545 – Countermeasures Against Teleportation, and the Creation of a Sacred Treasure

“Hmph. Looks like they gave it their all, but compared to my Frame Gear, it’s still way behind.”

After finishing her examination of the remains of the one-eyed golem we’d retrieved, the Doctor scoffed with a smug tone.

Well, to be fair, our side had zero casualties while theirs was completely destroyed, so she wasn’t exactly wrong.

Okay, maybe saying “zero casualties” was a bit of a lie. Some of the Chevalier-class heavy knights had sustained moderate damage.

Even so, I’d say we completely overwhelmed them.

“They called that thing a ‘Kukuroposu’ on their end.”

“‘Kukuroposu’? Oh, you mean ‘Cyclops.’ Back in the Ancient Magic Era, that’s what they used to call cyclops. Not exactly a creative naming sense.”

She’s really tearing into them. I mean, it’s not like “Frame Gear” is the pinnacle of naming creativity either, you know?

“That said, it is a pretty daring piece of work. Look here—these engraved magic patterns in the joint parts are well done. With them, the mobility probably increases by 1.2 times, give or take.”

“The waterproofing and resistance to moisture are solid, too. I never expected them to use slime membrane like this. With this setup, it could probably move decently even underwater.”

The Professor and Engineer Elka, who were also analyzing the Cyclops’ remains, made their comments. The Doctor muttered a reluctant, “Well, I’ll give them that,” clearly not happy to admit it.

Oh, right. I had something I wanted to ask.

“Is there a way to prevent teleportation magic? Or rather, a way to stop it from activating in the first place?”

“Teleportation magic? Wouldn’t putting up a barrier work?”

“That’s just to keep them from coming in, right? I mean more like making sure they can’t run away...”

“Ah, you’re talking about that Apostle of the Evil God. Hmm… Since he calls himself an apostle of a god—even a fake one—it might be risky to think of it as ordinary teleportation magic. Touya-kun, even your own 【Gate】 spell could bypass a barrier if you wanted to, right?”

Yeah, I mean, true. If I use divine energy, that kind of thing is possible. And with 【Dimensional Transfer】, there’s basically no place I can’t go.

“Best option is probably a preemptive strike—take them out before they can use it.”

“Hmm… If they’ve got even a second or two, they could escape. That might be tough…”

Unless it’s a one-hit kill, they’ll probably teleport out. It really is a pain.

Even if we tagged them with a tracking device, if they escape to the Ark, we’d never be able to chase them.

“Well, your Black Knight, the Night Baron, recorded some footage of that guy, right? I’ll go investigate the area later, too. Maybe I’ll find something.”

“Sorry for the trouble, but I’m counting on you.”

Hopefully, we’ll find some trace of the teleportation left behind.

I’ll leave this part to the Doctor and head to someone else who might offer some advice.

◇　◇　◇

“Seal teleportation magic? If you use something like 【Prison】 imbued with divine energy, it’s not impossible to contain them...”

When I asked Karen-oneesan during a tea party on the castle terrace with Moroha-neesan, that was the answer I got.

“I thought of that too, but if they’ve got the Evil God’s divine aura, wouldn’t they be able to break through 【Prison】?”

“The quality of divine energy from someone pretending to be a god—or worse, their apostle—is nothing compared to you, Touya-kun, who’s an actual kin of the World God, the Supreme God.”

“Like a mantis trying to block an orichalcum shield, huh.”

Moroha-neesan laughed and nodded at Karen-oneesan’s words. A ‘mantis vs. axe’ situation.

“But using divine power on beings from the mortal world violates the laws of the Divine Realm. Touya-kun, you’ve officially become part of the divine now, so you can’t directly use godly power anymore.”

Crap. I forgot about that. If I don’t imbue 【Prison】 with divine energy, it won’t hold them.

So, they can use divine power (from the Evil God), and I can’t? Isn’t that just cheating?

Honestly, it feels like trying to catch a speeding car that’s running a red light, but you’re stuck in a police car that has to follow traffic rules. Can’t we just call it a “special case” and let me break the rules?

“Huh? But I’ve used 【Search】 with divine energy before...”

“Technically, it’s forbidden to ‘directly use divine power to significantly influence the mortal world.’ So long as it’s outside of that scope, they usually let it slide. But something like defeating an ‘Apostle of the Evil God’ would absolutely be considered a major influence. So direct divine power is probably off-limits.”

So that means I have to beat the Apostle without divine power. I think I can do it… but losing brute-force options hurts.

“Well, there is a loophole, you know…”

“A loophole? If you’ve got a plan, spill it.”

Karen-oneesan paused for a moment as if thinking, then spoke up.

“If you make someone on the mortal plane use a sacred treasure imbued with divine power that seals teleportation, then that’s fine.”

“A sacred treasure that seals teleportation? Does something like that even exist?”

“Probably something similar is lying around in the Divine Realm’s treasure vault. But this approach has its own challenges.”

Moroha-neesan, arms folded and head tilted, nodded in agreement.

Challenges? Well, I figured it wouldn’t be something they’d lend out easily.

“No, depending on the item, they might lend it out. See, the treasure vault in the Divine Realm is filled with everything from carefully crafted items that gods poured their hearts into, to random junk they whipped up for fun and tossed in. It’s a mess. There are so many items, it takes forever just to find anything. The one managing it is the World God, but even they haven’t organized it.”

“How long would it take to find something?”

“We’re talking thousands of years, probably.”

“Thou—!?”

Just searching would take a thousand years!? Who the hell has time for that!?

“They call it a treasure vault, but it’s basically a dump for things they don’t use anymore. Anything truly valuable, a god would keep on their person.”

I mean, gods have something like my 【Storage】 and can stash things in a separate dimension, so that makes sense.

But that’s a problem—I don’t have the luxury of time. Wait, could I just use 【Search】 to find it?

“The vault is designed to seal sacred treasures, remember? I doubt any search magic would even work there.”

“Damn it.”

Well, yeah, that figures. Something that dangerous—even if it’s junk—they’d lock it down tight, especially since it's hazardous on the mortal plane.

“So, in the end, a preemptive strike is our only real option...?”

“Not necessarily. If there’s no sacred treasure, just make one.”

…Huh?

What kind of Marie Antoinette logic is that? “If there’s no bread, let them eat cake”? Though I’ve heard she never actually said that.

“You’re a recognized member of the gods now, Touya-kun. There’s no problem if you make a sacred treasure. Of course, you can’t use it yourself.”

“And if you do make one, you’re responsible for managing it properly. If you just leave it lying around, it could lead to the birth of a new Evil God.”

“Make… a sacred treasure? Me?”

Wait. That’s allowed? That would really solve things.

“What are you talking about? You already used 【Sacred Treasure Creation】 to defeat the Evil God once before.”

“Oh! That’s right…!”

“But that was a one-time thing—an emergency disposable sacred treasure. Not something a human could ever use. If you’re going to make one now, it needs to be something an actual human could wield.”

“A typical divine artifact, huh…”Even if you say that, I honestly have no idea how to make a divine artifact. Back when I fought the Evil God, I was completely acting on instinct...

“Welp, if you want to make a proper divine artifact, it's probably best to get direct instruction. Unfortunately, neither I nor Karen-oneesan are gods related to manufacturing or production, so we can't really teach you.”

Production-related gods? Then maybe Uncle Kousuke, the god of agriculture? No way it's Suika, the god of alcohol, right?

“Poor word choice on my part. I guess it's more accurate to say gods are involved in manufacturing rather than general production.”

Manufacturing, huh…? So, gods who make things? Do I even know any gods like that? Should I go ask one of the World Gods?

“They're around, you know. Remember the gods who descended during the wedding ceremony? There's one who's just perfect for the job.”

“Uh... oh. You mean the god of craftsmanship?”

“Bingo.”

This world has been designated as a resort area for the gods. As an advance team, ten gods had already descended to the surface.

They were the god of dance, god of strength, god of craftsmanship, god of glasses, god of theater, god of dolls, god of wandering, god of flowers, god of gems, and finally, the space-time god, Tokie-obaachan.

If I remember right, the god of craftsmanship was a male god who looked to be in his forties, with streaks of white in his hair tied back, and a dignified moustache on his face.

He wore Japanese-style clothes resembling a samue, the work clothes of craftsmen, and looked every bit the part of a traditional artisan.

“I mean, you could go to the god of glasses or the god of dolls, but those two are a bit… eccentric.”

Karen-oneesan said that with a far-off look in her eyes. Yeah, she has a point. The god of glasses has an almost unholy obsession with eyewear, and the god of dolls—who only talks via ventriloquism—was honestly kind of creepy. If possible, I’d rather go with the god of craftsmanship.

“If I learn from the god of craftsmanship, do you think I’ll be able to make a divine artifact?”

“Well, it’s not something you’ll master in two or three days, but it’s probably a faster path than rummaging through the treasure vaults, don’t you think?”

I hope this doesn’t turn out to be one of those things that doesn’t take a thousand years but still takes nine hundred and ninety-nine…

Wait. Then wouldn’t it be best to just ask the god of craftsmanship to make an artifact that blocks teleportation?

“If you do that, then the responsibility for managing that divine artifact would fall on the god of craftsmanship. I don't think it's fair to push the burden of long-term responsibility onto him.”

“Well, once it’s served its purpose, you could just toss it into the divine realm’s treasure vault, and it should be fine. But since you have the rare opportunity to learn how to make divine artifacts, it wouldn’t hurt to become his disciple, don’t you think?”

What they said makes sense. Casually going, “Just whip one up for me, and you handle the management too, okay?” would be way too irresponsible.

I heard that once a divine artifact is properly transferred, the responsibility also moves with it. Still, since this artifact is something I’ll need for personal use, it makes more sense to create it myself.

“Even if I want to learn how to make divine artifacts, where is the god of craftsmanship, anyway?”

“Huh? Can’t you just use a regular 【Search】 spell to find him?”

“Oh… right…”

Of course. I’ve met him once before, so a basic 【Search】 should work. What a dumb question that was.

Avoiding the exasperated gaze of Karen-oneesan, I opened up the map and searched for the god of craftsmanship.

“Let’s see... Huh? He’s in the capital of the Kingdom of Mismede. That’s... pretty close.”

Looking at the map, the god of craftsmanship showed up in the capital city of Belz in the Kingdom of Mismede. It’s on the outskirts, but it’s still the capital, no doubt about that.

“Oh yeah, Mismede’s got easy access to high-quality clay, ores, wood—you name it. It’s probably a pretty ideal place for the god of craftsmanship to settle down.”

Makes sense. The Great Forest is nearby, so it’s probably easy to get quality timber.

Anyway, this is great news. If he’s there, I can just use a 【Gate】 to visit. Let’s go see him right away.

“In that case, I shall accompany thee!”

“Uwah!? Don’t just pop out of nowhere like that!”

I jumped as Suika suddenly appeared beside me. Quit scaring me like that! I’ve had more than enough of gods popping up out of nowhere!

“…What’s your real reason for coming?”

“Just thought I’d like to pick up some Mismede sake. Oh, and maybe a nice tokkuri and ochoko made by the god of craftsmanship?” {In the context of Japanese sake, "tokkuri" refers to the sake flask or decanter, and "ochoko" refers to the sake cup.}

A tokkuri and ochoko, huh? He makes stuff like that, too? Well, pottery and lacquerware fall under craftsmanship, so I guess it’s not surprising.

At any rate, he’s definitely a god with serious talent in making things. Though, with my limited imagination, all I can picture is a grumpy potter yelling “This piece is worthless!” and smashing failed dishes on the ground...

“Well, anyway, let’s go pay him a visit.”

I opened a 【Gate】 to the Kingdom of Mismede’s capital, Belz.

To avoid drawing attention, I stepped through the gate into a back alley. A wave of blazing sunlight hit us the moment we emerged.

“It’s as hot as ever…”

Compared to Brunhilde, the temperature in Mismede was noticeably higher.It was definitely hot, but not in the sticky, humid way Japan was—it was a dry heat, the kind that actually felt easier to bear.

As we walked through the crowd, the royal castle—looking just like the Taj Mahal—passed by in our peripheral vision.

Being a country of beastkin, all sorts of beastfolk bustled about. A magic-powered railway line would be coming to Mismede next year, so things were bound to get even livelier.

"First stop: the liquor store~!"

"Hold up. Why are we starting there?"

I cut in as Suika practically skipped ahead. Shouldn’t we be heading to the Craft God’s place first?

Suika turned back to me and let out a sigh like, "Honestly, what am I gonna do with you?"Tch. That attitude is kinda irritating...

"Touya-oniichan, you just don’t get it. Do you really think someone’s gonna teach you something if you just show up empty-handed and say ‘please teach me’?”

Ugh... That’s... actually a reasonable point.It would be rude to go ask for help without bringing even a simple gift. Maybe I should’ve at least picked up a box of sweets or something.

"Sooo, here’s the plan: we bring some local Mismede sake, plus some of that Earth liquor you’ve got stashed away in your [Storage] as a gift. The Craft God loves alcohol, so he’ll definitely be happy and spill all the secrets~!"

Let’s be honest, you just want to drink it yourself, don’t you...?There’s only so much of Grandpa’s treasured liquor in [Storage], you know. Still... using one bottle should be fine.

That said, if the guy’s a booze lover, then yeah—following Suika’s lead is probably the best bet.

She is the Goddess of Alcohol, after all—even if she’s kind of a mess. Her nose for good liquor is basically divine.And honestly? That’s about the only thing she’s good for, so let’s put her to use.

"I feel like I was just insulted, nanoda."

"You’re imagining things."

I brushed off the sharp-sensing Suika and stepped into a large liquor store nearby.

As expected of the royal capital, the selection was vast—liquors of every kind lined the shelves.

Whoa... Different beastkin races make totally different types of booze, huh?This honey mead from the bearfolk... might be a solid pick?

"Nope, nope, that won’t do. The Craft Gods into dry stuff. Leave this to me, nanoda. Touya-oniichan, all you have to do is pay for it, okay?"

With that, Suika dashed off to scour the shop like a kid in a candy store.

I wasn’t thrilled about being treated like a wallet, but it’s not like I knew the first thing about picking out alcohol anyway.We were married, sure, but I was technically underage.

Well, in this world, I was legally an adult, so drinking wasn’t actually a problem...Still, I’d made a promise to myself not to drink until I turned twenty. A personal rule.

…Although I’d already broken that a few times.My wives weren’t shy about having a drink now and then, either.

In the end, Suika stacked several bottles on the counter, and I footed the bill.

And let's be real—more than half of those weren’t even for the gift. They were clearly her own stash for late-night drinking.She even bought the honey mead after all!

"Thanks for your business!"

The liquor store owner's voice followed us out as we stepped back into the street.

"Alright, time to head to the Craft God’s—"

"Next stop: snacks for the booze~!"

"Oi."

I yanked back the overenthusiastic Suika before she could rush off again.There’s already a ton of stuff in [Storage] that’d work as snacks, so there’s no need to buy more.

Dragging the reluctant Suika behind me, I made my way toward a house at the outskirts of the capital.

The house stood on a bit of elevated ground, a cozy single-story home with a large tree beside it.

Sitting on a wooden bench out front, a man was quietly whittling away at a piece of wood with what looked like a small knife.

"So, you’ve come."

"Craft God! Long time no see, nanoda!"

The God of Craftsmanship raised his head, and upon seeing Suika’s face, he let out a small chuckle and smiled.

It seemed like he already knew we were coming. Did he sense our Search?

“It's been a while, Craft-sama.”

“Over here, they just call me Craft. Call me that, new god.”

“Then please call me Touya, as well.”

“Alright, Touya-kun.”

Even while we exchanged greetings, Craft-san’s hand, holding the knife, never stopped moving. What was once just a rough block of wood quickly transformed into the figure of a bear biting into a salmon.

Ah, that’s the same kind of ornament Grandpa used to have at his house...

“What’s that?”

“Just a little idle carving. It sells for a decent price.”

With a casual flick, Craft-san tossed the wooden bear toward me.

Whoa, that’s incredibly realistic… And even though he only used a knife to shape it, the surface is amazingly smooth. How did he carve it like this? I was watching the whole time, and I still couldn’t figure it out.

“Well then, come on in. I assume you didn’t come here for nothing?”

The inside of Craft-san’s house was overflowing with a chaotic mix of tools and objects. There was a potter’s wheel, carving knives for sculpture, blowpipes for glasswork—every tool here was related to some form of craftsmanship. There was even a loom. Just how many crafts does this guy dabble in?

We lined up the bottles of alcohol we had brought as gifts on the table, and began explaining the current situation.

“I see. So, you want to make a divine artifact. Well, I don’t mind teaching you. You’re a follower of the World God, after all. Once you get the hang of it, you should be able to make one yourself. Of course, even with that said, it'll still take two to three months.”

Oh. Looks like he’s willing to teach me. Two to three months, huh? That’s a fair bit of time...

“Normally, for a new lower-ranked god in their first year, it would take a hundred years to craft a divine artifact. Compared to that, you’re getting a great deal.”

A hundred...!? That’s a massive difference...

I may technically be a rookie new god, but as a follower of the World God, I seem to possess a divine rank nearly equivalent to that of a high god.

Apparently, this divine status significantly shortens the time required for making divine artifacts. It almost feels like cheating, but... I guess I’ll gratefully accept the advantage this time.

“However, even if you can make one, it's only natural that you can’t create a divine artifact more powerful than yourself. You can’t imbue a power you don’t possess. A divine artifact is just a tool that lets humans wield the power of a god, after all.”

Hmm. I thought it might be easy if I could just make a ‘divine artifact that detects the apostles of the Evil God,’ but that’s probably not going to happen. At best, I’d only be able to make something with the same limited detection range that I currently have. I suppose if I mass-produced them, it might work... but how many years would that take?

“Well, I’ll explain that part too.”

“Please do.”

Craft-san opened one of the bottles we had brought and slowly poured it into what looked like a handmade glass. From the side, Suika extended her own glass, and it too was filled with the liquor. This girl... She just came here to drink, didn’t she?

“If you’re going to make a divine artifact, you’ll need to first decide on the vessel.”

“Vessel?”

“Something to contain the god’s power. It could be a sword, a pot, a ring—something like that.”

Ah, so a tool imbued with divine power, basically?

“Depending on what kind of power you want to imbue, you need to choose an appropriate vessel. For example, a ‘sword with an incredibly sharp edge’ would make sense. But a ‘wooden bear carving with an incredibly sharp edge’ wouldn’t, right?”

“Yeah, that would be pretty nonsensical.”

A ‘wooden bear carving with a sharp edge’? What the heck is that supposed to be? Something that slices your hand open the moment you pick it up?

“But a ‘wooden bear carving that deploys a barrier’ might work, right?”

“Exactly. That’s a much more believable image. So in your case, you’d need a vessel suitable for something like ‘preventing teleportation magic.’ A ‘wooden bear that prevents teleportation magic’ could work, but it wouldn’t exactly be optimal.”

Well, yeah, it doesn’t have to be a wooden bear. Any kind of ornament could work, right? Personally, I think something like a statue of a goddess would be more fitting.

“Also, you need to consider whether ‘preventing teleportation magic’ is even the right effect. It’s not even certain whether what your opponent is using is actually teleportation magic. If you go through all the trouble of making something, and it doesn’t work, it’d be a complete waste.”

True enough. Just like the professor said, it feels more like a part of the Evil God’s power that just resembles teleportation magic.

Maybe I should create something that uses an enhanced Prison spell, reinforced with divine energy, to trap the enemy.

After all, I won’t be the one using the artifact. I’ve got a lot to think about.