Afterwards, they tell us they can’t make guests clean up, so we say goodbye to the divine beast people’s village.
Luna wants to come too, but Suzaku catches her and makes her clean up after the banquet, so we have to leave without her.
Reina and I are left alone as we slowly walk through the silent forest on the way back to the tent.
The forest is so quiet that it makes that whole tumult last night seem like a dream, and I get a nice peaceful feeling deep in my heart.
“…A lot happened all at once.”
“Yes, but thanks to it we formed a relationship with people of this island.”
“I’m glad there’s so many good people there.”
“Just a bit too noisy though…”
We had some trouble while visiting the divine beast people’s village, but in the end, adversity strengthened the foundations, and I earned their approval.
I guess this is actually the best possible outcome.
I already apologized for making Reina the prize in a bet. Normally that would make someone mad, but she laughed it off and forgave me. It’s stuff like this that makes me feel like she’s a really nice girl.
“And you never lost, all the way through.”
“Yes. I felt like I really couldn’t lose, so I tried my best.”
“Fufufu, why?”
Reina lightly laughs, but it was a lot of trouble.
I don’t know if they were joking or serious, but they kept saying things like how they would get to eat Reina’s cooking if they won.
Suzaku kept accepting it and saying it sounded fun, so I couldn’t let myself lose even once.
It worked out fine, because I got the losing divine beast people to promise to help us in the future, but they really get incredibly heated when food is involved.
“Gaius challenged me more than ten times.”
“And it’s incredible how you didn’t lose even once.”
Friend, another! Is what he kept saying. He was like a kid that wanted to play, but there was no end to it.
He wouldn’t leave me alone until he got tired and fell asleep, and I really wanted him to give me a break and stop halfway through.
Reina and I keep chatting until we reach the tent.
“It felt far when we went there, but it’s surprisingly close.”
“It’s because we crossed that path once already. It feels closer on the way back.”
We have lunch and decide to take it easy today, just lazing around.
And so, we relax, along with the calm wind and the gentle sunlight being filtered through the trees.
I’m lying on a hammock brought here by Reina, as I’m slowly being taken over by drowsiness.
As for Reina, apparently she’s going to spend the day reading the magic book she got from Wilhelmina.
She says she wants to focus on it for a while, so I don’t fight the drowsiness and close my eyes.
It feels so comfortable, that it doesn’t take long for my consciousness to fly away, and for the strength to leave my body.
◇ ◇ ◇
I know I had a dream about when I reincarnated. My faint consciousness can’t remember the details, but I think it was a dream of when I met god.
Can I remember it?
I think about that as my consciousness awakens, and I feel the hammock being shaken gently. Then I hear someone’s voice.
“Wake up already, or you won’t be able to sleep at night.”
“Hn…”
I slowly open my eyes and see the sun is a bit red. It looks like I was asleep for hours.
The shaking hammock feels nice. So much so that I have trouble getting up.
Reina speaks to me with a concerned tone, because I’m starting to look like a kid wrapped in a futon coming up with lazy excuses not to get up.
“Are you all right? Are you really that tired?”
“…No, it just feels so nice.”
“I see, that’s good then, but…”
I’m just laying on the hammock for a silly reason, so I feel bad when she starts to get worried.
I get up right away and stretch. This body is really flexible, probably because it’s always healthy.
“Ahh… I feel like I haven’t relaxed like that in forever.”
In my previous world I was always being hounded by work, and even when I got home, I couldn’t stop thinking about the next day.
That meant that I couldn’t relax even when I slept, and I always had dark circles under my eyes.
As I washed my face, I would get depressed thinking about having to go on a packed train, and when I got off the train, I would walk to work with heavy steps.
I should’ve looked for another job. I had friends tell me that, but I never worked up the courage.
It was all because of my indecisive personality. I think I accomplished a fair amount professionally, but not really personally.
That job meant I had no real vision, and I just kept going on doing the same thing every single day.
So even though I was killed by mistake, I should thank god for being responsible for starting this new life I have.
If it was up to me, I wouldn’t have even worked up the courage to quit, let alone find myself a new life.
“You look like a weight was lifted from your shoulders.”
“Yes. I was just thinking about how great it is that I ended up on this island.”
“I see… If you say so, I’m sure it is.”
Says Reina with a smile, and I smile back.
Reina, Luna, Elga… Everyone I’ve met on this island have been good people.
They’re all different races, and I’m not sure if they are even classified as people like Reina and me, but they all live freely, smile cheerfully, and enjoy their lives.
Meeting them has been really encouraging for me. They all shine so brightly.
When I was reincarnated, I wanted to live alone and have nothing to do with anyone else, but now it’s different. I want to know more about this island and meet its other races.
And I want to have an even more fun life.
And so, I’ve made a decision.
The quiet life I want is not one that I spend alone, it’s one where I get to know a lot of people better and we all laugh together.
“Reina.”
“What is it?”
The red-headed girl that was the first person I met on this island is very noble and kind. She’s probably influenced me more than anyone else I’ve met here.
She’s been a tremendous help to me and my life here. That’s why I decided I’m going to help her find a way to get home, and now I’m going to actually tell her that.
“Reina, I’m going to do my best to send you back home.”
“…Eh? Why?”
“Hn?”
My resolve seems to have left Reina feeling completely baffled, as she tilts her head. I don’t think she knows what I’m talking about.
As for me, I don’t understand her reaction, and feel perplexed.
“I mean, you ended up here because of a shipwreck, right?”
“Yes, but…”
“Then don’t you want to go back home?”
“Hum… Not really, I guess?”
Her answer isn’t very clear, but it’s obvious that that’s how she really feels.
That’s weird. Did I misunderstand something along the way?
“Haven’t we talked about this?”
“…I guess not. You have said a few times that you want to live here, so I figured I would help you.”
I guess that’s true, I’ve never actually heard Reina say she wants to go back. I’ve never brought it up either.
We’ve talked about our future plans and this island, but it was never really about finding a way to leave.
So basically, I got it in my head that I should work hard to help her go home, but that was just me.
“…I’ll be right back, I have a bit of a big hole to dig.”
“Stop. If you really go at it, it won’t be a bit big.”
I feel like that’s not really the issue here, but I stop anyway.
“In any case, It looks like I made a big misunderstanding. I think we should talk more about our future plans.”
“That’s fine, but let’s eat first.”
It’s starting to really get dark.
This area is illuminated by the light magic Reina taught me, but magic can’t fix an empty stomach.
Reina puts on the same red apron as always, and as I watch her start to get dinner ready, I walk next to her to help with anything she needs.
In the end, I thought about some things and made some decisions, but things stay the same as they were.
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