"W-Why not?"

The beautiful woman, having finished yelling, asked me.

"Look, who in the world would go somewhere when you're told 'You can never return, it's a one-way ticket'? First, sit down. I get your goal, but the details are too vague."

Show me someone who can accept a one-way trip to 'who-knows-where' without being told the purpose or the specifics. Leave that kind of thing to light novel protagonists or people who have completely despaired of the world.

Also, word of advice: people who jump into a deal after hearing the 'goal' but ignoring the 'details' are the type to get scammed, so watch out.

"T-True. We should get to know each other first. Sorry for the late introduction. I am Luna."

I didn't ask for your name.

"My measurements are 91-58-85, and on Earth, I've been called many things—Athena, Freya, and so on."

She just dropped some ridiculous information.

Her measurements stopped mattering halfway through that sentence.

So, as I suspected, the 'Gods' passed down in earthly legends are just a big jumble of identities. That is, if I'm taking her word at face value.

"What, are you captivated by my beauty? It can't be helped. I am called a Goddess of Beauty, after all."

"Yeah, I couldn't care less about that. Just explain the details about this dungeon management thing."

She was getting annoying, so I cut her off.

For the record, this self-proclaimed goddess, Luna, had blonde hair cut in a semi-long bob. Her eyes were different colors—red and blue. Heterochromia, I think? She was about 170cm tall; I don't know the average for foreigners, but she's on the tall side for Japan.

"...You're not very charming, are you? Fine, this might take a while. And just so you know, sending you to the other world is a 'settled matter.' Whether you listen or not, the result is the same."

"Keep it short, concise, and summarized, please."

"No."

This woman...

* * *

After an hour and a half, she finally finished her explanation... Seriously, she should have brought a brochure or something.

Anyway, here is the summary:

The Goal: Maintain the balance of energy (mana) in the parallel world, Aroulit, using a dungeon.

The Reason: Aroulit's environment is created by the circulation of mana. The laws of nature there are the same as here, but with 'Magic' added as a third set of laws. Currently, mana is clumping together too much in specific spots. Basically, the monsters and 'human-kin' (the usual fantasy races) are causing the planet's environment to degrade. Think of it as the Aroulit version of global warming. If left alone, the civilization built on mana will collapse, and mana-based lifeforms will go extinct. Though, we're talking thousands of years in the future.

The First Solution: Being a Goddess, she didn't want to just wipe out the civilization or the creatures. Her solution: use a dungeon to circulate the mana! By creating a 'feeding ground' (a dungeon), she could collect and recycle it. This means the dungeon targets not just 'Heroes,' 'Demon Lords,' or intelligent beings, but wild monsters too.

The Result of the First Solution: You'd think this is where I come in, but nope. This first plan was entrusted to the locals—the intelligent beings of Aroulit. However, their civilization is roughly equivalent to Medieval Europe. They ran the dungeons based on pure greed, leading to either immediate defeat or the managers using their powers to try and conquer the world. In the end, no circulation happened.

The Second Solution: This is where I fit in. Basically, since giving management to idiots failed, why not use someone smart? But everyone in that world is generally... lacking. So, she decided to pull someone from another world.

At this point, I had a thought: why doesn't Luna (the Goddess) just do it herself instead of using humans? But Luna had an answer for that.

"It might be fine for a short while, but a God can't stay in one spot until a planet ends. Even you—how many times have you moved since the place you were born?"

Fair point. It was a matter of scale. For us humans, it would be like getting a dog or cat and then never going to work, staying by their side 24/7 until the day they die. It's impossible.

"Only a handful of those 'Omnipotent Gods' you talk about actually exist. And since they're all so serious, they stay shut away to avoid accidentally influencing the world."

Wait, there actually are omnipotent gods!?

"There are beings categorized as 'Gods' depending on the world, but they're... degraded, I guess? Honestly, here they are just natural phenomena; in Aroulit, they are monsters or spirits. They excel at specific functions, but overall... they have difficult personalities."

Ah, so it's the same everywhere. It's like a company's management team, just on a universal scale.

"To be honest, the level of knowledge and education in modern Japan is higher than that of the Gods of Aroulit."

Ouch... The Gods of Aroulit sound pathetic. But it made sense. Sending a light novel protagonist or someone who hates the world wouldn't solve anything. But I still had a question. Even if she sends me, I can only act for a hundred years or so, right?

"Oh, I forgot to mention: you'll become ageless. I'll make sure you don't get sick, but you can still die. Making someone immortal usually leads to them going rogue. It's a pain for us to have to come down and delete someone personally."

Right, I see. So if I run the dungeon and go crazy, they still have a kill-switch.

"I get the gist. But why can't I come back here?"

"Listen, you know the state of this world. What do you think would happen if Earth and an underdeveloped world with magic like Aroulit were connected?"

"Ah. Aroulit would be swallowed by Earth in an instant. But is magic really that weak?"

"No. Magic can achieve things like nuclear weapons or the interstellar travel Earth is still trying to reach. But in terms of civilization level..."

"I see. You want to maintain Aroulit's magical civilization and don't want Earth's influence tainting it."

"Exactly. Or rather, the Earth side would undoubtedly finish analyzing magic first and then just absorb it."

"Then is it okay for me to go and bring my knowledge there?"

This was the biggest mystery. If she sends me and makes me ageless, Aroulit's civilization will inevitably be influenced by my Japanese background.

"What are you talking about? Japan is a civilization that absorbs others, right? What, are you planning to invade and build Japanese castles everywhere?"

"Understood. I see what you mean. On a global scale, it would be an overwhelming flood, but as an individual, me encouraging the development of Aroulit's civilization is within the 'acceptable range'."

"Exactly. Ideally, you'll eventually be able to go public with the purpose of the dungeon and have it integrated into society. Though that's nearly impossible."

Of course it's impossible. That's a level beyond unifying the world's ideologies. It's like publicly announcing to humans and monsters, "Please die in specific numbers." Demanding sacrifices is a surefire way to become the Enemy of the World. Well, since I just need to circulate mana, I'd basically have to dictate where all living things in the world are allowed to live. I'd be a tyrant no matter how you look at it.

"Well, you get it now. Operating the dungeon as a 'circulatory system' is just more efficient."

"Okay, I understand the situation. But what happens to my life here? Will my family forget me? Also, if I go there with nothing but my body, I can't exactly dig a dungeon by hand."

Since this is a forced transfer, I'd pretty much given up on my family, but I was worried about the handovers at work. My seniors, juniors, and clients were going to be in a lot of trouble...

"Your family, work... basically all your social ties will be corrected as if you never existed. Everything will keep moving smoothly, so don't worry. And I'm not expecting you to dig by hand. I'll give you some skills. Since I'm forcing this on you, I can grant any request within an acceptable range—except for traveling back and forth to Earth."

Oho... an "acceptable range," she says...

"Then, I want an RX-7—"

"No. Are you trying to start a One Year War?"

Tch. How does she know that anime?

"Fine, then a White Glin—"

"Are you planning to topple nations and start a Corporate War?"

She knows the game references too!?

"Let's save that kind of stuff as a reward for when the dungeon management is successful. Also, I'll make it so you can obtain items from this world through a sort of 'mail-order' system."

Wait, if I succeed, I can ride a Mobile Suit or an Armored Core!? Seriously!?

I was excited, but I needed to get the standard "cheat" skills first or I'd be screwed. I didn't want to go there and die immediately.

"Then what about firearms? With biometric locks so no one else can use them."

"No. That's also for after the dungeon is running properly. You know what happens if you use 'out-of-place artifacts' for Aroulit before you're even used to the place, right?"

"Overconfidence, or the world balance collapsing... But hey, if it's just for my defense, it should be fine, right?"

"The answer is no. I'm banning the use of weapons that are technologically ahead of the curve—especially those unique to Earth—at the start. Learn to manage the dungeon properly first. Now, do you have any other requests?"

"You say that after shooting down everything I asked for... Fine. Give me a ring or something that prevents instant death and teleports me to a safe zone. Things are gonna be tough."

"Oh? Is that all you want? It only prevents 'instant' death, you know. If you're heavily wounded, it might not save you."

"If I asked you to add an instant full-recovery effect, would you?"

"I would not. That's no different from being immortal. I'll consider that once your management is going well."

Tch, she's more troublesome than I thought. No 'invincible' cheats, then... In that case:

"Fine. I want a skill or item that can 'ensure the safety' of my companions or subordinates. No limits."

"Ensuring safety, huh? I see, you've thought this through. That could be a very convenient tool depending on how you use it. That should be within the acceptable range. Okay, deal."

Nice, I managed to push that through. I didn't say "immortal." I said "ensure" their "safety." Well, depending on how I use it...

"The explanation and negotiations are mostly over... Shall we head to Aroulit and make the final adjustments?"

Luna pointed her hand toward me.

Ah, I guess this is as far as my resistance goes. Oh well. I'll just have to set my sights on that White Glint...