There Is No World For ■■
Chapter 148: Retrograder, Egoist, And Commie (5)

* * *

The impromptu interrogation(?) was carried out in a somewhat gentle atmosphere.

While Joseph and the burly men wanted to break one of his limbs, Yeomyeong rejected the idea.

Was it because he seemed friendly with Balagu? Sure, that did play a part, but more than anything, it was because the knight named Dovan opened his mouth without any hesitation.

There wasn’t even a need to break any limbs or for torture. As soon as the alcohol kicked in, he started spilling classified information without restraint.

“Uh… strange… things? Count Palatine is… hiccup—he’s strange even on normal days.”

“Not that sort of thing. I mean, has he done anything unusual recently or suddenly appointed a stranger… something like that?”

Yeomyeong asked while pouring him another beer.

With his face flushed red up to his nose, Dovan looked down at his beer glass and took a bite of a potato before answering.

“A strange person… you mean someone like Lady Ekatherina?”

“…Ekatherina? Who’s that?”

“A unique knight who uses a spear as big as a person’s torso… She’s unusually strong… beautiful… and….”

“…And?”

“And no matter how I think about it… she seems like a person from Earth.”

“…”

From her name alone—Ekatherina, which was distinctly Russian—it was highly likely she was indeed from Earth.

As Balagu was about to say something, Dovan added another comment.

“The Count Palatine hates Earthians… so, it’s really strange, isn’t it?”

“…”

“It even seems like he’s bowing down to her at times… Does she come from some great background or something?”

Just as it seemed that Dovan’s babbling was about to go on aimlessly, Balagu interjected.

“Forget about her—what about the Southern Count Palatine himself? Any strange behavior?”

Dovan shrugged.

“The Count Palatine… he’s strange even on normal days. Doesn’t care about the city, and only stays in the court palace… Oh, right.”

As he kept talking, he suddenly seemed to remember something and put his glass down with a thud.

“…Come to think of it, he didn’t prepare anything this year.”

“Prepare for what?”

“The Emperor’s Day.”

The Emperor’s Day. It was a phrase even Yeomyeong was well-versed with.

It referred to a public holiday celebrated beyond the Dimensional Portal—in other words, the current emperor’s birthday.

“Every year, he used to blow through his wealth to send gifts, hiccup, but this year, he made a big fuss about ordering dinosaur bones… and didn’t end up preparing anything at all.”

“…Dinosaur bones? That’s odd.”

“Well… it’s for the best, I guess. Hiccup— it’s not like he would have been able to send the gift this year with the railroad being destroyed and all.”

“…”

Yeomyeong’s gaze grew icy.

Balagu, seated beside him, flinched involuntarily at the deadly look in Yeomyeong’s eyes. Meanwhile, Dovan, oblivious to it all, continued speaking with his face buried in his glass.

“Jeez…that man is really lucky. I guess you really need luck to rise to a high position, huh? It’s almost like he knew the railway would be destroyed in advance or something.”

Having said that much, Dovan was drawn to the drinking snacks and began scooping chunks of steamed canned spam straight from the can.

The smell of grease wafted through the air as Yeomyeong fell into deep contemplation.

Dovan’s gaze drifted toward Seti, who was sitting across the inn.

“…Even the staff here are pretty. Hey, miss! Can you bring some beer over here?”

Balagu looked at him with an unpleasant expression, but Seti simply grabbed a beer bottle and approached the table without a word.

As soon as Seti got close enough, Dovan reached out toward her buttocks and asked.

“Pretty girl, how much for a night?”

While this sort of behavior was quite common in the city…

The people gathered here weren’t citizens of this city, and their reactions differed from the usual city folks.

And just as Dovan’s hand was about to touch Seti’s buttocks…

Bang!

Yeomyeong grabbed the back of Dovan’s head and slammed his face straight into the table.

Struck with a blow so strong that the old table cracked apart, Dovan slumped down before he could even scream.

At the sudden racket, Joseph and the others stared at Yeomyeong in shock. However, Yeomyeong casually tossed Dovan to the ground as if nothing had happened.

“…Is he dead?”

Balagu asked as he looked down at his clueless friend. Yeomyeong shrugged and replied.

“I didn’t kill him. We did manage to get some useful information out of him… though he’ll probably have a terrible hangover when he wakes up.”

“Good. He’s too valuable to lose just like that.”

Leaving a remark that they should meet somewhere else next time, Yeomyeong got up from his seat.

Undeterred by the slightly heavy atmosphere, Seti smirked and poked Yeomyeong in the side.

“You really don’t know how to go easy on people, do you?”

“…I did go easy.”

Exchanging such words as they climbed up to the second floor. Neti, who had been snacking on potatoes, muttered as the two of them disappeared from their sight.

“It’s tough being single around here.”

* * *

It had been quite a while since Yeomyeong had woken up in someone else’s dream.

The reason he realized it was someone else’s dream was simple.

He had definitely closed his eyes in bed but found himself in a sewer shrouded in darkness when he opened them.

Why had he suddenly entered someone else’s dream? Was it perhaps one of Mignium’s prank? He quickly dismissed that thought from his mind.

Mignium’s taste was… let’s say, a bit more pomp than a sewer like this.

Alright, let’s see the face of the prankster.

Thinking so, Yeomyeong wandered through the dream sewers for a while when someone began speaking from the other side of the sewers’ darkness.

“…As expected, it connects.”

It was a one-armed elf with striking red hair.

What was his name again? Seeing Yeomyeong tilt his head slightly, the elf added.

“I’m Finel, Cheon Yeomyeong.”

“…Nice to meet you, Finel.”

“You don’t seem too surprised. Are you used to things like this?”

Was he asking if he was accustomed to entering others’ dreams or meeting others in dreams? It was a vague question.

Yeomyeong shrugged in response.

Finel stared at him intently, then let out a deep sigh.

“This is the World Tree’s dream. Only elves or those acknowledged by the World Tree can enter.”

“…I’m not an elf, nor do I recall being acknowledged by the World Tree.”

“Yes, that’s the issue.”

The elf said as he turned his back. He didn’t ask Yeomyeong to follow, but Yeomyeong casually trailed behind him.

As the sound of splashing water from the sewers floor echoed, the elf suddenly asked a question.

“Cheon Yeomyeong, do you know what the World Tree is?”

…Just a big tree? Yeomyeong swallowed the words rising up his throat and shook his head.

“I’ve only heard of the name.”

“The World Tree… hmm, I’m not sure if this is the right way to put it, but it’s like a bridge connecting the real and illusory.”

“…”

“Elves use its power to share their dreams with each other. That’s why we can fundamentally understand each other, unlike humans.”

This was new information. It was definitely not something mentioned in any documentary or textbook.

“Why are you telling me this?’

“Because you are connected to my dream. Since you’re a human acknowledged by the World Tree, I can tell you this much.”

“…?”

“It looks like you still don’t understand… but haven’t you already had another elf connect to your dreams?”

Connected dreams with another elf? That never happened—

All of a sudden, Yeomyeong recalled a dream where he had encountered his Killing Aura.

The Killing Aura he encountered in the dream had the same appearance as Miridith. It was too much of a coincidence to just be a random incident.

“…”

Yeomyeong suddenly shut his mouth, but Finel continued with his explanation.

“Well, you’re not the first to be acknowledged. Before America invaded us, the World Tree occasionally acknowledged races other than elves.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the last one it acknowledged was the Margrave.”

The Margrave. When he thought about it, Yeomyeong felt it made sense for someone like him to be acknowledged. After all, he was a legendary hero who fought on the frontlines against America to protect the land.

Although, the land he protected was later claimed by France with just a piece of paper.

“So, why did you connect your dream with mine? If it’s because I rejected the Eastern Count Palatine’s offer and left…”

“No, that’s not it. Bykov was pretty disappointed, but that’s none of my concern.”

None of his concern? Yeomyeong narrowed his eyes and asked again.

“Then?”

“Just like eyes, to steal reality from within a dream, it’s better with two than one..”

“…Steal reality?”

Confused by his statement, Yeomyeong came to a stop.

Just then, a bright light suddenly flashed from the other side of the sewers.

As the light flickered briefly, Yeomyeong squinted his eyes and, when he opened them again, the dream landscape had changed.

He was now standing in a mysterious white room, completely different from sewers he had been standing in just moments ago.

Large glass containers were lined up along the room’s walls, resembling a laboratory from a cheap horror movie.

But there was something more conspicuous in the room.

The source of the light he had seen earlier.

“…The World Tree’s crystal.”

Floating in the center of the room was a crystal much larger than the tiny one Darulma had given him back in Manchuria.

It was the size of a grown man’s fist, or at least as large as a basketball.

Staring at the pale green light, Yeomyeong unconsciously reached out toward the crystal. However, Finel grabbed his hand.

“Do not touch it. You’ll wake up from the dream.”

“…”

Finel didn’t explain further and quietly surveyed the room. Specifically, he was inspecting the glass containers that filled the walls.

Yeomyeong followed his gaze and looked at the containers which had familiar beings floating inside.

Rat Beastfolk with long snouts, black fur, and grotesque tails, with large tusks.

They all looked similar to the Rat Beastfolks he had wiped out in the sewers.

No, upon closer inspection, they didn’t just look identical. They were exactly the same.

Cloned humans…? Or, in this case, should I say, cloned Beastfolks?

As Yeomyeong gathered his thoughts, Finel spoke while looking at the last glass container.

“Just as I expected, they’re using the World Tree’s mana to breed Beastfolks.”

“…Breeding Beastfolks? Why would they do something so pointless? It’s not like they’re planning to sell Beastfolks’ meat.”

“It would be better if they wanted meat. These are soldiers.”

“…”

“You should have realized it when you wiped out those rats gathered in the sewer last time. Those creatures were actually undergoing military training.”

Soldiers? Thinking back, the Rat Beastfolks were indeed marching in formation.

Right, they hadn’t gathered there by coincidence…

…A march?

But why? What purpose would a Rat Beastfolk army serve? Even the modern U.S. military deemed Beastfolk soldiers inefficient and abandoned the concept.

As Yeomyeong pondered over this question, Finel spoke in a slightly defensive tone.

“Now that we’re here… with the scent of Rat Beastfolks’s blood and the World Tree’s mana, wasn’t I justified in being suspicious of you?”

“…”

Was he trying to make an excuse for the ambush he sprung on them? Yeomyeong narrowed his eyes as he replied.

“I believe that’s a separate issue from attacking me with a sword, right? And come to think of it, I got an apology, but I don’t think I received any compensation, did I?”

As soon as he brought up the matter of compensation, Finel shrugged his remaining shoulder.

“Compensation? If you want, you can collect it directly from our leader someday.”

“If you don’t want to give it, just say so.”

“No, I’m being serious. It’s been a long time since a human received the World Tree’s acknowledgment, even my leader will…”

“Will…”

“Will….”

“…”

At that moment, the elf’s voice began to fade from Yeomyeong’s ears.

To be exact, every sensation was swallowed up by a single sound. His vision blurred, and every hair on his body stood on its end.

It was a familiar feeling.

Yeomyeong frowned and turned his gaze toward the World Tree’s crystal.

Though the crystal had no eyes, he felt as if he was staring directly into its gaze.

And in the next moment.

- Who are you? Are you the new Repeat Sign?

The strange voice, identical to the one he had heard when he consumed the World Tree crystal in Manchuria, called out to him.

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