After jumping from tree to tree and getting some considerable distance from the house, I stop.
There’s a river in front of me, creating the soft and quiet sound of water running.
“Ahh…”
I walk slowly towards it, and sit on a big rock that’s nearby.
Then I remember Reina’s soft body, and her sweet voice.
“…No no.”
I need to get that out of my head, so I go up to the river and wash my face. The weather’s warm, but the water is very nice and cool.
I keep scooping up water and splashing it on my face to blow those bad thoughts away, until I raise my head, and watch the white clouds slowly drift through the blue sky.
I close my eyes, and listen to the wind, the water, and the trees shaking. It’s really incredible to be standing here alone in the middle of all this nature.
“…Ahh…”
I’m finally feeling calmer. That said, we’re still in the middle of Wil’s play time.
I doubt she’ll do anything if I’m not there, so I’ll just kill some time here.
“Now that I think about it, when was the last time I was alone like this?”
Reina and I live in the same house like family. And even though they live further away, Luna and Tiltue come to visit all the time, so I’m with them a lot too.
And then there’s the two guys, Elga and Xellos. I tend to spend time with them too.
It’s kind of surprising. Looking back on my time on this island, I can see that I’ve pretty much done nothing by myself.
I worked for a company that anyone could see was exploitative, and kept dragging myself along without ever working up the courage to quit. And then I was reincarnated by god.
“I was really thinking about living by myself without getting involved with other people…”
Now it feels weird to be alone. As I walk along the river, I think about how people really can change.
“Ahh… It feels nice.”
This island is normally not a place where you can stroll casually like this, but this body I got from god can’t be harmed.
Even Wil, who’s the strongest on this island, treats me like a monster.
“…And now that I think about it, I haven’t really taken it easy like this since I came to this island either.”
What I wanted from this island, was to be able to have a relaxed life almost like a retired person, but it’s been one rowdy day after the other.
Still, that’s fun too. I can’t complain.
“But a trouble-free day like this isn’t bad once in a while either.”
I keep walking slowly, when all of a sudden, a golden magic circle appears below me.
“…Eh?”
The magic circle releases an intense light… And the scenery in front of me changes.
“Gugyaaaaaaaah!!”
“…Eh?”
What I see is a vast wasteland and a giant scarlet dragon. The sky is covered in clouds, and I hear the dull sound of lightning striking all over.
There are many soldiers and warriors around me that look like they’re from some sort of armed forces, and only a few of them are standing.
And even then, some of them look like they’re struggling to breathe and are barely staying up.
“What is this?”
I was just strolling on the island until a moment ago, not walking around on what looks like the final battle of a fantasy story.
And then, one of the men in front of me notices me. He looks like a hero.
“Wha!? Where did you… No, forget that, get away from…!”
“Gugyaaaaaaa!”
The scarlet dragon glares this way like it’s threatening me. It looks violent, and about two times bigger than Tiltue.
Still, I don’t feel the same pressure from it that I get from Suzaku or Wil.
It feels a bit weaker than that emperor boar. I don’t think it’ll be a threat to me.
I keep looking up at it, not feeling at all nervous, and one of the people standing up, a girl with bluish silver hair stretching all the way to her waist and wearing a white robe, drops her staff with a big jewel on the tip, and breaks down crying.
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
“Hum.. For what?”
Despite her tearful expression, it’s clear that she’s really beautiful. The blonde young man next to her also has some of the best facial features I’ve ever seen, and so does the girl with black twintails that looks like a mage.
I feel like some of the people here are way above the others, in more ways than one.
“I brought you into this hellish situation. I used a secret divine technique to open a door to another world and bring its strongest divine beast… But I failed.”
“Ceres! You’re a saint! How could you!?”
“I’m sorry! But I couldn’t think of any other way to defeat the dragon of the end Walpurgis…”
“Dammit! If only I was a stronger hero…”
“Hold on Arc! You too Ceres! This isn’t the time to be saying that! And I… If I was stronger… Kuh, some Witch of Destruction…!”
That conversation tells me everything I need to know.
First, that blonde guy really is a hero.
The girl with the bluish silver hair is a saint, and the black-haired girl is known as Witch of Destruction. And these two girls are members of the hero’s party, who took up the duty to defeat the demon king or something along those lines.
“Gugyaaaaaaa! Gugyaaaaa! G-g-ugyaaaaaa!?”
And this thing that’s been looking at me and trying to intimidate me is the dragon of the end.
I feel like it just took a step back, but it’s a strong dragon, so I’m probably just imagining it.
I look around, and see a lot of people on the ground. Thinking about how there must be dead people among them makes me feel a little downhearted.
“Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen a dead person in this world.”
I didn’t have a lot of experience with death in my old world either, but I’m not feeling as bad psychologically as I would expect.
Every time something like this happens, it reminds me that I’m really not normal anymore.
“Well then…”
I understand the situation, and why I’m here. The problem now is whether or not I can go back to the divine island Arcadia…
“Gyah!? Gyaaaaa! Gyaaaaaaa!?”
The dragon screams at the top of its lungs in front of me.
“Kuh!? That Walpurgis!? What power!”
“T-this is the dragon of the end… The huge calamity that was written about in the church’s history books, and will lead the world to its destruction!”
“Ahh… I can’t call myself Witch of Destruction like this. Well, it doesn’t really matter because I’m not getting out of here alive… But even if it costs me my life, you won’t…!”
Behind me, the hero’s party prepares for death and faces the dragon.
Yes, with me in the middle.
I really feel like some random guy that got tossed into the final battle of a game or an anime.
“…”
I really feel awkward.
“God… I pray that you at least save this person that got roped into this because of me.”
“Get behind us, and run as fast as you can. Don’t turn around, no matter what you hear.”
“Good grief, I don’t know who you are, but this really is just the worst luck for you. We can at least buy you time, so… Live.”
These three seem like really good people.
They tried to summon a trump card, or tried to create a miracle for their final battle, and a normal human appeared instead.
It would make sense if they started berating me, like someone who spent a lot of money and rolled a character they don’t want, but they’re not that kind of people.
“…Well, I’ll think about the rest later.”
I turn my back to them, and walk forward, towards Walpurgis.
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I’m pretty sure that “saint” is about to find out she got something WAY stronger than what she was aiming for…