章節 4: As Fate turns, you'll never know how things play out

WHOSE BRIGHT IDEA WAS IT TO PICK UP THE SPIDER LILIES, DESPITE BEING WARNED THAT THEY WERE SERIOUSLY DANGEROUS!

Oh, right. It was mine. I thought spider lilies would make valuable potion materials.

In my defense, these flowers contained a lot of death-essence, and considering their origin, it wasn't unnatural. While it might sound contradictory, death-essence this dense was quite useful in alchemy.

So, while I still had the opportunity, I might as well collect a bunch of spider lilies and put them into my inventory.

Of course, while I collected the flowers I made sure not to damage them in any way. If I accidentally crush their bulb the essence might leak out and seriously damage my body.

Not that I needed to worry that much about it since...

[Strong Vitality Lvl 2 (Over the level Cap)]

[Vitality is the basis of all life that relies on corporeal bodies. Having a strong vitality means that the flame of life can't be easily extinguished. The user's core vitality accumulates minimally over time. Healing effects are amplified by a decent amount.]

...the Strong Vitality Skill over the level cap was quite strong. Hey System, what's the difference between core vitality and vitality?

[Core vitality is a temporary lifespan. It's very similar to the natural lifespan, yet it's still slightly inferior to it. To describe it in an uncomplicated way, it's a very fuel-inefficient material. It would be like the difference between burning wood and burning coal. That's the case if you compare it with lifespan. If you compare it with vitality, it's like an all-purpose panacea. If you burn it up you can cure many types of ailments.]

Of course, that begged the question...

"If lifespan is so much better than core vitality, what prevents you from using it as a panacea?"

[...isn't that putting the cart in front of the horse? What's the point of curing a sickness if you shorten your life?]

Yeah, that was a stupid question now that I thought about it. Imagine you die because you used up your lifespan to cure a cold.

Of course, it's an exaggeration, but humans are bad long-term thinkers. They might think "Eh, it's just a second of my life", before thoughtlessly burning up their life to cure a scratch.

Of course, 1 second of life isn't much, but it accumulates over time, adding to a significant sum and wouldn't you feel regret if you literally wasted years of your life on trivial wounds that would have healed over time anyways?

Still, having Core Vitality is incredible because I noticed a change the system wasn't explicitly stating.

The skill was now bound to my soul and not the body, which meant I wouldn't lose it once I changed into a new body.

I might have made many memories with it, but honestly holding onto it was quite miserable. Even with the vitality skill, it was still quite the bad body.

Which is why I didn't hesitate to harvest the flower of death with this body. I am going to get rid of it sometime in the future. Did I already mention that humans were quite bad with long-term thinking?

Anyways, how many have I collected now? About 7? Harvesting these is kind of a pain, but this will be the only opportunity to pick them up. I don't think I'll come here for a...

*Crunch*

...while.

...

That was a close one. I almost lost my head there.

*Growl*

[Lvl. 14 Youkai Wolf]

Of course, it isn't as if I didn't level up after my last battle.

[Lvl. 2 Little Star, Rin Satsuki]

[Skill Points: 8]

[System Points: 2002]

Still, the gap was quite large. Not to mention, lethal combat wasn't seen in a good way in Gensokyo. Not if I want to live a long and satisfying life.

It seemed that the wolf didn't carry much in the way of sentience. So, communication wasn't an option.

Not to mention that wolves usually travel in packs.

System shops open up! Buy the Presence Detection Skill book, use it immediately, and then level it to the max level. Don't level it over the cap!

[Done]

[Presence Detection Lvl 1 (+)]

[Presence is the weight something exerts upon the world. Depending on their intent and skill, weight can be reduced or increased. Presence Detection is a skill that detects that weight with the six senses and offsets the effects it has on the user]

...

That is more than I bargained for, but it's not as if I am complaining. In an instant, my senses which felt dull for the entire time were sharpened, making me aware of everything that was around me.

And luckily for me, it seemed that the wolf was alone. Thanks to my skill; I took notice that the only two big presences in the area are me and him. I also noticed that the wolf had many scars and missed an eye.

It looked as if he was exiled from his group.

We continued to glare at each other for a while. The reason why he was hesitating to do the first move was simple. My hands were still steeped in death essence from harvesting the spider lilies.

Circling around each other, assessing the enemy. Starting fresh from 0 again was a pain in the ass. If I still had all of my abilities from my past life this would have been over in a flash.

But I could blame nobody. After all, the way I lived out the rest of my days in my last life would obviously lead to this...

...and I would do it again with no hesitation.

After several moments passed, I made the first move.

Lowering my stance, I crouched down as my thoughts focused on a single objective. Seeing me make my move, the wolf grew wary as he perceived me as a threat.

Taking position...

...I turned around and started running away with all my might.

"System. Display Status."

[Lvl. 2 Little Star, Rin Satsuki]

[Skill Points: 5]

[System Points: 1850]

I swallowed at the sight of the panel in front of me. I ignored pricing when I bought it, but the fact that presence detection has cost me 152 System Points meant that it was 3 times as expensive as Strong Vitality.

And just to level it up to the level cap has cost me 3 Skill Points. I might have gotten a lot of both of them as a mission reward for the 3-star emergency quest, but I wasn't going to bet on a stable influx of those kinds of quests.

Not to mention that emergency quests seem to be pretty stressful, to say the least. I am pretty sure that just meeting Yukari has drained a lot of my vitality because of stress.

[Affirmative]

I don't need you to agree with my jokes, system.

Anyways, as proof that quests aren't going to be as frequent from now on, is because of the undeniable fact that I am currently getting chased by a Youkai that is stronger than the one I exterminated. Yet no window appeared to notify me of a quest.

Thinking back about it, the quests are handed out because the creators wanted to "gather data," so it's pointless to compensate someone for doing the same thing over and over again, I assume.

Anyways, while I continued to skip and hop over all the spider lilies, the wolf chased me with feral anger. It must feel pretty stupid for being wary of something that is running away from it.

Not that I cared. There is no point in entertaining a feral beast. Still, it's catching up to me, and that spelled trouble.

Open System Shops.

[Opening System Shops]

I still have 1500 system points to spend, don't I? Let's see what stuff is there to make the situation easier for me.

Browsing through it, I found the perfect skill for this situation. Yet, looking at the pricing made me hesitate to go through with the purchase and I am not sure if the skill will eventually bind to my soul.

Not to mention that I want to get rid of my current body.

I really didn't want to buy it, but...

*Crunch*

...that wild dog going for my head is a 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 good argument for purchasing that skill book.

[Use 1000 System Points to purchase the skill "Body Enhancement"?]

Yes, while we are at it, buy 4 normal-grade vitality potions.

[Purchase completed. Remaining Balance: 250 System Points.]

[Body Enhancement Lvl 0 (+)]

[How does the body generate power? Through muscle. What is muscle? Very densely packed fibers. So, how do we go about enhancing the power of your body? The answer is obvious! Fill the gaps with more fiber! Make it denser and more tightly packed, fill the gaps until there are no more gaps to fill, and see how far the results will take you! Uses energy to coat muscle fibers to relieve the Musculoskeletal System from stress]

Who is writing these descriptions?! Anyways, what do you mean by energy?

[Any Energy honestly. If you could get electricity under your conscious control, you can use that energy to enhance your body.]

What the hell! This is just shop 1 and the skills are better than their name would suggest! Are you sure that there are no mistakes?

[The Life Pioneer Program is a program that strongly supports the user to dive into the unknown and forge a new path in life. The products sold are the results of the many graduates before. Graduates who took it upon themselves to question if a skill has reached its true potential. Each product is the result of people questioning common sense and redefining the skill to make it what it's truly supposed to be. If their hard work creates a satisfactory result, it will be displayed in the shops. Either by replacing the old product or as a new product.]

Woah. So that's the real purpose of this program? That's a lot of expectations. Are you allowed to share that information?

[If the user wants to know, we'll tell them in detail without omitting any contextual necessary information. We are a system created for the sole purpose of growing talents and for that good soil and appropriate treatment is necessary. We are excited about user Rin's products in the future.]

So, the current version of the Body Enhancement skill is the result of the arduous work of a senpai before me. After I learned about that, I couldn't help but look at the products in the shop in a new light...

"If you get one of your products into the shop, is the creator of the product responsible for writing the description then?"

[Affirmative, but there are some formal restrictions.]

...

No wonder the description of the Body Enhancement Skill sounded like a muscle head wrote it! Not that it really mattered.

Using Soul Energy as the base for my body enhancement, I could feel how every single of my muscle fibers got wrapped around with a soft and warm energy. The body that has previously felt very sluggish suddenly felt a lot more responsive as if some of my old strength returned to me.

The muscle fibers that slowly started to feel like they were about to break down relaxed as the Soul Energy took over the work, making it a lot easier for me to run.

That in turn had the result that I was gaining speed really fast as the previous strain from running for about 10 minutes finally disappeared.

"Wow, this is an amazing skill and it's only at the basic level. I can't see to wait how it would look maxed out. Anyways, the woods have been a lot calmer for a while now. Did he give up?"

I turned around, seeing how his previous running speed reduced to a sluggish jog as it seemed that he needed a lot of effort to keep standing on his feet.

Aren't wolves quite the endurance runners? Even more so than humans?

[The difference is simple. While the User has done their best to not step on the spider lilies, the wolf did not.]

That certainly explains it. It got poisoned with a lot of death and its naturally strong vitality got reduced to almost nothing at this point.

After I continued to run for about 3 minutes...

*whimper*

...it pathetically flopped onto its stomach and started whimpering. How unfair. I am a dog person and seeing him like that wanted me to give him pity and take care of him like a good boy.

*whimper*

Don't do this. You were the one who started this. You wanted to eat me. I can't give you mercy for your actions. I am sure this isn't your first time attacking a human.

*puppy eye*

Don't give me those! You aren't my preferred type of dog!

After I said that, the light in his eyes left and he breathed out his last breath.

...

"You were exiled from your group after you disagreed with their plan to attack a lost human from the human village. Standing your ground at first, you were mauled by them because of your opposing ideology. Yet, despite that, because of the countless beautiful memories you made with your friends, you couldn't help but follow them to make sure they were alright. Which is why you saw that scene. The scene of carnage after a red, white Miko was done with your friends. In your grief, you recklessly jumped at her. After that, your memory got blurry, but you can still clearly remember how she spared you. After that, you lost your mind. What was left was only a shadow of your former self. A living corpse that wandered the forest of the dead, waiting for the day when you would join your comrades..."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I started crying into the fur of the Youkai wolf after I saw his life story. It was so pitiful, such a pitiful life. He didn't deserve such an ending. He deserved better. I could have helped him. I could have been there for him-

[Huge amounts of mental strain detected. Initiating-]

"DO NOT!"

Don't. This is what comes with the ability to listen to the voice of souls. I shall bear it.

[Lvl. 7 Soul Idol, Rin Satsuki]

After all, this is what it means to be a Soul Idol.

"Purchase Soul Ring."

[Error. User Rin Satsuki doesn't have the right to purchase said item.]

"Purchase Spirit Nurturing Pendant."

[Sigh. That's an item better than the soul ring. The answer is obvious.]

"Purchase Philosophers Stone."

[Error. User Rin Satsuki doesn't have the right to purchase said item.]

"Purchase Soul Crystal in the shape of a wolf!"

[...]

[User Rin Satsuki does not have the right to purchase said item. But it should be well within their own capabilities to create one.]

I know it was foolish and crazy of me to do something like this to a stranger I'd never met before. But this is what a true hero would do.

After turning his body around, I took out a knife from my inventory and made a clean incision in his chest area, ignoring all the blood that was splattering at my face.

Moving all the tissue aside until I got a view of his heart. Carefully moving around, I cut his heart out.

The heart. Part of the Circulatory System that is pumping blood throughout the body, the heart was believed to carry the source of one's life.

I consumed it.

Biting into it, a strong smell of iron permeated my olfactory system. The pungent smell of raw blood almost made me want to throw up, but I consumed all of it. Down to the last drop to the point where my clothes weren't stained from the blood.

Then, keeping the red, hot liquid in my esophagus, I infused my core vitality into it, creating a violent reaction inside of me. With the amount of material I am holding inside of me, I would have fallen unconscious if I tried to do this. But currently, my body is just another holding vessel of my soul. So, it didn't really matter if I burned through my throat as long as I didn't lose a single drop of the material.

Then once again, I slowly forced the semi-solid liquid out of my (body) system through my mouth. This time a beautiful, transparent cyan liquid came out.

"Man, I just destroyed my throat."

I took out a vitality potion and quickly swallowed down the tonic. You could see me feel better in real time.

Anyways.

"I know this is me being nosy, but I have been living selfishly all my life and I won't stop now."

Looking at the soul of the wolf, I conveyed my intentions to it. As my will got through to him, his soul flew towards me, flying into the blue crystal.

[...]

[I'll make an exception for this one time.]

"Huh, what did you say?"

[Appraising.]

[Soul Crystal with the soul of a wolf youkai]

[A soul crystal made by Rin Satsuki that carries the soul of a nameless wolf youkai. Due to the excellent craftsmanship, this crystal will prevent a soul from dissipating and going into the afterlife for a while. Time remaining: 365:23:59:56]

So, you are telling me that I only have a bit more than a year to save him...

...that just meant that I had to do my best to save him within one year.

"Thanks for warning me. Who knows how long I would have taken if I didn't know I had a time limit."

[...]

Heh. So be it.

I can't be moping about this eternally. Taking out a string from my inventory, I wrapped it around the cyan crystal and wore it around my neck like a necklace.

"Time to get out of here and complete the mission I was given. Well, let's test out how strong body enhancement really is."

...

If I had to describe this skill in one word, then the word would be incredible. Body Enhancement is a skill that was currently at the basic level. A level similar to that of a talented kid looking over the instructions of the skill and imitating it.

That's the level of skill my body enhancement currently had and yet it felt like I was back at the physical peak of my last life.

Well, that's not taking buffs of any kind into consideration, but still. It was simply incredible.

I arrived at the exit of Muenzuka in less than 20 minutes and the road was quite long.

[1* First Steps - Complete]

[Reward: 200 System Points]

[2* Rising Moon - In Progress]

[Spending the night outside in Youkai Paradise sounds like a bad idea, right? Find a safe place to retreat to or survive the night]

"It might have taken me a while, but I've reconsidered taking my own life away. Just kidding, I just thought that this was the appropriate thing to say here, tehe~."

The Road of Reconsideration was a road that was dyed red due to the huge amount of red spider lilies present. Those without relatives and those that consider suicide on the outside will end up here, drifting along this poisonous path. Here something wondrous will happen. As the toxins swill around your body, your will to live will get reignited, making one reconsider if taking their life was the right decision.

That's why this road has been named the road of reconsideration and also the reason why I picked up some spider lilies. After all, nothing makes you realize that you want to live more than facing death. I am living proof of that or reincarnated proof. It's complicated.

Though different from the usual people that roam this road, I walked this path backward, so it didn't really apply to me. I didn't plan to die from the start! Anyways, I am glad that nobody is here with me, after all, I would die of cringe if someone heard me say these things out loud... since...

"...a while now."

"Huh?"

Came out of the mouth of the cute, purple-haired, little girl I just noticed.

"Uhm... you are Satsuki-san, right? Rin Satsuki?"

Purple hair, purple eyes, flower ornament in her hair, an outfit that resembles a "wa lolita" style, which consists of yellow flower-patterned sleeves, a green vest, and a shortened hakama skirt separated by a red, white laced obi.

Yep, that was definitely...

[Lvl. 10 Child of Miare, Hieda no Akyuu]

Anyways, I should probably turn clueless girl mode on.

Seeing the girl, I assumed a fighting stance.

"Woah, woah, woah! Satsuki-san, there is no need to get violent. I am a human!"

She said, waving her hands frantically as if she tried to calm me down.

"How long have you been there?"

"Huh?"

"I asked, how long have been you there?"

Hearing my question, she shyly scratched her cheek and said with a tone of slight embarrassment.

"About when you arrived here and said, "It might have taken me a while, but I've reconsidered about taking my own life away." I-I think there is nothing to be embarrassed about! In fact, I think it's a sign of strength that you decided to not abandon life!"

After I found out that she has been basically here since the beginning, I wanted to sink into the ground.

Though, that didn't change the fact that she was still a suspicious person.

So, reinitiating the fighting stance.

"Huh? Didn't we already go through this? I already said it. I am a human, a hu-man."

"Then tell me about the reason why a small human girl would come to this road."

After that question, Akyuu seemed to be taken aback.

"I might not have any recollection of who I am, but I certainly am not a fool. This is a place where someone goes if they gave up on life. The final resting place of the nameless dead. Even now the countless voices left behind by the souls of those who have given up are lingering in this place as the purple cherry blossoms forcefully purify them. The hopelessness and regret they left behind might be burning away, but my memories of them aren't going to fade. Especially the ones that were about to turn around as they reconsidered before a wild Youkai got their hands on them. You, on the other hand, have that bright light in your eyes and a young age. You are not here to die, are you? So, if you are not here to die and haven't turned around yet..."

Those words hit Akyuu deeply and her thoughts were racing as she heard them. Her eyes trembling as she was unable to focus. Yet, now wasn't the time for those kinds of those thoughts. Not yet. For that, it was too early. Too early for this life.

""...what reason could a girl have to be here, other than being a Youkai who is waiting for an unsuspecting human." That's what you are going to say next, isn't it?"

"You took my words right out of my mouth. Now tell me!"

Akyuu was a bit shocked hearing the immediate reply. She was kind of expecting Rin to be a bit shocked about getting her words predicted, but it seemed that the girl had nerves of steel.

Well, she must have. After all, she walked out of Muenzuka. Even if it was time for the cherry blossoms to fall and scatter the countless spirits and phantoms still lingering around. Not to mention that she talked as if she could understand them.

There must have been a reason why Yukari informed her about the girl. At first, she wondered why, but now she certainly understood her motives.

"I understand your suspicion, but I have my reasons why I am here at the Road of Reconsideration. You have to take my word that I am human, though if you still can't come to trust me..."

She closed her eyes, putting her finger on her forehead. It seemed she was thinking really hard now.

Thinking about how to prove to an outsider that she was truly human. A challenging task since the number of Youkais that looked like cute girls weren't small.

After a while, she came up with a solution.

"Youkais are spiritual beings rather than physical ones, and because of that, they are mostly immune to physical attacks. Meaning that a knife, a sword, punches, throws, kicks, even cutting them up into pieces would be rendered ineffective."

While Akyuu said that, she slowly approached Rin. Rin wasn't backing away. She was staring at Akyuu, wondering what her point was.

"That means if I am a Youkai, this would be quite ineffective..."

Standing in front of Rin, Akyuu grabbed the older girl's hands and wrapped them around her neck. Fearlessly staring into Rin's eyes Akyuu just smiled at her.

"What kind of tasteless crap is this? Are you trying to test me or something?"

Akyuu shook her head.

"Then are you telling me to choke you to see whether you are suffocating or not? If you aren't, you are a Youkai and if you are, you are a human, is that it!?"

That was hardcore, to say the least. Reminded one of a witch trial. The one where they bound a rock to a woman and threw her into a river. If she floated back up, she was a witch and if she stayed down she was a normal person.

To say the least, it wasn't really tasteful and Rin shared that opinion.

Flicking Akyuu's head, Rin gave up on pushing the girl any more than necessary.

"Did anyone tell you that you are quite reckless yet? This "Road of Reconsideration" we are standing on or whatever you called it, it's a dangerous place even if we take the Youkai out of the equation. Depressed people, spiteful people bearing grudges, and criminals were the majority of the voices I heard here. What would you have done if I took you up on your offer and then took advantage of you? Soiled you? Made you unable to marry?"

Akyuu was rubbing her forehead as the sensation of the forehead flick still lingered.

"I knew you weren't that kind of person Rin. You would have stopped the moment you would have seen me gasping for air. After all, would a malicious person have such a genuinely pained face when talking about the lingering souls of the people who get lost on this road?"

Speechless.

Me. I am speechless. Her words knocked me right out of my single-minded focus.

I flicked her head once again.

"Ow. What was that for?"

"Don't treat your life so recklessly. You make me feel bad by making me the bad guy in this situation."

"That wasn't my intent!"

"I still feel like shit for making you do something like that just to gain my trust."

"Oh... I see..."

Now the situation has gotten awkward. Great. Letting go of my frustration. I walked over to the little girl before pulling her hand away from her forehead.

"Ah-"

A bruise. It seemed that I was underestimating my strength, even if Akyuu was for some reason 3 levels over me.

Seriously? I knew that the ordinary Gensokyan was built different because they all were descendants of badass Youkai hunters, but to think that a little girl so much younger than me has a higher level than the current me...

...then again, it's the result of me treating myself like genuine shit at the end of my last life, so I shouldn't be surprised that I am weaker than a little girl right now.

Anyways. There was a bruise on Akyuu's forehead and I pointed at it. She flinched, probably because she thought I was going to flick her forehead again.

"Ow..."

"You feel that, right?"

She nodded.

"There is a bruise on there. That means there is some internal bleeding, which means that you got injured from a physical attack. You see what I am getting at?"

She thought about it for a moment. Then her eyes started shining.

"That means I am a human!"

"No shit! You knew that from the beginning. Why are you acting as if it's a big revelation!?"

She flinched as I shouted at her. Though I couldn't help it. Where did all that trust towards her come from? Surely the girl wouldn't be like that to everyone. Right?

Frustrated, I bought a cheap health potion for 1 System Point and applied it on Akyuu's forehead.

As she realized how the pain subsided she stared at me with her big eyes.

"I am a pharmacist. Don't act so surprised."

She did. She was looking at me with a wide open mouth.

"Wow, the bruise on my forehead healed immediately! You must be an amazing pharmacist to create such good medicine."

I smirked before putting the remaining potion into my inventory. I was going to find out how to create them myself. No way will I keep spending System Points for items that cheap. Not to mention that I already had the hobby of alchemy in my last life. Might as well pursue it in this one.

"Are you done with your business here? If not I keep a lookout. I'll be at least a good meat shield so you can get away."

Seeing that I now started to trust her, Akyuu had a big smile on her face.

"Satsuki-san. I noticed how you didn't have any problems communicating."

"It's natural. After all, I am Japanese. Well, that's what I think."

"Oh, is that so- EHHH!"

That technically wasn't a lie. I was Japanese two lifetimes ago.

"But you have golden hair and golden eyes."

"I already said, "I think." I am not so sure. It's just that I am really good at Japanese and all the other languages I know about I either barely speak or do not understand. So, that must mean I am Japanese right?"

"Well, the logic checks out."

For a moment, uncomfortable silence crept in, but Akyuu turned around and started noting down some stuff. It seems she was finally back to her job as a chronicler.

Not that I should act as if knew about that. At this point, I am just a clueless outsider that got into Gensokyo for them

So, acting oblivious, I kept a lookout on the general vicinity with my presence detection skill to see if there are any Youkai in the area.

Though, I have to admit...

...that there are quite many existences exerting their weight onto reality. All that grass was annoying, but fading out those insignificant weights from my attention, I only noticed me and Akyuu and some lighter presences that seemed to be phantoms floating around.

"Aren't you suspicious of something, Satsuki-san?"

"Of what should I be suspicious?"

I genuinely asked Akyuu.

"Why I knew about your name beforehand."

Oh, that. Yeah, from an outsider's perspective that would seem quite suspicious, wouldn't it.

"I just figured Big Sis Yukari told you."

"Eh-?!"

Akyuu turned around, looking dumbfounded. Or at least that's how she looked like with those big open eyes and that wide, gaping mouth.

"Well, I just figured since I didn't tell anyone else my name. Hell, I even forgot it myself. So, there are grounds for believing that she told you. Who else would be capable of it? D-did she not?"

"I-I mean, s-she kind of did? But that's not the problem! I mean..."

Searching for words for a moment, Akyuu was pondering what to say next to me.

"...could you describe that "Big Sis Yukari" for me, Satsuki-san?"

"Well, long beautiful blond hair. Purple eyes. A mob hat that had a ribbon tied to it into the sign of infinity. Purple dress. Sitting on what I can only describe as a gap with countless eyes in it and a pink umbrella."

If that person is chasing you, give up. Your life is already forsaken.

"I see. That's definitely her."

She started pondering. She was probably wondering why Yukari "Outsiders are free to eat" Yakumo decided to help out an outsider and if I was fair, I also was wondering about it.

Akyuu probably got notified by one of Yukari's Shikigami that she'll walk across an outsider today or something cryptic like that.

Yukari is known for playing all kinds of games, whether just to mess with you or because it's tied to a grander scheme. Akyuu just probably took her message and didn't ponder too strongly about it.

Though it seemed that she didn't expect Yukari to straight up help out an outsider.

"Why did she help you, Satsuki-san?"

I just shrugged.

"Is... is she known to attack humans? Her presence was certainly strong, but she was willing to talk to me. So, I just figured that she might have been a goddess or maybe a good-natured Youkai that likes to help out humans."

Akyuu just stared at me in disbelief.

"A Youkai that has eyes and arms coming from her gaps, good-natured?"

"Well, there are all kinds of beings out there! I think you can't just judge them on your first impression. Kind of like a book. Behind an ugly design or boring-looking cover could be a perfectly crafted story that the author put all their heart into it. You never know."

Akyuu looked as if she wanted to say something to me, but it seemed she stopped herself right before she could utter whatever she just thought.

"Satsuki-san. Don't you want to go back?"

"Go back where?"

"Back home."

As if called, the perfect gust of wind came and swept over the scene to set the atmosphere.

"O-Oh. You don't have to tell me if it's too personal!"

I shook my head. It's not as if there was anything left to return to. I finished both of my lives. There is no place I could call home.

"Don't worry about it. I don't know why and honestly everything else seems like a blur to me, but..."

I didn't know what kind of expression I was making right now. I really didn't know. What I did know was that Akyuu was tearing up as a reaction to seeing it.

"...I have the feeling that even if I were to return, everybody has forgotten about me."

...