [Kikimimi Zukin] for the first time, I thought living a life while being monitored at every places seemed scary to me as a child. In modern time, there"s surveillance cameras here and there, but I never thought that they were scary.

◇

"--Fumu, as I thought, it was an act huh."
『Un, that seems about right.』

I"m near Tactician Touya"s hideout, I"ve asked Dryad to get information from the moss growing there about the thing they said after I left.

I was bothered by how they only talked about some unusually convenient stuff for me, so I asked Dryad for help.

My suspicion was proven true sure enough, but I"d never thought that they noticed my Mana Camouflage.

『It seems there"s no more children who heard them.』

Dryad sorted the acc.u.mulated information from vegetation networks, like moss and weeds, and then conveyed them to me.
Scientifically speaking, there"s no way moss and weeds have the ability to store information.

"Thank you Dryad. It really helped."
『Ehehe, I got a lot and lot of magic power after all~』

I parted with Dryad who was waving her hands buzzingly, and I went to Saga Empire that was close to the hideout.

I"ve put a marker on the woman with plain face who seems to be the one who teleported Pochi, so next I"m heading to the empire to seize the Chief guy.

Even though it ultimately saved Lady Ringrande and Princess Maryest, I can"t overlook the fact that they put Pochi in danger because of some pointless scheme.

Erase at once--not, as that"s not to my liking, I"m thinking of presenting him with enough fear to make him think twice before trying to meddle with us ever again.
I"m sure that he will obediently listen if I let him taste dives from 10,000 feet high in flesh several times, as long as he doesn"t have the ability to fly or teleport that is.

"There huh--"

At the top floor of a building I"m looking up to, there"s a gnome man t.i.tled Saga Empire"s Intelligence Bureau Chief.

--No.

This guy is not the same as the one earlier.

According to the AR reading, his race is [Dummy Puppet], though it"s been cleverly hidden by a concealment-type artifact.
It looks exactly like the real person, but this guy is a fake.

I tried to trace back the magic power flowing from this guy, but all of them are fakes and unconnected to the main body.

When I tried searching the map, I found one other [Dummy Puppet] in a rural area of Saga Empire.
I"ll put a marker on it and prepare a trap that can trace the main body when he accesses the puppet.

"--Now then, what to do."

I"m sitting on top of one of the Saga Empire Imperial Palace"s spires, muttering alone.

I can put Tactician Touya and the woman with plain face under [Gea.s.s] to prohibit them from getting hostile, but that"ll be a bad move.
Even if I curb them, with the Chief still being on the loose, it will probably end up with them going into hiding and acting behind the scene.

Besides--.

I recall the conversation of Tactician Touya and his cohorts.
Adding that up with the information Dryad collected, it seems currently they"re truly not going to pick a fight with us.

Maybe I should pretend that I"ve been successfully deceived?

For the time being, I"ll give a warning to their public power, Saga Emperor and complete the preparation needed to seal the Seryuu City"s Labyrinth Highway--that h.e.l.l Gate thing anytime I want.
Preparing Holy Monuments and the same laminated-type Purification Barrier that can be activated anytime in the whole earldom should be enough.
The Dragon Veins flowing near Seryuu City are very thick since they"re connected to the Dragon"s Valley, so it should be able to activate a slightly strong barrier without problem.

I gaze at the stone inside my hand while collecting my thoughts.

"Yup, even the Appraisal skill can identify this as a 『Lunar Stone』."

If the Chief doesn"t ever access the Dummy Puppet, I"m thinking of using this thing as a bait to lure him out.

This is a stone I collected in the moon when I was taking a walk there while installing the s.p.a.ce factory in the Lagrangian point halfway to the moon.

It seems they didn"t want me to go to the moon, but it was just a dreary place with only grounds and rocks, nothing interesting.
I had tried searching the Map but there wasn"t any temple or ruin where the Demon G.o.d could be sealed, nor demons and monsters.

According to the myth, the Demon G.o.d should be sealed on the moon, but it"s most likely a deviated information.

Or perhaps, the Demon G.o.d has already broken off the seal and is secretly lurking in the world.
That possibility exists if the G.o.d that gives reincarnated people like Arisa their fragments is the Demon G.o.d.

Well, there"s no use thinking more about it.

Arisa seems to be waiting in my room, so I decide to quickly give a warning to the emperor and finish the miscellaneous things.

◇

"--Master."

When I got back after finis.h.i.+ng my business, Arisa was waiting in the pitch black office.

"Arisa, at least turn on the light while you"re waiting."
"Welcome back. Were you at Aze"s place?"
"Nah, I was just disciplining the troublesome guys who set Pochi up."

I told her that first while rebuking her.

At the Saga Emperor"s room, I gave him a slight warning by imitating the Sword of Damocles myth.
I don"t think he"ll ever try to meddle with us again if he has a decent sense.

As for the matter about Chief, I"m going to talk about it with Arisa after she"s recovered, Hikaru and Liza.

"As expected of Master. You"re quick--"

She sounds meek unlike the usual Arisa.

"--I have something I need to talk to Master about."

I was a bit surprised at the fact Arisa spoke of falteringly--her memory was sealed and sighting the descended G.o.d was the trigger--but the content itself was within the range of a.s.sumption I thought up after seeing the Weasel Emperor"s state.

"The G.o.d who let Arisa reincarnated said that 『If you meet other G.o.ds besides me, kill them』?"
"Un, that G.o.d said that they will attack anyone who"s been given that G.o.d"s power for sure if they find one, even though meeting one seldom ever happens."

That"s strange.

I"m sure G.o.ds have seen reincarnated people including Arisa for many times through the oracle Miko.

More importantly--.

"So the G.o.d who let you reincarnate was the 『Demon G.o.d』 after all?"
"I don"t know. Judging from the circ.u.mstances, there"s a high chance that"s the case, but that G.o.d never directly said it."

That makes sense, from what she said earlier, her memory might have been sealed.
Would the trigger happen regardless of which G.o.ds she encountered, or would it have to be G.o.d Zaikuon first, the discussion will change depending on that.

However, there"s a high possibility that the Demon G.o.d who produces demons is sending reincarnated people to this world as the [Eggs] to ma.s.s produce demon lords.
I don"t know why he didn"t just embed the fragments in the people who live in this world though.
Good grief, the objective of G.o.ds bringing forth reincarnated people is still unclear even now, it"s depressing.

If we go by my deduction that has never been right with detective novels, it"s "Reincarnated people will spread their knowledge, violate the G.o.d"s Taboo, and then the Divine Punishment will befall them and the G.o.d who will nonchalantly appear will torment the reincarnated people who turn into demon lords" I guess?

--Nay.

It"s full of holes if I think about it a bit more, and it"s highly inefficient.

However, there"s no mistake that the G.o.d who gave power to reincarnated people manipulates their will to forcefully make them fight the other G.o.ds.
The proof is the fact that Arisa had absolutely no doubt about fighting G.o.ds.

I have no intention of fighting G.o.ds right now, but I have a feeling that I"d need to regard the G.o.d who sent the reincarnated people here as an adversary in the future.
If Arisa agrees to it, I"d even like to remove her G.o.d"s Fragments.

"--By the way, have you seen your status after I healed you?"
"Un, I have."

Arisa answers with a serious tone.

"Don"t forget to always equip the 『Thief G.o.d Harness』 when you"re going out okay."
"Yes, dear."

I lightly whack Arisa"s head.

"Owie."

She should be fine now if she can crack jokes.

After fighting G.o.d Zaikuon, Arisa has gotten several t.i.tles.

First, [Demon Lord] that I saw.

In addition, [One who Rebels], [One who Challenges G.o.d], for some reason [Hero], and--.

I look at Arisa"s status displayed on the AR twice.
Looks like it"s not a mistake after all.

Over there--[Satou"s Familiar] has been added.

◇

"Now then, what do you plan to do from now on?"

After putting Arisa to sleep, I meet face to face with the Great Weasel Demon Lord in the castle I made inside the desert sub-s.p.a.ce.
The content of our talk is about the future of the Weasel Empire"s people.

Since Miss Liedill is currently regenerating in the culture tank, I"m here only with the Great Weasel demon Lord and the Sword Demon Lord.
Two of the other demon lords have also survived, but since they"ve turned into complete war machines, I"ve binded them with [Gea.s.s] and imprisoned them in the [Abyss Dungeon] I made with s.p.a.ce magic.

Eventually, I"m thinking of using Demon Lord s.h.i.+zuka"s [Familiarize] and [Transfer] to transfer the demon lords" [G.o.d"s Fragments] to small animals and have Arisa and the other members defeat the resultant demon lords.
It seems Arisa will get [True Hero] t.i.tle after all, and the other girls might even obtain hero t.i.tle too.

"If Louis is still alive, she can delete the memories related to science from the people--"
"That"s impossible. You understand right?"

This Louis that the Great Weasel Demon Lord mentioned is the catear-kin reincarnated person who was in charge of deleting memory at Lete City.
Of course she"s alive, but even if she"s able to manage around 100 people, doing it to the whole population of Weasel Empire is impossible.

"However, letting them lead a life in the sub-s.p.a.ce is no difference to what G.o.ds are doing."
"You"re right. Moreover, even if they can live for 100 years in the sub-s.p.a.ce, it"s not something that can be done forever."

The sub-s.p.a.ce I created hastily using the forbidden spell should not last that long, although it might be a different story if it was reinforced by Yuika"s Unique Skill like with the solitary island palace.

"And they"d probably be persecuted if they went back to the former world--"

--Rather, if the Seven Pillar G.o.ds noticed them, they"d probably impose another Divine Punishment.

"In the first place, there"s no way this world that has trouble to even sustain daily livelihood can accept immigrants."

I"m in consent with the Great Weasel Demon Lord.

Brighton City and Villages under my administration did accept a lot of immigrants, but that was only possible because I had arranged the environment with magic on top of the area being underpopulated.
Moreover, the whole immigrants of the Weasel Empire are more than s.h.i.+ga Kingdom"s population.
The uninhabited city on the Ancient Dragon"s Continent has also been ruled by many natives already, so it"s not usable.

"I think I can take care of the food somehow at least."
"Umu, I"m thankful for that, however if they just keep living on like this, sooner or later they will violate the taboo, repeating the same thing."

The Great Weasel Demon Lord contemplates.

"Satou. Do you not desire this world?"

He really said some Great Demon Lord thing.

"Don"t you mean half of the world?"
"I"m not talking about game."

I"m not sure how to respond if you"re serious.

"With the power of that s.p.a.ce magician girl called Arisa and you, we can kill G.o.ds."
"Sorry, but I"m not going to fight G.o.ds."

If we"re talking about whether it"s possible or not, I can do it myself even without forcing Arisa.
After all, I can cast the anti-G.o.d magic [Mythology Down] in no time at all, then I can just cut the G.o.d with the Divine Sword when they"re weakened.

And I also can continuously shoot the [Mythology Down] as long as I have enough Magic Tanks.

"Why!"

The Great Weasel Demon Lord is exasperated.

"Though imperfect, the ones who gave birth to the creatures of this world are the Seven Pillar G.o.ds."
"Where is the proof of that!"
"I"ve heard about it from the High Elves who have lived since the age of myth."

At least, I don"t think that Aze-san and the other high elves are lying to me.

"Are you saying that it"s okay to be abused if it"s by your birth parents!"
"Your argument is going to the far extreme."

I might have agreed with the Great Weasel Demon Lord if we lived in the era where the Dog-head rampaged 20,000 year ago, but I don"t feel the G.o.ds" stance in the present time to be that malicious.
If the ones that manage this world are the Seven Pillar G.o.ds, then I think the people of this world should obey the rules imposed by the administration.
As long as the rules (G.o.ds) aren"t doing some unreasonable exploitation that is.

"It is the nature of people to demand a better life. You think it"s fine for them to suppress that idea!"
"Isn"t it because they don"t want people to kill each other like in WWII and Cold War?"
"You think those guys are such benevolent beings!"

U~n, for some reason the Great Weasel Demon Lord really hates G.o.ds.

"Right. Since I"ve never met G.o.ds, I can only make conjectures from various books--"

I look up at the Great Weasel Demon Lord and speak in sincerity to make my words reach him.

"--I"m not going to fight them based merely on those conjectures."

At the very least, even though the [Little Girl in Painting] was self-righteous, I didn"t feel malice in her.

"Are you going to hold a conversation with them?"
"Yup, I"ll be going to meet them."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course."

I gave an affirmation to the astonished-looking Great Weasel Demon Lord.

The markers I had put on G.o.d Zaikuon and the apostles came off immediately, but I was able to confirm that the markers were in the [G.o.d"s Realm] for an instant.
Since the coordinates have been recorded and all, I don"t think I shouldn"t go.

Of course I"m only going once I"ve completely prepared and made an appointment with some friendly G.o.d though.

"Now then, since our stances stand on parallel lines, let"s get back to the first topic."

Right now, deciding the future of the Weasel Empire"s people comes first.

I"d like to give them hope for their future by the third day, I"m not talking about the [Rule of Three during Disaster] I heard somewhere before though.
Seriously spare me from having the people I saved getting suicidal.

"There is no place for them in the former world. The people of Weasel Empire don"t want to let go of the convenience of technology. Is that correct?"
"That"s right. The ignorant one would not care, however, ones who have tasted the convenience will not be able to go back to their previous condition."

Un, I can understand.

I also want to take a bath every day and eat tasty things whenever I want.

"So here"s a suggestion--"

The Great Weasel Demon Lord who listened to me in silence opens his mouth after I"m done.

"It might be possible if it"s just one or two, but can it really be done with this number?"
"Yup, I"ve safely completed the empirical test. The mouses I used in the test arrived there safely."

At first I was going to send Chuu Fat and the other mouses who had ama.s.sed a ma.s.sive influence under s.h.i.+ga Kingdom in the test, but they were tied to s.h.i.+ga Kingdom"s hygiene improvement and crime control more than I could"ve imagined, so I used some normal lab rats instead.

"Then we will go with that suggestion--no, I should lower my head. Please lead us Weasel Empire"s people to the new world."

When the Great Weasel Demon Lord entreated by lowering his head on the ground, the fox-faced Sword Demon Lord followed suit.

"Then, I"m counting on you to persuade the people in the sub-s.p.a.ce okay."
"Understood. I vow that I will successfully persuade them before the Ark is completed."

I waved my hand at the Great Weasel Demon Lord and started the preparation for the Ark.
I have the materials and all, I should be able to complete it in half a month.

As I thought, working with my hands crafting something is really way more fun than some world"s crisis or chasing some mysterious mastermind.
I"ll leave that one until they"re caught in the net themselves, right now let"s continue the preparation to safely send the Weasel Empire"s populace to the new world!

※Next update is planned for 2/12