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When it came to travel between different worlds, the gods were often not very knowledgeable. After all, though they could create worlds, only the rarest of gods could actually descend into one. Even if they vaguely understood how things probably worked, or could observe how certain numerical shifts affected a world, that was usually as far as their comprehension went. Most gods honestly didn’t care about the finer details so long as the world didn’t collapse, and if something gave the world a bit of stimulation, even better.

Because of that, unless a god was exceptionally attached to their own world, they tended to be quite tolerant of beings from other worlds. Though… maybe my impression was biased. I seldom descended into worlds where the gods weren’t tolerant of me, after all.

In the first place, traveling to another world wasn’t easy. Sometimes more than twenty people got transported all at once, and if you looked across all worlds, someone somewhere was being transferred even at this very moment. But compared to that, the number of worlds not involved with any kind of inter-world travel was overwhelmingly higher. Active inter-world travel, the kind done intentionally, required an absolute certainty that other worlds exist, and an absurd amount of energy to make it happen.

Most worlds where otherworldly summoning occurred were prepared that way by gods from the beginning. A being who could cross worlds on their own, by a method the gods didn’t design, neither through reincarnation nor summoning, was incredibly rare. Aside from divinity-adjacent beings, perhaps one in ten thousand worlds might have one such individual.

Any being capable of something like that likely wouldn’t lose to us gods… but wouldn’t defeat us, either. But if such a being existed within a world, then no one would be able to defeat them, not even a Demigod.

And even if such a being existed, the gods would rarely notice. As long as they didn’t do something drastic, like capturing every spirit in the world or pushing it close to destruction, no god would bother paying attention. Even if they were noticed once, they’d disappear the moment they moved to another world. No matter how powerful they were within a world, that was meaningless outside of it.

“But you know, I can’t help thinking that it’s exactly that kind of being who ends up changing worlds the most.”
“I see. And where does that put you?”
“Hmm… someone who understands the structure of worlds to some degree, but is essentially on the gods’ side. Something like that?”
“Then you’re not interested in me at all, I suppose.”
“Interest isn’t quite the right word. Maybe you’d understand if I said you’re like a character out of a story.”

And so here I was. Having tea in the last surviving forest with an overwhelmingly powerful being. She looked like a high school girl. Dressed like a high school girl. Yet I had never seen a being within any world as powerful as her. Not even compared to the spirits I sometimes glimpsed in my dreams, the ones who witnessed the beginning and the end of worlds.

I was not frightened, personally, but if Fumitsuki were here, she’d be terrified once she sensed this girl’s strength. Neither Fumitsuki nor Lullus could ever hope to fight her. Not that this girl would ever fight them, that wouldn’t happen.

After all, she was, by nature, good to humans and to worlds. She may never be medicine, but she was never poison. She could do almost anything, yet she didn’t try to accomplish anything significant. Even when she acted, it was usually from behind the scenes.

“You phrase things strangely. If I were to interpret what you’re saying, you’re basically offering to support me, aren’t you?”
“I suppose I’m open to it. Whether I can or not is another matter. Anything I can do, you can do too, right?”
“Well, I can teleport, and if I try, I can read people’s minds.”
“So you’re more mischievous than I thought, despite being good.”
“Doesn’t it make me sound more witch-like?”

She giggled softly. It seemed she valued “the vibe” of things.

“In that case, why not wear a big pointed hat and a robe?”
“I actually have them, but I can’t wear them. They may look witch-like, but they don’t feel like me.”
“Ah, so that’s why you wander through worlds. Looking for someone, right?”
“More or less. I’m searching for a child who vanished one day. Someone who looks young, far younger than a high schooler, despite dressing like one. A child who loved magic more than anyone else, and was probably a higher-order being than humans. Ever heard of anyone like that?”
“Unfortunately, no. This kid isn’t the type to eat worlds, right?”
“Of course not. She likes sweets, but she wouldn’t refer to a world as candy… probably.”

What kind of being was she searching for? If they were a higher order than humans, perhaps a Demigod or something similar, at least something of world-level scale. And yet this girl had abandoned her own world and began wandering the multiverse. Which meant the child she was looking for must have been something beyond the scope of a single world. Something closer to a god.

Or something akin to one. Gods existed, so such beings must also exist. I had never seen one, but perhaps some beings could enter worlds on a god-level scale without the gods themselves noticing.

“In any case, I have no leads.”
“I thought perhaps a god might know something… but I suppose not. Well then, if you really don’t mind supporting me, may I ask a favor?”
“As long as it’s not too troublesome.”
“If you ever meet that child, I want you to give her a message.”
“Considering I don’t even know what this child is, that might be difficult.”
“If the time comes, you’ll understand. After traveling through many worlds, I’m certain of it; she’s extraordinarily unusual.”
“I’ll at least hear the message.”
“Tell her: ‘I’ll definitely find you.’ Could you do that?”
“I can. But don’t expect much.”

I couldn’t freely travel between worlds. The chances of meeting such a being were low.

“That’s enough. Well then, I should be going. If the world collapses while I’m here, even I won’t survive it.”

The girl vanished after saying that. She probably departed for a new world.

That aside… I wondered if the god of this world noticed any of that exchange? Probably not.

After all, when I arrived here, the god said there were no animals left. No spirits either. Since the world’s collapse had already been decided, this place was more like an experiment to see what would happen if every world-affecting being were removed. My role was simply to observe from above the world. Fumitsuki and Lullus were left behind to minimize interference.

And amid such desolation, she still existed effortlessly. I approached her out of curiosity, spoke to her out of curiosity, and yet the god of this world never reacted. Partly because she didn’t adhere to this world’s rules, but mostly because her abilities were simply too great.

Frankly, she possessed power that would make the cheat abilities of any summoned hero look laughable. If I had to put it into perspective. If I were to have fought here back when I was just Finis, I would have lost.

I couldn’t help but wonder what she was searching for and where she would go. That was also why I said she felt like something out of a story. Anyone who enjoyed stories had wanted to support their favorite character before, hadn’t they?

Anyway, this world had almost no beings left besides me, but it seemed a peaceful collapse was not meant to be. A world didn’t disappear cleanly unless it reached its natural lifespan. Looking at the ground split cleanly in half, I suppressed a quiet yawn.