Episode 05: Grasping the Situation
Hayato, while embracing the girl who called herself Lilia, was desperately trying to sort out his confused thoughts. The warmth of her body and the faint scent of shampoo conveyed a sense of reality. The Lilia here was no illusion, but a real, physical being.
At that time, Lilia should have certainly met her end. He had witnessed it, so there was no mistake. Hayato still remembered it vividly. Lilia, surrounded by a large enemy army, continuing to chant the most powerful magic to buy time for their companions to escape. Her figure, enduring enemy attacks all over her body while never breaking her chant until the very end, was deeply engraved in Hayato’s heart, the Hero.
And yet, why was she here? Moreover, in a form younger than back then.
Long, shining golden hair, clear blue eyes. A girl with a lingering innocence, who suited a school uniform. Why was Lilia, who had been an adult in the other world, now before him as a schoolgirl? There was no mistaking the nostalgic feeling, but he couldn’t believe she was the same person.
After embracing for a while, Hayato suddenly came to his senses. He looked at his surroundings. This was the entrance of his second-floor apartment. A place visible from the road. If anyone saw an adult man hugging a schoolgirl, it would surely lead to misunderstandings.
“Lilia, could you let go for a moment, please? Let me hear what you have to say.”
Hayato hurriedly spoke to the girl clinging to him. She looked up, her eyes moist with tears, and gazed at Hayato.
“No. It’s still not enough. I want to be closer. I don’t want to let go. We can talk later. So, please let me into Lord Hayato’s room.”
“Uhm…”
Lilia’s voice was filled with earnest emotion, and her embrace actually tightened. This was troubling. Seeing her trembling shoulders, he could painfully feel how important this moment was to her.
Considering public appearances, he should pull her away immediately, but he couldn’t bring himself to spoil the joy of this reunion. Hayato himself felt his chest burn with an almost painful warmth at reuniting with someone precious he thought he had lost. In the end, he would have no choice but to hear her out inside his room. If it became known that he had invited her into his room, it could lead to even further misunderstandings. But he couldn’t resist hearing the truth from her.
“Alright. Let’s go inside. But I need you to tell me everything properly.”
“Yes!”
Lilia replied cheerfully, a smile on her face. At her pure joy, Hayato couldn’t help but smile back.
Still being hugged by the schoolgirl, Hayato backed into the room. He closed the door, moved to the center of the room, and sat down on the floor. All the while, Lilia didn’t let go, sitting on his lap like a child and gazing at him with a sincere look.
At such close proximity, Hayato couldn’t hide his bewilderment. The Lilia from the other world had been a great sage who always maintained a certain distance and decorum. The girl before him was clearly different. Even if they possessed the same soul, could it be that their personalities and behaviors weren’t necessarily identical?
“Lord Hayato, you’ve become younger. In the other world, you had a dignified adult face. Now, you look so young.”
“Lilia, you’re too close.”
Lilia brought her face so close they were almost touching, and stared intently at Hayato’s expression, as if observing a precious jewel. He almost averted his gaze from the intensity of her stare.
“Speaking of which, you’ve also become quite a bit younger. And your personality seems a little different too.”
Lilia smiled at the words that had slipped out. Her smile held a hint of pride.
“Yes. I was reincarnated in this world sixteen years ago. It seems the flow of time and various laws are different between that world and this one.”
“Sixteen years ago? Reincarnated?”
At those words, Hayato frowned. He tried to understand the situation, but his mind couldn’t keep up. It was truly an outlandish story. Then again, the whole idea of another world was unrealistic to begin with.
“That’s right. I was reincarnated in this world as a person named Takahashi Riri.”
“‘Riri’ and ‘Lilia,’ huh. The names are somewhat similar.”
“They are, aren’t they?”
She chuckled.
“Wait a minute, did you have your memories? From the beginning?”
Various questions arose. Hayato thought the timeline didn’t make sense. He had gone to the other world a month ago. And he had returned here also a month ago. Had she known about the other world before that? Lilia shook her head.
“No. I couldn’t recall my memories of our world—the other world, for you, Lord Hayato—and I was born and raised as an ordinary human. But there was always something I felt deep in my heart. I couldn’t remember what it was, but I always had the sense that I was holding onto something important.”
“Something important?”
At Hayato’s question, Lilia’s expression softened.
“Yes. I found out what that important thing was about a month ago.”
“A month ago… the day I went to the other world and came back.”
“So it was indeed the day Lord Hayato returned from the other world. That was probably the trigger for us to regain our memories.”
Hayato gasped at her words. The timing matched.
“On that day, a sudden, intense pain shot through my head, and I instantly recalled memories clearly different from my life up to that point. The battles in the other world, the bonds with our companions, the important promise with Lord Hayato. I remembered everything. And so, we regained our memories. That we journeyed with the Honored Hero and risked our lives to defeat the Demon King. And that we had continued to watch over Lord Hayato until his final battle.”
Lilia spoke of an astonishing fact. Even after meeting her end, she had remained by Hayato’s side as a soul. Along with Celestia, Garret, and John, she had watched over his final battle with the Demon King.
“None of us left Lord Hayato’s side, even after losing our lives. Because, we promised, didn’t we? That no matter what happened, we would fight together until the end.”
Those words brought Hayato’s memories flooding back. Indeed, there was a promise they had all made during their journey. A vow to save the world, no matter the sacrifice. That even if each of them lost their lives, they would remain by the Hero’s side, even as souls. At the time, he had thought they were just words of comfort. But they had made it real. They had kept their promise.
“And then, when Lord Hayato, who had won the battle but exhausted his strength, was enveloped in light and sent back to his original world, it seems our souls, his companions, also crossed over to this world with him. By the time we realized it, we were each already living different lives. We had been reincarnated.”
Lilia’s explanation sounded utterly preposterous. However, seeing her sincere expression and the reality before his eyes, he couldn’t deny it.
“Does that mean… the other companions too?”
Hayato asked, his voice a mixture of hope and anxiety.
“Yes. Celestia, Garret, and John are also in this world. Everyone has regained their memories and is eagerly awaiting their reunion with Lord Hayato.”
Lilia’s answer made Hayato’s chest grow warm. To think that his companions, whom he thought were dead, were alive in this world and, moreover, remembered him.
“Did they also regain their memories, just like you?”
“Yes. Everyone’s memories returned at the same time.”
“…I see. Everyone is alive. That’s good.”
A voice of heartfelt relief. Even though his companions, whom he thought he had lost, had been reincarnated, they were alive now. That fact was, more than anything, a great comfort.
“So, to summarize, I am Takahashi Riri, and I was once Lilia. Do you understand?”
She asked with a sincere gaze. Deep within her eyes dwelled the intellect and strength of the former Sage Lilia. And yet, she also possessed the straightforwardness and purity of a modern girl. She was a being that exuded a strange duality.
“Yeah, I get it. I can’t say I understand everything, but… I’m sure that you are truly Lilia.”
Though he hadn’t fully grasped it all, Hayato nodded. The fact that his precious companions were alive in this peaceful modern era spread through his chest as a joy greater than anything else.
The bonds he thought were lost had been miraculously reconnected across worlds. Hayato had never imagined that after accomplishing the difficult task of defeating the Demon King and saving the world, he would be reunited with his companions in this way.