The spatial quake alarm had ended, and people once again left their shelters. It wasn’t long before the streets had returned to their normal state, though the battle that had been waged by the young girls had caused some damage. However, for Fang Zheng, compared to everything before his eyes, the issue with Yoshino by his side was clearly more serious. ƒreewebɳovel.com
"Yoshino, would you like something to drink?"
Yoshino shook her head in response to Fang Zheng’s inquiry. She lowered her head and fixated on the ground, remaining silent. Seeing the little one so dejected, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but sigh in resignation.
Through his conversation with Mana Suginomiya, Fang Zheng had come to understand a few pieces of information. First, this world was divided into the Present Realm and the Borderland, with the Present Realm being where ordinary people lived, while the Borderland was the empty city without a soul that Fang Zheng had arrived at during his time travel. According to Mana, elves were residents of the Borderland, but even they didn’t know what the Borderland was like.
In a nutshell, the backdrop of this world was that one day, a massive disaster known as a "spatial quake" occurred. Afterwards, people observed the existence of elves and discovered that their appearance could trigger spatial quakes. However, this news was concealed by the higher-ups, and for the majority of the ordinary population, the spatial quake was simply considered some kind of "natural disaster" like an earthquake or hurricane.
To address the disaster, various nations established a special unit named AST, geared specifically towards the elves. They were "magicians," utilizing something called a "CR unit" to battle the elves. After all, the power possessed by the elves wasn’t something ordinary people could contend with. As for why they were all young girls... Fang Zheng didn’t understand either, probably another of those uncle-like settings that only adolescent girls could manipulate.
From a certain perspective, the elves of this world seemed not much different from the Cursed Children Fang Zheng had encountered in the Pitch Black World. However, Fang Zheng wasn’t as enraged as he was in the Pitch Black World. After all, while both had their specific dangers, the reality was vastly different.
In the Pitch Black World, humans actually had a way to control the Cursed Children. But for various reasons, they let them run wild, which was the key to Fang Zheng’s anger. They clearly could have done something but chose not to. In this world, however, faced with the issue of the elves, even if it were Fang Zheng himself, he actually couldn’t think of a better solution. According to Yoshino’s description, whether elves appear in the Present Realm was a very "random" process, meaning she couldn’t control it herself.
So for humans, this became a real problem. If elves could control the occurrence of spatial quakes, maybe the two sides could communicate and then negotiate some kind of agreement. But if even the spatial quakes themselves were uncontrollable, then even if there was communication between the two sides, it wouldn’t yield any results.
Moreover, the greatest disparity between the two parties lay in the spatial quake from thirty years prior.
In the Pitch Black World, although the Cursed Children could transform into Intestinal Creatures, there actually hadn’t been a large-scale event where Cursed Children turned into Intestinal Creatures and slaughtered humans. They were simply reviled because humans projected their fear and anger toward the Intestinal Creatures onto them.
But the elves were different. According to Mana’s explanation, the first spatial quake from thirty years ago resulted in the deaths of one hundred and fifty million people, which was almost the highest casualty figure humanity had faced, aside from nuclear warfare. Precisely because of this, when humans discovered the link between the elves’ appearance and spatial quakes, they naturally developed fear and hostility toward the elves. In fact, many around Mana believed the elves might be some sort of deity or devil that brought calamities, which is why they were referred to as elves.
For Yoshino, this was obviously a massive blow. She had thought that she hadn’t done anything wrong, but after hearing Mana’s words, Yoshino had no choice but to confront reality. Clearly, she understood that her appearances did cause destruction to the surroundings. It was only that Yoshino, having lost her memory, hadn’t thought too much about it. But now, upon learning the real reason behind the attack on her from Mana, Yoshino was visibly disheartened.
Although he hadn’t spent much time with Yoshino, Fang Zheng had already discovered that she was a very innocent, kind child, who didn’t want to get hurt nor did she want to harm others.
But now... the problem clearly wasn’t so easily solved.
"Alright, don’t be so downcast."
Seeing Yoshino’s sagging spirit beside him, Fang Zheng patted her little head and then comforted her.
"Although this reason is indeed somewhat unexpected, at least we know what it is, don’t we? Besides, it’s not like there’s no way to solve this problem..."
"Do you have a way, Mr. Fang Zheng?"
Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, Yoshino lifted her head in surprise and looked at Fang Zheng with hopeful eyes. Faced with Yoshino’s question, Fang Zheng also pondered for a moment.
"Well... currently, I don’t have any good solutions, but..."
As he spoke, Fang Zheng began to recall the sensation of teleportation from earlier. He could feel that the spatial expansion at the time seemed to follow some kind of pattern, but because he had been entirely focused on Yoshino at that moment, he hadn’t spent much mental effort to observe these details. If he could use magic, then perhaps he could find more clues.
Even without the ability to use magic, Fang Zheng is still a Mage!
"Yoshino, every time you appear in the Present Realm, do you always cause such destruction? Think carefully, does it happen every time?"
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s inquiry, Yoshino furrowed her brows and after carefully recalling for a moment, she spoke with some uncertainty.
"Well... it doesn’t seem to happen every single time, there were a few times I suddenly crossed over without causing any destruction!"
Hearing this answer, Fang Zheng’s spirit was also lifted.
"That makes things easier!"
In response to Yoshino’s question, Fang Zheng nodded.
"If every appearance in the Present Realm were to cause a spatial quake, then that would suggest it is likely a fixed phenomenon. However, if you can appear without causing a spatial quake, it means that this phenomenon can potentially be controlled or even eliminated by certain methods and means! As long as we can observe and discern the pattern, we can definitely solve this problem!"
"That’s wonderful..."
Hearing this, Yoshino’s face lit up with a relieved smile, and then she looked up at Fang Zheng.
"Thank you... Mr. Fang Zheng, I have never even thought about this..."
"It’s not your fault."
Seeing Yoshino’s shy, slightly agitated, and nervous face, Fang Zheng also patted her little head. This little one was shy, introverted, and not good with words—it was not very likely for her to consider these issues.
"Since we have already come to this world, let’s take a good look around!"
Soon, Fang Zheng made a decision.
What to do when together with a beautiful and adorable girl?
Of course, go on a date!