CH 19

{Sword}

“Just so you know, I was thinking of leaving the town….”

Pullin’ Indra against her will, I headed back towards the town.

“You said you wanna sightsee, didn’t you? That won’t work if you hole up yourself out in the woods all the time.”

“There’s no way that I could sleep in places overrun by the people of this world, is there?”

“Come on, your way too distrustful of others! …Half of it is my fault though… But! I did what I did while thinkin’ of you, okay!?”

“I told you already: I got that part. However, it’s still a fact that the people of this world are selfish, not giving much of a thought about others.”

…Each time she’s been mentionin’ it, it made me wonder…

“You keep sayin’ 『this world』. What’s the deal with that!? You make it sound like you came from another world…”

Then I realized.

…Hey, hey, just a moment. Is that how it is? No, that can’t be, I mean, her origin is indisputable, right? Her face even resembles her father.

…But, wait, she mentioned somethin’ ’bout havin’ almost died at one point, didn’t she? Didn’t she actually mean she died instead of just almost dyin’? And then this girl hijacked the body after arrivin’ from another world, or somethin’ like that?

It’s a crazy idea, but ain’t like it’s unheard of. I remember hearin’ ’bout corpses gettin’ possessed. If that’s the case here, she’s…

Seein’ my reaction, she sighed.

“…Well, it’s something close to what you’re probably thinking. I was born into this body while possessing the experience and knowledge of another world. At the age of five I saw those memories in a dream, causing me to remember them.”

…For real!?

“Out of the eyes of someone who’s equipped with the knowledge of the other world, this world is filled with nothing but terribly cruel and selfish people. Truly a shithole. …In the place where my otherworld self lived it was normal to help others in trouble without demanding any compensation. Well, not at the expense of getting into trouble yourself though. Of course the other world also had many people incapable of consideration and thoughtfulness towards others, but at the same time it also housed many people quite capable of it. But this world doesn’t have any of the latter, right?” After narrating while looking into the far distance, she revealed a cruel smile. “I want to die after destroying this world so that I won’t be ever reborn into this world again.”

She’s ill. Shit, I hadn’t expected for her mind to have gotten so fucked up.

“…I-Isn’t there anything else? Some other impression of this place…”

“Sure, it’s filthy.”

What an incredible comment.

…I see. Her love for cleanliness stems from her otherworld common sense, huh?

“My otherworld self had been born into a country priding itself to be one of the safest and cleanest environments in the world. Differences between social statuses played almost no role in that country, and most of its places were safe and sanitary. My otherworld self was what you’d call a commoner, but she led a cleaner life than the nobles of this world. …The first product I made was detergent to wash my own body. It was a product limited by what a five-years-old could do, but it was still much better than simply pouring water on myself in the name of washing.”

“Whoa… Then again, it does remind me your tenacity when it comes to washin’ yourself.”

Also, I understood one more thing.

“So that weird composure of yours that doesn’t fit a child and rather got a touch of belongin’ to an old person comes from the time you lived in that other world? How old did you become?”

“No idea. It’s not like I recall my entire life over there. Though I know that it’s not like I died young. By the way, it goes without saying, but I also had friends and a lover.”

“Shuuut up!!”

Sorry for not havin’ either!!

“Noble children lack childishness just the same, though. The family head’s daughter was childish as she was a commoner originally, but when we went to a tea party, the other noble children drew back from her, you know? My way of acting was the standard.”

“Yeah… I suppose that’s how nobles are. Fuckin’ conceited and stinkin’ of arrogance. …Well, this stuff doesn’t matter anyway.” I pulled on her hand, drawin’ her into my embrace. “…I’ll guide you through this world. I’ll also teach you the common knowledge of this world. So, don’t worry.”

“…… Now listen.” She forcefully pushed me away, freeing herself.

Eh? What?

“Your lines just now, I’ll act like I didn’t hear them if it’s right now. Withdraw them and leave. But, if you don’t do it, I’ll butcher you with a 『grand spell that had been banned in the other world』 if you should ever do something like this again. I’ll cast curse magic on the elements composing your human body, resulting in them evaporating and getting blown away. Even if you block the spell, you’ll still die a slow death of breaking apart as if getting eroded. I’ll use that spell to kill you.”

At the same time of thrustin’ me away, she looked straight into my eyes with a powerful gleam dwellin’ in her eyes.

“…Sure, you got a deal.”

I unintentionally burst into laughter.

As I thought, this girl got pissed by me pushin’ her aside. And yet she still felt inclined to trust me once more, huh?

“With that outta the way, let’s go.”

I grabbed her hand once again, and started to pull.

“…Today I don’t really feel like doing much, though. The forest is safe, so how about we camp out in the forest?”

“Sayin’ that forest is safe is proof of your weird misconceptions. Quite a lot of monsters inhabit those woods, you know?”

“Monsters are basically cowards. Their senses are a lot sharper than those of humans. If they perceive someone strong nearby, they won’t approach. Completely different from retarded humans who can’t tell strong people apart.”

Looking over my shoulder, I stared at her.

“…Seriously?”

“It’s something I found out after lodging in the forest for the last few days.

“So, just recently!?”