Who's that? And she's sleeping?
Why is she sleeping?
"Also, wait—this isn't the usual place!?"
Now that I think about it, I'd never seen a black pillar before.
And a starry sky in this mysterious space was a first.
In other words, this wasn't the Knife Goddess's mysterious space.
It was a mysterious space I didn't know.
What even was a mysterious space I didn't know?
Actually, what even is a "mysterious space" in the first place?
"............"
No point thinking about it. A mysterious space is a mysterious space.
In other words, the fog was there but this was somewhere else. Good enough.
"......ZzzzZZzz...... sleepy......"
And in front of me—a cat-beastkin girl. She was sleeping.
Who was she!?
I looked at her closely and was stunned. Because of her face.
"Pakira...?"
It was exactly Pakira.
The highlights were a bit different here and there, but she was unmistakably Pakira.
Except she wasn't Pakira.
Pakira would never wear such a thin, flimsy, see-through nightdress.
And she'd never let one shoulder strap slip off so sloppily.
That'd be way too embarrassing for her—impossible. So this was someone else.
But she looked exactly like Pakira.
No, she really just looked like Pakira in a slightly risqué cosplay.
"In other words... this is the legendary..."
From my memories of my past life... that legendary... 2P color!?
The same character from a fighting game but with different colors!
That alternate color scheme that became so popular people started treating it as a separate character!!
That 2P color that everyone loved!!
"A real-life 2P color in this world... unbelievable..."
But looking this much like Pakira could just be a coincidence.
However, they were even the same race, and while Pakira had white [tails], this one had black—two tails of different lengths.
According to the witch, beastkin typically had one tail. Having multiple meant you were a special existence.
That's why the witch, with her three tails, was also special.
Was this really just a coincidence?
"A-Ahem, excuse me. Is anyone—hello?"
I tried waking her. Touching her would be rude, so I called out.
A-Also... that nightdress... it was see-through in various ways, making it hard to know where to look.
And one shoulder strap was dangling off loosely... and visible.
"......sleepy......Zzzz"
"No, you're sleeping—excuse me!"
I couldn't help but retort as I raised my voice a little.
She opened her eyes. Red cat eyes.
"Who?"
"I'm Wof. Nice to meet you."
"Wof? Why? Here?"
"I don't know. When I came to, I was here."
"I see. I am Yomid."
Along with her red cat eyes, black cat ears and two black tails of different lengths swayed simultaneously.
That mannerism was just like Pakira's too.
"Yomid... t-that's the dungeon god? Goddess?"
"Yes."
"And also... the Death King's... superior, right?"
"Oh. I remember now. Wof. I know you."
So her pronoun was "Warawa."
But at least she wasn't using "nja" speech.
"You know me?"
"Mm. Wof. Request. Order."
"Huh?"
She was stringing together some alarming words, and I tensed up.
Yomid's red cat eyes glowed eerily.
Beautiful, but scary.
That unsettling feeling unique to cat eyes. That's what it was.
"Wind Death King. Successor. Light Death King. Dark Death King. Cooperate. Wof. Find them."
"Huh? Me?"
"Defeated."
"Not me—Agaro did."
"Wof. Defeated. Earth Death King."
"...Biggs."
That one, yeah. I did defeat him.
Had to. Wouldn't have been able to rest otherwise.
"Wind Death King. Next generation. Wof. Find them."
"Before that—what do you mean cooperate with the Light Death King and Dark Death King—"
"Oh. Wof. Acquaintance."
"Huh? No, I'm not."
I had zero recollection of meeting such dangerous people.
Absolutely none. None at all. Weren't they enemies?
"? White. Ambrosius."
"Huh?"
What was she saying?
Yomid tilted her head, swaying her two black tails of different lengths gently.
That gesture, the way her tails swayed—it was exactly like Pakira, and my heart skipped a beat.
That... well, I'll set that aside for now.
"White. Light Death King. Ambrosius. Dark Death King. Reincarnator."
"Shiro is the Light... Ambrosius is the Dark... Reincarnator?"
So there were others. Reincarnators besides me.
"Yes. Edda. Reincarnation. Rare. Case."
It was rare? Well, that made sense.
"Are Shiro and Ambrosius really... Death Kings...?"
"Mm. Both. Death Kings."
Yomid's calm words left me stunned and staggering.
Unconsciously, I pressed my hand to my face.
The barrage of shocking truths was too much for my mind and heart to process.
That Shiro was a Death King... that Shiro was the Light Death King... Wait.
And Ambrosius was the Dark Death King... Wait.
Something felt...
My mind suddenly cleared up—as if I'd used Blue Saint, even though I hadn't—and I became calm.
Now that I thought about it, those two being Death Kings was oddly fitting.
They were both shrouded in mystery, so when told, I could actually accept it.
"Wof. You. Owe me. One. Warawa."
"I owe Yomid?"
"Relic. [Knife Magic]. Special training. Time. Adjustment. Warawa."
"That spirit and time... you adjusted it. S-So that's how it was..."
Come to think of it, the Knife Goddess had said someone helped her with that.
So that someone was Yomid.
"So. You owe me. Pay it back."
"Understood. Finding the successor to the Wind Death King. I'll take it."
When I agreed, Yomid held out her hand.
Wind gathered from all directions into her hand, forming a single jewel.
"Legendary. Wind King's Dark Jewel. Successor. Give. Next generation. Wind Death King. Birth."
"Y-Yes. I just need to give this to whoever becomes the successor, right?"
"That is correct."
I received the Wind King's Dark Jewel.
It looked like a crystal ball, but inside... winds swirled. A mysterious gem.
If I gave this to the successor I found, they'd become the Wind Death King.
"But with no reward..."
"No problem. You owe me. But. There is. A reward."
Oh—my bad. I'd grumbled without thinking.
"There is? Great. What's the reward?"
"Secret."
Yomid winked and flicked her tail with a soft flutter.
A secret, apparently. Also, cute.
Pakira would've turned beet red doing the same kind of thing.
They were different in that regard.
"Understood. I look forward to it."
"Expectation. Great. Soon. Time."
"Ah, one more thing, if I may?"
"What. Fine. One thing."
"Why does Yomid look exactly like Pakira?"
I bit the bullet and asked.
Yomid tilted her head, looking puzzled.
Her cat ears twitched.
"Who knows. Don't know. Pakira. Who. But. Identical? Spitting image?"
"Yes. Aside from things like hair color and speech patterns—everything else, the tails, everything—is the same. It's practically 2P color."
They could pass for twin sisters.
But even Yomid didn't know? Then it really was just a coincidence?
But wait—Yomid suddenly leaned in close.
Her face was right there—Pakira! No, Yomid!
"Curious. Interested. Next time. We meet. Pakira. Bring her."
"W-Wait, 'bring her' as in forcibly?"
"Mm. Then. Count on it. Goodnight."
And there, I lost consciousness.
When I woke up, I was in my bed in my room. I hurriedly sat up and bumped into something with my arm.
The Wind King's Dark Jewel.
"......How am I supposed to 'bring her'..."
I muttered and let out a sigh.