Rumors of the second transfer had already begun quite early.

The transferees were dying at a significant rate, so it was only natural to consider the possibility of "replacement."

I clung to that hope.

I had thought through countless scenarios on how to approach and kill Hikaru Cross when I was chosen.

I investigated everything I could.

I was certain I would kill Hikaru Cross.

In reality, no matter how many skills a transferee acquired, they would not become so powerful as to greatly exceed the limits of biological existence.

They would still die if stabbed with a knife, or shot with a gun.

Especially since Hikaru Cross hadn't invested much in physical enhancement, it should be even easier.

The only obstacle was "time."

After the transfer, this advantage will gradually diminish over time, and if it takes more than a year, it will likely become nearly impossible to execute.

Especially now, with the messaging function frozen, this is our greatest opportunity.

Choose the transfer location as close as possible—this is the top priority. If city selection is possible through point usage, I’d spend all my points to secure it.

If we end up transferring to a distant location, it could take years to reach Hikaru Cross, and it’s uncertain whether one could even survive the journey.

Conversely, if we can overcome this major obstacle, everything else will become manageable.

From my perspective, Hikaru Cross seems to be gradually regaining mental stability.

Perhaps one reason for his good relationship with the human Jeanne Collet is that.

But that's all.

No matter how fierce the battle against the monsters may be, actually killing that man is not particularly difficult.

No matter how physically resilient he becomes, if a bullet strikes his central body, a human being cannot possibly survive—this is simply natural.

And that is precisely the path to freeing Serika Cross.

Because she can always see her brother's form, she is dedicating her entire life to Hikaru Cross.

Only I can free her from that curse.

◇◆◆◆◇

From that day on, I prayed to God every single day.

As a student at a Catholic university, attending services was a routine part of my life, but I had never before felt such a desperate longing.

Up until now, I'd always believed my life was something I grasped with my own hands.

But being chosen for reincarnation into another world—something beyond my own control.

What exactly was the true nature of the deity? Was it the god we believed in, or, as the bishops claimed, the devil?

It didn't matter to me either way.

Even if I had to grasp the hand of the devil, I wanted that right.

And then came the fateful day.

Indeed, the god had heard my plea.

"I have chosen the one who desires another world the most," the god said.

It was exactly as my daily prayers had been answered.

I was overjoyed.

My roommate was so shocked at seeing me, a person who normally never showed emotion, nearly collapsed from sheer delight.

The preparation time was short, but the plan was already in place. There was absolutely no

problem. I had anticipated the possibility of delays in acquiring the firearm, but I managed to secure it directly from

a weapons manufacturer. One

high-powered handgun. I also underwent shooting training and gained enough experience to ensure I wouldn't miss

at close range. The instructors probably never imagined they were training someone to kill the

first-generation

transference

subject. ◇◆◆◆◇ The day of transfer arrived. I sent an anonymous

　

email to TWiN/SiS. "Serika, I'll definitely free you."

That was all the message said, but given how

intelligent she is, she'd surely

understand. ◇◆◆◆◇

The moment came, and I was moved to the white room.

Operate the PC to allocate points.

The only issue here was whether or not I could choose the transfer location.

But even this time, the gods did not betray me.

Dart teleportation.

It was as if it had been designed specifically for me, someone who had won a junior darts tournament.

After all, do Easterners even usually play darts?

Regardless, it was a chance.

I knew exactly where Hikaru Cross was.

　

I allocated points to basic skills like stamina enhancement, picked up a basic item set, selected dart teleportation, and finished.

I left ten points remaining. It's important to keep some flexibility by saving points in a general-purpose form, just in case they're needed later.

For me, as long as I can kill Hikaru Cross, the rest doesn't matter—but that's precisely why increasing the chances of killing him was crucial.

I won't hesitate to use any means necessary.

Killing Hikaru Cross is the only purpose that allows me to enter another world.

◇◆◆◆◇

The darts deviated slightly, but I successfully transferred near a nearby town to Meltya.

It's a one-shot chance. I suppose luck was on my side.

And there was another stroke of good fortune.

When I met up with the person who had just teleported nearby, it turned out to be Ozawa Yuichi—the one who had previously killed Nanami Souma.

I had some prior knowledge about him.

He looks dim-witted, but that's precisely why he might be useful.

I told Ozawa that everyone who had been transferred knew he was a criminal, and convinced him that I was his lawyer and ally. I suggested he pretend to have chosen "memory loss" as his option during transfer, had him hide his face with a mask, and made him adopt the name Phantom.

To my surprise, Ozawa obediently complied.

He's an idiot, but a docile one—easy to manage.

Still, at this stage, the viewers couldn't be allowed to know he was planning to kill Hikaru Cross.

If things went badly, the viewers might send a warning via the messaging feature.

Even if Hikaru Cross didn't open the message, it would still reach his companion, Jeanne Collet.

That would be the same outcome.

　

I pretended to enter the brothel with Ozawa and used "shooting stop" to quickly outline a rough plan within that time.

One crystal could grant ten minutes of shooting stop.

I used up six crystals' worth of time—the duration from entering to exiting the brothel—and Ozawa, who also harbored resentment toward Hikaru Cross, agreed to the plan.

Probably because I showed him the gun.

Ozawa was an optimistic type, not very bright, but perfect as a distraction.

Above all, he hated Hikaru Cross.

I listened to his story, which was clearly a case of misplaced resentment, and though I thought the motive was utterly trivial, I said nothing and pretended to sympathize.

Worst case, it wouldn’t matter if Ozawa ended up doing the killing instead of me.

All that mattered was that Hikaru Cross would die.

O and Ozawa moved to Meltya and began our operation.

We accessed the high-performance peripheral map and identified all the transmigrants in the city.

Since Hikaru Cross knew where her house was, finding her was easy.

Preparation proceeded calmly and steadily.

After meeting up with the other transmigrants, Hikaru Cross loudly proclaimed she didn’t want to get along with the others.

In fact, there was a transmigrant who had tried to talk to her and was ignored, and that story quickly spread.

It seemed Hikaru Cross and Jeanne Collet intended to keep their distance from the other transmigrants, but not all of them shared that attitude.

On Earth, cooperation among transmigrants had been encouraged, and not everyone was strong enough to survive alone. In this strange world, that was even more true.

That's why, in casual conversation, an atmosphere was gradually created suggesting that Hikaru Cross and Jeanne Collet were different "strong people" who couldn't coexist with us.

To us, the "weak," those who didn't become comrades—transferees who weren't part of our group—were perfect targets.

Deep down, everyone probably wished that Hikaru Cross and Jeanne Collet, the first-wave transferees who had already adapted to this world and had plenty of resources at their disposal, would come to help us.

—If they had led us, we might have been able to live peacefully in this town.

—After all, they were so strong and had so much money; why couldn't they just help?

—Even though they were just a handful of fellow Earthlings.

This selfish desire gradually came to seem like the collective will of every transferee who had arrived in Meltya.

I subtly guided things, but didn't do much—just set the stage for conversation.

I was concerned that the second-wave transmigrators might reveal the "truth" to Hikaru Cross, but it was fortunate that I could easily eliminate that possibility.

It also helped that Hikaru Cross and Jeanne Collot themselves were actively trying to keep the second wave at bay.

The only concern was that the first-wave transmigrator, the man named Origami, already had a connection with Hikaru Cross, so I decided to make contact with him and indirectly link up with Hikaru Cross through him.

Hikaru Cross was already wary of the other transmigrators, making it unnecessary for me to devise any elaborate scheme, yet she wasn't completely unreachable—given enough time, I was sure I could find a way in.

I had a brief conversation with him, but Hikaru Cross seemed unaware that Nanami Souma had been selected once again as a reincarnated traveler to another world.

The shadow of distrust toward humanity flickering in his eyes was clear proof of his ongoing psychological instability.

This man, who had upended Serika Cross’s life, offered her not a single word of comfort, yet still acted like a victim—so much so that I nearly drew my gun for a moment.

But inside the labyrinth, missing the first shot would mean he’d escape, and he was likely wearing the "ring of substitution," making the odds of success extremely low. I couldn’t afford to take such a reckless risk.

Opportunities like this were rare. I managed to restrain myself with great effort.

—Kill him.

—Kill him no matter what.

I had already devised several plans for killing Hikaru Cross.

The issue was that there wasn't much time left before the messaging function would be restored, but it should be finished before then.

Afterward, I planned to gradually win her over by pretending to have accidental encounters in the labyrinth, but Hikaru Cross suddenly disappeared from the labyrinth.

According to the high-performance peripheral map, she had been leaving the city daily with Jeanne Collet.

Following her secretly, I discovered she was traveling outside the city with two others, including Reflia Ashbard.

It seemed she was practicing horseback riding.

(Could it be—she actually intends to leave the city...!?)

I had ruled out that possibility.

After all, Jeanne Collet had declared "conquering the labyrinth" as her goal.

If she were to abandon that and venture outside, I'd have no choice but to revise my plan.

I adjusted the plan slightly and decided to make direct contact to deliver information about Nanami Souma.

It deviated a bit from the original scenario, but there was no other choice.

◇◆◆◆◇

While keeping an eye on the blue dots representing Jeanne Collot and Hikaru Kurose moving apart, I met up with Ozawa—the Phantom.

"Change of plans. We're going with Plan C."

I stated briefly while preparing at the cheap inn.

"Plan C... Wasn't that supposed to be shooting them dead with a gun?"

"You really are an idiot,"

the Phantom muttered, his memory being genuinely poor.

He couldn't possibly remember three things at once.

"Never mind. Your role is this."

"This? Are you sure?"

"Sure or not, I'm just entrusting it to you. I'd be in trouble if something happened while I was holding it. I'll retrieve it later. Don't go acting on your own, okay?"

The reason for leaving the gun behind was that the upcoming actions carried too many uncertainties.

Originally, I had intended to leave the execution entirely to Phantom. At the very least, Hikaru Cross hadn't yet discovered my true identity, and he certainly wouldn't expect to be shot by a gun.

Besides, no matter how alert he appeared, there was still a moment of slackness.

Even if he imagined the possibility of being shot, he'd never truly believe it would happen—especially someone from peaceful Japan.

I had once again discussed the plan in detail with Phantom.

Plan C involved significant uncertainty, and I would have preferred to take more time to secure a reliable method, but there was no choice.

—Besides, I myself was reaching the limit of my patience.

Ozawa probably felt the same.

Now that I've spoken of the murder plan, it'll be impossible to kill him unless we decide before the messaging function is restored. The die is cast.

Serika Cross.

You'll surely be saddened, and you'll probably hate me.

But you're smart, so I'm certain you'll understand.

I'm sure you'll grasp it completely.