…Who are you?

I was planning to go straight to Master, but I saw Cecil exclaiming in awe as she looked at the Capital.

…A little while should be fine.

The Princess seemed to have gone through a different passage, as she was nowhere to be seen.

Well, that’s only natural, I suppose.

Feeling relieved, I exited the Platform and decided to… eat first. It wasn’t because there was no food on the train; it was just the right time for a meal.

“Leave the guiding to me!”

“…I’ll be in your care.”

I was about to tell Veronica, who was smiling confidently, that there was no need, but then I caught Claudia’s eye and quietly shut my mouth.

I walked behind Veronica, who was leading the way, holding Cecil’s hand tightly. I was worried I might lose Cecil, who was distracted by looking around everywhere.

Claudia was following right behind me. Remembering her demeanor on the train… it felt a little reassuring.

Having been in a sparsely populated area, coming to a place teeming with people made me realize how small my body had become. The buildings I remembered seemed taller, and people looked larger.

Of course, even where I live now, the Downtown area is crowded and buildings seem tall, but the Capital was even more so.

Though it might also be partly because I didn’t go out much.

Then, without realizing it, I tightened my grip, and Cecil looked back at me. She tilted her head as if asking what was wrong. When I smiled and told her it was nothing, she smiled back brightly.

That sight warmed my heart a little.

Anyway, the Dining room we arrived at, following Veronica… was a place I’d never seen before. Even after looking around again, wondering if such a place existed, it wasn’t familiar.

“It’s a new place that opened around last year.”

“What kind of food do they sell?”

Veronica cleared up my confusion. When asked what they sold, she just told me to see for myself and coolly walked in. I shrugged at the two people looking at me and followed Veronica.

The interior had a strangely familiar feel to it.

After taking a seat and leaving the order to Veronica, I looked around the Dining room. While feeling that inexplicable familiarity, I saw a Silver-haired girl similar to Cecil. She was humming a tune, her golden eyes sparkling, seemingly excited for the food that would soon arrive.

In front of the girl sat a Black-haired woman with an indifferent expression, gazing at the girl. She didn’t seem particularly interested in anything else.

I thought it was a somewhat unusual combination.

…Well, we’re probably not much different ourselves.

Then, my eyes met those of the golden-eyed girl. As the girl blinked and smiled at me, the Black-haired woman’s red eyes, which felt somehow ominous, turned towards me.

Feeling a hint of hostility in that gaze, I wondered if I had been too rude and quickly lowered my head, averting my eyes.

It was a little scary.

“What were you staring at?”

“…Nothing.”

Soon after, the food arrived… and I felt a sense of déjà vu. That is, they were dishes I remembered eating. Strictly speaking, they were dishes I had eaten in my past life.

Veronica was looking at me with a triumphant expression. It was as if she was thinking, ‘You guys haven’t tried anything like this, have you?’

The other two, besides me, showed the reaction Veronica wanted.

Cecil stared with sparkling eyes, and Claudia lifted the food, murmuring, ‘Ooh…’

Since I couldn’t disappoint Veronica, who was looking at me with an expectant gaze…

“Wow! This looks really delicious. What is all of this?”

“…Have you perhaps eaten this before?”

“Ah, no, I’ve never seen it before?”

“…Really?”

Veronica tilted her head with an ambiguous expression.

…Could what I’m thinking be correct? Just in case, I poked around the plate in front of me.

Various vegetables in a concave plate. No problem there. Rice? Same thing. In the Capital, it would be faster to find what isn’t available. A fried egg is nothing special either.

But….

A reddish liquid with a slight viscosity. This was the problem. If my thoughts were correct, this was clearly….

“How does one eat this?”

Cecil tilted her head in front of the unfamiliar food. Only then did Veronica’s face brighten, and she began to explain.

“You mix it with a spoon and eat it. So that this red sauce gets evenly coated.”

“Understood!”

“I’ve heard that things like this are trending in the Capital lately, but it’s my first time seeing it in person.”

…No matter how I thought about it, it was Bibimbap. What came next was unmistakably Boiled pork slices. It had a savory smell.

What on earth is happening in the Capital…?

There was nothing like this when I attended the Academy? As I looked with trembling eyes, Veronica smiled with a satisfied expression.

It was a bit different from the fluster Veronica was expecting, but I just went with it.

And so, unexpectedly tasting them after a long time… the foods from my memories of a past life… well, they were quite delicious.

I wondered if only the appearance was similar, but the taste was also very much alike. Thinking about it carefully… it occurred to me that it might be possible. I myself have memories of a past life… so it wouldn’t be surprising if there were others like that.

Who knows, maybe the silver-haired girl at the table across from us, who was deliciously eating something that looked like Bulgogi, was one of them?

Then, I suddenly looked around at the surrounding tables and saw quite a few customers. They were ordering and eating the food without any particular aversion.

“Veronica-nim.”

“Hm? Why?”

I asked Veronica, whose lips were stained red from munching on Bibimbap.

“Are these kinds of foods trending in the Capital?”

“Yeah. Like I said before, it hasn’t been long.”

“Suddenly?”

“Who was it… I can’t quite remember.”

“It’s fine if you don’t know.”

…If I had known it would be this profitable, I would have done it first. Well, what can I do? It’s too late now.

I told Veronica, who had started pondering in the middle of her meal, that it was fine, and then resumed eating.

Leaving Veronica aside, seeing Cecil and Claudia eating well… they might have localized it. My memories are quite blurry now… and I can’t say my taste buds are the same as before.

I scraped my plate clean and pondered the next schedule. First, it seemed I would have to spend a night in the Capital. Thinking about it again, Master’s Hideout and Workshop are in the forest east of the Capital, so it was too late to depart now.

So, what should I do?

Since I had to go see Master tomorrow, there wasn’t much free time, so I felt it wouldn’t be easy to do anything else.

‘…Should I just rest for a day?’

That didn’t seem bad either. After discussing with my Companions, we also decided to just rest today. Even if the Passenger Cabin was suitable for sleeping, sleeping on a train wouldn’t have been comfortable.

There was no need to find separate accommodation; we decided to stay at Veronica’s Workshop. That was something to be grateful for. Veronica-nim is the best!

We sent Veronica ahead to tidy up her Workshop, and the remaining two of us toured Haven. Thinking about it, I didn’t have many memories of playing around when I was at the Academy… so it was practically like visiting for the first time. I was somewhat familiar with the geography, but only to that extent.

Before I knew it, as I walked with both my hands tightly held by the two of them, I saw the Temple.

Cecil’s voice was heard beside me.

“Shaa-nim!”

“Hm?”

“Cecil wants to go to the Temple!”

“Hmm… to the Temple?”

“Yes! Ah, perhaps… is it troublesome for you…?”

…I don’t particularly have any ill will towards the Temple. It’s just a little… untrustworthy, I suppose. If you ask if I can trust a place where they mistook the entity they should worship… wouldn’t the answer naturally be no?

Well, this story… although I couldn’t confirm its truth, looking at the records that the diminishing Divine power suddenly began to recover one day… it seems likely to be true.

They seem to call it a miracle of God, though.

…I don’t know. I wondered if I, who am not even a Priest, should be pondering such things.

For now, it’s certain that Divine power exists… so it probably doesn’t matter much.

“No, let’s go in.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t there someone you know, like you mentioned last time?”

“…I told you, it was just a fleeting encounter? They wouldn’t recognize me now.”

“What a shame.”

I walked towards the Temple with Claudia, who was licking her lips, and an excited Cecil.

Actually, even if you go to the Temple, there aren’t many places allowed for commoners. At most, a space for prayer and a garden?

Of course, the pure white building, painted in pristine white, was grand enough to evoke a solemn feeling. Believing in it was another matter.

…Honestly, I thought that my attitude might be due to my memories of a past life.

After looking around the areas open to the public, I finally headed to the space where commoners could also offer prayers.

It was a place where a statue presumed to be a goddess was carved. The facial features were more distinctly carved than I expected. I watched Cecil, who had closed her eyes and clasped her hands like the people around her, with warm eyes… then I also closed my eyes.

It was a somewhat impulsive… action. One I wouldn’t normally do.

Without realizing it, I clasped my hands together and made a wish in my heart.

‘…Please, let me return to my original body.’

As the prayer was nearing its end… suddenly, a voice spoke in front of me.

“It seems you have a fervent wish.”

Startled, I opened my eyes to see a Veiled woman looking at me. Why… her voice wasn’t unfamiliar.

The woman, who smiled innocently, took my hand. I felt a warm energy caress my hand. The woman holding my hand lowered her head and spoke softly.

“In that case, together…”

The woman’s softly speaking voice suddenly stiffened. Her face wasn’t clearly visible through the veil, but she seemed flustered. Then she whispered in a voice only I could hear.

“…Could you come with me for a moment?”

I felt that something was wrong.