TNG Vol. 20 Chapter 3 Part 5
“What?”
Shin didn’t understand the meaning of Hades’ words.
No, he understood the theory, but he had doubts as to whether such a thing was even possible.
No matter how much this world was a reality, Schnee didn’t have a physical body on the other side like Shin or Milt.
“…Is it possible?”
“It’s probably in your item box. It’s the relic of the only being who crossed over from this world to that world.”
After receiving the suggestion from Hades, Shin checked his item box.
He took out three cards.
They were 【Guardian’s Corpse】, 【Guardian’s Soul】, and 【Guardian’s Heart】, respectively. (TLN: Changed from Protector’s Remain, Protector’s Soul, and Protector’s Heart. I think the term “Guardian” is more appropriate)
“With them, it is possible to take a person from this side of the world to the other side. Origin used its power for different things. Even though it’s the remnant, if you focus on one use, it’s flexible enough to be used that way. However, since it is based on the connection with Shin, the species will be the same as Shin’s body on the other side, in other words, it will be just a human. If they are a long-lived species, they will lose their life span and race characteristics, and if they are a short-lived species, they will lose their race characteristics and possibly part of their body. They will also lose all the time they were originally able to live, the powers they had from the time they were born, and the many connections they had in this world.”
It seemed as if one could already tell who Shin was thinking of since he first determined that it was a woman.
Will she be able to give up everything but herself and Shin? He probably wanted to force himself to make a decision for Schnee.
“…”
I don’t want to be separated from Schnee. I want to be with her if possible. That’s what Shin wanted. However, the price to pay was too high for Schnee.
As someone who hasn’t been here long enough, Shin could give up on most of his connections, fame, and power.
But he wondered if letting Schnee throw them away was really a good thing.
Schnee probably agreed even after hearing these conditions. Shin couldn’t say that they had known each other that long, but he could tell that much anyway.
“What are you hesitating about?”
“The amount of stuff we throw away is too different between me and her.”
To tell the truth, he wanted her to follow him. He wanted to tell her to come with him. He didn’t want to leave her.
But, but. Shin couldn’t help but think about it.
Shin was just a student on the other side, without the strength or skills that he has in this world.
He wondered if he would make life inconvenient for the person who came along with him. Would she be disappointed? Fear was all he could think of.
“Then should you give up and go back with Milt?…”
“That is…”
He didn’t think it would be better that way.
“With Shin gone, she might be attracted to someone else. She’s pretty popular after all.”
“…”
Hades provoked Shin, but Shin accepted Hades’ smile.
He suspected that her true intentions were obvious.
No matter how much he tried to reason with Hades, Shin could not agree with what she said.
Leave Schnee in this world and go home?
Leave Schnee with another man?
Impossible. If he could do that, he wouldn’t think of staying here, even if he had to give up his connection to the other side.
Thinking about it, Shin suddenly realized.
Family, friends, and hometown. He would give up all ties to the other side and live on this side.
In Shin’s case, there was a lot to gain on this side, so despite the conflict, he was able to overcome it, and there was also a sense of resignation that he would never be able to return to his original world.
But even if he hadn’t, he was sure he would have made the same choice if Schnee had been with him.
“…Hmm!”
To shake off his hesitation, Shin slapped his cheeks with both hands.
The sound of the slap echoed and cleared the feeling of indecision.
What was he still thinking about? Hadn’t he already made up his mind?
“Shin…?”
“Sorry, I’m having a bit of a bad day.”
Yuzuha looked worried, but she smiled and replied that it’s okay.
Gathering his energy, Shin turned to Hades and saw that her smile had deepened.
“Hehe, you look better now, don’t you?”
“I’m sure I’ve made a bit of a mess, too. Anyway, I’d like you to continue the conversation.”
Shin picked up Yuzuha, who had reverted to her fox cub mode, and urged Hades to continue.
Even if he was told that he could take a person with him, he couldn’t do anything if he wasn’t taught how to use it.
“The preparation doesn’t require much effort. All you have to do is fuse the three items you have with the person you want to take. No special ceremonies are required. It’s the same as using status-raising items. Right now, it’s just a bundle of power. It will merge with the object, and once it crosses the border, it will transform the object into a form suitable for the afterlife. However, if the person dies here before going to the other side, it will be useless. You must protect them well.”
“That goes without saying.”
He had absolutely no intention of letting her die. If necessary, he’s willing to use the power of Origin, even if it means shortening his stay here.
“I want to confirm one thing. How does it feel to go back over there? I hardly felt anything when I came here.”
When Shin saw the door, that he thought was just a scenery, opened, he was in this world. He was a little worried about what would happen when he returned.
“You will understand automatically when the time comes. It’ll be soon. When that happens, come to me. I’ll send you as peacefully as possible.”
“Send me? Once the power that keeps me here is gone, won’t I return naturally?”
“Perhaps it’s better to say that I will cooperate with the pull of the other side? It just pushes you out of this world a little bit. If you just leave it to the pulling force of the other side, there is a high possibility that you will be sent to different places. Shin and Milt will probably be sent there because you have bodies, but whoever follows you could end up anywhere in the world. If it were me, I could at least send them to the same place. You don’t want to be separated, do you?”
It was not something that was originally planned to be moved. It seemed like it would be a state of random teleportation.
No matter how high Schnee’s abilities or knowledge were, it would be difficult for her to join up with Shin if she was randomly teleported.
Even Shin would not be able to find a single person from all over the world with hardly any clues.
“…Why would you go to such lengths? For us, Origin was an enemy, but for you, it’s your precious half. And I’m the one who killed him.”
She was so cooperative that Shin could not shake off the suspicion that she was up to something.
Shin asked her directly.
“Sure, you can be called my enemy. But at the same time, you are also my benefactor.”
Hades had a sad expression on her face as she said this.
Origin’s invasion of Shin’s world. The one who opposed the most was Hades.
Putting your heart and soul into a battle you can’t win was pointless.
She tried to stop him, but her powers were taken away from her, to the point where she had to sleep in the ley line to restore her powers.
“I already knew that he wouldn’t stop until he was destroyed. That’s why I’m glad that you stopped him. The relationships between worlds are things that those who live there can’t even know. Besides, no game lasts forever. We knew that when the service ended, the connections between the worlds would weaken.”
Hades had received some information about Shin’s world.
No matter how popular it was, THE NEW GATE was just one of many online game titles. The day would come when the service would end.
Only after the game ended would this world begin to move on its own.
A world without form. Hades seemed to think that they should just wait until then.
“In the worst case scenario, our world might disappear. The world has no personality like ours, but it has no tolerance for hostile behavior.”
To use an analogy, it would be like a level 1 monster trying to pick a fight with a divine beast.
Hades said that considering the difference in power between them, there was nothing strange about it. There was an absolute difference: one could be wiped out on a whim.
“I feel like I’ve been overlooked since you defeated Origin, and there’s no need for me to do anything about it. In that sense, I was glad that Shin defeated Origin. Well, that is my answer to your question, have you resolved your doubts?”
Hades asked Shin.
“For now, I guess it’s okay to believe you.”
“That’s good enough. Is there anything else you want to ask? I’ll go back to sleep after this. The next time I’ll see you is when I send you over there. So if you have any questions, I’ll answer them.”
“There’s so much profit for us, it’s a little scary, that I’m starting to suspect that there’s something behind it.”
Just the information that he would return to the other side was significant.
“I don’t know everything, and there are questions I can’t answer.”