There Is No World For ■■

The impromptu "interrogation" unfolded in an unexpectedly relaxed atmosphere.

Josef and his men suggested breaking a limb or two, but Yeomyeong rejected the idea.

Was it because of Balagu's connection to the knight? That might have been part of it, but mostly, it was thanks to Dovan, the knight in question, willingly spilling everything he knew.

There was no need for torture, not even a broken finger—he began divulging sensitive information the moment the alcohol hit his bloodstream.

“Uh... something strange? The Court Lord... hic... is always strange, though.”

“I don’t mean that. I mean if he’s done anything particularly unusual recently, like appointing a stranger or starting an unexpected project.”

Yeomyeong poured Dovan another beer as he asked.

Dovan, his nose bright red, glanced at the beer mug, took a bite of a potato, and responded.

“A strange person? Maybe... Ekaterina?”

“...Ekaterina? And who’s that?”

“A knight with a spear as big as a person’s torso... She’s really strong, beautiful, and...”

“And?”

“No matter how I think about it... she seems like an Earthling.”

“....”

An Earthling? The name Ekaterina was already Russian-sounding, so it wasn’t hard to imagine she might be from Earth.

Before Balagu could interject, Dovan added,

“The Court Lord hates Earthlings... so it’s really strange.”

“....”

“Sometimes it even looks like he’s groveling to her... Maybe she’s from some important family...?”

As Dovan’s ramblings dragged on, Balagu interrupted,

“Forget about her for a second. What about the Court Lord himself? Has he been acting strange?”

Dovan shrugged.

“The Court Lord... he’s always strange. He doesn’t care about the city; he only focuses on the imperial palace. Oh, right!”

Suddenly, he slammed his mug onto the table.

“Now that I think of it, he didn’t prepare anything this year.”

“Prepare what?”

“The Emperor’s Celebration.”

Yeomyeong immediately recognized the term.

The Emperor’s Celebration was a public holiday in the empire beyond the dimensional gates, marking the birthday of the reigning emperor.

“Every year, he’d send extravagant gifts, enough to drain his coffers, but this year... hic... he was freaking out about ordering dinosaur bones, then ended up preparing nothing at all.”

“...Dinosaur bones? That’s certainly peculiar.”

“Well... it’s lucky, I guess. Hic... This year, the train was destroyed, so he couldn’t have sent anything anyway.”

“....”

Yeomyeong’s golden eyes grew cold.

So cold, in fact, that Balagu, sitting nearby, felt a shiver run down his spine. But Dovan, oblivious, buried his head in his beer mug and continued rambling.

“That guy... luck’s definitely on his side. If you want to climb to a high position, you need luck. It’s almost like he knew the train would be destroyed ahead of time.”

At that, Dovan reached for a can of spam and began scooping chunks out with a spoon, the greasy smell wafting through the room.

While Yeomyeong mulled over something, Dovan’s gaze shifted toward Seti, who was sitting across the inn.

“...Even the staff here are gorgeous. Hey, miss! Bring me a beer, will you?”

Balagu grimaced at the comment, but Seti wordlessly grabbed a beer bottle and approached the table.

The moment she got close, Dovan reached out toward her backside and asked,

“Pretty thing, how much for a night?”

In this city, such behavior was par for the course.

But the people gathered here weren’t ordinary city dwellers, and their reactions were anything but typical.

The instant Dovan’s hand was about to touch Seti’s rear—

Bang!

Yeomyeong grabbed the back of Dovan’s head and slammed his face into the table.

The force of the impact cracked the old table, and Dovan slumped over without so much as a scream.

Startled by the sudden noise, Josef and the others turned their attention to Yeomyeong, but he nonchalantly dumped Dovan’s unconscious body onto the floor.

“...Is he dead?”

Balagu asked, looking down at his unfortunate companion.

Yeomyeong shrugged.

“He’s not dead. We got some useful information... though he’ll have a nasty hangover in the morning.”

“Well, that’s a relief. Would’ve been a waste to lose him like this.”

Yeomyeong muttered that it would be best to meet somewhere else next time and stood up.

Despite the heavy atmosphere, Seti smirked and poked Yeomyeong in the side.

“You really don’t know how to hold back, do you?”

“...That was holding back.”

The two exchanged words as they ascended to the second floor.

Once they were out of sight, Neti, still peeling a potato, remarked dryly,

“Seriously, it’s tough being single around here.”

*****

Yeomyeong awoke in someone else’s dream.

He realized it immediately.

He had closed his eyes in bed but opened them in the dark, damp sewers.

Why was he suddenly inside someone else’s dream? Could it be Mignium’s doing? The thought crossed his mind but was quickly dismissed.

Mignium’s taste leaned more toward the grandiose than filthy sewers.

"Well, let’s see who’s playing tricks."

As Yeomyeong wandered through the dreamlike sewers, a voice called out from the darkness.

“...So it connects after all.”

A red-haired, one-armed elf emerged from the shadows.

What was his name again? Yeomyeong tilted his head, and the elf added,

“I’m Pinel. Yeomyeong.”

“...Pleasure to meet you, Pinel.”

“You don’t seem too surprised. Are you used to things like this?”

Was he asking if Yeomyeong was accustomed to entering other people’s dreams, or meeting others in dreams? Either way, it was a vague question.

Yeomyeong shrugged instead of answering.

Pinel stared at him for a moment, then sighed.

“This is the World Tree’s dream. Only elves or those recognized by the World Tree can enter here.”

“...I’m not an elf, nor do I recall receiving the World Tree’s recognition.” 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“Exactly. That’s the problem.”

Pinel turned away without another word. Though he didn’t tell him to follow, Yeomyeong trailed leisurely behind.

The sound of water splashing echoed as Pinel asked abruptly,

“Yeomyeong, do you know what the World Tree is?”

A big tree? Yeomyeong swallowed the words that rose to his lips and shook his head.

“I only know the name.”

“The World Tree... hmm, I don’t know if this is the right way to put it, but it’s like a bridge connecting reality and unreality.”

“....”

"Elves use the power of the World Tree to share their dreams. Because of this, we can fundamentally understand one another in a way humans never could."

This was new information—something neither documentaries nor textbooks had ever mentioned.

"...Why are you telling me this?"

"Because our dreams are connected. For a human recognized by the World Tree, this much is worth sharing."

"...?"

"You look confused. Haven’t you already shared dreams with another elf before?"

Dreams connected with another elf? Yeomyeong shook his head—he had never...

But then, a memory surfaced: the dream where he faced his own killing intent. In that dream, his killing intent had taken the form of Miridis, bearing an uncanny resemblance that seemed far too intentional to be mere coincidence.

"...."

Yeomyeong fell silent, but Pinel continued explaining.

"Well, you’re not the first of your kind. Before America invaded us, the World Tree sometimes recognized beings other than elves."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. The last one to be recognized was the Border Count."

The Border Count. Yeomyeong could believe it. The man was a legendary hero who defended the land against the United States.

Though, ironically, the land he protected had ended up in France’s hands with nothing more than a signed document.

"So, what’s your reason for connecting dreams with me? If this is about leaving the Eastern Court Lord’s proposal, I—"

"...No, it’s not that. Vikoff might’ve been disappointed, but it’s none of my concern."

None of his concern? Did that mean they weren’t allies? Yeomyeong narrowed his eyes.

"Then why?"

"To spy on reality through a dream, it’s better to have two than one. Like having two eyes."

"...Spying on reality?"

Yeomyeong stopped walking, puzzled.

At that moment, a bright light suddenly flared in the distance, illuminating the sewer.

Reflexively shutting his eyes against the blinding flash, Yeomyeong reopened them to find the dreamscape transformed.

The sewer was gone, replaced by a stark white room.

The walls were lined with massive glass cylinders, reminiscent of a cheap horror film’s laboratory.

But what stood out most was the source of the earlier light.

"...The World Tree Crystal."

Suspended in the center of the room, it was far larger than the fingernail-sized fragment he had received from Dalma in Manchuria.

This one was at least as big as a basketball, possibly larger.

Yeomyeong, mesmerized by its pale green glow, instinctively reached out, but Pinel grabbed his arm.

"Don’t touch it. You’ll wake up."

"...."

Without further explanation, Pinel silently examined the room, particularly the glass cylinders lining the walls.

Following his gaze, Yeomyeong noticed the creatures floating within.

Long-snouted, covered in black fur, with grotesque tails and massive front teeth—they were rat beastmen.

They looked exactly like the ones he had wiped out in the sewers recently.

No, upon closer inspection, they weren’t just similar—they were identical.

"Clones...? Or should I say, cloned beastmen."

As Yeomyeong tried to piece things together, Pinel stopped in front of the last cylinder and muttered,

"Just as I thought. They’re cultivating beastmen using the World Tree’s mana."

"...Cultivating beastmen? Why bother with something so pointless? It’s not like they’re planning to sell beastman meat."

"If it were for meat, it’d actually make more sense. These are soldiers."

"...Soldiers?"

It hit Yeomyeong then. In the sewers, the rat beastmen had been walking in neat formations.

They hadn’t just been gathering—they were...

"...Marching?"

Why? What purpose could a beastman army serve? Even the modern U.S. military had abandoned the idea as inefficient.

As these questions filled Yeomyeong’s mind, Pinel spoke defensively.

"Now that I think about it... the rat beastmen, the smell of their blood mixed with the World Tree’s mana—it’s no wonder I suspected you."

"...."

So this was his excuse for the ambush? Yeomyeong narrowed his eyes and replied,

"How is that relevant to your attack? And come to think of it, I never received compensation after your apology."

At the mention of compensation, Pinel shrugged his lone shoulder.

"Compensation? If you want it, go see our leader later and get it directly."

"If you didn’t want to give me anything, you could’ve just said so."

"No, I’m serious. Since it’s been a long time since a human was recognized by the World Tree, our leader would—"

"Would...?"

"Would—"

"Would—"

"...?"

Suddenly, Pinel’s voice was drowned out.

To be precise, all of Yeomyeong’s senses were overtaken by a single sound. His vision blurred, and his body bristled with a familiar sensation.

Yeomyeong frowned and turned toward the World Tree Crystal.

Though the crystal had no eyes, Yeomyeong felt as though it was staring directly at him.

And in the next moment—

"Who are you? Are you the new anomaly?"

The strange voice that spoke was identical to the one Yeomyeong had heard after consuming the World Tree fragment in Manchuria.