CH 193

I felt a weight on my chest late at night and opened my eyes…

“Wa, uwaaa—mgh!” 

I screamed at the ghost with long blond hair hanging down in front of me.

But that ghost covered my mouth and tried to suffocate me—hm?

“W-Wait! T-That’s not it! It is not what you think!” 

The blonde hair ghost covering my mouth all flustered was without doubt…

“…Leila?” (Souma)

One of my comrades and a yandere treasure hunter, Leila. 

“Ah, I am sorry for w-waking you up. 

That wasn’t my intention at all…” (Leila)

“No, that’s fine.” (Souma)

My sleep must have been shallow because the recording we saw before bothered me. 

I am not really angered at the fact that I was woken up.

“But didn’t you come here because you had business with me? If there’s anything you want to say, don’t hesitate and…wait, Leila?” (Souma)

Leila was staring at the palm of my hand as if she was entranced by it. 

When I called her name, she quivered and raised her head.

“Awa! T-That’s not it! I won’t lick it!” (Leila)

She made an excuse that made no sense. 

…It is a mystery, but there’s no point in worrying about every single eccentricity of Leila. 

I repeated the question again.

“And so, what business did you have with me, Leila?” (Souma)

“U-Uhm…I wouldn’t go as far as calling it ‘business’…” (Leila)

Leila looked as if she had a hard time saying this for some reason.

“Y-You see…before I go to sleep, I normally use a life-size doll of Souma to practice talking with you for around 3 hours…” (Leila)

“I-Is that so…” (Souma)

There’s already nothing but things to retort to here, but I endured it and just chimed in. 

“B-But there’s times when I would feel this…hazy feeling…” (Leila)

“Eh? Like feeling horny?” (Souma)

“N-No! I do, but that’s not it!” (Leila)

So there are times when she actually does, huh -is what I thought but didn’t say as I continued listening.

“Y-You know, like whether Souma is meeting someone else…or stuff like that…” (Leila)

“Aaah.” (Souma)

Leila is a really jealous character, and there’s a lot of girls around me now for some reason.

There’s probably times when she would think that.

“And so, at those times, I would unconsciously…bring that one…” (Leila)

“That?” (Souma)

I tilted my head and she showed something in front of my face with an awkward smile.

“Yeah, this!” (Leila)

“Wa, uwaaah!!” (Souma)

“Ah, no! That was a lie!” (Leila)

Leila hid it behind her after I screamed, but that was clearly the producer of traumas, the Death Bringer.

“I-In other words, you would unconsciously use ‘Death to the Infidel!!’?” (Souma)

I somehow managed to get my wits back and asked this. Leila went ‘probably…’ while scratching her cheek embarrassed.

She is making a ‘teehee’ face, but the hand that is scratching her cheek is holding the Death Bringer and it is unbelievably dangerous.

“A-About this…when this comes out, my head blanks out and I can’t do anything about it, but lately…I have been able to control it a bit.” (Leila)

“Eh, really?” (Souma)

“Yeah. I feel all hazy and phase through walls all the way to your chambers, and by the time I notice, your sleeping face is in front of my eyes and it feels like nothing matters anymore, and it just stops at some point in time.” (Leila)

Meaning that once she sees me alone after burning in jealousy from her own imagination, the ‘Death to the Infidel!!’ stops. 

It didn’t work like that in the game, but this is most likely the effect of having turned into reality. 

“Wait, doesn’t that mean it wouldn’t have stopped if someone were by my side?” (Souma)

“I-It is okay! At that time, I will do my best and stab the other party!” (Leila)

I wouldn’t call that okay at all…

I feel my heart sank a bit there most likely from the fear.

W-Well, someone sleeping by my side is honestly impossible though.

I will just throw that worry to the side for now.

“Meaning that you just came here by coincidence and didn’t really have any business with me?” (Souma)

“…Ah, uuh…the truth is that it wasn’t only today…” (Leila)

“Eh?” (Souma)

I froze at the unexpected words and Leila basfully spoke. 

“Actually…I have been coming here every night recently…and looking at your sleeping face…” (Leila)

“Every night?!” (Souma)

“Y-Yeah. My recent routine is to watch your sleeping face for the whole night, and go prepare breakfast around sunrise.” (Leila)

It was a completely premeditated crime.

“You say you are watching me the whole night? Then when do you sleep?” (Souma)

When I asked the reasonable question, Leila blinked as if she was hit unaware, and laughed as if saying ‘oh come on~’.

“I am watching your sleeping face, so I don’t need to sleep.” (Leila)

“No, how does that even work?” (Souma)

Well, you can heal lack of sleep with potions in this world, so there must be no problem with that, but it just feels off. 

Having my sleeping face be seen every night without my knowledge is also honestly not what I would consider comforting…

“Ah, w-wait! You haven’t done anything weird to me while I was sleeping, right?” (Souma)

“I-I wouldn’t do something like that! I haven’t touched a hair of you!” (Leila)

…That’s a relief. 

Now that I think about it, the Leila of this world, even if she is a yandere, she is still a yandere with morals. 

I believe that she won’t do anything I don’t want. 

I was about to apologize for doubting her, and Leila insisted once more.

“The most I did was look at your sleeping face, get close and smell you, and suck the breath you exhaled!” (Leila)

“R-Right. You really didn’t do anything that stra—wait.” (Souma)

Being smelled is pretty questionable, but what was that at the end?

What’s so fun about sucking the breath I exhale? 

Or more like, I can’t even understand how she thought of that. 

“Hm?” (Leila)

Leila tilted her head with a face devoid of malice as if saying ‘what’s the matter?’.

Looks like sucking the air I breathe out is totally normal, and there’s no room to question it. 

“I-It is nothing.” (Souma)

I feel like I would be dealt mental damage if I were to ask about this, so I decide to just forget it.

“A-Anyways, I am sorry, but I forbid you from looking at my sleeping face from here on.” (Souma)

“E-Eh?” (Leila)

No, even if you make a surprised face…

“Obviously. Tomorrow is the last chapter of the Evil God Great War, so sleep for today.” (Souma)

We are going to be watching the recording at night anyways, so it doesn’t really matter, but you can call it an excuse. 

However, it seems like my words affected her in an unexpected manner. 

“…I see. It is already the end, huh.” (Leila)

The cheerful face of Leila withered down in an instant. 

That sudden change flustered me a bit. 

“Was the story this time around shocking to you too, Leila?

Like the Light Princess and the many comrades dying…” (Souma)

It was actually a question I didn’t intend to ask, but her answer was an unexpected one.

“If it is about the princess, I think that way is fine.” (Leila)

“That way is fine, you say…” (Souma)

“Because she can be together with the person she loves forever after becoming a sword. I think that’s not a bad way to end.” (Leila)

I can’t empathize with that. 

But it does feel like a way of thinking fitting for Leila.

“The story of the Evil God Great War will end tomorrow. 

Even if all his comrades die and the protagonist ends up alone, I think it would still be a happy end if he managed to save the world like that. 

I think the most painful thing would be to not be able to meet your loved one ever again despite being alive after all.” (Leila)

“Leila…?” (Souma)

I get lost on what Leila is saying here for a second.

It is as if she is saying…

“…Souma, is there anything you want to do from here on?” (Leila)

“Wa?” (Souma)

I couldn’t keep up with the sudden change of topic. 

Even so, I desperately turn my gears to break the awkward silence and wring out words.

“Right… First, I would like to fight the monsters in the west marshland. 

There’s apparently monsters I don’t know there…no, it is not like there’s any problem even if I don’t defeat them though.” (Souma)

“…That’s all?” (Leila)

“Eh? No…” (Souma)

When I said this, Leila made a strangely sad face, and I searched for more words.

“After that…uuuh…I will try to become the strongest?” (Souma)

“Strongest?” (Leila)

I originally had somewhat of an obsession with strengthening my characters in games. 

I don’t hate high difficulty gameplay with restrictions and really close battles, but I actually like to increase the stats of my character by using doping items without much meaning after clearing the game.

Well, the usual end to it would be that I would become too strong and run out of enemies to fight, boring me.

But that’s in games.

The structure of this world is that of a game, but it is at the same time a real world. 

Becoming pointlessly strong in a single-player game is completely different from fulfilling your own sense of superiority on MMOs by going ‘I am OP!’.

Becoming the strongest being in the real world really is something that would make your heart dance. 

This world still has an outstanding being like the Evil God, so I might not get bored for a while if I am aiming for the strongest. 

(It is just that…) (Souma)

I noticed it is something I ‘want to do’ not ‘have to do’.

It is basically something like ‘extra content I would like to do after clearing the game’.

Now that I think about it again, there’s nothing that makes me have to stay in this world.

If I had to compare this situation to fiction, it would be…

A story that has ended a long time ago when the Demon Lord was defeated or when the Mage Guild’s conspiracy was crushed as a little extra. 

“So you really plan on returning home, Souma.” (Leila)

“Eh?” (Souma)

“You told me when you were still calling yourself Loic, right? 

That your homeland is somewhere faraway, and that you have to return.” (Leila)

My eyes opened wide at the question thrown to me while I was sunk in my thoughts.

“W-Why…?” (Souma)

Even though I haven’t told Leila about me leaving or even about being from another world, and yet…

Leila gave me a sad smile at my surprise.

“I can tell just by looking since it is about the person I love. 

No one is saying anything, but I think everyone else has also noticed.” (Leila)

I didn’t notice at all.

But now that I think about it, Ringo, Ina, and Mitsuki have been acting a bit strange…

“So you are not denying it.” (Leila)

I was brought back with the voice of Leila. 

Her eyes were filled with tears, and she was looking at my face with sadness.

—I steel my resolve after seeing that face. 

“There’s something I must tell you, Leila.” (Souma)

“…Okay.” (Leila)

And so I told Leila what I should have told her sometime before.

How I came here with Maki, and what I plan on doing from here on.

About the method to return to my world, about the fact that Maki and I may be the only ones that can return, that it is a one-way method; everything.

Leila didn’t say a single word while I was explaining this.

But once I finished explaining, Leila leaked out…

“Can’t you stay here?” (Leila)

“That’s…but I have to send Maki to her world.” (Souma)

And I can’t just throw Maki to our original world all on her own.

“In that case…could you kill me before returning to your world?” (Leila)

“What are you…” (Souma)

I peeked at the face of Leila from the sudden words.

Even more darker eyes than I imagined were there, and I was left speechless at this.

“Cause I won’t know how to live when you are gone.” (Leila)

I had no response to those way too heavy words.

But even if so, I have to say something.

I extended my hand softly, and placed my hand on top of Leila who was sitting on the bed by my side. 

“Souma…?” (Leila)

I placed proper emotion on every single following word I spoke to Leila who had her eyes wide open.

“Even if so, I want you to live, Leila.” (Souma)

“…Okay.” (Leila)

The answer was low and frail.

Even so, she still nodded and that relieved me for now.

“It is not like you will be gone immediately, right?” (Leila)

“Yeah, there’s a lot to prepare. I plan on staying here for a while.” (Souma)

“…That’s a relief.” (Leila)

I sighed heavily and Leila stole glances at me every now and then.

It seems she is feeling better now.

Being relieved now, I asked her what’s the matter, and Leila spoke shily.

“You see…is it okay to request something from you so that I do my best?” (Leila)

“What is it? If it is something I can do, that’s fine.” (Souma)

“It is fine?!” (Leila)

“Eh, y-yeah…” (Souma)

I was a bit taken aback by how excited Leila got. 

But Leila was holding the hand I placed on top of hers tightly at some point in time, and couldn’t escape anymore than I already have.

“You see, there’s something I want you to gift me.” (Leila)

“Gift?” (Souma)

“Ah, but it is not something expensive or anything like that.

A-Also, I will treasure it almost as much as Souma, the second thing I will treasure the most in this world…” (Leila)

I thought that was an exaggeration, but considering how much she treasured the Nekuranomikon that I gave her, I feel like she would go that far.

“And so, what’s this you want?” (Souma)

“R-Right. About that…” (Leila)

When I asked this, Leila raised her head that’s usually facing down and said with a sparkling smile.

“—I want your baby!!” (Leila)

“T-That was close…” (Souma)

I closed the door and sat flatly on the bed.

I basically pleaded her to go back at the end, but if she had been a bit more aggressive, I might have fallen clean there.

“Man, to think Leila was that impressive… Yeah, that…” (Souma)

I think back to the events of just now and…

“Oh right, that’s not it.” (Souma)

I come back to my senses and forcefully bring back my face that was about to turn into a grin.

“I also have to think properly about this.” (Souma)

About the future, about my original world, about this world…

I shouldn’t stop my thoughts with Maki as the excuse, I should be more serious about it. 

Will the last chapter of the Evil God Great War serve as a guidepost for this?

“Anyways, everything will come to tomorrow… Hm?” (Souma)

I say this while throwing myself onto the bed, and that’s when I noticed something strange.

The warm sensation on my back was a bit strange. 

“What’s…this?” (Souma)

It looks like a part of the blanket is bulging.

Judging from the position, it wouldn’t be a pillow. Did I put something here?

Wondering this, I tried lifting the blanket and…

“B-Bear?!” (Souma)

There was the Bear trembling there. 

I wondered why this time, but speaking of which, I do have an idea.

The Bear would crawl into my bed at night sometimes. 

The Bear might have entered my bed like usual before Leila came to my room.

Speaking of which, I woke up when I felt a weight on my chest, and Leila said ‘if there’s someone sleeping together with you, I would stab them’. 

If it was scared about the words of Leila that didn’t care if the one by my side was a man or a bear plushie, she would mercilessly stab them…

“Y-You escaped with your life there, Bear.” (Souma)

When I said this, the Bear hugged me tightly. 

It must have been really scared there.