I am back – Chapter 3

“……”

Um, well…

It was me who requested to ‘ensure that no one can recognize me.’ And I really didn’t attach any conditions to that request.

My statement that receiving just one more life was already a pretty good reward was sincere. After all, a person’s life, no matter how short or unfair, is at least just once. I had already received two chances. And even got some compensation along with it, so I thought I had no reason to feel unsatisfied.

But it seems like I was a bit too complacent.

My request to absolutely ensure that others wouldn’t recognize me was definitely received.

Well, of course, since my gender even flipped.

“……”

Once again, I blankly looked down at my body.

There’s a great sense of incongruity. The gaze that’s much lower than my usual line of sight. A body that feels much lighter than before. The discomfort in the chest area.

First of all, my reflection faintly visible in the store window was absolutely that of a woman in her early twenties or late teens.

I looked decent. My figure was also pretty good. Was the fact that my hair wasn’t short like when I was a man a consideration from the Goddess?

…Well, if it was included in the words ‘ensure that no one can recognize me,’ then it makes sense that the hair length would be different too.

The reflection in the glass had a gentle impression. If seen positively, it looked very attractive. Big, slightly gentle-looking eyes, a prominent nose, and lips that weren’t too exaggerated… It might have been a bit of a cliché way to describe beauty, but honestly, there wasn’t a better way to express it.

Black hair fluttered to the side in the wind.

This is a bit uncomfortable. I think I’ll have to tie it back or cut it short later.

“…Hmm.”

I let out a sound for no reason. Naturally, it was a thin female voice. It wasn’t a proper speech, so I couldn’t quite get a feel for what kind of image it projected.

“Ah.”

While staring intently out the window, I made eye contact with a staff member on the other side.

Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, I quickly turned my body and hurriedly left.

*

It’s an obvious thing to say, but I was wearing clothes. A white blouse with jeans and sneakers, a common outfit. Well, if I was dropped in the middle of Seoul without clothes, that would be a whole different kind of humiliation for me.

After walking for a while, I realized that I was carrying a bag on my back. I had been so flustered that I had plunged deep into my thoughts and hadn’t been properly aware of what situation I was in.

Inside the bag was a smartphone and a keycard.

And the unlocked smartphone had a map app showing my destination.

…Should I say I was well-prepared?

I thought maybe there was a simpler method to just take me to my destination, but then again, the Goddess must have had her reasons.

“…Then, should I head home first?”

Honestly, just before coming here, I was thinking I should visit the neighborhood where I used to live… but since the body I just got felt so different from my past self, I thought I should assess the situation first.

Of course, I knew that walking around as an adult woman in the middle of South Korea, during broad daylight, shouldn’t lead me into anything serious.

But still, when circumstances change, the way to react changes too. Even if the possibilities are small, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. It’s not a bad thing to think of the worst-case scenario and prepare for it.

Also, it’s always good to carry a little food in the bag. Since there’s no magic in this world, it’d be wise to buy a few lighters at the convenience store and tuck one into each pocket of my bag. And also… right, maybe get a small knife or a sharp object as well—

“…”

I abruptly stop my busy feet.

I scratch my head slightly with my fingertips, taking a small sigh.

Yeah, I know.

That it’s all unnecessary.

It’s been five years, but it was a place where I had lived for a long time before that. I know in my head that it’s unlikely for an army similar to the Demon King’s to suddenly pour in, or that I’d encounter an armed robbery and have to survive by rationing my emergency supplies until help arrives.

Yeah. I know that in my head.

But right now, in this moment, my instincts still accept this place as ‘strange.’

Five years have passed. Five years in the middle of Seoul isn’t such a short time. Even if the overall atmosphere hasn’t changed, the minute details in my memory have.

Buildings get newly constructed, businesses that didn’t exist pop up. New subway stations might be built, and roads might change little by little.

In that other world, in ‘Irrelaysia’ where I was living, the appearance of the city hardly changed. Shops have been passed down through generations, strongly controlled by commerce guilds. Knights of the kingdom patrolled the streets armed, and the city was protected by the barriers of mages.

These barriers strongly restrict the location itself. Naturally, to change the shape of a building, the barriers would need to be reconfigured, and that would be a significant expense for the kingdom, who would have to pay the Magic Tower. But they also can’t give up the barriers meant to fend off the Demon King’s army.

“Right.”

Having thought that far, I force a smile.

The stagnation of the kingdom’s development was ultimately due to the Demon King’s army. The Demon King, and the commanders beneath him, all dead, the army would gradually crumble. Except for the neutral factions among the Demon Race or those who completely sided with humans, most would face judicial punishment.

And the kingdom would find prosperity.

The size of the cities, the layout of the streets, everything would probably change beyond the five years I knew.

Even if I had stayed there, I probably wouldn’t have easily adapted.

I lived like that over the past five years.

To survive, I honed my sword, and to better wield the Goddess’s Power, I meditated.

I stood guard at night to avoid being ambushed, learned simple cooking, and grabbed anything I could eat immediately.

The memories with my companions were good. I believe they are memorable experiences I will never forget.

But at the same time, I also witnessed far too many terrifying and dismal scenes with those companions. And we worked hard to ensure we didn’t get caught up in those situations.

“I wonder if everyone is doing well…”

Yeah, I’m sure they’re managing just fine.

Unlike me, who was just an ordinary person, they were all strong individuals.

…Ah.

No matter how harsh modern society is and how disinterested people are in their surroundings, if a young woman suddenly stops in the street and gazes at the sky blankly, people are bound to notice her.

I had been saying I lived cautious and fought through battlefields, but here I was standing around so comfortably.

There were people glancing at me as they passed by, and some were staring at me, wondering what I was looking at in the sky.

Still, it seems like I’ve relaxed a little since coming here.

I forced a smile as I began walking again.

*

“Oh…”

The place I arrived at was an apartment that you could say was ‘luxurious’ just by looking at it.

It wasn’t a square-shaped, right-angled apartment; rather, it was… well, if I hadn’t come close to the entrance to see it, I might have thought it was a building for another purpose, maybe a hotel or something.

With the keycard from my bag, I entered the apartment. Surprisingly, I needed the keycard to press the elevator buttons. The keycard I had would only allow me access to my living floor.

It seemed the Goddess was very clearly aware of how much value a house in modern South Korea held.

Indeed, the Goddess.

The interior of the apartment was… remarkable.

It was probably a place I couldn’t afford to live in even if I worked my whole life in this world.

It resembled the places sometimes shown by celebrities. Who knows, maybe there actually is a celebrity living nearby.

There was one large room with one bathroom, two dressing rooms attached. There was another bathroom near the living room, and two other spacious bedrooms.

There was one more room without a bed, which seemed to be a study or something like that.

…However, all that was in the house was just a bankbook and a debit card.

“…Wow.”

And the amount shown in the bankbook was enough that, according to the Goddess, I could easily use it for the rest of my life and even pass it down to my grandchildren.

For a Goddess who finds it incredibly challenging to interfere in this world, to prepare so much like this must mean she had been steadily preparing for the Hero long before five years ago, or even earlier.

It’s not my place to say that I’m just grateful for getting this second life, or that a human life can’t be measured by money…

But still, if I can earn that much in about five years, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad deal after all.

Well, of course, there would have been plenty of people who would step up claiming it was only natural too.