Chapter 294 Travelers In This World
By the time they finished their meal, Rihito arrived for the morning check-up.
"It seems like you're feeling better."
"I still feel a bit sluggish, but I'm managing without any body enhancements."
"That's good to hear."
"Today, Rihito, you're going back to your wife, right? Just to confirm, you don't plan to live there, do you?"
Sara tilted her head and asked Rihito.
"Well, she is technically my wife for convenience, but really, she's more like a daughter or granddaughter to me."
"I heard about that. She looks a bit like your previous wife, right?"
"Just a little. It was an excuse to escape, but because she was known as the wife of a famous alchemist, she finally gained her freedom, for better or worse."
"Do you plan to become a real couple?"
"Hmm... I don't know about her, but for me, it seems a bit impossible."
"She's such a beautiful and s*xy woman!"
"Yeah, I know. But it just feels different."
"Well, I won't pry into your marriage. There are things only you two understand."
"It's not that big of a deal, really."
At that moment, Sara looked up and called out to Maria and Amelia.
"Maria, Amelia, I'm sorry, but Rihito and I need to talk about some reincarnator stuff, so could you step out for a bit?"
"But Milady Sara, Sir Rihito is a man."
"Maria, don't treat me like a regular noble lady! It will be quick, I promise!"
"Alright then. Please call us with the bell when you're done."
"Got it."
As Maria and Amelia left the room, Sara cast a soundproof magic to keep their conversation private.
"You're being really cautious."
"Rihito, I met a god."
"Huh? Wasn't that just a delusion while you were unconscious?"
"That possibility can't be completely ruled out, but I really feel that my soul actually met them. In fact, my soul was exhausted from being dragged down by my body."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
"So the god from my original world adjusted my soul. Thanks to that, my memories from my past life came back clearly, and everything seems to have stabilized."
"You met the god from that world!"
"To be precise, I met the god from this world, the god from that world, and gods from other worlds too."
"...That sounds like a strange mix of fun and discomfort."
"Ah, it was actually very uncomfortable and very interesting. First of all, I found out that the reincarnators from that world were reincarnated into this world without permission. In other words, it was like soul kidnapping."
"I kind of expected that."
Rihito sighed and used magic to pour new hot water into the bottle of herbal tea prepared for Sara.
"Normally, when you reincarnate, your memories from your past life are erased, but the creator god of this world intentionally didn't erase the memories of the reincarnators with souls from that world."
"Why is that?"
"They say it's to develop the civilization and culture of this world. Apparently, there was no proper civilization or culture in this world until they reincarnated souls from other worlds. So, Gaia... oh, that's the god from that world... that world's souls has be taken without permission and forcibly reincarnated them into this world. That's how ancient civilizations arose."
"Wow. That's quite a big story."
"Sure, the scale might be big, but what they're doing is a crime, right? It seems they've been regularly kidnapping souls and making them reincarnate, so they're habitual offenders."
"This world's god is terrible."
"Totally. But thanks to that, a civilization similar to the one in the other world has formed, and they've been taking plants and animals from there, so the vegetation here is similar to theirs."
"I see."
Rihito created a cup for himself using earth magic and poured some herbal tea from the pot he had just filled with hot water. However, it seemed to be almost plain hot water, and he frowned a little.
"Rihito, it's still too early. We have to wait a bit longer."
"Looks like it."
"I still have some coffee left from the other day in storage. Do you want some? I made a lot back then, thinking you might want a refill. Since time is stopped, it's still fresh."
"Oh, I want some!"
Rihito erased the plain hot water that faintly smelled of herbs and took the mug handed to him by Sara.
"Back to the topic, it seems that Marcato, the god of this world, happened to take a soul from a body when they visited the other world. Well, the time they stayed during that 'visit' must be on a godly scale, so I don't really know how long it was. Still, they shouldn't have let Rihito get attacked by a random person. If they did, Gaia wouldn't just stay quiet about it."
"I see. I was a bit suspicious of the god of this world."
"I read the note you wrote about that."
"Oh, right. Otherwise, there's no way you could wake me up."
Rihito took a sip of the coffee in the mug, drinking it black. Just drinking coffee in the morning made him remember his past life, and he felt a dull pain in his chest.
"Well, it seems like they wanted to let you research various things and develop civilization."
"Hahaha. I can only say they know me well. If that's the case, then why was Sara kidnapped?"
"It seems it was because I had a little musical talent from my childhood lessons. I told them they should just kidnap a musician instead, but they said that when they happened to visit, my soul left my body. Doesn't that sound like an accident? I actually died in a traffic accident, though. But you know, the taxi driver I was with also died, and he said 'Mom, help me' at the end, so they felt sorry for him and left him behind. Because of that, I got even angrier."
"That's just unfortunate."
"Right? So, I promised that if I get bored living in this world, I would call Gaia to take me back to the cycle over there."
"I see. Yeah, that sounds good. I'd like to be that way too. I want to meet Gaia as well."
"Yeah, I thought you would say that. So, when we get bored of living, let's go back together. It's fine if one of us goes first. Until we get bored, we should enjoy ourselves as much as we can. Marcato wants to change this world, so it's just right."
"Is that why you said you wanted to live freely right after waking up?"
"Yeah. Exactly. Hey, Rihito. We have a proper place to return to. We're not lost souls; we're just travelers who came to play in this world. It might be like a working holiday since we'll be doing various jobs. We're not alone, and we're not lonely anymore."
Looking at Rihito, Sara saw tears quietly streaming down his face.
"I can go back... no, I can return. To that world once again..."
"Yeah, that's right."
"I'm not a wanderer, huh?"
"Of course not. You're a traveler just like me. Let's do a lot of sightseeing!"
"Can you do me a selfish favor?"
"What is it?"
"Let me hug you."
"Okay, but with this body, it will feel more like lifting you than hugging you, you know?"
"Yeah, that's fine."
As Sara approached Rihito, who was sitting in a chair, he placed the mug he was holding on the table, lifted Sara onto his lap, and hugged her tightly.
"Thank you. You've become my light after walking in darkness for so long. It feels like I've found the shining moonlight."
"You're welcome. I'm a bit of an unreliable travel companion, but please take care of me. Also, I have a habit of going out of control, so sometimes you need to hold me back."
"Well... I'll try, but I'm not sure I can hold you back. I'm way older than I look, you know."
"I'm not just a kid because of my looks, either!"
Then, Sara and Rihito stared into each other's eyes and said at the same time,
""Looks like a kid, but the brain is...""
Since they both stopped their lines at the same point, they looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Sara: "The brain is like an old lady?"
Rihito: "Huh? Shouldn't it be an old man?"
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