–World transfer complete
“… … Ha~”
I breathed a sigh of relief upon my safe return to the familiar white world. Upon checking myself, I found that not only was there no blood on my body, but the clothes themselves were different. On my waist, I wore the iron sword that was broken when I fought Alexis, and on top of my worn out clothes, I wore a common leather armor, which was a bit worn out.
“Yosh!, A-….. yes, as usual.”
I lightly moved my arms and legs and stuff to check the feeling, and they felt weak as usual. I was only there for half a year, but I was moving around a lot this time, so I had built some muscles and other things.
Yes, my body restored back to normal as soon as I returned here. Not rejuvenated or returned, rather it gets “Restored” to the state I was in when I first came here. The muscles developed during the adventures in other worlds would disappear, and so would the effects of any self destructive skill used there.
No, more like it was amazing that I could use a skill that would kill me, with virtually no risk at all. It was a bit of a waste that it could only be used as a last effort before leaving that world, but it was still more than enough to break any anxiety, like it did this time. Perhaps, if I were to do the same without using [Blood Engine], just how troublesome would it be?…. Yup, all hail brute force.
“Now then, let’s learn the banishment skill I’ve been waiting for!”
It was foolish to think back on those I left behind regretfully, since I sent them off believing in them. I turned my attention to the crystal ball sitting on the table to change my mind. Then, the crystal ball glittered invitingly … Is this, by any chance, something promising?
“Since I inherited all the skills from the first round, I was honestly prepared for nothing. … Is it a new banishment skill? or Will it power up my existing skills?”
With great anticipation, I touched the crystal ball. But unlike in the past where power flowed into me instantly, this time I felt nothing.
“… Huh? What… Owww!?”
Rolling on the table as if to mock my unintentionally teary eyes was the same white … Huh? Not White?
“Arghhhhh … Why do you always drop it on my head every time!!!? Are you harassing me? Are you harassing me!!!”
Rubbing my aching head, I picked up a brown leather-bound book. It was the first colored existence I had seen in this world, except for myself, yet at first glance, it looked like an ordinary book.
“What’s this… {Records Of the Hero’s Story} ?”
I opened the book, which was titled as such in gold foil, and looked down at the contents briefly. And as soon as I realized what the book was about, I read it with full concentration. Without missing a single word, I continued to turn the pages, losing track of time, as if I were engraving each and every word, and finally arrived at the final chapter. The contents…
――The 101st World {Records Of The Hero’s Story}, last chapter, {The Three Heroes and The Apostle Of God}
Thus, after defeating the Demon Lord, the heroes made a triumphant return to the capital. But then, Alexis, the Hero, said, “We had our fourth companion. Without him, we would not have been able to defeat the Demon King. He is the true hero and the hero who should be praised.”
In response to this, the king of Northland issued a worldwide appeal to discover the identity of the “fourth hero,” but for some reason, no information on his person was ever gathered. There was no trace of him anywhere until the moment he met the heroes, and his existence was indicated only by sightings of him during the six months he was a member of the heroes’ party and by the armaments that the heroes held in their hands.
Finally, it was concluded that the fourth person was “An Apostle, a divine warrior sent by God to help the heroes save the world,” so it was decided that he would be worshiped as the “Three Heroes and the Apostle of God.”
“… I see.That Alexis, did he properly defeat the Demon Lord?”
After reading everything, I slammed the book shut, closed my eyes and looked up to the sky. Behind my closed eyelids, I could see Alexis and the others fighting hard after I left, and I felt proud of their victory and a touch of sadness that I was not there to witness it.
“What the hell. I knew you could do it.”
I opened my eyes and my gaze turned toward the 001 door. Although it would never open and connect to the other world, my face naturally smiled at the thought of the peaceful world beyond.
“Well, it was a good result for a first try. Now, all I need to know is what Tia and the old man are up to.”
The book told the story of Alexis’ journey from his departure to his triumphant return, but since it was written solely from the perspective of the Hero, it did not delve much into Tia or old man Gonzo’s perspective. It described how they worked as companions of Alexis, but it did not provide any other personal information or information about their personal activities.
“It says here that they made a safe and triumphant return, so they couldn’t have been seriously injured or killed, right? If that were to be the case, then there should be some description of a big state funeral or something like that.”
There was no reason to fake his death, so Tia in this cycle should not live in solitude. If that were the case, she would not be weak and limp from the magic that shaved her lifespan by half, and she would live a peaceful life…
“Hmmm… … impossible?
If she was a member of the hero’s party that defeated the Demon Lord, and moreover a beautiful unmarried young elf, the world would not remain silent. I could imagine Tia, fed up with the mountain of visits and offers of marriage, retreating to the countryside with her ears perked up. .. Oh, so it is true that karma comes back.
“I can’t wait to see what happens 100 years from now.”
After completing another round, there was no guarantee that I would get that key again. Besides, at that point, it was possible that I would be more interested in the other world. Nevertheless, If I were to see her again… I would try my best to keep up with her whining.
“I’ll have to prepare some nice souvenirs, … Well, let’s get going then.”
I stood up with the book in my hand and saw that a white bookshelf had appeared behind the table before I knew it. The {Records Of The Hero’s Story} would fit perfectly in there, and with the way things were going, it looked like maybe all 100 books would fit in here. This was a very tempting collection. … No, surely, I would keep getting these books as long as I keep being exiled from other worlds.
“See you.”
After patting the back of the book, I walk to the door of 002 with renewed energy. There was the door numbered 001 right next to it, but my mind was no longer stuck there.
My friends, of whom I should be proud, accomplished what they had to do. Then it was my turn. In order to bring the remaining ninety-nine worlds to a happy ending, I tightened my grip on the door knob――
“Kyaaa!”
“Whoaa?!”
A massive weight, which I had never felt before, fell on my head. What? Is there a rule in this world that everything would appear above my head? Isn’t that a bit harsh?
Rather, What!? It’s really heavy, seriously, what is this?
I tried to touch the top of my head, which was crushed, and just as I thought, I touched something soft. My head was slapped and at the same time, I heard a familiar voice. A little later, the weight moved away from the top of my head, and when I finally raised myself up, I saw …
“……………..?”
In this world where I was supposed to be the only one, there was a presence other than me that was more out of place than anything else. An elf with hair as yellow as the sun and jade green eyes filled with curiosity stood before me, her long ears twitching.
“Tia!? What the――?”
“Ed!!!”
Before I could even say a word, Tia jumped on me. A tornado of question marks swirled above my head. …
“Ed… Ed…! I got to see you. I finally got to see you….”
I smiled and hugged her, accepting her tears and snot as she pressed her face against my chest, crying and grimacing.