Short Story (Timeline is after the previous plot) House of Go

A grating, ear-piercing sound.

"Phew~ I'm finally back~"

"How was it? ...Your clothes are kind of in tatters."

"It was the best. I haven't gone wild like that in a while. So, did you manage to collect them on your end?"

"Hmm... I think I'm still a little short..."

"Shall I go again?"

"Ah, that's fine. I have to hand over the sake... hup... heavy, here it is."

"You're probably the only one who struggles to hold a large bottle."

"I'm not giving it to you."

"Yes. Sorry."

"...By the way, what are you going to do with the collected emotions?"

"It's a secret... just kidding. I was thinking if I could convert them into buffs effectively."

"Ho."

"In games, when a comrade dies, characters turn anger or hatred into power to fight, right? I was wondering if I could reproduce that artificially."

"?? So, you mean that even if you don't have those emotions yourself, by taking in those negative emotions from the outside, you'd be able to achieve the same performance as the characters in your example?"

"That's about it. You're sharper than usual today."

"Do you want me to kick you?"

"...Anyway, if you want negative emotions, isn't there one right there? In the life form you created. The one overflowing with negative emotions."

"That child is... hmm. Something's different. I have a nagging feeling she's the type you shouldn't take in. To use an analogy... humans can consume sesame oil, but they can't consume gasoline. It's like that."

"True... that thing isn't human anyway." (Intended as a light remark)

"She is human." (Immediate response)

"Sorry."

"That aside, it might be good to deploy her to both collect emotions and detoxify her."

"Detoxify?"

"When I passed by her room the other day, she was shouting curses against humans quite loudly."

"Then, wouldn't it be fine?"

"Then tomorrow, perhaps. It seems like I'll be able to get better emotions if I let her cool down for a bit."

"Ah, come to think of it, her language is broken, isn't it? What will you do about that? The kids won't be able to understand her, even if we can."

"Maybe I'll have her wear a microphone with a built-in translator. I'm sure she has things she wants to say."

"A normal one will make her sound like a commentator."

"I'll make it a small, hard-to-see one. That should be fine."

"True. By the way, do you have a bottle opener?"

"This is your own house..."

---

The next day, probably around 2:00 AM.

A knock, and the sound of a door opening.

"...Are you awake?"

In the corner of the room, a purple something is crouching. There's a reaction, so she seems to be awake.

"...Do you need something?"

"I do. Um... to be blunt... right now—"

"Hurry up. Let me go already."

"...Yes. Oh, but please come back in two hours."

Whether she heard or not is uncertain, but at the very least, the purple something vanished into a rift in the dimension she had torn open, looking slightly more lively.

"I didn't even finish talking... I didn't even get to the main point, and she said she understood... that's quite something... I wonder where she'll attack from. I didn't even mention Delos..."

"...Ah, the microphone... I'll go put it on her in the rift. And tell her about Delos too."

And so, another person entered.

---

Epilogue Logos's House

[Beep beep beep beep]

"...? The timer... Oh, the thing that says to come back. I have to go back."

"Still, there are a lot of slash marks. I did go at it pretty hard..."

"See ya."

---

The sound of roughly cutting through dimensions.

"...I'm back."

"Ah, welcome back... how was it?"

Anonymous gave a firm thumbs up.

"I think it was a good experience. Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

"But."

"But...?"

"Mother, it might be better if you don't go back much."

"Now... what do you mean by 'better not to go back'?"

"They were really angry. If you go over there carelessly, you might even get lynched."

"Hmm... that's a problem... By the way, do you have any idea what caused the anger?"

"Mostly things related to what I destroyed, like 'important people like friends or lovers died' or 'I lost my place to live.'"

"Along with that, the hate is also directed at Mother, who caused this commotion. It might be better not to appear on the main stage much..."

"I see... hmm..."

Ding! "Mother. Why don't you make something? Something like brainwashing... to forcibly shift the emotions directed at you to someone else. You can make that, right?"

"I can. I can, but... who exactly should I direct them to? I don't know any scum who deserves to have that directed at them..."

"It's easy. Want to hear?"

"...A little."

"People at the bottom, like the homeless or orphans. Direct it at them. A child might be good."

"...You're saying it doesn't matter if one person from the lowest class disappears?"

"Yeah."

"Come to think of it, you were that kind of person..."

"Ehehe."

"I'm not praising you. ...But can you find one that easily? I mean, why target a child?"

"Most of those kids can't go to school, right? So, you just have to say, 'You can have a work experience! Want to come?' Then they'll follow. They might follow even more if you give them food."

"Would anyone fall for such a suspicious line?"

"The target is a 'child' who has no leeway, so to speak. If you're a little kind to them, there's a high chance they'll follow."

"Hmm..." Logos seems a bit hesitant.

"...A child, huh... hmm..."

"...What time is it now?"

"It's 4:00 AM."

"...Can you catch one by tomorrow morning?"

"If it's for Mother, I'll search through various worlds."

With extreme reluctance. "...Then let's do it."

"Yay. Mother listened to my opinion."

"Out of necessity. In this case. I still have things I want to do in that world."

"Such a tsundere."

"I'll smack you."

"Well, I'll go look then."

"Ah, wait. Now that I think about it, with your appearance, they'll run away before you can lure them."

"Mother, that's cruel. ...But this purple mist might be unfamiliar to normal people."

"I'll try asking H3R35Y or someone."

"That kid? Well... I guess that's fine. Pout"

"Don't sulk. It can't be helped."

"I wanted to be useful to Mother."

"Yes, yes, I know."

---

"...Hup... whoa. Where is this~?"

From the looks of it, it just seems a bit unsafe, with nothing particularly noteworthy. If anything, there are many ruins.

"...Vines are winding around the buildings. They look healthy~"

Walking along. "I can't just pop through a portal because there are no shops around!" she grumbles while exploring.

"Logos-chan has started doing some pretty amazing things too~ hum-de-hum~"

"...I wonder if there are really people here~? ...I'm not meeting anyone."

"No... I feel the presence of people, but I don't... like... a strange sensation. Let's find them quickly..."

And so, about 5 hours after starting to look for a mark.

"...I'm hungry." (No progress)

"I met people occasionally, but they weren't children. They gave me food, so I almost followed them."

"...I'll eat the pancake I got~. Looks delicious!"

Munch...?

"...I feel a gaze. Peek"

"...!"

"(...I finally found one~... a child. Based on appearance, the age is... I don't know!)"

At that moment, a voice came from behind the child.

"...Ai. You shouldn't look at other people's things so longingly."

"......But... I'm hungry..."

"No means no."

"(It's a second one. ...Okay. I'll do my best.)"

"Would you like to eat some~?"