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Unlike the last time they were reunited in this world, Pluto had the same human form that he had in Origin. And although they had heard that the ‘Metamorph’ Mari had joined Vandalieu’s side, they hadn’t actually seen her in person, and she now looked around only fifteen years old rather than the woman in her thirties that she had been in Origin.
Asagi and the others had to struggle to conceal their surprise at seeing these two.
“Ah, save the sappy reunion stuff for after we’ve explained Vandalieu’s reply. I don’t think there’s any of that between you and me, but there is between you and Mari, isn’t there?” said Pluto.
“I know. Ah, but first, I need to apologize. I’m sorry, you three,” said Mari, lowering her head slightly in apology.
Asagi, Tendou, and Shouko were completely bewildered.
“Why are you apologizing?” said Asagi in disbelief.
“Yeah. If anything, it’s us who need to apologize to you, for not realizing that you were being used by Rikudou until after we were already dead,” said Tendou.
“Not for things in Origin, but here. I had heard the three of you were in Orbaume; I’m sorry for not getting in touch,” Mari said with a smile, lifting her head again. “It wasn’t that I was uninterested in you, but I knew that if I made contact with you back then, it would definitely turn into something troublesome, so I just couldn’t bring myself to. I mean, I didn’t want to hear things like, ‘If you’ve joined Vandalieu, then explain what he’s doing!’ or ‘Why have you joined Kanako and the others?!’” she said cheerfully, using ‘Metamorph’ to alter her vocal cords to replicate Asagi’s voice and tone of speech perfectly as she imitated what he might have said to her.
“You don’t feel sorry one bit, do you?” said Shouko with a wry smile.
“I guess not. It would be helpful if you could forget any debts we owe each other over what happened in our previous lives before you listen to what we have to say,” Mari said.
She personally didn’t have anything against Tendou, Shouko, or even Asagi. When she was a member of the Bravers, she had found Asagi to be overbearing, bothersome, or simply exasperating. She even remembered being completely fed up with him at some points. But in the end, that was all.
He had been overbearing, but he was still a comrade. A colleague, an ally in battle. Mari had never considered him to be a close friend, but she had never had any resentment for him.
It was unacceptable that he was currently a source of trouble for Vandalieu, however. Still, she believed that it would be best if that could be resolved peacefully through the discussion that was about to take place.
As for Tendou and Shouko, she had never been closely involved enough with them to harbor any animosity for them.
They had failed to save her from Rikudou Hijiri – Dark Avalon – but that was a failure shared by all the other members of the Bravers, too. So she didn’t hold that against them.
“Incidentally, Kanako and the others didn’t come because if they did, you’d definitely be arguing,” said Mari. “And even if you didn’t argue, somewhere down the line, Asagi might claim that he only backed down because Kanako used ‘Venus’ to alter his memories. That would make Vandalieu really angry at him. If that happened, he would feel sorry for Tendou and Shouko, as well as Duke Birgitt. Or so he says.”
“H-hey, even I wouldn’t go that far–” Asagi began to protest.
“Asagi, what she means to say is that she has so little trust for you that she believes you’d say something like that,” said Tendou.
“So, what about the reply to the letter?” asked Shouko.
In Asagi’s letter, he had written about a number of things he felt were dangerous, why he felt they were dangerous, and what he thought should be done about them.
“Let’s get to the matter at hand, then,” said Pluto, removing the letter from the envelope in her hand.
Vandalieu’s reply to Asagi’s letter was quite lengthy itself.
“Dear Asagi Minami-dono,” Pluto began to read aloud. “You have written about your many questions, doubts, and requests regarding our nation’s policies, but… we are under no obligation to answer any of them.”
Being rejected so clearly, right from the beginning, caused Asagi to gasp in shock, his eyes widening in astonishment. Since Mari and Pluto had come to explain the contents of Vandalieu’s reply rather than simply hand him the letter, it seemed that he had expected a softer response.
But Tendou and Shouko had repeatedly revised and edited the letter that Asagi had written; they were wearing somewhat understanding expressions.
“After all, you are not a civil official who supports our nation, nor are you a military officer, nor are you even one of the nation’s citizens. We may have cordial relations, but you are nothing more than an adventurer who is a citizen of another nation. Therefore, I cannot explain any of the policies, measures, or plans that our nation is enacting.”
As Vandalieu had written, he was the emperor of the Demon Empire of Vidal, and Asagi was an adventurer who belonged to another nation. Vandalieu was under no obligation to reveal information that would be considered national secrets to someone like that.
“Asagi, there are no public relations departments or press secretaries in this world. Even human rights aren’t properly defined; what makes you think that you would have a right to information?” said Mari. “If you want to learn this information, you probably have no option other than becoming a diplomat for some duke somewhere, but… well, that’s probably impossible. You’re clearly not suited for it, after all.”
“No, but, I mean, there are things I’d like to ask him, as another reincarnated individual from Earth and Origin, someone in the same situation as him–” Asagi began, seemingly unable to accept this rejection despite Vandalieu’s reply and Mari’s explanation.
But Vandalieu had expected this.
“However, because it is unlikely that you will be satisfied with receiving no reply whatsoever, I will do you a special favor and answer,” Pluto continued reading. “I would like you to keep this information from leaving this place. If this information is leaked, and I determine that you or your companions were the source, I will take appropriate measures.”
Asagi’s expression brightened, while Tendou and Shouko frowned, suspecting that they were better off not knowing.
“First of all, I would like to answer your question asking if I am aiming to conquer the world. I am not aiming for or considering conquest through military force, aggression through economical means, or eroding at nations from within with religion…” Pluto paused. “Hmm, I can vouch for this.”
“As can I,” said Mari. “Asagi seems to be suspicious, but even Vandalieu becoming the ruler of an extremely powerful nation was mostly by chance.”
Asagi had apparently been worried that Vandalieu might be aiming to conquer the world. He wasn’t alone in this, of course; this was a concern shared by some of the nobles of the Orbaume Kingdom as well. Meanwhile, the Holy Nation of Amid was even more explicit in its suspicions, repeatedly telling the public that Vandalieu intended to engulf the world in darkness.
But Vandalieu had no such intentions whatsoever. To begin with, the revelation of his true nature to the Orbaume Kingdom was an unexpected, unintended event that had been forced by the conspiracy devised by the ‘Dark Avalon’ Rikudou Hijiri.
Before that, Vandalieu had never desired to be an all-powerful ruler; he hadn’t taken any action to expand his territory. He had desired a certain amount of assets and a certain level of social standing in order to achieve the happiness that he was pursuing, but he would have been satisfied with becoming an honorary noble.
“If you don’t believe us, we can give you a simple summary of events. We have permission to talk about it with you,” said Mari.
“Even if it was by chance that things turned out that way, there’s no way that chance is how he gained that much power! If someone could become powerful enough to defeat the Demon King ‘by chance,’ nobody would ever suffer!” Asagi argued.
He did have a point. However…
“If you’re asking why Vandalieu gained so much power, that would be Rodcorte, wouldn’t it?” Pluto pointed out. “If Rodcorte had correctly given him the abilities, the attribute affinities, and the fortune that he mistakenly gave Amemiya Hiroto, Vandalieu would have ended up as a completely different being to what he is now.”
Asagi groaned and fell silent.
After Vandalieu’s reincarnation in Lambda, his mother Darcia had been killed while he was still an infant. He had gone on to become the Ghoul King of a Ghoul settlement, defeat a Noble Orc in battle, revive Talosheim… and all the rest. He had only achieved all these things and been victorious in all those battles not only through his own hard work, but because he had death-attribute magic and a vast quantity of Mana.
That was why he had come to this point unintentionally, by chance. His good nature and benevolence had allowed him to not abandon those he didn’t want to abandon, protect those he wanted to protect, and trample his enemies underfoot to arrive at where he was now.
The fact that he had received Vida’s divine protection, removing the limit on how capable he could become, played a big part. But it couldn’t be denied that all of this had only come about because of Rodcorte’s blunder back then.
If Rodcorte had granted Vandalieu what he should have had from the beginning, he wouldn’t have been sold to a military nation’s research facility as an infant. If he had possessed an affinity for other attributes, he would never have awakened his affinity for the death attribute. If he had been granted abilities and a fortune, he would have had a more limited quantity of Mana.
“To begin with, after the Demon King Guduranis shattered the souls of Zakkart and the others, if Rodcorte hadn’t forcibly joined their soul fragments into one soul, he wouldn’t even exist, but… well, even if we don’t go that far back, we can say that if Rodcorte had his shit together back then, things wouldn’t be where they are now,” said Mari.
Death-attribute magic would never have been discovered in Origin, and Pluto and the others wouldn’t have ended up being used in experiments and research into death-attribute magic… though they might have ended up being used for other experiments instead.
Rikudou Hijiri wouldn’t have become absorbed in research into death-attribute magic, either – though he might have planned some other conspiracy.
Mari might have spent the rest of her life in solitary confinement after exacting revenge on Kaidou Kanata, but she wouldn’t have been used by Rikudou.
Vandalieu might have still been living in Origin as Amamiya Hiroto.
That would also mean that Darcia would never have been resurrected. Her son, with someone else’s soul instead of Vandalieu’s, would have died shortly after she did. Zadiris and the other Ghouls would have died of old age or been defeated by the Noble Orc Bugogan. Talosheim would still be nothing but a ruin, and Princess Levia and the others would still be roaming the corridors beneath the castle in Nineland, in the Hartner Duchy, as Ghosts. To go even further, the organization of Vampires worshiping the Evil God of Joyful Life, Hihiryushukaka, would still be flourishing, and the region within the Boundary Mountain Range might be under the control of Ravovifard, the Evil God of Release.
The Scylla of the Sauron Duchy would have been used by the resistance, and Zerzoregin, the Evil God of Cannibalism and Pillaging, would still be lurking in the Alcrem Duchy and causing disaster.
Thus, it could be said that Rodcorte’s mistake had been greatly influential for the world.
“With that said, none of us are going to be thanking Rodcorte. It’s not as if he played some thankless role and imposed trials on Vandalieu for some purpose. All he did was make a mistake. It was Vandalieu and his greatness that overcame those hardships,” Pluto declared, her praise for him visibly shining in her eyes.
Although Pluto referred to Vandalieu without attaching any honorifics to his name, because Vandalieu himself preferred that, there was no mistake that she worshiped him.
To Asagi, that was a dangerous thing in and of itself, but it was a fact that there was nothing incorrect about what Pluto and Mari were saying. And he had a subconscious understanding that even though Vandalieu had to overcome these trials, he had been of no help to Vandalieu despite claiming to be a comrade of his, so he couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Pluto, it seems that Asagi has accepted that Vandalieu never attained his current level of presence in the world because he wanted to, so let’s move onto the next point,” said Mari.
“Yes, you’re right. The next point is…” Pluto began reading from the letter again. “As for your question as to whether I intend to continue to make Magic Items that use death-attribute magic and fragments of the Demon King more widespread, my answer is ‘yes.’”
Asagi let out a shocked noise. “Wait, I don’t really care about the items and artificial limbs you guys call ‘transformation equipment.’ But what about Blood Potion and V Cream? Do they really have no side-effects on people’s bodies?!”
“If you mean ‘effects’ rather than ‘harm,’ then yes, they do. It changes the person’s race – Humans who have been guided become Dark Humans; Dwarves become Dvergr; Beast-kin become Dark Beast-kin, and so forth,” said Mari.
She went on to go into detail about Dark Humans and such, but this seemed to only make Asagi feel even more like the world was being endangered. People’s mutation into other races was accompanied by them beginning to support Vandalieu; he likely viewed this as people being lured in by the benefits offered by Blood Potion and V Cream which then led them to mutate and become brainwashed.
“Asagi, you’ve got it the wrong way round,” said Tendou, trying to placate Asagi before he could voice his objections. “You’d understand if you just listened properly. People don’t mutate and become guided because they used those medicines. The effects of those medicines cause people who have already been guided to mutate. To people who haven’t been guided by Vandalieu, they’re just medicines.”
“And besides, the fact that their races change… In this world, especially in this society where there are many races that were created by Vida, I don’t see that as a problem,” said Shouko.
“Tendou, Shouko, are you two serious?!” Asagi exclaimed. “They become immortal. If the majority of people live forever, things might be fine now, but in the future, countries and societies will–”
“It’s true that this would be a big problem if this were Earth or Origin. In those worlds, there are only humans, so the only society that exists is one that is adapted for humans,” said Tendou.
“But this is a different world. Humans might not live a hundred years, but Dwarves and Beast-kin live for two hundred, Ghouls and Titans live for three hundred, Elves for five hundred, and Dark Elves for a thousand. From a human’s perspective, they might as well be immortal, too,” said Shouko.
Indeed, many races in Lambda had much longer lifespans than the humans of Earth. Even if some had their lifespans increased from several centuries to several millennia, this couldn’t be considered a particularly significant change.
Mutating into a Dark Human also had the tendency to decrease fertility. A single couple would not give birth to hundreds of children over hundreds of years.
“Majin and Vampires don’t even have limited lifespans to begin with,” Shouko added.
“It’s true that an explosive surge in population could occur in the future, but that would be centuries away. If we take steps to predict the problems that could occur in the future and start taking action to prevent them now, a solution could be found by then,” said Tendou.
“Isn’t that just putting it off until later?!” said Asagi.
“Putting it off until later would be abandoning the problem and doing nothing about it. Taking action and striving to find a solution is not putting it off until later,” said Shouko.
Asagi had the values of a human who had lived on Earth and in Origin; from his perspective, Vandalieu’s actions and the influence they had were a problem.
But Pluto watched with a surprised expression as Tendou and Shouko actively explained things to Asagi in order to placate him. She had expected that these two would indeed have to play the role of placating Asagi, but she hadn’t expected them to go as far as express their clashing opinions in order to stop him.
Indeed, Vandalieu did not have a fundamental solution to the problem of a potential explosion in population in a future where people lived forever. For now, he believed that reclaiming the uninhabitable, above-ground-level areas of the Demon King’s Continent and the Demon Continent would secure enough land for several billion people to live.
If he created Dungeons and used them as residential spaces, a population of twenty or thirty billion could be sustained.
As for what to do if the population expanded even further than that, he only had the vague thought of claiming more land in outer space.
… Vandalieu had moved a mountain range not long ago. In several centuries’ time, it was possible that he would become able to terraform planets to be suitable for habitation.
However, it was not guaranteed that populations would increase at a fixed pace. It was possible that birth rates would increase, but it was also possible that they could decline.
Indeed, during the era in which Mari lived on Earth, declining birth rates had become a social problem in many developed countries, not just Japan.
Pluto waited until Asagi had become unable to come up with any rebuttal to the points brought up by Tendou and Shouko. “Now then, it seems that Asagi is convinced, so let us move onto the reply to the next question, or rather, request…” she said, beginning to read from the letter once more. “Regarding your view that Kanako is dangerous and your demand that I view her the same way, I see no value or reason in providing you with a reply. That is all.” Pluto looked up again. “That’s what he says.”
“I knew it!” Asagi shouted. “So, once things start to go badly for her, she’ll–”
“Betray us? Things aren’t going to go badly for Kanako for at least the next thousand years, I’d say, so you don’t need to worry about that,” said Pluto. “And even if she did turn traitor, the one being betrayed would be Vandalieu, not you. It has nothing to do with you, so you don’t have any say in the matter.”
It was unimaginable to Pluto… and to the rest of Legion’s personalities, for that matter, that there would ever be a situation where Kanako betrayed Vandalieu. If they had to come up with possible scenarios where she did, those scenarios would end up being wildly unrealistic.
But Asagi wouldn’t believe that explanation alone. After all, Kanako had indeed betrayed him and his companions once, and to him, that was the only truth that mattered.
Kanako herself had said, ‘Asagi would never believe me, so I don’t think there’s a reason to make him. Tell him that even if I did betray Van, it would have nothing to do with him.’
Indeed, Asagi was not even a citizen of the Demon Empire of Vidal, so even if Kanako were to betray Vandalieu, it wouldn’t directly affect him. Even if he had been betrayed in Origin, this was Lambda. There was no law to punish Kanako for the actions she had taken in another world during her previous life, nor was there a courtroom that could judge her for it. Asagi didn’t even have any proof to sue her with.
Given that Vandalieu had declared that Asagi was nothing more than a stranger to him, Asagi had no say in it.
“Then what about that Zakkart District?” said Asagi, bringing up the next topic in the letter he wrote. “It’s in the capital of the Orbaume Kingdom! Even I should have a say about that!”
The area in question had originally been a slum district, and the fact that it had been restored in the blink of an eye was a good thing, even in Asagi’s view.
But the Demons and Undead that had been made the district’s new residents all praised and worshiped Vandalieu, attempting to build Churches in his name and erecting statues of him.
Asagi felt that it was dangerous that Vandalieu was conducting pseudo-reincarnation on the dead in order to create more supporters for himself.
“And about those Demon King Familiars,” Asagi said. “I came to realize it properly during the incident with Rikudou but those things are split entities of him, but not really. They’re like terminals of him, aren’t they?”
“Hmm? Umm, yes, they are. So what?” asked Pluto.
“So what, my ass! If he releases those Demon King Familiars all over the city, that lets him monitor the whole place! Don’t you find that terrifying?!” Asagi demanded.
“… Sorry, but I don’t understand what you’re saying right now,” said Pluto, completely unable to comprehend Asagi’s point. “Do you guys get it?” she asked the others of Legion, and she transformed into them one at a time at a disorienting speed as they came out to reply.
“Nope,” said Ghost.
“Not a clue,” said Baba Yaga.
Valkyrie gave a hearty laugh. “It is quite unpleasantly incomprehensible!”
“What about you, Hitomi?” asked Shade.
“I know I’m a reincarnated individual like him, but I don’t get it, either,” Hitomi replied.
Not a single one of Legion’s personalities understood what Asagi was trying to say.
They were unable to comprehend where the problem was with Vandalieu monitoring everything. People prayed to be watched over, didn’t they? They prayed to their gods, their ancestors, their lost family members or lovers. So what was the problem with Vandalieu, who was a god, watching over people?
Of course, all of Legion’s personalities understood that there were those who did not worship Vandalieu. However, they had never considered it to be a problem that Vandalieu watched over those who didn’t worship him.
Although Legion’s members hadn’t been ordinary inhabitants of Origin, people were monitored so heavily in that world, but they never paid it a second thought, did they?
Security cameras, surveillance cameras, the cameras of mobile devices owned by individuals, dashboard cameras, cameras attached to familiars and Golems, satellites – these things had made things so hard for Legion when they lived in Origin.
Indeed, not a single person in Talosheim felt any discomfort or stress from being watched over by Demon King Familiars. In fact, those who were accustomed to them used them like mobile phones, media, or game consoles.
If one wanted to get in contact with a friend, all they needed to do was tell the nearest Demon King Familiar their friend’s name and what they wanted to say. Another Demon King Familiar, the one closest to their friend, would pass the message on.
If one wanted to know what restaurants were recommended or the local news events of that day, all they had to do was ask, and Demon King Familiars would tell them whatever they wanted to know.
If one found themselves with too much free time, they could play simple games with a Demon King Familiar – though they would win easily, as Demon King Familiars were not very good at board games for some reason.
The citizens of Talosheim were on such friendly terms with the Demon King Familiars that Legion even felt like the Demon King Familiars pampered them a little too much. If Asagi were to attempt to begin a movement to outlaw Demon King Familiars in Talosheim, he would immediately earn the hatred of the entire city – some particularly hot-blooded citizens might even turn violent over the issue.
So where was the danger? The personalities of Legion could not understand it at all.
Meanwhile, Asagi was astonished that Minuma Hitomi, who was one of Legion’s personalities but had once been one of the Bravers, was unable to understand his point.
But before he could voice that, Mari cut him off. “In other words, Asagi feels that it is dangerous that Vandalieu has an increasing number of supporters who support him no matter his policies, actions, and words. And although security cameras and smartphone cameras belong to different businesses, organizations, and individuals, it is Vandalieu, who is the ruler of a nation, who is personally monitoring everything, and he feels that is dangerous as well. Is that correct?”
Like Asagi, before her reincarnation, Mari had once been just an ordinary student on Earth, and she understood what he was trying to say.
Given Vandalieu’s actions, Asagi feared that the world would turn into a dystopia where the dictator possessed a very powerful monitoring system.
And in truth, when seeing Talosheim crawling with Demon King Familiars for the first time, a vague thought that it was like a dystopia had indeed briefly crossed her mind.
It wasn’t just Legion who couldn’t understand this; this was a danger that almost nobody in this world would even consider, as they had never lived in a society in an age of information. Even Vandalieu himself was unlikely to be able to explain it very well, even if someone were to ask him about it.
“That’s right. I’m glad you understand, Mari,” said Asagi.
“Yes, I do. But it’s alright. Vandalieu is the one person I can say that about with this situation,” Mari.
She understood where Asagi was coming from, but she considered his perspective to be that of an outsider.
“Are you saying that Vandalieu won’t do something like that?” Asagi asked suspiciously.
“It’s not that he won’t. It’s that he can’t,” said Mari. “To begin with, you’ve got the order of events completely wrong.”
Vandalieu wasn’t attempting to create supporters that would fanatically support him no matter what, nor was he trying to monitor his citizens.
He was indeed making various efforts to increase the number of people who supported him, but he did not demand fanaticism or ever-burning zealotry from them.
All he had done was save those who could be saved with just a little effort on his part. The result was that these people had become guided, and were now his fanatical, zealous supporters.
As for the monitoring, it had begun with Golems and Undead that he had created to protect his companions from intruders. And even after becoming Talosheim’s king, Vandalieu had continued having casual, friendly relations with its citizens. That was why he had made a record of the names and faces of every single citizen by gaining the ‘Perfect Record Technique’ Skill.
And then he had positioned Demon King Familiars all over Talosheim, as they were quicker to respond than Golems and Undead.
“So you’re saying that he won’t become a dictator?” Asagi pressed, still looking unconvinced.
“There’s no need for him to do that to begin with,” Mari promised.
Even if Vandalieu didn’t monitor his citizens, there wasn’t a chance that any of them would plot a rebellion or coup d’état against him. The urban functions of Talosheim were almost entirely dependent on him. Mari and Mei were able to use death-attribute magic and do the same things as him, but they had no way of supplying the quantity of Mana required to run the entire city.
To begin with, those who supported Vandalieu no matter what, the ones that Asagi was so concerned about, would never accept any ruler other than Vandalieu. They were far more fanatical than Asagi could even imagine.
“I don’t need to read the reply to that question, do I? Mari’s explanation was probably easier to understand. And as for the reply to your last question…” said Pluto, looking down to read the last part of the letter. “I do not intend to create a democratic nation.”
Asagi had the perspective of someone from Japan, a peaceful country on Earth. To him, a democracy where human rights were guaranteed was how a nation should be. He believed that the nations of the world of Lambda would eventually arrive at that conclusion as well. He believed that Vandalieu, as someone in a position of power, should make that happen.
“After all, I have no intention of becoming a dictator,” Pluto read, then looked up again. “That’s what he said.”
In the nation ruled by Vandalieu, democracy was the political system that was most likely to become a dictatorship.
After all, the citizens supported Vandalieu to the extent that they had erected an enormous statue of him despite his vehement opposition to it. Thus, if elections were to be held, they would always vote for him as long as he was one of the candidates. It was possible that no candidates would even run against him in the first place.
Vandalieu refraining from taking part in the election wouldn’t solve the problem, either. The candidates would then end up trying to convince the people just how well they understand Vandalieu’s way of thinking and how well they could rule as he desired.
Or perhaps the entire nation would just boycott the elections until Vandalieu was one of the available candidates.
Either way, it was necessary for Vandalieu to remain in rule of the Demon Empire of Vidal in order for it to not become a dystopia.
Pluto explained this, and it wasn’t just Asagi who was speechless – Tendou and Shouko, who hadn’t thought that far, fell silent as well.
“And last of all, a declaration from Vandalieu,” said Pluto, looking back down at the letter. “I don’t mind people having opinions of dissent. I have no wish to be agreed with and supported by absolutely everyone, after all. But to me, you are just one of the many who do have opposing opinions. And please ensure your methods of conducting your opposition movement conform to the ways of this world… If you join Alda’s forces in the Farzon Duchy, I will treat you no differently from any of my other enemies.”
There were plenty of people who opposed what Vandalieu was trying to do; Asagi wasn’t the only one. Such people refused to accept Kanako’s performances as music, opposed the acceptance of Ghouls as a race created by Vida, and found the existence of the Zakkart District to be repulsive.
Other than being more annoying than most, Asagi was just another one of them, though that alone wasn’t a reason for Vandalieu to go out of his way to get rid of him… as long as Asagi didn’t go to the Farzon Duchy to join Vandalieu’s enemies.
“… Alright. Tell Vandalieu that I’m going to spend some time thinking about what the correct ways that conform to this world are,” said Asagi.
It was unclear as to how much of Vandalieu’s message had been properly conveyed to Asagi, but he sat down and fell silent. Tendou and Shouko let out deep sighs of relief.
The world of Lambda was very different from Earth and Origin. The mistake that Asagi had made was choosing to be born in the body of a young man when he was reincarnated in this world, rather than starting life as a baby and being raised by his parents. He had given up the opportunity to learn this world’s values, and even after his reincarnation, he had always been with Tendou and Shouko, whom he considered to be his only companions. This had caused him to be very late in realizing just how different this world was from the others he had lived in – or perhaps he had realized it, but had made the assumption that it was this world that was wrong.
If that could be corrected, Tendou and Shouko’s lives would perhaps become a little easier.
But as long as Asagi didn’t get involved with Vandalieu, he was nothing more than one of the countless strangers out there in this world.
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