Land in the Golden Zone, like all such properties, is worth its weight in gold.
"What do you mean the outer gods can't use their power here?"
Looking at the entire galaxy, these areas are scattered and disconnected—worthless land where nothing can be done—but at least you're safe if you're stuck here, right?
Makes my mouth water.
After paying about 20 billion including acquisition tax, tada! I now have a house in my name. The Southern Sanctuary is now mine. I can use it however I want.
Actually, that's a lie. My conscience got the better of me, so I put it in my sister's name.
And the result?
[Seti: You crazy bastard]
[Do you really want to die?]
[You have the brains to develop belt restoration technology but you do this?]
[Spending 20 billion on completely useless land you insane idiot]
[That's MY money]
[We'll have to pay taxes when selling this too]
[You're such an ass]
A text message bombardment from my sister arrived, scarier than any health insurance bill.
But I, Eidel Rheinland, have lived with Seti for almost two years now. I can tell whether my sister is truly angry or not.
I can say with certainty that Seti wasn't particularly upset. If she were really furious, she would have come to beat me up in person without hesitation.
So this is implicit consent, a deal.
Alright, little sister. I'll use this land as capital to help you reach the family head position you so desperately want.
In exchange, you need to earn lots of money for your brother's research, understood?
Now that our agreement is settled, it's time to get to work.
"I'll now begin the seminar."
"?"
"Ahem."
After clearing my throat, I make eye contact with my student.
Look at those bright, attentive eyes of our protagonist. She's well-prepared for the lesson. Her posture is straight and disciplined.
I spent the entire week preparing a presentation for a non-major. As I project it onto the board through the beam projector, large text appears:
[On Quantum Gravity and Resonator Theory]
[Subtitle: Simple Enough for Even a Fool to Understand]
"I'm currently collaborating with Professor Callis Stranov. The subject is exactly what's written on the PPT."
"What the..."
"Excellent question. What is this, you ask? It's technology that makes outer gods look stupid."
I explained everything I could to Ireh. I also did a bit of self-promotion.
"I laid the foundation for this resonator theory over two weeks by myself. See this formula? It's called the FR model, and I created it first."
Rather than telling the protagonist struggling with outer gods "I'm on your side," this approach is much more effective. At least that's what I believe.
"You there, suffering from outer gods! As soon as the prototype of this resonator is made, I'll give you the opportunity to use it. I was originally planning to charge 1 billion credits per use, you know? But for my first customer, specially—five times! Free of charge!"
"What on earth..."
"How about it? Good deal, right?"
My form is impeccable. With this eloquence, I could be a shopping channel host.
But contrary to my expectations, the response was lukewarm. Far from smiling brightly, Ireh wore a deadpan expression.
[— The outer god "Steel Flowing Like Earth" lets out a terrible scream.]
It seems others are more enthusiastic.
***
After raging for a while, shouting expletives like "That bastard ruins everything!!!", Sapaul finally regained his senses thanks to the restraint of fellow outer gods.
["We must stop that guy."]
There was no time to waste now.
Eidel Rheinland.
Before it's too late, he must be killed.
As long as the host was in the Sanctuary, escape was impossible, and Maxwell's characteristic time reversal was difficult due to the high Aether density. They needed to find another way.
So the outer gods gathered around a table, tentacles touching.
["..."]
No matter how much they thought, they couldn't come up with even a mediocre plan, let alone a good one.
In the end, they had to resort to the worst option.
["...Someone must be sacrificed."]
Their final conclusion was to sacrifice one of their comrades to take control of Ireh Hazlen's body.
["Do we really have to go that far?"]
["There's no choice. Without a 'Grand Explosion,' controlling a water body in a place like this is nearly impossible. Unless Cartesia's father comes."]
Even black holes have lifespans.
The death of an outer god begins with voluntarily stopping the activity of the black hole to which they belong.
["One of you needs to give up all the energy of your black hole. Then, for a very brief moment, I can control that girl as I wish."]
["..."]
["Well? Any volunteers?"]
Naturally, no one stepped forward.
At that moment, a Darwin-type outer god approached, dragging its head. It looked like a withered mushroom standing upside down.
["We created this hideout here, transcending our differences between forces, to prevent the 'End.' But Sapaul, what you're doing now seems perfect for causing division."]
["What are you saying?"]
["I'm asking if sacrificing the few for the many is right. From my perspective, you're making hasty decisions for your own advancement."]
Sapaul found this rebuttal extremely annoying.
["That's right. Perhaps we should just observe the situation?"]
["Who knows? The girl might leave the Sanctuary before the resonator is built. Or she might die first."]
["It doesn't make sense for one of us to die."]
Sapaul observed the characteristics of the outer gods who agreed with this sentiment.
They were weak.
At least within this cluster, they were beings with cramped black holes.
They were undoubtedly afraid of being chosen.
Sapaul quietly nodded while harboring different thoughts.
Wondering who to sacrifice.
***
"Here, try this apple pie made by my house's maid android. It's premium quality, made with apples and honey from Kentark orchards. By the way, there's the Western Physics Association on planet Kentark, and I recently had an interview with the professors there..."
"..."
"I'll explain what you learned in calculus class this week. Let's look at an applied example with partial derivatives. Wow, this is an extremely important equation that you absolutely must know."
"..."
"We'll have the 5th week resonator development seminar. Based on last week's research results, I'll present and listen to the student's opinions. Before we start, are there any questions from last week that we didn't cover?"
"..."
Restrained in a straitjacket, having my basic needs and bodily functions managed, locked in solitary confinement, and all I do is endure lewd and obscene acts— yeah right.
I'm going to lose my mind.
"Tonight's special is fried dumplings."
"Kill me, please."
I admit it now. The current Eidel is clearly different from previous iterations.
He's become even more insane.
If he were just mindlessly sexually harassing me, I could bite my tongue and die, or if my hands were free, I would kill him immediately.
But this is neither here nor there, making it even more maddening.
"Today's side dish is glazed carrots. Very good for eye health."
"No, I don't want it."
"Come on, don't be picky. Listen while you eat. Finding materials for the resonator is most important. But it seems we can't make it with naturally occurring substances alone, so our research team is trying to create..."
Finally, Ireh exploded.
"Stop it!! I'm going to lose my mind—!!"
Mentally exhausted, yet paradoxically, her Pron levels decreased. Thanks to Eidel's surprisingly hopeful presentations.
"Just sexually harass me instead! Say something obscene!"
"No."
"Why, why!"
Then I could at least commit suicide with peace of mind...!
I have lingering attachments. What if this world line is the "happy ending" I've been longing for? What if I never get another chance once I pass it by?
Ireh was that suspicious. Through hundreds of thousands of iterations, how many times had she been killed by villains who outwardly showed kindness?
That's why she learned the lesson to "go alone."
Not depending on anyone, not listening to anyone. Only collecting constellations and affinities, running toward the ideal of a happy ending.
That had become Ireh's life principle at some point. But now...
"Me, harassing you? Why? That's a crime."
"And keeping me tied up like this isn't...?"
"That's because your head is full of demons."
"..."
"That's why I told you there are government officials waiting outside. You weren't listening properly when I explained this the week before last."
That single phrase—"it's legal"—completely flips Ireh's composure.
"So where were we? Ah, let me explain what a Ricci tensor is..."
"You're just a physics pervert—!!"
Ireh shouted loudly, feeling like she was coughing up blood.
Hearing those words, Eidel's expression changed completely.
"...Finally, you're seeing me properly?"
His face looked more perverted than at any other time in this iteration.
***
Meanwhile, around the same time.
Rustila was boarding a shuttle headed for the Southern Sanctuary.
The reason was that Eidel hadn't been reading any of her messages for the past few days.