Re: Death - Reincarnated Dead Into Another World

[Hmm… Your face is still red. Is it a fever, after all?]

Hold on. To begin with, does fever exists in this world?

Fleur: "I-I am fine…! R-Really… Hn… *pant* It is not a f-fever… Haah…"

Oh, there is a fever. I guess the physiology of this world's resident is identical to my former world's.

[I see. You should just rest for now. Purin is out to hunt for food. I think she will be back soon.]

At the moment, we are still inside the cave that was filled with bats- I mean, Matamons. I've cleaned them up so it's no longer a worry. Even those that I failed to exterminate and escaped never bothered to come back. But… I wonder if it's fine to let Fleur rest at such a place.

The floor is a bit damp. Few mosses grow all over the place. It's filled with Glow Stones, so we don't need to worry about our light. Cold wind breezes inside from the huge entrance. They've brought cloth and blankets and stuff, but… If it is indeed a fever, then I really think there is a much better place to stay than here.

Not that I know where to find that place.

It looks like it's Purin's duty to hunt for food even before I came here. She volunteered to do so and departed, wearing a smug face and followed a… 'Purin knows best in what Milady's tastes are. Hmph!' then left with proud bounces.

Is she seeing me as her rival, perhaps?

Not that I care, though.

She prepares the materials, ingredients, and even the fire for cooking. She does everything perfectly that I'm left with the only option of admiring her. She's almost perfect at almost anything there's no way for me to complain.

A convenient party member to have. Yeah.

Fleur: "Hn… Ah…"

Anyhow, I wonder what is with Fleur. And I've been curious about the tingling sensation I've been feeling ever since we got out of the dungeon.

I have to be careful. If this is somehow a monster that lurks around other monsters and shoots bloodl.u.s.ts at them, then that's quite a problem. Well, I haven't seen any suspicious movements in my Detect so I'm not that worried at the moment. But still… There may be monsters that are undetected with this skill. Like an anti-Detect skill or something. I can never know.

Better be careful.

Fleur: "Fuu…"

Hmmm… At any rate, all I can do now is wait and let her rest. Purin hasn't yet come back so I can't leave this place to find something to do.

Honestly, I'm bored.

Maybe this is the first time where I can't find anything to do. Or like, I'm bound to something where I'm left with no other choice. It's not like I'm against being with them, but it's still a lot different when I was alone. It reminds me of how I always wanted to stay alone.

Well, this is nice once in a while. Having a company has its bright side, as well.

[Are you sure you don't want to sleep?]

Fleur: "Yes… I-I will be fine if I just sit like this."

[Hmm…]

She's smiling dryly, I can sense her discomfort even without utilizing the Link.

Fleur: "C-Ciel… If I may ask. What kind of person are you when you were still a human?"

I kind of feel like she's just throwing me a random question to change the topic, but… It won't hurt to answer, I guess.

[Hmm… Let's see… I was a first year college student. Well, to put simply, I was a student at a school.]

I followed up in case she wonders what 'college' means.

[… Well, there's nothing much even if you ask me, though. I just work, then study, go home, eat, and then sleep. In between those, I just read books to pass the time.]

Fleur: "Hmm… I do not really know much about your culture back in your world, but… Do students work while studying?"

[Not really. I just have my own circ.u.mstances and all. Is it the same here?]

Fleur: "Yes. Students or young children are only expected to study. I have not yet seen a student work."

Hmhm. I see, I see. Maybe this world is flourished more than I thought it is? I was expecting a more primitive style of living where children with less privileged are expected to work instead of study, and that Fleur is only an exemption, since she's the daughter of the Demon Lord.

Well, taking her clothes and the technology of this word, like the clock back in the dungeon, into consideration, what she says is more plausible than what I expected.

Or maybe, she had just not seen the darker part of her society?

I think that must be it.

[I see. In our world, you see, to study, you need to have the money first.]

Fleur: "E-Eh? But to make a community better, education is a must have, right? Then why…"

Hm. Maybe they're still at the phase where education and other aspects of a community is still at their infancy. You can't expect to receive money from people with no money, after all. You have to make them know how to earn first. It's different than my former world's history.

[Well, that's just how it is in our world. And so, I have to earn money to study.]

Fleur: "What about your parents?"

[I'm an orphan, so I don't have any.]

Fleur: "Eh… Ah… I am sorry."

She knit her brows and hanged her head.

In my case, it's not really something for her to be guilty of. It's not like I knew my parents beforehand for me to feel anything about it. And I had my sister.

[Don't worry about it. I'm used to it and I'm not really bothered by it.]

Fleur: "… I see. I feel better knowing that."

Even though she said that, I still feel the guilt from her. Just how much can one girl be this kind and gentle? Man…

[And yeah, I was in the Literature organization then. It was an organization that collects, reads, and studies books as organization activities. We sometimes write our own too and publish them.]

Fleur: "Waah~ That is nice~ To enjoy literature with others is such a bliss."

[Oh. You know you're stuff, eh? I enjoyed reading by myself, however. I mean, being bothered by a walking 'physical-fitness' is… *sigh*]

Fleur: "Walking…?"

[That was my friend. She used to pester me with exercising with her. I was often tired from work so I didn't have any energy to join her, though.]

Fleur: "You didn't like her?"

[… Nah. If I look back into it, I feel like I just took advantage of her friendliness. To be honest, I always felt relieved when she was with me. Well, that didn't change the fact that she was annoying, though.]

Fleur: "Fufu. You must really like this person."

[As a human being, I guess.]

Fleur: "Are you getting embarrassed~? Fufufu~ I see Ciel can be cute, too."

[Sure, sure.]

… Yeah.

Certainly, I liked her. When we were kids, I actually considered telling her that I like her. Love, even.

… I was young. Psshh. Just a puppy love, or so you would like to call it.

I remember being stupidly over protective of her whenever we went to play with the other kids back at the park. I got to the point where I would start a fight with the kids who were teasing us. Looking back to it, that was actually embarrassing.

Childishness is frightening.

Wait, I WAS a child.

Anyways. Before our graduation in grade school, she moved away. It's not like I was devastated or something. And to be honest, I somehow felt relieved, thinking that I didn't have to tell her my feelings.

Years passed and we met again in high school.

A dramatic reunion? Crying?

Pfft. As if.

Obviously, things would have changed after 5 years. It's not the same as those romantic stories you see in movies where the characters fall in love with each other all over again and then leads to a happy ending.

It's not that easy. Life, that is.

She's no longer the girl that should be protected. She got so bright, I felt like I didn't have the right to approach her.

Needless to say, I myself had changed. Just a year after she moved I began living independently, moving out from the closed down orphanage. I started working part-time jobs, I began to read more and more, I forgot about her in no time.

Didn't I fall in love again? Maybe I could if I tried to. But it's not something to try just because you thought of the idea. It's not that easy.

Moreover…

I… was starting to lose my sense of emotion. Getting dull, day by day. I found no fun in anything I do. I work, I eat, I study, and at the end of the day, I'll sleep. Same old, same old. Nothing new. Nothing exciting. Nothing interesting.

Reason?

… That, I don't want to remember.

I can smile and have fun with others normally. But a part of myself wanted to go home as soon as possible and play games or just read. I can talk normally with others and enjoy the day, but a part of me says that I don't deserve such things.

I don't deserve such things.

Without me noticing, I created a barrier that separates me from others. Still, I was getting along fine with others then. A safe border, so to say.

… Until that 'day.'

Fleur: "-iel? Ciel!"

[A-Ahh… What was it again?]

Fleur's voice brought me back to reality and found her standing in front of me.

Fleur: "No. It is fine. You just stopped talking so I became worried… I thought I offended you in some way. If so, I will apologize."

She placed her hands on top of her c.h.e.s.t and bowed.

[You don't have to. It's okay. I was just lost in my thought.]

Fleur: "If you say so…"

[More importantly, are you okay now?]

Fleur: "Eh?? Ah… Y-Yes. Ahaha… I am f-fine now. Fufufu…~"

She's so obvious and easy to read…

But I don't know what she's trying to hide. At any rate, she said she's fine and she doesn't have a fever, so let's just go with that.

And just in time, Purin has come back from her hunting and brought a huge black boar. Its fur looks like black needles with its spine covered with gray hardened plates.

Just where did she caught this guy?

She spat the boar out from her body and turned my way, throwing a triumphant expression onto me.

Yeah, yeah. Very good of you. I can't do that. Thank you very much.

Of course, I can't say that. I don't want to die yet. It's hard to admit but she's still stronger than the current me. I may be able to hold my grounds now that I'm linked with Fleur, but I imagine I will still have a hard time if I tried fighting her.

Anyways, after this food, it's time to depart once again.

I don't need to eat so it's actually only waiting for Fleur to eat.

…

..

.

Chapter End