After calming down somewhat, the Hermit’s Shackles told him to call her Terry for the time being.
“Terry? That name doesn’t have much to do with Kar.”
“It’s a name I made by roughly mixing ka and kar from my real name. It’s far enough from my real name, so you should be able to call me that comfortably.”
“Hmm… All right, then I’ll call you Terry from now on.”
“Mm…!”
She nodded. Ian also adjusted his posture and sat properly. A boom sounded from behind him.
When he glanced over, he saw the earth and sky colliding in real time. But the range was a little different from before.
‘…It feels like they’re closer than earlier.’
It was not… his imagination. The chains that had clearly been slamming down only on the horizon had now drawn close enough for him to make out their overall shape. They were moving incredibly fast; in a few more minutes, this place too seemed likely to be crushed.
“It’s because I’m forcibly maintaining the space.”
Noticing Ian’s gaze, Terry spoke. Her blue hair spilled downward along with the tilt of her head.
“Originally, the music box should have broken the moment I appeared in the dream. But I’m using the chains to slow down the collapse of the space however I can, so this phenomenon is happening.”
“Then this place we’re in will eventually be smashed too.”
“Right…? But don’t worry. Th-there won’t be any pain. Humans die in dreams all the time anyway.”
That was also true, so Ian let Terry’s words pass with a bitter smile.
In any case, what mattered was that this space was still safe for now. He did not need to worry about it suddenly collapsing one second later, so it seemed fine to talk at ease for a while. The problem was that he had not decided on a topic, so he did not really know what to talk about.
To begin with, the reason Ian had decided to face the Hermit’s Shackles was to get at least a rough grasp of what sort of disposition she had.
The Reconstruction of All Things had a personality closer to that of a divine being than a human. Her emotions rarely changed, and as always, her expression was often blank. However, apart from that, she did feel emotions clearly, and she had a rather strong possessive streak. Her way of speaking was gentle, and her behavior was old-fashioned.
The Lord of the Outer Sea was excessively human for a god. She was spontaneous and impulsive, and above all else, honest with her own emotions. She was skilled at using facial expressions, so all of her feelings showed on her face as well.
In that way, the Lord of the Outer Sea was an Outer God who was the complete opposite of the Reconstruction of All Things in every respect.
Yet even those two had one thing in common: when it came to Ian, they were more indulgent than anyone.
Thinking about it, it was extremely ironic. Did it make sense, by common standards, for a great god from beyond the world to cater to the whims of a mere human? Even the gods in Greek and Roman mythology often treated humans like dirt, didn’t they?
But just because something was questionable did not make it any less true.
Until Ian died—and perhaps even after his death—the two Outer Gods would surely continue sending him blind love. Having already met both of them, Ian was more certain of that than anyone.
That was why he needed to understand the intentions of the one remaining variable as well. After all, gaining definite reassurance was more important than leaving behind a single unknown.
So Ian had forcibly created this occasion to confirm what sort of feelings the Hermit’s Shackles held toward him.
He obtained the result in less than a few minutes. He had received, as an answer, the sort of long delusional novel one might see on some online community.
Thanks to that, he had run out of things to say for the remaining time.
‘I can’t exactly ask, “How have you been all this time?”… What should I talk about?’
Thinking that, Ian glanced at Terry.
As if she was happy just to be with Ian, she kept wriggling her toes without pause and giggled with a “hehe.” It was a foolish sort of laugh, but because of that, it felt all the more harmless.
Of course, in reality, that probably was not the case.
“Hmm.”
Ian thought for a long while longer, then simply said whatever random thought came to mind.
“The Lord of the Outer Sea said she’d have one of the Outer Sea’s creatures eat me and take me away. Do you have anything like that? A method of kidnapping me?”
“Me? I’m planning to descend when you die and forcibly bind a contract to your soul…? One that says you can never leave my side for all eternity, and can never go anywhere outside my sight.”
Terry answered immediately. As if embarrassed, she lowered her head deeply and let out a heated breath with a faint “haa.”
“As for your body, I can just make you a new one… Ah, I’ll make it in a human form you’re familiar with, so you can relax! Personally, I think the way you look now is the absolute best!”
“…Can the contract be broken?”
“Huh? There’s no such thing. Why would you ask that?”
Terry tilted her head. Ian felt a distinct chill run down his spine at that gesture, from which he could sense no malice whatsoever.
Feeling that continuing to drag out the same topic would only make him feel sick, Ian quickly changed the subject.
Or rather, he tried to. Until the edge of the bed suddenly melted into black water.
“Ugh!”
When one of the bed’s supports melted away, its center of gravity naturally shifted. The bed tilted downward with gravity, making Ian’s body sway on its own, while Terry, still seated in midair, seemed to sense something and sniffed.
Immediately after, her face crumpled.
“F-fishy smell…!”
“Darling!”
The shout came at the same time. From within the black water, which had not merely melted but pooled into a puddle, a girl in a black dress suddenly rose up. With eyes as red as blood, she hugged Ian tightly and beamed.
“It’s been so long, darling! Have you been well?”
“…Lord of the Outer Sea?”
Ian looked down at the girl with a frown. The Lord of the Outer Sea, who had melted like water in an instant and then reappeared in his arms, pecked a kiss on the tip of Ian’s chin.
“Yep! I’m here! Really, if you were going to hold an event like this, you should have called me too! Isn’t that a bit too much?”
“…No, more importantly, how did you even get here?”
“There are always ways! A wife should always know where her husband is.”
“That’s morbid jealousy.”
“Minor details!”
She buried her face in Ian’s chest and shook her head vigorously. Then she smiled sweetly at Terry, who was looking at her with an expression of disgust.
“Hello, dimwit? This is the first time we’ve talked face-to-face like this, isn’t it? We haven’t met before, have we?”
“…Hieee…”
“But you damned bitch. How dare you enjoy a secret tryst with my husband behind my back? You really want to die, don’t you?”
“I-it’s not like that…!”
“Getting casual with me, are you?”
The Lord of the Outer Sea glared. At that terrifying gaze, Terry flinched for a moment, then protested in a timid voice.
“Y-you spoke casually first…!”
“You? Did you just say ‘you’ to me? And you crazy bitch, how dare you raise your voice in front of me? Are you asking for war?”
“T-then do it!”
Terry squeezed her eyes shut and shrieked.
The Lord of the Outer Sea’s eyes went wild. She sprang to her feet, shedding bloody tears as she strode toward Terry. With each step, black seawater followed her like a shadow, and from within it came the sounds of beasts and water.
If left alone, it seemed one of them would die on the spot, so Ian hurriedly stopped the two of them.
“For now, both of you stop and sit down.”
“My dear is right. Hurry up and sit down. You don’t have to go out of your way to show how uncultured you are. We all know already.”
“…?”
An unexpected agreement came back. When he instinctively turned his head, Lea standing beside him entered his sight.
Wearing nothing but a pure white negligee, she clicked her tongue and looked down at the two of them.
“Is it because you’re still young? Are you incapable of proper thought? Why create a situation that would make my dear uncomfortable for no reason?”
“You stay out of this. If you’re going to run your mouth, take out the arms hidden behind your back first. Ah, you can’t, can you? Because even you know how disgusting they are.”
“You should take out your scales first, then. How long do you intend to keep wearing that brat’s skin? Ah, I see. That appearance is exactly suited to your level. My mistake. I apologize.”
“Shall I kill you?”
“I didn’t know how to interpret the blubbering sounds of a fish. What did you say?”
The Lord of the Outer Sea and Lea stared at each other and tilted their heads. A murderous air, as though they would leap at each other at any moment, settled like mist. Ian watched the sight for a moment, then let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“You two should take it easy too. It feels like you fight every time I see you.”
“But, darling! That bitch started it!”
“I said take it easy. I’d appreciate it if you understood what I’m saying.”
He tossed the words out with an expressionless face. At that remark, which was practically no different from a warning, the Lord of the Outer Sea eventually backed down first. She pouted and approached Ian, slipping neatly into his arms.
“Okay… I get it, so please just don’t hate me…”
“I don’t hate you. As long as you don’t cause me harm.”
“I have no intention of doing that!”
“Then I won’t have any reason to hate you in the future either.”
“That’s a relief!”
“Yeah, that’s a relief.”
“Hehe!”
The Lord of the Outer Sea rubbed her face against Ian’s chest.
For some reason, the strange feeling that he was soothing a child drifted through Ian’s mind, but he quickly gathered his thoughts and turned to Lea.
“How did you get in? I put the grimoires down so they wouldn’t overlap precisely because I thought this might happen.”
“I was lucky.”
As Lea walked toward Ian, she explained how she had entered.
To summarize briefly, the Book of Contracts connected to the music box had spun a splendid 540 degrees through the air, revealing the back of its cover, and the two grimoires had rubbed their bodies against it with all their might, allowing them to enter the dream.
It was an absurd story, but the very fact that Lea was here was as good as proof that it was true. She plopped down in the seat beside Ian and looked back at Terry.
“This is the result of getting greedy for no reason. Isn’t that right, loser?”
“…Uh.”
Terry did not answer.
No, she could not answer. From the moment the Reconstruction of All Things appeared, her body had been trembling as if she had been electrocuted.
“Uhhh…!!”
Like a dog that had met a dogcatcher.
A learned fear slowly encroached upon her brain. Ian stared at her with a look that seemed to say, “What’s wrong with that one now?” before suddenly recalling a conversation he had heard before and letting out a sigh.
‘Come to think of it, didn’t Lea say she once met the Hermit’s Shackles in the past and tore off all her limbs?’
The moment he thought that—
“Hiaaak!!”
Terry’s face filled with terror as she clutched her thighs tightly. Then she shrieked.
“N-not my legs and arms! You tore them off exactly 4,271 times back then and didn’t even give them back…!”
At the cry, which sounded not merely pitiful but downright miserable, Ian looked back at Lea.
“…I’m not that violent a woman.”
She quietly averted her gaze as she answered.