I ignored the unfamiliar woman’s voice from behind and asked Evia-san to let me out of the prison.
And the first person I saw after leaving that strange mirror world was…
“Yo, you done?”
It was my boss.
“Leader.”
I hadn’t asked him to wait, but seeing Jiro-san, who I had asked to wait for me, standing there with a slightly disheveled suit and a briefcase full of documents, it looked like he had stopped by on his way from work.
Seeing him casually wave and cheerfully talk to me, as if he were about to go out to play, I felt the tension in my shoulders melt away.
Sensing the return of normalcy, I let out a small laugh.
“I’m done. All that’s left is to sift through the information, then I’m relieved of my duties.”
I returned to my usual tone.
I conveyed this endeavor’s results to my leader.
The fatigue I felt was, in a way, even more profound than a dungeon attack. This time, I rotated my shoulders to express the exhaustion, which was uncharacteristic of my usual self.
“I worked too hard.”
“No way.”
Seeing me like this, my leader began to chuckle, covering his mouth.
“Yes way. I worked hard by my standards this time.”
I puffed out my chest and glared at my boss as if to express my dissatisfaction, and he lightly apologized, saying, “My bad.”
Since it wasn’t a conversation worth dwelling on, my facial muscles quickly relaxed, and I returned to my usual expression.
“Still, it’s unusual for you to take the initiative to work like this, only to back off so quickly.”
When I declared that I wouldn’t work anymore, my leader let out a wry smile, then his expression turned serious as he pointed out something that concerned him.
“Are you sure you don’t want to see it through to the end?”
I didn’t need to ask what “the end” referred to.
The woman in this prison was no longer the woman I knew.
Glancing back at the entrance I had just come through and looking ahead, I shook my head and turned back.
“My role ends here.”
There was nothing more I could do.
I couldn’t bring back Sui’s vanished spirit.
Once a soul has been overwritten, there’s no one there anymore.
As someone who hated wasted effort, I wouldn’t expend any more energy.
“Revenge for the dead would be overtime work. I’m not the type to work overtime.”
I offered a smile, unsure if it was a good one, thinking that she wouldn’t have wanted that either. My leader scratched his head.
“You know, that’s the line I wanted to say at my previous company too.”
He indulged my joke.
“You’re okay with this?”
He confirmed if I was alright with stopping here, and I nodded honestly.
I had done what I could.
My role was to find the trigger for information that could confirm the influence the otherworld had on Earth.
I couldn’t predict the extent of the information Sui would bring, but for my own peace of mind, I deemed it sufficient that we could inflict a painful blow on the opponent who interfered with us.
As I told my leader, taking on extra work goes against my principles.
I thought I had been working quite a bit lately, considering I used to boast that working was losing.
I was involved in improving the normal operations of the dungeon, interacting with Kaido-san and the others, accompanying Kitamiya with his shopping, providing mental care for Amy (chan), and fulfilling Katsu’s requests.
Hmm, it was such a packed schedule that my past self would have despaired if she heard it.
Honestly, I was afraid of the repercussions since I was only logging into the games on my smartphone.
“Fufun, I could tell you now if you want.”
So, from here on, it was time for a little break.
“Stop it, if you say that, Evia will kill me.”
I teased my leader playfully, as always, and he shook his shoulders with a wry smile, pleading with me to spare him.
My unconventional experience was over, and I was about to return to my everyday life. However, it seemed my leader would remain busy for quite some time.
Even if I recommended a holiday to him, faced with Evia-san’s piercing gaze as we stood together, he likely wouldn’t have any free time until his work was done.
“That’s too bad for you.”
“Nah, it’s rewarding work. It motivates me. And your requests too.”
Thanks to my busy leader’s actions, the company had moved faster than I had expected.
I felt nothing but gratitude for my leader, who showed a somewhat childlike smile.
“Thank you for your help.”
It was none other than Jiro-san who had supported my reunion with Sui. In a way, the information that came out this time had the potential to be related to the otherworld, but whether it was useful was honestly a gamble.
But even so, I had to act at that moment.
Like Katsu, I had always wondered why Sui had done something so akin to terrorism, why she had done something that didn’t seem to be worth the risk.
“It was within my capabilities. I do what I can. That’s all.”
If I had done it alone, this matter might have taken longer. And I lacked the connections to accomplish it, so I might not have even reached this point. It was clear that Evia-san had acted because my leader had pulled some strings.
He said he would do what he could, but the effort involved must have been immense.
“It’s good to have a reliable superior.”
So, I expressed my sincere gratitude.
My feelings were conveyed.
“Well, I wasn’t unfamiliar with Kawasaki either. I was curious because I never thought he’d do something like that. So, I’m glad I could resolve it.”
My leader scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed.
If it were him, he would have been more cautious when walking such a dangerous path, and even if forced into such a situation, he would have taken some measures. While I was tentatively searching for information based on that doubt, he provided me with information that I shouldn’t have been able to access, thus assisting my investigation.
After reuniting with him at this company and seeing how he had changed beyond recognition, I had been suspicious that something was amiss.
However, it was merely a change I felt based on a hunch.
There was no physical evidence, let alone circumstantial evidence that clearly indicated it.
The organization wasn’t so lenient that I could act on intuition alone, but my leader acted on that intuition, and when he looked into his personal information from back then, I was in awe of his authority, wondering how he had managed it.
Thanks to the leader’s cooperation, the doubts I had been harboring can now be considered resolved.
“I’m truly grateful for your indulging my selfish request this time.”
Therefore, I bowed my head once more to express my gratitude to my leader.
In the end, the reason she had changed was that she had an unfortunate encounter with an individual from another world. All her choices were taken away, twisting her personality, leaving behind only a woman who couldn’t manage risks.
It was a simple matter of bad luck.
Even that woman, who could do anything, couldn’t win over luck. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“On our end, there were many things we had to investigate regarding that terrorism. The more information, the better. I was surprised when you said you had some familiarity, but it’s good that the investigation progressed as a result.”
“Well, the question remains how useful the things that woman left behind will be.”
“Judging by your expression, you’re not worried about that, are you?”
“That’s right.”
Katsu would have been happy to reunite with her, but he couldn’t overlook the change he had vaguely sensed in her.
So, after she attacked the company and was captured, he asked me once, “Did something happen?”
“Do you know what happened to Sui-san?”
To that question, I simply replied.
“Well, I don’t know.”
I honestly told Katsu that I didn’t know. And then.
“Shall I look into it?”
Starting to act on his question to resolve his doubts was the trigger for this whole endeavor. The result is this, and it’s sadly like being confronted with the fact that reality isn’t kind.
Katsu never asked me about it again, but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten.
“When he says he’ll look into something, he’ll have prepared a considerable amount of information. He’s waiting for me.”
“You trust him, don’t you?”
“…Yes, I do.”
I was convinced that no matter the truth, he would believe my words.
“Yeah, I trust him.”
Looking directly into my leader’s eyes, I declared, “Even if I dislike him, his abilities are genuine.”
“I see.”
Hearing my words, he nodded, deciding not to ask any further questions, and ended the conversation. As I realized that my usual playful tone wasn’t coming out at the very end, I was surprised to notice that I was also quite shocked. As I pondered what to do with the loneliness I felt in my heart.
“Leader.”
“What is it?”
I suddenly remembered a gesture my boss habitually made when he was having a hard time.
“Do you have any tobacco?”
Then, remembering scenes from manga and anime where people smoked when bidding farewell to the deceased, I wanted to try it to see if it was really effective.
My leader cast a glance at Evia-san. Was it out of politeness for the setting, or was he asking permission because he had quit smoking?
“I saw nothing.”
Whatever the reason, Evia-san said she would overlook it. With a wry smile at her attitude, my leader used spatial magic to conjure a familiar cigarette and lighter in the palm of his hand.
“Do you know how to smoke it?”
“I’ve seen it in manga and such, so no problem.”
The cigarette, which I held for the first time, felt softer than I had expected. I squeezed the white part and brought it to my lips, then lit the lighter to ignite the cigarette. But.
“Huh?”
“You light it while you smoke.”
Puzzled that it wouldn’t light, I was met with a wry smile from my leader, who advised me that such details aren’t depicted. Following his advice.
“Geho geho geho geho.”
I coughed.
“You’re smoking too much. You should take slower draws at first. Are you okay?”
“I’m not okay. What is this? It’s smoky, tastes weird, I don’t understand why anyone would smoke this.”
“Ah, well, it’s bad if you think it’s bad.”
I instinctively spat it out, the sensation catching in my throat, making my eyes water slightly. In conclusion, smoking a cigarette didn’t bring me any comfort. I thought to myself that my knowledge from manga was unreliable.
I stared at the lit cigarette.
“What do you want to do? Put it out?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Then, this time, I slowly and gradually inhaled the smoke.
“This is enough for her incense.”
The taste of the first and last cigarette was more bitter than I had imagined.
“I see.”
Although I had coughed at first, when I tried it again, it was a gentle taste that soothed my heart far more than I had expected.
As I pondered how to convey the aftermath of this event to Katsu, while praying that this wispy smoke would reach her in heaven.
“Here.”
“Thank you.”
My first cigarette came to an end. As I placed the stub in the portable ashtray offered to me, my leader closed the lid and put it away in spatial magic.
“Did it cheer you up?”
To his question.
“Hmm, not really. I still prefer Katsu’s cooking.”
I honestly told him that the cigarette tasted bad.
“I’m going home for today!!”
Saying it impulsively, I decided to leave, hoping things would sort themselves out.
Today’s word:
Even with someone you dislike, if you don’t hate them, there might still be loneliness left.
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