The system handed me over to the state.

Naofumi Iwatani and the others on the ship breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. At this moment, the distorted scenery in the sky gradually disappeared. Naofumi Iwatani subconsciously deactivated his Shield of Wrath and sat down on the deck to rest.

But just when everyone was most relaxed, the Soul Eater suddenly picked up the monster again and roared at them.

Everyone was startled and sat motionless on the deck, stunned.

But the next moment, a short knife pierced through the Soul Eater's head, completely stripping it of its last bit of life and ending the monster's life.

The Soul Eater landed back on the ground, and Bronya stepped on it, saying, "The three of you should be more careful. Don't assume the other party is dead before the system notifies you of their death."

"Ah...it's you, thank you. But what were you doing there? Why did you only appear last?"

Bronya could hear a hint of resentment in Naofumi Iwatani's words, so she didn't hide anything and said, "I took care of a hero from another world."

"A hero from another world?"

One sentence stirred up a thousand waves, even the three heroes next to him were stunned. Heroes from another world?

"Have you ever thought about this? Where did the monsters of the waves come from? Why did they come to this world? Why are the monsters of the waves getting stronger and stronger?"

Haven't any of you thought about these issues?

Bronya was disappointed. They really treated this place like a game, believing that the waves of this world were the game's mechanics, and that all they needed to do was constantly defend against the game mechanics' attacks and make themselves stronger, without ever thinking about the more fundamental aspects.

They never think about deeper questions like what a wave is or why there are waves in this world.

Now, Bronya has a general understanding that the Wave is actually two similar worlds colliding, just like a line from the Transformers movie: when two worlds collide, only one can survive.

This is how the world is now.

The waves between the two worlds will grow stronger and stronger, and eventually it will no longer be a war between monsters, but a direct battle between the heroes of both worlds.

Naofumi Iwatani scratched his head awkwardly. He really hadn't thought about it. Most of his energy was focused on how to survive, how to face the next day, how to become stronger, or how to return to his own world.

Now he understands, the hero from another world probably never intended to send him back after bringing him here.

"So, this world never intended for us to be able to go back in the first place..."

Naofumi Iwatani looked up at the clear sky and sighed. At that moment, the ship suddenly shook violently. Bronya immediately jumped off the ship, and Naofumi Iwatani, dragging his tired body, rode on Filo's back with Raphtalia and quickly left the crashing ship.

Gazing at the crashed and wrecked ship behind him, Naofumi Iwatani's heart was not particularly calm. The hero of another world, the true purpose of the waves, all of these made him feel exhausted, and his longing for home became increasingly pessimistic.

How could I possibly go back... In this state, there's no way I could return to my own world.

Even if he could go back, how old would he be? So many years have passed on Earth. Would he be able to reintegrate into his own country's society after he returned?

"It seems you've started thinking about it."

Bronya suddenly appeared on Filo's back, and Naofumi Iwatani turned around abruptly. "How did you appear out of nowhere?"

Does it matter?

"It's really not that important..."

"Let's go back. This wave is over. Let's get back to what we need to do."

Chapter 417: Speculations about the Wave

2

"So, is this the truth about the wave?"

That night, Bronya and Naofumi Iwatani sat facing each other in the hall, discussing the hero from another world that Bronya had mentioned earlier. Naofumi also learned the truth about the Waves through this conversation.

The rule that only one of the two worlds can survive when they collide makes him feel embarrassed. Can't the two worlds coexist peacefully?

Is peaceful coexistence impossible?

"impossible."

Bronya shook her head regretfully. "There's probably some kind of restriction. Besides, think about it, the monsters from the other world keep invading your world and getting stronger and stronger. Even if the heroes from both sides reach a consensus not to interfere with each other or kill each other, what if one day, a wave appears directly above the capital of a country?"

"With uncontrollable, crazed monsters causing countless deaths and immense property damage, do you think the two sides can maintain peace under such circumstances?"

"That's true... After all, the monsters' attacks won't stop during the waves, and the waves can appear anywhere—in the wild, in the suburbs, or in the center of a town."

Naofumi Iwatani sighed, then suddenly thought of a question and said, "It suddenly occurred to me that since you can create a passage to this world, could I take the two of them to your world?"

Bronya raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? There aren't many Japanese people in my world."

"Hey! Why?"

"The country has been destroyed."

"Destroy...destroy the country?!"

Naofumi Iwatani was shocked. Although he knew that his country was not that powerful, and even quite deserving of a beating, with a lot of internal problems, he was naturally surprised to suddenly learn that the country had been destroyed.

"How...could the country have suddenly been destroyed?"

"In a war, only China, the Soviet Union, and the British Empire survived. All other countries were destroyed in the war. So, if you went to my world, you might be one of the less than a thousand Japanese people who survived in the world."

After all, when the Shadow Empire invaded, some young people from Area 11 were studying or traveling in Britain, the Soviet Union, and China.

However, with the end of the war, these people from Area 11, no matter how unwilling they were, had to admit that they were no longer stateless. China naturally provided humanitarian aid to these people, but also with a little bit of its own selfish motives.

For those from District 11 who are willing to acknowledge the history of the country, China is happy to provide temporary assistance until they obtain an ID card that allows them to truly live in China.

As for those Japanese people who refuse to accept history and even want to refute it, well...

The result is obvious: most people are willing to admit it, although some may be forced to admit it or have no choice but to make such a decision.

As for the die-hards, Bronya didn't inquire about how to deal with them, because she genuinely wasn't interested.

"Do you want to go to my world? If you're bringing Raphtalia and Filo with you, I can get you approved. Once the national authorities approve it, you can enter. But if it doesn't, I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do."

Bronya's actions essentially meant she was willing to open such a convenient passage for Naofumi Iwatani. In reality, Bronya wasn't too keen on opening it; she didn't know if, after connecting the two worlds, something like the Waves would infect their own world like a contagious disease.

If it leads to infection, wouldn't that actually harm China?

However, Naofumi Iwatani is a good person; he can open a small, temporary passage to take the person away, and if they fail, he can be sent back.

Does that mean I need to learn Chinese?

Naofumi Iwatani looked somewhat embarrassed. He knew very well that he was speaking his own language, while Bronya was speaking Chinese. The fact that the two of them could understand each other was due to the world's built-in translation function.

"Of course, once you leave this world, you'll lose this built-in translation function, so you'll definitely need to learn Chinese."

Naofumi Iwatani looked very sad, not because he didn't want to learn Chinese, but because Chinese was... even more difficult than learning English!

"Ugh, learning Chinese, I feel like it's going to kill me..."

"Then you should stay in this world. I think with your abilities, you can kill enemy heroes from another world. Oh! By the way, there's actually another way to deal with the waves."

"any solution?"

"Destroy all the Dragon-carved hourglasses in the world."

Iwatani Naofumi was stunned.

"You should have heard that as long as there is a Dragon Hourglass, there will be waves. So if we destroy all the Dragon Hourglasses in the world, does that mean there will be no waves? If we leave only one Dragon Hourglass, does that mean that each wave will only appear in that one place?"

"However, we cannot rule out the possibility of special circumstances."

"Special circumstances?"

Bronya pondered for a moment, then uttered a guess that horrified Naofumi Iwatani: "This world itself is a giant dragon-carved hourglass!"

"When we destroy all the Dragon Hourglasses that serve as nodes, the entire world will transform into the largest Dragon Hourglass, engulfing the entire world in a wave."

Naofumi Iwatani's expression was one of extreme horror. If this guess was indeed true, then no matter what they did, this world would either destroy other worlds or be destroyed itself...

This...this is just too much!

"This is really...outrageous! What kind of being would do something like this?"

"Ha, maybe they're just some bored guys."

Bronya's words made Naofumi Iwatani realize something, but he wisely didn't press the matter further. To be honest, he was already very grateful that Bronya was willing to share these things with him, and if he continued to ask, he might offend her.

Naofumi Iwatani then stood up. "Thank you for sharing this information with me. We'll be setting off tomorrow, so get some rest."

Bronya nodded, got up and left the hall, returning to her room. Naofumi Iwatani walked to the window, staring at the moon outside, pondering what he should do.

Now, an opportunity to leave this place is presented to me. Although leaving this path will be difficult and I will face countless difficulties, leaving this dangerous environment and living in a peaceful modern society is very attractive.

But... can he really leave this world, abandoning Raphtalia and Filo?

On the bright side, Filo would definitely leave with him, and Raphtalia's life as a slave could also lead her to leave with him.

But what if...none of these conditions hold true?

Naofumi Iwatani's expression began to turn serious.

Chapter 418: Framed

The next morning, the four of them boarded Naofumi Iwatani's carriage and prepared to set off. After saying goodbye to the uncle at the weapon shop, the group headed out of the city. Filo happily pulled the carriage, while Naofumi Iwatani and Raphtalia drove it, and Bronya sat with the cargo.

The four of them traveled very smoothly. Bronya closed her eyes to rest and gradually began to doze off. The swaying of the carriage was within her tolerance.

But soon, as the carriage suddenly stopped, Bronya woke up, looked outside, rubbed her eyes, and asked, "What happened?"

"Someone's behind us...tsk, it's that troublesome princess again!"

Naofumi Iwatani grumbled, looking at Princess Melty and her guards with a furrowed brow. "What a nuisance. Why are they coming to cause me trouble again?"

Bronya stepped out of the carriage and gazed at Princess Melty in the distance. She had heard of the princess's name, but didn't know much about her. Now that she looked at her, she seemed like a very cute girl.

She still has twin ponytails and a flat chest; there are quite a few elements to her look.

"Are you going to take her in?"

"Take it?"

Naofumi Iwatani was stunned. What did that mean?

Bronya crossed her arms. "A girl who's practically offering herself up, wouldn't you accept her? Especially one who's paying special attention to you, wouldn't she?"

"I think you might have misunderstood something..."

"Aren't you someone with the aura of a harem male protagonist?"