SWNOVELXO Chapter 218
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“….”
Why is Edel here…?
I blinked at the unexpected appearance of someone.
“Long time no see!”
“…Has it really been that long?”
I replied half-dazed, and Edel waved her hand with a delighted face.
Like someone who just met an old friend.
Of course, Edel and I don’t have a completely cold relationship, but it’s not like we are close enough to greet each other like that.
I may have cursed her for being incompetent, but that didn’t mean I wanted her to go insane, so I asked Edel with concern.
“…Did you eat something wrong?”
Yet, even with my worried reaction, the smile on Edel’s face didn’t fade.
“Seeing you here means my message arrived properly.”
“That message was sent by you?”
“Of course, who else would send it? Since you’re my angel!”
“Angel…?”
What does that even mean?
“You didn’t mean ‘corpse,’ did you? From what I can see, you don’t look very alive.”
“Well….”
Edel trailed off.
As if she didn’t want to talk about it.
“It just happened that way.”
“…I don’t really understand what you mean, but putting that aside, what on earth is going on?”
“I was just about to explain. But….”
Edel’s eyes scanned the surroundings.
I followed her gaze.
Whether she dealt with the Dimensional Being or not, the fragments and blood on the ground had disappeared.
However, not everything was gone; the chaos still engulfed the ground.
And among the crowd gathered on the ground, there were many looking up at us.
‘No wonder.’
It seemed like a giant arm suddenly popped out of the sky, then was sliced up and fell, while a woman wrapped in luminous light suddenly emerged from the darkness; it was a scene where the sky and the ground seemed to have swapped places.
From an Earthling’s perspective, extraordinary events were happening one after another, so it wouldn’t be strange to find them stunned and gawking.
I felt a bit guilty for repeatedly referring to Earthlings, but hey, that’s the reality.
“-Should we move?”
This place doesn’t seem suitable for a conversation.
Edel said that while wrapped in light, and I nodded.
* * *
Thus, we arrived at the Demoninus building.
As soon as Edel entered the office, she let out a deep sigh.
“Hoo…”
“So—”
“Wait, wait. I know you’re curious, but let’s take a breather first.”
“…?”
…Do gods breathe too?
I had that thought for a moment but didn’t voice it.
After Edel took a good moment to breathe, she finally started talking, after a time that felt neither too short nor too long.
“I just came back from outside the dimension.”
“I kind of figured that.”
When Edel appeared unexpectedly, I was so taken aback that my thoughts froze for a second.
But thinking back, there was no other reason for her to appear from there.
The only plausible reason was ‘to prevent an enemy invasion,’ but if that were the case, she wouldn’t need to leave the walls.
“Was that what you were trying to say last time we talked on the phone?”
“It’s a bit different, but it’s related.”
If it’s related, could she have been trying to leave a last message or something? I thought that was unlikely, yet a tiny part of my mind considered the possibility.
“Have you been cooped up here and wanted some fresh air?”
At my words, Edel chuckled.
It wasn’t really a joke, though.
“I went to scout the Dimensional Beings. You know what they say about knowing your enemy: it’s key to victory. After getting my butt kicked last time, I thought staying like this wouldn’t cut it. I’ve always thought that way, but wasn’t able to convince the manager.”
“…? Scout?”
I didn’t question the term ‘scout.’
Understanding the enemy’s movements is crucial.
Especially in a life-or-death war.
Knowing the enemy’s strength, their strategies, and the weapons they possess can minimize the damage I take and maximize the damage I deal in return.
So, my question was about something else.
“Why did it have to be you, Edel?”
Edel’s position is almost like the vice-captain of the Knight Order; it’s not every day that you hear about a vice-captain stepping into enemy territory just to gather information—
“…Hmm.”
…Thinking about it, it makes sense.
As a vice-captain, she’s certainly stronger than the regular knights, and it’s a given that scouting enemy territory is dangerous.
So if I think of her as a kind-hearted vice-captain who took on the mission to spare her knights, it makes sense.
“What were you thinking so hard about suddenly?”
“…Nothing.”
“It doesn’t seem like nothing.”
As Edel eyed me with suspicion, her furrowed brows relaxed.
“I know it carries a big risk. But only I or the manager can withstand the dimensional currents, so there was no other choice. I couldn’t just pass the task to the manager.”
“Well… If that’s the reason.”
“You’re accepting this easier than I thought.”
“It’s not like we’re having a hearing or something.”
I was curious why a high-ranking individual personally came forward, but I never intended to interrogate her.
So naturally, it makes sense for me to accept it easily.
I casually replied and then asked Edel.
“Did you discover anything?”
“I did.”
“…Huh.”
It’s obvious, but just because you scout doesn’t mean you automatically gather enemy intelligence.
The enemy also understands the significance of information and tries fiercely to hide theirs.
For that reason, there are limits to what one can glean from a mere distant look, and if you want valuable information, you have to take risks and go in deeper—
‘If that were easy, even a dog could do it.’
So when I heard that Edel scouted enemy territory, I didn’t expect too much, but here she was confidently claiming to have discovered something, leaving me no choice but to be surprised.
Whether she knew I was looking at her doubtfully or not, Edel continued in a calm tone.
“I always thought it was strange. No matter how clueless they were, how could they so easily invade my world by breaking through the barriers I’ve set? …Am I really that easy?”
“Calm down, you don’t have to overthink it.”
Her calm words were anything but, filled with emotion that couldn’t simply be dismissed as calm.
Realizing the passionate undertone in her voice, I momentarily silenced myself, pretending I didn’t notice it.
“It couldn’t have been easy to find the base.”
Maybe due to my efforts to change the subject, the emotion in her voice vanished as she answered me.
“It wasn’t easy. But come on, who do you think I am? After fighting those guys an annoying number of times, I can’t just give up. I probably know more about them than their mothers do.”
“…Hmm.”
Is that a good or a bad line?
It was phrased in such a way that left me feeling puzzled, and amidst my confusion, Edel continued her story.
“Do you know where I ended up following the traces of those guys? In a dimension. A place utterly wrecked, with not even a barrier to protect it.”
“Can we even call that a dimension? It’s like calling a place with only a floor left and no roof or walls a home.”
“Well, isn’t it a home if it holds memories?”
“Is it, though?”
“What do you mean, ‘is it’? Don’t take my words too seriously.”
After I went out of my way to join her on the topic, I received a curt reply in return.
So naturally, my voice turned curt in response.
“…I figured you’d expect a base to exist. But from what I’ve heard so far, it doesn’t seem like you discovered anything particularly special.”
“As I mentioned before, the dimensional walls don’t just prevent external invasions. They also keep the energy inside from escaping. They have other roles too. But having no such walls means….”
“So it’s just like a house without a roof or walls.”
I repeated what I just said.
Sure, you could tell it was a house from the frame left standing.
But how many people would still call it a home today?
“If you were the homeowner, what would you do? Just leave it as it is?”
“Are you crazy?”
“That’s exactly it. Moving to another house might be the best solution, but if that’s not an option, you’d have to repair it. But what does it mean if you just leave it standing?”
While she tossed that question at me, Edel didn’t give me time to respond.
“It means either the owner can’t repair it or there’s no owner.”
“Wait a second. For that guess to be valid, it has to be certain that it’s their base, doesn’t it? They could’ve built their nest in a devoured dimension.”
“Don’t worry about that. If you saw it yourself, you would’ve gotten it straight away. ‘Ah, this must be their base!’”
“…Hmm. I don’t really get it, but okay.”
“That’s the right attitude.”
“….”
It seems like I can’t get past this.
In a tone resembling one trying to comfort a child, Edel’s words rubbed me the wrong way, and I eventually relaxed my stern gaze.
With so many things to ask and even more to think about, I figured that nitpicking wouldn’t lead anywhere.
“So….”
I gathered my thoughts after listing to Edel.
“Something must have gone wrong with the god managing their dimension, and that’s why they’re invading other dimensions, right?”
“If that were all, it would be a relief.”
Edel’s answer was neither a yes nor a no.
At that vague response, I felt a surge of frustration, but before I could voice it, Edel beat me to it.
Upon hearing her words, I could only tilt my head in confusion.
“They’ve eaten their god.”
Those fools.
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