episode_0055

“Achoo—!”

* * *

Zzzzip.

I sneezed hard, and my head throbbed.

Yuri wiped away the trickle of snot with a handkerchief.

“Are you okay? You seem to have overdone it today.”

“No- I’m fine.”

“Wipe your nose and then tell me… I think your body temperature dropped because you used too much ice magic. Just a moment—”

* * *

Flap-

Eve unfurled the cloak she was wearing and draped it over Yuri’s shoulders.

“Mmm— Warm. Thanks.”

“It’s okay. If you get even a little hurt, I don’t know what Nari will do…”

“Hehehe.”

* * *

The two of them happily walked out of the forest together and returned to the Adventurer’s Guild.

On the way back, people’s gazes were quite sharp, and that was undoubtedly because of Eve carrying four Grizzly Bears on her back.

Even at the reception’s item submission window, they complained that the four bears were too big and wouldn’t all fit.

“Oh my, the request said three, but you brought four?”

“While teaching a newbie, we hunted, so the quality might be a bit low. Please tell them one is a bonus.”

“Yes, understood.”

* * *

That which capable adventurers value more than their lives: trust.

Even if their name isn’t involved, if it’s work as an adventurer, they never do it haphazardly.

This kind of flexible, little extra something is also life wisdom learned living as an adventurer.

Yuri thought Eve looked even more awesome today.

* * *

“Where’s Nari? I thought she’d finish first, come to the guild, and be waiting with her legs crossed.”

“Eeng… No way. I- I had to mine 1kg of that stuff—Kheung.”

“No, surely, once you mined the first one, the rest would have been easy.”

* * *

Eve was looking around the Adventurer’s Guild lobby, which was even busier than when they left.

Most people weren’t sitting down, they were just passersby, so it seemed difficult to find someone here.

* * *

Soon, the receptionist came from inside the counter.

“Your request has been processed. You can receive your compensation at the counter next door.”

“Understood… But, um, excuse me—”

* * *

Eve stopped the receptionist who was going back to attend to other matters.

“Narias, a registration examinee, came earlier, right?”

“Ah— Right…! I’m sorry, I had a note, but I forgot.”

* * *

She pulled out a small piece of paper from under the reception counter.

Looking at the magically engraved characters, she quickly realized it was left by Nari.

* * *

‘…This is.’

* * *

「^O^」

* * *

A magic like a cipher was engraved, requiring the injection of specific mana to reveal the text.

I guess this is typical Nari… What’s she gonna do if we can’t figure out this cipher?

Well, that won’t happen.

Feeling her trust, Eve smiled faintly.

* * *

Rustle-

After solving a simple puzzle and pouring in mana, words appeared on the paper.

* * *

「I had to go somewhere, sorry. Eat dinner together and go to bed first. I’ll be back tomorrow morning. ^O^」

「-Nari-」

* * *

“…Useless information.”

“What, where did sis go?”

“I don’t know, where did she go—”

* * *

Achoo—!

For some reason, Eve suddenly sneezed.

* * *

She wiped away the slightly runny snot with a dumbfounded expression.

“What, why me…”

“Heh. Eve has a cold too.”

“It’s been 10 years since I last had a summer cold…”

* * *

Something feels fishy.

Yuri, who overdid it a little today, I don’t know, but even I, who usually manage my condition properly, caught a cold.

* * *

At the same time, my eyes fell on the request board.

The worn-out exploration request that was always in the corner was gone.

* * *

Is it related to Nari going somewhere?

I can’t judge rashly, so I asked the reception, but the staff member on duty now said they didn’t know because they had just started their shift.

* * *

Something… something feels uneasy.

* * *

That request was definitely for an exploration of the deepest part of the Bewitching Forest, and Eve wanted to rush to the forest right now.

Of course, she didn’t even recognize the underlying worry about Nari, hidden beneath the purpose of identifying the suspicious entity.

* * *

Logically, it’s right to wait and trust.

Nari isn’t an ordinary human, and she’s a strong person who’s on par with me, a Unique-class adventurer.

It’s a stupid thing to follow blindly without knowing where she went.

* * *

Besides, Yuri is here too.

Especially when Nari isn’t around, it was Eve’s job to protect her.

“What’s wrong? Your expression is dark.”

“…Ah, yes—It’s nothing.”

“It’s okay, sis will be fine. Let’s have some warm soup and sleep.”

* * *

Yuri was calmer than expected, considering she would usually be the first to rush out.

Perhaps this is a common occurrence between the two who have lived together for a long time.

* * *

Suppressing her worried heart, Eve headed toward a nearby restaurant with Yuri.

* * *

Really… I hope nothing bad happens.

* * *

* * *

“Damn it—What the hell is this…!”

* * *

The spirits’ lights had vanished, and complete darkness had settled around for a long time.

Thanks to the mana I could feel, I realized it was some kind of magic, but the caster wasn’t visible.

This makes it impossible to use [Dispel].

* * *

‘…Damn it.’

An uneasy feeling, my voice barely coming out.

It feels like I’ve been hit with a mental manipulation spell.

* * *

What’s spread around me now is just an illusion.

Otherwise…

* * *

Tap- tap-

* * *

“Haah… The progress bar is still too low…”

…There’s no way I’d see my past self playing Akasto.

* * *

Tap- click click-

* * *

Apparently, they can’t see me from over there.

Even waving my hand in front of my face resulted in no reaction.

Natural, given it’s a hallucination.

* * *

I cautiously looked around.

* * *

A bookshelf filling one wall.

Packed inside were light novels, game cartridges, and figures.

A computer case emitting multicolored lights and three monitors.

* * *

A typical otaku’s room.

A perfect recreation of my room, at 200% accuracy.

* * *

‘…It’s still comforting to see.’

* * *

A feeling like returning home?

The scent of my smell and a diffuser gifted by my friends blended well, and a familiar and nostalgic atmosphere seeped into my skin.

* * *

…I wonder how everyone is doing.

A feeling I never experienced even when my past life memories first returned.

It wasn’t particularly unpleasant, perhaps because I lived a moderately satisfying life.

I didn’t have any regrets.

* * *

What’s the point of regretting the past?

It was also due to my personality, my desire to see brighter things and live positively.

The fact that my new life was exceedingly satisfactory might also be one reason.

* * *

Zeeeng- zeeng-

* * *

The smartphone on the desk rang, and my past self casually answered the call.

* * *

“Hello… Ah—Yes, boss. Right now? Studying. Phew… No, you know this, why are you asking, then?”

* * *

It must have been a call from the boss at the butcher shop where I worked part-time as a manager.

* * *

Looking at the clock, it was 9 PM on Wednesday.

It was the day I would leave work early after entrusting closing to my part-time colleagues and enjoy Akasto… something must’ve gone wrong.

My past self held the phone between his shoulder and cheek while taking a jacket out of the closet.

“Yes, yes. I’m going now. No, no bonus needed. I’ll get the aged pork belly out and let the kids eat before sending them off. What, is it the assholes causing trouble again?”

* * *

Putting on his worn-out sneakers covered in dust and black charcoal, he quietly chuckled.

* * *

“Thanks. In that case… buy me a drink, sis. Yeah, see you later. I love you too.”

* * *

Tch, that boss was pretty back then.

Jealous, you brat.

* * *

After putting on his hat and checking the mirror once, my past self grabbed a condom and opened the front door.

* * *

‘Have a good time.’

* * *

Cut down on the alcohol and cigarettes, and be good to your sister.

* * *

As a senior who lived 20 years longer, I quietly pushed the slowly disappearing back of that guy beyond the bright light of the hallway.

* * *

. . .

* * *

Well… I had a good past life.

* * *

Now, shall I deal with the uninvited guest?

* * *

“Come out already, you damn leech!”

* * *

-Kukuk.

* * *

Along with the creepy voice I first heard, cracks began to appear in the scenery of my room.

* * *

Tick- tidik- clang—!

* * *

A scene from my memory shattered, and I returned to the silence of the black abyss.

* * *

“What do you want? Why are you digging up someone else’s memories like this?”

* * *

-Kukuk… You, you’re not from this world?

* * *

“So what are you going to do?”

* * *

The voice’s owner still didn’t reveal themselves.

* * *

I could only feel their presence circling me.

Standing still in front of me, quickly passing behind me.

* * *

They’re toying with me like a child.

* * *

-Your memories, so interesting…! It’s full of things I’ve never seen before, I got excited for the first time in a while.

* * *

“Really? Then I’ll tell you myself, so will you release this magic?”

* * *

-Kihit… It seems you still don’t understand the situation, human?

* * *

Judging by the tone, is it a spirit?

* * *

Come to think of it, I didn’t think all spirits would welcome a human who entered the sanctuary.

I expected some resistance, but… this is unexpected.

* * *

-I’m going to put you to sleep forever… and use you as my bookshelf. You’ll never be able to wake up again? Kukhuk.

* * *

“Ah, ah. That’s quite desperate. Won’t you just wake me up? While I’m still being nice.”

* * *

-Khit, huhut. Foolish human. Struggling is pointless.

* * *

Hoo… It seems words won’t work.

* * *

Well, I gave them several chances, but they rejected them all.

If words don’t work, it’s time for force.

* * *

『Trait, [Reborn One] activates.』 『Maintaining sanity.』 『Forcibly awakening the dormant consciousness.』

* * *

Sarrr—!

* * *

In the pitch-black darkness, the blurry outline of my body began to shine brightly.

* * *

-What, what is that…what are you doing…?!

* * *

I smirked slightly and grabbed the [Mental Manipulation] magic surrounding me.

“Do I need permission to enter my own body?”

* * *

My resistance to the removal of the powerful mental suppression effect seemed to have weakened due to concentration.

The magic I held was as soft as paper.

* * *

『Trait, [One Who Deviations from the Natural Order] activates.』 『The wondrous body absorbs the magic itself.』

* * *

And I simply tore it apart.

* * *

Cwaack-

* * *

-Kyaaaaaak!!!

* * *

Time to wake up.