With this shuffling body, I slipped out of the guild.

　The reward gold of ten coins is currently left safely deposited at the guild.

　Even if I don’t spend it, I have more than enough money accumulated from exploring the labyrinth with Reflair, and it can serve as future savings too.

　I have no choice but to live on in this world forever now.

　I told Reflair that I’d keep living.

　If that’s the case, I have to start thinking about the future.

　Right now, I can’t even imagine what kind of future might lie ahead, but I have to think about it anyway.

（At least I can’t become a Saint Knight, that’s for sure）

　It’s impossible to go visit Reflair’s workplace, too.

Becoming a Holy Knight seems to be a fairly viable second career for retired explorers, so this can also be considered a downside of the "Spirit's Favor."

　

(I suppose I could open a shop too. Transmigrants with real-world work experience would have an advantage in situations like this.)

While wandering aimlessly through the town, I ponder such thoughts.

(Or perhaps I could attend school?)

If this world had a structured academic system for magic, there might be a magic academy of some sort, but unfortunately, magic here is based on contracts with spirits rather than study, making it more intuitive than academic.

It's closer to shamanism than wizardry.

　

If there's no magic school here, it's questionable whether I, a guy who already graduated middle school in Japan, should even bother learning anything in this world. Sure, there might be some advanced institution teaching high-level knowledge somewhere, even if I just don't know about it...

　

(I could always try farming. Or maybe logging.)

Either way, they both seem tough.

I don't know anything about farming, and I have no idea how to be a lumberjack.

I could learn from locals, but I didn't really feel like doing either.

(In the end, I guess I'll be an adventurer...)

It's dangerous, for sure.

But I'm just way too suited for clearing the second layer of the Meltya Great Dungeon in terms of performance. I'd earn money far more efficiently than with any other job.

So maybe I'll earn money as an adventurer, then use it to find something I enjoy, or look into other things I'd like to do.

Moreover, if hunting in that dark two-layered area becomes the main focus, it should also help reduce the number of viewers who've inflated the ratings race.

"Then, I guess I need to start living a normal life little by little."

For now, I'll make it a point to take baths regularly.

Warm up my body, sleep properly in a proper place.

Try to get as much sunlight as possible, and eat meals properly every time.

Live the ordinary life, naturally and without thinking twice.

That's my first mission, now that I've decided to live in this world.

◇◆◆◆◇

Well then.

Even though I'm talking about an ordinary life, I don't really know much about this world.

Refreia has returned home, and I don't have any other acquaintances. Maybe Alex's party could help out with various things, but I don't even know where they live.

"About life... I'll think about it bit by bit."

Wandering aimlessly through the town, keeping my distance from the temple.

What do I really want to do?

What kind of person do I want to become?

I'd never once thought about such things since coming here.

I'm a transmigrated soul, always watched by someone—living with others would be difficult.

Naturally, I'll end up living alone, yet I don't even know what kind of life I could live, let alone have any choices to make.

I received ten gold coins as a reward for defeating the Demon King.

Still deposited for now, but with that as capital, I suppose I could do many things—

"...Still, I don't really have anything I particularly want to do..."

Before my transfer, I'd only ever taken care of my sisters.

I don’t really have any particular hobbies, nor can I think of any specific foods I particularly like.

It feels like I’ve always been helping my younger sisters—taking the blame for them, persuading our parents or grandfather on their behalf, or asking favors for them.

In a way, coming to this world meant I’d finally become free from both my parents and my sisters.

(It’s a complicated feeling…)

I didn’t exactly wish to be freed from my parents or sisters.

I was content with my life as it was and just wanted to live an ordinary existence.

But I might not have had much sense of agency.

I just went to high school because it suited my academic level, and if my sisters asked me not to join any clubs and to come home early, I actually did just that.

The territory of the water great spirit is a beautiful, water-filled city with small streams running alongside the roads.

The roads are paved with cobblestones, and most buildings are made of stone, giving them an elegant quality.

At the market, numerous shops line up side by side. Food is piled up like mountains, and if this were a travel show, it would surely have been a scene that sparked intense curiosity.

"……freedom?"

When I opened my status screen, the number of viewers had already surpassed 100 million—just walking around the city.

With so many people watching me, there was no such thing as freedom.

Whether it was just daily life or not, I was constantly tormented—by viewers who peeked into my life, and by others who secretly hoped I would fail.

If you think about it logically, not every viewer would have known I was the suspect in the murder before

watching. Maybe they just happened upon me through some kind of ranking system, or for some other reason. I can’t know exactly how viewers

perceive us—beyond what the gods had already announced beforehand. The premise was that people could watch from anywhere, on TV, computer, or smartphone, freely and at will. If they so much as

glanced at me after watching, they’d immediately realize I was the suspect in the "Nanami murder." They’d likely think, “So that’s what kind of monster he is,” or “How dare he act so casually while enjoying life in another world.” Just

imagining that reaction drains me emotionally

. “I’m not the criminal,”

I mutter quietly as I walk.

It’s pointless. What good

does it do for someone suspected of a crime to say “It wasn’t me”? It changes nothing

. It only deepens the suspicion

. — When I was little, every prank

my sisters played was always blamed on me. Even when they later apologized

to our mother, I still got punished. “It’s your fault that Serika

learned bad habits. It’s your fault that Karen started doing

unnecessary things.” At first, I’d try to defend myself, but eventually

I gave up, realizing that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make anyone listen. Fortunately, my sisters were clever

, and by the time they reached upper elementary school, they learned to avoid causing trouble for me. But in the end, I remained distant from my mother, who wasn’t my biological mother, despite

always wanting to get along with her.

Unlike Nanami, who had distanced herself from her parents, I had always wanted to maintain a normal relationship with mine.

Seeing Nanami's parents lose their daughter's trust simply because they had abandoned one dog made me feel even more strongly about this.

Her parents repeatedly begged me to persuade Nanami, but Nanami was stubborn to the point of obstinacy and never forgave them.

In the end, they died without ever being forgiven by their daughter—suddenly, completely.

(Uncle and aunt... they were killed by that guy... Nanami too...)

I should probably be angrier.

I should scream, rage, condemn them.

But I was suddenly thrown into a foreign world's forest, and by the time I realized it, the moment had passed.

Nanami will never come back.

—It's heartbreaking.

That thought always remains in my heart, and no matter how desperately I struggle, I can never reach the criminal with my own hands. That single fact lay cold within me.

— I hate him.

Whenever memories of Nanami pass through my mind, hatred for the man who stole her future surges up.

Yet I couldn't honestly express that hatred.

… I never once let that feeling show.

Because the people looking at me believe I'm the criminal.

What good would it do if I condemned the criminal?

They'd only laugh, thinking I'm pretending to be angry.

What would it matter if I expressed regret for the criminal escaping?

They’d either laugh at my attempt to pin the crime on a fictional culprit, or mock me for being insane.

　

Viewers are on the side of the real perpetrator.

I didn’t want to expose my inner thoughts to those viewers.

I couldn’t bear the thought that even my hatred toward the criminal might be laughed at and consumed.

A criminal I don’t even know by name.

I didn’t want viewers to hate me, as they were powerless to act—just as I was powerless to act against the criminal.

I’m just as helpless as the criminal.

If this were Earth, I could just show a photo and say, “It’s him!” and be done with it.

But here, in another world, I can do nothing against the criminal.

I’m just the one who knows the truth.

Me… only I know who the criminal is.