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Thus the Die is Cast – Part 01

“Did you rest well?”

“Yes, absolutely. While the comfortable beds in that world are delightful, as servants of God, indulging in excessive luxury isn’t appropriate.”

Two clerics clothed in religious habits strolled through the early morning royal capital. Paula cast a glance at Sophie.

“But morning here in the royal city is much more refreshing. The air is clean.”

“Refreshing?”

“Yes. Tokyo is undeniably beautiful, but I felt a somewhat tainted quality within that beauty.”

“I see.”

“Would you like to visit the other world?”

“What?! Uh, well… yes.”

“In that case, let’s go together next time. The churches there are quite elaborate. Oh, and there are establishments like Shinto shrines and temples; they are also wonderful. It’s strange. It seems there are no gods in that world.”

“What?! No gods?!”

“They don’t have soul cards or guild cards. However, many people believe in the existence of God, and there are many with devout faith. It was very curious.”

The two engaged in a conversation about religion. Both being devout followers of the Church, they never ran out of topics. All the more so when Sophie had seen the churches in the other world.

In this world, gods—entities beyond human understanding—definitely exist, granting Blessings through soul cards and guild cards. Sophie found it surprising to witness such grand religious structures in Japan, where tangible divine favor was absent.

Three days had passed since Sophie and the others returned. Sophie presented a manga she brought from the other world to her Church companions, asserting that it was discovered in some dungeon. She argued that this manga could improve the religious paintings based on saints. Whether it would work, only God knows.

“By the way, I’m sorry you had to clean the apartment for us,” Sophie said.

Upon the return of the Four Eastern Stars, Paula explained that they had cleaned and used their apartment. Though they were delighted that someone cleaned it for them, Selyse stayed at a hotel, and Sophie stayed at the church with Paula.

“It was nothing,” Paula said. “Staying at the church makes it easier and faster to do service.”

“I know!” Sophie brightened up. “But that’s not why I apologized.”

Paula wore a puzzled look. The pair arrived at the apartment owned by the Four Eastern Stars.

“Well, you’ll understand once you see it,” Sophie said apologetically—extremely apologetically.

Paula understood the meaning of those words just a minute later when they stepped into the room on the fourth floor.

“Huh?” Paula breathed dumbly.

How could she not? Boots had been thrown aside right near the door, followed by jeans—which did not exist in this world—lying in the shape of a person, as if the owner had vanished on the spot, and beyond that, a coat and a sweater. Except for the different clothes, the place looked exactly the same as when Paula first stepped into this apartment.

“Whaaaaat?!”

The living room was littered with numerous empty bottles, leftovers, scattered luggage, and various items likely brought from Japan. Three days—only three days had passed since Paula parted ways with Serika and Sara. In just that short time, they managed to create such a mess.

Pale legs were outstretched on the other side of the couch. It was probably either Serika or Sara. Dead drunk. It might be a corpse, but from here, it was hard to tell the difference.

“I’m sorry,” Sophie apologized. “Selyse knew it would turn out like this, so she lives in a hotel.”

Paula shuddered. If Hikaru saw this mess, he would be furious. Very furious.

“Sophie, Paula, how about hiring a maid for regular cleaning?” A voice filled with disbelief sounded from behind.

It was Selyse. Dressed in an impeccable adventurer outfit, her hair was neatly tied up in a chignon, not a single strand out of place.

“We’ve got a problem.”

“Indeed,” Paula agreed. “This is a big problem.”

“Um, I’m talking about something different. Of course, this is definitely an issue, but there’s a more significant matter at hand.”

Selyse held a rolled-up parchment in her hand, bearing the emblem of the Adventurers Guild.

“It’s a commission from the Adventurers Guild addressed to the Four Eastern Stars. It says to survey the dungeon. I don’t think we can refuse.” Selyse paused. “I’d like to be back by the end of the year if possible, but that might be tough.”

The black car glided smoothly along the well-paved road.

The car’s interior was quiet enough to hear the rustling of papers. As always, the luxury vehicle offered an exceptionally comfortable ride. The elderly man, who had been silent until now, finally spoke, his voice carrying a raspy tone.

“Tokigawa, how are things in Y Prefecture?”

The gold badge on his chest painted him as a Diet member. He was the Finance Minister, elected twelve times to his post.

“…”

Tokigawa, reading documents in the passenger’s seat, adjusted his glasses and turned towards the rear seat.

“Everything is progressing smoothly.”

“Is that so? That’s good, then. I learned there was a tip-off from your former workplace. I thought it might be related to Y Prefecture.”

Though Tokigawa’s clean-cut features did not shift a bit, he couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

He had indeed received a call from the chief editor of the political affairs section of Nitto Shimbun, his former workplace. It started with rumors about land acquisition in Y Prefecture and ended with them claiming there was a recorded footage of him dining with the president of Marumigawa Estate.

Anxiety initially gripped him at the speed with which the news spread, but upon learning about the supposed recording, he regained his composure.

That couldn’t be possible. He knew every nook and cranny of that establishment, and he was on great terms with its owner. He would have noticed anything odd.

In short, the chief caught wind of a rumor and reported it to me. In that case, I’ll simply firmly deny it.

Thus, Tokigawa dismissed the notion. The chief was utterly flustered, but Tokigawa decided to address it later, then ended the call.

For the time being, he thought it wise to steer clear of direct meetings with Marumigawa Estate.

He was in his private office in the parliament when he received the call, and there was no one else present.

Someone was eavesdropping in the corridor.

Faces flashed in Tokigawa’s mind. Faces of people who sought to replace him as secretary and gain support from the Finance Minister in the upcoming House of Representatives election.

“There is no need for concern, Sir. We will succeed with the plan.”

“I’m not particularly worried, but… well…”

“Is there something else?”

Whether the man lacked trust in him, or he was merely pretending so he would work harder, Tokigawa couldn’t tell. The Finance Minister was an inscrutable man.

Having resided for decades in the town of Nagata, known as the demons’ den, this man had transformed into a demon himself. Applying pressure on his secretary was as easy as breathing.

“Lately, the Prime Minister has been irritated by the parallel world uproar. We don’t want to stir up even small troubles.”

“I understand.”

“Also… No, perhaps I’m only overthinking things.”

“Sir? If there’s anything even trivial, please let me know. I can be of assistance.”

“Hmm…”

The minister glanced at Tokigawa. There was something unfathomable in the man’s eyes, eyes as dark as a bottomless abyss.

Would he too become like this once he started working as a member of the parliament? He was ready to face the challenge.

“There’s a landlord named Doyama in Y Prefecture.”

Tokigawa gave a start; this was the very figure causing trouble for the president of Marumigawa Estate.

“I visited that house when I was a mere bag-carrying secretary. Before I was elected into Congress.”

“I thought Y Prefecture wasn’t one of your constituencies.”

“I took all sorts of jobs.”

Implicitly conveying involvement in dirty tasks, the minister had ascended to the position of Finance Minister through sheer strength in a ruling party filled with second or third-generation politicians. Tokigawa remained unaware of how much he dirtied his hands in the process, only dropping occasional hints here and there, as was the case right now.

“I don’t know about now, but back then, I pegged the family as the stubborn type. They valued adhering to old traditions. I believe they said something about protecting the mountain.”

“Yes.”

They still do, Tokigawa thought. If you knew, you could’ve told me earlier.

The land acquisition in Y Prefecture was his responsibility, and he believed that succeeding in this endeavor would secure his path to becoming a member of the parliament. He didn’t want to rely on the Finance Minister’s assistance at this juncture.

“I thought such old-fashioned ideas wouldn’t last for more than ten years, that they would change with the times. When I heard about the project in Y Prefecture and saw the name Fujinota, I suddenly remembered the Doyama family. I wondered if they were right all along.”

“Right? What do you mean, sir?”

“About other worlds. I never thought such things existed.”

“Huh?”

The minister closed his eyes. Was he trying to say that he should figure out the rest?

If you have something to say, just say it.

When Tokigawa returned his gaze forward, the traffic light was still red.

Is he saying that there’s a connection between parallel worlds and protecting the mountain? Ridiculous. If gods or demons lived in the mountain, they would have appeared countless times in Japan’s long history. Well, except for ancient tales, of course.

Tokigawa believed that the gods and demons depicted in scrolls were products of the imagination, and that only things backed by science were true.

While the revelation of another world was certainly shocking, Tokigawa thought that such events were plausible precisely because it wasn’t within the confines of this world. It was a realm beyond the grasp of scientific scrutiny.

I better settle this before the dotard gives me an earful.

Tokigawa resolved to finish the Y Prefecture project as quickly as possible. To achieve that, he needed to use other avenues besides Muramigawa Estate.

The light turned green.