NOVEL NEXT Chapter 447
There was no chaos after that… or so it seemed.
But if you think about it, it was chaos indeed. We had to discuss solutions right after the battle, handle political issues, and somehow navigate through legal matters.
The tedious negotiations about the defeated side and discussions on reparations dragged on.
If there was a problem—
“…I feel like I’m going to die from working too long.”
Alice sprawled out on the bed.
“I agree that the idea of working until you die isn’t great, but why are you sprawled on my bed of all places? Especially at bedtime.”
Exactly.
I thought I could jump into bed after finishing up, but there was Alice lying there like a corpse.
Did she mistakenly enter my room? After all, she used the room next to mine.
“Why, can’t I come here?”
“It’s not that you can’t.”
I answered while sitting in my desk chair.
“No, it’s just that I don’t dislike it here, and my room isn’t especially uncomfortable. But lying alone in this lonely room makes me feel a bit weird.”
“Isn’t it troubling in many ways that at your age, you’re scared of being alone in a room?”
“…Do I look like I’m scared?”
While glaring at me, Alice turned slightly.
“Uh, maybe I might be.”
She replied like that.
“Don’t you think? Just two weeks ago, we had five people all in one place. Doesn’t it feel empty next to you?”
“……”
I couldn’t disagree with that.
I thought I wasn’t the type to be particularly lonely.
So, it’s not that I’m okay with being all alone in this world or anything like that.
Like living alone in a room or eating alone, those things… You might think I’m entirely immune to them, but I was just starting to think that it might be okay now.
The shock of crossing over to this side was just about realizing how quickly all my relationships had vanished.
However, it did feel quite empty suddenly having five people sitting together during meals and cooking together.
Here, we don’t exactly gather around to eat together, after all.
“With Jibo gone, we have to adapt to this life. But when we start going to the academy, it should get a little better, right?”
“Is that so?”
Alice turned over again and sprawled out on my bed.
…Alice seems to have gotten pretty bold. Well, she did have a bit of a bold side before, but did she catch something from Claire while we were in that other world?
I let out a small sigh as I watched her.
*
“Are you talking about the other world?”
“Yes.”
After things wrapped up somewhat, I conversed with Rena, whom I hadn’t seen in a while at the academy.
It seems we had been missing from this world for about an hour or so.
Considering that time changed a bit compared to when Charlotte and Mia came to see us, it doesn’t seem to be maintained at a constant rate. Though it’s not like we can go back to the past or anything.
And now, since Jibo had disappeared, we can’t even attempt to retry anything.
I know too well.
Using the Goddess’s power has its limits. Just because we had one Jibo doesn’t mean we could use that power indefinitely.
Thinking about how much time we had to communicate with everyone to come over here just emphasizes that fact.
“There are tons of comics and movies, and a lot of merchandise featuring the characters… I can’t really imagine it.”
Rena shares something in common with Mia.
It’s not exactly the same, but there’s a longing for things kids would like.
…I was quite surprised when I visited Rena’s room a while ago.
At that time, I could honestly say, “I just like that kind of thing.”
After all, there were already four people who knew way too much about me in this world. I figured there was no point in hiding it anymore.
“I’d like to go if I could.”
Rena said with a slightly excited expression.
Well, I mean, this world does hit that middle schooler’s fantasy hard. Once you actually go, it’s just another world where people live, but still.
“If we get the chance, it’d be nice to go together. The house we used is still there too.”
As I replied, I heard someone calling me from afar.
“Sister!”
Claire, wearing her school uniform, was back after a long time. Well, technically, I had been seeing her the whole time in the game.
“Oh, Rena is here too. What were you talking about?”
“We were talking about the things that happened after we visited.”
“Ah.”
Claire smiled and sat next to me.
“It was fun, really.”
Claire also had a bunch of pictures hanging around her room.
“Oh, I was talking with Sophia yesterday. When I mentioned Americano and Hawaiian pizza, she almost started foaming at the mouth.”
“…Did she compliment how delicious it was?”
“Uh-huh. It was delicious, you know? Though the Americano was a bit bitter.”
Did she actually go on and say the Americano was bitter?
I admired Claire’s audacity.
“I also told Leo about it. Showing him each photo while telling the story, he seemed to enjoy it.”
“I hope you didn’t talk about the game.”
“Am I crazy? There’s no way I was going to mention that you and Leo could actually date.”
“…The Crown Princess and Leo, dating?”
“…Just to clarify, that’s not a real-life story.”
I shot a sideways glance at Claire. She stuck her tongue out at me.
“Ugh. I already want to go back.”
“I’m looking for ways, but—”
“I feel the same… Where did Jibo go? We were clearly holding onto it at the end, right?”
When Claire and Alice came over, they had it in their hands too, so they should have had it when they returned.
But no matter how much we searched, we couldn’t find it.
“This is troublesome, really. The Goddess seems to have a quirky personality.”
Claire grumbled.
For a moment, we stayed silent.
As we quietly looked at the clouds drifting in the sky, Claire suddenly spoke up.
“Why don’t we just give it a try?”
“What do you mean?”
“Going to that world.”
“You mean without Jibo?”
“We’ve got nothing to lose by trying, right? Huh? Huh?”
“If it’s a try, couldn’t you do it alone?”
“But it’d just be boring to go over there alone. What if I couldn’t come back?”
I was at a loss for words.
“What do you think, Rena?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been listening to the conversation until just now, right? Don’t you want to go and see it?”
“Ah, yes, I do want to go, but…”
“See? Sister.”
“……”
I looked at Claire suspiciously as she said that.
What’s up with this?
I had the feeling she was super confident about something.
“Alright, alright, both of you hold my hand.”
Claire said that while grabbing my hand, then she grabbed Rena’s too.
“Uh? Uh?”
Rena seemed a bit flustered as Claire took her hand.
“Okay, then, here we go!”
“Wait—”
Before I could even say anything, Claire had already declared—
*
Rena and I rolled on the ground.
But do we really have to roll on the floor every time we move like this? Should I lay down a mat every time we cross over to that world?
Rena instinctively got up and prepared herself.
She took a quick spin around to assess the surroundings, then she stared at us blankly.
I sat up and rubbed my head where I bumped it on the ground, looking up at Claire.
“……What just happened?”
“Hehe.”
Claire smiled and showed me a peace sign.
“Uh, excuse me, where are we?”
“Please tell us quickly. Right now, Rena seems to be breaking down.”
As Rena widened her eyes and looked around, Claire quickly grabbed my hand and Rena’s again.
Then we rolled on the ground once more.
*
“I practiced a bit, and it worked.”
“Practicing and it just working, do you really think that makes sense?”
Claire shrugged.
“Jibo’s gone. So, I think it’s right to view it as having ‘completed’ that Jibo in some form.”
I narrowed my eyes and stared at Claire.
“Are you saying that Jibo… got ‘completed’ by being connected to you, who strongly inherited the blood of royalty? Did you rob some of the Goddess’s power?”
“Very accurate.”
“……”
“We gathered the distortions of the world to activate that Jibo, didn’t we? So probably, during that process, the most power has gathered so far and merged into my body.”
I rubbed my face.
“By the way, I already broadcasted it. Next time I come back I said I’d bring my sister along.”
“……Shortbang?”
Rena repeated like a parrot.
“Oh, but a bit unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like time flows very slowly like when we were over there. Now, it seems to flow the same as this side, so when we go back, we might need to take a vacation.”
“……”
What should I even say?
…Ah, right, in the game, didn’t the Emperor pop up right after chasing out the Goddess?
It seems that remaining power has been absorbed into Claire’s body in a completely different way this time.
Alice would be delighted to hear this.
Sighing deeply as I looked at Rena, who still didn’t understand the situation and was alternating between looking at me and Claire, I let out a big exhale.