How to Live in a Right-Handed World

She offered a knowing smile, and I, with a sigh, gave a nonchalant shrug.

“Lankart said you’re still better than he is. I can see where he’s coming from.”

“So they did similar things in the Military Nation, did they?”

“Much less. I was younger then, and the Military Nation wasn’t exactly sympathetic to my circumstances. Here, where you are, you’re understanding, making it much easier.”

Caught red-handed. Well, she must have known something to bring it up in the first place.

“I’m truly grateful to Avant-garde. I’m trying my best to treat her well.”

“I wasn’t about to scold you. Avant-garde’s skill has risen because of you, so it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. Besides, your… wanderings have stirred up quite a bit of interaction within the Crystal Tower. I couldn’t be prouder to have you as my disciple, you know?”

Was that just to satisfy a thirst for intellectual validation? Instead of reprimanding or suspecting me, the Azure Tower Lord was looking at me with an almost approving gaze. Good. Some people don’t take kindly to this sort of thing.

*’This talent for handling people… it’s rare, I was slow to recognize it. Lankart’s hint helped, but even without it, I would’ve noticed eventually. He is certainly exceptional. Heh. It’s a joy to get to know him.’*

That must be because she’s an exceptionally powerful and supremely confident mage.

It wasn’t some grand secret, nor was it something directed *at* her, but I had still been figured out. A decision loss for me, it seems.

Trying to mask my tension, I took a small sip of tea and asked, “Are you…displeased, perhaps?”

“About what, precisely?”

“That I’m taking advantage of Avant-garde’s goodwill.”

“Oh my. Do you really take me for such a naive person?”

“Though you, the Azure Tower Lord with your cold rationality, might not be, I can’t help but worry.”

“You’ve seen your fair share of strife, haven’t you? It’s fine. You are clearly a talented individual, and your presence is a positive influence on the Tower. Even if you’re playing with the heart of one cute mage, so what? If everyone involved is happy, then what’s the problem?”

Thank goodness the Azure Tower Lord has such a cool and open-minded personality. She seemed more inclined to offer her support rather than hinder me.

“All that is only possible if I pass the Ascension Gate, of course.”

“Even if you fail the Ascension Gate due to your mana issue, your abilities are such that you could join any tower in the lower realms.”

“The Crystal Tower would be best, naturally. I will find a way, for sure.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

The business was concluded. I drained the rest of my tea and rose from my seat.

Layered magic circles, bloodstone hycrystals. Even with those two shortcuts, it’s still not enough. I need to devise another method.

But, can I really uncover a solution that even the master of the Magic Tower hasn’t been able to find? I am, after all, the Human King. I simply have a relatively good grasp of the areas pioneered by humanity; I’m not someone who blazes a trail into uncharted territory.

He was about to offer his farewell and head out the door when the Azure Tower Lord spoke, as if remembering something.

“Ah. My disciple. I nearly forgot, but there’s another piece of news, a good one.”

“The Azure Tower Lord forgot? Hard to believe.”

“Well, it’s not exactly the kind of news that’ll make you overjoyed. News arrived that Rankart has completed his investigation and returned. He should be at the Intelligence Bureau by now.”

“…Haa. It’s certainly a… mixed bag.”

It’s not exactly bad. But I don’t feel like being happy about it either. I suppose I should go see him.

The Floating City uses gravity magic to keep everyone’s feet planted on its shell. There’s no horizon as you see it in the Lower Realm. Instead, the opposite side of the city arches overhead. There’s no need to climb high to gain a broader view. If you want to see farther, you simply tilt your head upward.

Unlike the sun, which turns a blind eye to the higher latitudes despite pretending to be impartial, the light radiating from the Floating City’s artificial sun shines upon the land with unwavering equality. No shadows linger in its gaze; there are no blind spots. Because in the Floating City, where the artificial sun is perpetually overhead, it is always noon.

After giving the Floating City a thorough look, I found the Intelligence Bureau. Pinpointing its location wasn’t difficult. All the Floating City’s important facilities had high ceilings. Counting the buildings closest to the artificial sun made it a quick job.

Unable to use gravity magic, I trudged to the Intelligence Bureau on foot. I haven’t had any reason to come here before, but showing the badge the Azure Tower Lord gave me should get me inside.

“Hyuie.”

Before I could even look for him, Rankart found me first. Oh. Saves me the trouble of tracking him down.

“You’re here? Took you long enou—”

“You… you’re the Human King?”

Oh? You found out too? Ah, right, you said you were gathering information from the Root Tree?

Honestly. It’s getting to the point where fewer people *don’t* know. I readily admitted it.

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

Why what? Why I’m the Human King, of course.

But that wasn’t what Rankart wanted to know, it seemed. He looked disappointed in me, clutching his forehead and shaking his head.

“Unbelievable. You’re the Human King.”

“What? What’s wrong with being the Human King?”

The sole King of Beasts, representing humanity, the dominant species of the surface. Sounds pretty impressive if you ask me. Isn’t it the kind of status that would quell some of your inferiority complex? What’s the problem?

“You… the you that I lost to is such a banal right-hand man. It can’t be.”

“What?”

“Just a King of Beasts… a mere existence of an already-defined concept. The most worthless of all right-hand men…”

“What’s with the sudden outburst? You want to fight?”

I said it as a joke, but Rankart acted on my words. He waved his hand dismissively. The motion felt devoid of even a trace of strength, but I was instantly caught in a massive whirlwind, sent tumbling back about ten meters.

“Huh.”

Rankart’s been acting strangely lately. Why’s he suddenly like this? Like his world is being denied or something.

“Because I am a human king? What a joke. If I were a *real* human king, I wouldn’t feel so cheated. There’s a blatant, superior existence that’s ‘Older Sister,’ and I’ve lost all my power?

…Or maybe not lost? It was originally ‘Older Sister’s,’ after all. When you think about it, I’m the one borrowing it.

“Rankart. How much investigating have you done? Who else besides you knows that fact?”

“Damn it. So all this time I’ve been competing with a being of pure concept…”

“‘Older Sister,’ did you meet her?”

“Huey, I have no business with you.”

He met her, then. Did they even speak? Let’s see, the memories.

Rankart, along with the wizards from the intelligence bureau, investigated the Root Tree’s surroundings. There were endless methods. They were all wizards, and Rankart was a sorcerer. Magically analyzing the Root Tree, recreating the phenomena that occurred there, and taking testimonies from the inhabitants.

The Root Tree shook violently, causing countless people to fall to the ground. After that, a great fire consumed the Root Tree. Mortally wounded, the Root Tree fell silent and ceased to move.

The people who lived in the shade of the World Tree were consumed by chaos and terror. Hundreds fell to their deaths, and the burning of their home made their future uncertain. The shade of the World Tree, once the most fertile and blessed village in the myriad nations, was forced to groan in agony and scatter its rage….

But that’s not what happened.

Although they suffered great sacrifices and harbored deep resentment. They were filled with a new hope.

The human king.

Beautiful, kind, resolute, and powerful.

The true human king, born from amongst the myriad nations, would lead them.

Having grasped the situation to some extent, the wizards now approached the survivors to gather testimonies-.

“Do you know my younger sibling? Would you lend me your ears for a moment?”

Rankart received a visit from ‘Older Sister.’

They didn’t have a long discussion, but Older Sister would have gleaned a great deal of information. And Rankart, the moment he saw that the person before him was the human king, knew it immediately.

And he realized. That the other was an existence closer to a phenomenon. That judging victory or defeat was meaningless.

To some extent, it was true. He thought it was a fair game, but it wasn’t. But. Did *I* deceive you?

“Showing off. Acting like you figured it out yourself when someone else told you.”

“What?”

“It’s none of my business if you build up your own expectations and then get disappointed. That’s your prerogative. But what kind of nerve do you have, seeing the answer sheet and then getting upset that I didn’t tell you first?”

I see the answer sheet too, but I don’t go running around whining about it like you do. If I misread it, I just grumble about it to myself.

“You tested me enough. If you still couldn’t recognize it, that was your limit. What’s more, you’ve now lost even the chance to find the answer yourself.”

“Huey…! Imposter!”

And Rankart’s domain gradually expanded. A vortex engulfs the floating fortress.

A world of right-handedness. A unique sorcery that deletes all leftward rotations within a specific space. Unique sorcery is indiscriminate of the type or strength of the power. In a matter of seconds, all movements are aligned to the right. The air currents, the magical power, and even the rotation of the floating fortress.

Creak, creak. Rankart’s world and the current world collide, and their surfaces wear away. All ‘left’ that is not the right that Rankart has defined collides with the right and vanishes.

“What is it? What’s happening?”

“The defense magic isn’t working!”

“A spatial anomaly? Who could possibly do this!”

He tried to counter with magic, sensing the disturbance, but failed repeatedly in this right-handed world. The magic circles and mana they wielded were also under the sway of this right-handed dominance, disrupting the flow.

“It can only be Lankart!”

“Investigator Lankart! Stop! Please!”

As if this wasn’t the first time, mages from the Intelligence Agency emerged, shouting Lankart’s name. But their steps faltered, shifting slowly towards Lankart’s right.

“Investigator Lankart! Withdraw your power!”

“A Grand Magus shouldn’t be unleashing their power on the Floating City!”

Of course, Lankart paid them no heed. He continued channeling his power, reaching out a hand towards me. A small gesture, perhaps, but Lankart was the epicenter of this right-handed world. His gesture amplified through the swirling vortex, crushing me with immense pressure.

“The reason I respected you was because you were left-handed. A being that defied the norm. One who offered a different perspective. One who found a way.”

“Oh? Guess I didn’t live up to your expectations?”

“If you, too, are but a concept bound by the rules, then even you are simply an object for me to decipher.”

Lankart’s power only intensified. Swept away by his expanding unique magic, I moved with faltering steps.

Unique magic, too, comes in different types. Like Maximilien’s gears, unique magic that focuses on the laws pertaining to a specific object is classified as *Material*. The scope is narrow, but within that domain, it wields absolute power.

The unique magic of the Black Tower Lord and the Green Tower Lord is similar, yet subtly different. Their unique magic is *Conceptual*. Implementing a single concept—a one-way street, a vanishing point—as their unique magic. Conceptual beings are powerful, but beyond that, they still adhere to the world’s rules.

In contrast, the Determinism of the Blue Tower Lord, Lankart’s World of the Right-Handed, targets the entire space—*Planar*. Forcing their established rules onto the domain of their unique magic, an exceptionally potent and widespread form of unique magic.

Among them, Conceptual unique magic is considered the most practical. Not bound by location or object, exceedingly powerful, and easy to apply.

But if asked which is the most powerful…

Most would reluctantly choose the unique magic aimed at the world.

I disagree, though.

“Decipher? You haven’t managed it.”

Within the right-handed world, I took a difficult step.

Everything in the world revolves in a clockwise spiral. To move straight towards the center within the swirling vortex is exceedingly difficult. The very force of the clockwise rotation becomes a wall, blocking my path.

But I possess the power to eliminate that wall.

“Still hesitant. Still trying to test me. Disappointment, whatever. It’s all just an excuse, isn’t it?”

Unique magic. The World of the Right-Handed.

Far smaller and weaker than Lankart’s, but a similar current was forming around me. Reading Lankart’s enlightenment and unfolding it.

Within the swirling vortex, there were two nuclei. Lankart’s immense current. And the small current centered around me. Both were the same unique magic, only differing in the magnitude of their power.

And yet, the clockwise rotation to me…

For Lancart, it could be a leftward spin.

“I’ve given you enough clues. Decipher it.”

Between Lancart and myself, a spin leftward for Lancart, rightward for me. The two cancel each other out. A whirling wall undergoes pair annihilation, scattering into pure force.

In contrast, outside of both Lancart and myself. A spin rightward for both of us. The two reinforce each other. A flow far more intense than what should be there shoves against my back.

The magnitude of the force is irrelevant. If I maintain a rightward spin centered on myself, according to Lancart’s rules. I can approach Lancart.

Because that is the rule of the right-handed world.

“You…!”

Whirr, whirr, whirr, whirr.

In the midst of it, caught between the two axes of rotation, I spun like a bearing. But it’s fine. As long as there’s an observer, I don’t feel dizzy.

And when the rotation reached its peak.

Diamond 1. Changing a folded card held between two fingers into a skewer, I lightly stabbed at Lancart. As naturally as playing a prank.