Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 104: “Extra Edition: Thor, Mabel, and the Forbidden Astronomy”
(Author’s Note: To commemorate the book publication, I tried writing a side story.
Since it’s a side story, it doesn’t have much to do with the main story.)
While organizing the warehouse, Thorl seems to have found some materials that are a little different from usual…
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“…This information is quite difficult to understand.”
“What’s wrong, Thor-sama?”
This is my workshop in the Reisenga territory.
I was lost in thought in front of the documents when Mabel brought me some tea.
“If you have any troubles, I’m willing to listen…”
“Thanks, Mabel. Then, would you listen to me?”
It’s no good to just keep worrying.
Sometimes talking to someone helps you organize your thoughts.
I’ll have Mabel listen to me as well.
“When I was tidying up the warehouse, I found some documents from another world.”
“Are they books like ‘mail order catalogs’?”
“I wish that had been the case. But unfortunately, what I found this time were only pages torn out from a book.”
I placed the documents in front of Mabel.
The papers are tattered and worn.
The writing is faded and much of it unreadable.
What’s written is in the characters of another world.
Without a doubt, it must have been brought in by the hero.
But only parts of it can be deciphered.
That’s typical of ancient documents… but it’s such a shame.
“This… shows a starry sky. What is this large sphere? On its surface, I can see clouds and seas.”
“It seems to be a depiction of the planet from the hero’s world.”
“A planet!?”
“More precisely, it’s the star where the hero lives. And it was apparently photographed from a very high place.”
The hero’s world is a sphere with vast oceans on its surface.
It was very mysterious and beautiful.
Mabel seemed to think the same, quietly gazing at the picture.
“The hero from the other world could fly that high…”
“The hero’s flight magic is truly fearsome…”
Mabel and I nodded as we stared at the document.
“So this is the world where the hero lived… So this must be an explanatory book about the hero’s world?”
“Not exactly. It writes about the formation of the universe.”
“The universe… so, the starry sky world…?”
“Only part of it could be deciphered… But according to this document, the starry sky world is incredibly vast. The lands where living things exist revolve around the sun, and beyond that, there is an infinite darkness spreading.”
“So that’s how the hero’s world was…”
“Maybe our world is the same.”
“…That’s possible.”
In this world, research on the starry sky world hasn’t progressed much.
Everyone is too busy with matters on the surface.
There are wars between countries and magical beasts.
At most, people only check their location or direction by the position of stars.
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After all, the strongest power, the Dolgaria Empire, believes “strength is the most important thing.”
So they neglect the starry sky world.
Normally, this kind of research should be done by alchemists who explore the mysteries of the world.
If I get the chance, maybe I’ll do some research myself.
“If the starry sky world is that vast, maybe there are demons, demi-humans, and other creatures somewhere in the sky.”
“According to this document, none have been found yet.”
“Is that so?”
“The starry sky world is just too huge. Even traveling at the speed of light, it takes several years to reach another sun.”
“The speed of light is incredibly fast, isn’t it?”
“Super fast.”
“For example, if you stand on a mountain and use ‘light’ magic, it’s visible instantly from the foot of the mountain.”
“That’s right. Even moving at that speed, it takes years…”
“We can’t even imagine how vast the starry sky world really is.”
Mabel and I sighed.
If the starry sky world in this world is like that of the hero’s world — it must be unimaginably vast.
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No telling how long it would take to investigate it from end to end.
The starry sky world is full of mysteries.
It’s beyond the abilities of an alchemist like me.
It’s interesting, but I can’t research it all…
“But, the starry sky world does have a romantic charm.”
“Indeed.”
“Thor-sama… if you don’t mind, would you like to look at the starry sky together tonight? I will prepare warm tea and blankets, and we can place chairs outside and relax.”
“That sounds nice. Let’s do it.”
“Thank you.”
Mabel nodded with shining eyes.
“I’ve discovered secrets of the starry sky world. If possible, I want to talk about them slowly with you…”
“About… the secrets of the starry sky world…”
“Yes, Thor-sama?”
“Well, actually, I found some other documents too.”
I took out another piece of paper from the shelf.
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This is also a page from a book from another world. Like the previous document, its condition is quite poor.
Still, it also contained writings related to the starry sky world.
“This one writes about a sun different from the sun in the hero’s world.”
“A sun so far away it takes years even at the speed of light to reach?”
“No, even further. It’s ‘a sun 100 light years away.’”
“…I can’t even imagine that distance.”
Mabel had a blank expression.
Yeah, it’s just too vast — the starry sky world.
According to the previous document, the starlight we see is actually light from several years ago.
Because the distances are so vast, it takes years for the light to reach us.
I can’t even imagine how huge the starry sky world is —
“So then, what is at that ‘sun 100 light years away’?”
“Well, according to this, ‘Gorongaragon people’ came from a star near that sun, and they built a huge underground empire beneath the hero’s world.”
“…What?”
“That happened thousands of years ago. The ‘Gorongaragon people’ tried to conquer the surface as well, but fought the ancient people of the hero’s world and were pushed underground. Still, they’re said to be aiming to dominate the surface. The ruins scattered around are actually entrances the ‘Gorongaragon people’ use to monitor the surface, and now is the time for their revival—”
“Please wait, Thor-sama.”
Mabel shook her head in confusion.
I understand how she feels.
“According to the previous document, it takes years at light speed to travel to another sun, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then how is it possible for the ‘Gorongaragon people’ to come from a solar system 100 light years away?”
“But… this is written in the hero world’s documents.”
I pointed at the page and read aloud the characters that were still legible.
Only some characters could be read.
But there was astonishing information written there:
‘──Aliens have come to Earth.’
‘──The threat of a fearsome underground empire!’
‘──Traces of extraterrestrials remain in ruins scattered across the world……’
There are also photos or drawings, but unfortunately, they are fading due to aging.
The written texts feel very convincing. It’s hard to think they are lies.
However──
“These two sources contradict each other, don’t they……”
“One of them talks about ‘the vastness of space that we have yet to reach,’ right?”
“Yeah. The other one says, ‘With super technology, they can leap 100 light-years in a single bound.’”
“So, one of them must be wrong?”
“One calmly describes the vastness of space. The other, in a very urgent tone, writes about the threat of the ‘Gorongaragon aliens.’”
“Clearly, these were written by different people.”
“Mabel, which one do you think is correct?”
“The one about the ‘Gorongaragon aliens.’”
Mabel nodded.
“The reason is that the hero summoned from another world was incredibly strong.”
“I understand.”
“If the people in the hero’s world had been fighting the ‘Gorongaragon aliens’ since ancient times, it explains why the hero was so powerful. Because they had always faced threats from the starry sky world, the hero aimed to be the strongest even after coming to this world.”
“That makes sense……”
That’s right.
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If this source is correct, it clarifies why the otherworldly hero was so strong.
We don’t know exactly what kind of creatures the ‘Gorongaragon aliens’ are, but presumably, they are beings completely different from us.
They live in a place that takes 100 years to reach at the speed of light. This is not just another world, but something else entirely.
Their appearance, language, and even way of thinking could be different.
If they had been fighting such creatures since ancient times, it’s understandable that the hero was so powerful.
Thinking that way also explains why the hero summoned into this world adapted so easily.
Compared to the ‘Gorongaragon aliens’ 100 light-years away, otherworldly people are like neighbors.
They probably weren’t surprised to be summoned here.
……This is troubling.
If I accept the existence of the ‘Gorongaragon aliens,’ then I have to accept the explanation for why the hero was so strong.
They are a fearsome existence. Damn those ‘Gorongaragon aliens’……
“But Thor-sama, you think the source about the ‘calm universe’ is the correct one, don’t you?”
Suddenly, Mabel said this.
“……How did you know?”
“I try to watch Thor-sama’s expression carefully to serve properly.”
“Sharp.”
“But it’s strange. If the ‘Gorongaragon aliens’ source was correct, it would explain a lot about the hero’s world, right?”
“But there is one doubt.”
“A doubt?”
“The hero summoned to this world never mentioned the ‘Gorongaragon aliens’ at all.”
“……Ah.”
Mabel’s eyes widened.
It seemed she understood what I was thinking.
If the otherworldly hero had been fighting aliens (or subterranean beings) all along, they would surely have said something about it.
They might have said things like, “This kind of magical beast is nothing compared to the Gorongaragon aliens!” or “Take this! The ultimate magic that can even defeat the Gorongaragon aliens!”—some kind of catchphrase wouldn’t be strange.
But the hero never said a single word like that.
Those heroes, who blindly aimed to be the strongest, would never omit mentioning their world’s invaders—their rivals.
They were a fearsome fighting group who even found worthy rivals within the demon lord’s army and rejoiced.
Also, the otherworldly heroes specialized in light and fire attribute magic.
But if they had been fighting the subterranean empire, then earth attribute magic would be important.
It could be used to dig through the ground and to seal entrances from underground.
Yet the heroes dismissed earth attribute magic as “plain” and disliked it.
They probably had an unyielding sense of aesthetics.
But if they really had been fighting subterranean beings, it would be natural for them to have mastered powerful earth attribute magic.
It’s also unlikely that they would postpone learning effective magic against their enemies.
They raised their levels with maximum efficiency, hunted magical beasts, and fought demons and demi-humans.
Considering all this information together──
“This source must be wrong. We should believe that there were neither aliens nor subterranean beings in the hero’s world.”
“As expected of Thor-sama.”
Mabel nodded repeatedly, convinced.
“It is certainly strange that the heroes left no mention of the ‘Gorongaragon aliens.’”
“In that case, the source about the ‘calm universe’ must be the correct one.”
“That’s a relief. So there were no evil aliens coming from distant stars……”
“That’s right.”
“Now we can safely gaze at the starry sky with Thor-sama.”
I could understand why Mabel felt relieved.
If you were thinking that aliens might attack from beyond the stars, you wouldn’t be able to calmly do any stargazing.
“Perhaps the documents about the ‘Gorongaragon Aliens’ are just a passage from a story.”
“That’s right… Now, about the third document—”
“There’s still more!?”
“The next document is about ruins in the world of the hero.”
I placed the third paper on the table.
It had a picture of a stone structure.
“In the hero’s world, there were buildings where the sun passes directly overhead only twice a year, and ruins used to measure the positions of stars. It seems that the sun and starry sky were important there as well.”
“Is that so?”
“Maybe that was the secret to the otherworldly hero’s strength.”
“If that’s the case, maybe we should also investigate the world of the starry sky here.”
“That’s right. I’ll ask Her Majesty the Demon King if I can make some items for astronomical observation.”
“Maybe it would be good to have a facility for observing the sky too.”
“An observatory, huh… yeah.”
I decided to write a letter to Demon Lord Rukie.
For now, I would tell her about the astronomical observation items and the observatory.
Also… just in case, I thought to attach the three documents and their translations.
While thinking about these things, I began preparing.
—A few days later, at the Demon Lord’s Castle—
“Kelve.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“A request came from Thor, saying ‘I want to build an observatory.’ What do you think?”
This was the throne room of the Demon Lord’s castle.
Demon Lord Rukie faced Chancellor Kelve, holding a parchment.
“He says that by looking at the stars, we might be able to understand the hero better.”
“Looking at the stars?”
“Yes.”
“In that case… maybe he wants to build a watchtower under the pretext of building an observatory.”
“A watchtower?”
“If it’s Thor-sama, he could probably make an item that lets you see far away. If he built an observatory with that item in the Reisenga territory’s mining district, it would be possible to keep an eye on the Empire. Preparing against foreign threats—that’s probably Thor-sama’s plan, isn’t it?”
“Does he think such practical things?”
“Once a year or so, such things might happen.”
“The letter also included documents from the hero’s world and their translations.”
“Documents from the hero’s world? What kind of content?”
“It said, ‘Because these are precious, please read them together with Chancellor.’”
“Understood. Then, I’ll take my leave.”
Chancellor Kelve stood and moved beside the throne.
Then, Demon Lord Rukie and Chancellor Kelve began reading the ‘Documents about the Universe’ from the hero’s world—
“—Hmm hmm.”
“—I see.”
“…So this is the appearance of the stars…”
“…Interesting from a military perspective…”
“…The universe… planets…”
“…I-Is it an invasion!? From beyond the stars!?”
“…So they have been watching the stars since long ago in that world. How romantic…”
“…An underground empire!? Terrifying aliens!? No, according to Thor-sama’s guess, that’s wrong… but… hmm…”
“I see. Sounds interesting. I think we should approve the installation of the observatory.”
“Y-Yes! Let’s permit the building of the observatory. I don’t believe in aliens or anything… but learning about the world is a good thing. There are no aliens, absolutely!!”
Thus, by the decision of the Demon Lord of the Demon Territory and her Chancellor, the installation of the observatory was approved.
Demon Lord Rukie became interested in the universe, and Chancellor Kelve decided to seal away the second document as dangerous information.
Along with that, Thor began making a ‘telescope’ based on the ‘Hero Catalog’—
As a result, a few years later, the astronomy of the Demon Territory made great advancements, and researchers from other countries began to come to ask for instruction…
—but for now, no one knew this yet.
Side story “Thor, Mabel, and the Forbidden Astronomy” — The End.