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Do you know why I updated at this time of year?
That’s right! Because that thing is being released in April!
So, everyone’s been waiting!
On April 27th, the Nekoneko image CD will finally be released!
http://www.mosaicwav.com/archives/1070260868.html
…Well, I actually haven’t heard the finished product yet.
It’s said to be a great CD with four songs inspired by Nekoneko, and a newly written novel as a first-run bonus!
Oh, and the bonus novel was written last year, so I’m a little fuzzy on the details, but
It should be about the length of one or two episodes of the web version, and I think I wrote something quite interesting, so if you’re interested…
“– !”
With a *thud*, sparks flew from my head.
At the same time, a “candy” dropped from my mouth and rolled on the tatami with a clatter.
…Tatami?
“Maki!?”
As I raised my head, smelling the familiar scent of rush,
“Ugh, I hit my head.”
From beside me, I heard the voice of my cousin, whom I hadn’t heard in a while.
… That means.
“We’re, we’re back! Soma! This is Soma’s room!!”
It seemed that both of us had safely returned to our original world.
“We really, came back…”
The sound of a distant train, the voices of people in the neighborhood.
The ringing of bicycle bells, the humming motor sound of the refrigerator.
These sounds, which I had barely noticed before going to the other world, were now, for some reason, vividly and overwhelmingly entering my ears.
However, I couldn’t just revel in the emotion.
First, I had to check my own condition.
–Well, for now, it counts as getting past the first hurdle, right?
The worst-case scenario I had imagined was that we, who had seen Death Flash, would die instead of returning to our original world.
Logging out from life would be no laughing matter.
The next thing I had considered dangerous was returning to the original world with amnesia.
Since the brain is also a part of the body, if the body were to return to its original state when logging out to Japan, there was a possibility that such a thing could happen.
However, I am here, physically intact and retaining the memories from the other world.
For now, I could say that the worst possible outcome had been avoided.
Next is how much of the other world’s things I have carried over to this one…
First, the clothing.
The clothes on Maki and me were modern, unlike the equipment we had in the other world.
In fact, they were the exact clothes we were wearing just before going to the other world.
However, this was as expected.
The first time I went to the other world, my regular clothes had changed into the game’s starting equipment, so this was rather natural.
The problem is from here.
I took a deep breath, thrust my hands forward, and shouted.
“Light!”
At the same time, I ordered the basic light magic in my head, but nothing happened.
“As expected, magic isn’t possible.”
If I could use magic, I should have been able to travel to and from the other world easily, but it seemed that things wouldn’t be that convenient.
Well, considering Nekoneko’s magic settings, this is probably a safe bet.
I couldn’t get discouraged by this.
Then there’s…
“Soma, Soma! More importantly, this! We have to try this!”
Saying that, Maki, looking a little embarrassed, took out of her mouth the “candy” that I had just put in mine.
Incidentally, the one I had brought also flew out of my mouth due to the shock of teleportation, but it’s still lying on the tatami.
The true identity of this “candy” that Maki held out is the item that moves you to previously visited save points: ‘Transfer Stone’.
I had predicted that equipment and items wouldn’t ordinarily be brought back to the original world.
However, it was a desperate, last-ditch idea, thinking that maybe if I put it in my mouth, it might work, and I never expected it to actually work.
I thought about these things emotionally, but Maki, who was like a runaway train, didn’t take my feelings into consideration.
“Well, I’m going to try it now.”
“Eh? No, w-wait a minute!”
Without any flair or lingering sentiment, Maki casually held up the Transfer Stone,
“Here I go! To Ramur!!”
And then…
“–It doesn’t seem to work.”
She proved the fact that the Transfer Stone cannot be used in this world, unfortunately.
“U-um…”
Maki, holding the Transfer Stone, stammered in confusion, and for some reason, I couldn’t say anything to her.
My chest felt heavy, as if a weight had been placed on my lungs.
Seeing my expression, Maki’s face twisted as if she were about to cry.
“I, I’m sorry. It’s because I tried it, without asking. You must be disappointed, right?”
“…It’s okay. I had to try it eventually, and I’m not disappointed.”
That’s right.
I hadn’t really expected things to go so smoothly.
The Transfer Stone is like magic.
It’s an item that can only be used in a place with magic power, according to the settings, and I never seriously believed it would work in Japan.
So, it’s okay.
It’s okay.
“Really? Truly?”
I wanted to reply “Of course,” but for some reason, the words caught in my throat and never came out.
Seeing that, Maki, with a seemingly desperate attitude, patted her chest.
“I’ll, I’ll go check our warehouse after I’ve calmed down too! You know, where those strips of paper and toy hammers used to be! Maybe there’s still something there…”
“Ah. Yes, that’s right. Please do.”
How much strength was put into my voice as I replied?
Just as my heart was about to be consumed by weakness,
“–!?”
–Suddenly, my little finger, with which I had made a pinky promise with Ringo, throbbed.
“Soma?”
“…That’s right.”
Contrary to Maki’s worried face, I could feel a smile spreading across my own.
It was as if I had been encouraged by a distant friend again.
“Alright!”
There was no more hesitation in my heart.
I clenched my fist tightly and declared.
“It’s okay! I won’t give up easily. I made a promise to everyone!”
“That’s right! Yeah, I knew you’d say that, Soma!”
Saying it with half renewed courage, Maki finally also smiled with relief.
However, Maki’s words didn’t end there.
“…But. If, if, no matter what, we couldn’t find a way to go to the other world, what would you do?”
“Let’s see. In that case…”
After thinking for a moment, I realized that the answer was already within me and was a little surprised.
“…I guess I’ll try to get a job making games.”
“Making games?”
To Maki, who looked at me blankly, I said with a smile.
“It’s just a sudden idea, though. But if I joined a game company, and somehow managed to get into a position where I could plan games myself…”
I imagine.
It’s a wild idea for now, but perhaps…
“I might be able to create a sequel to Nekoneko, their adventures, with my own hands.”
To those words, which I said with embarrassment, Maki replied,
“…I see.”
She smiled, a little happily, but also a little sadly, and then…
“Then I…”
–At that very moment, a strange *bzzzzzzzz* sound echoed in the room.
“Ah!! I forgot!”
Wondering what it was, Maki darted to a corner of the room.
Looking, it seemed Maki had carelessly plugged her phone into my charger.
The current sound must have been from its message notification function or something similar.
Wait, the electricity was still on.
Ah, it was set to automatic withdrawal, wasn’t it?
No, that’s not it…
“Y-you! Carelessly… in someone else’s house…”
I tried to scold her, but Maki was too busy shouting, “Gyaah! So many emails have piled up!” to listen.
What a laid-back person she is.
“Haa. You’re as you always are.”
Despite the incredible experience of going to another world, Maki hasn’t changed.
Well, I might be the same, I thought self-deprecatingly.
“But, Soma. You’ve changed quite a bit, haven’t you?”
Maki, who had stopped checking her emails at some point, was now surprisingly close.
“Oh, really?”
When I asked, Maki looked up at me and nodded.
For some reason, I was flustered by her gaze and averted my eyes, trying to sound nonchalant.
“Well, after all that experience, it would be strange if I hadn’t changed a little, right?”
“Y-yes. But, it’s not just your inner self. Um, the current Soma, how should I put it, if someone saw you, they might not be able to leave you alone, or rather, um…”
Having said that much, Maki shook her head vigorously as if she couldn’t say any more and pointed at me.
“A-anyway! Look in a mirror later!!”
“O-okay?”
“There were lots of messages, so I’m going to go! Soma, you too, just… live strongly!”
What had gotten into her?
Maki hurried to the entrance and, before leaving, said “See you again!” and went outside.
“She’s really so impatient.”
As I said that, I touched my cheek.
“…I don’t think I’ve changed at all.”
Could it be the effect of raising my level in the other world?
Half-believing, I walked to the washroom and faced the mirror.
“Hmm, hmm?”
My face wasn’t particularly ugly, but it wasn’t exactly handsome either. My eyes looked a little sleepy. My hair was messy and unkempt, and ears popped out from it.
Even when I bared my teeth in a grin, I couldn’t find much charm there.
“It’s the same as always, isn’t it?”
It was the familiar face of a man I saw in front of the mirror this morning, yesterday morning, and the mornings before that.
If I had to search for any changes, perhaps my gaze had become a little stronger recently, possibly due to my intense battles in the other world… that’s all.
“Maki is just overthinking things.”
It’s always like her to say strange things.
It would be foolish to be thrown off by them every time.
“That’s right. This is no time to be dawdling. I promised I would definitely return to the other world.”
Everyone, until the very moment of parting, had sent me off with smiles.
I couldn’t betray those feelings.
It was a shame the Transfer Stone didn’t work, but that didn’t mean I had run out of options.
Even if it takes years, decades, I will definitely find a way back to the other world, to where everyone is!
With newly renewed determination, as I was about to leave, my gaze happened to fall on my reflection in the mirror.
For some reason, my face looked a little more mature than usual.
“What am I thinking. F-first…”
I shook my head, trying to clear my mind of extraneous thoughts, and returned to my room, scratching my cat ears, which, as usual, had popped out from my hair.
Soma, the unreal youth!
The next installment will be the final chapter.
