Chapter 1754 - 243 - Akane and Tsubasa (7)

"If that's the case, then... what happened to you? What happened for you to end up in this world?" she asked, clearly becoming more curious as she tried to put the pieces together. Then, her eyes suddenly widened as though something had finally clicked in her mind. "Ah, I remember now. You died in that world. So that must mean that instead of your entire body being transferred here, only your soul was brought into this world, right? When you really think about it, that seems a little strange."

"You don't really have to think about it that much. If you've read manga before, you'd probably know that this kind of phenomenon is actually much easier to understand than you might think."

Well, the circumstances surrounding the two of us were obviously different, but describing it as the two of us getting isekai'd was probably the easiest way to explain the whole situation.

That was basically what had happened to us, even if there were plenty of other factors that eventually led us to this point. Fate had somehow managed to throw us into the same world after everything that happened, which was honestly one hell of a coincidence when I stopped to think about it.

I had already died once, and somehow, after being given another life in this world, I ended up meeting someone from my previous life again.

I had no idea what kind of joke fate was trying to pull on me.

Still, there was one question that kept bothering me.

Was I actually happy to see her again?

I honestly didn't know.

Maybe I was happy, but I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to feel about the whole thing. There was something strange sitting in the back of my mind, something I couldn't really put into words no matter how much I tried.

The Akane I knew from my previous world and the Shredica I had met in this world were the same person, yet they somehow weren't the same person at all.

That was probably the part that bothered me the most.

I knew the person standing in front of me had once been Akane, someone I had known in another life, but the Shredica standing before me had no real memories of being that person.

It was like meeting an old friend who remembered nothing about you while you were somehow expected to pretend that nothing had changed.

"Do you have no intention of going back?" she asked me.

I looked at her for a moment before taking some time to properly think about what she had asked.

Going back to our old world?

Well, technically, it was definitely possible.

But would I actually choose to return if I were given the opportunity?

That was the real question.

The life I had now was something I had grown attached to far more than I ever expected. I had people here, responsibilities here, and a life that I had slowly built for myself after coming to this world.

Compared to the life I had before, this one was something I genuinely cherished.

Still, saying that I had absolutely no regrets about my previous life would have been a complete lie.

There were things I missed.

There were people I remembered.

There were moments that I wished I could experience again, even if I knew that going back wasn't as simple as just walking through a convenient magical door.

"I have no intention of going back," I finally told her. "However, since we're in the same world as the heroes, and I'm already helping them find a way to return, I'll help you try to get back as well, especially since it seems like returning is something you want for yourself."

"Is that so?"

I stared at her for a moment.

What exactly did she mean by that?

She wanted to return, didn't she?

At least, that was what I had assumed from everything she had said so far, but her response sounded almost strangely detached from the matter.

"Well, it's good that I have you by my side this time," she said. "It really does feel like I'm finally seeing you as a comrade. It doesn't feel like I'm coercing you into helping me anymore."

Well, when we first met, she had practically forced me into helping her.

Back then, Akane had been one seriously hot-blooded bitch, and I wasn't exactly thrilled about being dragged into whatever she had planned at the time.

I was pretty damn pissed off at her back then, if I was being completely honest.

She wasn't exactly the kind of person who made a particularly peaceful first impression.

Still, things had changed considerably since then.

After getting to know her better, and perhaps even before I fully understood who she actually was, my perception of her had gradually changed.

At the same time, her perception of me seemed to have changed as well.

Somewhere along the way, the relationship between us had stopped being about whatever forced circumstances had originally brought us together.

Eventually, I reached the point where I could comfortably call her a genuine friend.

"Well, I've already told you what I wanted to tell you," she said. "So I'm going to leave now."

She turned around and started walking away, but something suddenly came to mind before I could simply let her go.

"Do you really not remember anything?"

She stopped after hearing my question.

For a moment, she simply looked back at me without saying anything.

Then, after thinking about it for a few seconds, she slowly shook her head.

"I do remember a little bit, but I don't remember everything," she said. "What I remember is extremely short, and because of that, I would probably assume it was some kind of dream if I didn't already know that it actually happened."

"I see..."

I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed after hearing that.

Some part of me had probably hoped that she would suddenly remember everything, including the things we had experienced together in our previous world.

Perhaps there was still some way to bring those memories back.

I didn't know if that was actually possible, though.

Maybe it was better not to force anything.

Akane and Shredica might have been the same person at their core, but they were also clearly different people now.

Akane was the person who existed before Shredica lost her memories and became the person she was today.

Whatever had happened between those two versions of her had changed her in ways that I couldn't completely understand, and perhaps trying to force the past back into her mind would only make things more complicated.

"Well then, I'll see you around."

"Okay."

I watched as Akane...

I stopped myself before finishing that thought.

Shredica.

She was Shredica now.

I watched as Shredica slowly walked away from me, her figure gradually becoming smaller.