The elevator stopped and the doors opened without a sound.
"…Hmm."
Hayaan looked around.
We had arrived at a semicircular corridor with ceilings and walls of glass.
And it continued onward, spacious and deep.
"Riv, what is this?"
"…Just… a corridor."
"A corridor this big?"
"Over there… a vending machine…" Riv pointed.
And sure enough, there it was.
Oh, square, with various drinks displayed on it. A vending machine, exactly as described.
It was pure white, refined, and looked state-of-the-art.
Most of the products lined up were unfamiliar to me—wait.
"Bloody Cola…"
That gold can with red letters was unmistakable. It was Bloody Cola.
Why was it here?
"…Customers… who choose that… are a rare breed… right?"
"Y-Yeah, I suppose so."
Well, you never know until you try.
They might look similar but be completely different things.
"I want that one."
"That's coffee, you know."
"What?"
"If you want something fizzy, it's this one."
That's when it hit me. Money... I don't have any.
Just then, Riv placed her hand on the vending machine. It let out a little beep.
Then she pressed the buttons for "Bloody Cola" and "Carbonated Beverage."
Thunk, thunk — two cans dropped down.
After that, Riv bought one for herself too.
I caught the Bloody Cola. Cold. Was this really supposed to be eternal?
"It's a can, huh?"
"Did they have these back in the Hy-yarn era, too?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Of course they existed."
Riv popped the pull tab. Then took a sip.
Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp.
"Blah... you two... aren't going to drink..."
"We're drinking."
"Mmph, hard to open."
I popped my own pull tab and drank.
"Whoa, the carbonation is intense. And it's spicy!"
This was indeed a Bloody Cola. That taste. Nostalgic.
And for the first time in this world — the taste of carbonation. The taste of cola. It's spicy!
"Oh, so this is it. Hoh. I see. So this is what it was."
"So you've had carbonation before?"
"I'd completely forgotten. I had drunk it before."
Come to think of it, things were more advanced in Hiyarn's era compared to now.
There must have been carbonated drinks too.
"Hm... but... this isn't an energy drink."
"That's right."
"Is that so?"
"This vending machine doesn't seem to have energy drinks."
"...Wof."
"What is it?"
The rabbit suddenly put on a strangely solemn air.
"There's something I've been wondering about for a while, and now's as good a time as any. Why do you... well then.
k
n
o
w
"...are you"
"even"
"saying?"
"?"
"..."
"............"
"Even after coming here, you weren't all that surprised by the vending machines. For that matter, how do you even know about energy drinks? Before that, there were other strange things, too. Things people from this era shouldn't know — and yet somehow you always knew. Why is that?"
He didn't say anything, so I figured he hadn't noticed.
Turns out he had noticed all along, and just kept quiet about it.
Typical Hayarn, overthinking things.
I glanced over at Riv. She didn't say anything.
She was sipping her soda little by little. She was probably wondering about it too.
Oh well. No big deal.
"I have memories from my past life."
"Past life... A reincarnation cycle error? I've heard those happen from time to time, but..."
"No. I have memories from other worlds — not just this one. And not just one, either. I have memories from every world."
"Hmm... multiple... worlds... memories... That's wild."
"That's wild"? What kind of reaction even is that.
Hayarn looked thoroughly intrigued.
If he made me his research subject, he'd turn me into a cola stew in a heartbeat.
"So that's it. You have memories from another world. Multiple worlds, no less. That explains why you know so much for your age. Have you told anyone else about this?"
"The witch knows."
"Hmm… I see."
"Well, it's not exactly something you go spreading around. I'll keep quiet about it too."
"…If… Wof… wants to keep it secret… I won't tell."
"No, I mean, it's not really a secret-secret. The reason I kept quiet was because it's hard to believe and I'd come across as some kind of weirdo."
"That's fair."
"Mm… makes sense…"
"So let's just keep things as they are."
"Understood."
"Mm… roger."
And so, once we finished our drinks, we set off to search for the next vending machine.
Walking through the absurdly wide corridor.
"There really is no one here, is there."
"Um, excuse me. This is kind of a grim question, but there are no bodies or anything either, right?"
It's one thing for everyone in a ship-sized city to leave at once, but all of them simultaneously? That's a stretch even by this place's standards.
Riv glanced upward briefly.
"Mm… those things… get decomposed… absorbed… so… no."
"Wait, what?"
"Absorbed? You mean like the bodies?"
"...Trash too."
"Heh..."
Just like a dungeon.
"Just like a dungeon, huh."
I thought it to myself, but Haiyan said it out loud.
"Yeah... Riv too... when the dungeon was explained... thought the same..."
"Is there some connection?"
"...Don't know... oh... next vending machine."
There was a vending machine. But this one wasn't for drinks.
"Food?"
"Looks like bento."
But what was it? Paste, maybe?
The picture on the machine showed solid lumps in red, blue, green, yellow, and such, sitting in white trays.
"Mm... curious...?"
"Y-yeah."
"Good. I want to try some."
Honestly, it didn't look appetizing.
But I was curious.
Haiyan and I made our picks, and Riv pressed her hand against part of the vending machine with a beep.
With a heavy clunk, two square things dropped down.
It was wrapped in plastic.
Oh, there's a drink included.
I tear the plastic open.
On a white tray, red, blue, and green paste sit neatly slotted into their compartments.
"Is this... food?"
Haiyan eyed the black, purple, and yellow paste with a question mark hovering over his head.
Why did I pick that color combo.
I scoop the red paste with the included spoon and eat it.
It had a slight bounce, thick and gooey.
"Oh, that's good."
And the taste... it's hamburg steak. I chew to confirm.
No doubt about it. What they call a fricadelle in this world.
Yeah, hamburg steak. Huh? Why?
"Oh. Tasty."
Haiyan scooped up the purple paste and ate it too.
"What flavor is that?"
"Fried chicken."
"Wait, chicken karaage?"
"Fried chicken."
In that purple color?
I finished eating the red paste and hesitantly put the blue paste into my mouth.
It was fried rice.
It was zha cai fried rice, to be exact.
Why!?