Chapter 139: Awakening in the Nostalgic Hell

Chapter 139: Awakening in the Nostalgic Hell

The first sensation my dawning consciousness registered was a blinding light.

Ugh mmm

As I shifted, I felt the worn fabric of my clothes and the wrinkled sheets beneath me. A peculiar discomfort prickled under my chin, and scratching at it, I encountered something sharp against my fingertips.

Slowly, I awakened and brought the world into focus.

Above, a single light fixture blazed, its cover encrusted with dust, creating a speckled pattern from the garbage inside.

It was a strangely familiar, yet conversely, an experience that felt foreign for a long time. With this odd sensation, I slowly raised myself from the futon.

And thenI came to realize where I was.

(.Ah.)

I gazed at this scene, akin to a nightmare, with a surprising calmness even to my own senses.Rêạd new chapters at novelhall.com

First and foremost, it was dirty.

Trash of all sorts overflowed around my sleeping area.

Notifications from credit card companies and insurance firms, receipts, plastic bags, wrappers from sweets, delivery cardboard and wrapping paperthere was no room to even step.

In the kitchen, several grimy cups lay untouched, and empty containers from convenience store lunches were piled high.

Furthermore, empty PET bottles and energy drink cans were scattered about, and there were many empty beer and highball cans.

Surveying this free-for-all space, I found a grooming mirror on the low table right beside my sleeping spot.

With sluggish movements, I picked it up and peered in.

Definite fear and faint hesitation.

Ignoring them, I confirmed what was reflected there.

Hey, its been a while.

What was reflected there wasnt the youthful high school me.

Deep shadows etched into a severely fatigued face, and the source of the prickling sensation on my fingertips from earlier was a scruffy stubble.

Both mind and body were profoundly exhaustedthe face of a man weathered by the rough seas of society was there.

A second time leap, huh.

In the extreme solitude of this garbage dump where no one else existed but me, I murmured as if delivering the final blow to my own recognition.

Ha looking at it again, this room is in terrible shape.

I surveyed the apartment, which looked like it hadnt been cleaned in ages, and muttered with a touch of self-deprecation. This line also emerged as an attempt to mask what was swirling in my chest.

Ive come back to this hellish future

This was no longer a dream. As a result of this second time leap, just like in those terminal days, Ive been banished from the ideal second life and now find myself here.

I might never be able to return there again

Haha, my bad, my bad. It seems I had a bit too much to drink and got a bit foolish. Ill sober up and go to bed early.

Niihama Are you really okay? Hey, I can only listen to your complaints about work, but if things get tough, you can tell me anytime, okay?

Thanks, Ginji. Sorry for calling so late. Yeah, well, see you again sometime.

After ending the call, I gazed up at the less-than-tidy ceiling of my not-so-clean home.

It seems Ive needlessly worried adult Ginji.

Perhaps this is the original flow of time, untouched by my interference through time leaps The first-round world leading to my death from overwork.

After that wildly fantastical dream, the possibility briefly crossed my mind that this might be the future of a second round world derived from time leaps. However, that notion was shattered by Ginjis testimony earlier.

Then, all the conditions are in place. In this era of this world, I can still save Haruka from her downfall!

The seventeen-year-old Haruka, who had become a vegetable due to mental collapse. The only countermeasure I could think of to return her to normal was this.

To counter supernatural phenomena with another supernatural phenomenon in other words, altering time through time leaps.

However, in theory, it wasnt that complicated. The fact that the high school Haruka in the second round world had become like a doll clearly reflected the state of the adult Haruka who suffered a mental breakdown in the first round world.

Therefore

If the adult Haruka in the first round world never reaches the point of ruin the second round worlds Haruka wont be influenced by it either!

This was only a possibility, and there was no certainty. It was a series of assumptions built on top of each other, almost a mere hopeful speculation.

Furthermore, there were too many uncertainties with this plan.

First and foremost, even if the time leap occurred in response to my plea and prevented the mental breakdown of the adult Haruka, it didnt necessarily mean I could time leap conveniently to a time before that.

At this point, it was a gamble.

Moreover, even if preventing the mental collapse of the adult Haruka in this era did lead to a branched future, it might not necessarily save that high school Haruka.

Finally, even if everything went well, there was no guarantee I could return to that second round world.

In short, since I didnt understand any of the rules regarding altering time, this was nothing more than a reckless gamble with no map in a pitch-black sea.

But, there was no other choice. I couldnt think of any other way to save Haruka, like some protagonist in a sci-fi story

So, I called out to the source of the time leap, not even knowing if it existed, and arrived in an era before Harukas mental collapse.

Even so Ill do it

I didnt know what would happen as a result of this second round of time leaps.

But I declared my vow, even if it meant clinging to a rock and fulfilling it.

To save the existence of Shijouin Haruka thats why Im here.

Since waking up in this place, my organs have been constantly tormented by anxiety and fear. But at the same time, Im sure of the determination and fervor swirling in my chest.

To save Haruka, Ill push forward no matter how far!

In this room akin to a garbage dump, I shouted towards the fate I had to break through from now on.

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