I thought I'd been living carefully enough.
But I always figured something like this would happen eventually.
I know I'm not normal.
It's not that big of a deal, but still.
I have memories from my past life. I have knowledge from my past life.
For some reason, my physical abilities are above average compared to others my age.
Maybe it's because of my past life experience, but my memory isn't bad either.
And then there's what's probably the biggest threat.
I have four Relics.
They're all useful, and Banish in particular is dangerous.
But what's even more dangerous is the fourth Relic.
This one — no no, nothing that extreme. It's really not like that.
"It's completely ordinary" — yeah, that kind of modesty is just insufferable.
I know my own power better than anyone.
But I'm not arrogant enough to claim I've fully mastered it.
I just want to live freely, the way I want.
Every now and then I go to the Junkyard and find treasure.
I sell it at Arifa's place.
If I manage to sell it for a little extra, I treat myself to something small.
A treat for myself. That's what life is now.
I want to keep living like this.
In a year, I'll become a delver.
Even then, I want to keep living more or less the same way.
It's not like I dreamed of becoming a delver or anything like that.
Becoming a delver is for the sake of survival. Most people are probably the same.
I'm not aiming to be a first-tier delver.
I don't want to be a hero.
Plenty of people would find this life dull and boring.
Steady, unremarkable — with just a little extra happiness.
That's my ideal slow life.
There are hardships now, and life isn't exactly wealthy, but it's not bad.
That's why I had already decided. If anyone ever tried to maliciously disrupt this life of mine.
I'd judge what to do based on their attitude.
Right. What to do. I'd decide.
I have the resolve.
It's the determination and will to keep living in this world.
I obediently did as they told me.
And we arrived at a dead-end alley.
I could easily imagine why I'd been brought here, and I couldn't help but sigh.
Bobbis sidled up to me with a greasy, ugly grin.
"So you. Heard you got money on you."
"That's right. He's got it — hundreds of thousands of oro!"
"Forget all that — let's just kill him already!"
"Kill him and take it!"
"Wait... killing him and all that..."
They were being awfully short-sighted.
This wasn't going to end well.
"Shut the hell up, you little punk! After what you did last time—"
"You're dead meat!"
"No point being scared now. You're done for."
"Bobbis. Are you sure about this?"
I asked calmly.
Bobbis gave me a suspicious look.
"About what?"
"Killing me — do you really want to go that far?"
"Then hand over the money. All of it."
"I'll ask one more time. Are you going to kill me?"
"Huh?"
"What the hell are you on about?!"
"Bobbis. Just kill him already, would you?"
"Are you seriously going to kill me?"
"What a whiny brat. Whatever. Just die."
Bobbis drew his sword and hurled a ball of fire at me.
A Relic, huh. It looked like it had enough force to burn me to death on impact.
I'd confirmed my identity. I'd warned them. I'd even given a final ultimatum.
Well, then I had no choice.
I dispelled the ball of fire and appeared instantly in front of Bobbis.
I dragged a basketball-sized [Banish] across his face, all the way to his right shoulder.
That entire portion simply ceased to exist.
A chunk of flesh spurting blood hit the ground with a wet, sickening sound.
"Huh..."
"Wha..."
"Wha— wha— Bobbis... sir...?"
The three of them froze solid.
Every pair of eyes fixated on what had once been Bobbis.
A dark-red mass of flesh. Not exactly a pretty sight, to put it mildly.
I turned to face them.
"AAAAAAAGHHH!!"
The first one tried to run.
I threw the knife without hesitation. It was a used knife.
Its shape was similar to the one before.
It sank pretty deep into the back of the one trying to run.
He collapsed like a frog and stopped moving. If that was the case, I could just ignore him.
I erased the abdomen of the second guy, who was frozen and trembling.
"Guooohhh"
He vomited blood, crumpled to the ground, and died.
Then I put the first one out of his misery — the one with a knife buried in his back who couldn't move.
The third guy had gone weak in the knees.
He was wailing, hyperventilating, and wetting himself.
"Pl-pl-pl-please. Pl-please. I'm sor-sorry for wha-what I—"
"I confirmed it. I warned you. I gave you a final warning."
I erased the head of the third one, who was desperately begging for his life.
*Thunk.* A headless corpse slumped over. I was tired.
After that, I went through the bodies one by one, using [Banish] on each.
Before that, though, I checked Bobbis's delver tag.
"...Just a hunch, huh?"
It was Class V.
Exasperated, I returned the tag to nothing as well.
I looked around and whispered sadly.
"They didn't let go of their malice."
They chose this ending.
I have my past life's sense of ethics.
Killing people is something you shouldn't do.
It's the worst kind of sin.
I don't like it either.
No, not just people. Monsters too.
I don't think I'll ever get used to killing.
That's why I always make sure to leave open the option not to.
But if they don't choose that option, then I close my eyes.
Whether I like it or not… there's no room for hesitation.
Last time, letting them go was an act of mercy too.
But the ones who don't understand that — if they still bare their fangs, I won't show mercy.
Being soft sometimes backs you into a corner.
And you die.
I don't want to die.
So if I've made my resolve, I'll see it through.
This isn't my past life.
I'm living in this world now.
One week has passed since then.
The fact that they had disappeared caused no commotion whatsoever.
As if they had never been there from the start, no one gave them a second thought.
Which made sense.
In this world, when you die, only friends, lovers, and family are left to grieve.
They had no one. That was all.
I didn't have anyone either.
The only thing I wanted to protect was this life.
So if I were to die someday,
I thought maybe a few people would remember me, just a little.
But eventually, they'd forget too.
That might be a little lonely.
It might be sad.
But I was fine with that.
That would be my end.
That said, I wasn't planning to die anytime soon.
My days—Wof, age thirteen—would continue from here on out.
At my own pace.