Crossing the World
XL - Earth (Karen)

The roar from the ferocious waves in the South sea is quite disturbing, but not to make it difficult for us to communicate. Wind gusts coming from the middle of the sea are also not so strong that they do not interfere with this meeting.

The brunette girl sitting in front of me had now finished her meal. He seemed to be waiting for me to finish my meal, but of course it was impossible. The dish in front of me was enough to fill the stomachs of four adults. So, I chose to stop when my stomach was already filled up quite a lot.

Aura prepared a cold sweet tea during our meal and served it on the table. However, instead of drinking tea, the girl drank the alcohol that was in her glass at once. Honestly, it surprised me a lot.

Wouldn't it feel terrible to drink alcohol at once like that? Are you really all right?

After finishing the contents of her cup with just one gulp, the girl heaved a sigh of relief. His white face began to blush, indicating that the alcohol content contained in his drink had reacted.

"Ahh~ let's start with a self-introduction."

By the time he said that, I realized that we had not introduced each other.

The girl continued, "my name is Tyraell, a guadrell. The one standing behind me is Nifa, my deputy, and lastly is Rhea, a doctor."

A brief and confusing introduction. What is guadrell anyway? I've never heard that term before.

As if knowing the contents of my head, he added, "don't get too thought out. Guadrell's a catch-all term for guard rail, a kind of unofficial rank for students."

As far as I know, guard rail is a kind of name to call a road safety fence that serves so that the vehicle does not get out of the road when going through the road. This object is usually installed on the side streets of ravines, bridges, toll roads, and so on. It's funny to know there's a strange rank based on the name of such a road safety fence.

Well, let's forget about it for now.

"I'm Karen. I come from a parallel universe."

I introduced myself like that. However, that girl named Tyraell seemed to be dissatisfied with my introduction. You see, the look on his face slightly bent as soon as I introduced myself.

"No, no. The universe is connected to a series system instead of parallel. Only the world is connected in parallel."

Ha's? Whatdoes thatmean? My brain can't imagine what he's really talking about. I think the term parallel world or parallel universe is just a mere term without any concept in it. There's a meaning behind that name, huh?

Whatever.

"Yes, like that. I'm from the universe series."

This time too he seemed to be dissatisfied with my answer.

"The universe of the series sounds strange. Let's call it a parallel universe."

"Have forgotten it and go straight to the topic of importance!"

I who lost my patience finally exploded with a clash. This guy is even more annoying than AI. Honestly, I wanted to hit her on the head once to ease my frustration.

In response to my frustration, Tyraell laughed out loud as he poured his alcoholic drink again into the empty cup before him. He seemed to enjoy playing around with my feelings.

"Please understand his behavior. He has no manners."

The one who apologized was the black haired girl who was still carrying the suitcase in her right hand. He bowed slightly as he said an apology.

How polite.

"Nifa, vilifying others just to make yourself look good is not good. It's called looking for the face and licking by selling someone else."

I don't want to hear those words come from you! You should be ashamed of your own behavior! You may speak words of wisdom after acting like that in the presence of a representative of an otherworldly civilization! Do you know that your attitude can trigger a war?!

"I understand. Please continue your conversation, Commander."

Eh? You just take it? Is it because he is higher than you? Such a 'boundary is never wrong. If the boss is wrong, back to the first point'?

"Alright," Tyraell turned his face into a serious one. It looks like the negotiations will start now, "first, let's talk about water."

Hm, I expected the first thing that will be the topic of conversation is water. There was already oral agreement on this, but the details of the deal - such as how much water I could take, what I should give in lieu of water, what I should give, from which region I may take it, and so on-have not been properly discussed. So, the talk about water is the most important topic that should be discussed at the earliest.

"How much water will you take in a month?"

In response to that question, I discussed it with Aura and had her calculate the data I had given her before. For AI powered by a quantum poresor, calculating all of that takes less than a second.

As soon as I got the results from the calculations, I immediately replied to Tyraell's question.

"I only need 5 cubic kilometers of salt water each month and this will only last for two years. After two years, the terraforming project on my planet may have been able to produce water stably."

"Oh? I think the universe is different, the water cycle is different. How comfortable ... "

I honestly don't understand what he's saying, but I don't really care about him either. No questions came out of my mouth. After all if I asked, maybe he would rate me an idiot and the plot of the negotiations would not put me in a good position if my impression in his eyes decreased.

"It doesn't matter if it's just that much. Instead, I want to bring the wreckage."

Tyraell pointed towards the pile of metal that had previously formed the exoskeleton armor that was now lying right under my feet. That thing, even though it has now turned into a wreck, but with Aura's current ability, we can reassemble it as before. Besides if I give it to him, isn't the exchange rate not comparable?

Just think carefully, I only took water for two years while he requested the exoskeleton armor as his payment. I will obviously reject that offer. However, just before I spoke, Tyraell opened his mouth again.

"You better consult the AI next to you. I'm sure he has a much better view and selection of action."

Hm? Did he realize that I was always in communication with Aura while we were talking? It should be impossible for something like this to happen.

First, in contrast to humans, I was able to share my thought process through the concept of the Schrodinger Cat. This allows me to process multiple pieces of information at once. For example, I would have no trouble chatting with someone, reading comics, listening to music, and watching movies at the same time. I was able to focus on those four activities and still receive the entirety of the information coming from the four.

If it were a human, I'm sure they wouldn't be able to focus even with just two types of information coming in simultaneously. For example, chatting while reading books, playing gadgets while driving, and many others. Well, I myself have no problem with driving while driving because my brain can focus on the road and gadgets at the same time. Thanks to this ability I can control many cyborgs at once.

Then, what does this difference in perception have to do with Tyraell realizing that I was communicating with Aura throughout our conversation?

Man will experience a pause and all his focus is on who is speaking to him. It's not hard to see the person you're chatting with as well chatting over the phone using handsfree. You'll soon realize he's on the phone. But this doesn't apply to me. I was still able to converse perfectly even though Aura and Tyraell invited me to discuss at the same time. It is not difficult for me to serve the conversation of the two at once and still capture the points discussed by them. So, it should be impossible for Tyraell to know that I was discussing with Aura.

Well, who knows? He might be guessing? The idea is pretty good anyway, so it doesn't hurt to try.

When I asked Aura for advice, she explained various kinds of things that I had not thought of before.

First, about water. The water was indeed worthless here and I - who was getting used to living on earth - began to think in the same way as the earthlings in general. However, in reality at the shelter, water is a much more valuable item than anything else. According to Aura, if the AI was asked for exoskeleton armor to be exchanged for 5 cubic kilometers of water a month for two years, he would receive it without much consideration.

Second, Earth's technology is quite far behind. Indeed the predictions about their technological level were quite off the mark long after we saw a real cyborg on earth, but still it does not prove that our civilization is equal. If I were to give the exoskeleton armor, according to Aura calculations, it would take at least five years for the earth to reach a similar product. Five years from now, I don't need any more water supply from the earth. The fact that only I can teleport between dimensions makes it impossible for Earth to invade my planet. Thus, even if the earth managed to replicate the exoskeleton armor, they would not pose a threat to my world.

Third and most importantly, the armor was merely a prototype item and there was absolutely no planet-pulsar-destroying weapon inside. In the shelter, there were even hundreds of armor that was much better than this pile of trash.

Yeah, those three reasons were enough to convince me. Therefore, I approve of his proposal and will let them carry away that pile of trash except for a component that acts as a link between my consciousness and the armor.

Responding to my approval of our first exchange, Tyraell slightly revealed a friendly smile. Then, he spoke, "well let's get into the main topic ..."

Alright, the fate of the game I have depends on this talk. Let's start the second topic!