[It’s Dirt-Dirt, the Great Spirit of Earth…!]
[Kyaaaah! You know of my greatness!?]
[You look even cooler in person!?]
[Kyahaha! You clearly have some taste!]
[Dirt-Dirt! Do that thing! That thing where you roll around like a ball!]
[Kyaaaah! Why would I follow your orders—wait, what? Huh? Why is my body moving on its own…?]
[Ahaha! You’re still so cool!]
Dirt-Dirt’s body curled up like a ball and then began rolling across the training ground at full speed.
Kali watched the scene, clutching her stomach and bursting into laughter.
‘Was she calling it “Dirt-Dirt” with honorifics just because she’s a fan…?’
She had consistently added honorifics to Dirt-Dirt’s name, so he assumed there must be some hidden power or importance.
But it turned out Kali just personally liked Dirt-Dirt.
Even so, her casually commanding a Great Spirit with such powerful Spirit Language was no longer something anyone had the energy to be surprised by.
At this point, everyone had come to accept that Kali was simply a being beyond reason, and no matter what came out of her next, it wouldn’t be shocking.
[Your name was… Water-Water, right?]
[H-Huh!? Eek!?]
[You’re kind of cool too! Water-Water!]
[Gaaaah! Please don’t call me that!!!]
And so began a game of tag between Water-Water and Kali.
It didn’t even take thirty seconds before Water-Water was rolled up like a water balloon and ended up rolling alongside Dirt-Dirt.
Just like playing with a hoop and stick, Charlotte and Julia joined in the fun, running and playing.
Then, panting heavily, Yuri came rushing in.
“Count, I came running because you said it was urgent… What’s going on?”
“Yuri. One of your biggest fans has come looking for you.”
“Huh? A fan?”
[Yuri? You mean our healer!?]
“…!?”
Suddenly—flash!
Kali, who had been far off in the distance, teleported instantly and appeared in front of Yuri, grabbing her hands.
Overwhelmed by the transcendent power, Yuri could only stand frozen, unable to resist.
[Waaa! So cute! So pretty! So adorable!]
“W-Who are you…?”
[Hmm! Just think of me as a pretty big sister who wants to be friends with our sweet healer! I’m the kind and beautiful Kali!]
“Hello…? Huh? But the name Kali, I feel like I’ve heard it before…”
[Ahem! Maybe from when Laura swallowed Aslan whole? Or when that tin can opened a dimensional gate? Maybe the name of the Evil God who helped out during those moments…!]
As soon as Yuri gave a faint sound of admiration, Kali puffed up her chest and struck a proud pose.
Was she not getting tired of this…?
At this rate, she was going to keep bragging about her achievements to every new person she met.
“Oh! You were the one who protected us from the evil gods back then!”
[Hmm? Well, technically they weren’t bad, per se… It’s just that they haven’t observed humans as long as I have. They’re dumb enough not to realize their descent alone would annihilate the human realm.]
“Ah… That must’ve made it hard to stop them…”
[Exactly! At first, I tried to talk them down, but I guess I bragged about you guys a little too much. They got all excited, wanting to ‘adopt a human’ too, and just rushed in. So I had no choice but to beat them all back into their realms.]
“…”
“…”
A previously unknown backstory came to light.
The reason the evil gods charged in like mad when the dimensional gate opened… was because Kali couldn’t stop bragging.
Since she caused the problem and then fixed it herself, it was becoming hard to say if this really qualified as an “achievement.”
‘Maybe we should keep this a secret… for Kali’s dignity.’
As if her divine authority as an Evil God wasn’t already on thin ice every time she opened her mouth.
There was no need to expose this additional blunder.
The fact that Kali caused the near-invasion of the evil gods—let that stay between just us.
“Oh, right—Yuri. So, have you figured out how to control Aura yet?”
“Yes! At first, it didn’t come out after that first time, but now I can draw it out freely!”
Yuri replied enthusiastically, raising her hand high.
Pure white Aura burst forth, swirling around her hand.
It looked somewhat like a greatsword… or maybe a staff.
Its shape was difficult to define.
Although Aura didn’t have a fixed form,
a swordsman’s Aura usually took the shape of a sword.
As expected of the protagonist—nothing about her was ordinary.
“Congratulations. You’ve now entered the ranks of Sword Masters.”
“But… can I really call this Aura? It’s not for cutting—it’s a healing power…”
“Call it whatever you like. If it bothers you, just name the level yourself. Like… Healing Master?”
[Oooh, I like that! Sounds cool!]
“I’ll just stick with Sword Master…”
Healing Master.
He thought it was a pretty clever name.
But Yuri shut it down so fast, he ended up a bit sulky.
Looking to the side, he saw Kali making the exact same sad face.
This girl.
She’s oddly like me… and for some reason, that’s annoying.
“So, Lady Kali, how long are you planning to stay here?”
[The day I leave? Hmmm…]
“Huh? You’re leaving? For real?”
“But we just became friends…”
At Yuri’s question, Kali trailed off as if she were thinking hard.
Charlotte and Julia let out disappointed voices.
[The truth is—I can’t go back! I don’t know how to open a dimensional gate!]
“Yes! That means you can stay and play with us forever!?”
[Exactly!]
“That’s great…!”
“…”
Charlotte cheered and jumped into Kali’s arms.
Julia let out a sigh of relief.
Watching them, I quietly made a decision.
I would dedicate my life to restoring the ancient civilization’s technology for opening dimensional gates.
To figure out how to send this troublesome girl back where she came from.
***
“Are you very busy, Your Majesty?”
“You ask that knowing full well the answer. And that expression of yours, as if you’re secretly enjoying my suffering…”
“You misunderstand. It’s just my face—it tends to give off the wrong impression.”
“What a convenient excuse. Insolent fellow.”
As soon as I entered the Imperial Palace’s office, I was greeted by my half-dead Empress Sister.
Because a territory the size of the Empire’s golden age had suddenly emerged, she had to dispatch teams for soil analysis, resource surveys, ecological research, and more.
She even had to organize research teams to decrypt the storage devices found in the ruins.
The Empire’s territory had doubled overnight.
Every research institute was clinging to the hope of explosive technological advancement.
It was a golden age that would go down in history.
But the person meant to lead that golden age—Her Majesty herself—didn’t seem too thrilled about it.
“You should help too! Didn’t you say you came from a civilization similar to the Ancients?”
“Even if the civilizations were similar, I wasn’t a scientist there, so I probably won’t be much help. But, if I may offer some advice… Instead of focusing all our resources on decrypting the storage device, reviving the Ancient’s head by recharging it would likely be much easier and faster.”
“Revive that thing? Are you sane?”
“Don’t worry. All of its weapons can be removed. The alloy that encases its body is strong against physical impact, but once the many layers of coating are stripped away, it’s vulnerable to chemical reactions.”
“Hooh. And how long would it take to remove that alloy plating, or whatever it is?”
“If you rely solely on corrosion to pierce even a small hole, I estimate about 300 days.”
“Ghk…”
Empress Vanessa’s face twisted the moment I answered.
“However, if we use electricity to accelerate the corrosion process, we could strip the alloy within ten days. And since we’ll need a substantial amount of electricity for the recharge anyway… would you temporarily assign me as the Director of the Mana Fission Lab?”
“Fine. The position was vacant anyway—no suitable candidates.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“…Can you do something about that wicked smile of yours?”
Having secured the position I wanted, I let out a satisfied grin.
Vanessa shivered in revulsion at my smile.
‘ Once I get control of electricity, the entire world will be in my hands. Using modern knowledge, I’ll create a safe, eco-friendly, and far more efficient mana-fission power plant.’
Using the excuse of needing electricity, I had successfully taken control of the Mana Fission project.
Though I only had basic undergraduate-level knowledge of nuclear fission,
even that gave me a huge edge over researchers here who had to start from scratch.
Of course, it wouldn’t take long for full-time researchers to catch up.
That’s why I had to contribute as much as possible now, secure a solid mana reactor model, and claim the biggest stake.
Once that was done, I could accelerate the corrosion, remove the alloy, and recharge the Ancient’s head.
After that, I could use the Ancient’s knowledge to decrypt the storage device.
It was a perfect plan.
“You never seem to rest. You talk about wanting a safe and comfortable retirement, yet your actions say otherwise. Vermont is already a land even dukes envy. Why work so hard?”
“Ah… yeah… I wonder how it came to this…”
It was just the way gamers are wired.
I had planned to clear all the content and then relax.
But with new content constantly pouring in, even if I said I wanted to rest, I couldn’t help but push through it all.
It was the same sort of compulsion.
“At this rate, we’ll end up postponing the ceremony until the children all graduate and become adults…”
With a pout, she stared up at me.
Her younger face overlapped in my mind, and my heart skipped a beat—
“Oh? Is that so? Well, if Your Majesty is that busy, then I shall go ahead and marry the Count myself. I don’t need anything extravagant—even just a marriage registration is fine with me.”
“…What?”
Just then, Sylvia—who had been silently standing beside me the whole time—suddenly wrapped her arms tightly around mine.
Vanessa’s pupils dilated in shock.
Wait, what? Why was she doing something so out of character all of a sudden…?
Cold sweat started trickling down my back.
