Moon.
Is that the Moon?
I wonder how many gods are related to the Moon.
Exiled gods tend to be mostly associated with darkness, so it seemed pretty certain this was another mischief of an exiled god.
The real problem was that I couldn’t figure out their purpose.
“Shouldn’t we wake them up…?”
“No, it’s better to let them sleep. We don’t know what might happen, so it’s best to let them recover as much fatigue as possible.”
“Is that so…?”
Viola awkwardly laughed and deeply lowered her head. It was quite delightful how even while shy, she didn’t think of getting off my legs. I absentmindedly ran my fingers through Viola’s hair while gazing out at the Moon.
A crescent moon turning into a full moon.
What does this change signify?
“Uncle, it tickles if you keep touching my head…”
“Don’t like it?”
“…If you put it that way, I can only say I do…”
Viola buried her face deeper and wiggled her hips. She seemed blissfully unaware, but I felt somewhat embarrassed by the soft touch of her movements.
Standing here is quite troublesome.
I finally managed to calm my unnecessarily heated body and looked up at the sky. A full moon.
A crescent moon.
Should I assume it’s similar to when Lugaru was around? I waited for time to pass, pondering whether destroying the moon like last time would change anything or if nothing would happen at all.
For now, I had no intention of acting unilaterally.
“I hope this is over quickly.”
“Yeah…”
I don’t know who the jerk is who caused such an inconvenience on a golden weekend, but I’ll take them out with full power when we meet.
So we quietly talked for two hours, all snug together.
—————–
“The moon has changed?”
“Yeah, it really has?”
“Can one really change the moon…?”
“I don’t know who did it, but it could be some sort of barrier. For now… Renny, do you remember what we did last time?”
“Yep.”
Renny nodded while filling her belly with the remaining cookies.
“I’m heading out to try it right away.”
“Got it.”
“The rest, stay in the lounge and rest.”
Everyone quietly nodded in agreement.
Renny and I quietly left the mansion together and stood in the middle of the front yard.
“Renny, the sword.”
Without a word, Renny drew the sword and handed it to me. Just like last time, I infused it with power and returned the sword to Renny.
Renny took the sword, knelt down, and I stepped a few paces back to quietly observe her actions.
“I hope this works this time…”
With those words, Renny launched into the air like a cannonball. A leap so fearsome it created shockwaves. I crossed my arms, watching the girl who seemed to vanish into a point in the distance.
If this breaks, the incident will be resolved.
Or…
Like cutting the string of my thoughts, a line was drawn in the sky. But the line cleaved the air without touching the moon.
Is it not a barrier?
Renny landed lightly on the ground and shook her head at me.
“It didn’t work?”
“Seems like we’re not trapped in the capital.”
Then what could it be? I leaped up onto the roof to gaze at the peaceful capital below.
…Let’s confirm just one more thing.
“Renny, you go inside and keep watch.”
“And you?”
“I have somewhere to check.”
I needed to determine the scope of this anomaly.
“Take care. Don’t get hurt. Everyone would… be sad.”
“I know.”
I kicked the ground and spread my wings of flame. Proper flying was tough, but I could manage going straight.
The direction I was flying headed toward a nearby city.
As I stood at a height small enough to fit the mansion inside a ring made with my fingers, I looked towards the city in the west. It seemed like a dot from here, but… I’d find out once I went there.
I started flapping my wings with all my might, increasing my speed.
Once, twice, thrice… with each flap, my body accelerated, and soon I found myself flying faster than speech.
This feels pretty nice.
If I practice a bit more, it might not be bad to take someone flying later.
…Let’s put aside these random thoughts for now. The city is getting closer, but…
Wait, was it this close?
And, it’s forming slowly like textures loading in a game, but that can’t be a mere illusion, right?
No need to check.
I immediately turned around and flew back to the mansion.
Landing in front of the mansion, I opened the door and stepped inside, revealing a dimly distorted lobby.
“A space that can’t be broken by physical means, and cannot catch up with rapid speed…”
Is this a dream?
I don’t know whose dream it is, but this new god seems to deal with the mental realm.
The mental realm is the most bothersome.
Dealing with physical beings can be done with physical responses, but those who handle dream-like things are quite troublesome. This isn’t even my specialty.
“I guess I need to head to the lounge.”
If this is a dream, everyone besides me might be entities within this dream, but… I still need to confirm.
I swiftly returned to the lounge and opened the door. There, the women were gathered, chatting.
“Johann?”
“Millia. Pull your hair.”
“Like this?”
Millia cheerfully pulled her hair down to meet my eye level.
“Good job. Karina, do you remember when I made a slip of the tongue on the deserted island? What I did back then?”
“Slip of the tongue…? Ah.”
Karina seemed to recall that incident, hesitating as she asked me.
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“It’s important, so speak up.”
“Uh, I-I…”
“Renny, do you remember what you said to me on the deserted island?”
“Wha-what? Why are we suddenly bringing up dark history now?”
“It’s critically important.”
“…Should I say it again?”
“What did you say?”
“Don’t make me say it twice!”
Renny shouted, her face completely flushed.
I made the rest of the kids sequentially share one secret they likely knew about themselves.
Fortunately, everyone passed the test, except Millia, while the lovers’ faces were all flushed.
“Why the sudden…? ”
“Johann Johann, is it dark history reveal time?”
“No, it’s because I can’t be sure.”
Honestly, this felt a bit like a half-hearted test, but it’s better than not doing anything.
I first relayed my suspicions to the kids whose innocence was confirmed.
This world feels like a dream-like space, and we’re trapped here. I explained that when I stepped outside the capital, the forms appeared slowly, and everyone looked at me with complicated expressions.
“It’s too difficult…”
“Why did they do this?”
“Yeah. If what Uncle said is right, then the whole capital has been covered in a strange space, but why on earth?”
“I plan to go to the hill to confirm that.”
At the very least, the area near the World Tree at the hill seemed likely to be a place outside of the influences or significantly less affected.
After all, we began to feel the anomaly after descending partway down the hill.
“Sif, hand over Terry.”
“Okay.”
I quietly lifted the sleeping Terry into my arms. Sif was looking at me, holding Lulu.
“Then let’s get going.”
We left the mansion quietly and headed towards the hill, which took us about 15 minutes from the bottom to the top.
It wasn’t a particularly grueling journey in this world. Especially if we had nothing to carry. We steadily climbed up the hill without issue.
At least, that’s what I thought at that moment.
——————-
“Johann, my legs hurt… carry me.”
“Get on.”
I bent my knees, waiting for Millia to wrap her arms around my neck. Feeling her weight on my back, and her legs tightening around my waist, I looked down at Millia’s legs.
“Be careful not to fall off.”
“Got it.”
But can you not bury your face in my neck and take deep breaths?
That’s a bit creepy.
“Hehe…”
“Millia, don’t get too spoiled, okay?”
“Karina, try asking for a ride too! It feels amazing!”
I don’t know what it feels amazing about, but Karina too stared at me, or rather, my back intensely because of Millia’s words.
What kind of romance is there to carrying someone on your back?
Do women like that sort of thing?
“This uphill is never-ending. Johann, at this rate…”
“It seems it’s okay to come in freely, but going out isn’t.”
It appeared the area with the World Tree had to be treated as a separate entity.
With this, one more fact has been verified, so shall we summarize it?
1. Everyone besides us seems to be either sleeping or appear to be asleep.
2. The outside of the capital is cut off from the capital itself.
3. The hill with the World Tree is part of the capital but treated as a separate space.
“I think I roughly know what to do.”
The one who created this might not realize it, but…
“Crafting.”
If the World Tree is weak here, then making another World Tree would solve the issue.
Before my eyes, a tree brimming with the power of the World Tree began to grow rapidly.
