Chapter 71

After more than ten minutes of comforting the sobbing Noah, I thought we could finally have a proper conversation—

"Hehe... Zero, Zero, Ze-ro!"

This time, instead of tears, Noah beamed with a full smile and repeatedly called out the old nickname, while sitting on my lap.

"Hey, Noah, can you get down for a moment so we can talk properly...?"

"No way. It's been a thousand years since we last met, right? We can talk just fine like this."

That was her response. Then, Noah pouted slightly and muttered discontentedly.

"It can't be helped... After that battle, both Zero and Suu-chan suddenly disappeared... Do you know how lonely I was, Zero?"

"...I'm sorry."

Seeing her with her azure eyes moist and a fragile voice, I responded softly.

Indeed, Noah is right. To me, it's been less than a month, but for Noah, it's been a thousand years since we last met. Hearing that, I lost any desire to argue. There are many things I want to ask, but for now, I should let Noah have her way.

Incidentally, there's no need to confirm, but "Suu-chan" refers to the "Empress of Magic" Scarlett. Noah used to call me and Scarlett "Zero" and "Suu-chan," respectively.

As I was thinking about this, Noah puffed out her cheeks and looked up at me, discontent.

"What are you doing, Zero! You stopped petting my head!"

"Alright, alright."

Her long, soft hair, as beautiful and fragile as the silver moon shining in the night sky. I placed my hand on her soft hair and gently continued to pet her head. After a while, Noah finally spoke.

"Um, just to confirm... Zero, you still don't know why you woke up in this era, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

Earlier, after confirming that Noah had stopped crying, I briefly explained the situation to her. However, I couldn't tell her that this world was originally a game, so I had to be vague about that part.

A thousand years after the defeat of the evil god, I suddenly lost consciousness—and when I came to, my soul was in the body of Zeros Sylphid. However, I didn't lose my memories as Zeros. I explained that I indeed have the memories and souls of both Zeros and Zeronity within me.

Noah's azure eyes widened in disbelief. Just as I thought she couldn't believe it, she said,

"From Zeronity to Zeros... Then it's fine to keep calling you Zero! I did it!"

"Is that what you're worried about!?"

I couldn't help but point that out, but it seemed important to Noah, as she scolded me, "Of course!"

Well, if she says so, I can't complain. However, there was one thing that bothered me.

(Could it be that I reincarnated as Zeros just because our names sound similar...?)

Since there was no way to know the answer, I concluded that it was probably not the case.

Anyway, we managed to share the minimum information, but a new problem arose. Noah is now the headmaster of the Royal Academy, and I am just a student. We couldn't keep using nicknames, so I asked her to call me Zeros as usual. After some resistance, Noah reluctantly agreed, "Fine." In return, she would continue to call me Zero when we were alone, and I accepted this compromise.

Putting aside that exchange, now that we've settled the basics and Noah has calmed down, we can finally get to the main topic.

"Noah, there are a few things I want to ask. Is that okay?"

Sensing the change in my tone, Noah's expression became serious.

"Yes. What is it?"

"Hmm. First of all..."

After pondering which question to ask first, I chose one and spoke. The biggest question I've had since learning that Noah is in this era.

"Why, in this era, is the existence of the Inheritance Shrine and Inheritance Skills unknown?"

In the flickering sunlight streaming through the window, the opportunity to unravel the mystery had finally arrived. Noah lowered her eyes slightly, as if recalling something, and exhaled quietly.

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