Arc 27: The Reverse World

Chapter 295: The Dimensional Gate Mark-2 and the Color Red

This is the Dimensional Gate Mark-2. Despite the name though, the design is still fundamentally the same(Professor Regina)

At the place where the professor points to is the dimensional gate which was installed in the Garden of Babylon. Next to original is the identical copy.

Its a silver arch-shaped Gate resembling a miniature-sized Frances Arc de Triomphe. Just like the original I suppose its appropriate to call it Mark-1? theres a semi-circular meter at the top portion of the arc.

Those two dimensional gates are linked by space-time magic and have the coordinate axis of the other dimension affixed So umm, it basically means that theyre connected. If you install Mark-2 in the world on the other side, it should be possible for us to come and go as we please(Professor Regina)

I see. So I only need to set it up in a safe place on the other side, right?(Touya)

Since the gate wont start up unless enormous amounts of magic are poured into it, someone from that side coming over here is hardly worrying. However, itll be troublesome in its own way if the gate itself gets destroyed just because no one else can activate it.

Should I place it in the middle of nowhere thats perfectly isolated and maybe install a magic barrier in the vicinity?

Ah. Itll be nice if I can get my hands on the golems of that world and order them to guard the dimensional gate.

With this, well be able to cross over to the other side as well (Linzie)

The Professor averts her eyes apologetically from Linzie, who muttered so while looking up at the dimensional gate.

Aa~ about that. To tell you the truth, the gate isnt perfectly adjusted just yet. It still has some limitations, assuming that someone wants to go with Touya-kun to the other side this time, ~you see(Babylon)

Limitations? Is it the number of people?(Yae)

Yae asks the Professor. Is the number of people I can bring with me limited? I want to take everybody with me if possible.

Rather than the number of people, the limitation is in the total mass of anyone or anything passing through the gate. Umm, converting the weight to our standards, the person aside from Touya-kun has to be almost or less than 50kg at 48kg, there wont be any problems

Several people froze in place due to the professors merciless words. Oi what should I do. with this mood?

Theres an accurate weighing scale in the changing room that Ive made for everyone in the castle, so everyone should be aware of their own weight.

Without inquiring more into it, Im not very anxious about the professors and Suus weight, both of which shouldnt have any problem since their bodies are still that of a little girl. The petite Yumina, Rin, and Luu are probably safe as well.

Apart from Sakura, whos expressionlessly tilting her head in puzzlement, the ones whose eyes are being restless are the older girls namely Yae, Hilda, Elzie, and Linze.

Nope, it shouldnt be strange for 15 to 16-year-old girls to weigh more than 50kg, right? Though Im not so sure about that either.

I suppose girls in this world are weight-conscious as well, arent they? In comparison to them, young men here dont seem to mind theirs so much.

Say, I probably have to find a safe place on the other side first to hide the other end of the dimensional gate, shouldnt I? Its kinda scary if once everybody goes to that world right away. Something may happen, and we might not be able to return back here(Touya)

I say something vital to them, and the older girls start speaking all at the same time as if life has returned to them.

T-thats right! We still cant say for sure that traveling to that world is really safe!(Yae)

Yae-san is right! Its still too early to make that assumption!(Linzie)

Thats right! Its not like that world will disappear if we dont hurry!(Elzie)

W-well then. It means that all of us going together will have to be saved for another time(Hilda)

I somehow understand what theyre thinking about, but I just keep my thoughts to myself. There are matters that no man must intrude upon.

(Black: ( ))

Yumina and the others arent really objecting on the matter either. Its probably because they cant deny that going to the other side is still too early. Its only Suu whos a little angry though.

Well, its certainly more reliable to do things that way. Doing fine adjustments after setting it up first is a safer bet(Babylon)

The professor nods lightly in agreement. Then wouldnt it have been better if youve just said that right from the beginning? Didnt you just cause unnecessary and excessive tension?

In any case, I settle the matter aside, store the dimensional gate mark-2 inside Storage, and start pouring magic power into Mark-1. Although I had poured so much just the other day, it became empty after one transfer.

I think the poor energy consumption is also a characteristic that needs improvement. It does ensure that only I can use this gate, but is that limitation really safe?

When the semicircular board fully opens, a fluctuation occurs inside the gate. A scenery of some wasteland is now being projected.

Mark-2 is still inside my Storage and it has yet to be set up. As such, this gate has probably connected to a random location again.

Well, this isnt a problem since I can transfer to the Holy Capital Allen of Saint Kingdom Arendt using Gate.

Im off then. Ill return tomorrow or the day after tomorrow(Touya)

Considering the deviation of time during the moment of transfer, I can probably find a place to set the gate up in about a day.

Please dont do something absurd like you always do, ok? (Yumina)

This Ive been stabbed by Yumina. No, each time I do something rash, I dont mean to act like that in the beginning. Perhaps I should say that things just simply turn out that way

Its because Touya-dono is being dragged around by his surroundings (Yae)

He often ends up acting in the spur of the moment(Hilda)

Dont poke your head into anything even if theres trouble in front of you. You hear me? Do you understand?(Elzie)

T-then, Im off!(Touya)

Following after Yumina, Yae had come attacking with a final blow alongside Hilda and Elzie, so I just escaped by passing through the dimensional gate.

Once I take one more step while experiencing the discomfort of coming through a rubber-like film, I then see the wasteland that Ive seen from beyond the dimensional gate.

A tall wall of rock can be seen on the opposite side of the rock-filled wasteland. Its like the American wild west that Ive seen in the movies. It feels as if a cavalry would appear from somewhere here.

First of all, I have to determine where I am right now Wow! I came out a lot further away from Arendt than before(Touya)

I confirm my location using my map app, and it shows that Im in the south-eastern side of the Reverse World If I am to draw a parallel to our world and reverse it, Im around where the Sandora region is supposed to be. Arendt is located around where Rodomea is, which means Im considerably far away.

Oh well. I can still go to Arendt using Gate even if Im very far away from the capital.

(Black: For those who made the same mistake as I did, the reverse world is simply a mirror image of the surface world. Meaning only the East and West are reversed. The North and South are still the same. The reverse world is inverse of the surface world only in the y-axis or longitudinally, not the x-axis)

Now then. What should I do? I can just set-up the dimensional gate in this place since theres not a soul anywhere around here(Touya)

Theres only a vast wasteland as far as the eye can see. Theres not even a trace of human presence nor are there visible roads in the vicinity. Doesnt this area seem like a place which any human would hardly visit? As far as our requirements are a concern, this place isnt bad.

Nonetheless, this place isnt necessarily safe. After all, magic beasts might be wandering about. I had encountered one when I first came to this world. Given that there might be monsters like that double-headed dragon wandering around, theres the possibility of the gate getting destroyed.

I can make an invisible wall enchanted with Shield and disguise the gate as a rock or something with Mirage It should be safe, but Im really uneasy about this place nevertheless

The best place to install the gate would be in the basement of a solitary house probably. The place itself will become a camouflage, making the gate safe to outside forces to some extent.

Have someone stay at that house will be luxurious of us, but thats just impossible Theres no way I can just say to anyone from this world that I came from a neighboring world and have them cooperate with me.

I can just call upon a summoned beast though But itll disappear once I return to the other side. Damn it! I shouldve asked the professor to make one more tank for storing my magic power.

In the end, should I just go and get myself a golem?(Touya)

Thus I finally decide on acquiring a golem after giving myself a flimsy reason. According to Sancho-san, the merchant of this world, anyone could buy a golem even if those golems are considerably expensive as long that person has enough money to pay for one.

With that decided, its now time to earn money and gather information, isnt it?(Touya)

I dont have any right now. I had gotten money before by asking Sancho-san to buy a golden ingot from me, but I gambled all of it in a casino.

Come to think of it, I have yet to receive the money for the orichalcum and adamantium that Ive handed over to the chivalrous thieves Red Cats.

Last time I saw them, I had helped them escape from the knights and ended up parting ways right away Since I have no money right now, should I go and get their payment?

Ummm, Red Cats~, umm(Touya)

I search for their leader, Nia. Right now shes in a country named the Strain Kingdom. That place, which near the town of Carne, is close to where the group was last time in the Saint Kingdom of Arendt.

Shes not in the town itself though. Although theyre chivalrous, theyre no different from a band of thieves, so they may not want to draw excessive public attention to themselves.

I zoom in on their location, and it appears theyre in the forest. Looks like theres a thin stone wall-like thing in that place, but the indicator says Dwuzu Fort Remains. Theyre probably using an abandoned fort as a hideout, but I dont understand the detailed layout of the facilities just by using the map search of my smartphone.

I searched for the other Red Cats, but there are not even 30 people altogether. Arent there quite few of them right now? Are they in the middle of an operation or something?

Well, it doesnt matter. For the time being, I should go to them.

Gate isnt usable because the place that Im going to is somewhere that Ive never been to before. It may be possible to use Teleport, but the destination cant be determined very accurately since its too far away. If I unskillfully teleport to somewhere else, I could end up above some river or inside a house. Its impossible to do a transition if theres something in the way because transitioning inside a wall or something similar is also impossible.

In the first place, Teleport is a transition magic thats not suitable for a long distance travel.

However, the location is inside the forest, so it should be fine to some degree, right? I try scanning the surrounding area, but theres no one else in the vicinity aside from the members of the Red Cats. Therefore, teleporting to that place wont be a problem for me even if Im seen by someone. Every member of the Red Cats already know about my transition magic. Well, lets do it while practicing Teleport at the same time, okay?

The direction is that way, right? The distance according to this map is this much.

Teleport(Touya)

The surrounding scenery instantly changes from a wasteland to a forest. Because I had transitioned with a 10-centimeter difference above ground, I lost my footing for a moment there, but I somehow did manage not to fall down.

Mmm So its impossible to do it in one go, huh? As expected(Touya)

Looking at the map, I see that the fort is still a few distances ahead from here since Ive appeared several kilometers away from it.

It didnt go as well as Id predicted. As for how the transition feels like, it closely felt like throwing a wastepaper into a garbage box located several meters in front of someone. Although it might be possible to do a transition accurately if I get used to it, I still cant do it as of this moment.

Well, its fine. The fort is already close to where I am right now. Ill just transition inside the fort with the next Instant Movement Teleport for sure.

Im thinking if its fine to just suddenly appear inside the fort, but I think itll be fine if I teleport right in front of Nia, their leader. I confirm her location with my map app, and it seems shes in a place that looks like the courtyard of a fort. That area will do fine.

Without thinking very deeply about it, I do an Instant Movement Teleport close to Nia.

In hindsight, that was a mistake. Lets just say that its my negligence due to getting used to the transition magic

Huh?(Nia)

The target location isnt inside the fort courtyard but inside a room. Even though I say that its a room, its not the usual room, but rather, inside a big green tent.

And standing in front of me is Nia, the leader of the chivalrous thieves Red Cats.

(Nia)

Her eyes open very wide in shock and look toward me. Her red twintails are untied and are lowered straight down.

The hand thats lifting her shirt stops moving and her short pants are laying at her feet. Her lower half only has a small red underwear.

Its quite obvious that shes in the middle of changing her clothes

Yo-ou(Nia)

Ah-no-wait. Its a misunderstanding. This is an accident ~you see(Touya)

I can somehow hear a rumbling sound to a certain extent, as Nias face is getting steep bright red in anger and shyness.

It seems this tent was placed inside the courtyard, and she seems to be changing her clothes here. The map search function didnt display much of the details such as the tent and whatnot.

Looking at Nia who is approaching me with a bright red face and a fiendish smile, I steel myself while looking at her grasping right fist.

Any last words? Ahh?(Nia)

Ah(Touya)

Ah(Nia)

Red is somewhat flashy, I.. think?

The moment I said that Nias wonderful right straight hook lands on my jaw. Though I could dodge it, it was my resolution as a man to resign myself and accept her punishment. A punch thats strong enough to cause a brain concussion Well, I receive that punch and collapse where Im standing.