Chapter 72

"Sorry, did you wait for me?"

...No, really, I'm sorry. I feel bad. I've already finished writing up to the epilogue of the third chapter, so it's fine.

Probably once a week (though I've said this before and it's been over a month without updates)

It's night. The long day is finally coming to an end.

After that, I promised to tell Remun later and parted ways. First, I wanted to confide in Patrick, my selfish desire.

My room, with no lights on, is illuminated by the moonlight coming through the window.

Patrick is sitting next to me, who is looking at the moon. He says with concern,

"Today must have been tiring with all that happened. We can talk another time—"

"It's fine. I need to say it now. It will only get harder to say the longer I wait."

I've kept it hidden all this time. I never told anyone. But I need to confide in someone. Now is the only time.

The day has finally come to let Patrick know about my past life, my roots, and my true identity.

I might not be believed, I might be rejected, but I was plagued by such worries and couldn't tell anyone about my reincarnation. I'm sure he will believe me, accept me. I was able to start the conversation more calmly than I thought.

"I have memories from my past life. I was born, lived, and died in a different world... and was reborn as Yumiera."

"Reincarnation... a different world? Is it like the parallel world Remun mentioned?"

"Not a parallel world, but a different world. If we follow Remun's analogy of parallel worlds being branches of a tree, then this is a completely different tree. The laws of the world, the shape of the continent, the history of humanity, everything is different. In the world I lived in, there was no magic."

"No magic? That's... unimaginable."

"To me, the existence of magic is what's strange."

"Isn't it inconvenient?"

"Science... well, there were other technologies like magic tools, so it might have been more convenient there."

Wait, are we having a normal conversation? Is he accepting it too easily?

He doesn't seem particularly surprised, which is different from what I expected.

"Um, Patrick, aren't you skeptical? I mean, it's a pretty outlandish story, right?"

"Rather, it makes sense. Knowing that Yumiera's unique traits come from a different world makes it easier to understand."

"Oh, that's true. My unusual aspects might be due to that. Different worlds have different common senses."

"Right. Yumiera seems to have lived through a tough world, but this world is relatively peaceful. You can get used to it gradually."

Patrick looks at me with warm eyes.

So, this world is peaceful, huh. I don't have to live the way I did before... Wait, am I being swayed by the atmosphere? No, that's not it. I don't want to ruin his kindness, but I have to say it.

"...I think this world is more dangerous."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Really. The world isn't entirely peaceful, but my surroundings were very peaceful. I lived in Japan for nearly twenty years, but I never felt my life was in danger."

"Twenty years? Did Yumiera from your past life die so young?"

Oops. I was going to casually mention that I'm a bit older in terms of mental age at the end. I messed up the timing.

I lived for about twenty years, but to be precise, it was nineteen years and a few months. I'm about the same age now, so my exact age is nineteen plus nineteen... No, that's not right. I started remembering my past life when I was about five years old in Yumiera's age.

Nineteen plus nineteen minus five... That's a difficult calculation. It might not even be solvable with a supercomputer. I don't want to confuse future mathematicians like Fermat, so I decided not to mention the calculation.

"I didn't quite live for twenty years. Actually, it felt shorter. Yeah, much shorter. It was practically nothing. In essence, I didn't really live. Now I'm Yumiera, so I think it's correct to refer to my age as Yumiera's age."

"Huh? What do you mean...?"

Wait, Patrick didn't notice? Can I get away with it?

It's fine even if he notices. The theory that younger is better is a stupid idea. According to that flawed theory, the cutest would be a zero-year-old baby... Well, babies are cute. Maybe that theory is correct.

While I was having these strange thoughts, Patrick, who had been pondering, suddenly opened his closed eyes. Oh, did he figure it out?

"Yumiera lived as a different person in a different world. That person's profile is completely different from Yumiera... Is that right?"

"Yeah... Did you figure it out? It's not good to hide things too much. Patrick might stop seeing me as a romantic interest... Ahaha, it's hard to say."

I laughed, but I wasn't sure if it sounded natural. What would a normal man think if he suddenly found out his partner was almost twice his age?

I believe in Patrick, but I can't shake the fear of rejection.

Instead of me, Patrick slowly spoke.

"Wait... Was Yumiera's past life... a man...?"

"A woman!"

He had a completely wrong idea. It's impossible.

Me, a man? What part of me looks like a man? I'm completely a girl, both in appearance and personality!

Did Patrick think I was masculine?

"What? If I said I was a man, would you believe it? Do you underestimate my femininity that much? Ah?"

"No, that's not it! Yumiera is feminine. But... just in case..."

He quickly denied it.

I won't get mad about this. I'll just keep bringing it up for the rest of my life. I'll hold a grudge forever and bring it up whenever I can.

"Anyway, I'm not mad at all. Why are you so worked up?"

"...I think Yumiera has some masculine traits. Sometimes it feels like being with a male friend. Even if that's an exaggeration, I think Yumiera lacks femininity."

"What? That's different from what you said before. What's the truth? I can't trust your words."

"But sometimes, in certain moments, Yumiera shows a feminine side. ...I couldn't help but be constantly aware of it, and before I knew it, I was hopelessly in love..."

"Uh...!"

I made a weird sound. Patrick, do you like me too much?

I forgive everything. In fact, I'm glad I have very little femininity. If I didn't, he might not have fallen in love with me.

"Okay, let's drop that. I'm a woman, now and then. As long as you understand that, it's fine."

"Ah, I see. Yumiera was worried about your age, right?"

Damn. He brought up the age topic, which is a taboo. I thought I could cover it up with the gender issue.

Which would be more shocking to Patrick: that the cute Yumiera is actually a boy, or that the cute Yumiera is much older? Generally speaking... it's a tough question.

He opened his mouth with a melancholic expression.

"I thought Yumiera would become more mature as she got older..."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, I don't want you to take it the wrong way... I thought Yumiera's unusual traits were due to a lack of social interaction in childhood. I thought with time, Yumiera would become more normal... Ah, did you have a similar situation in your past life? If I brought up painful memories—"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Ah, if you don't talk to anyone in childhood, you might become socially awkward. But my personality was formed in my past life, where I lived normally with my parents and had friends.

Should I mention that? It feels wrong to be seen as someone who had a difficult childhood and became twisted.

"In my past life, I had a normal family and friends."

"Is that... a lie...?"

"No, no, I was with friends when I had the accident."

"Yumiera is becoming even more confusing."

Why? The friends I was with at the time were more normal than me.

Position-wise, I think they were safe... They were a bit morally ambiguous, but they were good kids.

I'm getting tired. So... where did I leave off?

I was a resident of a peaceful world (a teenage girl) who died in an accident and came to this world.

Is that it? I spent a lot of time on something that could be said in one sentence.

"Ah... Do you have any questions so far?"

"You said your previous world was peaceful, but it doesn't sound very peaceful if Yumiera died there."

"...In my past life, I was a normal person."

"Huh?"

"What?"

No, we're not getting through. Words are powerless.

"Listen, in my past life, I was a normal person. I was hit by a car... like a carriage, and died."

"A carriage that killed Yumiera?"

"Carriage accidents are sometimes heard in the capital, right?"

"But Yumiera...?"

Patrick, covering his mouth with his hand, clearly looked confused.

Is this because the word "normal" I used has lost its meaning?

"In my past life, I was probably weaker than Elenora. I was the type who would break a leg jumping from a second-story window."

"..."

"So, in Japan, I was a person who was weaker than average. I would get out of breath after a short run, couldn't lift a thirty-kilogram bag of rice, and only joined a sports club in middle school, and even then, it was table tennis."

Patrick froze. I think this is the most confused he's been today. The fact that I was weak in my past life seems to have shocked him more than the reincarnation. It's clear what he thinks of me.

After about a minute, he started moving again. A minute of silence is quite long.

"...So, Yumiera in the past life was a normal person?"

"Yes, a regular student."

Finally, he understood. But this was just the introduction. The main topic is coming up.

I'm getting tired of talking, but I'll try a bit more.

"So, the main topic now. The story involving the parallel world version of me."

"I have a vague idea. The other Yumiera doesn't have the memories from the past life, right?"

"Yes, that's my guess."

It's helpful that he's quick to understand. The hardest part is explaining that this is a world from a dating game. I feel like that will be the biggest hurdle.

"I know the personality of the original Yumiera. There's a story in my past world that is almost identical to this one."

"Story? Is this world part of a script?"

"Um... there are differences in the details... I don't know. The world I lived in could also be a world from another story. Isn't it pointless to think about it?"

"Well... I see."

I consider the possibility that the world I lived in, Japan, could also be a world from a game or manga. Even if I escaped from a virtual world, there's no guarantee that the place I ended up in is the original.

That's why I consider this place, where I am now, to be reality.

"The story is about a hero and a holy maiden defeating a demon king. After defeating the demon king, an even stronger enemy appears. That's me."

"Interesting."

"Normally, the protagonists defeat me, but in one world, Yumiera wins by mistake. I think that's the world you're talking about."

"I see."

Patrick nodded and closed his eyes to think.

Given his perceptiveness, he probably knows who the hero and the holy maiden are.

After gathering his thoughts, Patrick took a deep breath and said,

"I understand the situation. Yumiera's past life and the role of the original Yumiera. Based on that, there's one thing I want to ask."

Just one? I would bombard someone with questions. He doesn't have to be so considerate.

But what is the one question he wants to ask? The weight of a single question is felt.

Patrick opened his mouth, slightly uncertain.

"Are you glad you came to this world? Do you ever think about going back to your original world?"

"I think I'm already dead, so I don't want to go back to my previous world. Even if I could go back, I wouldn't. I've adapted to this world. And... well..."

I took a deep breath and continued.

"...I'm glad I came here. Because I met you."

He whispered, "That's good," and smiled.

I smiled too, feeling a bit embarrassed.

The secret I couldn't tell for so long. Finally, the burden on my heart is lifted.

We leaned in without thinking, and I stretched to reach his height.

In the summary of the first volume of the manga, it says, "Yumiera aims for peace."

Every time I see this, I think of Kira Kira.

The second chapter of the manga is supposed to update around noon today.

From the second chapter onwards, it will be split. Think of it as having several monthly updates instead of just one.