Our first destination was the summoning ground. During my research in the library, I’ve read that magic that uses circles always leaves behind a sort of burn mark in the magical plane, which is also referred to as a wound. Wounds always heal, but it takes time before it does. For most circles, it seems instantaneous, but the stronger the magic, the bigger or deeper the wound. What’s interesting is that these wounds often retained the shape of the magic circle, so as long as it wasn’t completely healed, you’d be able to figure out its original shape.
“Are you really sure you want to keep that collar on?” I asked Rya. “I mean, you are a free person.”
“Yeah, I know,” Rya, “but I kinda feel bad for the other two. I mean, I’ve only known you for a couple of months. And I don’t really mind, it’s actually pretty comfortable.”
“Seriously though, I can always just get you a choker.”
“Nah, that’s not necessary, boss.”
“Please stop calling me boss.”
“Okidoki, boss!”
I have to admit, there were times it did annoy me, but I also knew that it was all just harmless, and she was happy now. She knew that I didn’t just keep her around because of reasons, I could have just left her behind somewhere, but during these past three months, we’ve grown to appreciate each other.
There didn’t seem any people in sight, and we were pretty far away from the city itself. This was the right time to call in the Goddess Elverde. Once I activated 【God Message】, we were quickly engulfed in a thick mist, which just as quickly cleared, revealing an open field just outside of a palace. It was the same palace I found myself the first time I got here.
“What is this place?!” Rya said. The sisters were just as startled.
“This is the domain of Elverde,” I said.
“Who’s Elverde?”
“That would be me,” Elverde said.
Even though she stood at the palace entrance, it was as if she was right in front of us. It didn’t look like my friends were frightened by Elverde. I guess they trusted me enough to not be.
“Oh my,” Elverde said, while walking towards us. “It seems there is an extra guest. You must be Rya, right?”
“Y-yes, ma’am.”
Elverde laughed. “You don’t have to be so formal, just call me Elverde.”
“Sure, ma’am! I mean, Elverde.”
“My excuses for bringing Rya along without notifying you,” I said.
“It’s okay, I don’t mind it at all. The more the merrier.”
“Excuse me,” Gilian interrupted, “but who exactly are you?”
“Let’s just say that I am a Goddess who watches over this world.”
“Well, if you’re a Goddess, can you bring us back to our original world?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t.”
“Why not? You’re a Goddess, right?”
“Even we have rules we cannot obey.”
“Screw the rules, you’re a Goddess!”
“Gilian, calm down,” I said. “It’s not as simple as you might think. Trust me, I’ve been doing research on a lot of things, so when a Goddess says she’s bound by laws, they’re not laws that can be broken, even if she wants to.”
“Every rule can be broken!”
“No, not every rule. Not magically binding ones.”
I guess I already talked about magically binding contracts, but I guess it’s important what it exactly means. A magically binding contract is a special contract that spells out all the terms, all the rules one has to follow. When you follow these rules, nothing happens, but there are several consequences with breaking some rules, and not all types of contracts are the same, and each rule can have its own effect.
Some contracts essentially just prevent somebody from breaking the rules, for example, if a contract prevents somebody from stealing, they are physically unable to steal. You’d think this type of term would be used for every contract, but there is a good reason it’s not widely used, as you’d have to be very specific with your wordings, otherwise it’d be dangerous for the person involved.
That’s why most contracts come with penalties, which simply punish the rule breaker, as it provides some leeway. You can put a certain weight to a rule, and adjust everything to make sure that you can occasionally break the rules without having to pay a price.
Most of these contracts are written ones, and are often a mutual agreement. Unfortunately, consent isn’t always a requirement. For example, a slave collar, regardless of whether consent is involved, can still be a form of a magically binding contract, though most of the time these contracts are rather weak.
In the case of Gods, at least in this world, they’re bound by a contract the moment they’re born. Each God will know every rule they have to follow, and one of these rules forbids interference with worlds that are at risk. Such worlds don’t resonate well with worlds that have mana or any other form of magic, and have not yet invented interdimensional travel. This is because too much meddling would potentially destroy that world due to the introduction of foreign objects.
That’s why they’re only limited to creating corpses, and it’s also why I was tasked with creating a magic stone with human essence. Without going too deeply into it, essence doesn’t contain mana, which makes it easier to use in worlds devoid of magic.
“So we’re stuck here,” Jeanne said. There was a bitter tone in her voice.
“I’m sorry,” Elverde said. “There is nothing I can do about it, which is why I asked Rivers to go on this mission to stop it from happening again.”
“I see…”
“But can’t you interfere yourself?” Gilian asked.
“Even though I govern over this world, there is only so much I can do. I cannot directly interact with this world, and even if I was allowed to look into the matters myself, this world is big, and…” Elverde paused. “At the moment I don’t have the power to do anything or act outside of this realm.”
Without us noticing, we were already sitting down. In fact, there was an entire terrace we were sitting on.
“Is that also the reason you can’t remove these collars?” Gilian said.
“Yes, that’s one of the reasons. You see, a God is not allowed to dissolve a contract. Otherwise we could dissolve our own.”
“It’s a load of horse radish though,” Jeanne said. Of course, she didn’t say exactly that, but I can’t actually say what she said. “Why do we have to live like this?”
“Jeanne, calm down,” I said. “Trust me, I will find a way to remove these collars. It’s a promise I made towards Elincia, and it’s a promise I’ll make towards the two of you. For as long as I live I will find a way to free you.”
“I’m sure he will succeed,” Elverde said. “Just have faith in him.”
“I trust boss,” Rya said. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have made this promise.” She pointed at her own collar.
“I trust Rivers as well,” Gilian said. “I mean, sure, in our previous world he was a pervert, and I’m pretty sure he still is, otherwise he wouldn’t take this loli panda girl as a sex slave.”
“Oi, she’s not a sex slave,” I retorted, while I could hear Rya quietly ask, “What’s a loli?”
“Point is, Rivers won’t treat us like slaves, he won’t force us to do things we don’t want to, so I’ll follow him, and I’m sure that one day he’ll find a way to remove these collars. What about you, sis. I mean, aren’t you two besties?”
“Yeah, we are,” Jeanne replied. “I’m sure he’ll figure it out.”
I was glad it was all settled, but there were some other matters we had to attend to.
“So, Elverde,” I said. “There’s a reason I came here.”
“Yes, I know. I will immediately remove the seal I’ve placed on them.”
I actually expected a cool light show, but it literally took a snap and the sound of chains breaking to lift the block. I wasn’t able to see if it worked, so I asked Jeanne and Gilian to look at their statuses.
“Wow, that’s amazing,” Jeanne said. “Look at my magic stat.”
“Mine’s also pretty high,” Gilian said.
“Now, with that matter out of the way, I think it’s time to give you a few blessings. Since you will be living the rest of your lives in this world, I want to make it up to you. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll try to figure out a way.”
Jeanne didn’t hesitate. “I want a familiar.”
“Well, I can give you one, but isn’t it better to find one yourself? The best kind of familiar is the one you form a true bond with, even before turning them into one.”
“In that case I want to be able to use magic. I assume I need to be able to use magic to have a familiar, and I guess I always wanted to be able to use magic.”
“Well, because of your high magic aptitude, you won’t have any trouble learning magic, but nevertheless, I’ll give you a 【Spell Book】.”
“What does it do?”
“You’ll see. Let’s just say that it’s just a small tool to help you with magic. Though, I have to say, this is a rather simple request. Is there nothing else that you want?”
“Is it alright to think about it for a while?”
“It’s not a problem, you can always talk to me whenever you figure it out. Just use 【God Message】 to come to me at any time.”
Elverde then looked at Gilian.
“What about you?”
After a bit of thinking, Gilian replied, “I wanna be able to read my favorite manga and light novels, and watch my favorite anime. Oh, and I also want to be able to play every video game.”
Everybody went silent. This was not a request I was expecting.
“What? I’m stuck in another world. I still need my anime fill. Is that so wrong?”
“Not at all,” I said. “But, like, this is a Goddess, you can ask her anything you want.”
“And I decided that I wanna watch anime and read light novels.”
“What’s an anime?” Rya asked. “I don’t know half of what you guys are talking about.”
Elverde laughed. “It’s not that much of a problem, really, this is an easy request, really. However, this one I cannot grant to you at the moment, due to the lack of certain kinds of technology. Don’t worry, just trust in Rivers.”
“Wait, why am I involved with this?” I asked.
“Just make sure the technology to be able to watch anything is there. I’ll try to prepare a few things so that this wish will be fulfilled.”
“Yeah, about that. I’m not sure how to do this. I mean, when we first met, I got the job 【Technopath】, but I still don’t know how to use this job.”
“Have you tried using 【Analysis】?”
“I did, but it didn’t seem to do much.”
“That’s because 【Analysis】 doesn’t work on living creatures, but if you used it on something like, for example, this chair you’re sitting in, well, you’ll understand what it really is for.”
I did what the Goddess asked of me, and focused 【Analysis】 on the chair. Suddenly, something popped into my head. I somehow knew how to make a chair. Sure, the chair didn’t look exactly like the chair I was sitting in, but the basics on how to construct a chair was there. Something in me also told me about a thing I acquired called a 【Crafting Catalog】. It seemed to be an entirely new section in my status screen where everything that I could construct was shown. This was actually pretty handy. Because 【Item Creation】 required me to know the exact method of crafting something, I could now use it in conjunction with this 【Crafting Catalog】 to more easily create things.
After much deliberation, Gilian also decided that she wanted the 【Spell Book】, and like her sister, she decided to wait until she figured out something better.
“So, is that all?” the Goddess asked.
“I mean, we got what we came for, right?” Jeanne said.
I looked at Rya. I couldn’t help but think she was a bit jealous. I mean, everybody around her had a blessing, she was the only one left out, just because she was a native. I almost wanted to ask the Goddess for a favor, but that didn’t seem to be necessary.
“Ehm, Goddess Elverde,” Rya said. “I… I know I shouldn’t be asking anything, I mean, it’s already an honor to meet a Goddess.”
“Well, you can ask me anything. There’s no guarantee I can grant you anything, but you should always give it a try, right?”
“Is it… okay for me to… also get a blessing?”
“Is that all you want? If it’s that small a request, then that’s perfectly fine.”
“Really?” Rya’s face immediately lit up. “Oh geez, I don’t even know what I should ask. I just want to be useful to Rivers.”
“Don’t you realize you already are useful to him?”
“But that’s because I’m already at level 80.”
I was surprised. Even though I wasn’t sure how long it would take or how difficult it was to get to that level, it was still a lot higher than my measly level 10.
“How… high is level 80 actually?” I asked.
“It took me about three years to actually get this far,” Rya replied. “I could have gotten higher if I didn’t decide to sell myself as a slave a year ago.”
“Then, wait, how old are you actually?”
“Haven’t you seen my identification card summary when you purchased me? I’m 17 now, I started adventuring when I was 14.”
So young, I thought.
“Wait,” I said, “isn’t level 80 still high?”
“The first twenty levels are pretty quick,” Rya said. “It only gets hard around level fifty, sixty maybe. You just have to find the right party to travel with.”
“So what’s exactly wrong then?” Gilian asked. “It seems you’re plenty strong.”
“I’m only barely strong enough to pass as a D-ranking adventurer. We panda beastkin have a slow growing curve, which is compensated by slightly higher stats in the beginning, which I also lack.”
“Well,” Elverde said, “how about this?”
It only took a quick moment and a swift hand gesture, but out of thin air, a strange crystal appeared.
“Take it,” Elverde said.
As Rya touched the crystal, it emitted a strong flash, accompanied by a short blast of wind in all directions, and just like that, the crystal was gone.
“Do you feel any different?” I asked.
“Do you know what that was?” Gilian asked.
“Not really, but I’m pretty sure the crystal did something to Rya.”
“I dunno,” Rya said. “I kinda feel, well, less strong? But at the same time, just as strong as before?”
She began to look at her status screen, and there was a shocked expression on her face. I wasn’t sure if she was horrified or not.
“What happened?” I asked
“I’m level 20 again,” she replied.
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I mean, usually a lower level than you’d have before is a bad thing.”
“No, that’s not all. Boss, my stats are exactly the same.”
“What do you mean? Did Elverde do something with the level?”
“My base stats are only slightly higher than what they used to be.”
“I guess that’s a side effect of the crystal,” Elverde said. “It is true that your level has been set to 20 while maintaining your current stats. All I had to do was change a few things so that your growth would be similar to other races. I’ve allowed you to level at the same rate as your companions.”
Rya was overjoyed. Honestly, it felt great seeing her being this happy. However, there was one thing I was curious about.
“If I may ask, Elverde, but is it possible for me to see the stats of somebody else?”
“Most certainly it is. In fact, there are several skills that do similar things. Most do require consent.”
I remember 【Judge】 being one of those skills that don’t require consent, but I would be happy if it was just any skill.
“Is it possible for me to learn such a skill?”
“Well, that depends on how you’re going to use it?”
“I just want to be able to see the stats of monsters and beasts I encounter, as well as see the strengths of my companions. I feel like, as we go further in our travels, I need to be able to assess everybody’s strengths before we step into dangerous grounds.”
“Then I assume a skill like 【Status Appraise】 would suffice?”
“For now it does. I don’t mind having to ask for consent.”
“Well, I could just teach you, but where’s the fun in that? Instead, I’ll give you something.”
She handed me a manual, or rather, a booklet, which she apparently pulled out of thin air.
“Thank you, Elverde.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
With that, our visit to the Goddess concluded, and we got ready to take off. As we said our goodbyes, the area around us changed, and we were back on the road, with no time seemingly having passed.
“Hey, Rivers,” Gilian said. “There’s one thing I don’t really get. Why is it that we can get powers in that realm that we can take home, and yet she can’t influence this world?”
“I can think of some reasons, though they’re speculations. The easiest one is, outside of the God Realm, she has no power. Now, I have a theory on that, but, well, I’d rather keep it to myself for a while until I’ve figured it all out. I don’t want to cause some unnecessary problems later on.”
“But that doesn’t explain why we can get new powers inside the realm, and why we can take stuff like that book with us.”
“It actually makes perfect sense. The area she has to watch inside that other realm is a lot smaller. Like, it’s trying to keep track of one person versus having to keep track of every person in a mall. It’s a choice between having to narrow things down and only being able to see the overview.”
“That makes sense, but it doesn’t explain why she can’t just give us everything.”
“I guess it’s a matter of not wanting to disrupt this world too much. We already have the advantage of knowing about our own world’s technology. Having to figure out how to make it work in this world is what helps us survive. Elverde can’t monitor us forever.”
“Is that why we had to wait four months?” Jeanne said.
“Yeah,” I said.
I knew that wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear, but it was the truth. Even if Elverde knew where they were, even if she had the power to do anything, I wouldn’t expect her to rescue them.
“A Goddess can’t show favoritism. I mean, that isn’t entirely true, but one of the things a God should be able to do is being impartial. If a God favors one side, it will tip the entire balance of the world. I think it’s already bad enough that we have a direct link with her, we should not abuse her kindness in any way. What we have to do now is forge our own path.”
I could see that Jeanne still wasn’t satisfied with my answer.
“Look, Jeanne, whatever happened in these last four months, they happened, we can’t reverse that, and I’m sure that, if she were given the chance, she would have helped you out. But she can’t. I’m pretty sure she didn’t want this to happen to you.”
“Ya hafta believe in Goddess Elverde,” Rya said. “I mean, she even gave me something, and I was actually born in this world. I mean, she can’t be that bad.”
“Look, all I’m saying is, nobody can change the past, but you can decide what happens from now on. The only thing that’s binding you is that collar, and I’m not even planning on ever making use of that, so you’re basically free to do whatever you want.”
“I get that,” Jeanne said. “I mean, I guess there’s nothing that can be done now.”
Jeanne was still a bit tense, but she loosened up just a tiny bit.
As we walked down the path to Benita, Rya was happily humming, and the sisters were pretty talkative. Despite a lot of changes, some things apparently remained the same. There was one thing that was missing, though. I still had to find our last friend. I didn’t expect to find them so soon, though. In fact, the first time we met them, we didn’t even realize it.