Chapter 337: World Assimilation

“And? Am I right in assuming your weapon is that carriage?” (Naofumi)

“Kue.” (Fitoria)

Fitoria firmly nods.

“Last we met, you were able to detach it, right?” (Naofumi)

“Kue, kue.” (Fitoria)

“If you use your weapon long enough, you’ll eventually be able to take it off temporarily, she says.” (Midori)

How envious.

I want to learn to do that too, but perhaps the Vassals and Heroes work on different systems…

The Shield did go into dormancy for a while, but it would be nice if I could do that consciously.

“Did you copy the Tank-type body Rat made? Is that also counted as a carriage?” (Naofumi)

“Kue.” (Fitoria)

“Yes. I got the feeling that could be copied, so I went and made use of it, apparently.” (Midori)

“I see.” (Naofumi)

I don’t know if there’s a gap in power output, but it’s amazing that she could copy Rat’s Tank-type monster.

With this, we may be able to advance Rat’s plans in weapon-shaped monster-making. Well, that doesn’t matter right now.

But… is a Tank really a carriage?

It’s more like a vehicle, or something like that.

“To summarize, originally, there were four weapons that could be called legendary. Each one was able to select two vassals, making for eight in total. All together, that means there are 12 holy weapons circulating in this world. Glass, how was it in your world?” (Naofumi)

“Let’s see. In our world, there also existed twelve weapons. From them, I was selected as the vassal of the 『Fan』.” (Glass)

“I see.” (Naofumi)

“This world… hasn’t experienced any particular damage. What happened to its guardian beasts?” (Glass)

“Guardian Beasts?” (Trash)

When the conversation had just gotten back on track, Trash posed a question to Glass.

I just learned about their duty from Gaelion a little while ago.

But perceptive people like Trash may have already picked up on it.

“In order to prevent the wave… the assimilation of worlds, there exist certain beasts. In order to protect the world, they collect the souls of its inhabitants. It may be a cruel method, but…” (Glass)

“So you mean the four spirits?” (Trash)

“That’s right. In this world, three have already been eliminated. It seems that the descriptions of their nature and other explanations passed down by the past heroes were all destroyed by someone’s hand.” (Naofumi)

“… My world’s have all been eliminated already. The only method left to me was to… kill all the heroes of this world.” (Glass)

Glass puts her hand on her chest with a relieved expression.

It’s not like she’s attacking because she wants to.

At least, that’s what I get by watching her.

It may seem selfish from our point of view, but the same can be said in reverse.

I mean, if we don’t use the power of the Four Beasts, we’ll have to eliminate Glass’s world.

“It may be just a little, but the worlds have assimilated in some parts. At the moment, my world’s inhabitants are now slightly closer to becoming yours, something like that.” (Glass)

“I guess that’s how it is. And what do your people wish for?” (Naofumi)

“To suppress the assimilation to as great an extent as possible. If possible, we also don’t wish for any more sacrifices from our side.” (Glass)

Sacrifices…

So Glass’s world isn’t completely gone, but the assimilation has taken most of it away.

Because of that, Glass came to seek aid from us.

“We hope that you will offer at least half of your lives to your guardian beasts.” (Glass)

“… Are you sane?” (Naofumi)

Since Glass is on the asking side, there’s no helping it, but asking us to sacrifice half our population…

She doesn’t seem happy about proposing it either.

It’s easy to imagine just how hard of a choice it is for her.

It’s that. In an old Sci-Fi novel, I’ve read something like this

The world became too polluted for human inhabitation, so a small fraction of the population set out for the stars to find a new place to call home. I think.

I do believe that it is strange that the current fantasy situation overlaps with Sci-Fi though.

But, Glass’s world seems to have been cornered quite far.

Of course, the situation is the same for us.

If we just stand back and watch, our world will definitely fall to ruin.

To save the many or the few. Such a choice has been imposed on us…

In that sense, those of Glass’s world, who’ve already reached their decision, have a better grasp of the situation than us.

“I know. It’s our final option. But since part of this world has already been eaten away, in order to ensure the survival of the races that live on your world, it isn’t the worst option. Of course, if you have a better one, then it’s a different story.” (Glass)

If we had something like that, we would already be working on it.

But those sacrifices aren’t just going to say, “Go ahead,” and let themselves be killed.

-but it may be something we have to do.

I can tell since I’ve survived up until now.

In this world, pretty words aren’t enough to bring an end to anything.

Whenever someone gains, someone loses.

Having all parties benefit rarely ever happens.

In order to ensure a third survives, we kill the other two thirds.

This truly is… a shitty world.

Even so, we have to make a choice.

Of course, that truly is a final option.

“… What about your world?” (Naofumi)

Glass averts her gaze.

“The vanguard of the enemy forces, one with memories of another world, left our world in chaos. Suspicion raged on about who the reincarnated one was, and when the world was in grave peril, my comrades began killing one another… you can laugh if you want.” (Glass)

It appears that a reincarnated like Tact caused the death of the Four Heroes and all but one of their vassals.

It’s scary that with one wrong step, the same could have happened to us.

“I do feel like bursting into laughter, but we’re on the same boat. How about you crack a smile?” (Naofumi)

The Seven Stars were assassinated.

Tact schemed.

Faubley went to war.

Really, he did a perfect job of making a mess of things.

An idiot like that thought he could save the world? That’s too much even for a joke.

“Now then, let’s leave that behind, and see what information we have left.” (Naofumi)

Info on the world we’re opposing.

Looking at Glass’s attitude, we aren’t much different.

“Our world was left with information on what the wave was, but everything else was lost over time… just how many times… did we fight with other worlds to save our own?” (Glass)

“I see… Glass, your world’s wave… what number is it?” (Naofumi)

This was the worst possibility I thought of.

Even if their world comes to a close, will their battle ever end?

If it was to be in a hundred years, it would be fine.

If it was in decades, we would still be prepared to make a bitter decision.

But what if it were in a few years, a few months, a few weeks?

Will we simply be fighting an endless battle?

No, if it will continue no matter what…

“We’ve fought a countless number of battles. At the start, we fought your world, but sometimes, a different world would appear in our sky. Perhaps it was because of the power of your world’s Guardian Beasts.” (Glass)

“Ah, I see… Our first meeting was… four months ago.” (Naofumi)

“At that time, the only thing I knew was the nature of the wave. There’s a world of difference between the me of back then and the me of now.” (Glass)

Yes the current us would easily be able to defeat Glass when she fought us back then.

And the same goes for Glass now.

In our joint battle, she displayed quite a bit of strength.

“Um, Naofumi-san, why is it that we cannot let the worlds to assimilate anymore?” (Itsuki)

Itsuki asks a question.

Ah, that’s right. I explained what the wave was, but never why it had to be stopped no matter the cost.

“To put it simply… think of the world as a soap bubble floating in the wind.” (Naofumi)

“I… see…” (Itsuki)

“This bubble floats, collides with, and gets stuck to four others of similar size. But it has its limit. The next bubble to hit it will cause it to burst. You get it?” (Naofumi)

“… Somewhat…” (Itsuki)

“I see… The wave is a phenomenon where worlds assimilate, and while the other Heroes were able to survive through it, they were unable to prevent the phenomenon itself. This fits with my wife’s notes.” (Trash)

Trash picks up what I really want to talk about.

“From the start, the world had one holy weapon and two vassals. Another world got stuck on, and it became two and four… and in the previous wave-” (Trash)

“Yeah, we now have four holy weapons and eight vassals.” (Itsuki)

“To summarize, the stories of the past where Demi-Humans don’t seem to exist are those that were passed down before the wave, and by the collision of worlds, we became bound to the Demi-Human world? Naofumi-dono and Kawasumi-dono’s Shield and bow are… those of the Demi-Human side. That’s why they’re looked down upon within my country.” (Trash)

“Me too? I didn’t feel that I got that bad of a reception compared to Naofumi-san.” (Itsuki)

“In our long history, perhaps the Bow performed some feat and got accepted by the church. But the Shield…” (Trash)

“I’ll bet the original weapon of the Demi-Human world was the Shield. The weapon probably had close ties to their land, so he probably didn’t work near Melromark.” (Itsuki)

These people are sharp.

Even without me saying anything, they reached their own conclusion.

You’re incomparable to how you were at the beginning, Trash.

“The details are unclear, but in the waves before these ones, our world became tied to the Demi-human’s, and this time, we’ve established a link with Glass’s. Is that correct?” (Trash)

“Yes, your hypothesis isn’t wrong.” (Glass)

“But… why does the wave require so much time? Though my wife wrote not of it, I have my own theories.” (Trash)

“Speak.” (Naofumi)

“Fumu… First, it’s because of the one controlling the one with memories of a life past. The ringleader of this incident.” (Trash)

Trash crosses his arms and gets lost in thought.

“Another possibility is… the assimilation-prevention measures the four beasts perform happen every time the wave comes around, and as if waiting for a fruit to ripen, the ringleader waits for them to collect… but that would make this ringleader much too long lived.” (Trash)

“No, you may be onto something. Try expanding your thoughts.” (Naofumi)

“… Understood. The one behind this must reap some profit by sending the world into ruin. That’s why he causes waves to happen and worlds to go to war, eventually destroying them… Of course, the Four Spirits prevent such things, so they reincarnate someone to go dispose of them. But… this train of thought leaves too many things unclear.” (Trash)

“That’s right.” (Naofumi)

Why doesn’t this ringleader get involved himself?

It’s safe to consider that they have some reason not to.

Even if these deductions are correct, what they lead us to is…

“That ringleader cannot come to this world, or perhaps… it’s a magical or spiritual phenomenon. Like an automatic system to control the world’s population…” (Trash)

“Itsuki, do you have any ideas? You were able to tell Tact was a reincarnated, right?” (Naofumi)

“That’s right, but in my world, it would be explained as a power they were unable to awaken to in life, or something… I’ve got nothing.” (Itsuki)

In my world, the books I’ve read with this theme have been quite varied.

So my thoughts may be way off the mark.

But I’ve seen a situation similar to this.

“In the stories of my world, there’s a certain someone who mediates reincarnations like these.” (Naofumi)