Chapter 140: Swaying on a Packed Train in a World with Smartphones

Chapter 140: Swaying on a Packed Train in a World with Smartphones

The time is early morning.

After a long time, I shaved and washed my face, going through the almost forgotten routine of getting ready for work.

I put on a shirt, wore slacks, fastened my belt, and tied a necktie.

Looking at myself, unmistakably dressed like a salaryman, I let out a sigh as if reluctantly acknowledging that I had become an adult again.

However compared to when I was thirty and facing the end, my body at twenty-five is in impeccable shape.

(No gray hair or hair loss Even my internals, which had various problems nearing the end, seem to be in decent condition now.)

During this period, I was so desperate to fulfill my role as a working adult, and I held baseless dreams that if I could overcome this hardship, happiness would await.

Little did I know that the result of working like a horse would lead to my mothers sudden death, estrangement from my sister, and ultimately my own demise at the hands of the company.

(Now lets go. To the everyday life of this time when I am twenty-five.)

As I open the front door of my apartment on the third floor, I am greeted by the chilly morning breeze and gentle sunlight.

Its a scene of the morning commute that Ive seen thousands of times, but

(Haha Seeing pedestrians with smartphones makes it feel like Ive returned to the future)

In the second iteration of the worldwhen I was in high schoolthere were fewer people walking down the street tinkering with their phones since flip phones were the norm.

Just that alone made everyone seem earnest.

But now, those who dont let go of their smartphones while walking down the street are the unmistakable proof that the times have leaped forward.

For better or worse, there is an abundance of content for solitary living, making it an era where real-life connections have faded. for new novels

(First I have to go to that place where I was killed. Whatever I do, I have to start from there.)

Descending the stairs of the apartment and becoming a part of the people on the street, I stepped into this world.

The first-world where I worked like a dronefive years before the world where I died at the age of thirty.

What I hold in my heart is a mission I must fulfill at the risk of my entire existence.

Thats why, I will protect those beautiful days, like a cluster of stars.

By doing what needs to be done in this era.

(Get a grip, me Even though everything is full of assumptions and theres no certainty in anything still, its not like theres no assurance at all.)

That was the thin thread of logic supporting my heart.

(Time leaps must want me to do something)

First, I time leaped from thirty to my high school days, and then a high school Haruka time leaped into the adult Haruka. Explaining this away as mere coincidence is quite a stretch.

Whats decisive is that the time leap, tantamount to a gods miracle, happened at my one prayer. Granting my wish, it perfectly sent me to this erameaning theres an existence observing my existence.

From this, I can infer

( The activation of time leaps isnt random; its driven by someones will or some kind of law. If so, every time travel must have a purpose, and there should be some role for me.)

I dont know what that role is.

If every time leap is intentional, I cant fathom what the orchestrator, be it a god or an extraterrestrial, wants.

(Whether they gave me a second life or intentionally brought destruction to Haruka, and even answered my wish to save her its really unclear what they want.)

But, if Im just stating the current situation, Im being pushed from the spacetime.

Even though Im scheming an incredible time alteration.

(At best, theres only this bit as reassurance But my mission remains unchanged. I will run through this era until I save Haruka!)

Well, anywayfirst, I need to secure a foothold.

First and foremost, I need to settle the score with the salaryman who killed me.

So, Im heading.

To hell for me.

To that place I thought Id never set foot in again.