ââŚIn the endâŚthis is what you would call fate, huh.â (Hikaru)
âEverything feels silly now.
Being branded with the stigma of a childhood friend killer.
With my family not even being worried about me.
And I am about to be judged in place of the viewers by a Chosen from Earth like me.
(Rifreya, I couldnât live.) (Hikaru)
If she were to know that, I am sure she would be sad.
In the first place, she doesnât have any means of knowing I died, huh. I am an illegal immigrant that has no place to go in this world. Me dying would be the end of it.
I would just die without anyone knowing about it.
âŚNo, it would be a different story if someone were to deliver my ID on my chest to the guild, huh.
ââŚOnce you kill me, please at least deliver my ID to the explorer guild.â (Hikaru)
âHmmm⌠You give up quite nicely.â (Jeanne)
âIâŚam tired already. If you are going to be bringing down the hammer on me, thatâs fine by me.â (Hikaru)
I donât want to think of anything.
I canât think of anything.
A void was ruling my whole body.
Once I die, the viewers will cheer and will be partying about it.
I am going to be dying at the corner of the street like trash.
That would be my everything in the series of my isekai transfer.
For this justice bringer wannabe gorilla woman, I am simply a passageway to get herself drunk in the achievement of justice.
No one is worrying about me.
I would like to at least ask for a painless death.
Will my afterlife be from this world?
If so, then the chances are low that I would be able to reunite with Nanami.
ââŚMen who give up quickly are honestly not my taste, but fine. You are okay with me being the winner of this duel, right?â (Jeanne)
âWinner, you ask⌠I canât do anything anyways.â (Hikaru)
By the time I noticed, the weight on my body was gone.
When I opened my eyes, Jeanne had stood up and was looking down at me.
âKurose Hikaru, youâŚapparently donât open your messages. Why?â (Jeanne)
âWhyâŚ? Because I am being hated by the viewers. Do you think I would open the messages?â (Hikaru)
âI donât know. It varies between people after all. Thereâs no right answer.â (Jeanne)
Saying this, Jeanne looked at me while simply standing there.
The dangerous air around her had completely disappeared.
ââŚYou are not killing me?â (Hikaru)
âI didnât say a word about killing you. I did say I would test you out.â (Jeanne)
âTest, you say⌠Whatâs with that.â (Hikaru)
âThis⌠You wanted it, right? Here.â (Jeanne)
Jeanne took out something from her duffel bag, and she threw it to me as if nothing.
It is a fist sized jewel, and different from the present of the Divine Beast, there was a complex brilliance inside of it.
It was visibly an expensive item.
âA jewelâŚ? Why something like this?â (Hikaru)
âI was asked by your little sister.â (Jeanne)
âLittle sisterâŚ? What do you mean by that?â (Hikaru)
âThe girl called Celica is your little sister, right? I was asked by her to give you this. I then gave her a request of my own thinking it wouldnât amount to anything, but she managed to fulfill it. I donât know how she did it, but your little sisterâŚCelica is one passionate person.â (Jeanne)
âCelica didâŚ?â (Hikaru)
She asked her to give me this�
She came all the way here to give me this? Is that what it means?
But she said she would test me, and went as far as having a fight that looked like it would be to the death⌠The pieces just donât fit.
âWe were trying to kill each other just now, you knowâŚ? Do you think I can believe that? You are even bringing out the name of my little sister⌠Just what are you scheming?!â (Hikaru)
âNothing. Having a fight between Chosen isnât something that can be experienced often. It was actually fun.â (Jeanne)
âFun?! You could have died there, you know? Are you messing with me here?!â (Hikaru)
âIf I died, thatâs just how much I amounted to. It isnât that big of a deal. Even if it hadnât been todayâŚwe are in a world like this. Thereâs no knowing when we could die. If you donât put death right by your side, you canât become stronger.â (Jeanne)
She said that without a single giggle in between. I canât feel she was saying this jokingly.
She really fought because she thought it would be interesting. She was fine with losing and dying.
If I were to take her words at face value, then thatâs what it would mean.
âWhat do you mean by testing me?â (Hikaru)
âEven if you ask me that⌠I could tell from talking for a bit, and I already got it. That it turned into a fight wasâŚjust the flow of things. You were just so serious. Also, wasnât I cool?â (Jeanne)
âWhatâs with thatâŚ?â (Hikaru)
It is as if she can be reasoned with, and at the same time, she canât be reasoned with. Thatâs how off it feels.
If I were to compare it to someone, I would say she is a similar type to Karen. It might be pointless trying to understand her.
âAnd so, whatâs thisâŚ?â (Hikaru)
I look at the shining jewel in my hand, and it looks like an expensive item.
âThe Resurrection Gem. The prize from the something-race of before. You were putting your life on the line to get that, right?â (Jeanne)
I look at the shining jewel on my hand.
This isâŚthe Resurrection GemâŚ?
âHuh? Is this a prank? Stop the joking⌠Thereâs no way⌠Thereâs no way this isâŚâ (Hikaru)
Having suddenly been told the name of this item, my chest was squeezed.
I felt like the memories of the thing that I had given up on were dragged out in its entirety.
âThereâs only one Resurrection Gem in the whole world, you knowâŚ? It isnât something you give away so easily⌠Did someone give you the idea? So that you could make fun of meâŚâ (Hikaru)
The Resurrection Gem is the 1st place prize for the Viewer Count Race.
The thing that escaped from my hands.
NoâŚeven if Jeanne here was the one who got 1st place, this is an irreplaceable item. On EarthâŚno, even in this world, it wouldnât be strange for it to be traded at the highest of the highest prices in the world. It isnât something you give away to a stranger so easily.
But Jeanne, as if saying this is upsetting, shrugged her shoulders.
âI have no such twisted hobby like lying for something like this. It is something I have no use for, and if you are going to be reviving Nanami, I have no problem with that.â (Jeanne)
âYouâŚknow Nanami?â (Hikaru)
âYeah. There was one time when all Chosen gathered, and I spoke with her at that time. Nanami could speak english after all. At that time, it was only a bit, but it was fun being able to talk with her about games. Sadly to say, it seems like it didnât go as far as me thinking of her as an âimportant personâ, so I couldnât revive her, butâŚyou should be able to do it, right?â (Jeanne)
There was no sign of her lying or kidding.
I could hear a sincere timbre to it, and even a bit of affection mixed in it.
I canâŚrevive NanamiâŚ?
I was truly unable to understand the situation that suddenly fell upon me.
But the jewel in my hand was releasing a light different from that of a Spirit Stone and a Divine Beast Gift, and most of all, that sincere voice of Jeanne was telling me there was no doubt about this.
âI-Is itâŚokay for me to use thisâŚ? MeâŚ? In order to revive NanamiâŚ*sniff*.â (Hikaru)
âDonât make me repeat myself so much.â (Jeanne)
Strength left my whole body, and I sat down hard onto the floor.
Tears fell from my eyes, and I desperately wiped them with the sleeves of my clothes.
I thought almost all of the people on Earth were my enemies.
But at the very least, CelicaâŚmy little sisters are watching me.
There was also someone who understood me within the Chosen.
A person that would even give me an item that canât be bought with money despite it being her first time meeting him.
âY-YouâŚare you crying?â (Jeanne)
Jeanneâs cheeks went red and she looked flustered for the first time.
It is pathetic in front of a girl of around the same age as me but, as if a dark muddy and hardened something inside of me had broken down, my tears were not stopping.
âI-It is okay⌠Good boy, good boy.â (Jeanne)
âUuhâŚwaaaah.â (Hikaru)
I donât know why Jeanne did that.
But she hugged me gently and I cried on her chest.
The thing that I had alwaysâŚalways been enduring deep inside of me had become a torrent, overflowed, and I couldnât control it.
So many emotions were pushing onto me, and those became tears, wishing to get out.
I donât know how long it was.
Towards someone that I met for the first time and had been fighting a battle I thought was to the death, I was having my head pet in confusion, and I cried until my tears dried.
I cried to the point that I forgot about the spectators around.
I cried so much I couldnât understand why I was even crying.
ââŚCalmed down?â (Jeanne)
âY-YeahâŚsorry. It is justâŚa lot happened, you see. I got a bit carried awayâŚâ (Hikaru)
âYou were suddenly brought to this world. Thereâs no way you wouldnât have a lot happen⌠You must have worked hard.â (Jeanne)
I was directed such gallant words, and my eyes grew hot again.
âBy messages⌠Do you get quite a lot of messages from my little sisters?â (Hikaru)
âNo, not that many. Just a few.â (Jeanne)
âDid CelicaâŚsay something about meâŚin those messages?â (Hikaru)
âShe told me: âJudge with your own eyes whether he is actually a killerâ. Well, from what I can see, you are a virgin.â (Jeanne)
âViâyouâŚâ (Hikaru)
âI am talking about how you havenât killed anyone before. More importantlyâŚnow that you have calmed down, arenât you going to use that?â (Jeanne)
Jeanne points at the gem in my hand.
âHow do I use thisâŚ? Do I break it?â (Hikaru)
âWith that in hand, you pray to God and it activates.â (Jeanne)
Is there such a strange way of using it?
But right now it doesnât matter whatever way it is. Whatâs important is the effect.
âAlrightâŚthen, I will use it.â (Hikaru)
âHmm⌠Wait.â (Jeanne)
Just when I was literally about to offer a prayer to God, Jeanne stopped me.
âThereâs apparently a timing to it, so I was told to wait until tomorrow morning.â (Jeanne)
âYeah, they probably have preparations to do.â (Jeanne)
I donât have anything to do anyways, so thereâs no issue with waiting for a bit.
âAlright, letâs go eat.â (Jeanne)
Jeanne packed up and said this.
Speaking of which, I ended up not eating.
Maybe because I cried, my stomach growled without care.
âIt is fine for it to be the same place as before. It had a nice smell.â (Jeanne)
Even though I was escaping my heavy heart with alcohol, my heart was this light now.
Nanami will come back to life tomorrow.