Finally, the truth of the 'transference' is told by the mouth of the Apostle. Murata listened to her words with bated breath. He had never imagined that he would be the first to arrive at the answer that the Japanese government had been pursuing.
"In short... a natural phenomenon."
"...Huh?"
Murata stood there, dumbfounded at the words. Looking at his stunned expression, Geral continued her explanation.
"The phenomenon of moving something to a different world is not particularly unusual... Well, it's not often that an entire country is transported to another world..."
Murata was again surprised by the truth that 'otherworldly transference' is not an uncommon phenomenon. The transference that led Japan to an unprecedented national crisis was a mere natural phenomenon that had no meaning whatsoever. He was stunned, but Geral continued to explain.
"Every world has a trigger device that sends something to another world or attracts something from another world. Of course, your world has one too. In this way, each world is exchanging information without knowing each other. New information from different worlds is the key to further development. This is the system that the gods have devised."
"...!"
At this point, Murata notices something. It was that her explanation answered several questions that Japanese researchers had.
First of all, the reason why the fantasy creatures and demi-humans that inhabit this world have almost everything in common with the legends of their world, because the 'legends' that are prevalent on Earth were brought from other worlds through the transference that has been occurring until now. It is even possible that elves caught up in the transference really existed in medieval Europe. The Japanese term "kamikakushi" (spirited away) can be considered to be a phenomenon similar to otherworldly transference.
Secondly, the reason why the germs and viruses in this world are almost the same species as those in the original world and cause the same contagious diseases is probably due to the fact that various microorganisms have jumped to each world through transference. It is possible that each world shares the same microorganisms across time and space.
"The 'Material Realm' in which we live is like a tributary that suddenly appears and disappears, following around the two eternal rivers, the 'Realm of the Gods' and the 'Realm of the Dead.' The Gods see each Material Realm from the Realm of the Gods in which they dwell. Sometimes they interfere... And they give the title of Apostle to prospective candidates in each world, and give them various roles in that world. Among them, I was given the role of repose of the souls sunk in the sea."
The earth and many Material Realms including this Terralus were, so to speak, like tributaries that appeared and disappeared on a whim. The 'great river' connected to these tributaries is the Realm of the Gods and the Realm of the Dead, two higher-dimensional worlds. It is said that the higher-dimensional being called God, who resides in the Realm of the Gods, often creates tributaries and makes them all similar to each other. Murata, having heard this explanation up to this point, envisioned a possibility.
"...So it is possible that there are Apostles in our world as well?"
In Earth, too, there are figures such as Yaobikuni and the Count of St. Germain who are legendary for their immortality. Murata had a hypothesis that they might have been the Apostles in this world.
"...I don't know. Usually, Apostles are chosen from mages, so I wonder how it would be in your world where there is no magic or magical power."
Geral responded thoughtfully, putting her hand over her mouth. It seems more likely that these are just made-up stories.
"I have never been to other worlds, and I have only heard bits and pieces of God's voice, so I can't say for sure, but your world without magic is probably... quite heretical... The gods create all accidental Material Realms in a similar way. Therefore, your world, where magic did not flourish well and demi-humans were not existed, is a failure, if I may say so..."
"...!"
Geral told him that the world in which the Earth exists is a failure. Apparently, the world is a healthy place where demi-humans and magic existed. Murata was shocked to hear this unexpected fact, and asked another question.
"...Is the reason why the spoken language of our world is different from that of this world, and why each nation and ethnic group is different and cannot communicate with each other, also because our world is a failure?"
Murata asked another question of the researchers: "Why there are no barriers of spoken language in this world."
"...Maybe. There are spirits in the world called 'Spirits of Speech' that control the spoken world. Perhaps this is also a system created by the gods, who decided that the inability to communicate is a source of unnecessary strife. But humans never stop fighting... Since each spirit including the Spirit of Speech is powered by magic, perhaps this system is not working at all in the world where you were."
"I see... So a world with magic, demi-humans, and no language barriers is the 'proper world'..."
Murata had a difficult expression on his face when he heard the truth about the world as described by Geral. Although he was intrigued by the truth, which had room for many other explanations, he was also shocked to learn that the world he and his friends had come to call home was a failure. If their world had been a world where there were no barriers between languages and where communication was easier, it is not to say that conflicts would have been eliminated, but there would have been many conflicts that could have been avoided. Because of the world was flawed, there must have been a lot of blood spilled.
"...But I think that 'your world,' which developed civilization and technology to a degree that this world cannot follow, is something to be proud of, even with the disadvantage of not having magic. You have come so far from a situation where you were as good as losing the blessings of the world, so to speak... Don't worry, even without magic and magic power, you already have enough power to overcome the disadvantage."
"...!"
Geral spoke soothingly to the discouraged Murata. He understood exactly what she meant by power to overcome the disadvantage of not being able to use any magic. The name of that power was 'science,' the very crystallization of 'human power' that had created an industrial civilization without the blessings of the gods.
"...That's right. Even if my world is defective... there is no shame in it!"
Encouraged by her words, Murata replied with a big smile. Geral, watching him, chuckled.
"...Then it's your turn. Why don't you tell us your story?" Geral asked Murata.
She was also interested in the information he would bring to her.
"Okay... where do I start?"
"Well, let's start with a little personal history..."
"Hmm..."
Murata wondered where to start with the subject 'personal history' that Geral had asked for. Soon after, he had a clear idea of what she wanted to talk about, and began to tell his own personal story.
"Well... let's start with my birthplace. I was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, where cattle breeding and rice cultivation flourished. I was..."
The conversation between the two, with one table between them, continues until midnight. Geral was enjoying them, listening to Murata's stories about himself and the country of Japan. But when she finally ran out of things to talk about and saw that Murata was at a loss of what to talk about next, she looked out the window with a satisfied smile on her face.
"...It's getting late, isn't it? I can't tell from here," Geral said as she looked out the window and got up from her chair.
Murata checked his watch and found that it was already 01:00.
"The wound should heal in about three days, so I don't mind if you stay here and relax until then. You're still separated from your people, right?"
"...Ah."
Murata first realizes the sourness of the current situation he is in when Geral pointed it out to him. The transceiver Murata was carrying had been damaged by the impact of the fall into the cavern, and he was unable to contact the resource survey team.
"Um... how long did it take me to wake up after I fell into the cavern?"
"Well... almost two days."
"!!"
Murata is shocked to hear her answer. The survey team had planned a week-long search, and a day had elapsed on the road before they first reached the Grassall volcanic area. Although the Grassall volcanic area is as large as the 23 wards of Tokyo, the actual area that can be explored is rather limited because it is a volcanic area dotted with active volcanoes. If they were to visit only the places of interest, they would probably be able to complete their tour in three days. However, there was a major miscalculation. Unbeknownst to Murata, the survey team had accidentally succeeded in making contact with the Lime immediately after he fell into the crevasse, and had already found a gold mine the next day, guided by the Lime youth, Beloborg.
"T-then... if I don't join them soon... it will be bad!"
"!"
Murata was frustrated, feeling in danger of being left behind. Seeing him like this, Geral also realized the current situation.
"...W-wait a minute. I'll let them search for your friends!"
Geral exclaimed and held her hand in the air. Immediately after, a number of visible spirits appeared around Geral.
"Fly... to the Grassal volcanic area!"
With that, Geral exclaimed and countless spirits flew high into the sky. The crowd of souls that had escaped from the underground cavern to the ground headed for the volcanic zone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Notes: There is a scene in the chapter where Geral mentions that "there are times when the gods interfere," but the gods are basically non-interfering and non-surreptitious to each world and do not interfere unless there is a "world collapse level" calamity.