Ask Professor D! Part 4

D: "And so the time has come once again for another installment of Ask Professor D!"

Mei: "Once again... Before I knew it, this corner has reached its fourth episode. A corner like this, of all things..."

D: "It's my precious time to shine, you know. The more episodes, the better!"

Mei: "Ah. Sure, sure."

D: "Well then, let's dispense a little information at a time, shall we?"

**On Q, n%I=W** D: "It's a support Skill exclusive to reincarnators. Its true nature is a supplementary device designed to bestow the benefits of the system upon reincarnators, who would otherwise fall outside its application."

Mei: "What happens without it?"

D: "You get thrown into that world as an ordinary human with no Status, no Skills, nothing at all."

Mei: "Just a plain old human?"

D: "Without the assistance of Status or Skills, your strength, stamina, and intellect are all baseline human. To the locals who've received the system's benefits, you'd look absurdly frail. You'd probably lose in a fistfight with a child."

Mei: "And there are Monsters roaming around on top of that? You'd die in no time."

D: "Additionally, it comes equipped with a function that translates system-related language into Japanese. That's why Appraisal results and the Voice of Heaven (tentative) appeared and sounded in Japanese."

Mei: "Without that, you wouldn't have a clue what was going on until you picked up the local language."

D: "Incidentally, there's a slight bonus applied to Skill acquisition and Status growth values. Well, it's within the margin of error, though."

Mei: "Is that so? I was under the impression that reincarnators were so absurdly capable because of that Skill."

D: "It's not so much that reincarnators are superior—it's that the locals are inferior. On one hand, you have locals whose souls have been thoroughly degraded by being ground down by the system. On the hand, you have reincarnators who grew up unscathed on Earth, using their souls as-is all the way through high school. When it comes to which is more capable, the answer should be rather clear."

Mei: "Ah. When you put it that way, sure."

D: "Long ago, right after the system started running, there would have been plenty of locals who could hold their own against reincarnators. But now that they've degraded, reincarnators only appear stronger by comparison. If you recall the Status of Demon King Ariel, who has survived since that distant era, you'll get a good sense of just how nightmarish things used to be. Though, of course, hers is the product of countless years of honing, so it's not like there were loads of ones that horrifying running around. At best, there were loads with four-digit Status values."

Mei: "Even so, you're saying there were loads with four-digit Status values? What the heck, that's terrifying."

D: "I've strayed a bit off topic, but n%I=W is a device designed to support reincarnators. When they die, it returns their soul to the normal cycle of reincarnation, and its role is fulfilled. Well, before that, I go and fiddle around with—"

Mei: "Huh? What did you say?"

D: "It's nothing!"

Mei: "Suspicious..."

**Q: Professor D, if a reincarnator came to Earth, would you accept them?** D: "Absolutely! They'd be more than welcome!"

Mei: "You're already thinking about how interesting that would be, aren't you? Honestly."

D: "Well, to be more precise, my policy is: I never turn away those who come, and I never let those who try to leave get away. I don't reject those who arrive."

Mei: "Shouldn't that be 'I never chase after those who leave'?"

D: "No way! There's no chance I'd let something interesting slip through my fingers!"

Mei: "Reincarnators would be better off not going to Earth."

**Q: All about gods** D: "As I've touched on before, gods have factions and whatnot, and they engage in territorial disputes. Now, you might ask—why would they bother with territorial disputes? Doesn't it seem beneath beings as magnificent as gods? I'm sure many of you have wondered about this."

Mei: "They're fighting over entire stars, so it's not exactly small-scale."

D: "Even so, for such supposedly incredible beings as gods, their activities might seem rather small in scope. But here's the thing—stars play an important role for us gods. Specifically, the stars are what produce the energy that gods need."

Mei: "The image that comes to mind is the relationship between animals and plants. Animals breathe out carbon dioxide, which plants absorb, and then plants release oxygen, which animals absorb in turn, releasing carbon dioxide again. Similarly, gods absorb the energy expelled by stars, and stars absorb the energy that gods have used. In fact, stars and gods exist in that kind of symbiotic relationship."

D: "However, when I say 'energy,' there are actually many different types. Stars emit different kinds of energy, and different gods are compatible with different kinds. In general, biological-type gods tend to be more compatible with stars that have environments suitable for life—like Earth. It's not as though any star will do. And so, each god ends up fighting over the stars they're compatible with."

Mei: "Just being on a compatible star keeps a god in a stable position, after all. In the past arc, that's why the dragon lingered despite being terrified of Sariel."

D: "Furthermore, stars are constantly expelling energy. It may be waste from the star's perspective, but it's invaluable to gods. Even energy that a god isn't directly compatible with can be processed, so almost no god would try to destroy a star that's expelling energy. When the dragon drained a star of its energy entirely in the past arc, that can truly be considered an exceedingly rare exception. Even if you gain a massive amount of energy in the short term, once the star is gone, it obviously won't produce any more energy going forward—so in the long run, it's a net loss."

Mei: "Well, I get the feeling that certain someone out there has been blowing them up left and right without a care."

D: "Indeed. Certain someone has been slicing them apart without a moment's hesitation."

Mei: "..."

D: "..."

Mei: "Let's leave this topic here."

D: "Agreed."

**Q: Aren't the reincarnators' mental ages way too young?** D: "This one's hard to give a definitive answer to. Several causes can be hypothesized, but it's all speculation."

Mei: "That's unusually wishy-washy of you."

D: "It's not like I know everything. If anything, I make a point of not knowing. It'd be boring if I knew too much, wouldn't it?"

Mei: "Is that how it is?"

D: "That's how it is. Now then—the reason reincarnators seem to have such low mental ages is, I believe, because they're being pulled along by their physical bodies and because of their environment."

Mei: "I sort of understand the physical body part, but the environment?"

D: "Yes. Reincarnators, especially those who were confined in the elf village, lived like birds in a cage—a life without change. Change is a crucial element in a person's growth. Without anything new, people stagnate, and stagnation is an impediment to growth. In Japan, for example, you go through kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school, university, and then into the workforce—your social role changes along with your physical growth. I believe this change is a vital element that drives a person to grow. Because there's change, people put in the effort to keep up and continue learning. But if you live a life without change for years on end, you simply cannot grow. What's more, the reincarnators confined in the elf village were with acquaintances from their past lives—a relationship with zero stimulation. It would hardly be surprising if they merely continued in a state of stagnation, as extensions of their high school selves. That is my personal theory."

Mei: "Whether it's right or not aside, it does make a compelling case."

D: "The other factor is simply whether a person is making a conscious effort to grow. If you don't deliberately try to grow, you'd be surprised how easy it is to remain a child. Growing up isn't something that happens automatically just because time passes. You have to create an environment where children can grow and foster a desire to grow in them—otherwise, they'll stay children forever. People say it's nice to 'never lose your childlike heart,' but plenty of grown adults are still children on the inside, with no growth and no intention of growing. They don't even realize they haven't grown. My contention is that reincarnators were unable to grow because of their environment—that the environment suppressed their very awareness of wanting to grow."

Mei: "You're giving a surprisingly serious lecture on education theory!?"

D: "How rude. I'm always dead serious!"

Mei: "Huh?"

D: "Huh?"

D: "And with that, I'd like to wrap up today's installment of Ask Professor D. We'll see you next time."

Mei: "Is 'next time' even a given at this point...?"