Selica sat on a chair and looked around, studying the room, not with malice, but only out of pure curiosity. At first Lavia and Paula stared at her, blinking incessantly, although they eventually concluded that she was not an enemy. The fact that Selica was alone and not with the other members of the Four Stars of the East also added to their peace of mind.
As always, Selica tied her long, black hair to both sides in pigtails. With her luxuriant hair, they looked more puffy than pointy. She wore the usual wizardâs robe, but this time it was deep green in color and of fine quality. She looked more like a lady from a reputable family, rather than an adventurer.
ăSo why did you come here?ă
TOP ARTICLES3/5Different World Reincarnation Chapter 121
ăNo reason, really.ă
ăYou came here for no reason at all?ă
ăDo I really need one? Iâm meeting with the only other Japanese here. By the way, youâre quite fluent in this worldâs language. Howâd you learn it?ă
ăBefore I answer your question, are you going to keep speaking in Japanese?ă
ăYup. Their languageâs accent is quite hard to master for meâŠă
Now that she mentioned it, she seems to always exclaim the end of her sentences. So that was simply because she wasnât completely familiar with this worldâs language yet.
ăAlso, I need to speak in Japanese sometimes or Iâll forget about it.ă
Hikaru let out a soft sigh.ăIâm sorry, but weâll be speaking in my countryâs language.ăhe told Lavia and Paula.ăIâll tell you what we talked about later.ă
ăOkay. Paula, letâs go over there.ăLavia said. They moved over to the sofa in the wide living room.
ăSorry for the trouble.ă
ăThen donât drop by without prior notice. You surprised us.ă
ăHow would I do that? Thereâs no phones or internet here.ă
ăYou can write a letter.ă
ăRight⊠Everyone here writes lettersâŠă
Selica smiled, a smile with a hint of lonelinessâfar different from the Selica brimming with confidence when she was in the company of her party members. The reason why Hikaru decided to humor her was because of sympathy. She wished to speak in Japanese, probably feeling nostalgic.
ăHowâd you even know where I live?ă
ăThe Adventurers Guild referred us to a real estate agent. Weâre rank B, you know?ă
ăYeah, I know thatâŠă
Does being rank B really get you that much privilege? Itâs like an unwritten special right, in a sense. It might be a good idea to rank up.
ăWhen did you get here?ăSelica asked.
ăIâll tell you if you tell me first.ă
ăOkay, sure. I think itâll be almost a year since I arrived here. I got hit by a truck.ă
ăâŠâŠâŠă
ăWhat? Wait, donât tell me thatâs what happened to you too.ă
ăThatâs exactly what happened to me. That just means we share the same cause of death.ă
Hikaru was starting to get a headache. Do trucks in Japan have some sort of spell that summons people to a different world?
ăWhat do you mean by that? I got hit by a truck on my home from school, collapsed, and then all of a sudden I was here. To my surprise, I was unscathed and I was in the middle of a meadow in a Ponsonian town called Pongee Elka.ă
ăIn your uniform?ă
ăYup! I happened to have two boxes of Calorie Mate in my bag so I managed to survive for two days. I wouldâve been in big trouble if I didnât have thoseâŠă
ăWhyâd you have those in your bag?ă
ăTheyâre important for us ladies, okay?ă
Was she on a Calorie Mate diet or something?
ăWhat about you?ă
ăI met a resident of this world in the afterlife. Only my soul was summoned here.ă
ăWhat? Does that mean summoning spells exist? Then can we go back to Japan?!ă
ăApparently it could only send oneâs soul to the afterlife. I do have some info on the art of crossing worlds. But it seems the research got stalled.ă
ăâŠI see.ă
Selica was excited at the possibility of returning to Japan, but her enthusiasm quickly faded.
ăDo you want to go back to Japan?ăHikaru asked.
ăOf course! Is what Iâd like to say, but itâs quite hard. I have some lingering attachment over there. I love my Mom and Dad, and I had a cheeky little sister. And⊠I had a close friend. We met only recently, right after I entered high school, but we got along really well. I just feel sad that Iâll never see them again.ă
ăâŠâŠâŠă
It was evident from the various relics that there were others like themâpeople transported from another world. Did they die with nostalgia in their hearts?
There couldâve been at least one person who returned to Japan, but it was hard to believe theyâd come back here again. There would be some information if they did.
Maybe thereâs information like that buried somewhereâŠÂ But Hikaru knew the odds of that were low. After all, Roland, who studied crossing worlds, had no knowledge about it.
ăBut still!ăSelica clapped her hands once.ăIâm not lonely anymore since I got Selyse and the others. Close friends I made since I got here!ă
Thereâs that exclaiming right at the end. She sounded like the Selica of the Four Stars now.
ăHow did you end up in their party?ă
ăOnce I found out I had the aptitude for magic, I practiced like crazy.ă
ăAh, it looked like youâre able to use all elements.ă
ăYup. Wait, howâd you know that? Do you have an Appraisal skill or something?ă
ăNope. Wait, do Appraisal skills exist?ă
ăNever heard of it.ă
ăOf courseâŠă
If there was one, itâd be more popular. Then again, my ability to see other peopleâs Soul Boards is similar to an Appraisal skill.
ăSo⊠I donât know how to use magic. How do you train for it?ă
ăI use Spirit Magic. By pouring mana to a Spirit, I can use its powers.ă
ăYou canât actually see Spirits, right? I know that much.ă
ăYup. Itâs more like I can see the element. No, not âseeâ, but more like âsenseâ. For example, thereâs plenty of Air Spirits in this room.ă
ăWowâŠă
Hikaru couldnât really tell even though she already explained it to him. This sucks. He could just put a point on his Soul Board so heâd understand right away. But I canât really waste points.
ăSo I shot magic into my own palms.ă
ăâŠExcuse me?ă
ăYou know how this world has Soul Ranks, right? I realized those were like levels! Then I found out the higher levelled I got, my aptitude for magic also increased. Why donât the people of this world increase their rank?ă
ăAhâŠă
Hikaru told her about his speculation. Ranks werenât really quantified and this world didnât have the concept of âlevelsâ. Selica sensing her magic aptitude increasing was her own subjective feeling. People couldnât really give concrete proof.
Seriously though, firing magic at your own palms? Is that why her Magic Resistance is maxed out?
ăSoul BoardăSelica Tanoue
Age: 17 Rank: 104
29
ăVitalityă
..ăNatural Recoveryă4
..ăStaminaă4
..ăImmunityă
âŠ.ăMagic Resistanceă5 (MAX)
âŠ.ăDisease Immunityă1
âŠ.ăToxic Immunityă3
ăMagical Poweră
..ăManaă19
..ăSpiritual Affinityă
âŠ.ăFireă5
âŠ.ăAiră5
âŠ.ăEarthă5
âŠ.ăWateră5
âŠâŠăSpiritâs Affectionă3
âŠâŠăMagic Principleă0
âŠ.ăMagic Creationă2
ăDexterityă
..ăTool Masteryă
âŠ.ăPotteryă3
He checked her Soul Board.
ăI got a question. Did you kill tons of monsters to raise your rank?ă
ăOf course! To get rid of evil!ă
Again. That sounded just like the Four Stars Selica.
ăThough if you only use one kind of magic, the other spirits start sulking⊠So I used everything. I got better at magic and my rank went up. It was fun!ă
ăâŠâŠâŠă
Come on. A three-digit rank is going overboard. Hmm, maybe getting better at all the elements and unlocking Spiritâs Affection makes it easier for the other stats to go up. She said she arrived here a year ago. Wait, getting this strong after only a year is incredible, now that I really think about it.
Selica was nodding to herself as she thought about the past.
ăSelica. Are you perhaps a gamer?ăHikaru asked.
ăYeah! And a hardcore one! I played shooter games with my friend from the US and Germany! Wait, why are you addressing me as just Selica?! Youâre younger than me, arenât you?!ă
ăDonât worry about it.ă
ăI worry about it! Such arrogance!ă
ăBeing arrogant is sorta my specialty.ă
ăThatâs a weird specialty to have. My friend said having an arrogant junior will only bring trouble.ă
ăYou want to go back to Japan so you can play games?ă
ăWell, just a little bit. But itâs much more fun to shoot things up here. Then again, killing monsters left and right made me stand out in a bad way and thatâs when I met the girls. Ever since I joined them though, I didnât have to hover between life and death.ă
Selica wore a distant look on her face. What kind of hardships did she face when she got here?
ăIâm glad that I came to this world though.ă
ăBecause you met Selyse and the others?ă
ăThereâs that, but also because this worldâs fair.ă
ăFair?ă
Fair? How? There were plenty of unreasonable things in this world. For someone like Hikaru who grew up in a democratic country, a noble system was hard to believe at firstâin other words, having inherent privileges.
Of course those born in a wealthy family back on Earth had good fortune. But they didnât have the same level of privilege as the nobles here. You couldnât plot to kill someone that easily. And there were no wars.
Indeed. Count Morgstad taking the life of Rolandâs parents was nothing short of unreasonable.
Selica probably had to struggle to survive as soon as she arrived here. She might not have seen the ugly side of people.
ăFrequently using magic will make you better at it. Killing monsters gives you power. Magic and souls⊠things that arenât found in Japan. In this world, theyâre being balanced.ă
ăBalancedâŠă
Fair didnât quite fit, but balanced made sense.
ăYou canât use magic, right? You might awaken to your gifts if I fire my spells at you.ă
ăIâll pass. Thank you.ă
ăNow you sound polite all of a sudden⊠That reminds me, your friend can use powerful magic! How?!ăSelica said, pointing at Lavia sitting on the sofa.
Lavia gave a start. Hikaru nodded at her, indicating that everything was fine, and made Selica drop her finger.
ăNo comment.ăhe replied.
ăNot that again. You promised to tell me if I told you my story.ă
ăYouâre asking about Lavia, not me.ă
ăOh, her name is Lavia? Is she your girlfriend?ăSelica asked, grinning.
ăNo, sheâs not.ă
ăReally? You live together, right? Come on now. Donât be shy. Tell me the truth.ă
ăSheâs my life partner.ă
ăUgh! Too much for me! What the heck?! Youâre younger than me, arenât you?!ă
ăYour story of eating monster meat after running out of calorie mate is worse.ă
ăHowâd you know that?!ă
ăAha, I knew it. You had this distant look in your face a moment ago.ă
ăYou tricked me! Itâs your turn to speak! Letâs start with your most embarrassing experience.ă
ăFinding out that the only other Japanese person here was a hopeless ex-high school student was quite embarrassingâŠă
ăDonât say it with a straight face!ă
Lavia and Paula happened to just listen to their conversation in a language they couldnât understand.
ăHikaru-sama seems different. He looks like heâs having fun.ă
ăYeahâŠă
Lavia felt happy, yet a little sad as she watched Hikaru having fun talking with Selica, even though he seemingly didnât want to.
ăI guess talking to a fellow countryman would be greatâŠă
ăLavia-san?ă
ăItâs nothing.ă
Lavia shook her head slightly. Right now, she had Hikaru. She was happy. Wishing for more would be asking too much.