Chapter 100

First, I'm not afraid of school.

I never thought that just having one friend could make such a difference.

Maybe it's also because I've already been decided to repeat the year, so there's no pressure.

Since I'm going to repeat the year anyway, I might as well start going to school in the spring. In other words, there's no point in going now, so I can take a break on tough days and only go to the classes I can manage. This is perfect for me, who has been a recluse.

If I were the only one doing this, my classmates might get angry. But since everyone knows I've been decided to repeat the year due to my absence, they seem to think, "Well, she can't help it."

At first, I was an outsider, but now I've been accepted into a "special category" and can be part of daily life.

Of course, this is largely thanks to Shiori-chan—

"Rina! Shiori-chan is here!"

"Okay."

My mother calls from the entrance. I hurry down from my room on the second floor to the first floor.

When I step outside, Shiori-chan is waiting for me.

"Thank you, always."

"Oh, no, no! I enjoy going to school with you. But, am I not a bother? Does it make it harder for you when I come...?"

"No. I'm happy when Shiori-chan comes."

Fortunately, Shiori-chan and I take the same bus to high school. She moved to this area from another region when she started high school.

My breath is still white, but I feel the days are getting longer.

Walking with Shiori-chan makes my heart flutter. The way to school is always the same, but it's fun when we're together.

When I naturally smile, Shiori-chan looks at me and smiles happily too.

...I never thought such days would come.

Walking down the hallway together during class changes. Having lunch together. Stopping by the convenience store after school to buy meat buns and eat them on the park bench.

Everything feels so fresh.

Everything, everything, is truly delightful...

Even though I was decided to repeat the year, my parents were happy that I started going to school.

Maybe things can start to turn around from here.

I felt a sense of anticipation in my chest.

Going to school normally.

Advancing to the next grade normally.

Getting a job normally and living a normal life.

—Maybe I can do it.

In middle school, I started to deviate from that path. I wanted to go, but I couldn't... Every morning, I would cry and fight with my mother, who tried to get me to go to school. It was more like a pathetic struggle than a fight.

I would cry, saying I didn't want to go and couldn't leave my room, while my mother would cry, asking why.

My father couldn't do anything to help me and my mother...

He bought me a PC.

Now, you can study online and there are schools you can attend through the web. You don't have to go to school, but you should study hard, he said.

So I started studying on the PC and playing games.

...I love games.

They saved me from the dark, suffocating days when I blamed myself for not being normal and only felt sad.

So...

That's why I noticed something was off.

Because there's no way I could fit in at school so easily. The world was much darker, more painful, and there was only a helpless me.

The idea that I might be able to live a normal life... It's more like a dream than being reborn into a game world.

...Yes, it's a dream.

—This world is.

"Shiori-chan"

"Yes, what is it? It's cold today, but the plum blossoms will soon be in bloom. Spring is coming."

After school, we sit on a park bench and talk.

I love this daily routine, even in the cold.

Her black hair in a braid, her gentle black eyes. Her hand, pointing, is white and beautiful.

"—chan"

I call her name. "Shiori-chan," I say.

But I read it differently. Again, this time louder.

"Samyue-chan"

At that moment, her black eyes widen. Then, she frowns sadly.

"...No, it's not right. It's not okay. ...It's fine as it is. This world is fine."

"No... No, it's not right. It's not okay."

The girl with black hair in a braid puts her hand on my shoulder.

It's fine as it is. ...It's fine to stay in this dream.

"Samyue-chan... Samyue-chan..."

My eyes are hot. Tears overflow uncontrollably.

I was happy. What I wanted was probably this kind of daily life, this kind of future.

Being able to go to school properly. Having friends. My parents getting along. Living on the "normal" track.

But... but...

"Samyue-chan... Samyue-chan has silky golden hair... and beautiful turquoise eyes. When you cast magic, they sparkle, so beautifully... They're the color I love the most..."

On top of the clock tower, we made a guardian contract, didn't we?

Samyue-chan almost fell from such a high place, and I pulled you up desperately.

"You said you would become a guardian and work hard for a hundred years! Even though you were sad about your parents, you were someone who could change yourself..."

Your mother was the queen of the elves. With her limited time, she and your father obtained a gemstone. Using it, she left with your father. Samyue-chan learned that her hundred years of effort would be in vain.

Despite carrying such sadness, Samyue-chan continued to work hard.

But in this world, there's no trace of Samyue-chan's efforts. Samyue-chan is just an ordinary high school girl.

"If you stay here, everything will disappear. ...Samyue-chan's sadness, pain, and suffering. All the hard work you did to overcome them... I know how amazing Samyue-chan is. It's not right for that to be gone..."

No. I don't want Samyue-chan's efforts to disappear.

I want Samyue-chan to be incredibly happy for all the hard work you've done.

"...If it's about me, it's really fine."

Samyue-chan gently pulls me into a hug.

"As long as you're happy, I'm fine in any world. My efforts weren't to show off my abilities. ...They were to be with you. For that, I worked hard."

She smiles.

So happily.

"If this world is what you want, I will live in this world. I don't need anything. I just want to be by your side."

Her smile is so kind.

In this world, where my ego is the only thing, she smiles the most beautifully.

"Samyue-chan... Samyue-chan..."

Why are you here by my side?

Did you really come from another world?

"I... I'm not the same. I look completely different. I'm not as strong as in the other world. I don't have anything."

Silver hair and golden eyes. The child of Mom and Dad, an elf.

Level-capped, with lots of cheat equipment and items.

Samyue-chan met such a me and always said I was amazing. But here, I have nothing.

"No, nothing has changed. I didn't want to be with you because you had something. Appearance doesn't matter. —Love is felt in the heart, not the eyes."

Ah... It's really Samyue-chan.

You say it so confidently.

So my heart trembles...

"My heart hasn't changed, whether in that world or this one. It's always been directed at you. I want to be by your side. ...Together, we are invincible."