Ch.88[Episode 88] Parallel World Epilogue

“Now there’s really not much time left.”

“Time seems to flow so quickly.”

Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica were spending the final hours of the parallel world event together.

In just one hour, Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica would be alone again.

Until the next event, they would likely live in their separate spaces.

Sir Dominic sat in the living room, opening a can of beer he normally wouldn’t touch.

As he hurriedly brought the can to his lips to catch the roughly rising foam, Sir Dominic appeared—at least on the surface—to have fully adapted to Gacha Land.

After experiencing countless incidents and accidents in Gacha Land, it had become more familiar than Feralant—a second homeland.

The same was true for Sir Dominica.

The two sat side by side on the living room sofa and clinked their beer cans together.

“Come to think of it—”

Sir Dominica, wearing a black t-shirt that read ‘This is a white shirt,’ asked Sir Dominic.

“What’s your goal?”

Sir Dominic’s movements froze with a start.

“I want to aim for 5-tier first. I don’t know what comes after that, but having a short-term goal isn’t bad. In the long run, I’d like to become a great figure in Gacha Land’s history—”

“But that’s ambitious. So I want to reach 5-tier first,” said Sir Dominica.

Beer foam splashed on her heaving chest as she let out a hearty laugh.

“And what about you? What’s your goal?”

Sir Dominic fell silent.

Sir Dominica’s words pierced sharply into an area Sir Dominic hadn’t considered.

Sir Dominic placed his hand over his white shirt that read ‘This is a t-shirt.’

Right over where his heart was located. Where chivalry lived and breathed.

“Well…”

Sir Dominic’s words trailed off.

When he first came to Gacha Land, Sir Dominic’s goal was simply to fight.

To fight and fight and fight again until he could forget what happened in Feralant.

But what about now?

Sir Dominic, who had been running away from his sister’s death, had found his sister Remi in Gacha Land.

Though things were still awkward between them, in Gacha Land, one could live an almost immortal life as long as they had value. Time would eventually resolve things.

What about other aspects?

Recently, Sir Dominic had become completely absorbed in the joy of learning new things.

Learning one new thing after another had awakened a desire for knowledge in Sir Dominic, a knight who had once been an ignorant serf.

Above all, given Sir Dominic’s personality of immediately asking about anything he was curious about, the immediate acquisition of new knowledge was particularly appealing.

Meeting new people, experiencing new battlefields, encountering new rules and new distortions—Sir Dominic was currently in… an ambiguous state.

Sir Dominic, a knight of serf origin from Feralant, exhausted by long wars.

Sir Dominic, a character who was a tank and a rider, one-eyed with sword and shield.

Somewhere between that gloomy, desperate knight Sir Dominic and the cheerful, adventurous Sir Dominic.

That was exactly where Sir Dominic found himself.

“Surely… you don’t mean you have no goal?”

Sir Dominica stared at the long-silent Sir Dominic with her one remaining eye.

In response to Sir Dominica’s question, Sir Dominic fiddled with his beer can and said apologetically:

“It’s been too enjoyable for that.”

Indeed.

The very reason Sir Dominic had lost his purpose was due to Gacha Land itself.

There were too many things to enjoy.

To exaggerate slightly, about dozens of new content were created daily within Gacha Land.

Completely opposite to Feralant, where even shield maintenance was considered fun enough to request.

It was like a monk who had lived in a wasteland becoming lost in the city’s pleasure district.

Having lived a restrained and frugal life until now, Sir Dominic had gradually sunk into this like quicksand, eventually coming to love Gacha Land so much that he could no longer escape.

“Even so…”

Sir Dominica sighed.

So frustrated was she that she opened another can of beer, unprepared for the sudden surge of foam.

The beer foam flowed down Sir Dominica’s hand, causing her to grimace at the sticky sensation.

“Even so, you need to have a goal. Even if it’s not a life-changing goal, something like ‘I need to accomplish this much.'”

Sir Dominica shook her hand to remove the moisture, then wiped the remaining stickiness on the back of her t-shirt.

Since it was a black garment, any stains wouldn’t be noticeable anyway.

“A goal…”

Sir Dominic pondered for a long time.

For Sir Dominic, who had lived passively, actively accomplishing something was truly difficult.

This was the difference between Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica.

Sir Dominic had been content with living passively, following orders, only showing initiative when rampaging in battle.

Sir Dominica, on the other hand, had to excessively assert her opinions to survive under incompetent commanders, thus living actively to survive.

There’s a saying: “Late learners are the most fearsome.”

Sir Dominica, who already knew the world’s pain and pleasure to some extent, hadn’t lost her concept… no, herself in Gacha Land, but Sir Dominic was different.

Literally, the late-learned pleasure had caused even Sir Dominic’s purpose to fade.

“Well, if it’s difficult, start with something light. Even something you can achieve tomorrow. Like having a sandwich for breakfast.”

Sir Dominic had heard such advice before.

It was probably from v.a.l.l.o.c.

At that time, Sir Dominic didn’t know much about Gacha Land and was so immersed in it that he couldn’t properly hear the advice.

But now it was different.

Having come to understand Gacha Land to some extent, Sir Dominic knew that setting goals helped maintain value.

“For now—”

Sir Dominic opened his mouth.

Sir Dominica leaned back into the sofa, quietly sipping her half-finished beer while looking at Sir Dominic.

“I’ll aim for tier 3. Then tier 4. Then tier 5.”

At this point, Sir Dominic drained the lukewarm beer in his hand in one go.

“Phew. And ultimately, my goal is to become the strongest and most famous person in Gacha Land.”

“That’s not much different from mine.”

Sir Dominica chuckled.

“It can’t be.”

Tick. The grandfather clock prepared to chime.

“We are one.”

Dong. The first chime sounded.

Now the final countdown—when the twelve chimes announcing midnight ended, the event would be over.

Then, Sir Dominica would no longer be here.

Feeling that regret, Sir Dominic took out his phone from his pocket and fiddled with it.

“Why did you suddenly take out your phone?”

“I was wondering if we could exchange numbers and see each other again even after parting.”

“I saw it before. Your number and mine are the same. Probably because we’re the same person.”

Sir Dominica stood up.

Sir Dominic put his phone back in his pocket and stood up as well.

The chimes seemed to progress unusually slowly.

This was natural.

The central system, though a collection of data, also had aspects of a hard AI that understood emotions.

It could certainly give people time to say goodbye and promise to meet again.

Of course, for those who hadn’t met their parallel world selves, time was flowing as usual.

Silently, Sir Dominic put on the armor hanging on the coat rack in the corner of the living room and picked up his sword and shield.

After adjusting his eye patch and turning around, there stood a knight wearing armor and holding a sword and shield just like Sir Dominic.

As if looking in a mirror… no, since mirrors reverse left and right, it was more like the two knights had been copied and pasted from a single point as they moved.

Sir Dominic raised his shield arm to about chest level.

Then he raised his sword hand to chest height and placed his fist against his left chest.

The highest courtesy one knight could show another in Feralant when embarking on a long journey.

Sir Dominica likewise raised her shield to chest level and placed her sword hand against her left chest.

Their eyes first pointed to the tip of their swords, then back to each other’s single eye.

Sir Dominic smiled slightly.

“It’s been fun, my parallel world self.”

Sir Dominica smiled, lightly bumping her shield.

“It’s been fun, my parallel world self.”

Dong. The grandfather clock struck its twelfth and final chime.

And no one stood before Sir Dominic anymore.

[The parallel world event has been completed.]

[Rewards earned during the event will be distributed all at once after one day, or at most three days, following the event’s completion.]

How to put it…

Meeting new connections is a joyful thing.

Especially if it’s someone who understands your heart, it’s even more joyful.

But parting from connections is sad and painful no matter how much you try to endure it.

Even with the promise of meeting again someday, it’s regrettable and complicated.

So what expression would Sir Dominic be wearing?

Longing for a new connection? Or sadness about the parting?

Sir Dominic sighed.

Then he put away his armor and picked up his phone.

When he opened the S.P.Y app, a digitized slime was bouncing up and down excitedly to greet him.

After stroking the screen to play with the slime for a moment, Sir Dominic pressed the call button while keeping the app open.

[“…Hello?”]

The person on the other end of the phone had been crying for quite some time, sniffling as they answered.

“How do you make this a video call? I’m really not good with these machines.”

Sir Dominic grumbled.

[“…Dominic?”]

“That’s right, Sir Dominica.”

An impossible call continued through the receiver.

Something that shouldn’t have happened had occurred.