"This is it. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info Older sister-sama. ”

Yang Ming and Urushihata, the scholar of the white position, and Nanami Kuribayashi were speechless when they saw the scene unfolding in front of them.

The photographer set up a camera and began to record the tragic scene.

"This—This is ......"

It was a sight of the foothills and valleys of the plateau completely obscured by black mist.

It can be seen from the air, but the severity of the impact can be better understood when viewed up close.

Dolgar got down from the pterodactyl on one knee and didn't touch the black mist......

When you look closer, you find that it's more like haze or smoke than fog...... While carefully examining the plants, he let out a sad sound.

"It's too much ......"

"What's going on?"

"All dead. All living things have ceased their life activities......"

All plants covered in black fog with their roots remain green and die.

If the leaves turn red and fall off, it's a natural phenomenon.

But even the leaves of the trees that weren't deciduous trees were falling green, which was an unusual sight.

The black fog spreads like black water. Durja, who had found the insect carcasses on the other side of the mist, picked up two branches and clamped them up like chopsticks.

The insect looked like it had just died, and the corpse looked fresh. Even the moisture is still there.

"Did they just die, or did the plants and insects that died in this black fog not rot?"

That is, even the putrefactive bacteria are dead.

Yang Ming, who has modern scientific knowledge, Urushihata, and Bai Wei stared at Du Jia's hand, "Is it radiation?" "No, maybe it's poison gas." While speculating on the cause of death.

Hearing the dangerous words, Itami hurriedly removed the Geiger counter from the chemical protective equipment.

He took the machine and pointed everywhere and read out the value, "The value is within the normal range." In addition, he took out the gas detector and inserted its head into the black fog to determine whether it was toxic.

However, comparing the color change of the test tube with that of the textbook, there was no test result that could confirm the presence of toxic gases.

Giselle pointed to the top of a hill jutting out like a reef in a sea of clouds,

"I came here a month ago, as the Lord had directed...... said. At that time, the fog only reached that vicinity...... said. But it's now spread here. ”

"This, is it the fog outside......" Lori covered her mouth and whispered.

"The Fog Outside?"

"It is said that after tens of thousands, tens of millions, or maybe hundreds of millions of years, the world where the gods have left and the humans have died will slowly be shrouded in the fog of nothingness, returning to the original chaos. That fog of nothingness is called the Outer Mist. ”

"But now Lori, aren't you gods still there?"

"That's right. So this kind of thing shouldn't have happened yet. It should be a long, long, ~ long time later. ”

Lori said this, crouching to the ground as if she had been hit hard.

"Urushihata-kun, what do you think of this thing?"

"Something that looks like fog at first glance......"

Urubata walked slightly down the slope and reached for the black mist that resembled the surface of the water, but was stopped by Giselle.

"Be careful. If you stick it too deep, your finger will be gone. ”

Giselle said this, plucking a leafy branch from a tree that had not yet died, inserting its tip into the black mist and stirring it a few times. Then pull it out and bring it to Urubata's eyes.

The green leaves attached to the tips of the branches shattered at the slightest touch of liquid nitrogen.

Yang Ming also plucked a branch and inserted its front end into the black mist.

If it is an object such as water vapor or fog, it will cause a fluctuation and other reactions, just like smoke made by stirring dry ice. But the black mist was as unresponsive as a shadow, fixed there.

"If you look 4-5 centimeters down from the surface, you can barely see through it. ”

Urubata took out the convenience store shopping bag from the bag and put the shochu and snacks back in the bag, holding only the plastic bag. Then he crouched down, and then scooped up the black mist as if he were drawing water.

But no matter how many times it was repeated, there was never a black object left in the plastic bag that was scooped up. When I put the plastic bag inside, there was indeed a black mist inside it......

"Hmmmm. It's not like gas or liquid. Not only that, but it can't be called 'substance'. ”

Hearing Yang Ming's words, "That's the case. "White position,Ushihata and the two nodded.

Like children staring at a puddle, the three adults sat face to face, observing the black clouds.

As soon as you put the bag in, the fog penetrates through the plastic surface. And then even if you pick up the plastic bag, the fog doesn't accumulate, and there's nothing left in the bag.

"I think, maybe it's something like a shadow?"

"Shadows?"

The microphone suddenly came from the side. Nanami smiled and waited for Yang Ming's explanation. The camera lens also flashed beside her.

Seeing her smiling face, the scholars nodded and began to explain.

"It is not yet possible to draw a definitive conclusion. But the old man thinks that this may be a shadow of an extra dimension. ”

"Dimensionality, dimensionality? It's like SF. ”

"Hmmmm. That sounds like very dubious pseudoscience. That's what I thought, too. But in reality, this is an area of academic research. Experiments using the Large Hadron Collider to prove the existence of a fifth dimension are underway in Geneva. ”

"Hah, that's right...... But can this thick thing, which should be said to be light and fluttering, be said to be a shadow?"

"Hmmmm. Good question. In the three-dimensional space where you and I live, if we mention shadows, then the shadows we know are planes, that is, two-dimensional. ”

"Eh. ”

"But if there is a three-dimensional, three-dimensional shadow here, then this may also imply the existence of an additional dimension. ”

"Whew~hmm"

Nanami nodded in agreement. Professor Yang Ming also smiled like a kind old grandfather when he saw this reaction.

But Nanami said with a smile,

"I don't understand. ”

"Ah, stupid man! You still tell me you don't understand this job!!The nutrition is all running to the chest, and it doesn't go to the brain at all!"

Yang Ming scolded this guy and this guy while banging on Nanamei's head. Nanami rolled around on the ground with her head in her hands.

"Hey, hey, I'm sorry. However, I really can't understand it. ”

"Forget it, Professor Yangming, calm down, calm down. There are no more students who can understand the middle explanations without them. And if there is a shadow with a three-dimensional nature, it implies the theory of the existence of additional dimensions, which is the first time I have heard of it. ”

"Isn't that a matter of course. The old man just came up with it. Urushihata and the white bit were speechless.

Nanami Kuripayashi, who couldn't understand the situation, looked timidly at the professors' faces and said, "What, why?"

Immediately afterward, the shout of "What should I do if I can't understand something of this magnitude intuitively!!" echoed through the mountains of Knappunui.

The sun sets, and the night is surrounded by darkness.

The group that had finished the half-day investigation had dinner. The menu is a fairly familiar battle food, and not many people openly profess to hate curry rice.

After the rain stopped, the stars twinkled and the sky cleared. But the ground was still muddy and there was no place to sit. So they used the inside of the Chinook as a canteen.

Giselle gobbled up the curry rice in her lunch box.

"It's delicious, it's delicious!" I ate two servings and three servings in an instant.

The woman in the white priest's uniform suddenly sat on the ground with her thighs apart, eating with an astonishing gesture that could no longer be said to be rude, and she could only be considered to have completely given up on something about women.

Although Hardy is also a big stomach, she eats well. The food between the two of them is really different.

It's because of her beautiful appearance that I feel pity. Itami thought about this as he looked back at Yao.

Then Yao looked at each other, and before Itami could speak, he said, "Okay," stood up, and began to prepare rice.

"Looking at her like that, I guess I can still eat. Reheat for one more serving. And by the way, pour everyone some coffee. As soon as Itami wanted to say this, Yao started to act before that, so Itami could only watch with his mouth open and closed.

"Eh,Rely on your eyes to convey ideas or something.,It's amazing.,Hmph~~"

Hearing Du Jia's sarcastic words, Yao smiled and proudly touched his chest with a 50 yuan coin. After throwing away the amulet he had received from Lori, Yao sighed as if it were the end of the world, so Itami took out the 50 yuan coin from his wallet and said, "That's ten times the 5 yuan coin," and handed it to Yao. When Yao saw that Qian's eyes were open, he cheered up. No, not only that, but she's even very fast.

"What Yohji wants to do, I can feel here. "It seems to be really carried away.

"Oops, yes. That's nice. ”

"It seems that the title has also become His Excellency Yoshi~. ”

"I decided to call it that because I thought it was time to close the distance. Oh, I feel it, and I'm sure I'll receive an invitation to Lord Yoshiji's vigil tonight. ”

Under the gaze of everyone, Itami shouted, "No, no, how is it possible!"

But Yao was humming a little song and preparing the bagged battle food. Then he glanced at Itami and said, "Lord Yoshiji seems to be shy. ”

Seeing all this, Lori whispered to Durga and Leilai,

It seems that she can't tell the difference between her own desires and reality. It's necessary to monitor tonight. ”

"That's right. ”

"Understood. ”

To dispel the sinister atmosphere, Itami changed the subject.

God's apostolic work is also troublesome. ”

Hearing Itami's words, the spoon that Giselle was putting into his mouth stopped for a moment.

She muttered quietly, "It's all your fault." ”

"Why me?"

"Because of the dragon. Because of that, I was scolded by the Lord. As punishment for telling me to keep an eye on the Black Mist before you guys get here......" Seeing Lori's sharp gaze, Giselle craned her neck and said, "...... That's what the Lord told me. It was changed to an honorific tone.

"Won't I feed you?

"How could the immortals worry about the eating problems of the people below. This means that the problem of eating should be solved by each individual's ability. At first, I ate all the weeds I could and hunted animals. But ah, the creatures here either die or run, and none of the prey can be caught. ”

Giselle said, twisting her head to the side with tears in her eyes.

In the direction of her line of sight, the astronomer placed a telescope and a video camera in the white position, observing and photographing.

"What's that doing...... What do you say?"

He seemed to want to keep a record of the stars in the night sky. ”

Yao explained as he gave her the curry rice he had added.

The photographer who can be called Nanami Kurithayashi's partner is also doing Bai Shi a favor because the operation there is similar to his own field of expertise. Of course, he was also recording a video for reporting.

On the other hand, Yang Ming and Ushihata were sitting on simple beds side by side in the Chinook cargo hold, pouring wine and mouthing their mouths.

"Alright, Mr. Yangming. How are you going to conduct future investigations?"

Hearing Qi Hata's speech, Yang Ming grabbed his chin and whispered,

"Whew. The first step is to negotiate with the Ministry of Culture, Culture, Science and Technology and get them to approve the budget required for a formal investigation. ”

"But is there still that much time?"

"yes. Indeed, if that fog is spreading, we must deal with it quickly. If there is a hint that the existence of a door is the cause, something must be done about the door as soon as possible. As a result, we can no longer afford to talk about the slowness of investigating next year. ”

"So, that outer fog is something that appeared because of the existence of the 'door', is that okay?"

Facing Kuribayashi, who was in a hurry to draw conclusions, "I don't understand that kind of thing!" replied Yang Ming.

"Do you know that the phenomenon of 'gates' itself is incomprehensible to our generation? It is impossible to prove the causal relationship between them just by virtue of the incomprehensible phenomena and the incomprehensible events that occur with them. ”

"So what's the point of this investigation?"

"It's just to make it clear that the incomprehensible phenomenon has happened. Further investigation is needed to understand this phenomenon. Knowing this, it can be said that it is a harvest this time. ”

"But if that's the case, there's no need to close the 'door'?"

"Perhaps. But maybe not. Because deciding what to do is the realm of politics. Although it is not possible to scientifically draw definitive conclusions, it is not uncommon to speculate on the dangers based on the events that occur in the surrounding area, and to have to take countermeasures. For example, isn't that the case with the prediction of the Tokai earthquake? I don't know when it will happen, but we still have to make preparations. It's the same here, whether it's the deviation of the star's observation position, whether it's an earthquake, or the fog outside, these anomalies are happening. From these perspectives, the only thing that can be determined is the need for some kind of countermeasure. It's not clear yet, but it's probably too late to do it when you do. ”

Ushihata agreed, nodding yes.

"That's right. Therefore, it is necessary to obtain financial assistance as soon as possible. If we continue to do this without any investigation, it will be a huge loss. ”

"Hey, the men of Sayama over there. Where did the budget for this survey come from?"

Itami recalls the contents of the budget book he had read earlier.

"Ah, it's a special budget for the transfer of resources to the survey. ”

"Okay, leave the rest to me! Gather the equipment you can gather, gather the scholars you can, and investigate thoroughly!"

"Please, please wait a minute. It's not something I can decide on my own. If you don't consult with the governor."

"Don't be verbose, give me a way. The old man thinks that the investigation here is not only about the theory of extra dimensions, but also about the existence of dark matter. Isn't it an excuse to say that this is a resource of knowledge that has been unearthed through a special investigation?"

"Well, I'll try to say that. Itami squeaked and scratched his head.

"It's a validation of 'something' that can only exist as gravity. Ushibatake muttered.

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My heart was broken.