"Sophia, there's something I couldn't tell you before, but there's something I need to say."
After receiving the orichalcum tag at the duke's residence, I returned to Sophia's room.
Things had settled down for the most part, and if there was ever a time to talk, it was now.
"What is it? ...No, there's something I need to tell you too, senpai."
"'Senpai,' huh… so it's true after all."
"Yes. I'm a reincarnator too."
Daytona had told me that Sophia was a failure skill holder.
My failure skill was in Japanese, so I'd been able to read it. I'd wondered if maybe all failure skill holders were reincarnators.
"My failure skill is [Bond of Reincarnation]. Normally, when you reincarnate, your memories from your previous life fade away, but with this skill, I can retain those memories. The trade-off is that I can't acquire any other skills."
"Huh? But the goddess said she'd give us cheat skills?"
"Yes. Other reincarnators can't remember their past lives until something triggers an awakening, and even then, they don't remember everything—but I was the exception. And through [Bond of Reincarnation], I can also recognize other reincarnators when I meet them."
"You wanted to hold onto your past life memories that badly? Sorry, I don't remember enough to recall your past life's name. I remember being expelled from the company over a crime I didn't commit and then getting run over by a 5-ton truck. After that, I have a vague memory of a female junior colleague who was really kind to me, and that's about it…"
"No, I'm happy you remember even that much. And, senpai. About what happened in our past lives…"
"What?"
"I… I couldn't save you in our past life. When you were framed for a crime you didn't commit and expelled from the company, I couldn't do anything. No, even before that, I tried to ease the burden on you since you were always so busy, but everything was sabotaged by that person…"
I listened to her story, feeling a faint nostalgia at being called "senpai," while reflecting on how I was actually the younger one in this other world.
"That's why I could never bring myself to tell you about the reincarnation. I didn't know how much you remembered, and I wasn't prepared for you to ask, 'Why didn't you help me back then?'"
"I never thought that, not even for a second. If anything, I was just going along with whatever I was told, and that was my problem. That's how that guy was able to frame me for embezzlement—a crime that never happened. Coming to this other world made that clear to me. So it's not your fault, Sophia—no, it's not your fault, junior."
"Senpai…"
"I was saved by you in this world, so I have nothing but gratitude. By the way, what happened to you after I died in our past life?"
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Skills: [Reverse], [Divine Eye], [Sword God], [Phantom Thief Gentleman], [Dark Magic], [Rock Iron Magic], [Holy Magic], [Space-Time Magic], [Scorching Heat Magic], [Frozen Ice Magic], [Magic Hand], [Temptation], [Pain Relief], [Complete Status Ailment Resistance], [Fire Spirit's Protection], [Phantom Demon], [Gale Thunder], [Dark Spirit's Protection], [Supernatural Strength], [Thunder God Sword], [Good Luck], [Clear Storm Magic], [Humility], [Heaven's Gate], [Ninja Master], [Eloquence], [Seeker of Truth], [Whisper of the Abyss], [Super Intuition]
Rank: Orichalcum