Before I knew it, I'd turned twelve.
I realized it when I happened to glance at my adventurer card.
The age field read 12.
When on earth had my birthday passed?
When you're traveling, your sense of dates tends to get scrambled.
Still, that meant two years had gone by since the teleportation.
How time flies.
But on the other hand, you could say it had taken two full years.
Two years, and we were finally able to make it back to the Central Continent.
Now that we'd come this far, you couldn't say the Kingdom of
Considering our journey across the Millis Continent, the road ahead shouldn't be too difficult either.
We had money, and we had a means of travel.
The one concern was that we still didn't know where my family was…
I chose to believe they were alive.
But even if I'd mustered the motivation to look for them now, it wasn't like they'd turn up easily.
--- Our current location was the easternmost point of the Dragon Kingdom—the port town of Eastport.
Like Westport, it was a town where fishing merchants and shipping companies flexed their muscle.
We checked into an inn and held a strategy meeting.
As always, the three of us huddled around a map.
"All right, let's talk about what comes next."
The two of them peered into the map with serious expressions.
You'd think this would get old after repeating it so many times, but even
"There are three routes from here to the Kingdom of Asura."
I pointed to the cheap map I'd just bought and began explaining.
It was a basic map—just rough village locations and approximate forest positions.
Making detailed maps or selling them was strictly prohibited by this kingdom's laws.
They were probably afraid of information leaking to foreign nations.
Well, a rough overview would be enough.
"The first is the main highway used for regular trade."
I traced the route with my finger.
The eastern detour around the Dragonic Mountain Range.
"It's the safest route, all things considered.
Given our travel speed, it should take about ten months to arrive."
It took the longest, but since it followed a well-maintained highway, it was by far the safest.
"Why do we have to go the long way around?" Eris asked.
She always asked the obvious questions.
She was straightforward, which made her easy to explain things to.
"The western route goes through dense forests."
I pointed to the western side of the Dragonic Mountain Range to answer her question.
To the west of the Dragonic Mountain Range stretched a vast, impenetrable jungle.
Horse-drawn carriages couldn't pass through, in principle.
If you knew the terrain well, you could supposedly cut several months off the travel time.
But that prerequisite also included being a skilled rider.
Neither Eris nor I could ride.
But no matter how small we were, three people on one horse was out of the question.
So this route meant traveling on foot.
I hadn't been able to find out how many days it would take on foot.
Basically, everyone chose the safe eastern route.
Either the difference in days wasn't that great, or the eastern route was actually faster.
Slow and steady wins the race.
I summarized all of this for them.
"Got it. So the west is out."
Eris accepted the explanation.
"Now, for the third route—"
I indicated the final option on the map.
We'd board a ship, cross the Begaritt Continent, search along the way, and break through to Asura.
No telling how many days that would take.
"However, this route is a no-go."
"Why not?"
"Because it's dangerous."
The Begaritt Continent was said to have even denser mana than the Demon Continent.
On average, the demons there were about as strong as those on the Demon Continent, but underground there were countless labyrinths, and above ground, abnormal weather conditions ran rampant.
Its terrain could be summed up in one word.
Desert.
That continent was blanketed in sand.
And it was home to enormous scorpions rivaling the Land Turtles in size, as well as colossal sandworms that preyed on those very scorpions.
Scorching heat by day, bone-chilling cold by night.
There were virtually no oases, so rest stops were nonexistent.
Furthermore, the deeper you ventured into the center, the sand would vanish and be replaced by snow-covered frozen wasteland.
From desert, you'd suddenly find yourself in a land locked in ice.
Once you got that far, almost no edible monsters appeared either.
And we'd have to search for someone while passing through all of that.
Completely unrealistic.
"So, we'll be taking the eastern route."
"
"That I am."
"I think we'd be fine, though?"
Eris looked like she kind of wanted to visit the Begaritt Continent.
Her eyes were sparkling.
But the distance to the Begaritt Continent was incomparable to the gap between Millis and the Central Continent.
"We'd be on a boat for a very long time. Are you sure you're okay with that, Eris?"
"……The Begaritt is off the table."
And so, we decided to take the eastern route.
--- I was in a white room.
Emotions surged from the very depths of my body.
I wanted to express this sensation—the one I could never quite get used to—in a single word.
It was "damn it."
"'Damn it' right off the bat—you're as vulgar as ever, you know that?"
The mosaic.
Tch. What do you mean "as ever."
He showed up right when I was finally starting to forget about him.
"It's been a year."
Yeah, a year.
Quite a while.
Maybe you can only appear once a year?
If so, that'd be a relief.
"That's not the case."
Figures.
The first time, he'd shown up in less than a week.
"Still, you really are cold to me. After all, I'm the one who got you the demon eye."
I didn't ask for it.
Instead of something like that—something that made no difference whether I had it or not—you could've at least let me meet the person I needed to cross the sea. That would've been useful.
Then I wouldn't have ended up in a cell.
And I wouldn't have gotten into that fight with Paul over a miscommunication of information.
It must have been quite entertaining for you, watching me fail to get the information I needed, fight with Paul, wallow in misery, get comforted, and eventually reconcile through talking.
"Oh, it was a blast.
But—is that really okay?"
Okay?
What are you talking about?
"Blaming everything on me, that is."
Tch……
……Damn it.
Being in this room always takes me back to the old days.
Back when I blamed everyone else for everything.
I had reflected on my behavior. I'd grown.
Reflection… ah, damn, I can't even remember what I reflected on…
Why, damn it… son of a bitch…
"Well, that's just who you are. A little self-reflection isn't going to move you forward at all."
Tch, fine.
Just for now.
Once I wake up, I'll remember. I'll be able to reflect properly.
So let me just let go for the moment.
Let go, and ask him what I want to know.
"Ask? My, how unusual—you're actually going to take my advice willingly this time?"
Yeah, that's right.
But there's only one piece of advice I want.
"What would that be? If it's something I know, I'll tell you."
Tell me where my family is.
"Isn't your family in another world?"
Don't screw with me.
If possible,
"Hmm…"
What is it?
People are bowing their heads and asking you here.
Just spit it out already.
"What should I do~?"
Why do you have to be so condescending?
You're just a voyeur who peeks into other people's lives—that's all you are.
What are you, really?
Can you only tell me things that suit you?
You showed me the Demon Emperor, but you can't show me where my family is?
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I got a little carried away."
As long as you get it.
"But are you sure about this?
This time, I might be lying, you know?"
Oh, really! Lying!
Now there's something I've been wanting to hear from you.
Yeah, you're definitely the type to lie.
"No, it's not about whether I'm lying or not.
I'm asking whether you can believe my words."
No, I don't believe you.
Right now things are desperate, so I'll act on your advice.
But if you lie to me even once, I'm never listening to your advice again.
"Then I'd like you to make a promise."
What kind of promise?
"If my advice helps you reunite with your family this time, I want you to trust me from now on."
…….
You want me to trust you and become a puppet?
Just nod along to whatever you say and serve you like a servant?
"No, it's just that picking a fight with me every single time like this—it's exhausting, isn't it?"
Picking a fight isn't the only thing that's exhausting, you know.
Do you have any idea what it's like?
Having the feelings of a past you desperately want to forget and fix dragged out of you, having the memories you thought showed growth and reflection eroded away, and then waking up in the morning feeling so utterly wretched it crushes you?
"Well, I suppose that was a terrible thing to do.
How about we set some rules then?
Like, I'll give advice on this specific day, or something?"
Yeah, that's a brilliant idea!
How about you appear again in a hundred years?
"Then you'd be dead."
I told you to stop showing up altogether!
"Hah… well, I figured you'd say that.
So, is it settled?
This time, no advice."
……No, wait a second.
Sorry about that.
Let me compromise too.
If this advice helps me reunite with one of my family members, I'll stop picking fights with you.
"You'll trust me?"
Not to that extent.
But at the very least, I'll stop going back and forth in meaningless arguments about whether to listen or not.
"That's very positive of you."
So compromise on your end too.
Stop appearing out of the blue like you did this time.
Give me a chance to prepare mentally.
Or show up in someone else's dream and pass me a letter.
"That's difficult, actually.
There are conditions for appearing in dreams."
Oh?
Conditions?
So you can't show up whenever you want?
"That's right.
To appear in someone's dream, the wavelengths have to align with the other person.
It's not easy to find someone who can receive my advice at the right moment.
You're quite fortunate, you know."
Yeah, so fortunate I could cry.
I'm practically overflowing with this fortune.
I'd share it with someone too—if there were any dung beetles around worth giving it to.
But huh, so there are conditions.
And what exactly are those conditions?
"Well, I don't really understand them myself.
It's more like—oh, this person will work, this day will work—and then the connection forms."
Interesting.
So even you can't fully control it.
Then forget about the rules. Let's do something else instead.
Let's see…
I want more detailed advice.
"Toward this" and "toward that" don't tell me what to do—I just end up confused.
It also feels like I'm being toyed with in the palm of your hand, and it's infuriating.
"Okay, more details. Got it—let's go with that."
Good. Then I'm counting on you.
"Ahem. Very well, then. I shall bestow upon you this advice—"
--- In the next moment, a vision flooded into my Foresight Eye.
<It was a back alley in some country> <A young girl was being roughly grabbed by the arm> <The one holding her arm was a soldier> <There were two soldiers> <The one not holding her arm was shredding a piece of paper he'd taken from the girl> <The girl was watching this, screaming something> That was where the vision ended.
--- Wh—what was that just now?!
"Rudeus. Listen carefully.
Her name is Aisha Greyrat.
She is currently being held in the Shirone Kingdom.
You will come upon this scene and rescue her.
However, you must never reveal your name.
Introduce yourself as 'Dead End's Keeper' and ask her about the situation.
Then, send a letter to an acquaintance in the Shirone royal palace.
If you do that, you will be able to rescue both Lilia and Aisha from the Shirone royal palace."
Huh—wait, what?
No, hold on—why?
An acquaintance? A letter?
"That might have been a bit too much detail.
Too much detail takes the fun out of it, so that should do.
Now then—who will you get along with, I wonder…?"
What?
Both Lilia and Aisha are in the Shirone Kingdom?
Why?
If they were there, there was no way they wouldn't have been found.
"Get along with"? What does that mean?
Am I going to end up at odds with one of them—Lilia or Aisha?
"Well then, Rudeus. Do your best…"
……Best… best… best…
As the echo faded, my consciousness sank into darkness.
--- I shot upright in bed.
My head was pounding.
An overwhelming wave of dizziness.
And nausea.
I jumped out of bed and half-ran to the room's exit.
I left the room and stumbled into the bathroom.
I peered into the toilet and immediately vomited.
My head hurt.
An incredible headache and nausea.
My legs were wobbling.
I left the bathroom.
The room felt impossibly far away.
I placed a hand against the wall, and my legs gave out.
I slid down to the floor.
In the dark inn, a whistling sound filled the air.
What was that? I looked around with just my eyes.
I realized quickly.
It was my own breathing.
"What's wrong? Are you all right…?"
When I came to, a white face hovered in the pitch darkness.
It was Ruijerd.
He was looking at my face with concern.
"Y-yes… I'm fine."
"What did you eat? Can you use detox?"
Ruijerd pulled a cloth from his pocket and wiped my mouth.
The smell of my own vomit made the nausea flare up again.
I managed to hold it down, but a queasy feeling lingered in my chest.
"I'm fine…"
I managed to squeeze those words from the back of my throat.
"Really?"
At the worry in his voice, I nodded.
I knew this headache.
I'd experienced it once before, in Westport.
"Yes—I must have been half-asleep and failed to calibrate the Foresight Eye."
When using the Foresight Eye to see more than ten seconds into the future, I got this kind of headache.
Last time, I'd stopped looking ahead the moment the pain hit.
But I instinctively understood that if I pushed past it, this was what would happen.
And I could guess why this was happening.
That dream. That advice.
The vision shown to me—it was because of that.
Hitogami had shown me the future.
Presumably through the Foresight Eye.
"So this is why…"
I muttered softly, and Ruijerd made a puzzled face.
I remembered the sequence of events—meeting the Demon Emperor in the port town and obtaining the demon eye.
A sudden encounter, and I'd acquired the demon eye for no apparent reason.
The advice had been utterly meaningless for crossing the sea.
After that, the demon eye hadn't been much help either.
Well, there were a few times it had probably saved my life, but even so—it felt like things would've worked out without it.
On the flip side, there were more than one or two occasions where the demon eye had made me careless.
Net zero, you could say.
It meant nothing to me.
But it had meant something to Hitogami.
Maybe he'd had me meet the Demon Emperor precisely so he could show me visions like this.
It felt like some kind of plan was steadily falling into place.
Unease coiled in my chest.
For the first time, I felt genuine fear toward Hitogami.
For the first time, I truly grasped that he was something wielding immense power.
He was trying to make me do something.
I shuddered at the premonition.
"Rudeus, your complexion is terrible. Are you truly all right?"
Ruijerd's worried face.
And looking at it, I nearly blurted out my fears.
Actually, I've been under Hitogami's surveillance since around the time I met you, and I've been doing everything at his direction.
But in that instant, I noticed something.
"Since around the time I met Ruijerd."
That was right.
The first time Hitogami had contacted me was just before I met Ruijerd.
And his advice had always been to help Ruijerd.
It was strange.
Why hadn't he contacted me before that?
Why had he spoken up right after the Mana Calamity?
Why had he not just told me to rely on Ruijerd, but specifically advised me to "help" him?
Everything felt connected.
It felt like he was scheming something.
I had no proof—just suspicion.
But one such suspicion came to mind.
"Is Hitogami trying to make Ruijerd do something?"
Hitogami had said there were conditions for appearing in dreams.
He couldn't directly control Ruijerd because Ruijerd didn't meet those conditions.
So he'd used the Mana Calamity to teleport me—someone who did meet the conditions—into Ruijerd's path, guided me to help Ruijerd, and had me escort him all the way to the Central Continent…
……No, then why give me the demon eye? Why advise me to save Aisha?
I couldn't figure it out.
What was he thinking?
Everything probably connected on his end, but I couldn't see the thread.
And should I tell Ruijerd about Hitogami, or not?
I hesitated.
"……"
I wanted to confide in someone and ease this anxiety.
But I also felt I shouldn't burden this man any further.
If I told Ruijerd about Hitogami, it might fulfill some condition, allowing Hitogami to make contact with Ruijerd directly.
This honest man would surely be deceived by Hitogami without a second thought.
I couldn't honestly say I wasn't being deceived myself.
I couldn't.
But at the very least, my hostile attitude made Hitogami uncomfortable.
As long as he was uncomfortable, I wasn't being deceived… or so I wanted to believe.
"Ruijerd. If you're ever going through a hard time and someone whispers sweet words to you, never trust them. It's precisely when you're suffering that the ones trying to deceive you will come circling."
……In the end, I didn't say it.
I never mentioned Hitogami.
"……I don't know what you're talking about, but understood."
Looking at Ruijerd nodding seriously, I was flooded with complicated feelings.
He trusted me.
And yet I was keeping secrets from him.
I'd judged it was better to stay silent, but even so, my conscience wouldn't clear.
I realized the headache and nausea had subsided.
I shook my groggy head and made my way back to the room.
My mind was sharp, thoughts churning.
When I closed my eyes, one thought after another surged forward.
None of them were productive.
None were logical.
Like a maze with no exit, pointless thoughts appeared and vanished.
Even lying in bed, I didn't feel the slightest bit sleepy.
"Whassa matter…"
I heard a murmured sleep-talk and shifted my gaze to the side.
In the neighboring bed, Eris lay spread-eagled in a starfish position.
Her sleeping posture was terrible as always.
Her legs were splayed wide apart.
The healthy legs extending from the oversized shorts she wore as pajamas.
A dangerous gap near the hem that might reveal what lay underneath.
The rumpled fabric and the cute navel peeking through.
Her chest, which had become noticeably more prominent even when she lay on her back.
She apparently didn't wear a bra to sleep—if I looked closely, I could make out the faint outlines.
And her face, drooling slightly, wearing a blissful smile.
"Heeheehee…"
I smiled wryly at her sleep-talking and sat up.
I pulled the hem of her clothes down and draped a blanket over her.
"Rudeus is so lewd…"
What a dopey expression.
Here I was, wrestling with all these problems, and she was dreaming about me being lewd.
Should I actually go ahead and grope her chest, like she said?
As that thought crossed my mind, drowsiness crept back in.
I yawned and flopped back onto my bed.
Eris really was something.
With that thought, I dropped straight into sleep.