Vol 5: Chapter 79 (1)
「Reiji-kun!!」
Everyone was waiting for me outside as I left the Sage’s residence.
Mimino-san, Dante-san, Zerry-san, and the captain and crew who brought them to this island. Not to mention, Asha and Non-san too.
.
「Are you okay!? I was worried!」
「I’m fine. I was more worried about you, Mimino-san.」
Mimino-san jumped at me. Looking at her, who was currently shorter than me, made me feel the passage of time.
「Have you met the Sage?」
「Ah, yes……」
「Is there no way to cure your sister?」
Mimino-san asked fearfully, perhaps due to the sad expression on my face.
「No, I did ask for a way to cure her. It does not seem to be that difficult, so I’m sure we can cure her once we get back.」
Though, I do have the difficult task of persuading Lark to consent to destroy【Shadow King】.
「Then, what happened?」
「…………」
I looked at everyone.
Earlier, I asked the Sage and the Vision Ogre to give me some time to think about it. The Librarian man didn’t say a word as he guided me outside, seeming uninterested about what transpired between me and the Sage.
I don’t think the matter I discussed with the Sage and Vision Ogre is something that should be hidden.
If the world is going to be destroyed, then there is no point in hiding it.
「…Everyone, I have something to talk about.」
The time has finally come. It is time to tell everything about me to these people.
**
We moved to the house where Dante-san and the others stayed. It was the same wooden house as the other houses in the area. The house was but one large room, with a number of beds lined up.
I sat down on a bed and looked at the faces of my friends one by one.
Dante-san is a reliable person. He always acted for the good of his companions and generously taught me combat knowledge.
Mimino-san taught me how to live in this world. I have never seen such a kind person in my previous life or in this world.
Non-san loves Dante-san more than anything. And she thinks of me and Mimino-san as part of her family.
Zerry-san is a really bad person. She’s covered in debt, loves to gamble, always whining, and doesn’t have a grip on her life. But without her, I would have been identified as a fugitive slave and eventually caught by the authorities. And she has been keeping me company ever since.
Asha chose to go on adventures with me. Despite her desire to serve as a member of the royal family, she chose to go with me not only because I solved her “voice” problem, but because she truly desires it – perhaps she might even have feelings for me. In any case, she will never betray me.
「I have been wanting to tell everyone about this for a long while now.」
Therefore, I can talk to these people.
「I was born in this world, but I actually have memories of my previous life. That previous life was in a different world – and my soul has reincarnated in this world.」
Then I talked about everything.
As a result of the reincarnation, I have twice as many skill holders as an average person.
When the mine collapsed at the Sixth Mine, I found a 10-star skill orb and used it to survive the predicament.
【World Ruler】can imitate the skills of others, and it can also recall the memory of previous life.
As there has been history where the previous owner has gone on a rampage using this skill orb, people with black hair and black eyes—that is, reincarnated Japanese people have since been shunned and killed as the “Child of Disaster”.
「I am sure everyone here must have thought at least once that I had a very high level of fighting ability that didn’t match my age, but it is all thanks to【World Ruler】. It’s not my own power.」
After saying all that, I hung my head in shame, and couldn’t raise it.
There was fear somewhere in my heart that they would be disappointed or be angry with me.
「…That’s strange.」
However, Dante-san said something that I couldn’t think of.
As I raised my head and looked up, I saw Dante-san with a puzzled look while folding his arms.
「What is strange?」I asked.
「You certainly have a power that doesn’t suit your age, but I felt that your movements in battle weren’t brought about by a skill. It felt as if your movements were completely your own.」
「That’s because I trained after removing【World Ruler】.」
「What? Removed it?」
I took out the 10-star skill orb from my chest and showed it to everyone. Everyone except Dante-san muttered “Whoaaa!”.
「Is this the 10-stars?」Mimino-san asked.
「It’s beautiful…」Non-san said.
「Wow! At first glance it seems useless, but surprisingly, there is someone who can use it.」Zerry-san said.
「It feels as if I am about to be sucked in.」Asha said.
It was an almost entirely black skill orb, with a rainbow-colored light spiraling in the center.
My first impression of it was “eerie”, but it’s kind of embarrassing now since everyone seems to be looking at it so curiously.
While holding the skill orb in my left hand, I ignited a flame with【Fire magic】in my right index finger.
「I noticed that by training without【World Ruler】, my movement after reabsorbing【World Ruler】becomes even more refined. By relying on【World Ruler】without any training, my movements are simply guided by the skill in a set pattern.」I said.
「Did you go through that much training?」Dante-san asked.
「For the whole four years since I parted ways with Silver Balance.」
Dante-san laughed slightly in response.
「…Dante-san?」I called out.
「Haha… Then that fighting ability is already yours. It wasn’t just the skill.」
「But without【World Ruler】, this power would not have been possible to attain…」
「Then let me ask you this, can anyone fight like me if they possess a skill orb?」
The way Dante-san fights—I have always thought that Dante-san’s fighting ability is “abnormal”. Perhaps all veteran adventurers are, but I felt as if Dante-san was lightly breaking through the limits of a human.
「That’s not possible! Your way of fighting is a mass of technique that has been thought out and trained from various angles in addition to all the experience you have accumulated thus far. And it is even more ridiculous because you do not use any special skill, and–」
「That’s exactly it. You are able to use magic easily without skill orbs, right? If you think about it, that’s quite abnormal, isn’t it?」
「Ah……」
「That’s right. Not only can you use magic without having a skill, but you can do many other things too. You can’t find such a child genius anywhere else in the world. If you say you only did it with effort, then you are a genius in making an effort, Reiji-kun.」Mimino-san also agreed.
「You have a kind heart, Reiji… perhaps because of that you may have felt like you “stole” the skills of others, but I don’t think so at all. You made those skills yours by your own effort. Just like I did mine. So take pride in your strength, for it is wholly yours.」
「Dante-san…」
It is as Dante-san said. Somewhere in my heart, I thought that the strength I gained through【World Ruler】was not my own. So when I had a fight with Lark,
——You’re one to speak… I’m sure your extraordinary powers are thanks to a skill orb too.
When Lark said that, I couldn’t say anything to refute her.
「………」
I was so happy that I was almost brought to tears.
I felt as if I had confessed all my sins and was forgiven.
But that’s not what I have to talk about right now.
「Reiji-san… Is your reincarnation related to why the Sage wanted to meet you?」Asha asked.
I nodded and took out another skill orb from the tool bag while absorbing【World Ruler】back into my body.
The skill orb was wrapped up in a light-shielding cloth. As I unwrapped it, a skill orb that shone brilliantly in red, blue, yellow and various colors came into sight.
「This is【World Alliance】, a 12-star skill orb. I obtained it in the “Back World”.」
