The Dialectic of Master and Slave - Chapter 120

Volumes 1-4 + Side Stories of DMS are available uncensored on ko-fi! ※ This work contains depictions of coercive relationships, explicit language, and other graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

When molecules collide, they share electrons through covalent bonding, sticking together as if they were one. This is known as the “cold welding” phenomenon—the primary cause of frictional force.

The more molecules in a cold-welded state, the more force is required to separate the two objects.

If all molecules were cold-welded, the two objects would, in theory, become inseparable.

However, even surfaces that appear smooth to the naked eye are uneven at a molecular level. So even if two objects seem perfectly pressed together, the actual contact area is usually very small.

Try touching two sheets of paper together. They’ll separate immediately. That’s because only an extremely small number of molecules are cold-welded, while the vast majority are not. That’s normal.

And yet, Jaha had been alive and well for months after falling into this world.

Borrowing the enigmatic voice’s analogy, this meant that a significant number of molecules had cold-welded between “Jaha” and “whatever entity in this world she had collided with.”

Jaha didn’t want to know who—or what—she had formed this covalent bond with. It didn’t matter to her.

“I want to go back to Earth.”

A Post-it note that has fallen once will drop again soon even if you forcibly stick it back. So Jaha knew what kind of ending awaited her even if she returned to Earth. But even if her fate was to soon crash to the floor, even if this time she would be thrown into the trash bin by the janitor’s hand, Jaha wanted to escape from this world.

Because there was family there, daily life… and no Emperor.

“Let me die on Earth.”

A brief silence fell over the metaphysical world.

—What will you give me in return?

The mysterious voice asked.

—The basis of any deal is equivalent exchange, no? If I do something for you, shouldn’t you also give me something of equal value in return?

Caught off guard by this response, Jaha was left speechless. The mysterious voice’s argument had no flaws.

Looking back, among the protagonists of the novels Jaha enjoyed reading, none had returned to their original world without paying some price. Whether saving the world, defeating the demon king, or advancing civilization, they were only granted the right to return after completing their given task.

“What must I do…?”

—Well.

Unlike Jaha’s trembling voice, the mysterious voice was the epitome of calm.

—You don’t have the ability to save the world, the strength to defeat the demon king, nor the wisdom to advance civilization. You weren’t even summoned here because you possessed such qualities to begin with.

The white pillar rippled without a single breeze. The entire space shook as if undulating. The whole world seemed to be giggling.

—Why don’t you just accept your circumstances and live in this world?

The light gradually dimmed as Jaha’s body, which had been floating in midair, slowly descended. By the time she safely landed on the altar, the dazzling radiance had completely vanished.

The priests wiped Jaha’s body clean, dressed her, and restored her to the state she was in before entering the sanctuary, then examined her condition. No matter how they looked at her, she seemed utterly devoid of spirit. If the ritual had succeeded, she should have been fine.

“After pouring so much divine power into it, to think it failed!”

The high priest, who had scrutinized Jaha closely, let out a disbelieving sigh.

Healing was, without a doubt, the temple’s greatest specialty. Sacred power itself was a force most attuned to that very purpose. Moreover, given the importance of the petitioner, the pope and the high priests had prepared thoroughly before proceeding—yet there was no improvement whatsoever.

The unprecedented situation left the priests in an uproar. Even the pope, the highest authority, couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

The reason he had acted so confidently before the Emperor was because he had been sure they could cure the patient. Even if they couldn’t restore her completely in an instant, he had believed they could at least produce noticeable improvement. But when not even the slightest change occurred, an intense pressure weighed down on the pope.

This wasn’t the outcome he had wanted. He had envisioned this girl recovering just enough for the grateful Emperor to beg the temple for a full cure, surrendering to their demands—but instead, nothing had changed.

The pope grabbed Jaha’s face and glared at her with a fierce gaze.

“Are you pretending to be out of your mind on purpose?”

Jaha was unresponsive. The Pope, facing her empty eyes that held no hint of a gun, sighed and let go of her hand.

“What should we do about this?”