"… Heeh, really!?"
"… Yes, really. Surprising, right?"
I could hear lively conversation can coming from the reception room. It sounded like two people were talking.
However, the voices both belonged to the same person.
"I'm coming in… Soto, no, are you Soto? Wait a second. Why are there two Sotos?"
When I opened the door, there were two Sotos inside.
One of them was definitely my daughter, Soto. But the other one had orange eyes and looked very similar to my daughter.
"Ah, Papa! Look, it's me, me! I couldn't help but come to see you!"
"Ah, Papa! I'm Karinisoto. Please call me Soto-chan… If it's confusing, you can call me Kari-chan too!"
Their smiling faces are identical. They could easily be mistaken for identical twins.
And when I think about it, my discomfort quickly fades.
"…Karinisoto, so you're also my daughter?"
"Yes, I'm the s.p.a.ce-Time G.o.d Karinisoto. I'm definitely the daughter of [Keima Masuda]."
As they spoke, the two Sotos held hands and smiled affectionately.
The s.p.a.ce-Time G.o.d. In other words…
"Are you the future Soto?"
"You could say that, but you could also say I'm not. I exist outside of s.p.a.ce-time!"
"Uh-huh, so you're still Soto. I don't quite understand, but you've come a long way."
"Hehe, thank you."
"Papa, this me is also like me, it's surprising!"
Yeah, I couldn't tell at a glance which of the two was speaking.
When I took a look at Rokuko, she seems fl.u.s.tered, not knowing what to do with her hands.
"Ah-ah-ah. What should we do, Kehma? There are two Sotos! Isn't my daughter twice as cute!?"
"Calm down Rokuko. Just think of them as twins."
"Twins…? What are twins?"
"Like Niku and Toi. Think of this one as Soto and the other one as Kari, the s.p.a.ce-Time G.o.d."
"Ah, I see… Oh, the strange feeling went away."
"Sorry for the trouble, Mama and Papa. I'm a bit special."
Rokuko seemed to feel the same strange feeling as me… Maybe Niku was in the same state too?
"What does that mean?"
"It's hard to explain, but because of the paradox of having two identical people and the power of the higher G.o.ds, I'm an anomaly in this world. It creates something like a discomfort that gets stuck in your throat and makes you nauseous from not being able to digest properly."
She went on to say that Haku-san's condition was something like being unable to see her as a trusted acquantance, but also unable to recognize her as Soto. Niku seemed to have the perception that there were one and a half Sotos. And although our connection as Dungeon Master and Core was still strong, we couldn't fully digest it and were in a state of confusion.
On the other hand, Soto herself seemed to have no strange feelings at all. It seems to be related to her potential to be the s.p.a.ce-Time G.o.d.
"I can just barely manage to act by using the bodies of this world's people."
"Huh? Like a divine possession? So that's not your body then?"
"Correct! I took over it temporarily with their consent!"
… Well, as long as it's with consent.
"Oh, and let me answer the question you're wanting to ask, Papa. Your Hero Skill will be fine if you wait for one year, but if you level up within six months, you'll go berserk. What Leona said is true, so be careful."
"Huh? O-okay."
"Specifically, due to the influence of contamination, you will become an abusive husband to Mama. Mama seemed fine with it, but in some worlds, it escalated and she accidentally killed you, so I'm warning you just in case."
I don't want that. Also, what did it mean for Rokuko to be fine even in that situation? Is it something unique to women who can't leave their abusive husbands?
"Okay, I'll be careful for a year so I don't become an abusive husband… I'm starting to understand what kind of existence you are, Kari. Like a monitor of the world?"
"I am the s.p.a.ce-Time G.o.d, after all. I said world, but it might have been more appropriate to say future, though the possibility's been destroyed now."
Karinisoto, the s.p.a.ce-Time G.o.d, seemed to be ent.i.ties that were like a time paradox.
"Well, that's why I intervened with Aunty Haku-san and had her introduce me. But it's not just because I wanted to warn you about not becoming an abusive husband."
"Wait, are you not just here to give me advice on that?"
"Of course not. I won't deny that Mama was happy every time she was punched in the face and said [I'm loved!] … This is a message from the Creation G.o.d."
"Wait a minute, Kari. Did I really become like that? It's a lie, right?"
The Creation G.o.d was an ent.i.ty that existed above the Dark G.o.d and the Light G.o.d.
I wonder why my daughter was asked to do something by such a person… It must be because she's the s.p.a.ce-Time G.o.d.
Karinisoto, the s.p.a.ce-Time G.o.d, ignored Rokuko's question and placed a can of tea on the table. It's tea leaves.
"When you use the [Divine Beddings] to become a G.o.d, if you drink this tea beforehand, you can meet the Creation G.o.d… Whether to use it or not is up to Papa, but I'll give it to me for the time being."
"Kay~, I'll hold onto it~"
Karinisoto handed the tea leaves to Soto.
"If you have no intention of becoming the next Creation G.o.d, feel free to use it."
Huh?
"Wait a minute. Did you just say [if you have no] instead of [if you have]?"
"Yes. If you simply just continue as you are, you will become the next Creation G.o.d. To be more specific, there is mental contamination involved, so it's a secret—ah, and there's the divergence. Okay! Task accomplished! Well then, I'll be going now!"
Suddenly, the s.p.a.ce-Time G.o.d Karinisoto stood up… I wanted to ask for more details, but I had a feeling that doing so would trigger a SANMental Condition check and reveal the truth of the world.
"Isn't that too sudden?"
"I am using the best vessel, but I am approaching my activity limit soon. My contract begins to unravel once I complete my mission."
"I see?"
I don't really understand, but it seems that her goal was to create a divergence?
… Speculating too much might damage my SAN but maybe that's the condition for the divergence that the higher G.o.d who couldn't enter the world directly intervened for?
"Oh, by the way, Papa. Do your best to get a present for Mama."
"Huh?"
With that, the Time-s.p.a.ce G.o.d, Karinisoto, s.h.i.+ned bright.
When the light subsided, there was a black-haired, red-eyed, ponytailed girl there…
"Oh, Soto-chan's done already? …Hm? Oh, it's Kehma-san, long time no see."
—Leona smiled and gave a little chuckle.
Yeah, there's no way a vessel of a higher G.o.d could be handled by an ordinary person.