It Wasn't Resurrection?

"It wasn't resurrection?"

What is that supposed to mean?

"Exactly what it sounds like. You'll have to speak with your disciples for the details. I'm not entirely certain of it myself, you understand."

"Stop dancing around it and just tell me."

"I don't know either. And put those fists down."

"I can't?"

"Planning to thrash this old body without mercy, are you? Heh heh heh…"

"You beat up a legion commander older than you."

"I am not a legion commander. And by that logic, you're the older one between us."

"Hrmm…"

Step by step, Lea left Bahamart's villa and made her way toward the training grounds, turning his parting words over in her mind.

The current generation of heroes was similar to her.

She hadn't understood it at first, but the more she thought about it, the more something seemed to click.

"Come to think of it…"

Spending time with her disciples gave her a strangely familiar feeling. Not that the people themselves were familiar — it was the atmosphere that felt familiar.

It was a sensation she hadn't experienced once in three hundred years. And certain words they used carried a curiously nostalgic warmth.

"Quests, for one."

She would send the heroes on errands and hand out rewards in return. The Goddess was the one who actually delivered those rewards, but the whole arrangement had felt so familiar that Lea had simply started calling them quests.

The strange part was that nobody ever questioned the word. As if it had always been called a quest from the very beginning.

Step. Step. Step…

"Quests. Heroes who come back from the dead. Heroes from another world. Fearlessness…"

Why had the old hag — the Goddess — only adopted this strategy now, after the Demon King was already dead?

Was the heroes' absurdly easy resurrection really the Goddess's power alone? Resurrection was a miracle even a saintess couldn't perform lightly.

"Uuughmm…"

Something was starting to fit together. She felt like she was one decisive hint away from the answer…

"It's familiar. So damn familiar… Wait, could it be?"

"Lady Lea?"

"Sta… nah. That's a bit much."

"Lady Lea?"

"There's no way that would work at this point. I've already tried hundreds of times. That doesn't make any sense."

"Lady Lea!"

"H-huh?"

Lea blinked. Before she knew it, she was walking past Nya-nya's door, and Nya-nya was looking down at her with a thick magic tome clutched to her chest.

"What? You're already done?"

"Lady Heris said she had other appointments, so she ended today's lesson here."

"You should still do more."

"…I've already been at it for ten hours."

Nya-nya said it with an exhausted face. Haring had taken her share of beatings and suffered plenty, but Nya-nya had been working just as hard.

Lea stretched out an arm and ruffled Nya-nya's hair. Nya-nya looked up at empty air, then bowed her head.

"Thank you."

"Something popped up again, huh."

"Ah, yes. It did."

"……"

"What is it?"

By now, Lea didn't even need to grab at empty space to know. Whenever she did something or handed out a task, a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blue rectangle appeared in the heroes' vision.

Only the heroes could see that blue rectangle. Even Lea couldn't perceive its true form unless she physically grasped the space where it floated — and even then, all she saw was a string of dashes.

"What's your hometown like?"

"W-what?! W-why are you suddenly asking about our hometown…"

"Just curious. Is that not allowed?"

"W-well, I suppose so. Um… there are a lot of really tall buildings."

"…?"

"There are incredibly fast carriages made of steel, and really long carriages too. It's a fairly peaceful place, all things considered."

"That so?"

"Yees…"

Nya-nya answered with a tense expression, her hands trembling for reasons Lea couldn't place. Lea crossed her arms and nodded.

"…Familiar."

No matter how she turned it over, only one conclusion presented itself.

"Earth."

"…Huh? Uh, yeah! Our hometown is called Earth."

The round land. Earth.

Haring — who had just died, or rather died and come back, and was currently sipping cold water to clear her head — frowned at the whisper messages. Nya-nya almost never freaked out like this.

"What???"

Haring shot up from the infirmary bed.

Emergency. Super-super-super-super emergency.

You could call it overreacting over a simple question about hometowns — but Haring and Nya-nya were rankers. They had traveled far and wide searching for Lea, racked up plenty of experience, and above all, they had heard the warnings from Evan, a member of FreeGal's advance party.

Evan had said:

When a high-ranking NPC asks about your hometown, it means a Red Pill Event is about to drop.

A way out? There isn't one. Either vanish so completely not a single hair is left behind, or pray you roll the one-in-ten chance of handling it well.

The Red Pill Event Evan had warned them about so urgently was about to begin.

Even as Lea's cherished disciples, there was no telling what might happen. High-ranking NPCs of this caliber were rare to begin with.

Haring bolted from the infirmary in search of Evan. She found him resting on a bench after training among the apprentice knights.

"Evan!"

"What is it?"

"We're done for!"

"Done for?"

"We're fucking done for! Lady Lea started asking about our hometown!"

"Oh, shit."

Evan sprang to his feet. He fed the vice-captain of the knights a fabricated urgent excuse in under five seconds, then left the training grounds without a shred of hesitation. Haring hurried after him in a panic.

"W-wait. Is it really that bad?"

"It is that bad."

"But Lady Lea's nicer than you'd think. Maybe nothing much will happen?"

"…Haring. Listen carefully."

"Yes?"

"I have never seen a Red Pill Event from an NPC of that level."

"…What? But you said you'd seen plenty."

"I've seen them, sure."

Even while talking, Evan kept moving at a near-run. You couldn't openly sprint through the royal palace, so he was walking as fast as humanly possible. Cold sweat ran down his face.

"But those were nobles, knights, maybe a prince at most. I've never seen one from a transcendent being like that."

"…So what?"

"If a noble or a knight gets angry, you die once or get banned from their territory. But a dragon?"

"Ah?"

"You could die dozens of times — or get locked away forever like Heurisk. Avoiding it is the right call for now."

Step. Step. Step.

"Th-then you're never coming back? You're ditching the knighthood?"

"I'm getting clear for now. Red Pill Events don't last forever — usually about a month… though with a dragon, who knows."

"……"

"If you're going to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bail, bail now. Any later and you're screwed."

"…Deserting feels kinda wrong, though."

"Well, you can stay if you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠want."

Thud.

Before they knew it, Evan and Haring had arrived at the palace's secret door — the same one that had once let Haring and Nya-nya inside.

Clunk! The door opened, and Evan stepped through without a backward glance, heading for the world beyond the palace walls.

"I don't have any real connection here, but you two do, right? Being disciples might give you a shot…"

"A shot?"

"Sometimes it even works out in your favor. Red Pill Events aren't always pure bad news."

"……"

"Anyway, I'm out. Hit me up if things go well."

"Okay. Why's your speech getting so casual, though?"

"I'm in a hurry. Anyway, peacing out."

Thud!

Alone after Evan's departure, Haring wrestled with the choice. Was the right move to slip out through this door right now? Or to risk it and go back to Lea?

It was the decision of a lifetime — and in the end, Haring turned around and walked back.

Part of it was that she couldn't leave Nya-nya behind…

"Isn't this actually a win?"

If she used this chance to get even closer to Lea, wouldn't that be perfect?

As far as Haring was concerned, she couldn't picture Lea actually harming them. She might snap at the heroes who'd been a nuisance — but the odds of her turning on disciples she'd specifically said she'd look after were low.

"I trust Lady Lea. I do."

Carrying that unshakable faith, Haring headed for Lea.

…

…

…

"No wonder you all lived like you had nothing to lose."

"Huh?"

"Because it wasn't your real body, you just half-assed everything? Is that it?"

"Uh, that's not—"

"Then what the heck is it?"

Something had gone very wrong.

"Then what the heck is it?"

Lea was furious.

The heroes acting cocky because they were immortal? Fine. They had the power to back it up, so she could understand that.

Their hometown being the world she'd lived in during her past life? She could understand ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that too. The old hag might have decided Earth-born people made suitable heroes. Being left out of the loop still stung, but whatever.

But.

"It wasn't resurrection?"

The heroes' true nature was that their real bodies stayed behind on Earth, and only their souls were summoned here.

No wonder they treated dying and coming back like a daily meal. There was a reason for all of it.

If true infinite resurrection had been possible, she would have used it ages ago.

The old hag's methods left Lea utterly, completely speechless. Loving gacha was one thing — but this was basically turning the entire world into a game board.

"A game?"

"L-Lady Lea! Please calm down…"

"Master! We're taking this seriously! Unlike the other heroes, we're genuinely immersed—"

"Everyone shut up."

"Yes ma'am."

"Y-yes."

A game… a game… Why hadn't she thought of that until now?

Looking back, it was entirely predictable. No — she probably had thought of it. She'd simply dismissed the idea and forgotten about it.

Her past life was three hundred years behind her, after all.

For the first time in roughly seventy years, Lea spoke a word she had never once uttered aloud.

"…Status window."

"Figures, it still doesn't—"

…

…

…