Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 29 - Chapter 6

Invaders of the Rokujouma

Tuesday, April 5th

When that existence first became conscious, the first thing it felt was that the world was cramped. Time stood still in an infinitely small world shared by only its consciousness and boundless energy. It left the existence with a vague sense of dissatisfaction.

But in truth, the concept of crampedness inherently involved a comparison to something else... something less confining. And what the existence was really feeling dissatisfied over was a lack of exactly that—anything else. It was only the existence alone in the universe, and all it could do was aimlessly exist there. It was profoundly disheartening. Rephrased in a way easier for humans to understand, the existence couldn’t bear the loneliness.

But at some point, something changed. A boy and girl appeared from a fluctuation in the boundless energy. However, the world was far too small to accommodate them. Space was compressed to its utmost, and the boy and girl were fated to be reduced to energy immediately after appearing. Yet that didn’t happen. The singular existence of the world took an interest in the two visitors and protected them so that it might better come to understand what they were.

And it was through this meeting that the existence learned that it was lonely. It came to understand the concept of loneliness from the boy’s emotions and memories, and with that, it grew self-aware. Once it understood what had been bothering it all along, the existence examined the boy closer in order to find a way to escape it. And in studying the boy’s memories, the existence came to define its sense of self.

Surprisingly, it seemed the boy had already encountered the existence in the past. Looking at his memories of it, the existence gave itself form. A delicate figure dressed in a unique outfit that looked like both a shrine maiden’s garb and traditional Japanese clothing. Hair that shimmered the colors of the rainbow. It was there—meeting Koutarou who’d been blown to the ends of the universe by the Super Space-time Repulsion Shell—that “the existence” became “she.”

After sending Koutarou and Clan back to their world, she expanded her own and created the universe. Without that, not only would Koutarou and Clan be in trouble, but she would have no way of dealing with her loneliness.

However, her attempts didn’t go so well. Ages after the universe was born, many civilizations had been born and then disappeared. Between them all had been a handful who were able to find her, but not a single one could save her from her loneliness. In the end, her omniscience and omnipotence got in the way. Those evil of heart only wanted her powers and never saw her for who she was. And those pure of heart rejected her powers, believing that they were too much for mankind.

Her greatest expectations had been with the Ancient Forthorthians. They were a just, fair, kind, and loving people. But even they had sealed away the sword of their own will and turned down a connection with her. She’d never felt as much sorrow over her omniscience and omnipotence as she did then. No one understood her loneliness.

After all that, the girl—who all alone bore the constant pain of her solitude and the repeated disappointment and despair of being rejected—had but one hope. The boy named Koutarou.

He was the only existence in the endless time and infinite space of the universe that had the potentiality of accepting her. He’d been caught in a timeslip and was fated to travel to the past. That created a sort of feedback loop, infinitely spawning parallel worlds, which in turn meant that he had infinite potential. The girl made a gamble. That of the endless Koutarous that would eventually come to exist, one might come to accept her. But there was something else about Koutarou. Something more than just the timeslip he’d been caught in.

When Kiriha mentioned this special quality, he cocked his head to the side.

“A special quality? I don’t have anything like that! I’m just a normal guy. When it all comes down to it, you girls are all way more special than I am.”

Koutarou didn’t think there was anything special about himself. Seeing his confusion, Harumi smiled at him and took over explaining.

“That’s not quite what she meant, Satomi-kun.”

“Then what did she mean?”

When Koutarou asked her that, the smile vanished from Harumi’s lips. She continued with sincere eyes and in a serious voice.

“Because of your experience when you were young... you were left unable to truly accept people. You’d given up, telling yourself that everyone would eventually disappear in the end anyway. That there was no point in letting them get close to you.”

As a child, Koutarou had lost his mother because he’d done something stupid. It had deeply scarred him. There was no way sweet Harumi could speak of such a thing with a smile on her face.

“For there to be someone you could find it in you to accept, it would have to be someone you were sure wouldn’t disappear.”

Koutarou couldn’t deny what Harumi was saying. Looking back on it, he now believed that way of thinking was a mistake. The past two years he’d spent with the invaders had taught him that. But there was no denying that was how he’d been in the past. Truth be told, it reared its ugly head even now in the form of doubt from time to time. It was difficult for people to truly change, but what would happen from here would change everything.

“However, all humans will disappear someday. For there to be someone who wouldn’t... they would have to be divine. In short, Satomi-kun, you needed a god by your side.”

It’s not like he needed omniscience and omnipotence. He didn’t care if it was a normal person, he simply wanted someone who could stay by his side forever. But that required divine power, even if it was just a means to an end. And so, one way or another, Koutarou was ready and willing to accept omniscience and omnipotence.

“That’s a special quality completely unique to you, Satomi-kun.”

Timeslips could happen both artificially and naturally, and Koutarou wasn’t the only person to ever get caught up in one. Throughout the universe, many people had been sent forward or backwards in time. But of all those who’d made such a journey, Koutarou was the only one who had the special quality of being able to accept omniscience and omnipotence.

“To think I... But you’re not wrong...”

Koutarou’s eyes opened wide, and he stood still with a blank look of surprise on his face. Harumi had made an extraordinary and unexpected point, but it was quite valid. Though Koutarou had convinced himself that everyone would eventually disappear, he hadn’t been able to abandon people completely. He feared solitude and, somewhere deep down, still sought companionship. The only one who would be able to fulfill his conflicting desires would be a divine being, just as Harumi had described.

“That might have been it...”

Koutarou felt like he had been splashed with cold water. Facing the true depths of his own heart was difficult. Knowing that, Harumi simply looked at him with gentle eyes. And so Ruth took over the explanation from there.

“But, Master, while you essentially desire someone who would never disappear, accepting a god is a difficult task.”

Regardless of what Koutarou desired, the almighty powers of a divine being were too much for man. Even if Koutarou possessed the potential to do it, actually doing it would be another matter altogether. The last hurdle that needed to be cleared in order to take the hand of a god seemed far too high.

“That’s why you needed to come to understanding and acceptance gradually. That’s why it all had to start with minor events. And once you acclimated to those, things went from there... slowly stepping up without being too overwhelming.”

Sports worked the same way. No one became a world-class athlete overnight. It took training and practice, and that was exactly what Koutarou had been going through. Practice to accept a god.

“W-Wait a minute!”

Everything had all been a rehearsal for this. And when Koutarou realized what Ruth meant when she said “minor events,” he couldn’t stay quiet.

“You’re saying that’s why you guys came to me?! To broaden my mind?!”

Koutarou—or any other human for that matter—didn’t have the capacity to accept a god. It would be like trying to fit the entire universe into Koutarou’s tiny apartment. That’s why he’d chosen never to let anyone in. There wasn’t enough room. To change that, she had sent him a minor event to make a minor change. And then a slightly larger one. By repeatedly doing that and increasing the scale each time, she’d been broadening Koutarou’s mind and heart. He’d gone from living in an apartment just barely big enough for himself to a universe-sized one that took him on a grand adventure across galaxies for the sake of his friends. And she felt that now he might really be capable of accepting a god.

“So it seems,” Theia replied with a wry smile and a shrug.

Not even someone who loved being flashy as much as Theia did would go that far. Though she’d been an integral part of everything that had happened, she was also surprised to learn the truth.

“Essentially, she divided her existence into nine parts and introduced them to you one at a time.”

She had vast spiritual energy like Sanae, the ability to alter the world with magic like Yurika, the wisdom to foresee the future like Kiriha, advanced combat skills like Theia, the swiftness to orchestrate even the most complex tasks with ease like Ruth, a powerful brain like Clan, the ability to manipulate minds like Maki, and the powers of creation and destruction like Harumi and Shizuka respectively. In other words, the nine girls together were almighty.

“That’s not all. She also divided her worries into nine,” added Sanae.

She was being unusually serious for once. Not even she could joke around about something that concerned the existence and fate of her friends like this.

“I was always alone, and Kiriha was looking for you. Nobody could understand Yurika, and Theia and Ruth had no one they could trust. Maki was frozen and in need of someone’s warmth, Harumi chased after you from a different world, Glasses was always concerned about the course of history, and Shizuka was protecting Corona House—our world—all on her own.”

Her worries, just like her powers, had been divided among the nine girls. Worries she had been waiting forever to be saved from.

“But once we were split into nine, we butted heads. The mental problems and conflicts she’d been bearing materialized. And you were dragged into that, Satomi-kun,” Shizuka said in a somewhat upset tone.

Different powers, different worries, different standpoints. Inside of the girl shining nine colors, there had always been a struggle. Once that took the form of humans, of course there would end up being conflict between them. That’s why the invaders had fought with each other. Their spat had nearly burned down Corona House, so it was a particular point of contention with Shizuka. But things were different now. The invaders had come together.

“Then this girl is...”

Koutarou slowly began to understand just who this girl was and what she wanted.

“That’s right,” said Clan, affirming Koutarou’s suspicions, “She’s always been waiting. For the day when you would get us all to reconcile. For the day when you accepted all of us.”

That was the truth of it.

“Since timeslips create feedback, you have infinite potential, Veltlion. She’s waited endless time and crossed immeasurable distance, praying that you would come to realize that potential.”

There was more than one universe. This wasn’t the first. Far from it. Kiriha’s prediction was correct. In the infinite universes, there were countless Koutarous. Only one of them needed to unite the girls, resolve their problems, and wholeheartedly accept them. And this Koutarou had done it.

“So what?! You did all of this just to ask me what part of you I liked?!”

It was a devilish question that girls would ask boys from time to time. It was trouble for the boy no matter how he answered. But this was unprecedented. And Koutarou had certainly been through more than his fair share of trouble over the last two years.

“That’s right. And you said that you loved all of it, Satomi-san!” piped up Yurika.

“Heehee, you said that you needed all of us in your life, Satomi-kun,” added Maki.

Koutarou was still standing there with a blank look of surprise on his face, but the two magical girls called to him cheerfully. Of all the possible Koutarous, theirs had accomplished everything. They were proud of that.

“Right now, you should not fear her,” said Ruth.

“How could I?! I can only sense you guys’ presences from her!”

When Koutarou faced the girl glowing in nine colors once more, he could tell why she seemed so familiar. Her presence was a mixture of all of the other girls’. That’s why he’d felt no apprehension around her.

“That’s true. It’s just like how you didn’t fear Nalfalaren.”

“Then this sword is...?!”

Listening to Ruth, Koutarou turned to look at the sword that was floating in the air. She was right. The presence he felt from it was the same. It was the combined presence of the nine girls.

“That’s right, Koutarou,” said Kiriha, “You didn’t fear the sword. Despite its power to shake the very universe, you didn’t hesitate to take it in your hand and use it. That was something you were able to do after accepting us.”

It was strange, just like she said. The sword had immense power. Under the right conditions, it might even be able to slice a planet in half. But Koutarou hadn’t been afraid to wield it. Not in the slightest. He knew it had come from the girls.

“And you returned here bearing the sword aglow with nine colors to meet her once more.”

His acceptance of the sword meant that the stage was completely set. That’s why the girls had disappeared, and Koutarou was guided to this place. It wasn’t just that his two-year wish had expired. The truth was hidden here.

“So it was all for this moment?! For me to understand your circumstances and solitude, and to face you without any fear?!”

“Bingo,” said Sanae, “This girl granted your wish while secretly praying that you would come to love and need us. This girl is the first and final invader of room 106.”

That was the reason why so much had happened around Koutarou over the last two years. All of it had been born from his wish. And from hers—a small wish to connect with someone. Love is all.

Hearing everything the girls were telling him, Koutarou had gained a rough idea of the situation. But that inspired a new question in him.

“There’s something I don’t get. You’re all-powerful, right? Couldn’t you just have made the world you desired from the beginning instead of doing all this?”

Koutarou wanted to know why she’d gone about things in such a roundabout way. It seemed horribly inefficient to him. Just one loop of Koutarou’s timeslip took two thousand years. And if that had really been repeated endlessly, it was all a grand waste of time.

“I didn’t want a doll in your shape. I wanted you to accept me—to accept us—of your own free will.”

The girl’s answer was similar to Maki’s way of thinking. Since she was able to manipulate minds, she could easily make people think and feel the way she wanted. But they would only be dolls. And since what she desired was a real connection, that wouldn’t work for her.

“But even then, you could have intervened more.”

“That would have been the same as you traveling to the past. As I’m not bound by time or space, my intervention would only give rise to more parallel universes. And more reactive chaos.”

“Chaos?”

“You should have seen it several times already. The massive whirlpool that absorbs malice and generates abnormal power. That’s a reaction to me creating the world. And it still smolders in the shadows.”

Creating a world out of nothing meant giving order to boundless energy. But pulling order from energy meant that what was left was chaos. When chaos and order came into contact, they annihilated each other and were reduced back to pure energy. The whirlpool of chaos was constantly trying to return the world to its primordial nothingness.

And the more the girl altered the world, the more chaos would be born from her meddling, making the endeavor unsafe and unwise. That was why, instead, she’d mostly relied on slower and indirect change, waiting for the world to change on its own.

“There’s no value in a doll and you didn’t want to make more chaos, which is why all you could do was keep your intervention to a minimum and observe. Basically, you were worried about the same things we were when we traveled to the past... You were literally worrying over playing god, huh?”

She wouldn’t go out of her way to exercise her omniscience and omnipotence. And if she did have to intervene, she would keep it limited, and it would only be for the immediate needs right in front of her. Otherwise, she would only create more problems. There was enough chaos as it was leftover from the creation of the world. Adding to that was to be avoided. Indeed, her worries very closely mirrored Koutarou and Clan’s when they were traveling in the past.

“But if you’re omniscient, you should have already known what I would say and how I would act. Doesn’t that make this all like playing with dolls in the end anyway?”

Koutarou still had questions. The girl had said she wasn’t interested in a doll, but weren’t her powers a hindrance in that? She should be able to tell what Koutarou would say and do. There was no salvation here. She was just watching a puppet show play out with a plot she already knew.

“No, I can’t foresee your future.”

But strangely enough, the girl shook her head at Koutarou’s question. She then narrowed her eyes in a smile, almost as if she were looking at something bright.

“What?!”

“That sword contains a portion of my power, which is what’s protecting you.”

“But your powers are stronger, right?”

“They are. But it’s much harder to decipher a code than it is to create one. I have no way of knowing your future—or your heart—at this very moment.”

“That’s one of the reasons I have this sword... To create a future that not even you can foresee?”

“Yes.”

Nalfalaren contained but a fragment of the girl’s power. If she gave it her all, she could override it and reveal Koutarou’s future and his feelings. But that would take some time, and any change to the cipher in the meantime would frustrate her attempt to solve it. Of course, if she took his sword, that would eliminate the problem altogether, but she had no intention of doing that. The sword was a connection to Koutarou. Cutting that was out of the question.

“You’re such a sincere and serious goddess. You’re definitely losing out more than the other gods... That is, if there are any...”

Ultimately, this was anticlimactic. The more Koutarou learned of her circumstances, the more affection he felt for her. This girl was clearly different from the supreme gods spoken of in myths and legends. She was too human, almost to a fault. But perhaps that was only obvious since she was the collective of the nine invaders.

“I don’t know of any other gods, but... you’re the only one I have, so I don’t want to do anything terrible.”

Now that he’d started feeling affection for the girl, Koutarou realized something.

I guess religion would normally get in the way of this kind of connection. Being put up on a pedestal can be a terrible thing. That’s why...

Right now, Koutarou could see past his own preconceptions. While it might sound like a contradiction, the existence before him was both an almighty god and a simple girl. Just like the girls of room 106. And this girl had taken painstaking efforts so he could see that. Breaking through someone’s preconceptions without forcing it was that difficult of a task. Believing that Koutarou would eventually understand, she had taken a long, hard road of uncertainty in order not to trample on anyone’s free will.

“Speaking of other gods... Just out of curiosity, how many others have come before me?”

After talking with the girl, Koutarou began wondering how many versions of himself there had been. How many times the timeslip loop had repeated herself. He wanted to know just how roundabout this path she’d chosen really was.

“The number changes significantly depending on how you count them.”

“So what if we just limit it to the mes that managed to make it back here?”

“You would be around the 5,670,000,000th. But you are the first to return with the sword glowing nine colors.”

There were infinite Koutarous across infinite parallel worlds. There were some where he hadn’t bonded with any of the nine girls, and plenty where he had only bonded with one. There were also cases where the nine girls weren’t necessarily the ones in front of him now. It could have been Elfaria standing before the green pillar, or Alaia or Ceilēshu before the white one. But of the infinite Koutarous that had existed, 5,670,00,000 had made it back here. It was a nearly unthinkable number, but the important part was that it was this Koutarou who was here right now.

“So my future is the only one you can’t foresee?”

“Yes. Your heart and future are the only ones locked to me. You’re a unique existence, so not even predicting your actions by looking at similar yous in different worlds is effective.”

“So that’s why it’s only me... Hmm?”

“Teeheehee...”

“You seem happy.”

“Yes. This is the first time this has happened. I’m omniscient, but this is all new to me.”

Nalfalaren was an embodiment of the girl’s power. Missing one of its colors meant that the sword—and its protection—were incomplete, allowing the girl to read Koutarou’s thoughts and future. Looking at it the other way around, Koutarou returning here with the complete, perfected sword denied her that power. She was no longer truly omniscient.

“So let me ask you this... What is your third wish?”

“I don’t have one. I’ll fulfill my own wishes. I just want to take everyone home with me.”

“I see. Perhaps that is for the best...”

Hearing Koutarou’s answer, the girl smiled. He had returned with the completed sword. To wrap things up now, all she had to do was dissolve her own existence and give it to the nine girls he wished for. That way everyone would be happy. Even her.

“Koutarou, please take care of them.”

The girl didn’t wish for any more or less than that. After what she’d already forced on them, she had no intention of taking the girls from Koutarou, or Koutarou from the girls. They had a bond. He’d accepted the truth behind the girl who shimmered with all nine colors, and still said that he wanted to take the girls back home. The miracle she herself had wished for had finally happened. This very moment was the payoff for everything.

“Well then, everyone, let’s go home now.”

“Okay!”

At Harumi’s signal, the nine girls gathered around Koutarou. The girl standing in the center of the room watched them all with a satisfied smile before clasping her hands before her chest and beginning to pray. This would be her last job—to erase herself and divide her powers into these nine girls for good. But that was when the truly unthinkable happened.

“What are you doing? You’re coming too.”

Koutarou forcibly grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him as he headed for the exit. Perhaps because he was embarrassed, his voice was rather rough.

“Excuse me? Where are you taking me?”

The girl was bewildered at this completely unexpected turn of events. She had no idea what was happening. Koutarou had accepted the nine girls, so she only needed to assimilate her existence into them. She didn’t much care what form she took. But that wasn’t what Koutarou wanted.

“What are you talking about?! To Corona House, of course! Are you an idiot?! If you’re all of them put together, there’s no reason for you not to be with us!”

Koutarou was angry with the girl who didn’t understand anything. When he’d said “everyone,” he’d meant it. He had decided to accept the nine girls and everything about them, both good and bad. If this girl was really a part of each of them, then it automatically meant he accepted her too. There was no way he was going to leave her behind. He didn’t see any other way it could be. After all, when she’d asked him what part of her he liked, he’d said, “All of you.”

“Well, of course this would happen,” sighed Theia.

“Lay... I mean, Satomi-kun is the person who didn’t hesitate to save Forthorthe, Folsaria, and the People of the Earth, after all,” added Harumi.

“Satomi Koutarou’s awkwardness is dyed in the wool,” commented Kiriha.

“There’s no way the man I trust would leave her behind,” said Clan.

“If we’re going to add another, maybe we should connect room 206 and room 106?” suggested Shizuka.

“To think that Shizuka is making the big decision to remodel!” gasped Maki.

“In that case, expand my wardrobe while you’re at it, too!” demanded Yurika.

“Say, Yurika, has the idea of leaving the wardrobe never occurred to you?” mocked Sanae.

“Heehee, that might be like asking if any of us ever considered leaving Corona House,” giggled Ruth.

Strangely enough, only the girl glowing nine colors was surprised. The invaders all seemed to have expected this. Indeed, they had expected it from the very beginning. After all, they’d known Koutarou for two years now.

“But I’m a god...”

“So what?”

“So what?! Things would become absurd!”

“I don’t mind that so much anymore.”

With a god added to their party, the lives of Koutarou and the girls would surely take a turn for the unusual. But Koutarou didn’t care. This was what he had to do.

“I mind!”

However, she had misgivings about it, so he decided to back off a little. That maturity was part of him that had developed over the last two years.

“Then why not take a break from being a god for a while and be human? You could do something like that if you wanted, right? You’re almighty, after all.”

“I could if I put my mind to it, but...”

“So just put your mind at ease and enjoy a vacation. Like for a hundred years or something.”

Since she didn’t like intervening in the world in the first place, her becoming human should have minimal consequences. If a whirlpool appeared during that period, Koutarou would take responsibility and deal with it. That way there shouldn’t be any problems.

“...Really, Koutarou?”

“Why would I lie to you? If you like, I could make that my third wish.”

“I’m definitely a troublesome woman, you know...”

“Yeah, I know. For better or worse, you’re these guys,” Koutarou said, pointing to the invaders.

“Objection! I’m not troublesome!” shouted Sanae.

“I’m self-centered and selfish, yet all I can do is wait!”

“Call it what you want, but I know the truth. You waited for someone else to wish for what you wanted for you. I know, because if you’d wished for it, you’d have it already.”

Koutarou continued walking towards the exit without turning around. He was too embarrassed to look her in the face as he said all that, but he stubbornly refused to let go of her hand.

“Ah, I... I...”

“You idiot, you just need to shut up and follow me. You’re overthinking things.”

And no matter her protests, she would never let go of his hand either. There was no way she could. Tears kept her from seeing. Her sobs kept her from speaking. Right now, the warmth of Koutarou’s hand guiding her down the path she should take was all she needed. It was everything.

The nine girls following behind them were smiling happily and whispering to each other.

“It’s not like Koutarou could have overlooked her in that state. He’s stupidly fixated on being a perfect knight. So much so that he’d pass up half a galaxy,” said Theia.

“Your Highness, I’m not so sure what to make of your expression, but I understand what you mean...” said Ruth.

“Even though she’s a goddess, she doesn’t seem to get it,” said Sanae.

“Maybe she hasn’t read enough shoujo manga?” said Yurika.

“We have nine wills and points of view. If she cannot see the future, that works in our favor. And besides, because of her abilities, she’s probably not used to imagining what people are thinking,” said Kiriha.

“If it’s anything like when I left Darkness Rainbow, she never dreamed Koutarou would take her with him. Like me, she probably felt like she wasn’t even allowed to have such dreams...” said Maki.

“That’s just the kind of guy Satomi-kun is. You can feel it in his aura,” said Shizuka.

“A knight’s benevolence does not discriminate, not even with the Goddess of Dawn... Satomi-kun always surpasses expectations. He did two thousand years ago, just like he is now, and just like he surely will in the future...” said Harumi.

Each of the invaders could understand how the girl felt. And they knew what would happen from here on, because they’d all traveled down that road in the past themselves.

Love is all.

It was just a matter of time.