The Role of the World
Auri looked around the room.
“Is everyone in agreement, just as Tōdō‑sama is?”
The others hesitated, exchanged glances, then nodded.
Auri continued, his tone calm but cutting.
“You may not understand why I insist on asking such a question.
But to put it bluntly—far too many beings, human or otherwise, are excessively prone to blaming others.”
He clasped his hands behind his back.
“You are here because you chose to be here.
Yet when something inconvenient happens—something unexpected, something undesired—
people say, ‘I was forced,’ or ‘I never asked for this,’ or ‘I didn’t agree to any tests.’”
His golden eyes narrowed slightly.
“But from my perspective, these are merely the consequences of choices you made.
Ah—my phrasing may be harsh for you.
That is precisely why I always ask.”
He tapped the whiteboard.
“Regret.
Or rather—whether you are here with no lingering doubts,
and whether you accept that you are here by your own will.”
The room fell silent.
Auri nodded once.
“Then let us proceed.”
He erased the words 後悔しませんか？ and drew a large circle, surrounded by several smaller circles.
“First, let us discuss the current state of this world.”
He pointed at the large circle.
“This is the world you recognize—let us call it World A.
Around it are countless other worlds: World B, World C, World D, and so on.
Parallel worlds, multidimensional worlds, conceptual worlds—
all of them exist.”
He wrote the letters around the board.
“In many of these worlds, there are beings similar to humans,
and civilizations far more advanced than yours.”
Then he turned toward me.
“Tōdō‑san.
How does your world dispose of waste?”
Sudden question.
“Uh… burn food waste, landfill the big stuff?”
“Acceptable.”
Auri nodded.
“In your world, landfills will eventually overflow.
This is a problem that arises in many worlds.”
He tapped the smaller circles.
“So the advanced civilizations thought:
Why not dispose of our hazardous waste in another dimension?
A world less developed, less influential, less likely to retaliate.”
He pointed at the large circle labeled A.
“They searched for a world with minimal impact on their own.
A world that could absorb the burden.”
His golden finger traced the circle.
“And they chose your world.”
He turned toward all of us.
“The places you call dungeons—
are nothing more than interdimensional dumping grounds.”
