LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 210
A tense atmosphere filled the gymnasium.
With a steely gaze fixed on my movements, Yuki finally made her move.
At the same moment, a clear bell rang out.
~♪
“Just a moment.”
As I raised my hand, Yuki’s momentum came to a halt, just as she was about to launch herself.
Her body almost tipped over, but skillfully she regained her balance and glared at me with an unhappy expression.
Uh… sorry?
Not really, though.
-“Huh, huh?!”
But Da-eun couldn’t manage the same control.
Having been on the move before Yuki, and not being as graceful, Da-eun lost her footing with the sudden stop.
“Whaack!”
Ultimately, she wobbled around and fell to the ground.
“…Puhuh.”
It looked like a bucket of water had just toppled over.
I tried to cover my mouth with my hand, but couldn’t suppress the noise that escaped.
At the same time, Da-eun’s eyes squinted inward.
“…Are you laughing? Someone just fell, and you’re laughing…?!”
“Well, isn’t it great? You always said you wanted to see Kana laugh. Wish granted, right?”
“…That’s true, but…! I didn’t want to make her laugh with slapstick!”
“But you laughed, right?”
“…Ugh!”
Yuki poked Da-eun’s back, teasing her, while Da-eun shouted back at Yuki who was jabbing her.
Why is she embarrassed about falling, yet refuses to get up and just stays on the floor like that?
Da-eun’s mindset is truly beyond my comprehension.
I ignored the two playfully fighting and pulled out my phone from my pocket.
“Since we’re at it, why don’t you aim for that direction? You seem to have quite a knack for it.”
“Don’t just casually say whatever since it’s not your deal! And how would you know if I have any talent?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Yuki, you can’t act for beans.”
“….”
“Not even to a degree that’s acceptable.”
“…The movie directors aren’t there just because they’re good actors, you know.”
“Still, I doubt anyone’s as serious as you.”
“This isn’t working. Get up. I’m going to hit you so you can’t flap that mouth.”
“Okay. I’m not fighting unless it’s arm wrestling~”
…Just kidding, right?
More than anything, I just hope this doesn’t end up involving me.
I shrugged and answered the phone, which caused the bickering to stop.
“Yeah.”
-…Why are you picking up so late? You’re not about to start babbling about fishing scams again, are you?
“Wasn’t planning on it.”
To be honest, it was less welcome than a fishing scam.
Listening to Edel’s voice on the other end made me think that.
“Why did you call?”
-What? Do we have to have some sort of incident to call each other?
“…Ugh.”
This was just a bit much, really.
While I had trouble suppressing laughter earlier, now I was battling a wave of nausea.
When it comes to whether it fits or not, it did fit, but…
“I hope you won’t do that again.”
-I regret it too, so be quiet.
Then she huffed, as if complaining.
-I knew I wouldn’t hear good things, so why did I do it?
“I know.”
-What?
“You’ve lived long enough that your head’s gone all weird.”
Being a god, I’d bet she’s different from humans.
After living for thousands, maybe tens of thousands of years, it wouldn’t be strange if her mind slipped a little.
I just involuntarily retched after taking an unexpected hit.
“I can understand.”
Yeah, I’m magnanimous like that.
-…Who has a big heart?”
“Me.”
-A flat-chested kid talks about being big-hearted, huh? Oh, so it’s wide because nothing’s sticking out?”
“….”
-Why are you silent? Did I hit a nerve?
“I didn’t hit anything.”
Besides, I never wished for anything to grow, so there’s no way I’d feel bothered by such comments.
But where did she learn to say things like that?
-Where would I learn? If I’m a game developer, I should know internet culture to some extent.
“You’re not a game developer. You just tricked people into thinking it was a game. You fraud.”
-I put in effort to process it, so I am a developer.
“No way.”
-Way.
“…Childish. Aren’t you embarrassed to be arguing at your age?”
-It’s classic to attack the messenger when you can’t refute the message.
Edel and I faced off, neither giving an inch.
This was a matter of pride.
Now that we’ve come this far, there’s no backing down.
…Or so I thought.
Feeling odd, I turned around and flinched.
“…”
“…”
Da-eun and Yuki had stopped their antics and were staring at me intently.
And with smiles that screamed warmth.
“…What? What is it?”
“Hmm, it’s nothing.”
“Go for it!”
With their warm smiles still plastered on, Da-eun said encouragingly while Yuki waved her wooden sword like a cheerleader’s baton.
Seeing them like that, I inexplicably felt a heat rising in my face and quickly looked away.
Right. What good would it do to argue with Edel?
As I said earlier, I’m the more magnanimous one, so I should understand.
“No time. Just get to the point. If you have nothing to say, I’ll hang up.”
-There’s no time? I can already tell you’re just sitting around without anything to do.
“I’m hanging up.”
As soon as I said that, I hung up, but the phone rang again almost immediately.
The caller was, of course, Edel.
The moment I answered, Edel exclaimed in disbelief.
-You’re really hanging up? You’re completely nuts, aren’t you?
“I said if you had nothing to say, I’d hang up.”
It was her who disobeyed my warning, so why was she getting on my case?
-Touchy, aren’t we?
Edel sighed softly and started to get to the point.
How long has it been since we started the call, and now she’s finally getting to the meat of the story?
I had to suppress a sigh.
-Remember that thing you brought last time?
“That thing?”
It was something I handed to Edel.
It wasn’t hard to recall what she was referring to.
After all, I gave her only one thing.
“You mean the cube?”
-Yeah, that.
“Why the sudden interest? Did you figure something out?”
-Well, that depends on how you look at it. Should I say yes, or should I say no?
“…If it’s there, it’s there, and if it’s not, it’s not. What do you mean it’s neither?”
-I’ve figured some things out, but it’s not a huge harvest.
With that, Edel began to unravel her story.
What happened in Jeju was indeed because of the cube, and the weather had turned into a nightmare because the layers were forcibly twisted apart.
As suspected, it was an item created by Dimensional Beings, so it came from beyond the dimensions…
As I nodded along to Edel’s account, I finally spoke up.
“…Is that it?”
In the end, we didn’t really discover anything beyond confirming my suspicions.
Sure, there’s a difference between a guess and it being confirmed as truth.
But still, it’s hard to imagine this is something worth confidently calling me for.
“You could’ve just texted this.”
-These days, kids are so scared of phone calls. Seems it’s true.
“I already told you that last time.”
-I know that too.
“I thought… you forgot.”
-Can I ask what you were going to say before ‘forgot’?”
“Nothing in particular. You feeling guilty about something?”
-…Hah. Never mind.
Edel knew exactly what my words implied and waved the white flag.
-Who threatened to hang up if I talked nonsense? Anyway, if that’s all there is, I wouldn’t even be calling you.
By the way she spoke, it sounded like there was something important.
As I straightened my posture, Edel spoke in a decidedly serious voice.
-About the cube separating layers. The way we create worlds is very similar. Of course, it’s not without its instabilities…
“…?”
While the content was as serious as her tone, I regrettably couldn’t feel the urgency in Edel’s words.
“Why’s that?”
“We,” must refer to Edel and the other gods, I assumed.
So, it wouldn’t be something exclusive to her alone; it could be possible.
According to what I heard from Edel, it seemed they weren’t completely devoid of intelligence, so it wouldn’t be odd if they figured things out while bickering with her.
Knowing your enemy and yourself means you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.
They likely thought the same too.
But it seemed Edel disagreed with my logic.
-Knowing something and being able to do it are two different things. Do you think creating a world is easy?
“Hmm… Probably not.”
-At the very least, there’s something on that side that rivals our powers. Without that, it wouldn’t be possible to imitate us in this way.
…Suddenly, the atmosphere grew heavy.
It was definitely too weighty a topic for a text exchange.
Sure, I could discuss it, but it wouldn’t resonate with me at this level.
“Do you think we can handle it?”
-For now, we’ve decided to strengthen our defenses. We realized just building walls isn’t enough.
“So there’s no sharp solutions, huh?”
-Exactly.
Such a straightforward admission was almost bland.
Earlier, she was bickering fiercely over minute details, yet now she was conceding just like that. What gives?
“So, what do I need to do?”
That’s not the end of what they want to say, so spill it already.
In response to my prompting, Edel continued.
-Honestly, you don’t have anything to do right now. If I had to suggest something, it’s to focus on sharpening your skills.
“Really, is that all?”
-I just wanted to hear the voice of a fellow companion on the same boat. I’ve already said, do we only talk when something happens?
“…Did you eat something wrong?”
At this point, even I was starting to worry.
Seeing her behaving uncharacteristically made me soften my tone.
Edel chuckled lightly.
-If you have time to worry about useless stuff, just focus on improving your skills already. You’re still nowhere near enough.
“I’m already doing it without needing a reminder.”
Unlike Da-eun and Yuki, who could boost their skills simply by sparring, I didn’t have good means of earning experience points.
I responded tersely to Edel’s advice.
-And…
Edel seemed to hesitate, as if about to say something.
-…Never mind. No need to mention that.
“…What is it?”
-I’m hanging up. I’m busy too.
With that, the call ended.
“…?”
What just happened…?
She seemed ready to say something important, yet backed out without finishing her thought.
If her aim was to pique my curiosity, she was definitely successful, but that didn’t capture the impression I got from Edel’s voice.
“…”
Suppressing the unsettling feeling lingering within me, I gazed down at my phone that had just disconnected.