I never thought my perfect life plan would crumble like this.

　The moment Nanami-sister was chosen for the otherworld transfer, the plan was already half-destroyed.

　When Nanami-sister was killed and my brother was selected instead, it turned to ashes.

　I will not forgive the perpetrator. That goes without saying.

　I will not forgive even God.

　But after all, I am merely human. I cannot fight against God.

　However, I can use God.

　No matter what means I must employ—

　I will surely restore my life plan from the ashes.

　◇◆◆◆◇

　I, Kurose Hikaru, am a transmigrator to another world.

　If I hadn't been transferred, I'd be in my first year of high school, third semester right now.

Perhaps I was gradually beginning to think about things like which university to apply to, or whether to move out and get a job. Now, those thoughts feel like distant memories—almost like a distant illusion.

I wake up in the morning on the meager bed at the inn.

Lying there lazily, I try to plan out my day, but the ratings race is over, Reflair has left, and the labyrinth is now off-limits.

There’s nothing left to plan for.

(—Lonely.)

Lying alone in bed, a profound, unfamiliar loneliness pierces through my back and into my chest.

My heart suddenly races for no reason, and I’m overwhelmed by the stark realization that I’m utterly alone in a world with no place to belong.

It was a sensation I hadn't felt in ages since arriving in this world.

Or perhaps it was the first time ever.

I'd been desperately struggling until I passed through the forest, and after that, I'd just kept hiding in the darkness.

Ever since meeting Reflair, my mind had been consumed by the ratings race...

"A world no one knows, alone..."

I couldn't help but mutter that, then felt embarrassed and pulled the blanket over my head.

Maybe I'd forgotten this loneliness because Reflair was with me.

Now that I've parted from her, and lost the goal of the ratings race...

I never thought I'd feel such loneliness just being alone.

So... weak-hearted, I am.

The gaze from Earth might not feel as frightening anymore.

Perhaps this slight shift toward facing things head-on is the result of meeting Refleia.

I still don't have the courage to open every message, but maybe I can manage a little each day—just one a day, perhaps? That's what I feel.

The inbox remains silent, showing +999. I can't even remember the real number anymore.

There's no choice but to go through them one by one, so I won't know what they say or who they're from.

"Damn it…"

My finger, halfway to tapping, refuses to move any further.

Opening the inbox—just that simple act—feels as heavy as lifting the lid off a hellish cauldron.

A cold dread, tangled with loneliness, crawls up my spine.

—You're acting like you're enjoying a different world while having killed your lover. Just die already. What are you even still alive for?

— How does the air of this other world taste, sustained by the power gained from stealing

Nanami's future? — It would have been better if

I’d been eaten alive while still alive. When I look at the message screen, I can’t help

but remember that moment—when I barely escaped through the forest, realizing I was now hated by the entire world as the killer

of Nanami. “Damn

it…” I’m so weak, even

to myself. Now that the ratings race is over, I no longer need to care about how many times

I’m viewed. Now that I’ve parted ways with Reflair, I can only live without forming deep

connections with anyone. In this unfamiliar world, I can only survive as an ordinary local, like a hermit

. But if I clearly distance myself from Earth, perhaps messages will become nothing more than distant memories—something I can open without a second thought.

...But I still can't do it.

The moment I try to open it, my fingers tremble, and I hear voices.

'You killed your childhood friend, and now you're dominating another world?'

'Now everyone in the world is watching you. Killing your childhood friend and defeating the Demon King—impressive. You must've really wanted to be the ultimate hero in that other world.'

'How dare you call yourself a hero after murdering someone!'

I closed the status screen, pulled the thin blanket back over my head, and shut my eyes.

I didn't do it.

But by the time I left the forest, it had been about a week or ten days.

Nanami was killed on the very day we were transported. I should have known immediately.

Seriка and Karen were at home, and both of them had a spare key to Nanami's house. Even if I hadn't been transferred—especially since I was chosen as a transfer victim—I should have immediately realized something was wrong.

Yet, despite the passage of ten days, I was still being suspected as the culprit.

That meant the real criminal hadn't been found, and my innocence couldn't be cleared.

I was truly wronged.

But if Seriка and Karen, those exceptionally intelligent younger sisters of mine, couldn't clear my name, then there was no hope left. I may not have been the best brother, but they still stood by me. They must have been using every possible means to clear my name. In that sense, they were trustworthy.

For both of them, it would be disadvantageous to be seen as having a family

member who is a criminal. I don't know how skillfully the culprit has

managed things... (Things have improved since then... no way

that's true...) I've thought about this countless times before

. The possibility that things could have improved while I was ignoring the messages. Of course, it's not zero—there's still a chance, like the real perpetrator being caught and Hikaru being proven

innocent. But I also knew that wasn't the case. I knew it from the

trend in my viewership. If Hikaru

had been proven innocent, those people who had watched me with such miserable longing, wishing for my death, would no longer have any

reason to watch me. The only reason I managed to rank first in the viewership race, even for just a moment, was undoubtedly because I was still being scrutinized as the killer of Nanami.

There's no denying that the charm of Refraya and the novelty of dungeon exploration attracted viewers, but that alone couldn't have secured first place overall.

There are over seven hundred transmigrants.

I don't know what kind of lives they're living in their respective worlds, but if I didn't have any special circumstances, there's no way I could surpass all seven hundred of them.

When I casually asked Alex on our way back from the party, he told me he was ranked 28th in the viewership race.

Even Alex, who formed a party, made steady progress in clearing the dungeon, actively approached girls, and was a good-looking, well-liked guy, still only ranked 28th.

(I suppose that's why he briefly rose to first place—because people thought he was the murderer who killed Nanami. Irony, isn't it?)

Without any special circumstances, I'm just an ordinary person who doesn't stand out.

Never like Selica or Karen—those special "people who attract attention."

◇◆◆◆◇

I curled up on the bed for a while, dozed off slightly, then slowly got up.

Thoughts about the message. About Earth. I’d better stop forcing myself to think about it.

Maybe someday I’ll have to face it, or maybe it’ll never come at all. But right now, it’s just something that hurts my heart—when I’m barely managing to stay alive, I simply don’t have the strength to reach for it.

I put on my boots, tidied myself up just enough, and left the inn.

On the way, I grabbed something simple from a street vendor, then headed to the guild.

(It’s quiet today.)

The guild was emptier than usual.

Since the labyrinth is closed off, all the explorers are off duty for now.

Or perhaps he's out there doing jobs like escorting travelers, gathering medicinal herbs, or slaying monsters.

I walked through the guild, searching for what I needed.

(Entry ban lasts seven more days.)

A large notice prominently displayed had "Seven more days!" written in bold letters. Made of thick parchment, it showed signs of repeated use—likely reused every time the Demon King was defeated.

I still don’t fully understand what the chaos inside the labyrinth actually is, but apparently, if left alone, the chaos settles into a balanced state, making it easier to defeat monsters and mine spirit stones.

Until then, entry is forbidden.

"Ah, you! You're Hikaru, right? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Turning around at the call, I saw the guild staff member from our party days.

What’s this about...? It’s probably regarding the reward for defeating

the Demon King. I already knew from Alex that I’d been chosen as the top contributor

. I was genuinely surprised—was the guild really going to make the actual participant in the battle the first-place winner? But once it’s

decided, there’s nothing I can do about it. "You haven’t collected your reward for defeating the Demon King yet, right? You can leave

it with the guild, but how would

you like to handle it?" "Ah, how much

is it exactly?" "The first-place prize is ten

gold coins." "T-Ten?! Ten gold coins?! Really?!" "That’s right. Carrying that

much around might be a bit risky." Ten gold coins was enough to live

comfortably for an entire year. Converting it to yen is tricky, but roughly speaking, it’s equivalent to around eight

million yen. I’d become a millionaire overnight.

"But... are you sure it was really okay for me to be credited with the first victory? There's never been a bronze-ranked warrior who defeated the Demon King before, right?"

"No, according to records, this is the third time. It's happened with newcomers to the explorers' guild, or those with solid skills who'd only just registered, and so on. You must have had some combat experience before coming to Meltya, haven't you?"

I didn't have any experience at all, but the fact that I was the third person ever to achieve a Demon King defeat while ranked bronze was surprising. Maybe people without preconceived notions about the Demon King tend to perform better.

"Still, recently, defeating the Demon King has required at least silver rank, so it's really rare for someone low-ranked to make such a breakthrough. Even now, debates about whether we should still categorize people by rank come up regularly."

"Isn't it natural to consider the risk of someone without strength dying needlessly? That's exactly why the system was established."

"Of course. But sometimes, even those with real strength get rejected. That's a loss for the guild as well."

"I think that's rare enough to be ignored. I'm not saying this just because I'm biased."

Strength isn't something you're born with.

I'm not particularly strong either. I only managed to succeed because I was with Reflair. If I'd gone down alone thirty times in the third floor, I'd probably have died once. The fourth floor is even more impossible.

Even the Demon King battle was just barely successful this time.

In reality, Reflair nearly died, and my attacks hardly landed at all.

"Anyway, the Love-Love Twin Birds haven't officially disbanded yet. What are you planning on doing? I heard you've moved away from town, Reflaira."

"Love...? E...?"

What did this person just say?

"Love-Love Twin Birds, of course. That's the name of your party with Reflaira."

"W-What... is that...?"

"It's simply the name of your party."

"Eh, really...?"

I almost passed out.

I never really cared about the party's name, and Reflaira hadn't said anything about it either, so I'd never thought about it. But Love-Love Twin Birds...?

The very party I'd secretly mocked in my mind as "Fang of Thunder" — turns out, that was my own party's name.

"C-Can't... break up..."

That was all I could manage to say.