In the distant past, there was a colossal wave that swept across the entire continent.
It was the war between the Demon Realm and the Material Plane.
Truly, it was a large-scale invasion war where both sides wagered their worlds and destinies against each other.
The demons had to leave their declining realm, which was on the path to destruction, while the races of the Material Plane desperately fought to defend their homes.
And it was a battle that could only end in the destruction of one side.
Unfortunately for them, the word “coexistence” was absolutely not an option.
The “mana” that constituted the Material Plane was poison to them, and the magic that flowed from their world was lethal to the beings of the Material Plane.
In response, the demons committed acts to try to merge the dimensions using their technology.
The resulting chaos became known as the “Erosion Phenomenon.”
The effects were so numerous they were difficult to enumerate.
Rampaging monsters expelled from their territories, the formation of various “dungeons,” crop failures and plagues caused by the magic that began with erosion…
Thus, the “Erosion Areas,” while extremely deadly to the beings of the Material Plane, became a paradise for the demons.
And the place where the scars of this erosion phenomenon were most deeply etched was right here.
This was the site of the forward base of the Demon Army 5,000 years ago and the location where Luke Irushi opened the gate to the Demon Realm.
Draigand.
Even as efforts were made to turn every land not conducive to plant growth into forested areas for city formation and mana generation, Draigand remained nothing more than a barren rocky wasteland, devoid of even a blade of grass.
Of course, this land had not been completely untouched by the waves of greenery that had swept the continent before.
If a forest were to take root, the geographical location of Draigand would not be too bad.
However, due to the unpurified magic, even the trees that were planted had all withered away, leading to abandonment.
For that reason, Draigand had become a wasteland that no one approached, except for demon researchers or historians.
A land, quite literally, abandoned.
However, the present state was not one that fittingly matched the adjective “abandoned.”
Surrounding a deep pit that had been dug out like a massive vortex, various heavy machinery and facilities were densely packed, creating a noise of construction that numbed the ears as they dug into the ground and broke apart rocks.
And at the edge of the pit, from which the view of the scene could be observed, a man stood, his black robe shielding him from the occasional gusts of sandy wind and sharp air, looking down into the depths of the pit.
A person who seemed to be his assistant approached and began to caution him.
“Master, it’s dangerous to be here. Please come back into the facility.”
His tone sounded as if he was worried about the Master’s health.
But the man had no intention of moving from his spot.
“Is everything ready?”
He asked, only slightly turning his head toward his assistant, who responded as if there was no other choice.
“The artifacts have been prepared as scheduled.”
Hearing that everything was ready, he immediately extended one hand and said, “Bring it to me.”
“Right now…? You mean?”
“……”
The assistant instinctively tried to read his expression, but most of his face was covered by the robe, making it impossible to discern.
However, understanding the implication of receiving no reply, the assistant quickly retreated from that place.
The meaning was clear: “Do not make me ask you twice.”
A little later, the assistant returned, this time holding a small box.
To the eye, it looked like a small jewel box, but it was actually a shield case protected by multiple layers of magic.
As the small box was placed into his outstretched hand, he slowly brought it in front of himself and opened the case.
How amazing and delicate must the gem inside be to warrant such protection?
Click.
However, despite no particular movements having been made, the case opened surprisingly easily.
Moreover, inside the opened case, instead of a gem, there lay a seemingly ordinary twenty-sided die.
Yet, that was exactly what he had been looking for.
The miracle that Shaeh was seeking—”Wish.”
And based on that, it was an artifact that could enchant and manipulate the probabilities of fate.
“The Deceiving Dice.”
A great magic of the 9th circle once performed with the goddess, restored with modern magical theory and technology.
For something experimentally created in a laboratory, its completeness was truly remarkable.
After staring at the die for a while, he casually tossed a command to his assistant.
“Now go.”
“Uh, yes!”
The assistant, who had just made a short-distance dash to the temporary facility, responded with rough breathing and quickly left the area, grumbling to himself.
“If you needed this, you could have ordered it from the start.”
He wondered if it was to deliberately make him suffer.
However, what could he do? Doing as he was told was his job.
Once he confirmed that the assistant had left, he took out the die and smiled as he reflected the sunlight off it.
Everything was going smoothly.
Except for one hitch.
“Luke Irushi…”
He had no means of knowing the identity of the person who had created the theory that this depended on.
He wanted to recruit the being who had established that theory.
It would undoubtedly be beneficial to his goals.
Yet, strangely enough, there was no information.
The only thing he managed to uncover was the name “Luke Irushi.”
Since “Luke” was a common name and the surname “Irushi” also seemed somewhat common upon searching, it wasn’t exceedingly rare. However, the combination of the two names was not very frequent.
Thus, the task of tracking down everyone named “Luke Irushi” was, in fact, not that difficult.
However, at least among those he had found, none possessed the credentials that would allow for such great deeds.
They all seemed to be farmers, or bank clerks, or female students attending the academy.
Oh really, having the name “Luke Irushi” for a little girl?
It was truly a strange sense of naming, but considering that there was a full name like “Luke Rispend Generfer Irushi,” it seemed that both the parents and the child had quirky tastes together.
“…Did they maybe use a pseudonym?”
Something felt off.
It felt as though that name could disrupt his plans.
“Well, what’s important now is something else.”
Yes, that was ultimately unimportant.
Right now, it was time to overturn the fate of himself and the world that had been twisted 5,000 years ago.
———
“Ugh. Was it too much after all…?”
Luke’s complexion was not good.
The reason was simply the “accident” that Kaila had impulsively committed.
Tapioca Milk Tea.
It was neither tea nor really milk tea.
In fact, it was questionable whether it could even be called a beverage.
And yet, Luke had to transform it into a proper drink.
Because if he could successfully create it, Kaila suggested that she could purchase the recipe for a high price.
Did she call it “intellectual property”?
The amount Kaila proposed was substantial enough to make even Luke’s mouth water.
Moreover, she said that there would be payments for “royalties,” which would provide him with money without any work!
Luke had never quite grasped that the recipe itself could command that much money.
After all, in the past, there was no culture of buying and selling recipes.
To ensure steady dealings with merchants, the wise method at the time was to hide the recipe and sell only the finished product at a higher price.
In the days before distribution had developed, if you wanted to make something, acquiring the materials was often too difficult, meaning that even if you knew the recipe, making a proper item was challenging.
But what of now?
As long as one knows how to prepare it, they can easily purchase ingredients overflowing at nearby shops and create everything from home.
It was truly an era of mass production and mass distribution.
Thus, knowing became immensely important, and naturally, knowledge turned into power.
And it was through the term “intellectual property” that Luke felt the change brought about by the passage of time.
“So, can I do it?”
“Yes! I’ll take responsibility and refine that recipe to create an amazing drink!”
Thus, he agreed to Kaila’s proposal.
He thought that creating a delicious drink that would enhance the texture with tapioca while allowing the flavor of the tea to come through would be quite easy.
However, he was mistaken.
“Ugh, my stomach feels bad…”
What went wrong?
Was it the herb that might cause a stomach ache in the fifth combination?
Or was it the herb added in the ninth combination to improve the flavor of the tapioca?
It was strange; the tea leaves had been safe and devoid of any toxins.
Or maybe…
“…”
Looking for the reason elsewhere, Luke eventually decided to admit reality.
The truth was evident.
He had drunk too many samples of the tea.
No matter how much Luke had a stomach capable of holding more than others, overeating was overeating.
Since even he was a living creature subject to physical laws, there were limits to his stomach, and excessive consumption of food could lead to such results.
At that moment.
“!”
He suddenly began to feel chills run through his body.
It felt like being doused in cold water.
Luke barely managed to hold himself up against the table as his legs threatened to give way.
This was not the effect of poison.
It was, rather, a natural physiological reaction.
He had drunk an immense amount of milk tea while testing, so it was only to be expected.
What had been postponed out of focus was now coming back as a wave.
How disgraceful he must have looked.
The fact that he was alone in the clubroom during class time was a small consolation.
“Ugh, the bathroom…”
Luke leaned against the wall, slowly rose, and opened the door to the clubroom.
What was truly a stroke of luck for Luke was that there was a restroom near the clubroom.
But soon, Luke despaired upon seeing the sign hanging in front of the restroom.
-Under Construction.
“Why!”
Was it said that misfortunes come in pairs?
It seemed that it was indeed true.
“I thought I was clearly lucky…!”
Whether it was due to the blessing left behind by the goddess within him or some other factor, he had always believed he was fortunate.
But what on earth was this situation?
Despite generally having a personal philosophy against “luck,” Luke found only resentment that at this moment his luck was not in effect.
It wasn’t surprising that the oldest restroom in the academy was being renovated before the festival. Still, how could it coincide with the unfortunate day when Luke had rare issues holding back?
“Ugh…”
Luke’s complexion grew even worse.
“Then, I have to hurry to the restroom on another floor…”
Luke steadied his trembling legs and rose.
No matter how soon he would be graduating from the academy, the title of someone caught doing his business in the hallway was certainly not welcome.
Sure, such rumors might help deter men from approaching, but it would greatly tarnish his reputation and value.
At that moment.
“Luke, hey!! I skipped class to help you out! But why are you just standing outside like that?”
“K-Kaila?”
Blocking Luke’s path was Kaila.
She had skipped class to help him with the recipe creation.
Moreover, she didn’t come empty-handed; she was holding a notebook filled with the ideas she had thought of with both hands.
Under normal circumstances, that would have been something to be grateful for, but the timing couldn’t have been worse.
Sensing the wave approaching gradually, Luke realized he could no longer afford to delay and pushed Kaila aside.
Thud!
“Get out of the way!”
“Ah!”
Kaila, pushed by Luke’s force, fell uncontrollably, scattering her notes across the floor.
She then shouted in what seemed to be an annoyed tone.
“What do you think you’re doing! I almost hit my tail!”
Ignoring Kaila’s resentment, Luke hurriedly started climbing the stairs.
Tap-tap-tap!
“Sorry, we can talk later! Right now, I really need to…!”
“Uh, um?”
