"…In the end… this must be my fate."

— Everything suddenly felt absurd.

　

Framed for killing my childhood friend.

No one in my family even worried about me.

Fellow travelers from the same planet are now judging me, taking the role of the audience.

(Refreia. I really couldn’t survive, you know.)

She’d be sad if she knew.

But how would she even find out I’m dead? I’m just an outsider with no ties to this world. Once I’m gone, that’s it.

I’d vanish without a trace.

…Unless someone delivers my identification tag to the Adventurer’s Guild.

"…If you kill me, please take my ID card and bring it to the Adventurer’s Guild."

"Hmph... You're surprisingly accepting, aren't you?"

"I'm just... tired. If you're going to guide me to the afterlife, then that's fine."

I didn't want to think about anything.

I couldn't think about anything.

Only emptiness dominated my entire being.

I'd die, and the viewers would rejoice, even raise a toast.

I'd end up dying like trash on a filthy street corner.

That would be the entirety of my journey through all these different worlds.

To this righteous-faced gorilla woman, I'm nothing more than a passing point to indulge in her sense of justice.

No one cares about me at all.

"Go ahead."

I closed my eyes.

I just wished the pain would be minimal.

Will the afterlife be like this world?

Then the chances of reuniting with Nanami seem slim.

"……While giving up isn't exactly my type, I suppose it's fine. Shall we say I win the match?"

"Win or lose… I can't do anything anymore."

"Good."

Suddenly, the weight I'd been feeling in my body vanished.

When I opened my eyes, Jeanne was standing up, looking down at me.

"Kurose Hikaru. You seem to be avoiding opening your messages. Why?"

"Why? Because I'm hated by the viewers. Do you really think I'd open messages like that?"

"I don't know. Everyone's different. There's no right answer."

Saying that, Jeanne just stood there, staring at me.

The tense atmosphere had completely disappeared.

"……So you're not going to kill me?"

"I never said I'd kill you. I only said I'd test you."

"What exactly is this 'trying' thing...?"

"This one (・・). Didn't you want it? Look."

Jeanne pulled something from her bag and casually tossed it over.

It was a gemstone about the size of a fist, unlike the sacred beast's treasure, glowing with intricate inner light.

It looked undeniably valuable.

"A gemstone...? Why would you have something like this?"

"It was asked for by your sister."

"Sister...? What are you talking about?"

I don't get it.

What is this guy even saying?

"Isn't Serika your sister? She asked me to pass it on to you. So I told her, 'If you grant my wish, I'll do it for you'—and she actually made it happen. I don't know how, but your sister... Serika's quite the determined one."

"Serika...?"

He said he wanted me to give it to him...?

And yet he personally brought it all the way here to me. Is that what's going on?

But then he says he wants to test me, and we end up fighting to the death—this conversation just doesn't add up.

"We were just trying to kill each other a moment ago... Do you really expect me to believe that? You even brought up my sister's name... What exactly are you planning!?"

"Nothing special. A duel between transferents isn't something you get to experience every day. Honestly, it was fun."

"Fun!? We could've died! Are you kidding me!?"

"If I had died, that would just mean my time was up. Nothing extraordinary about it. In this world, it could've happened any day—any time. If you can't accept that death might be right beside you at any moment, you'll never become strong."

He said it without smiling, and there was no hint of humor in his words.

I fought him because he seemed genuinely interesting. I'd have been fine dying in defeat.

If taken literally, that's what it means.

"What do you mean by 'testing'?"

"Well... it's hard to explain. You'll understand if I talk a bit more, or maybe you already get it.

We ended up fighting... it just happened that way. You were too serious. And wasn't it cool? Me."

"What is that supposed to mean...?"

He's a weird one.

There's a strange sense of familiarity, yet it doesn't quite click.

He's probably like Karen in personality. Trying to understand him might be pointless.

"Anyway, what's this supposed to be...?"

The gem glowing in his palm looked like an expensive treasure."The gem of resurrection. The prize for first place in that race a while back. You were willing to risk your life to obtain this, weren't you?"

"……Huh?"

Looking at the glowing gem resting on the palm of my hand.

This... is the gem of resurrection...?

"Wait, what? A prank? Don't joke around... That's impossible... There's no way... No way at all..."

Suddenly hearing the item's name spoken aloud, my chest tightens.

It feels like something I'd given up on has been dragged back out of memory.

"There's only one gem of resurrection in the world... It's not something you'd hand out casually—someone must've told you this? You're trying to mock me, are you?"

The gem of resurrection is the prize for first place in the viewership race.

I missed out on it.

First place... Who was it, again?

No... Even if Jeanne here had taken first place, it's an irreplaceable treasure. On Earth... no, even in this world, it could easily be traded for the 'highest price ever seen.' It's not something you'd hand over so easily to someone else.

Yet Jeanne shrugged, as if surprised.

"I'm not that crude. I didn't have any use for it, and if you can bring Nanami back to life, then I have no issue with that."

"You... know Nanami?"

"Yeah, once we gathered as transfer beings, and we talked then. Nanami spoke English, you see. We had a little chat about games—just briefly—but it was fun. Unfortunately, I never came to truly regard Nanami as 'someone precious,' so I couldn't bring her back... but you might be able to, right?"

There was no hint of falsehood or jest in her words.

It sounded as though sincerity mingled with a faint trace of affection.

Could she... bring Nanami back to life...?

I couldn't properly comprehend this sudden turn of events.

Yet the gem glowing in my palm emitted a light unlike that of a spirit stone or a gift from a divine beast, and above all, the unwavering sincerity in Jeanne’s voice left no room for doubt—this was real.

"C-can I... really use this...? To bring Nanami back...? G-guh..."

"Don’t make me repeat myself."

My strength drained completely, and I collapsed onto the ground.

Tears streamed from my eyes, which I desperately wiped away with the sleeve of my shirt.

Most humans on Earth had always seemed like enemies to me.

But at least, Serika... my sister was watching over me.

There were people among the transmigrants who understood.

Someone who, despite meeting me for the first time, gave me something priceless—something not worth money.

"O-oh, you... are you crying?"

Jeanne blushed and showed a rare, flustered expression for the first time.

Though it felt embarrassing in front of a girl around my age, something deep inside me—something long sealed in darkness—cracked open, and my tears wouldn’t stop.

"I-it's okay... there, there..."

"U-uhhhhhhh"

I didn’t know why Jeanne had done that.

But as she gently, awkwardly hugged me, I cried into her chest.

Something I'd been holding back for so long surged forth from deep within my heart like a torrent, unstoppable.

Every emotion flooded in without end, as if desperate to burst out as tears.

How long had I been like this?

I cried until my tears ran dry, comforted awkwardly by the person I'd just moments ago been trying to kill—stroking my head with gentle words, "There, there."

I forgot even that onlookers were watching.

I cried so hard I couldn't even understand why I was crying anymore.

"……Are you calmer now?"

"Ah, yeah… Sorry. I just… had a lot on my mind. I lost it a bit…"

"You were suddenly thrown into this world. Of course there'd be things. …You did well."

Hearing such a cool, composed thing said to me, my eyes stung again.

"Messages... are they really coming quite often from my sister?"

"No, not that often. Just a few."

"Sericca... did she say anything about me... in a message?"

"Decide for yourself whether you're truly a murderer... she said. Well, from what I've seen, you're still a virgin."

"W-what... are you talking about...?"

"I mean, you've never killed anyone. Anyway... if you're calmer now, why aren't you using it?"

Jeanne points at the gemstone in my hand.

"How do you use it... maybe break it?"

"Just hold it and pray to the gods—activation happens instantly."

"Is it really that vague?"

"But right now, any method will do. What matters is the effect."

"Alright... then I'll use it."

"Mmm... wait."

Just as I was about to pray to God, Jeanne stopped me.

"There's a timing to things, so wait until tomorrow morning," she said.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, she probably has something prepared."

"I see."

Tomorrow morning.

There's nothing else to do anyway, so waiting a little longer isn't a problem.

"Alright then, let's go eat something."

Jeanne gathered her belongings and said that.

Come to think of it, I never actually got to eat at that shop earlier.

Maybe because I cried, my stomach grumbled loudly.

"I'll treat you."

"How about that shop we were at just now? It smelled delicious."

Just a short while ago, I'd been drowning in sorrow, escaping into alcohol, but now my heart felt so light.

Tomorrow, Nanami will come back to life.

It felt like everything might just work out.

I even had a sense of that.