The Strongest Eriri in History

Chapter 50: Cosmology



"Uh..." Kaori Shirasaki glanced at the spatial portal and then at Eriri, hesitating to speak.

"Do you have any questions?"

"Could Hajime also use the portal on the other side to come to us?"

"Originally, yes." Eriri nodded. "I know what you're thinking, but as I said, I won't specifically go to rescue Hajime Nagumo, so I made this portal a one-way passage."

"Eriri, is it really impossible? Now that the portal is open, bringing Nagumo over is just a trivial matter, isn't it?" Shizuku Yaegashi also chimed in.

"No means no; it's a matter of principle." Eriri showed no sign of backing down.

Seeing the two of them fall silent, Eriri slowly said, "Let's do this: I'll give Hajime Nagumo one more chance. The portal on the other side is visible, but the two sides can't communicate. I'll keep this portal open for five minutes, and I'll open the portals on both ends. Once the time is up, the portal will gradually disappear. Whether Nagumo can come out of the labyrinth depends on his choice."

Pausing, Eriri looked at Kaori and continued, "Of course, if you don't enter before the portal disappears, I won't open it a second time for you. Remember that."

For the next five minutes, Kaori and Shizuku kept their eyes glued to the portal, praying continuously, but it seemed their prayers did not reach their destination.

The five minutes quickly passed, and the portal began to shrink. Ultimately, Hajime Nagumo did not emerge from the portal.

Kaori looked at Shizuku, nodded to her, and decisively stepped into the portal, disappearing with it from the adventurers' guild.

Shizuku, staring at the spot where the portal had been, couldn't snap out of her thoughts. Suddenly, as if realizing something, she grabbed Eriri's arm, her face full of anxiety: "Eriri, the portal was open for five minutes. What if Hajime had already gone far away? If Kaori doesn't find him, won't she be in great danger?"

Looking at Shizuku, who was almost a head taller than her, Eriri reached up with her right hand and patted her head. "Don't worry, no matter how far Nagumo has gone, Kaori will appear right in front of him the moment she steps through the portal."

Relieved by Eriri's answer, Shizuku didn't resist the playful hand on her head. Instead, she crouched in front of Eriri. Despite looking younger, Eriri always made the originally valiant Shizuku feel quite meek.

Arifureta took Eriri's empty left hand, curiously saying, "Eriri, the portal you just opened is quite similar to a world gate; they even look similar."

Eriri pinched Arifureta's soft little hand. "It's a degraded version of the world gate, I suppose, only usable within one world. It can't cross worlds yet, but soon I'll be able to open a world gate myself."

Arifureta froze for a moment, then her face lit up with delight. "Then we can save a lot of points in the future!"

"Of course."

Eriri and Arifureta didn't hide their conversation from Shizuku, who, upon hearing them mention the world gate, was momentarily stunned before standing up, her face full of excitement.

"Eriri, are you talking about the world gate that can traverse worlds?"

"Yes, you got it right."

"Then we have hope of going home..."

At this moment, Shizuku was utterly thrilled. Returning to her original world was her greatest wish, and now the opportunity to fulfill that wish was right before her eyes, filling her with excitement and eagerness.

"Eriri, how can we open a world gate?" Shizuku asked with hopeful eyes.

"Um... Shizuku, I hate to burst your bubble, but for now, you can't possibly do it..."

"What? How is that possible..." Eriri's words felt like a cold shower, extinguishing her hopes. Just moments ago, she was thrilled, but now she felt utterly hopeless.

Then she remembered Eriri and Arifureta's conversation, her eyes lit up, and she grabbed Eriri's right hand, her last hope.

"Eriri, how long until you can open a world gate?"

"Not sure, maybe a few weeks."

Eriri calculated briefly. Since absorbing a bit of world power in the world gate last time, that power had been growing rapidly. At this rate, it wouldn't take more than a few weeks to merge it with cosmic energy while retaining its properties.

Shizuku, looking pitifully at Eriri, pleaded, "Hey, Eriri, when you can open a world gate, could you help us return to our original world? Please?"

Eriri looked at Shizuku oddly. "Actually, Shizuku, if you want to return to your original world, I can send you back right now..."

"What? But you said you couldn't open a world gate yet?" Shizuku looked at Eriri, confused.

After thinking for a moment, Eriri explained, "Actually, your original world and this one are essentially two planets in the same universe. This world's lousy god can't summon people across universes. Generally, summoning happens within the same universe unless you have the ability to cross universes, then you can summon from other universes. Only inexplicable traversals might involve crossing universes."

Pausing, Eriri continued, "And a world gate can cross different universes, so you don't need it to go back. In theory, if you have your world's coordinates, you could return even using a spaceship, provided you have eternal life."

"I see..." Shizuku's eyes widened in realization, having always thought traveling to another world required special means, only to find it looped back to science fiction.


Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.