Book 1: Chapter 30
Book 1: Chapter 30
* *
I was alone in the dark.
Oh, I guess I’m dead.
Then, is this Heaven? Hell? I mean, is there even a world after death?
Well, there should be, right?
I wouldn’t have reincarnated in a different world without it.
Does that mean… I would get to meet God!?
God, please.
If possible, I hope the next world is a world where black hair and black eyes are not disliked.
—I like your black hair and black eyes. (Mimino)
If possible, I would like some cheat skills from the start.
—Oh, that’s fine. I’ll buy some skill orbs for Reiji-kun next time, okay? You don’t have to worry about not having skills! (Mimino)
Ah… what the hell am I saying…
I was already able to overcome the disadvantages imposed on me… By meeting those wonderful people.
「Thank you Dantes-san. Thank you Non-san. Thank you Mimino-san. Raikira-san… It was so foolish to die like that. But thank you…」
And then,
「…Lark. I should have called you “onee-chan” at least once…」
I want to live.
I wanted to live in this world. I wanted to have an adventure with the people of Silver Balance for a longer time. I wanted to introduce Lark as my sister.
—Little brother.
Even if the world was distorted by the contract magic, Lark was still Lark.
Even when the magic was released, my feelings for Lark did not change.
—Don’t die just yet.
Her poking my forehead with a mischievous smile on her face, was exactly the Lark whom I’ve always known.
* *
「……??」
I opened my eyes to a dim ceiling. Apparently, I was lying on a bed(Ah, I guess beds also exist in the afterlife). As I absentmindedly looked to the side,
「?!」
I saw Mimino-san – taking a nap, with her upper body resting on the side of my bed.
…What? Why is Mimino-san here? No way! Is Mimino-san also dead?
I got up from the bed, and noticed I wasn’t wearing clothes. I felt pain all over my body. Salve was applied to the elbows and the back of my hand – but overall, my body only suffered minor injuries, and according to 【World Ruler】, the crack in my leg seemed to have also healed.
「…Nn? Reiji, kun…?」
Mimino-san started waking up.
「G-Good morning…?」
「Reiji-kun!!」
Mimino-san pulled me into a hug right away.
「O-O-Ouch! It hurts!」
「A-Are you okay? Does it hurt?」
「Ah, no, I was just surprised and it’s not that painful… Or rather, is this the inn?」
I was at a familiar place. There were three beds in the room, but mine was the only one occupied.
「That’s right! That’s right!」
Maybe because she knew that I was okay enough to properly hold a conversation, Mimino-san let go of me and burst into tears. It didn’t even take long for her face to be drenched wet
「Yes… we were saved…!」
「…Mimino-san.」
She hugged me again, but slower.
「We were saved, Reiji-kun. Reiji-kun. Reiji-kun! But promise that you’ll never do something like that again… Please!」
Warm.
Mimino-san’s body was warm, and she kind of smelled – perhaps she hadn’t taken a bath.
…She must be referring to when I saved her from the dragon.
From Mimino-san’s point of view, I launched a suicide attack immediately after she witnessed Raikira-san’s death. She must have been extremely shocked.
「Sorry, Mimino-san… When I saw that you were in danger, my body moved on its own…」
「For my sake?」
When Mimino-san let go of me, her face was mushy with tears and nose snot.
「Oof. You look awful.」
I picked up a towel that was lying at the bedside and wiped Mimino-san’s face with it.
「Hey, stop. I-It’s okay! Sometimes you behave like you’re older than me!」
I might be older than Mimino-san, considering that I was 16 years old in the previous life + 10 years old in this world. However, it was just recently that my memory came back to me, so my substantial age was still 16 years old.
Mimino-san snatched the towel from my hand, turned her back to me, and wiped her face.
「…Mimino-san, how did you save me? And where is Non-san and Dante-san?」
I took that opportunity to ask what I wanted to know most.
「Non is treating Dante in the next room. I am not too sure about it, but there seems to have been a large explosion, and Dante seems to have protected many people from the explosion with his own body… The burns on his body are quite severe.」
…Must have been during the collision between Crysta’s large-scale 【Fire Magic】 and the dragon.
…And Dante-san protected his allies even at such times… He really is an amazing person.
「Non is staying with him constantly to heal his burns with 【Healing Magic】. Oh, she also used healing on Reiji-kun, so I don’t think there should be any serious injuries…」
「Thank you. And, how did you save me? I… I was right under the dragon.」
「Yeah…」Mimino-san frowned.
「Well, I’m not so sure.」
「…Not sure?」
The dragon was most definitely going to kill me. It wouldn’t have changed its mind and fled.
I waited for Mimino-san’s next words.
「I saw something like a slash appear in the air out of nowhere… It was so big and pitch black. When the slash hit, the dragon’s neck was cut off cleanly.」
Mimino-san left the room saying, ”I am going to check up on the room next door. I’ll buy something to eat when the sun comes up,” but I was stunned.
「A slash, in the air…?」
Moreover,
「Black, Slash…?」
The only possibility that came to my mind was,
Lark.
Lark was there.
Even when I turned my back to the battlefield and stood at the intersection helplessly – Lark was there, wasn’t she? And she was watching over me the whole time?
I wonder why she didn’t talk to me, but that might be because I was with a member of Silver Balance at that time.
…Lark could still be nearby!