I'm Sorry
There must have been a thousand things she wanted to ask me, yet Rubia sat perfectly still, not so much as parting her lips.
"Let's go."
"...Huh?"
"Outside. Let's go out."
"All of a sudden?"
"Yes."
While I had been bathing she had slipped out and come back, and the entire atmosphere around her had shifted.
"But there's nothing to do out there right now, is there?"
"It's fine. I looked around—quite a few places are still open. Even if everything were closed, dropping my name would get most of them to open up. And Noah is the hero who saved Urusphier. If they wouldn't do at least that much for you... well, that would just make them terrible people."
Hero.
The word fit me so poorly that a dry little laugh slipped out.
"Then... well... shall we?"
"Yes."
Only then did Rubia smile, satisfied, and throw the door wide open.
I scrambled up from my seat, completely swathed myself in the princess's robe that had been draped over the sofa, and followed her out.
The greatsword I left leaning against the couch.
The Urusphier that greeted us outside was, to put it kindly, romantic; to put it bluntly, a complete mess.
Buildings lay half-collapsed. The once-flat streets were cracked and heaved into jagged ridges. In the corners of shops, embers still smoldered and smoked; food and goods sat frozen solid in blocks of ice.
And the single greatest culprit behind the chaos was... Yuria's plants.
She had turned the place into a full-blown jungle.
Thousands of vines clung desperately to buildings that would otherwise have fallen. Roots punched up through the earth. Petals and weeds carpeted everything. On the littered ground, nameless grasses sprouted in sparse clumps, and now—because of course—butterflies fluttered about as well.
It looked exactly like an ancient ruin left to rot for centuries.
But what else could you expect?
Tyrant's thralls had poured out in a flood. Better a few buildings than a pile of corpses, right? That was why people were smiling as they cleared rubble and patched up the wreckage.
"What should we eat?"
Rubia broke the awkward silence first while I was lost in those thoughts.
I glanced around. Only a handful of restaurants were open, and even those looked busy handing out free meals to the people cleaning up the town.
"Mm... anywhere quiet is fine."
There was something I wanted, of course, but I had no desire to walk into a shop and become a burden. Half of them might not even be open for regular business.
"Then... may I choose the place I want?"
"Yeah. Sure."
I nodded and fell into step behind her.
Another stretch of silence settled between us. I refused to waste it. Quietly I turned my attention inward, refining the mana inside my body—spitting out the filthy, useless dregs and carefully stacking only what I needed.
When I was gone, "I" would have to manage with whatever I left behind. Mana was better in abundance, but too much and the body would simply go pop. Especially now. My companions hadn't known any better, but dumping that much Elixir into a body that originally had no mana at all was a recipe for disaster. What would they have done if I hadn't been here? Honestly.
Still... this life's "me" had lived a pretty decent life. A warm little pride bloomed in my chest.
And it hurt, too.
A little. A lot.
Tch.
What a petty thought. I shook my head and got back to work.
The pure mana of the true Elixir I accepted as-is. The incomplete mana from Yuria's homemade version I expelled. What had already been absorbed... well, nothing to be done. A few centimeters of height wouldn't matter at this stage. And intelligence? There wasn't much left to lose there anyway.
I had no idea how thoroughly Rubia had prepared the arrangements I'd asked for, but this world still hadn't fully accepted me. There was room to improve.
Though even that would only be a matter of time now.
The end of the purification was finally in sight. I had started at midday, right after we came down from killing Tyrant. Judging by the way the sky was beginning to blush with sunset, it had taken quite a while. The mana had been filthy enough that I supposed it couldn't be helped.
One last thing remained to settle.
That... I would handle just before my consciousness went dark.
"We're here."
I lifted my head and looked at the signboard.
"Huh?"
Daylight on the Snowy Peak.
The fried rice here was incredible. The handmade jelly they served for dessert was pure bliss.
"What? You don't like it?"
And among everything, the one thing I had wanted most: the special wild-strawberry juice.
The restaurant where Rubia and I had shared our very first meal together.
"No... I love it. I really, really love it."
In the Urusphier of my old world, Tyrant had wiped the city from the map. The avalanche I had carved open had been only the beginning; thralls had slaughtered people and smashed buildings until Tyrant's own assault finished the job. I had never expected to eat here again.
"I'm glad. Shall we go straight in?"
"Y-yeah. Let's go."
I took the lead and opened the door.
Jingle—
The interior was shabby but clean. Quiet. The kitchen breathed out a sweet-and-savory aroma that made my mouth water. And for the first time—because I had been blind before—I could actually see the menu boards hanging on the walls.
In my memories, Morning of the Snowfield had been loud and filthy. The air had reeked of cheap liquor and adventurers' sweat; the mood had been rough enough to cut. I had loved it. Other people might have found the chaos exhausting, but to me those noises had been precious.
Their absence now was a little sad.
Still, it was all right. As long as I could see this place, feel it, remember it... that was enough.
"Where should we sit?"
Seats mattered.
I always had a favorite.
"Over there—right-hand corner!"
I hated being stared at. A deep corner, robe pulled low, eating in peace—that was how I liked it.
"Perfect."
I scampered over and plopped down. The chair was ridiculously hard; my butt immediately complained. It was also so tall my feet dangled in the air.
I loved every bit of it.
Welcome back.
My legs started swinging harder with pure delight.
Rubia scraped her chair into place and quietly studied the menu. I didn't need to look. I already knew.
I wanted to recommend something she would like, too... but somehow I couldn't bring myself to. The world had changed. She had changed. She wasn't the Rubia I knew.
"Have you decided, Noah?"
"Yeah. You?"
"I've decided as well. I'll go order. What would you like?"
"French toast, chicken-tender fried rice... and the special strawberry juice!"
Rubia's head tilted.
"This place doesn't have a separate strawberry juice on the menu."
"...Huh?"
I snapped my gaze up and scanned the board.
Strawberry juice... strawberry juice...
It really wasn't there. Neither was the jelly.
But... that couldn't be right. I had eaten them. I remembered.
Butterfly effect or something...?
"Umm... well, can't be helped. Then just the toast and the fried rice..."
A little depressing, but toast and fried rice were still something.
"Oh—and to drink... milk!"
"Milk... pfft. All right. I'll order."
While she was gone I studied the menu again, more carefully. Still no strawberry juice. Still no jelly.
I had wanted that sweet-tart, sticky, chewy strawberry pulp so badly...
So disappointing. So, so disappointing...
"Haaah..."
"Is it that upsetting? I saw another place selling it. We can go for dessert afterward."
Rubia had already returned and was gently patting my shoulder.
"Mm... okay."
It didn't really help. Other places' strawberry juice was fine, sure—but it wasn't this place's.
Still, if it wasn't on the menu, what could I do? I shoved the regret aside and pumped myself up thinking about the food that would arrive soon.
"What did you order, Rubia?"
The Rubia I knew always got—
"Basil cream pasta."
—with beef and a baguette on the side...
"I added beef and a baguette."
"Ah..."
Exactly the same.
"Why?"
"N-no reason. Have you been here before?"
"Yes. I stopped by once during missionary work. Someone recommended it. The food was decent. The atmosphere... not so much."
I had heard that story before.
"And one more curious thing... the dishes you just ordered are the exact ones I tried the first time I came."
Because you recommended them to me, Rubia.
"Yeah. Weird coincidence."
She stared straight at my face.
"It'll be delicious."
"...Yeah."
"I don't know if my food will suit your taste, but... try a bite later."
It will. Bagette, meat, sauce—I've eaten it so many times.
"Okay."
Her steady gaze was starting to feel heavy, so I turned my head away.
Then—
Clink—
A thickly bearded man set an incongruously cute cup on the table.
Strawberry juice.
"Huh...?"
"Our house special. Not on the menu, but I promise it's good."
"W-why are you giving this to us all of a sudden?"
The beard twitched. He was smiling.
"My little girl loves it."
"...I-I see."
The first time, it had arrived just like this—out of nowhere. I had assumed Rubia ordered it and drank it without a second thought. Blind, I couldn't read the menu. After that I simply ordered it every visit, and every time Rubia said "all right" and ordered for me. The juice always came with the food, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Black hair. Red eyes. And the ugly rumors that followed me. People called me a demon, a monster, and pushed me away.
This man had looked after me anyway.
I lifted the cup slowly and tipped it to my lips.
Exactly the same taste as in my memories.
"It's... good."
"Heh. Glad to hear it."
"...Th-thank you. Really."
"I'm the one who should thank you. For protecting this shop... for protecting Urusphier. Truly, thank you."
He bowed deeply at the waist.
"...Yes."
I didn't look at him.
If I did, the feelings I had forced down would spill over. Regret would cling. Greed would bloom.
I turned my face away and simply sipped the juice.
It was far, far too sweet.