The reincarnators were in an uproar over the massive bomb the vampire girl had dropped.
Everyone was so buzzing with excitement that her threats didn't even register.
The possibility of returning to Earth must have been that shocking.
Unfortunately, it wasn't possible.
It's true that I had previously asked the vampire girl whether she wanted to go back to Earth.
But that was meant to be after everything was over.
After the System collapsed.
Not while the System was still functioning as it was now.
The reincarnators could not return to Earth.
Because of the n%I=W Skill.
This Skill, which had been a mystery at first, had the effect of binding reincarnators to this world's System.
Reincarnators were not originally inhabitants of this planet.
Under normal circumstances, they should have been unaffected by this planet's unique System and returned to the regular cycle of reincarnation upon death.
Instead, their souls were forcibly crammed into the System and given a second life.
That was what a reincarnator was.
And the Skill that tethered reincarnator souls to the System was n%I=W.
Thanks to this Skill, reincarnators could receive the benefits of the System—Skills, Status, and the like—despite being outsiders.
At the same time, this Skill also served to regulate things so that reincarnators wouldn't become completely absorbed into the System.
When a reincarnator died, unlike the planet's native inhabitants, they were set to return to the normal cycle of reincarnation.
If they became fully assimilated into the System, they'd be trapped in an endless cycle of reincarnation on this planet—an endless hell.
To prevent that, the n%I=W Skill granted reincarnators the System's blessings while managing things so they wouldn't be completely consumed by it.
Reincarnators were, above all else, temporary guests—both to the System and to this world.
So anyway, the n%I=W Skill was incredibly important for reincarnators, but in this particular case, that very Skill was getting in the way.
A Skill was something that clung to the soul.
And among all Skills, the n%I=W Skill—the one most critical to reincarnators—had a rock-solid hold on their souls.
Furthermore, the n%I=W Skill served as the bridge connecting reincarnators to the System.
In other words, it was linked to the System.
This could not be severed.
In other words of other words, it was impossible to extract a reincarnator from this planet where the System existed.
If the System collapsed, that bond would cease to exist.
That was why I had asked the vampire girl and Oni whether they wanted to go back to Earth—as something to discuss after it was all over.
The vampire girl had blown that out of proportion and seemed to think they could go back right now.
In practice, I was no longer under the influence of the Skill, so I could freely travel to and from Earth.
But that was only possible because I had no Skill. To take reincarnators along, you'd either need to collapse the System, or strip them of their Skills like me.
Technically, there did exist a Skill that could remove Skills.
A method of sacrificing one's Skill power.
However, when Natsume had that method applied to him by the teacher and had his Skills stolen, the n%I=W Skill was the only one that remained.
That showed just how critical n%I=W was, and how difficult it was to separate from.
Well, it made sense—it was the terminal for transmitting the System's influence, so trying to sever it from within the System's own power was impossible.
Which meant the only way to separate it was, like me, to become a god.
What kind of impossible game was that?
No way.
And could I use my own power to sever their n%I=W? Not a chance.
That thing was made by D, for crying out loud.
There was no way someone like me could do anything about it.
Anything related to the soul required incredibly advanced techniques.
A rookie god with barely a decade and a half of experience couldn't just handle that.
If I pushed it, I was afraid I'd end up aborting their souls entirely.
So the conclusion was: going home was impossible.
But now, how was I supposed to explain that?
Well, it wasn't like I had to explain the detailed mechanics. I could just say "it can't be done" and leave it at that.
But several of the reincarnators, starting with Kudo, were looking at me with eyes full of overwhelming hope.
Did I really have to shoot that down in this kind of atmosphere?
"Can we really... go back?"
Kudo's eyes brimmed with tears, as if overcome with emotion.
Oh boy.
Whoa.
Yeah, well, if you had unfinished business on Earth, of course you'd want to go back.
And for them, who had been living under house arrest in the elven village, it was only natural that their longing for home had grown stronger the harder things got.
But think about how I felt, having to be the one to deny them in this atmosphere!
Damn it!
That vampire girl!
She just had to drop that extra bomb, didn't she?
The first to notice my hesitation were the vampire girl and Oni.
The vampire girl tilted her head with a "Hmm?" kind of expression, while Oni kept glancing my way, eyes darting around nervously.
Both of them picked up on my subtle agitation and realized what it meant—that the answer was no.
And from the way those two reacted, the other reincarnators gradually began to sense that something was off.
The ecstatic hope of being able to go home slowly sank into anxiety.
Kudo, who had been the most visibly overjoyed, was now staring at me with a desperate, clinging gaze.
Ugh.
That vampire girl had really, truly dropped an unnecessary bomb on us.
If I hadn't given them false hope about going home in the first place, none of them would have been thinking about it.
Without hope, there could be no disappointment.
It was because they'd been given that strange, fragile hope that the despair of learning the truth hit so hard.
"It can't be done."
I steeled myself and said those words.
Immediately after, an indescribable silence settled over the room.
The vampire girl opened her mouth as if to say something, but I activated my Evil Eye and forcibly froze her in place.
She was probably about to say something like "Huh? But didn't you say before that it was possible?" and I really didn't need her adding fuel to the fire.
True, after the System collapsed, it might not be entirely impossible.
But I had no intention of dealing with that aftermath for everyone.
That wasn't part of my contract with D, either.
And even if the System did collapse, whether I could actually do it was not guaranteed.
I had originally proposed the idea thinking that, for the vampire girl and Oni alone, it might be manageable with advance preparation.
But I had neither the time nor the energy to make such preparations for every single reincarnator.
Maybe two or three people, tops.
If I bluntly announced that right now?
There would absolutely be a scramble for those spots.
If it was impossible to send everyone home, then it was better to keep everyone here.
At least that way, there would be no fighting over seats, no resentment born from inequality.
An almost painful silence filled the room.
Within it, Kudo slumped back into his seat.
Rather than sitting down, it was more accurate to say his strength had given out and he'd collapsed backward into the chair that happened to be there.
That was how drained Kudo's expression was.
He hung his head, unable to say a word.
Several others wore faces that couldn't quite hide their disappointment.
I'm sorry.
For giving you that unnecessary hope.
Even the vampire girl seemed uncomfortable in this atmosphere, her expression awkward and guilty-looking.
Seeing that, I released the Evil Eye I'd been holding on her.
"Let's call it here for today."
I said that and stood up.
The mood for continuing the meeting was completely gone.
The reincarnators needed some time to think, too.
I hurried outside, escaping from the frozen atmosphere.
The vampire girl and Oni flusteredly followed after me.
No one tried to stop us as we left, and we stepped outside the treehouse.
The closing door separated us from the reincarnators.