Chapter 73
Chapter 73 – Unexpected Reunion
"Damn it! How can I be this unlucky!"
After coming up empty on the 31st list, I kicked the ground in frustration.
This is too much. I've investigated 31 out of 35 people. I wasn't hoping it'd be the first one, but it could've shown up within 30 tries, right?
Do you really need to kill me one more time to be satisfied, you damn other world?
'This is essentially the last try.'
32nd attempt. Based on the brightness of the Saint’s Crest sentence, it's almost noon when it's brightest.
If this is another miss, my time in this life is over. I'll have to return to the inn.
'If I can't find that bastard...'
I'll have to leave a will in the Box of the Dead for my next life self to continue the search.
But, would my next life self... accept death as willingly as I did this life?
No. Most likely not.
'That's how I am now.'
Honestly, I don't want to die right now.
I really want to live. Honestly, what do I care about the next life me? Why should I sacrifice my current life for the me in the next life? Such thoughts keep coming whenever there's a chance.
So the next life me... will desperately want to live like this too.
'Please be the right one.'
While thinking these thoughts, I arrived at the 32nd address on the list.
After preparing myself mentally in front of the collapsing shack, I slowly knocked on the door.
Knock knock. After the knock, a moment of silence. Then the door creaked open carefully.
"W-who is it...?"
Damn it.
Even before seeing the face, my shoulders slumped the moment I heard the voice.
The list crumpled slightly as my grip unconsciously tightened.
'It's a woman.'
That vagrant I bumped into was definitely not a woman.
From the build to the brief voice I heard when we collided, I remember. It was a man.
Even if by some stretch it was a woman with a masculine voice, it's definitely not this voice I'm hearing now.
'... Is this another failure?'
Deflated, I immediately prepared to leave.
If these memories don't persist, I'll definitely make the best choice to survive again.
Meaning I'll flee this city without hesitation.
That's why maintaining these memories is most important.
If nothing else, I need to die at the inn so I can recover my residual sentiment as quickly as possible.
'Right. Let me think about what to write.'
After my regressed self checks the Box of the Dead, there's a brief moment before he disappears from sight.
What message should I leave for the next life me to make him immediately bring up the red-haired vagrant's status window?
'Yes. This should work.'
When I thought about what words would make me unable to resist checking the status window, the answer came surprisingly easily.
I was about to stuff the written message into the Box of the Dead. Just as I was about to enclose the torn list of the remaining three vagrants,
Clunk.
The door opened fully and the girl inside showed her face.
I reflexively looked in that direction and saw her face.
"Oh."
I let out a dumbfounded exclamation.
It contained confusion, surprise, and above all, joy at recognition.
"Hey, you...!!"
I know that face. I remember that face clearly.
I strode toward the red-haired girl. She backed away with a frightened expression with each step I took.
"W-why are you..."
That demeanor lacked confidence. And now clearly visible up close, those pointed ears protruding through the red hair. Exactly like the image in my memory.
My suspicion gradually turned to certainty.
"You've seen me before!"
I thrust my face forward and asked that abruptly.
If she's the woman I know, there's no way she could have forgotten me.
Because when I met this woman, I was quite famous for my peculiar behavior.
The peculiar behavior of 'eating once a day'.
"... Huh?"
The red-haired elf girl who had been terrified suddenly exclaimed. Her eyes widened as she looked at me.
She definitely recognizes me. She's certainly the woman I know.
The girl slowly pointed at me and mumbled.
"C-could you be... the person who always ate with the frog mister?"
"... Y-yes, but..."
Damn. Was that my image in the Trial Veil?
Hearing someone else describe me as 'the Skalo bonus item who ate regularly' makes me feel a bit bitter.
Well, bitterness aside, I'm still happy about this meeting.
She's one of the people I really wanted to meet.
"It's been a while, one of the Final 16."
I extended my hand to the girl for a handshake.
Though hesitant at first, she timidly took my hand.
Her identity was one of the Final 16 who remained until the end in the Trial Veil.
She was the younger sister of the red-haired elf siblings tucked away in my memories.
As I realized this fact anew, my heart began to race.
'If my memory is correct...'
The composition of the Final 16 in the Trial Veil was roughly like this:
Me, Skalo, Aldcon, and Cessna - four people.
An unnamed Korean youth and three unremarkable companions - four people.
Five people wearing turbans and a ragged woman in shackles - six people.
And finally, two elf siblings with red hair and pointed ears.
'Among them, everyone except me fell to the same place!'
Though it's sadly memorable now, that's not what's important right now.
What's important is that the elf girl before me fell to the same place as Skalo, Aldcon, and Cessna.
In other words, there's a high chance she knows the whereabouts of my companions.
That was all that mattered.
'Return plan cancelled.'
There's been a change of plans. I'll get this information even if I have to take risks.
I flung open the rickety door that looked like it could fall at any moment.
The startled elf girl hurriedly tried to close the door, but it was futile. I immediately grabbed her wrist.
"It's been a while since we met. Let's have a drink. It's on me."
"Ah... uh...!"
Of course, she has no right of refusal. My isekai colleague.
I grinned while facing the girl who was still full of wariness.
* * *
Naturally, I wasn't planning to extract information from the girl empty-handed.
I immediately took her back to Kern's busy district. Then we went to the splendidly laid out night market, where I bought her street food until the table could barely hold it all.
The red-haired elf girl could barely process the feast laid out before her.
"Can... can I... really eat this?"
"Of course. I bought it for you to eat."
"Wo, wow...!"
The girl devoured the food as if possessed for a while.
From her shabby appearance and living in the shantytown, I had roughly guessed it. Indeed, she was very hungry.
Choosing food as a bribe was the best choice.
"How did you end up living as a vagrant in a place like this?"
Around the time the elf girl who had nearly emptied all that food was contentedly rubbing her belly.
I asked bluntly.
"Th-that's..."
Shadows immediately fell across the elf girl's face.
She tossed aside the chicken leg she had been eating and started to whimper.
Damn it. I asked the question to lighten the mood, but it completely ruined it instead.
I hate crying. I decided to change the subject right away.
"Never mind. First, what's your name?"
"Eh... m-my name?"
"Yeah. I can't keep calling you one of the final 16."
"Ah."
Whether 'red-haired elf girl' or 'one of the final 16,' it's too long. I want a short name.
Fortunately, she had stopped crying by now. Soon she carefully revealed her name.
"...Jena. The seventh daughter of Galan Forest, Jena."
"Skip the extra stuff. Jena it is."
"Y-yes."
Come to think of it, I think her sibling called her Jena at the trial veil too.
There's no time for long detours. I selected questions one by one while recalling the time at the trial veil.
"There are a few things I'd like to ask. Is that okay?"
"Ah, yes. Of course. Please ask anything."
Jena seemed to be in a good mood now that her stomach was full, nodding with a bright smile.
Maybe because she's an elf, but her appearance is cute. When she smiled, her pure beauty seemed to come alive even more.
"Do you remember everyone who was with me in that dark plaza?"
"Certainly... there was the laid-back frog human, the fiery dwarf old man... the huge turtle human. And the kind sister with blue hair."
"Right. That's accurate."
Except for Craneid, she remembers not just their appearances but their personalities too.
But I don't remember seeing our group talking with Jena at the trial veil. So this is evidence that they've talked after coming to Paraiso.
While trying to suppress my pounding heart, I continued asking.
"Do you know where those people are now?"
"Well... I-I'm not completely sure, but."
"But?"
"...Yes. I think I might know."
Though it's vague, it's still affirmative.
I unconsciously clench my fist.