Chapter 59: The Deal

“Next, I will explain how this footage allowed us to determine that you can travel between different worlds.”

Right. The footage certainly made it look as if I had vanished in an instant, but it didn’t prove that I could travel between worlds.

They could just as easily have concluded that I possessed something like teleportation or a psychic ability that prevented others from perceiving me. Yet an organization with “Isekai” in its very name existed. In that case, could it be—

“In the past, we made contact and conducted transactions with several other honored visitors.”

“!”

Rain had told me about the rules governing Blessed People. Two Blessed People with the same Unique Skill never appeared in the same era, but people with identical Unique Skills had existed in the past.

So there had indeed been other Blessed People with [Return to Japan], and this organization had contacted them. That explained how it knew about the other world, magic, magic tools, and even the [Return to Japan] skill.

“Those individuals traveled freely through the other world to places they had previously visited in Japan. They also possessed devices that used technology absent from this world. We attempted to contact them, learned of the other world’s existence, and founded this organization.”

I see. So the organization had been established because they had made contact with previous holders of [Return to Japan].

“…Incidentally, how did you find those earlier visitors? Satellite photography wouldn’t have existed in the distant past, and obtaining security-camera footage couldn’t have been so easy, could it?”

I asked my first question. After being investigated this thoroughly, it seemed difficult to talk my way out of anything, and I wanted to hear the details too.

“Yes, that is correct. Apparently, one individual approached a police officer and insisted that they could travel to another world. That was how the other world’s existence first came to light. In another case, an individual repeatedly committed thefts and vanished instantaneously from the scene. An investigation began, and it was eventually determined that the ability was not psychic power, but the power to travel between this world and another.”

“………………”

I see. Like me, those people might have had no official identity. Perhaps, after running out of options, they sought help from the police or turned to crimes such as shoplifting.

I hadn’t wanted to commit a crime either, but if I had been pushed to the brink of starvation, my last resort might have been shoplifting. There had always been a real chance that I would be discovered that way.

If they knew about [Return to Japan], they also knew I could return to the other world instantly even if they restrained me. That explained why they hadn’t intended to oppose me from the outset.

“For now, I understand what sort of organization ISEO is. What exactly would this deal involve?”

“Thank you for placing your trust in ISEO. Regarding the transaction, we can fulfill your wishes to the greatest extent possible. We can provide funds and supplies needed for your activities in Japan, a safe place to live, and virtually anything else.”

“Virtually anything… That is quite a claim.”

“That is how valuable another world is. Perhaps saying it is worth tens of thousands of times more than rare metals or crude oil will convey some sense of its value. Magic operates on principles entirely different from modern Japanese technology, and what we are particularly interested in are the potions found in the other world. They completely surpass modern medicine and could enable research into cellular processes, DNA and genetics, regenerative medicine, immortality, and many other fields.”

I see. Researching potions and high potions might lead to dramatic advances in modern medicine.

And like the elixir that had healed Haruka-chan, the ability to restore people with injuries that modern medicine couldn’t treat would be incredibly attractive.

“There are also new energy resources, unknown substances, four-dimensional theories, biology, and every other field imaginable. Another world is an extremely valuable thing. If you provide us with such materials, we will prepare compensation appropriate to their value.”

Magic, an unknown form of energy; mithril, magic stones, and other substances absent from this world; new theories and principles; monsters, entirely unknown forms of life.

…Now that she said it, the other world truly was a mountain of treasure. It was a gold mine that could advance all manner of fields, and in exchange for its resources, they seemed willing to provide almost anything.

“Past examples include an official identity in Japan, a mansion, and self-defense equipment. Some honored visitors also asked for delicacies from around the world or a private island.”

“An identity, a mansion… and even a private island?”

The earlier Blessed People must also have been reincarnators who struggled because they lacked official records. But a private island? They could obtain even that? It certainly conveyed how impressive—or dangerous—this organization was…

“Your request need not be for a physical object. For example, we could arrange any outcome you wish for Mitsuru Gondo, who was arrested following the recent incident. We confirmed that Aoi Kurosaki had no one especially close to her, so I presume you caused that incident at the request of Aoi Kurosaki, who had reincarnated in another world?”

“………………”

They had uncovered that much too…

They apparently knew even about reincarnation and had already identified Aoi’s family. The thoroughness of their investigation was almost disturbing.

“We can also arrange women, among other things. If you would like, honored visitor, you may try sleeping with me. What do you think?”

“Cough! Cough, hack!”

Shaken by how much they knew about Aoi, I had been drinking water to calm myself, only for it to go down the wrong pipe.

With a perfectly straight face, Yonomiya-san had suddenly said something outrageous…