68. Spilling the Story of My Reincarnation in Another World
68. Spilling the Story of My Reincarnation in Another World
-Crackle, crackle.
It was time to turn in after dinner.
I settled down in front of the campfire for night watch, passing the time by inspecting the spear in my hand and my armor's condition.
The corridor connected to the room we'd taken was firmly barricaded, but that didn't mean zero risk of something breaking through like before.
"Um, do you have a moment?"
Maybe it was because of everything that had happened today.
Ga-ram, who'd been tossing and turning under her blanket, couldn't fall asleep and eventually started talking to me.
"Get some rest. You need to recharge your stamina if we're moving again tomorrow."
"I can't sleep."
"...You still don't trust me, huh?"
"Oh, n-no, you came to save me, risking your own life. I'm not so shameless as to not trust you after that."
Ga-ram hurriedly shook her head at my probing question.
Beneath her blanket, I could vaguely see her fingers fidgeting.
"...It's just, there's something I wanted to ask."
Was it anxiety that made her shyly turn her gaze toward me after that silence?
Whatever it was, if that question was the reason she couldn't sleep, I figured I ought to help resolve it first. I gave her a nod, and Ga-ram immediately asked.
"You... hate Heroes, right?"
"I hate them."
An immediate answer without a shred of falsehood.
The kind of answer anyone other than a Hero would sympathize with.
"You've seen plenty of those Hero types yourself, so you know, don't you? The kind of shit they pull on adventurers and workers like me."
Throwing their weight around without knowing their place. I'd met dozens who let their guard down even in front of monsters we'd encountered before, and they all ended up dead.
Heroes, every last one of them, were beings inevitably shaped into that kind of breed.
Unless the system embedded in human society was torn out and rebuilt, those kinds of bastards would just keep multiplying.
And so would the endless tide of guys who were Heroes in name only, exploiting the overwhelmingly larger numbers of citizens and Foreign Workers.
"Then, the reason you agreed to party with me..."
"If you want to hold a grudge, you can."
But unlike them, this kid had learned her place, and the price was that she could no longer feel any pride in herself.
Her passive behavior in everything was bound to come across as contemptible, even to the masses who chased after idols.
No matter how hard-pressed I was just to look after myself, I wasn't brazen enough to openly use a kid like that for my own gain.
"Because you have the right to."
All the more so, because the reason this kid had fallen to this state was my fault.
So I thought I ought to accept whatever words came back at me, but...
"...No, I don't hold a grudge."
In truth, Ga-ram held no grudge at all.
She just looked at me with a bitter smile and spoke.
"You saved me... and more than anything, if I hadn't met you, I'm sure I would've acted just like the other Heroes when I met enemies like those earlier."
Rather, because she'd lost her confidence through that day's encounter, it might even be why she was still alive now.
The girl who accepted that as a realization was, in this moment, even sublimating the resentment she should have directed at me into gratitude.
"...Is that enough for you?"
"Yes, honestly, this is easier for me."
That was the ending of this story that this kid had chosen.
Not a tale of revenge against a heinous Hero Killer who had orchestrated the catalyst for her falling by the wayside as a Hero.
But simply the story of a benefactor who gave a single girl realization, and then even saved her life.
-Crackle, crackle.
Even after that conclusion, the sound of the campfire burning away still reached my ears.
As I was listening to it, Ga-ram, who should've been going to sleep, came closer and started leaning against me.
"Since I can't sleep anyway, would you mind listening to me a bit more?"
"...Do whatever you like."
If she couldn't fall asleep right away, then I'd have to keep her company until she was satisfied.
The preamble of the story I agreed to listen to with that lighthearted feeling was filled with things far heavier than I'd imagined.
"So... you know. Before I came here, I tried to jump off the school rooftop."
"......."
"...No, I did jump. Because if I hadn't, I wouldn't have come to this world."
Right, one of the conditions for transmigrating to this world was being in a near-death situation at the moment of summoning.
Getting hit by a truck, falling from a building. The final memories of people brought into this world were usually something like that.
And this kid had met that condition with her own hands...
At an age where she hadn't even graduated middle school.
"At first, I was scared. The people who were disappointed in me always tormented me. Someone like me, who'd always been looked down on, became an object of expectation in this world."
What awaited this timid girl, who had fled even from her own world, was none other than a mission as the savior destined to rescue this world.
Having been pushed to the very brink in her previous life, the desperation to be properly acknowledged in this world must have grown all the greater.
Pushed around by others, having lost her own judgment.
"I knew that, so I thought I had to meet the expectations of the people around me, but..."
And she failed.
Because of that, she'd lost her place. Yet she still stood up, strove to produce results under the stigma of Failed Hero.
"...It really was wrong, wasn't it? That kind of thing."
At this moment, having survived to the very end of all that, could it really be said that those efforts were rewarded?
Adventurers like me would think even surviving was more than she deserved, but ironically, what this world expected from this girl was the image of an idol that everyone looked up to.
As long as she'd been called to this world as a Hero, the world would endlessly force its obligations and responsibilities upon this girl.
"Well."
But I knew all too well the end that came from turning away from that reality.
It was a small number compared to the whole, but I'd seen those called Heroes by the public who had chosen a different path.
"Like you said, the things Heroes do aren't exactly pleasant to look at, but it's hard to say that going along with that atmosphere is entirely wrong either."
"Why? You said you hate Heroes..."
"No matter how much of a Hero you are, you can't stand against the whole world alone. In fact, one Hero I know actually rebelled against the Empire that created that atmosphere, ended up becoming a wanted criminal, and is now being chased by other Heroes instead."
"A Hero, becomes a wanted criminal?"
"That's what I'm saying — this is hard stuff even for adults. What you've realized now."
To begin with, Heroes were modern people just like me. When people with the same sensibilities all turn out to be walking personality disorders, isn't it because that's simply the general current that sweeps them along?
Naturally, those who swam against that current were treated worse than Failed Heroes.
To endure even that, like that person I know — you could call it a choice. But this kid was still far too young to make that kind of choice on her own.
"So if you don't know what to do right now, it's probably best to keep doing what you were doing and wait for the right time. If you can't find an answer, sometimes it's easier on the heart to just set it aside and keep living."
If you flounder and collapse, even the chance for an opportunity won't come your way. But even if you turn your eyes away, if you keep moving forward, there might come a day when you find your answer.
So I, too, could only allow my hesitation to be brief.
My ideals still existed far off in the distance, but having chased even that mirage to where I was now, I'd grown far beyond where I started.
So if I just endured and waited a little longer, surely an opportunity would come to land a proper hit on those damn skeleton bastards too.
"...How did you end up coming to this world?"
Just as I was gripping my well-maintained spear and steeling my resolve.
Ga-ram, who had by now wrapped herself deep in her blanket, stared at me blankly and posed a new question.
About the catalyst that had brought me into this world, the same as she'd told about herself earlier.
"...You're curious what I was doing before I came here?"
"Yes, maybe you were also like me..."
"Don't worry, it's not really that kind of gloomy story."
Now that I thought about it, how did I end up coming to this world, anyway?
It was two years ago, so it's not exactly fresh in my mind... Oh right, that's how it happened.
"Well, if I had to put it precisely, I guess you'd say I was on the 10th floor of an apartment and got hit by a truck."
"...Excuse me?"
"No, I mean, let me explain it properly. It went like this."
I mean, of course anyone would think it was weird if you said a truck crashed into the 10th floor of an apartment out of nowhere.
I carefully retraced the memories of that day and laid out the explanation for Ga-ram.
"In my previous life, I belonged to the main branch of the family among all the relatives. So when the holidays came around, my nieces and nephews would all swarm over to the family home, running around everywhere and chucking their toys all over the place."
"Okay, and then?"
"I got smacked in the head by one of those toys, and when I came to, I was in this world."
"...What?"
"After that, well, like you, I was summoned to the Imperial Castle, got my abilities verified, and then got demoted to a Foreign Worker..."
"No, hold on a second."
Ga-ram put a stop to my continuing explanation.
On her face, in stark contrast to the tension she'd been carrying until now, a deeply dazed expression was visible.
"I'm having a little trouble understanding... you're saying that you got hit by a toy, and then you came to this world?"
"Well, yeah."
"And that toy... was a truck?"
"...Probably?"
Honestly, I don't remember that well.
The toys they'd been playing with at the time were car-type toys, and whatever hit me in the head felt pretty heavy, so I just figured, yeah, must've been a truck.
It could've been a fire truck, or a transforming robot, or a dinosaur toy — but did it really matter at this point?
Whatever hit me, I came to this world, and I was in a position where I had to survive in it.
"...Pfft."
A small laugh leaked from the mouth of the girl who was gradually coming to terms with that grim reality.
When I turned my gaze toward her with puzzlement, I caught sight of a smile slowly spreading across her lips.
An emotion clearer than the campfire illuminating the room at this moment.
"Ahaha! Hahahahahahaha!"
"...Is it that funny?"
"S-sorry. It's just s-so ridiculous I couldn't help... not even hit by a truck, but hit by a t-toy... Pfft, ahaha!!"
Well, I'm calm about it because it's my own story. If I'd heard it from someone else, I might've laughed a bit too.
But maybe it was because of the gloomy atmosphere that had lingered until now?
If anything, a bright reaction like this felt welcome.
Even if only for a brief moment, I figured times like this were necessary for what lay ahead.
"You must've had it really hard too."
Once the laughter had somewhat subsided, the pitiable girl looked at me with a sympathetic face.
Realizing that the target of that sympathy had shifted to me, I gave an ambiguous smile to deny it.
"Nah, the hellish grind in the dungeons was because I pushed myself too hard. Aside from that kind of thing, it's bearable."
"For me it was a choice, but for you it was an accident. Unlike me, who thought even a different world might be better... you wouldn't have even had that."
"......"
"...Why did we end up falling into a world like this?"
-Crackle, crackle.
Just as the firewood we'd brought was nearly all burnt up.
With the last piece of wood splitting and sparks flying, Ga-ram, who'd briefly turned her back to me, pulled something out of her bag and held it out toward me.
It was a gem.
No, to be precise, it was a magic core processed for direct use by adventurers.
"...Why this?"
"Right now, this is the only thing I can give you... so if you need it, please take it."
This item, which she'd looted from a Hero's corpse right when we first entered the dungeon, was a top-level item that allowed even people without the aptitude to wield mana to use high-output magic or magic tools.
An item of this caliber wasn't something you could easily get your hands on even in a dungeon—yet.
This kid, as if she didn't know its value, was telling me she'd willingly hand it over.
"...You sure?"
"I'm not giving it to you for nothing. It's just, I thought that if it's you, you'd be able to grant my request."
No, it was because she wanted to see her wish fulfilled, no matter the price.
As if to show that these weren't idle words, Ga-ram, who had placed the magic core in my hand, looked up at me and spoke.
"I won't ask anything unreasonable. I've learned enough about what this world is like now."
Yes, this was a transaction.
Not something forced through the authority of a Hero, but a request made person to person — what you'd call a plea made by a young girl who'd met an adult she could lean on.
"When you've already saved my life, I'm not so shameless as to ask you to put me before yourself."
The girl spoke as if desperately hoping I would accept.
"But still, until that time..."
Someday.
Pushed by this world's cruelty, until the moment came when I had no choice but to abandon her.
"If there's no reason for you to leave my side before then... would you keep staying with me?"
Even if only partway, she hoped I would watch her back on her precarious journey, just a little.
For that, she'd even forget her past resentment, give me everything she could offer, and if need be, even lend me the halo of a Hero.
"...Yeah."
In the moment that sincerity was revealed by the campfire's light illuminating the deep abyss, I clenched the magic core in my hand and gave her my answer.
It wasn't simply because I wanted the core.
The path I had to walk was just as harsh as the path this girl had to walk.
Because simply abandoning this path to seek safety wouldn't allow me to find true peace anywhere in this cruel world — I had no choice but to grow stronger.
"Let's survive together, from here on out."
Having blossomed a sense of calling from that reality, I clenched the girl's hand instead of the magic core, and hardened a single resolution.
In order to survive.
And furthermore, to accomplish what I couldn't achieve on my own, I'd start for now by raising this kid into a proper Hero.
****
And then, time passed. A certain kingdom located on the outskirts of the continent.
-Clatter, clatter.
Rather, through the roads of a dilapidated ruin that had once been a kingdom, the horse pulling a carriage left blue afterimages as it pressed on toward its destination.
Beneath a sky thick with dark clouds, through a foggy forest, past a checkpoint, and then into a ruined city crushed and collapsed on all sides...
"We have... arrived, my king."
At the end of it, the carriage came to a stop before an old temple, and the coachman released the reins he'd been gripping as he delivered his greeting.
But a corpse that merely moved could not possibly possess proper consciousness.
What he did was merely replay the memories of when he was alive, continuing to act exactly as he had toward the figures he'd responded to in those days — nothing more.
"...Please, refrain from that title."
The former king, feeling an old nostalgia from that, led his withered body clad in armor and quietly stepped out of the carriage — Briton IV.
Crossing the traces of the nation he had once ruled, heading toward the ruined temple at its center.
"I am no longer a king now, but... merely a single knight."
Yes, now he was neither the monarch of a fallen kingdom, nor the Blue Knight of death.
His mission was solely to attend the King of the Dead for the sake of his own unfulfilled lingering regrets — and nothing more.