There's just one day left until the second wave arrives in our world.

We gathered in the mansion's living room to hold a countermeasure meeting.

"Well, the new arrivals are finally coming. As for our strategy, there are two options: get involved or stay out of it."

Jeanne began.

It seemed we were deciding whether or not to interact with the newcomers at all.

"After all, we're veterans. There's no reason we couldn't take the role of mentors to the new ones."

"No, didn't you say new transmigrants might target our lives? That's dangerous!"

"I did. I really think there is danger. That's exactly why we're discussing it now."

Jeanne had mentioned that the second-wave transmigrants might attack us, and honestly, I think that possibility is real.

Simply put, it's obvious we already have plenty of things, and this world operates under different laws than Earth. The police force in this city is probably barely functional, and the second wave can bring in anything—guns, poison, whatever they want. Especially me, I've packed all our items into my Shadow Storage.

There are things we can buy normally, and even money, but items that can only be exchanged with points are truly valuable since they can't be replaced otherwise.

For example, we always keep three barrier stones on hand—one each for me, Jeanne, and Reflia.

Even my current equipment, the Nightshade Gauntlets, would fetch a high price if sold.

According to Jeanne, Reflia's presence might also attract undesirable things.

A little while ago, during the first viewership race, I managed to climb to first place—albeit only temporarily—by leveraging her charm. The number of viewers at that time reached hundreds of millions.

In other words, Reifrea is like a major superstar to people on Earth—of course, including those from the Second Wave.

It's never a bad idea to stay cautious.

Actively getting involved might serve as a deterrent, but it also carries the risk of letting her get too close. It was a difficult choice, but I—

"I'd prefer not to get involved, if possible."

"I expected you'd say something like that, Kuro. Naturally, I feel the same way. I'm not really good at socializing. How about you, Laya?"

"Eh, eh? I—I don't know anything about the transferees. If both of you want to avoid them, isn't it fine to just ignore them?"

Everyone's opinions aligned. Well, after all, we're not exactly the type to be sociable...

Even so, there's little chance we'd gain any benefit from interacting with a new transfer.

Of course, if we were planning to welcome the transfer as a new party member, there might be advantages—but only if we were certain they were trustworthy.

Otherwise, I still might be seen as the one who killed Nanami and her family.

Even after Nanami came back to life, it's unclear whether she's truly cleared my name. The intense experience of death might have caused memory loss, or the killer might have never shown their face when they killed her.

I only happened to see the culprit's face by sheer luck. It's a classmate whose face I recognize but whose name I don't know—the real perpetrator. If only I had remembered their name, things might have been different, but it's too late to say that now.

For that reason, I think we should keep our guard up against the second group.

"Um, don't you think the people from the second group might know whether Hikaru's childhood friend came back to life? If we could hear something like that, wouldn't that help?"

I flinch at Refleia's suggestion.

She already knows all about my situation.

Did Nanami truly come back to life?

And did she clear my name?

It's possible we could find out by asking the second group transmigrants, but contacting them carries high risk.

After all, we don't even know what conditions they require to transfer here.

You could even choose your transfer location, and the abilities you gain through points won't necessarily be the same as in the first round.

"Leia. I think this is a kind of gamble. To be more precise, I've somewhat grasped the situation from a message sent by her sister... but I haven't told this to Kuro. Do you know why?"

"Eh? Why not? You should just tell him. Hikaru seems calm, but just a little while ago, he was really down."

"Then, Kuro. Let me tell you. Your innocence has already been proven long ago, and the person who killed Nanami has been arrested. The viewers watching you are only interested in you for the sake of interest."

"Eh... eh?"

What is Jeanne talking about?

No... she mentioned she was communicating with Serika, so Serika must have sent that message to Jeanne.

But—

"What's wrong? This solves everything. Why don't you get happier?"

"Well, but..."

"You don't really feel it, do you? Or maybe you just don't trust it?"

"It's not that... exactly..."

As I answered, I was thinking the exact opposite.

If what she says is true, then everything would be resolved. My chest aches. I want to believe it. I should want to believe it—but I just couldn't.

Jeanne wouldn't lie... but what about Serika?

She's always aiming for the best.

Serika would have no problem lying if it served her purpose.

"Kuro. I've known all along that you've been going mad... losing faith in humanity. What words could possibly reach someone like that? Whose words could you even trust? In the end, all we know about Earth is unreliable—messages, things we hear from people, nothing more. That's why I told you to forget about them. It's irrelevant now. Earth, the viewers—none of it matters. The only thing that matters is staying alert for the second wave. What's important is the future starting right here, right now. Even I... I've forgotten the past. Everything."

She was trying to comfort me in her own way.

I felt that truth painfully, and lowered my face.

She was right.

No matter who says something, there's no way to prove whether it's true or not.

If it's Celica and Karen, they'll do their best for me.

That means they won't hesitate to use any means necessary—like having the second-wave transmigrants relay false information to me, for example.

In that sense, Celica is a sister I can trust.

Yet ironically, that's why every piece of information passed through others feels distorted.

Just as Jeanne said.

It's better to forget about Earth altogether.

If I can just live focusing on Reflia, Jeanne, and the future—

"I don't really understand the details, but if the culprit's caught, that's good, right? Hikaru, you're great!"

Reflia laughs cheerfully, clearly unaware of the full situation.

Yes. That's all there is.

In the end, no matter what information I feed into it, that empty space in my heart won't be filled.

Maybe the only one I could truly believe in right now is Nanami herself.

...She's the only one who won't be swayed by Serika.

But that will never come to pass.

I have no choice but to keep living just as I am.

"Thank you, Jeanne, Reflia. I'll... try to forget about the other side too. It won't be easy right away, but for now, we need to figure out what to do with the second wave."

　

Jeanne smiles slyly, and Reflia smiles warmly.

As a man, I can't keep relying on encouragement from others forever.

I need to become stronger myself.

I can't keep putting the entire party at risk just because I'm focused on my own problems.

◇◆◆◆◇

In the end, the meeting concluded with a plan to avoid contact with the second wave while delving deeper into the labyrinth as quickly as possible to grow stronger.

In a way, this could be seen as continuing along our previous strategy, but avoiding contact was key.

Unless they're aggressively pushing forward, it's unlikely they'll come looking for us anytime soon.

If things go badly, we can always escape using the Darkness Fog or hire bodyguards to drive them off. Fortunately, we have financial flexibility, so if we can solve problems with money, we should consider that option.

I suppose it's a bit regrettable toward transferors who come with no ill intent, but in the end, we can't tell the difference.

If we've decided to reject them, it's safer to see it through to the end.

The only problem is if the other party has a long-range rifle and starts targeting me or Jeanne... but I've concluded that worrying about it is pointless. I can't know

whether someone would actually do such a thing, and living my life assuming they might would reduce me to a state worse than that of a fugitive on the run—effectively impossible to

manage. If we had to consider such a possibility, we'd be constantly on edge even about something as simple as food. I don't trust the Second Wave Transmigrants, but I'd like to believe no one would go to such

extremes. ◇◆◆◆◇

By afternoon, as the agreed-upon date arrived, we went to the dwarf master's shop to pick up the weapons we'd ordered.

Jeanne's sword cost eight gold coins, and my blade five.

The total of thirteen gold coins is enough to build a house, but that's precisely why we can afford it—after all, we're earning that much. Thinking about it, it's probably a fair price.

It's a universal truth across any world that good weapons are expensive.

The price difference between Jeanne's sword and my blade comes down simply to the amount of

Infernal Steel (Salamander) used—nothing more than that. Infernal Steel is a special metal, available only at the domain of the Fire Great Spirit, and it's significantly more expensive than regular metals. In return, it boasts extraordinary weight and hardness, and at this point, it's considered the finest material for weapons against supernatural creatures.

"We don't often have to strike something this powerful. I hope you like it."

The dwarf foreman brought forth Jeanne's straight sword, cradling it carefully from behind.

It looks like a very simple straight sword.

The blade is thick, perhaps around ten centimeters wide.

Though it remains within the standard range of a one-handed sword, its blade length is substantial, making it on the larger side for such a weapon.

"Nice weight. This is nothing like the one I used before."

Jeanne says, comparing it to her previous sword.

Though there’s no obvious visual difference, the density is in a completely different league.

"It’s a straight sword made of Total Infernal Steel. I’m proud of how well this turned out. Just be careful about theft, okay?"

"I’ll even join you in the bath,"

Jeanne says, clearly pleased. She draws it from the scabbard, swings it a few times to test the feel.

"I wish I could make one too… out of Total Infernal Steel."

Even Refrea, who came along with us, seems to have a fascination with the prison flame steel weapons.

"If you made Refrea's entire weapon out of heavy metal, wouldn't it be impossible to swing? Even I can barely lift it now—it's already so heavy."

"Right now, only the core uses prison flame steel. But I've advanced quite a bit too, you know? I've even defeated a demon king. I'm starting to think I need a new one soon..."

"Then let's place an order. It'd probably cost around 20 gold coins if it's Refrea's kind."

That's the price of several houses, but Refrea is an attacker—she absolutely needs the best weapon. Still, I don't have 20 gold coins on me. Even the amount she brought as her deposit isn't anywhere near that much.

"Are you making a new sword too, Refleia? I think my current blade is enough... Let me test if it's sufficient, and if it seems necessary, I can forge a new one."

I'll talk to Dad about it, but he doesn't seem very interested.

Since Refleia's greatsword was forged here, maybe making a new one just a year or so after isn't very appealing.

Just as Dad said, Refleia swings the sword. She won't get a new weapon unless she passes this test.

Elegant and fluid—just as it looked the first time I saw it, dancing through the air.

A sword that fully utilizes centrifugal force, delivering powerful strikes with its weight.

"How was it?"

She's confident, her eyes filled with anticipation as she asks Dad.

"Hmm. It's getting close, but the total prison flame steel is still too early. Just now, that sword might finally be at its proper level. Originally, it was always built beyond its intended scale, you see."

"Gan"

Honestly, being told "that's just right now" leaves me with no choice but to give up.

My sword and Jeanne's blade are small in size, so even with high density, they don't become excessively heavy. But with Reflair's sword, it's practically approaching a ton.

Even if Reflair is strong, that's simply unrealistic.

I took possession of the weapon, paid the fee, and spent the rest of the day at home practicing swings.

I did want to test it in the labyrinth, but tomorrow, the transfer agent is coming.

At that time, inside the labyrinth... we had decided it would be best to check things out from the third layer. By using the high-performance world map, we could see how many people were about to teleport nearby. Given the vastness of the world, I thought the chance of someone teleporting close by was low—unless they specifically designated their destination.

In fact, I could say we were simply praying for it.

We really didn't want the second wave of teleporters to arrive nearby.

That was our shared wish, mine and Jeanne's.